Yu Zhizhi stood by the edge of the pool. From her angle, the mist over the water obscured her view of what was below. All she could see was the Duke’s upper body, his robes hanging open. His sopping-wet, inky-blue hair dripped water down his sensual collarbones and chest.

Her gaze froze for a moment, and she slowly drew closer.

The Duke’s voice was enchanting.

Yu Zhizhi entered the pool. The Duke, whose arm had been resting on the edge, lazily looped it around, and the small female fell right into his embrace.

A light splash broke the surface. Through the hazy mist, her sparkling eyes held a trace of shyness. She lowered her head and rested quietly in his arms.

The Duke inhaled Yu Zhizhi’s jasmine scent as his snake tail moved slowly at the bottom of the pool.

He was afraid of scaring her.

He did his best to restrain the urge to coil around her tightly.

He could only approach slowly, stealthily.

The Duke’s lips brushed against the small female’s rabbit ear. His voice was low and seductive. "Lift your head. Let me kiss you."

Yu Zhizhi lifted her head and saw his golden, slitted pupils staring straight at her, his eyes filled with deep desire.

She couldn’t help but close her eyes.

Seeing the small female’s obedient and bashful appearance, the Duke held her chin with his right hand and slowly lowered his head.

In the pool, the black snake tail slowly closed in.

The snake tail trembled lightly from the joy in his chest, the current of the water stirring with the tide of his emotions.

He couldn’t control it any longer—

The snake tail in the water slowly wrapped around the small female’s delicate body, layer by layer, coiling around her securely.

"Mm...?"

In the middle of the kiss, Yu Zhizhi felt a cool sensation on her arms and back, as if something was winding tightly around her.

Just as she was about to open her eyes, the Duke covered them with a strip of sheer silk.

Her vision became a blur.

She could only vaguely make out the man’s silhouette.

’What’s happening?’

’What’s touching me in the water?’

The small female was a little nervous and scared. She clutched the Duke’s deep purple lapels, trembling slightly.

"In the pool... there’s... there’s something strange."

"Heh..." The Duke couldn’t help but chuckle. He gave the small female’s nose an affectionate peck. "Don’t be afraid. It’s me."

The more powerful a male, the better he can control his Beast Form.

They usually don’t reveal it easily.

But this time, he was so happy that he couldn’t stop his snake tail from appearing—

The Duke couldn’t retract it for the time being.

To avoid frightening this timid Rabbit Clan female, he had no choice but to temporarily cover her eyes.

「In the moonlight, amidst the mist.」

The small female’s innocent and pitiful appearance was deeply imprinted in his mind.

Her long hair was damp with water, and a wisp of her thin, delicate robes clung to her shoulder. Her eyes were covered by the white silk ribbon, the tip of her small, exquisite nose was flushed red, and her lips were parted helplessly, inviting a taste.

A drop of water from her temple trickled slowly down her cheek.

’A snake—’

’Did the Duke in front of me turn into a snake?’

Yu Zhizhi didn’t know.

In her memory, the Duke’s upper body was still human, with a scorching embrace and powerful arms—

But the snake tail slowly coiling around her waist was separated from her skin by only a thin layer of clothing.

The warm water, the cold snake body.

Coiled tightly around her.

To soothe his little pet’s emotions, the Duke gently stroked her rabbit ears.

The fear of snakes, buried deep in her genes, seemed to be effectively eased.

Yu Zhizhi panted softly and took the initiative to hug the man before her.

’...Was she actually hugging a snake?’

’Or rather, a man with a snake’s tail.’

This was something Yu Zhizhi had never done before.

After overcoming her fear, she surprisingly felt an urge to "touch it."

’I want to touch...’

’The Duke’s snake tail.’

She turned her head, pressing her cheek against the Duke’s chest, which was searing hot. But the snake tail wrapped tightly around her was cool and icy. Between the alternating heat and cold, Yu Zhizhi couldn’t resist reaching out a finger to gently touch the scales on the snake’s body.

It was smooth and cold, causing her to flinch repeatedly.

The deep-seated fear of snakes made her entire body tingle with numbness. With her eyes covered by the cloth, she couldn’t see the snake’s form. Yu Zhizhi could only nestle tightly against the Duke, eliciting a low, pleased laugh from the man.

’The way this little female looks...’

’It’s as if she can’t wait to burrow right into my body.’

He rubbed the girl’s rabbit ear with his finger and looked down, his golden, slitted pupils filled with mirth. His voice was gentle and lingering. "Do you want to become one with me?"

Mmph—

The water rippled, and the mist gathered and dispersed, creating shifting, indistinct shapes.

The Duke’s golden, slitted pupils stared intently at the small female in his arms. He caught a tear falling from the corner of her eye with his index finger, and his snake tail coiled around her even tighter.

Ripples spread slowly across the water.

Yu Zhizhi heard the Duke’s deep, mellow voice, laced with a trace of desire. "Only you."

’What?’

"By my side, there is only you."

The Duke’s voice was hoarse.

’The only suitable candidate for his wife should be a female from the Snake Clan.’

But—

The Duke had refused the marriage bestowed by His Majesty the King.

Whether by status or Level, Princess Fei’er was the most suitable candidate. All the Beastmen of the Snake Clan believed that Princess Fei’er would surely become the Duchess.

But the Duke couldn’t bring himself to marry another bride at a time like this.

’Maybe we’ll part ways in the future, but at least for now...’

The Duke’s eyes could only see the little rabbit before him.

He couldn’t see any other female.

’He would feel joy when the small female cared, and satisfaction at her smile. Even if they had just parted, there wasn’t a moment he didn’t want to see her.’

When they met—

He always couldn’t resist the urge to hug her, touch her, and kiss her.

This was perhaps the legendary [Honeymoon Phase].

The Duke wanted to laugh.

He used to think that the love between males and females was a dull affair, that marrying and mating were merely for procreation.

But now, things were different.

He’d had a taste and couldn’t get enough.

...

"Cough..."

Yu Zhizhi woke from a dream, a burning pain in her throat.

Remembering what had happened in the pool, she pulled the blanket up with both hands, covering half her face. Her eyelashes trembled as she glanced at the bedside table, where a glass of warm water sat.

Yu Zhizhi gently touched her lower abdomen. ’It shouldn’t... affect the cub, right?’

She asked in a tiny whisper in her mind.

[System: Rest assured, Host. During gestation, the female body is protected by the Childbirth System. The Beast cub will not be harmed.]

[’That’s good...’]

Yu Zhizhi sat up and drank half the glass of warm water. She saw faint red marks on her arms and abdomen.

Thinking of the Duke’s snake tail, she recalled its cool touch, like smooth, icy silk satin with a slight, springy give, imprisoning her with incredible strength.

She held the glass in both hands, the tips of her ears turning completely red.

「The Duke returned to his manor.」

He saw Fei’er waiting outside the main gate, holding a white lace parasol and crying silently.

"Lord Bo Lan." The Snake Clan girl’s eyes were blurred with tears. "I heard you refused the marriage bestowed by His Majesty the King—why?"

There were no Holy Females in the Empire, so no one could force the noble Duke to marry.

Six months ago, Princess Fei’er had awakened dual abilities and advanced to an S+ Level female. She couldn’t directly choose Duke Bolan as her Beast Husband unless His Majesty bestowed the marriage—

But the Duke had refused.

’In the entire Snake Clan, there was no one more outstanding than her!’

Fei’er wouldn’t give up. She said through her sobs:

"If I become the Duchess, I will certainly fulfill my duties and be a good wife and mother. I swear I will never seek other Beast Husbands. In this life and the next, I will grow old only with you!"