Transmigrated Into a Scummy Alpha Who Stole the Male Lead's Mermaid Fiancée - Chapter 8

“You went to Swan Lake this afternoon. What were you doing there?” That evening, when Jenny came to help Yu Ke change her clothes, she asked.

Yu Ke didn’t let her assist. Standing before the mirror, she took off her coat and handed it to Jenny, her tone indifferent as she replied, “Is there something wrong with that?”

“You’ve never done that before,” Jenny said coldly, holding Yu Ke’s coat in the crook of her arm. “In the past, you showed no interest in them and wouldn’t attend their tea parties unless it benefited you in some way.”

Curious, Yu Ke turned to look at her. “And what do you think? What’s your take on the changes in me over the past two days?”

Jenny’s eyes flickered, but her tone remained icy. “I don’t care about that.”

Yu Ke raised an eyebrow, following her lead. “Then what do you care about?”

“I have absolutely no interest in your personal feelings, Princess,” Jenny said, her gaze fixed on Yu Ke. “Whether you fancy the Mermaid Princess or Prince Yado, as long as you can win them over and use them to ascend to the throne of King Ferrari, I will support you.”

Just as Yu Ke had suspected.

She had initially worried that, as her personal maid, Jenny would be the first to suspect that she was no longer the same person. But after investigating Jenny’s background, Yu Ke’s perspective shifted. Jenny’s story was a tragic one, she had been bound to the original Yu Ke by a lie!

Her real name was Jenny Kabel, the only daughter of the Duke of Bedford from the planet Green Water.

Fourteen years ago, Green Water was invaded by a notorious interstellar pirate organization. After six years of colonial plunder, the planet was forced to disintegrate. By then, few of its original inhabitants had survived. Jenny was abducted and sold by traffickers three times before finally ending up in Yu Ke’s hands.

The original Yu Ke had purchased her for her Kabel family heritage. It was said that women of this family could awaken psychic abilities powerful enough to control others’ thoughts and uncover their deepest secrets.

Jenny had indeed lived up to those expectations. Over the years, she had served the original Yu Ke as a maid while gathering intelligence and even manipulating others’ minds.

For instance, Jenny had repeatedly manipulated Yu Jie, instilling in him vile thoughts about the Princess of Panda Planet, making it easier for Yu Ke to frame him for atrocities committed against Lan Xing.

She had given her all to help the original Yu Ke ascend to the throne of King Ferrari, all because of the promise made to her when she was purchased:

“Once I become King Ferrari, I will dispatch troops to crush those pirates and avenge the destruction of your clan.”

This explained why Jenny was indifferent to Yu Ke’s recent changes and cared only about whether she could successfully claim the throne.

In the original story, Jenny spent her entire life waiting for that promise to be fulfilled. Yet, even after the original Yu Ke became King of Ferrari, she never honored her word. Instead, she sent Jenny to the guillotine.

Yu Ke sighed softly. She wondered how many others the original Yu Ke had deceived with such empty promises to serve her own interests. It was a legacy of wickedness.

She could no longer keep Jenny bound to her with false hopes.

Yu Ke studied the girl standing before her, who was half a head shorter, and said, “Jenny, you should leave.”

Jenny froze, not quite understanding.

Yu Ke gazed at her, enunciating each word clearly: “I may never ascend to the throne. You should leave me and go to Yu Jie or the Queen. At least they won’t let you down.”

Jenny: “…”

She abruptly lifted her head, her dark, bright round eyes instantly welling up with tears. Shocked, she said, “Your… Your Highness, are you casting me aside?”

Yu Ke moistened her throat and replied, “Staying by my side is a waste of your time. I can no longer fulfill the promises I made back then.”

“No, Your Highness, you mustn’t give up!” Jenny dropped to her knees with a thud, panting as she spoke. “You are the second in line for the throne. If we find a way to eliminate the Crown Prince, you will surely become the queen!”

“That’s not the issue,” Yu Ke said, her heart aching as she looked at Jenny’s distraught expression. “Jenny, I no longer wish to contend for the throne with the Crown Prince. I don’t need you anymore. Do you understand?”

“I can kill the Crown Prince. I can perish together with him,” Jenny lifted her face, her features twisted from extreme tension as she forced a smile. “Please don’t give up on the throne, alright?”

“Do you think that if you perish with the Crown Prince, I will lead an expedition against those pirates and avenge your people?” Yu Ke said cruelly. “I won’t, Jenny. Aren’t you supposed to be able to see into people’s hearts? Why haven’t you realized this all along?”

Jenny was stunned.

