After Awakening as a Mermaid, I Became the Marshal's Darling

[A few chapters in all. Thank you to the angels who support the official version. Hugs!]

[Please add my ongoing novel, Hello, I Lost the Little Monster I Was Raising, to your favorites!]

Chi Shu has been expressionless since childhood, earning him the nickname Little Monster.

The day after he awakens as a merman, his biased parents kneel before him and beg him to become the marshal's guide, all to save his brilliant younger brother.

Li Yu, the Imperial Marshal and the most powerful sentinel, has long suffered from an unstable mental domain.

The planet where he lives is a forbidden zone in everyone's eyes.

Rumor has it that any merman who treats him ends up either insane or stupid.

Resolved to die if he must, Chi Shu carefully steps into the notoriously vicious sentinel's mental domain. But the treatment doesn't seem to go the way he expected.

Why does the marshal keep trying to take advantage of him?

*

"I-is that enough?"

Forced to put on a dress, Chi Shu blushes bright red and gazes pitifully at the towering demonic spirit entity before him.

The other man chuckles. "Just a little more."

The powerful sentinel draws the trembling little merman into his arms, carefully hiding the desire nearly overflowing in his eyes and the shadow writhing behind him.

He coaxes the guide he's teased until the corners of his eyes are red into giving him another kiss. "Just one more kiss, and we'll be done."

1. There are split-personality scenes early on.

A preview of my upcoming novel, Raising the Evil God’s Dark Persona

[The description is tentative: an extremely possessive evil god's dark persona as the pursuer x a law-abiding, self-proclaimed ordinary man as the host persona]

Xia Xingming has been unconscious in the hospital for three years. When he wakes up, he finds himself a sickly man burdened with massive debt who gets out of breath after running a few steps.

Even the world has become unfamiliar, with terrifying stories of the uncanny everywhere.

Xia Xingming: ...

Maybe I should just go back to sleep.

For some reason, the terrifying monsters and aberrant beings are automatically replaced by ordinary things in Xia Xingming's perception.

So every now and then, he thinks his coworkers are a little strange.

For example, his coworkers are on high alert around some small animals, trembling with fear.

Xia Xingming: I don't understand, but I respect that.jpg

Or, shortly after joining the company, he takes an inspection assignment. The subject is a somewhat chubby, gentle big dog. He completes the task with ease and submits the required recording.

His colleague, who was coordinating the task, silently watches the recording of the extremely well-behaved aberrant being, which cooperates when asked to have its height measured or use its abilities.

Then the colleague looks at the slender young man in shock. "Why was it so cooperative? Didn't it attack you?!"

"No. The dog was very well-behaved. Maybe you should bring some treats next time. Was there something wrong with the inspection procedure? Are you going to dock my pay?" Xia Xingming grows nervous, worried that his pay might be affected.

The others watching nearby: No! We can't do that! The big shot sure has unusual tastes. He calls a three-headed dog the size of an off-road vehicle a puppy.

Another time, he casually picks up a palm-sized little bird and brings it to the office. His coworkers let out a piercing scream and trigger a Level One alert.

His coworkers: Big shot, you can't just bring an A-rank aberrant being into the office building!

After this happens again and again, Xia Xingming can't help confiding in his partner and boyfriend. "Am I really that strange?"

His boyfriend looks surprised and rubs the back of his neck. "How could you be? They're making a fuss over nothing. I've never thought you were strange."

Xia Xingming: That kind of makes sense, but it still feels weird.

*

Aside from occasional minor differences in perception with his coworkers, Xia Xingming's life is pretty comfortable.

His part-time job pays well, and his boyfriend is tall, long-legged, and handsome. Most importantly, he has a wonderful voice.

He's just a little too clingy and jealous, and he keeps saying he wants to finish people off for good.

Xia Xingming patiently explains the law to him, hoping he'll be a good, law-abiding citizen just like him.

*

Much later, Xia Xingming is bound by an evil god, unable to move. The other has the same face as his boyfriend. Sharp teeth nibble at his neck as damp, cold, sticky dark-red shadows climb his ankle and slowly caress it. In a gentle voice, the other asks, "We're one and the same. Stay here with me forever, okay?"

Haha... So my boyfriend really is an evil god. No wonder he doesn't think I'm strange.

Also, how did I forget to explain to my boyfriend that unlawful confinement is against the law too?!

1. Neither the pursuer nor the protagonist is normal. The protagonist's worldview doesn't represent the author's (hands pressed together).

2. Narcissus romance. They look different. Don't read if that's not your thing.

Written on August 19, 2023.

Theme: Never give up on life, no matter what.