"Don’t make a sound," Azul said in a low voice.

Even though they were technically communicating through telepathy, they could still give away their position if they moved too much or made noise by accident.

Honestly, Roxanna had no idea why Azul had suddenly pulled her into hiding. But a few moments later, she finally saw the reason.

A group of beastmen appeared in the distance. Their lower bodies looked like sharks, while their upper bodies looked completely human.

[What kind of people are they?!] Roxanna asked frantically in her mind. [Are they shark beastmen? Does that mean they’re evil?]

[What kind of people are they?!] Roxanna asked in panic. [Are they shark beastmen? Does that mean they’re evil?]

But then she paused. From the animal documentaries she had watched back on Earth, sharks were not evil creatures. In fact, some species were known to be surprisingly friendly toward humans.

[Ding! Ding!]

[Side Mission Activated: Friendship Is the Key!]

[Goal: Become friends with the shark beastmen!]

[Reward: Rare Rainbow Pearl — Effect: Allows the Host to permanently become part of the ocean creatures.]

[Note: Can only be activated if the Host remains underwater in saltwater for more than three minutes.]

Wait, what? Become part of the ocean creatures permanently?

[Does that mean I can become a mermaid?] Roxanna thought. [Wait, that’s not even the most important thing I should be thinking about right now!]

[How the hell am I supposed to become friends with those shark beastmen?! They might be some of the rebels who killed Azul’s family!]

The moment her husbands heard her thoughts, they immediately exchanged glances. Part of them wanted to help their wife complete her mission, but at the same time, they were not sure whether those people were the right ones to help.

"Caspian, hang on!" one of the shark beastmen suddenly shouted. He looked incredibly pale and worried. "You have to stay awake until we find Helga!"

Right between the two shark beastmen, a man could be seen severely injured. His stomach had been pierced by a spear. Although the ends of the spear had been cut off, the section lodged in his abdomen was still there.

"It’s no use," Caspian said weakly. "I... I probably don’t have much time left." His face gradually grew paler and paler as he continued, "At least we succeeded in taking back the crown, so once our Prince returns, we... we..."

"Stop talking!" the other shark beastman snapped. "You’ll die even faster if you keep wasting your strength by talking!"

Meanwhile, on the other side, Azul watched them with an unreadable expression. For some reason, he felt as though they were not strangers.

"Caspian..." he murmured under his breath, looking as if he were trying to recall that name from his memories.

"Azul," Roxanna asked softly, "do you recognize them?"

Azul took a deep breath before replying softly, "I’m not sure, but... maybe I know them."

"Caspian! Caspian!"

The shark beastmen were growing more and more panicked as their friend’s eyes slowly began to close.

"Hey! Stay awake!"

"Don’t die on us yet!"

Roxanna’s heart tightened at the sight. She quickly turned to Azul. "If they really are your friends, then I’ll help him," she said. "But you have to be sure."

After all, she didn’t want to accidentally save someone who had once hurt Azul or his family.

Azul fell silent. His teeth clenched tightly, and his hand gripped the rock beside him so hard that his fingers trembled.

His eyes moved from the injured Caspian, to the other shark beastmen, and then finally to Roxanna.

"Azul," Roxanna called softly again. There was urgency in her voice now. "I need your answer right now. If he dies, I probably won’t be able to save him anymore."

Azul’s chest tightened. He wanted to remember, he desperately wanted to remember, but every memory felt trapped behind a thick fog.

The harder he tried to reach for it, the further it seemed to slip away. Still, he couldn’t take his eyes off Caspian.

Something deep inside him kept telling him that this man wasn’t a stranger.

That voice was faint, but it was there and for some reason, it made his heart ache.

"Yes," Azul said at last. Although there was still uncertainty in his eyes, the conviction in his heart was stronger. "I want you to help him." There was a hint of desperation in his voice as he made the request.

"Please," he added softly.

The moment those words left his mouth, Roxanna nodded. Without wasting another second, she grabbed Azul’s wrist and pulled him out from behind the large rock.

