Chapter 68: Episode 068: Scolding the System
Rue bashfully nodded.
Knox did not waste a single second. He leaned forward, his hands gripping her waist to keep her perfectly still. He opened his mouth, his fangs fully extended, and bit down hard on the soft curve of her bare shoulder.
Rue only winced for a while. The initial pinch of his sharp teeth breaking her skin was shocking. It felt like a sudden prick of a needle. But the pain faded almost immediately.
It was quickly replaced by a burning warmth that spread out from the bite and rushed straight into her chest. It felt like he was pouring hot liquid directly into her veins.
"Ngh~" She moaned from the sensation.
He held the bite for a long moment, his chest heaving against hers, his breath ragged and loud in the quiet bedroom. Then, very slowly, he pulled back.
He looked at the fresh mark on her skin. It was a perfect set of deep puncture wounds, already healing and scarring over into a permanent, raised pattern. His golden eyes glowed brightly in the dark. He looked completely, absolutely satisfied.
Rue looked at the mark. Then she looked up at his face. Her mind was still fighting through the heavy fog of the heat cycle, but she needed to establish a boundary right now.
"Knox," Rue whispered. Her voice was tired and completely breathless. "You marked me, and I accept it. But you need to understand something here."
Knox blinked, tilting his head to the side. "What?"
"Yes," Rue said flatly. She rested her hands flat against his warm chest. "This mark means I accept you as my mate; it’s the rope that binds us together as beasts. I like you, but it does not mean that I can fully love you right now. My brain does not process emotions that fast. The only person my heart recognises is Caius."
Knox looked at her. He looked a little confused, and Rue could see the hurt in his eyes. He could not understand her.
If she didn’t love him, why did she let him mark her?
To him, a mark meant they were bound forever. But he looked at her pale face, her pink eyes, and the exhaustion settling into her small frame.
He did not get angry. He did not argue.
"I know," Knox rumbled softly. He reached up and gently brushed a piece of silver hair away from her sweaty forehead. "I have patience, Rue. I can wait for the rest."
He lowered his head again. He did not bite her this time. Instead, his rough, warm tongue dragged carefully over the fresh mark on her shoulder, cleaning the tiny drops of blood. He kissed her skin. He kissed her neck, her jaw, and her cheeks. He acted exactly like a massive jungle cat grooming its mate after a long, exhausting fight.
A deep, vibrating purr started in the centre of his chest.
Rue did not have the energy to push him away. She closed her eyes, letting the steady, vibrating purr pull her down into the dark. She was completely exhausted, and she fell asleep almost instantly.
When Rue opened her eyes again, the room was bright.
The morning sun was shining directly through the cracks in the wooden window shutters, casting long, thin lines of yellow light across the stone floor. The air in the bedroom was cool and fresh.
Rue lay completely still on her back. She did not move.
Knox was not beside her, and Rue figured he might have stepped out. Rue stared up at the wooden ceiling. Her mind was completely awake. The fog was gone. No more heat.
She slowly raised her right hand and touched her left shoulder. She felt the raised, permanent scar of the panther’s bite.
It was not as bad as I thought.
The first thing she thought about was her baby boy.
You were the one who prevented him from waking up, right?
[How did you know?]
...
She sighed and decided not to answer him; she would have to stand up soon and feed Theron even though he had not woken up.
But as she lay there in the quiet morning light, a very cold, highly suspicious feeling began to creep into her stomach. She started to think about everything that had happened.
She felt a lot of things were missing in this whole mission.
Back on Earth, to pass the incredibly boring hours, she had read hundreds of digital web novels on her tablet. Many of those stories featured magical systems.
She knew how the system trope was supposed to work.
In those books, a system was a tool. It was supposed to guide the host safely. It gave clear quests. It provided safety nets, helpful items, and transparent goals. It rewarded the host for making smart choices to ensure their survival in a strange new world.
Her system was doing the exact opposite.
"This makes no sense," Rue whispered to the empty ceiling.
Rue sat up. She pulled the thick white blanket up over her chest to block the cold morning air.
"System," Rue called out. Her voice was flat, cold, and completely unbothered.
The air warped immediately. A bright blue, glowing screen popped into existence, hovering quietly over the foot of the stone bed.
[Good morning, Host.]
Rue stared at the text. She narrowed her pink eyes. She was not in the mood for polite digital greetings.
"I have been thinking about your behaviour," Rue muttered. "And it does not add up. You are hiding things from me."
The blue screen did not change. It just hovered there, silently pulsing.
"Let us review the facts," Rue continued, holding up one finger. "Fact one. You gave me the skill called ’No Falling In Love’. You could have done a lot to keep that skill running. But Caius needed to do just one thing, and it broke?! You deliberately did it, didn’t you?"
[..]
She held up a second finger. "Fact two. When I arrived in this world, you told me my goal was to survive. You gave me a baby. You told me to build a home. I built a home. I helped the Panther tribe. I do not feel the need to die but instead live for my bay. So now you are only meant to protect my baby and me, not expose us to more danger. Might I remind you, I am a Rabbit."
[I perfectly understand the host—]
She held up a third finger, cutting it short.
"Fact three," Rue said, her voice dropping into a dangerous whisper. "You are missing rewards. I successfully raised Caius’s affection meter to 100%. You gave me absolutely nothing for it. You just ignored it. You think I didn’t catch that?"
"In every single piece of human literature, a guide is supposed to help the user," Rue continued firmly. "You are not helping me. You are managing me. You are forcing me down a specific path. You are hiding massive pieces of information to manipulate my choices."
Rue leaned forward.
"I am not a piece of code," Rue demanded. "I am Rue. What are you hiding from me? Is my mission only to help out the bloodline, or is there something else?"
A single line of text typed itself across the screen.
[All variables will be revealed in due time.]
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