Interstellar Beast World: All My Husbands Are Powerful and Rich!-Chapter 147: The missing king

Meanwhile, in the Banquet Hall, the Empress Matriarch had just finished cutting the birthday cake when a member of the merfolk hurried quietly toward Vincent, his breathing uneven, eyes wide in fear.

"Your Highness... our king is missing."

The man kept his voice low, clearly afraid of disrupting the Empress Matriarch’s birthday celebration, but the panic in it was impossible to conceal.

Vincent frowned slightly, scanning his surroundings to make sure no one could hear them. "You mean to say your king disappeared within Firebird Clan territory?"

The merfolk nodded quickly, his complexion growing paler.

"Yes. Before the banquet began, His Majesty felt unwell and went to soak in the garden pool. But when the banquet started, he hadn’t returned. We searched everywhere and found only this—"

He presented a single pink scale, shimmering faintly with starlight.

With the Eldest Princess away, the Young Princess uninterested in affairs, and the Empress Matriarch busy with her celebration, the only person he dared approach was Vincent.

Vincent took the scale and examined it before speaking calmly.

"I will arrange for a search immediately. Rest assured—if the Mermaid King truly vanished within Firebird Clan territory, we will find him."

The merfolk nearly dropped to his knees in gratitude.

"Thank you, Your Highness! Please—he suffers from a strange illness. He has episodes without warning. If too much time passes, his life may be in danger."

"I understand."

Vincent immediately summoned his captain of guards and ordered a search for Wen.

***

Rory had just finished helping the Empress Matriarch serve the cake. Not seeing Vincent nearby, she cut a small slice and went looking for him.

"Vincent, why are you here?"

She handed him the plate.

"You didn’t eat earlier. I saved this for you."

Vincent accepted it with a warm smile.

"Thank you, Rory."

He had been busy hosting and had asked Jasper and the others to accompany her. He hadn’t expected that even while apart, she would still be thinking of him.

The cake tasted sweet—but not nearly as sweet as the warmth in his chest.

Rory noticed the pink object in his hand.

"What’s that?"

"The Mermaid King’s scale." He passed it to her.

Under the lights, the pink scale refracted soft rainbow hues—beautiful and delicate.

"The Mermaid King?" Rory blinked. "Isn’t that the Wen Lola mentioned?"

She turned it over curiously.

"How did you get this?"

"One of his attendants came to me. He’s gone missing."

"Missing? As in... disappeared? Or just lost?"

Rory frowned. No wonder Lola had said she couldn’t find him earlier.

Before Vincent could reply, the captain of guards approached swiftly and knelt.

"Your Highness, we discovered signs of a struggle near the flowerbeds. We found additional scales there. The surveillance systems in that section were completely corrupted."

His voice was tight with tension.

"We attempted recovery, but the contamination was deliberate and thorough. The systems cannot be fully restored. We can confirm only that the Mermaid King encountered trouble. His whereabouts remain unknown."

Vincent’s expression turned even icier.

"Deploy two additional guard units to secure the banquet hall. Increase search teams. Continue looking."

Someone had dared to cause trouble on the Empress Matriarch’s birthday. He couldn’t let it slide.

After issuing his orders, Vincent turned to Rory, his tone softening immediately.

"Rory, I’m sorry. I can’t stay with you for now. I’ll take you to Xarion and handle this. Once I’m finished, I’ll come back to you. All right?"

Guilt weighed heavily in his heart. He had brought her here for his mother’s birthday, yet now he could not even remain by her side.

Rory shook her head gently.

"I understand. Go handle it. I’ll have Xarion protect me."

With the Eldest Princess absent, the Empress Matriarch occupied, and Lola uninterested in governance, Vincent was the only one capable of managing the crisis.

"Thank you, Rory."

He hugged her tightly before escorting her to Xarion.

Until the culprit was found, Firebird Clan territory could not be considered entirely safe.

Before leaving, Vincent lowered his voice to Xarion.

"Stay with her. Not a single step away."

Xarion leaned against Rory’s shoulder and nodded seriously.

"Understood."

Though perpetually languid and half-dead in demeanor, he was undeniably Rank Eleven—and his abilities were terrifying.

Vincent departed, dragging Nix along to assist with the corrupted surveillance systems.

***

When Rory returned to the hall, Lola immediately rushed over.

"Big Sister! I searched again—still no Wen. But I found another good-looking one. Want to take a look?"

Rory shook her head.

"Let’s not."

After the awkward encounter with Lian earlier, she had no desire to repeat the experience.

"Really? He’s from the demon clan—very good at charming people."

At the mention of the demon clan, Rory thought of the one still scavenging in the Outer Regions.

Of her nine originally assigned mates, three had dissolved their bonds. Of the five who remained at her side, only that one had yet to appear.

"Not today."

She shook her head again. With the Mermaid King abducted and danger lurking, she didn’t want to cause Vincent any further trouble.

The banquet hall remained calm.

Jasper and Xarion stayed by Rory’s side without moving an inch.

It wasn’t until the banquet ended that Nix returned, looking dejected.

"How did it go?" Rory asked immediately. "Were you able to restore the surveillance?"

Nix sighed.

"The attacker was ruthless. The system corruption was severe. I only recovered a fragment. But I did see something—the Mermaid King escaped. He was still alive when he fled. I couldn’t see who attacked him."

Even the guard captain had declared the footage unrecoverable.

Yet Nix had managed to restore part of it.

Rory smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Nix, you’re amazing. If others couldn’t restore it at all and you managed even a fragment—that’s incredible. In the entire Astrium, no one compares to you." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

His dim eyes brightened instantly.

"Female Master... you really think I’m amazing?"

Rory nodded solemnly. "Absolutely."

Grinning, Nix grabbed her hands and revealed his fluffy ears. "Since I’m so amazing... can I call you Riri?"