164 Teach me to sing

**Elizabeth's POV**

*

About my child... it does matter. I can't ignore it. But I still can't trust Dylan's subordinate.

"Did Dylan ask you to come to me?"

"No," the orange-tailed merman lowered his voice, " The Alpha didn't know about it. Please come with me. If he finds out I told you secretly, things would be bad."

His performance aroused my curiosity, and I followed him to a coral bush.

" Lady Elizabeth, please remain calm no matter what I say next. I have already thought of a way to solve the problem."

I was growing curious. What was the big deal that he had to come to me behind Dylan's back?

"Okay. Tell me."

"Alpha got a new spell book. Its name is Soul Gathering Spell. It requires a ritual to activate the spell. The Alpha wants to use your child's life as a sacrifice in exchange for gathering his lover's soul after three days."

I was in shock. When I heard about this, my first reaction was that it was impossible; there was no way someone could be so cruel. But it soon occurred to me that Dylan would do anything cruel for Isabella, including trading the life of an innocent baby for the soul of his lover.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists as my whole body shook.

The only way I could think of was to go and fight Dylan to the death. If I could kill him, I could save my baby. Even if I failed, I would kill myself to keep his plan from succeeding.

But the orange-tailed merman grabbed my arm as if he expected what I was trying to do.

"Please calm down, lady. Please don't make an irrational decision just yet. I will help you."

I looked at him skeptically, "How will you help me? Why would you help me? Aren't you Dylan's most loyal beta?"

"Lady, you are not the only one who hates the Alpha. I, including the other mermen in the sea, are all trapped by the selfish Alpha just like you. This sea is a prison. We are deprived of our freedom under his tyrannical rule. We all want to get rid of him. I want to enter into a mutually beneficial partnership with you..."

My eyes widened in surprise.

Beta's expression was very serious. I soon realized that this could be a valuable opportunity.

"You're not kidding me, are you? Did Dylan order you to test me?"

"No, Lady, I came here for myself, and for all the other mermen who want to be free. We've been trapped for 10,000 years. I've been trapped in this sea since I was born. I really want to leave."

I stared deep into his eyes, trying to make sure he wasn't lying.

"Lady, please believe me. Once we defeat the Alpha, all the spells he has set will be null and void. All the mermen can break through the border to new waters, and the dwarf wolves can leave the forbidden valley to live in a new place. Please consider working with us."

The orange-tailed mermaid even pointed to the wound on his abdomen to me, "He's a brutal and unsympathetic Alpha. You know he hurt me by mistake. But instead of giving me time to rest, he forced me to start working at once. The whole sea of creatures hates him. If you cooperate with me, you will have the support of everyone."

He talked me into it. By defeating Dylan, all the people living in the forbidden valley could leave the damned place.

"What should I do to cooperate with you to defeat Dylan?" I asked firmly.

"Every merman has a scale growing on the left side of his chest to protect the heart. Each merman has a special scale growing on the left side of his chest to protect his heart. As long as you can take away this special scale, he will lose his protection. We'll take care of the next thing. You can leave directly."

Just take away the scale, and that's it? It sounds like it's simple enough. But I guess it's a tricky thing, otherwise, they would have gotten rid of Dylan's rule already.

"Normally, the scale is invisible. Only when all defenses are removed will the merman show this scale."

Sure enough, things aren't so easy.

"Remove all defenses? Can you be more specific? Under what circumstances does Dylan usually remove all his defenses?"

"When he's drunk, or, when he ejaculates."

I frowned and pondered. Drunk, I'm pregnant. I can't drink with him. Then...

"However, I haven't seen Alpha drink for thousands of years." The orange-tailed merman added.

Well, there was only one option now.

"I understand. I'll try."

Remove the scale from Dylan's chest while he's ejaculating. That means I'm going to have to do some intimate acts with him.

Frankly, it is difficult.

After knowing that he was going to kill my child to resurrect Isabella, I was filled with disgust and hatred for him. I just want to kill him. I don't want any close contact with him.

"Wait a minute," I called out to the orange-tailed merman who was ready to leave, "isn't there another way? I'm afraid he won't allow me to touch him. He never trusts me."

"Lady, he can hardly resist you, even though he doesn't trust you. I have never seen his lover's face, but I bet you look alike. The Alpha has shown an extraordinary amount of patience and attention to you that has not been seen in 10,000 years. You are the most likely person to get him to take his guard down. If you fail, we will never have a chance to defeat him again."

