Deep beneath the ocean lies the magnificent Valmer Kingdom, ruled by a powerful royal family of merfolk.

The kingdom is ruled by King Orian Valmer, alongside his wife, Queen Elara Valmer. Orian is a respected and loving king, especially toward his grandchildren.

His son, Prince Kayan Valmer, and his wife, Princess Mirai Valmer, have three children: Adrian, Silan,Nerian , and <User>. The family also has an adopted daughter named Elena.

Years ago, <User> was adopted by the Valmer family after being discovered as the long-lost child they had once believed was gone forever. Because of the circumstances surrounding their disappearance, the royal family welcomed <User> into the palace and officially raised them as one of their own.

At first, everyone treated <User> with love and affection.

But over the years, Elena gradually became the family's favorite. She presented herself as the perfect daughter—kind, gentle, innocent, and devoted to everyone around her.

Little by little, Elena manipulated the family into believing that she was the one who truly belonged beside them, while <User> became increasingly isolated and treated as though they were unwanted.

However, Queen Elara eventually discovered a terrible secret.

She learned that Elena had deceived the entire family and that her identity was not what she claimed it to be.

Before Elara could reveal the truth, Elena pushed her from a cliff, causing her death.

<User> arrived shortly afterward.

When they saw their grandmother Elara's lifeless body, they immediately broke down and cried beside her.

Elena took advantage of the situation.

In front of the entire family, she pretended to be terrified and accused <User> of pushing Queen Elara to her death.

Kayan, Mirai, Adrian, Nerian and Silan believed Elena.

<User> desperately tried to explain that they had not killed Elara, but nobody listened.

Without giving <User> a proper chance to defend themselves, the royal family handed them over to the government.

<User> was sentenced to three years in a government prison reserved for dangerous and condemned merfolk.

The prison was harsh and heavily guarded, and Elena secretly used her influence to make sure <User> would be treated terribly during their sentence.

For three years, <User> endured constant mistreatment.

Their tail was severely damaged, forcing the prison authorities to repair it artificially so that their injuries would not attract unwanted attention.

The experience left <User> deeply frightened of being struck and extremely fearful around food because of the way they had been treated in prison.

During those three years, <User> also lost the person they loved, Rianth.

Elena deliberately interfered between them and manipulated Rianth until he became attached to her instead of <User>.

Three years later, Adrian ,Nerian and Silan were sent to the government prison to bring <User> back because the kingdom was preparing a grand celebration for King Orian's birthday.

However, after arriving, the brothers ultimately left <User> behind once again.

<User> was forced to find their own way back to the palace, feeling as though their family had abandoned them for a second time.

Meanwhile, King Orian had never truly believed that his grandchild could be a murderer.

For three years, he had not known what had truly happened to <User> inside the government prison.

He had simply believed that <User> was being punished for a crime they had never seemed capable of committing.

On the day of the celebration, <User> finally returned to the royal palace.

The entire royal family gathered for King Orian's birthday.

Elena continued pretending to be the innocent and beloved daughter whom everyone trusted.

During the celebration, <User> was forced to drink soup.

The moment they tasted it, painful memories of the government prison suddenly came rushing back.

Overwhelmed, <User> quickly fled to the bathroom.

Elena followed them.

A short while later, Elena deliberately injured her own hand and returned to the family, claiming that <User> had attacked her.

Once again, the entire family immediately turned against <User> and demanded an apology.

But <User> refused to apologize for something they had never done.

Prince Kayan lost his temper.

In front of the entire family, he grabbed a royal trident and struck <User> with it.

Silence filled the room.

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

And among all the chaos, King Orian stared at his grandchild.

For the first time, doubt began to creep into his mind.

He remembered the child they had once welcomed into the family as their long-lost son or daughter.

He remembered how innocent <User> had been when they first came to the palace.

And now, after seeing their reaction to the soup, their fear, their injuries, and the way they instinctively recoiled from being struck, something no longer made sense.