"Are you sure there are beautiful ladies around here?" Ling asked his attendant Yang in a low voice, almost whispering.

"Yes, your highness. Water element shapeshifters are said to be beautiful creatures. This river is already a part of the Water Kingdom so there must be some water elementals here." The attendant answered. "If they truly are, I'm sure their mortal form is alluring."

"Hmm... I see. Okay, okay." The prince nods and looks satisfied. He's really into this plan they came up with.

Apparently, the two are out again. Like the same old custom, the Prince drags his attendant along to go in hunting. This time, the crown prince is not after pheasants or any other wild animals. At this moment, his highness' goal is to hunt a possible bride for him to present on his incoming birthday.

A few days after the incident they had involving Old Bao, Prince Ling pestered his poor attendant, Yang, to look for beautiful creatures that are fit to be the next queen of Earth Kingdom. It's not that hard of a task actually. Only if this mischievous prince will settle for the ladies around his age that dwells in the Eastern lands!

"Your highness, please do not get angry at me but are you really not going to settle with a woman who lives within the Earth Kingdom?" The poor attendant scratches his head. He asked this a few times before they arrived at where they are but Yang is still hoping that the mischievous prince changes his mind. He added, "We could have easily found a woman of good family background and arranged your marriage."

Even if the chosen woman personally doesn't like to be married to Prince Ling, that woman couldn't possibly disagree. Who will decline the riches of the royal family? Who will decline to be worshiped as the queen? Isn't it every young girl's dream to be married to a prince charming? Except Prince Ling is a troublemaker, he's basically a prince charming. He has the good looks, has the wealth, has the skills in swordsmanship, and could provide a sense of safety.

"..." The prince is silent for a while. He looks like he's thinking about it all over again. Yang patiently and hopefully waits for his master's response only to receive a stern answer of "No."

His highness' stubbornness made the subordinate silently let out a sigh of frustration.

Unfortunately, the prince wanted to have a bride that's uncommon to their region. And so, the attendant couldn't find any solution but to recommend looking for a possible bride beyond their territory. That leads them to advance in the borders of the Earth Kingdom and the Water Kingdom of the Southern lands right after the sunset. And to avoid commotion, they are sneaking to come close to the river that divides the two kingdoms. As of the moment, they are hiding behind the bushes.

Why the Water Kingdom? Because it was said that they are the most beautiful creatures in the entire realm of the shapeshifters. It's just all hearsay though, no proof at all. The water elementals are quite the eccentric ones after all. They prefer to isolate themselves away from other Kingdoms. For the past eight hundred years, they are living in silence and no one is known to have seen them during the span of time. Well, except for the Earth Immortal who saw the Water Deity two decades ago. His majesty didn't mention his encounter with the water elemental so everyone in their kingdom thinks that no one of them who still lives up until today sees a shapeshifter of the waters yet.

Even with those things given, our mischievous prince is hoping to "bring" one of them to his residential hall. The rumors about them make him even more interested and eager. He can already see himself being praised for coming home with water elemental.

"Worry not, Yang. You will not be disappointed." The prince proudly laughs. "We are not going home empty-handed.

Sure enough, after about an hour of waiting, a water nymph has risen from the waters, exposing its appearance until below the shoulder. The long ends of its snow-white hair float on the surface of the water. Its long lashes with the same color as its hair slightly trembled as it slowly opens its eyes, revealing icy-blue irises. The upper half of its body is in its mortal form, however, the other half is a long white tail, similar to that of a dragon's tail that only exists in myths. Its scales seemingly shining under the moonlight. Truly a breathtaking sight. But there's one more thing about this creature, the nymph has a couple of short horns on its forehead. If one stares at it for long enough, one could tell that it was cut with a sharp edge.

"Wow." Prince Ling gasps out of awe. He's at a loss for words. This is the first time he saw such a mesmerizing creature.

It's amazing how this water nymph can attract anyone's attention without even trying. Just its very existence is enough to catch one's eyes. The more one stares at it, the more one will get drawn to it... slowly being dragged by the mud of selfishness and greed.

"That must be a water element shapeshifter. What do you think, your highness?" Even Yang, who is completely clueless about romance thinks he'll fall for this beautiful creature if he stares long enough.

"Beautiful." It was at this moment that the crown prince knew he found the one... or so he thought.

A mischievous grin slowly formed on his lips. The only thing he's thinking of is that he wants this nymph and he will make this beautiful creature his. For sure, his father would be so proud of him for bringing such a gorgeous bride. The people of his kingdom will be jealous of him for having such a beautiful foreign wife. And those who rejected his good looks will regret declining his love offer.

"But we have to plan how to make them say yes to you, your highness," Yang said in a cautious manner. "They haven't made an appearance for the past hundreds of years so we don't have any idea about their temperance, as well as what pleases them."

"They don't necessarily have to agree." Ling casually responds.

Confused, Yang slightly tilted his head sidewards, "What does his highness mean? Don't you want a bride? Why don't you need them to agree?" And then he realizes something which made his eyes open wider. "Oh no. Don't tell me your highness is plotting to..."

"Prepare yourself, Yang." The prince slowly turns his head to face his subordinate with a wide mischievous grin. "We're going to catch that fish."

"Catch? What fish? You mean her?"

Instead of giving his attendant a response, nor giving him an idea of what he's planning to do beforehand, Ling suddenly leaps over the bushes and sprinted towards the direction of the water nymph.

"Your highness?!" Yang almost fainted when his master run all the way to the river bank and hopped. This is clearly trespassing, and most probably will result in kidnapping too! Yang is torn between running away and pulling the prince and sprinting away from the area.

Splash!

The once calm waters and tranquil flow of the current have now become troubled. The nymph didn't expect anything like this to happen and got caught off-guard. It only managed to pull and wear its robes on. The prince is too agile and easily got the target but it's resisting. Surprisingly, the nymph is a lot stronger than he expected despite its slender body.

"Yang! Quick! Hold her down!"

"Waaaah... Your highness, this is very wrong!" Yang exclaimed but runs toward them to help anyway. The attendant holds the nymph's wrist against its back. Meanwhile, the prince took grounded herbs from his pocket and sprinkles them on the nymph's face, making it slowly lose its consciousness. The herb isn't poisonous. It just made the patient who sniffs it feel numb and lose consciousness for quite some time.

"Ah! You have that with you this whole time?! So this is your highness' plan in the very first place?!" This discovery made Yang feel so weak. He just got himself involved in a crime! "This is kidnapping, your highness! Let's just leave and let this nymph be. I don't think she saw our faces so..."

By the time the crown prince confirmed that the helpless water elemental got sent into the Dream Realm, Ling carried the nymph on his shoulder and got out of the river.

"Naah. It's fine. She'll agree to our marriage. I'm a crown prince after all! All the girls in our kingdom would like to be in her place." Ling proudly says without a clue that no one in the entirety of the Eastern Region would like to marry him. "I just need to show my father what I am capable of. Even if he won't tell me, I know he's mocking me for living my 20 long years yet still without a lover."

Yang, who's still obediently following him, silently let out a sigh. "I'm sure this is not what his majesty would look forward for you to do!"

"Hush. You're so noisy!"