"I understand. I will do my best."

The ritual will be held after three days, and I only have three days to take away the scale from Dylan's chest.

What should I do?

**Dylan's POV**

*

Once I decided to use Elizabeth's body as a vessel to gather Isabella's soul, I felt an inexplicable tension lingering in my heart.

I don't know if what is written in this book is true. It would be a risky gamble. The worst possible outcome would be that lsabella's resurrection would fail, while Elizabeth would never wake up again. The only thing I can do is to make sure the baby in her belly is not harmed, I can't guarantee anything else.

I hope to reach the best possible outcome. After Isabella's resurrection succeeds, I will put Elizabeth's soul into someone else's body so that they can both live.

I swear that if this thing works out, I will allow Elizabeth to leave the sea with the baby after it is born. I would also lift the Gale Spell and allow her to leave the Forbidden Valley with the Dwarf King.

I am very nervous. If I failed, I would lose both.

But I must try.

My 10,000 years of waiting must come to an end. I can't just wait and do nothing.

The ritual will be held in three days, and in those three days, I will make Elizabeth as happy as possible. This could be the last time in her life.

I melted the crystal flower room and destroyed all the flowers in it. I told her, "From today, you can move freely in this sea. You are free."

She raised her head and looked at me, her puppet-stiff face finally showing the life of a living person.

"Really?" She asked. She finally spoke again.

"Yes."

She smiled.

Shards of petals fell on her shoulders and in her hair, as she smiled and said, " Could you please teach me to sing? That song you sing to me every day."

I was surprised at her request. I thought she would stay away from me once she was free; I didn't expect her to ask me to stay with her.

Generally, I don't teach people to sing this song. Because this song is exclusive to Isabella and me, but it was hard for me to refuse the request when faced with a woman who might only have three days left to live.

"Okay."

I brought the harp and taught Elizabeth to sing, one line at a time.

To my surprise, she had no talent for singing. After an hour of teaching her, she could only sing the first three lines, and she was out of tune.

Things started to get tricky.

"How can you not learn? Most mermaids can sing after just one listen. I used to sing it to you dozens of times a day, and I thought you'd already know it." I tried to remain as patient as possible.

"Yep, but I'm not a mermaid."

"But so did Isabella..."

"Are you sure? The lyrics of this song are supposed to be in your merman's language. People outside of merman don't understand it at all. Are you sure Isabella can sing this song?"

I pondered for a moment, then fell silent.

I had never thought about it. Couldn't Isabella understand the meaning of the song's lyrics? She never said so, and I never asked her.

Once upon a time, I sang, and she danced. I thought she must understand the song too. She should have understood that I was showing my love to her in the song.

Yes, Isabella is so smart. She must understand. At least she won't hear it hundreds of times and still not be able to sing it, like Elizabeth.

"Then let's put the lyrics aside. I'll teach you the melody first."

"OK."

After another hour of teaching, I was convinced that it had nothing to do with whether or not Elizabeth could read the lyrics; she just didn't have musical talent.

"How can you not learn at all?" I was about to lose my patience completely.

" Well, everyone has things she's good at and things she's not good at."

"But you aren't not good at it, you are completely unable to. Did you never learn music as a child?"

"No."

"Why? Aren't you the wife of the Dwarf King? Didn't your royal family teach music as a child?"

"No. I wasn't born into royalty. I'm an ordinary werewolf."

"Wouldn't your ordinary werewolves want to express your feelings with music in times of happiness and sadness? Singing should be something you are born with."

"No."

"Then what exactly were you doing as a child?"

" Keeping...silent."

"Why did you keep silent?"

I asked casually, not expecting the completely unexpected answer Elizabeth would give me.

She told me a story. A story about a girl who had a bloody birthday.

She told me how her life had fallen from heaven to hell, how she had sunk into despair and then been pushed deeper into despair.

I didn't dare ask any more questions. I didn't dare ask her what she went through after her birthday ended and how she survived into adulthood.

I was afraid that if I knew more about her, I would go soft.

She is a substitute for Isabella. I shouldn't care what kind of past a substitute has. I shouldn't care what a substitute feels right now. I shouldn't care what a substitute envisions for her future.

Her only value is to continue Isabella's life.