g that it was still early, he first went to his room to clean up and dress carefully before taking his place outside Nina’s door.

He had not seen her for so long.

He wanted to be the first person she saw when she woke up.

The moment Nina stepped outside, a blur rushed toward her.

Before she could react, strong arms wrapped tightly around her.

Nina laughed softly and patted his back.

“Dian, you’re back?”

Dian tightened his embrace.

“Nina, I’m back. I missed you so much.”

Every day beneath the sea, he had thought about her constantly.

“When did you return?” Nina asked. “Last night?”

“This morning.”

Nina studied him.

“Your merman pearl is fully restored now?”

Dian immediately brightened.

“It is. We can become mates right away.”

He loosened his hold slightly and gazed at her with sparkling eyes.

“How about tomorrow? I’ll finish kneeling on the durian before then, I promise.”

Truthfully, he wanted to say today.

But his punishment was not yet complete.

He wanted to become Nina’s mate as soon as possible.

The longer things were delayed, the more anxious he felt.

Noticing the exhaustion lingering beneath his eyes, Nina shook her head.

“The day after tomorrow.”

She smiled gently.

“You just got back. Rest today and finish your punishment properly.”

Because of everything involving Lex and his desperate efforts to restore his pearl, Dian truly had not rested much.

“Alright…”

Although disappointed, he obediently accepted her decision.

The day after tomorrow would work too.

It would give him more time to prepare.

“Go get some sleep,” Nina said.

Now that Dian had returned, they also needed to begin preparing for their departure to the next city.

“Okay.”

Dian reluctantly released her. He turned back to look at her every few steps as he walked away.

Nina could not help smiling.

Taking Aviel’s hand, she headed toward the dining hall.

Since she had spent the past several days constantly going out, she decided to stay home for the entire day.

Time passed quickly.

That evening, during dinner, Nina planned to announce that they would soon be leaving.

As everyone gradually took their seats, she glanced around the table.

Aside from Dian, whom she had just sent someone to fetch, everyone had arrived.

Everyone except Lex.

Thinking about it now, something felt strange.

For the past several days, Lex had barely left her side except when sleeping.

Yet today she had not seen him once.

Nina frowned slightly.

“Have any of you seen Lex?”

The mates exchanged looks before shaking their heads.

None of them had.

To be honest, they found it odd too. The fish who usually followed Nina everywhere had completely disappeared.

Not even a shadow of him remained.

Concern began to stir inside Nina.

Where exactly had Lex gone?

Then she remembered his strange behavior the previous night.

Could it be related to that?

After a moment, she decided to let it go for now.

If he returned later, she could tell him about their departure separately.

When Dian finally arrived, Nina announced that they would be leaving in approximately three days.

Everyone should begin preparing.

By then, Dian’s bonding ceremony would already be completed. They could rest for a day afterward and then continue their journey.

They had stayed in Sea Blue City for quite some time already.

None of the males objected.

After dinner, everyone dispersed to make preparations.

Dian, having rested enough, began serving his punishment and dutifully knelt on the durian.

He wanted to finish as quickly as possible, recover tomorrow, and be in perfect condition when he and Nina became mates the following day.

The other mates watched with poorly concealed satisfaction.

The scheming fish had finally gotten what was coming to him.

Back when Dian had been plotting and manipulating situations, he had caused them endless misery.

Aviel and several others felt especially vindicated.

If not for Dian’s schemes, they never would have spoken poorly of Nina and earned her displeasure.

The beating had not been the worst part.

The truly painful thing was the bad impression they had left on her.

Soon, their attention shifted toward Odian.

Among all of Nina’s mates, he was the only one who had never been punished.

The First Mate truly lived up to his title.

The others secretly thought that it would be wonderful if that arrogant phoenix made a mistake one day and ended up kneeling on a durian too.

After all, he was always watching their disasters unfold.

Why shouldn’t they get a turn?

Odian merely raised an eyebrow.

The disdain in his gaze was unmistakable.

Dream on.

The others snorted inwardly.

There was still plenty of time.

Sooner or later, everyone made mistakes.

The moment they found evidence against him, they would run straight to Nina.

Odian simply smiled.

If those idiots dared cause trouble, he would make sure they regretted it.

After watching the spectacle for a while longer, everyone gradually left.

Another day passed.

Still, there was no sign of Lex.

By now, Nina’s unease had grown into genuine worry.

Something felt wrong.

Calling the others over, she said, “Send people to look for him. I’m worried something may have happened.”

“Don’t worry,” Odian reassured her. “We’ll send people immediately. Lex is powerful. Nothing will happen to him.”

Finch nodded.

“This is Sea Blue City. There aren’t many who could harm him here.”

“I know,” Nina replied softly. “But let’s find him as soon as possible. He still doesn’t know we’re leaving.”

“We’ll take care of it,” Kith said. “You go rest. Leave Lex to us. We’ll tell you the moment we hear anything.”

Nina finally nodded.

Sal took her hand and led her back to her room.

Meanwhile, Dian completed his durian punishment. After Yanai treated his injuries, he returned to rest and prepare for the bonding ceremony.

The next day passed.

Despite searching for most of the day, they still found no trace of Lex.

Nina’s worry only deepened.

How could there be no news at all?

While searching, Kith happened to encounter Lani returning from the sea.

Naturally, he asked whether he knew where Lex had gone.

After a brief silence, Lani replied that he did.

Then he accompanied Kith back to the palace.