"You there!" Roxanna shouted.

The shark beastmen immediately froze. Several of them turned around at once, their expressions filled with shock and caution.

Roxanna honestly had no idea how it worked, but whenever she wanted to talk to someone, her thoughts would automatically be sent to them through telepathy.

"Who are you?!" one of the shark beastmen demanded as he swam in front of the injured Caspian.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. The others quickly moved into defensive positions, even with Caspian bleeding heavily behind them, they still looked ready to fight.

Roxanna was about to tell them that she wasn’t an enemy, but it seemed she didn’t need to. The moment the shark beastmen saw Azul standing behind her, tears immediately filled their eyes.

"P-Prince Azul!" One of them broke down on the spot. "Your Highness, you’re back!" His voice cracked with emotion as tears streamed down his face.

The shout seemed to hit everyone at once.

"P-Prince Azul!"

"Your Highness!"

"It’s really him!"

The shark beastmen stared at Azul as if they couldn’t believe their own eyes. Then, one after another, they lowered their heads.

Some were crying openly. Others simply stood there trembling. The man who had called out first wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"We heard that you had gone to a safe place for a while, but... but after all these years..." He paused as his voice grew increasingly hoarse. "We thought... we thought you were dead."

The man’s shoulders trembled.

For years, they had waited for him, for years, they had hoped, and for years, they had prepared themselves for the possibility that Prince Azul would never return.

But here he was, standing right in front of them.

Azul didn’t know what to say. The raw emotions in the shark beastmen’s eyes made his chest feel strangely heavy.

Although his memories were still blurry, he was finally starting to remember them, even if only a little.

"Tian," Azul said to the shark beastman who was still holding onto Caspian. "I remember you."

Tian froze. His eyes widened in disbelief before tears immediately filled them again.

"Y-Your Highness..."

Azul then turned toward the others. There were five of them, and somehow, their names finally began to surface from the depths of his memories.

"Orion." The older shark beastman stiffened.

"Darius." The man who had been gripping his spear lowered it immediately.

"Heron."

"Bion."

"And Caspian."

After hearing their names from Azul’s lips, the shark beastmen broke down even harder.

"Your Highness!" Orion covered half of his face as he desperately tried to hold back his tears.

"As expected, you would never forget your soldiers!"

Azul opened his mouth, wanting to say something. But before he could, a weak cough interrupted him. "Your Highness..."

Everyone immediately turned toward Caspian. His eyes had opened again, though only slightly. His face was pale, and every breath seemed to take all of his remaining strength. Still, he forced a small smile onto his face.

"I knew it..." he said weakly. "I knew... you would come back."

"Caspian!" Orion immediately scolded him. "I told you to stop talking!"

But despite his harsh tone, his eyes were filled with worry.

Roxanna knew the reunion was emotional and she knew everyone had waited years for this moment, but Caspian was running out of time.

"Let me heal him," she said at last. "I can save him."

Orion turned toward her again. A deep frown appeared on his face. Until now, he had been too distracted by Azul’s return to question who she was.

But before he could ask, Azul spoke first. "She is my wife, Roxanna."

Every shark beastman froz in place, even Caspian, who had been hovering on the edge of death moments ago, suddenly looked as if his soul had been dragged back into his body.

"WIFE?!"

The entire group shouted at the same time.

"You have a wife?!"

"You?!"

The shock on their faces was so great that Roxanna almost forgot they had a dying man lying in front of them.

"You always rejected every beautiful beastwoman that approached you!"

"And now you’re married?!"

"Since when?!"

"How?!"

"Who managed to do it?!"

"A-Are you sure you’re our Prince Azul?" Darius asked carefully.

"Our Prince used to run away whenever someone tried to introduce him to a potential mate."

"Didn’t you once climb out of a palace window to avoid a blind date?"

"And didn’t you hide in the royal library for three days?"

"Wait, I thought it was five days."

"It was five days," Azul suddenly corrected them.