Chapter 1: Salt and Scales

Salt stings my eyes as I float in the shadows, tail trembling. Above me, the villain waits—brooding, not yet a dragon, but dangerous all the same. My heart is pounding so hard I can almost hear it echo in the water. If I mess up, there’s no telling what the system will do.

The system wants me to bully the villain—Derek—who hasn’t sprouted wings or fire yet, but already looks like trouble. I swim up to him, my nerves jangling, and smack his face with my tail.

"Jerk. Seriously, you need therapy."

The system’s voice crackles in my head, like a podcast host who’s had too much cold brew: Be bold! Yell at him! Hit him harder!

Later, he’ll transform into a dragon and rule all four oceans. Right now, he pins my tail with a dragon claw, his voice rough and low. "Not enough? You want more?"

---

The true dragon has been dead for years, and now the merfolk rule the four oceans. But not long ago, General Derek, once loyal to the merfolk, suddenly grew dragon scales. Dad tossed him in the water prison without a second thought. Last time I’d seen Dad this angry, he’d thrown a royal advisor into the kelp beds. My stomach knots. What if Derek hates me forever?

I’m the beautiful, villainous mermaid princess now. The system sends me to the water prison to rip the dragon scale off Derek’s chest.

I’m slowly swimming toward the water prison, the system nagging in my head. "Come on, even the jellyfish next to you are moving faster. Why are you already crying after just a few words? Geez, tears everywhere!"

"You’re so detailed with your sadness—hurry up and scoop those tears up with your dress. Finish this quest, revive back in the real world, and you could open a jewelry store."

I clutch a handful of pearls, panting, finally making it to the water prison. The cool, salty current presses against my skin, and the prison looms like a rusted shipwreck—steel bars warped by age, barnacles clinging to every seam. My fingers are cold, the pearls slipping in my grip.

Derek is tied up in the center of the cell. His clothes are in tatters, stained with blood. He opens his eyes as I approach, a cold, fierce glint flashing in his gaze.

A shiver runs through me, like the chill after a swim meet in November. I get so scared I drop my pearls, scattering them everywhere.

The system is annoyed again. "I can’t even with you. If someone didn’t know better, they’d think you’re here to deliver a wedding gift. Forget it. Just follow the script and pull out the dragon scale on his chest. Can you do it?"

I sniffle, swallow my tears, clench my fist, and say, "I can."

The system sighs. "Hurry up. And remember to say something mean."

I clutch my sleeve, walk up to the male lead, and, shaking, recite the lines the system gave me: "Jerk, you think you deserve... dragon scales, Derek."

My voice cracks, the words barely making it past my lips.

The system nearly blows a gasket. "It’s Derek. Derek."

The system says it, I repeat it. "Derek. Derek."

...

After more than a dozen rounds, the system gives up. "Fine, Derek it is. Sounds humiliating anyway."

Derek eyes me, cold and guarded. "What’s the princess up to now? If you want to kill me, just do it."

His words snap in the water, echoing off the steel. I bite my lip, holding back tears, hand shaking as I reach for his chest.

"I want to pull out your heart-protecting scale. Is that okay?"

My touch makes Derek’s chest twitch, but he quickly steels himself. His jaw tightens, but his eyes flicker—pain, then something darker, like betrayal. He grits his teeth: "Let’s see if the princess has the guts."

His voice is all gravel and challenge, like a linebacker staring down the opposing team before the snap.