Chapter 110: Chapter 110: In the Palm of the Hand.
Faced with the young female’s sweet, cheerful voice, the Duke found he couldn’t refuse.
’He didn’t want to see her disappointed.’
’He didn’t want to see the smile vanish from her face.’
’A snake, yet named Yu Meng.’
’Yu Meng it is, then.’
"As you wish." The Duke tapped his long, thin smoking pipe, and his expression softened considerably without him realizing it.
However, the thought that she was now so far away made the warmth in his golden, vertical pupils gradually fade.
"A place like Paradise isn’t meant for normal people. Go to Divine City and find Geoffrey. He’ll arrange everything for you," the Duke said, his tone casual.
’Geoffrey?’
’The jeweler who bought the Mermaid’s Eye?’
It all made sense now.
No wonder!
That explained why Geoffrey had agreed to the trade last time. He had only taken a single jewel before handing the Mermaid’s Eye over to her.
’It was all because of the Duke...’
Yu Zhizhi heard a noise from upstairs. She glanced up for a moment but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
When she heard the Duke’s voice ask a question through the communicator, she responded softly.
"That’s okay, thank you."
Yu Zhizhi thought she was living quite well in Paradise. She was very fond of this little wooden cabin.
Paradise might be a little sparsely populated, but that was a good thing—it was quiet and relaxing.
Besides, the beastmen from the Guard Team took special care of her.
They took turns staying at Luther’s house around the clock.
Yu Zhizhi knew they were protecting her.
To prevent the mermaid from going berserk.
She had been to Divine City before. It was vast and beautiful, bordering the sea and filled with vibrant, lively sights.
The only problem was... it was also home to numerous factions and their many spies.
And most importantly—
If she really moved into a manor under Geoffrey’s name, what would she do if she were secretly taken back to the Duke Mansion one day?
For the time being, Yu Zhizhi had no desire to go back.
Hearing the young female’s gentle refusal, the Duke’s expression remained neutral. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, as if he had expected her to decline all along.
’This little rabbit... once bitten, twice shy.’
The Duke had found her, but he didn’t press his advantage, precisely so she would let her guard down.
She was able to teleport directly from the Imperial City of Varolan to Paradise in the Moon Rising Empire—
a distance of thousands upon thousands of miles.
If she could use such an Array once, she could use it again.
Until he was absolutely certain he could drag her back, the Duke would not reveal his true intentions.
To hunt its delectable prey, even a snake could learn to use camouflage.
The Duke would be patient. He would set an inescapable trap for this disobedient little rabbit, leaving her with nowhere to run.
’Drag her back.’
’Imprison her by his side. Forever and ever.’
Then, the Duke would wash away the scent of every other male from her body and permanently brand her as his own.
’No matter how his little pet cried, he would never, ever let her go.’
’She could only endure his "love."’
’And be thoroughly filled by him.’
’And make this little rabbit bear litter after litter of Snake Pups.’
At this thought, the Duke’s snake tail, hidden at the bottom of the pool, stirred restlessly.
’Come to think of it...’
The only thing that had surprised the Duke today was that the young female actually cared so much for the six pups.
On the Beast World Planet, females were only responsible for giving birth; the male and his family took care of the rest. A female’s feelings toward her young were generally quite dispassionate.
And since the young female had run away right after giving birth, there had been no sign that she felt any attachment at all.
He never would have thought that his little rabbit would take the initiative to make requests regarding the pups on the communicator, and even thoughtfully give them names.
’Now that he knew what she cared about, things would be much easier.’
The Duke stifled a laugh. He propped his head on his hand, his fingers gently stroking his brow bone as he said with feigned difficulty:
"I’m swamped with state affairs. Sometimes I can’t return to the mansion for several days. I worry something might happen to Little Amon. His health is poor; he can’t compare to his brothers."
The Duke’s "offhand" comment immediately made Yu Zhizhi start to worry.
She had watched the livestream today. Little Amon had been so limp and weak, and it had been such a struggle for him to climb out of his eggshell.
After a moment’s thought, Yu Zhizhi spoke up. "Can... can we talk once a week?"
She wanted to make sure Little Amon was safe.
Hearing the young female’s sweet, soft voice, a small smile touched the Duke’s lips.
"Of course."
’If he couldn’t see her, just hearing her voice was good enough.’
’A weekly call would keep them in contact and give him a chance to practice his acting.’
"It’s getting late. I’m going to sleep now~" Yu Zhizhi’s hair was dry, and she was growing sleepy.
The Duke wanted to keep her on the line.
He hadn’t heard enough of the young female’s voice.
He wanted to keep talking to her until dawn.
He wanted to listen to her sweet, gentle voice—it didn’t matter what she talked about—
as long as she didn’t mention other males.
Anything else would be fine.
What the wind was like in the Moon Rising Empire, what the snow was like, what the food was like. He would listen to her talk about such pointless, time-wasting topics until the end of time.
But for now, he had to go along with her wishes.
All so that, in the future, he could hold her captive forever.
The Duke smiled slightly. "Goodnight, good girl."
Yu Zhizhi froze. It had been a long time since she’d heard him call her that.
She replied softly, "Goodnight."
She hung up.
She folded the towel and placed it on the coffee table.
Then, she got up and headed for the second floor.
Afraid of waking Yusen in the attic, she deliberately slowed her pace, climbing the steps one at a time.
The moment she reached the second-floor landing, she saw a dark figure leaning against the wall by the stairs.
Yu Zhizhi jumped in fright.
She stumbled back a large step in panic, only letting out a slow sigh of relief when she recognized the figure’s ice-blue eyes.
"You’re... still awake?"
Yusen had drunk a lot of apple cider tonight, and back at the small restaurant, a drunken flush had colored the young man’s pale face.
The mermaid stared at her, his gaze cold and dark.
Of course he wasn’t asleep.
His little rabbit had been chatting with some strange male. He had heard everything, both what he was meant to hear and what he wasn’t.
’...Pups?’
Yusen’s gaze slowly drifted down to her flat stomach. The thought that she had borne pups for another male made his expression grow darker.
’And she claimed she wanted a Mermaid Baby?’
’She was just intrigued by him because he was something new.’
’After getting her fill of raw, cold meat, she now wanted to try a different flavor.’
’What an insatiably greedy little rabbit.’
’He absolutely would not fall for it.’
The mermaid scoffed. Just as he was about to turn and leave, a small, delicate hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Before he could even react, he felt something being pressed into his palm.
Yu Zhizhi flashed him a sweet smile. "Goodnight, Sensen."
As she withdrew her hand, her fingertips took the only warmth with them.
Yusen lowered his gaze.
He saw a small "plum candy" resting in his palm.
The harshness in the mermaid’s ice-blue eyes softened for an instant. But just then, he sensed something was wrong inside the bedroom up ahead—
The instant Yu Zhizhi reached out to push the door open, he yanked her back!
At the same moment, the bedroom door was suddenly hacked open from the inside by a scythe!
Yu Zhizhi crashed into the young man’s arms. She heard a violent smash from behind as a chilling scythe was raised high and brought down, mercilessly shattering the door to pieces!
