Idir shifted his gaze away slightly.

He knew this request of his was somewhat excessive, yet deep down, he still clung to a tiny thread of hope.

Because he wanted to become Nina’s beast husband, even if it was only because of their former engagement.

Just then, Odian and the others finished tidying the room and stepped outside, arriving in time to hear the latter half of the conversation.

A sharp glint entered their eyes.

So this damned snake had also been one of Nina’s former fiancés.

The beast husbands moved to stand behind Nina, silently waiting for her answer.

Nina frowned slightly. "I don’t think it still counts."

An engagement that had already been broken off... how could it simply be restored?

"...Alright." Disappointment flickered through Idir’s eyes.

So he couldn’t rely on the engagement to become Nina’s beast husband after all.

"Nina, the room’s ready. Come inside and rest," Kith said.

"Okay." Feeling somewhat awkward, Nina stood and headed inside.

Truthfully, she still wasn’t entirely sure what Idir was thinking, and she didn’t want to misunderstand him.

The children hurried after her.

The beast husbands spared Idir a glance before returning to their own tasks.

Idir lowered his eyes quietly, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Ming and the others walked over apologetically.

"Idir, we owe you an apology," he admitted. "We misunderstood you."

So he hadn’t personally broken off the engagement after all. They really should stop meddling carelessly in the future.

They had nearly caused a disaster today.

"It’s fine," Idir replied calmly.

At least now he knew that Nina had once been his fiancée. That alone was enough.

Ming and the others nodded before leaving.

***

By the time dinner preparations began, Setan and the lion clan males finally returned from hunting.

After handing the prey over to Ridan, they immediately headed to the kitchen to help cook.

Setan had been learning for quite a while now. Today, he wanted Nina to finally taste the results of all his practice.

Recently, he had secretly been learning from Kith and Mino, since the two of them were the best cooks among the males.

Yanai was equally determined. He wanted Nina to see how much he had improved too.

***

At dinner, they carried their dishes over to Nina’s table—only to discover there was no space left in front of her.

If they placed the dishes farther away, they knew the beast husbands would absolutely not help Nina take any.

So the two males simply carried the food directly to her side.

"Nina, I made spicy ribs—the kind you like. Try some," Yanai smiled.

Nina glanced at the dish.

The color, aroma, and presentation were all excellent. His cooking really had improved tremendously.

She picked up a piece and tasted it before nodding in approval. "Mm. It’s really good."

Yanai instantly brightened. "As long as you like it."

At last, his cooking was no longer a weakness. All those weeks of practice hadn’t been wasted.

Standing nearby, Setan held his own dish. "Nina, I made salmon with lemon sauce—you like this too, right? Want to try it?"

Nina hesitated slightly when she looked at him.

She felt she really needed to find a private moment to speak clearly with him soon. Continuing to drag things out wasn’t good for either of them.

Although he was Sunny’s biological father, she had no intention of developing that kind of relationship with him.

Still, since he had already prepared the dish, rejecting him outright would be too harsh.

So she took a bite as well. "Mm. It’s pretty good too."

Setan smiled faintly. "That’s good."

But inwardly, he felt he still needed to work harder.

After all, Nina’s praise for him hadn’t been as enthusiastic as her praise for Yanai, and among all the males, Yanai’s cooking had originally been fairly average.

Seeing the two of them still standing there holding their dishes, Nina said, "You can set them down."

She had the beast husbands shift aside slightly to make room, and only then did Yanai and Setan finally place their dishes on the table before returning to their seats.

Sal shot Odian a meaningful glance.

Those two have been awfully attentive lately.

Odian’s gaze replied calmly:

Mm. Try not to let them get close to Nina alone.

Sal nodded. The other beast husbands nodded as well.

Of course, Nina remained completely oblivious to their silent scheming.

She was far too busy happily eating dinner.

***

That night, after thinking things over carefully, Nina finally went to find Setan.

"Setan, there’s something I want to talk to you about. Can you come outside with me for a moment?"

It was better to clear things up sooner rather than later.

The moment he saw her come looking for him, joy instantly spread across his face.

"Alright."

Excitement stirred inside him. What did Nina want to talk about?

Could it be...

By the time they had walked only a short distance, Setan had already started mentally planning how to hand over management of his city in the future.

Back inside, the lion clan males began whispering among themselves.

"Do you think our City Lord finally has a chance now?"

"Maybe. Even the cub transformation already happened."

Honestly, when they saw Setan transform into a cub yesterday, they had been utterly shocked.

Given Setan’s personality, they truly couldn’t imagine how he had managed to convince himself to do something so embarrassing.

"But Lady Nina rejected him yesterday, didn’t she? What if the City Lord gets rejected again..."

"...You know, that’s actually possible too."

The group stared toward the departing pair, speculating endlessly.

Nina led Setan to a quiet, secluded area.

Kith and Finch stood guard nearby.

Setan looked at Nina expectantly, waiting for her to speak.

Nina lifted her eyes to meet his. "Setan... actually, you don’t need to keep following me around. You’re the lord of an entire city—you should have your own responsibilities to take care of."

The faint smile at the corners of Setan’s lips instantly collapsed.

"Nina, I don’t have anything important that needs handling."

A trace of panic crept into his chest.

...Was Nina trying to send him away?

But he had never planned on leaving. He wanted to remain by her side forever.