CHAPTER 505: FOHL’S STRUGGLES

The jig is up, and even if Fohl and Alessa try to deny or escape, all of their words are heard by Mier directly from their mouth. As a result, the situation escalated. However, since Fohl only has a limited time to visit, he has to slip back again and go unnoticed, leaving behind Alessa to explain the situation. However, he promised that he would come back the next day, as he plans to come back to the farm and talk without the need for these night visits.

Instead of making the situation much more scandalous and disturbing the others, Alessa dragged her daughter back to the realm of the Harvest Goddess.

At that moment, the Harvest Goddess is already chuckling after seeing the end result of the night’s visits.

"Looks like hiding at night did not save you from keeping that secret. Stay still, right? You should have told poor Mier from the start. Just because she was a child doesn’t mean she would be too dumb to understand what is happening anyway," the Harvest Goddess said, floating in the air while currently hugging her pillow.

"You know the night visits, Harvest Goddess?" Alessa was surprised.

"And why wouldn’t I be? Considering that I am the owner of this realm and the only one who allows entry to those I deem to be possible to enter, every entry and exit of my realm is something I obviously have control over and knowledge of. Every nighttime, especially if the moon is bright outside, you sneak out of the realm and stay outside for quite some time before returning and sleeping with a big smile on your face. I may not be saying anything, nor did I confront you about it, but I knew. It’s just that Elaina decided to be the first one to confront you about it."

Alessa felt guilty about it, but there was nothing she could do about it. Then, Mier started to talk.

"I thought...I thought my dad was dead. Or if he isn’t dead, it was in a similar situation to Adelaide and Arthur’s father. So he was still alive, and he wasn’t in a bad relationship with you or anything...but why hide it from me?"

"It’s hard to explain..." Alessa is at a loss for words.

"It doesn’t matter if it is hard to explain, Mom! Please, I needed to know. Is that guy earlier, my real father?"

Reluctantly, Alessa nodded.

"But why hide it, Mom?! You know how I wanted to have a father as well. I was kind of jealous of Adelaide and Arthur since they can meet with their father, even though their parents are no longer together. They even have time to bond together like regular families that aren’t broken! I thought everything was the same, yet the truth wasn’t! You two were not at odds with each other, not pointing blades at each other’s throats or anything like that! Both of you are romantically attracted to one another, allowing the two of you to engage in loving embraces and kisses. And yet, you hid all of this from me, who also wanted to have a hug with my father!"

The Harvest Goddess intervenes and quickly grabs Mier as she is ready to lash out anytime. "Calm down, dear. Calm down and take deep breaths. Don’t fuel your anger too much, and although I am also in agreement that you have to also know your situation, you should also listen to your mother, as she also has a reason."

"Sorry," Mier calmed down for a bit, but she didn’t fully calm down. She just cooled a bit, but is ready to erupt again if she hears something from Alessa.

"I understood your outbursts, Mier. However, we have a big reason we have to do this, as it is the only way for you to live a regular life, away from the trouble that constantly hounds our family. In legal papers back in the Merfolk kingdom, Mier has never existed as a being. She was someone who did not exist in the records of the kingdom."

"I do not exist?" Mier was surprised.

"Only in name and legality, Mier. And that was due to the fact that we didn’t want you to be labeled as a sacrifice by the kingdom."

Mier was not expecting her Mother’s words. Sacrifice? Sacrifice for what?

"You must be wondering what kind of sacrifice, and why would that be involving you, and that is the main talk. It all started when I was still pregnant with you, and we are still not residents of the farm and living with the Harvest Goddess. I am still known as the Princess of the Merfolk kingdom, while you are the unborn princess. At that time, our kingdom ran on superstitious and dangerous beliefs. And back then, sacrifices were common and were done to ensure that the kingdom remained in prosperity."

"At that time, the sacrifice comes from the unborn children of the residents. Only one chosen unborn child will be chosen. However, at that time, the only one who was pregnant at that time was only me. And because of that, the sacrificial role was automatically assigned to you, my unborn child."

"But you are the princess, right? Wouldn’t the current king be supposed to stop that, as I am supposed to be royalty?" Mier frowned.

Alessa sighed. "I thought so too, Mier. But no. That wasn’t the case with your Grandfather, as he is the one who advocated for you to be sacrificed. He locked me in my room, and I was not able to escape until your Father decided to help me escape."

"Is Father a noble?" Mier asked.

Alessa smiled. "He isn’t. He was a mere commoner and our servant at that time. But I was attracted to him, and he was also attracted to me, and so, our love soon bloomed, which resulted in your creation. It’s all fun and colorful until your grandfather orders you to be sacrificed just to fulfill a stupid culture involving the death of an innocent just so the kingdom receives prosperity. Thanks to your father, we both managed to escape, but in exchange, Fohl, your father, was caught and used as a bargaining chip to come back, or he would die in prison. But your father refused to have you return to the kingdom and would rather die in your place."

The Harvest Goddess then chimed in. "That was the time when she was about to give birth to you, Mier. At that time, Alessa was unfamiliar with the surface and would have risked death there, but thanks to Elaina, who was at that time fishing on the sea, saw your Mother, rescued her, and gave her a home to stay in the meantime. And that resulted in you two living with me right now. Pretty neat, yes?"

Mier shook his head. "It doesn’t make sense! How is he still alive then? If he was supposed to have taken my place as a sacrifice?"

"It was a secret that your father used to escape, and soon enough, he managed to do so. He even survives various torture devices just to ensure he is good to go. And during those times, your grandfather managed to track me down on the farm, and if not for Adelaide’s grandparents and Elaina defending us until the very end, perhaps they would have forced me to sacrifice you in the name of their belief. You would have died by then."

"What happened?" Mier asked.

"Your Grandfather lost, of course, and they were forced to return empty-handed. But this time around, your father decided to take advantage of this and decided to throw the kingdom into chaos. I am not too familiar with what your father explained, but in short, he gained financial backing and power, which soon allowed him to be fully freed from prison and gain enough backing to get some control over the kingdom. By that time, your Grandfather lost to Elaina and was in hiding for a while, allowing your father to continue his work and make a solid establishment."

"But what is the connection with this and not telling me that my father is alive?"

Alessa sighed. "It was necessary. Someone other than the kingdom is willing to use you to destroy the position of your father and get rid of his position, and perhaps to recreate the sacrifice and have you remain as the sacrifice as usual. To protect you, he decided to take advantage of this matter and declared you a "nonexistent" person, which involves the tactic of "without acknowledging you as someone who lives through the situation." If he made sure that even he, himself, has no idea about you, many of the people there who are just watching Fohl will not be able to use you as a sacrifice, because you didn’t exist in the first place."

"But then you two have talked earlier that you are going to tell me something?"

Alessa smiled. "It seems that your Father, Fohl, had already overcome his adversary and is now related to keep you reinstated and reclaim what was rightfully yours."