Chapter 57: The Most Suspicious Rescue Ever

Mirabelle’s upper body bent backward, her spine arching deeply while her head fell back far enough for her curls to brush against her bare ass.

Beneath her palms she could feel Lucien’s firm stomach muscles as she sat atop him, his crimson eyes locked onto her with unbearable intensity.

Then suddenly he was above her.

One hand pinned her wrists down while the other slid along her thigh as his hungry gaze traveled across her flushed skin.

Then he trusted into her.

’Snap out of it, girl.’

Mirabelle’s wandering consciousness slammed violently back into reality so abruptly that she startled and sucked in a sharp breath.

Heat pooled low inside her stomach.

Mortified, she unconsciously pressed her thighs together.

Beside her, Lucien had noticed nothing about the exact contents of her imagination.

But when he inhaled—

something sweet and warm teased his senses.

His head snapped toward the lynx female so quickly his neck nearly cracked.

What exactly was happening inside that terrifyingly intelligent little head of hers right now?

He hadn’t expected his words to affect her strongly enough for desire to become noticeable in her scent.

Naturally, Mirabelle realized immediately that he had noticed.

Color spread rapidly across her throat and neck in soft pink waves.

Still...

she decided to pretend absolutely nothing had happened.

The servant continued guiding them through the estate while Mirabelle desperately focused on literally anything else.

They passed through long marble corridors lined with enormous painted portraits of noble Beast families. Sunlight spilled through towering arched windows onto polished floors while decorative vines climbed pale stone pillars.

Somewhere deeper inside the manor, servants hurried between hallways carrying silver trays and folded fabrics while distant voices echoed softly through the open galleries above them.

Mirabelle swore the return trip felt significantly longer than before.

Though obviously that was only because this entire situation was so painfully embarrassing.

She did not know that Lucien had quietly been using illusion magic on the poor servant the entire time, subtly redirecting him through unnecessary hallways and side corridors simply to prolong the walk beside her.

And to keep the other two males from smelling her.

Under absolutely no circumstances would he allow the gloomy panther or the scheming hyena to notice that heavenly scent.

It belonged to him.

Just like the lynx female eventually would.

At some point, Lucien had apparently completely forgotten both Mirabelle’s earlier warning and his fight with Silas.

But honestly...

who could blame him?

Mirabelle’s scent affected him like a drug, clouding his senses until thinking became difficult.

Frankly, it was impressive he could still maintain the illusion spell at all.

The servant himself already had sweat forming on his forehead.

’Have I gotten lost? I’ve lived here for twenty years?!’

By the time they finally returned to the fountain courtyard, the warmth of the approaching midday had already settled across the estate.

Fine mist from the fountain drifted through the air and cooled Mirabelle’s overheated skin slightly.

The servant visibly relaxed.

The second the lynx female stepped into the courtyard, several nearby Beast males immediately turned toward her.

Including Silas and Kaelith.

A low growl rolled simultaneously from both of them across the courtyard, instantly warning every lower-cultivated male nearby to back off.

Most immediately looked away again.

Kaelith frowned slightly.

What had that manipulative fox done this time?

Silas remained outwardly stoic as always.

But his eyes never left Lucien for even a second.

It irritated him how attracted Mirabelle seemed to be to that fox.

After their kisses yesterday, Silas had honestly assumed he had already won.

Yet ever since last night, one reality check after another had hit him.

Though he had never cared much about females before — cultivation had always mattered more — he had nevertheless always assumed any female he chose would accept him without hesitation.

But the more he learned about Mirabelle...

the clearer it became that a Beast female like her possessed standards high enough to carefully consider every possible mate.

But why that fox?

Kaelith he had accepted.

The hyena at least made some kind of sense.

But Lucien was practically Silas’ complete opposite.

And somehow...

that unsettled him deeply.

Mirabelle spotted the two males waiting there and immediately felt relieved.

She genuinely could not survive another second beside Lucien right now.

So she turned quickly toward him and blurted out:

"I’ll do the next trial with Kaelith."

Then she promptly abandoned the stunned fox Beastman behind.

Lucien stared after her in complete disbelief.

Meanwhile Kaelith somehow looked equally confused.

Though his spotted tail had already started wagging excitedly behind him despite how hard he tried to appear composed.

Without even thinking about it, Mirabelle immediately hooked her arm through his again before glancing around for the servant.

"What comes next?"

Silas: "..."

_____

"We’re doing what?"

Pure horror filled Mirabelle’s voice.

"You will write a poem together and present it to the other groups."

The Beastman in front of her repeated the words as though she were hard of hearing rather than internally questioning whether her brain had interpreted his words correctly.

Panicked, she turned toward the hyena male beside her.

"Save me," she whispered tonelessly.

Kaelith’s heart melted instantly.

"From everything and death himself."

A grin spread across his face.

Then suddenly he moved.

Without warning, he slid one arm beneath her knees in one smooth motion and lifted her bridal style against his chest.

Mirabelle let out a startled squeak and reflexively threw her arms around his neck.

"Thank you. We have something else planned," Kaelith announced casually toward the trial overseer.

Then he simply walked away with her.

Mirabelle’s head ended up so close to his face that for the first time she could properly observe him from this distance.

Unfortunately, Mirabelle was far too overwhelmed by the entire situation to process any of it properly.

Instead, she buried her burning face against his shoulder to hide her blush.

’At this rate I’ll never get wrinkles with how much blood circulation my face gets from blushing.’

Her lynx ears flattened sideways in surrender.

Kaelith glanced downward briefly without slowing his pace.

...She fit disturbingly well in his arms.

The soft pressure of her chest against him was receiving significantly more of his attention than it should have.

Mirabelle meanwhile found herself surrounded by Kaelith’s scent.

Warm stone.

Dry wilderness. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Sun-heated earth.

It instantly dragged her imagination toward endless steppes and open plains.

Tall golden grass moving in the wind.

Twisted trees growing between scattered rock formations.

Wild freedom stretching beneath a burning sky.

"You can put me down now," she mumbled softly against his skin.

"I’m afraid I can’t."

His voice carried obvious amusement.

"Otherwise they’ll send us straight back."

And suddenly Mirabelle understood.

Why they had been allowed to leave.

Why Kaelith had picked her up like this.

’...They think we’re... oh my god.’

Mortification slammed into her full force.

Why was sex treated so publicly in this world???

"...Where are you even taking me?"

A new fear suddenly surfaced inside her chest.

’Please don’t say your chambers.’

A deeply scheming smile appeared on Kaelith’s lips.

"That," he drawled slowly, "is a secret."

His spotted tail flicked lazily behind him.

"You wanted to be surprised, didn’t you?"

A/N: @all The Beast Goddess has officially begun hoarding your Golden Ticket offerings like a dragon guarding treasure. ☆

At this point she’s probably sitting somewhere inside the heavens kicking her feet and demanding more emotionally unstable Beast males from me in exchange.

Thank you for continuing to spoil both her and me. (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