Yu Ke looked at her coldly and said, “In truth, you aren’t even upset, are you? It was you who informed the Queen about me and Lan Xing, wasn’t it?”

A succession of emotions: shock, disbelief, shame, confusion, and helplessness, flashed across Jenny’s face. She slowly lowered her head and whispered, “I was thinking of your best interests…”

“Don’t bother,” Yu Ke said. “Since you’ve already been in contact with the Queen behind my back, there’s no need to pretend to be loyal to me. Starting tomorrow, you no longer need to serve me.”

After a long pause, Jenny kowtowed once and quietly left.

She didn’t know exactly what she was feeling. At that moment, what troubled her most wasn’t the hopelessness of revenge, but the fact that the Princess no longer wanted her.

She found it strange, her heart felt as if something were stuck inside, causing waves of discomfort.

…

After Jenny left, Yu Ke sat at her desk and spent some time researching information about the pirates from that year. Before long, she became engrossed in a piece of news about the mermaid tribe. After browsing through hundreds of articles, she typed into the search bar: “Mermaid tail color.”

She scoured related websites, but nowhere did she find any mention of “mermaid tail color being related to chastity.”

Had Lan Xing lied to her back then?

Yu Ke pondered this endlessly, staying up all night before finally falling asleep. In her dreams, she saw Lan Xing again, the two of them sitting on a swing beneath a willow tree, swaying back and forth.

The next day, Yu Ke still didn’t allow anyone to attend to her. She changed into simple attire, basked in the sun in the courtyard, and fed the golden retriever.

The little golden retriever had a short memory and was no longer afraid of Yu Ke. It began wagging its tail and following her around everywhere.

Wasn’t this kind of peaceful life far more comfortable than palace intrigue?

She dozed off in the reclining chair and was awakened by the sound of an argument outside the courtyard.

“Sister A’Ke doesn’t want you anymore. Why are you still wearing those clothes?”

“You’re glaring at me? How dare you glare at me? Do you even know who I am?”

Amidst the crisp sound of slaps, the man’s voice, shrill and sharp, spat out, “Look at your fierce, ugly face! No wonder Sister A’Ke cast you aside. You deserve it!”

“You don’t even realize, you’re almost an adult, yet you still haven’t differentiated your gender. With your attitude, you’ll be a Beta for life!”

Another slap was about to land. Jenny hung her head, taking a sharp breath.

But the expected pain never came. Instead, she caught a faint scent of mint. Looking up, she saw the Princess, dressed in a champagne-colored tracksuit, standing protectively in front of her. The Princess raised her hand and effortlessly caught Prince Ram’s wrist as he swung it down.

“Princess…”

“A… A’Ke, sister?!” Prince Ram pulled his hand back, rubbing his sore wrist, tears welling in his eyes as he whined, “You’re so mean!”

“When you hit someone, did you ever stop to think how ugly and cruel you look?” Yu Ke said coldly.

“…” Ram opened his mouth in shock. “Sister, I was just teaching her a lesson for you…”

“It’s not your place to teach anyone a lesson!” Yu Ke snapped. “Get lost!”

Ram’s face flushed with anger, turning pale and then red again. Muttering curses under his breath, he stormed off.

Yu Ke turned to Jenny, unsure how to approach her. But before she could speak, Jenny blurted out, “Your Highness, forgive me, but I must remind you, what you just did was incredibly foolish! You’ve completely offended Prince Ram!”

“So what?” Yu Ke replied nonchalantly.

“You have no idea how grave your mistake is!” Jennys face flushed with frustration. “Prince Ram! You could have used him to gain the support of the Yado Kingdom!”

“He was only hitting me, not trying to kill me. Yet you’ve thrown away your future for this!”

“Princess! Your actions are utterly incomprehensible to me. I suggest you go apologize to him right now!”

“Impossible. That so-called Prince Ram is nothing but a pathetic fool,” Yu Ke said, frowning slightly as she noticed the bruises on Jenny’s face. “Any man who hits a woman is trash.”

“You’re too impulsive!” Jenny took a deep, exasperated breath. “Prince Ram will complain to the King. You’ll lose all support from the factions. You’ll be exiled!”

“Go get some ointment for your wounds. I won’t send you away immediately, not until you’ve found somewhere else to go,” Yu Ke said gently, as if she hadn’t heard a word Jenny said.

Jenny felt her composure shatter. She turned and ran off, wiping her face with her hand, only to find her cheeks wet with tears.

Strange… even when the Princess had dismissed her yesterday, she hadn’t shed a tear.

It was as if the Princess had become a different person. And yet… Jenny found herself starting to like her.