[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining":3,"chapter-qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-chapter-391":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","QT: I hijacked a harem system and now I'm ruining every plot(GL)",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1854798,2462,"Chapter 391: Good for them","qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-chapter-391",391,"\u003Cp>Chapter 390:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marina\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I watch as he watches her swim in the waters below, leaning on the deck of The Bunny. His arms are crossed, his posture relaxed, his eyes soft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mermaid drifts through the waves like she was born there,sleek and graceful and otherworldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was born there, I remind myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’s not human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Highness, you should be careful,\" I warn him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turns. Blinks. As if he’d forgotten I existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, Marina?\" He smiles that easy, charming smile that used to make my heart skip. \"What are you talking about?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do not forget.\" I step closer, lower my voice. \"She’snothuman.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I may have noticed.\" He waves at the mermaid. She waves back, her dark hair floating on the water, her blue eyes bright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I clench my jaw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One thing I’ve learned living on the water,\" I say, \"is that every rumor, every myth, every tale—they all come from a basis of truth. The sea does not lie.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He doesn’t take me seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember,\" I press on. \"Many speak of being dragged to the depths, never to be seen again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He laughs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t think you have anything to worry about.\" He turns back to the water, to the mermaid, to the danger he refuses to see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am worried.\" My voice is sharper now. \"Worried I won’t get the gold you promised me. If you’re at the bottom of the sea.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looks at me. Raises an eyebrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And here I thought you’d grown to care about me, Pirate King’s daughter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I meet his gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression softens. His lips part. He thinks—I canseehim thinking—that I’m about to confess something. That I’m about to declare my love, my devotion, my need.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But not more than I care for gold and the sea.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turn away before he can respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was fond of him, once. The novelty of a prince,arealprince inmybed, in my arms, wanting me. It was exciting. Flattering. A story I could tell my grandchildren.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the novelty has settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’s nothing but another man. Among the many men I will meet in my lifetime. Among the many men who will want me, use me, leave me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With gold, I can buy many pretty boys to warm my bed. Boys who won’t look at mermaids with stars in their eyes. Boys who won’t make me feel like second place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m not looking where I’m going.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I bump into someone. Papers scatter—maps and charts and loose pages, fluttering in the wind like startled birds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The little noble lady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I freeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stares at the papers. Then at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry,\" I mutter, bending down to help. \"I wasn’t—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s fine.\" She kneels beside me, gathering her things. Her hands are steady. Her face is calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I watch her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She doesn’t rush. Doesn’t scold. Doesn’t demand that I be more careful with her precious work. Just picks up each paper, each map and stacks them neatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you,\" she says.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prince is still watching the mermaid. The crew is scattered across the deck, cleaning, repairing, existing. No one needs me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I follow her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She doesn’t seem to notice. Or maybe she doesn’t care. She spreads her maps on a crate, pulls out a compass, a ruler, a pencil—and works.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She adds notes to the margins. Marks coordinates I can’t pronounce. Calculates distances, currents, stars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She is engrossed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wind blows her hair. The sun catches her face. She doesn’t look up. Doesn’t look away from her work. Doesn’t notice me standing there like a fool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I watch for what feels like ages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Minutes. Hours. I don’t know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She adds. Writes. Calculates. Her pencil moves faster than I can read, faster than I can think.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I realize, watching her, that I may have misjudged her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought she was nothing but a spoiled little noble lady. Soft hands. Soft heart. Soft life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when I look at her I see something else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I see a woman who didn’t choose this life. A woman who was born into comfort and escaped. A woman who uses her mind because it’s the only thing no one can take from her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I may be illiterate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even I know that a noble lady as smart as her, doing this work, would not be welcomed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afemale pirate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We might be more similar than I thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daphne\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Harem breakdown: 54.4% complete.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pause mid-brushstroke. The paint drips from the bristles, splattering onto the canvas,a streak of blue across the mermaid’s tail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What brought this on?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[From the character’s emotional fluctuations and resolution, it is concluded that Marina O’Malley will not be romantically involved with the male lead any further.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I set down my paintbrush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well. That’s a surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’s done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good for her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stand. Stretch. My back cracks. My shoulders pop. The afternoon sun is warm through the cabin window, golden and soft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I leave my cabin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes search the deck, and I find Marina seated next to Nancy, having a conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not the grudging tolerance of two people forced to share space. Not the awkward politeness of strangers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An actual conversation. Marina is speaking—her hands moving, her expression animated. Nancy is listening,her head tilted, her lips curved in a small smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’re sitting close. Shoulder to shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is that why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lean against the railing, watching them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was she influenced by the fact that there’s more to life than a man?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marina laughs at something Nancy says.Nancy ducks her head, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lean against the railing. Cross my arms. Watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marina says something else,too low for me to hear. Nancy’s blush deepens. She nudges Marina with her elbow, half-hearted, almost affectionate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Interesting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’re sitting close. Shoulder to shoulder. Their knees are almost touching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You know what?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good for her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good forthem.\u003C\u002Fp>",986,"2026-06-09T07:29:29.584Z",1,"novelbin.me","784c0161f09c77dc63306b1ed05eca02abd0ec42ff84b0b7104fbbdda1acfbe4","qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-chapter-19","qt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-chapter-390",399,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fqt-i-hijacked-a-harem-system-and-now-i-m-ruining-cover.jpg"]