Rebirth: Beasts Bound

Of course, now I remembered clearly. Beastmen used to rule equally alongside human females before, but then the previous governor rebelled and changed that...

The Empress became who she is now because Professor Caelum thought war wasn’t needed. Thousands of Beastmen warriors would die, so he chose the easier route, surrendered, and got condemned as the weakest heir known, but to me, he was a hero.

"You stopped thousands of Beastmen from dying," Bibi said, and he flashed a worried smile.

"I hope you don’t despise me for actually being weak-minded then. It wa-"

"Despise? I read about you a lot. I just loved what you did. Even my aunty praises you from time to time. She said you were a good Emperor while it lasted, before females started ruling," Bibi said excitedly and immediately rushed toward him, holding his arm. "This is such an honor," she said, and Caelum laughed, both amused and concerned.

I sighed and sat back down. I sipped my hot cocoa and added marshmallows to it.

"That’s enough," Sonia said gently, taking Bibi’s hand off Caelum. I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly at her actions. Wasn’t she always saying she wasn’t a fan of romance? I guess rules do break unexpectedly.

"You really don’t have to treat me any differently. I would rather be known as Caelum, not Emperor. The title is too broad for a noble man like me," he said, and my lips parted.

"Yeah, guys. He left his position willingly. Hearing this might bring back pain he hid for years," I said nonchalantly. Sonia’s eyes glared straight into mine, but I ignored her.

"Young Duke," I heard him say, and I looked toward him.

"Yes, Professor?" I said softly, exchanging glances between him and his lover.

"Did I perhaps say something wrong? Or out of line?"

"How did you know about the Fallen royalty?" he asked, and I froze. Of course, I read the novel and browsed a lot about it to see if it was real, but it turned out to be all fiction and made up.

"I-I..."

"I visit the library a lot," I said, and Bibi raised a questioning brow.

"Where? Which library?" she asked.

"The academy library," I replied, and Bibi laughed.

"I am the lead librarian there, and your name has never popped up once in the register," she said, and I chuckled softly.

"I checked in sometimes. You know how libraries are... insecure," I said with a laugh, looking away, but Sonia immediately opened her lips.

"Libraries are secure," she said, and my smile slowly faded.

"Well, let’s forget about that!" I said, yet Sonia looked like she wanted to continue, but then Liora chirped in.

"I tried some pickles last time. Wasn’t my thing," she said, and Sonia gave her a confused look.

"Pickles are good. I remember asking someone to make sure they were inside the burger," Sonia said, and Liora visibly shivered as if rejecting the idea completely.

"How did you guys even end up as a couple? Normally it’s us females that contract male Beastmen consorts, so how did..." Bibi trailed off

"We liked each other. Besides, I’m a Beast female, so we can be together," Sonia said, and Bibi moved toward her, holding her hands excitedly.

"Who confessed first?"

"Stop all this," Sonia said, obviously shy and trying to pull away, but Caelum stared at her and gently pulled her closer by the waist.

"Don’t trouble her," he said softly, and an "Ooooh" escaped from both Bibi’s and Liora’s lips. I just chuckled.

"I have never seen you in love, Professor. It’s either you’re building stuff or being all strict," I said, and he smiled before letting go of Sonia after pecking her cheek.

He sat down beside me. "Young Duke, I feel like you already knew," he said, and I laughed.

"Well, I did suspect it, but not to this extent. You are so grounded that I didn’t even dare think it was actually this serious," I admitted.

He just stared at Sonia. "Hmm, at first I wasn’t invested in all that, but she suddenly became pretty to me, even made my heart race... I felt like a teenager," he said, and I smiled.

"Of course. Love," I said, while my thoughts lingered on everything my Beastmen did for me. "Of course, I love them and they love me too," I whispered softly.

"You have wonderful Beastmen," Caelum said, and I turned toward him, smiling.

"I know," I replied, and his hand gently reached upward and landed on my hair.

I froze, gazing into his eyes... why was he being so kind to me? "Do you mind?" he asked, and I blinked repeatedly, trying to understand what he meant.

He rolled his eyes and gently flicked my forehead. "Stop dazing," he said, and I rubbed my forehead playfully.

"I wasn’t, and that hurt," I complained, and he only laughed.

"I will be your father figure," he said, and a smile curled onto my lips. Oh, that was what he meant. I thought he had meant something else.

"And Sonia will be my mother figure," I said, and Sonia’s eyes darkened instantly.

I looked away when I heard rattling sounds coming from the bushes. I stood up and left everyone behind, walking deeper into the bushes while the cold air gently whipped my hair against my face.

I paused when I heard retching sounds and gently brushed a leaf away from the entrance.

There, I spotted Elowen leaning against a tree and throwing up while Darian held her hair from behind.

What was happening here? I thought, still staring.

"Why is this happening? Darian, I can’t be pregnant in the academy. It’s against the rules," Elowen said, and my eyes widened.

"What?"

Elowen never gets pregnant in the academy. I could literally feel my eyes about to pop out of their sockets.

"We will hide it," Darian said, and Elowen turned toward him.

"Hide a pregnancy? My stomach will get bigger. Everyone would notice," she said, and Darian’s lips parted.

"An illusion spell would work," he said, and Elowen froze because it actually could.

Wait... the black magic spell Darian gifted Elowen... did he do it so she could get pregnant? According to the original novel, Darian couldn’t even father a child... but how did black magic get Elowen pregnant?

I turned to leave, but then I stepped on a branch, and Elowen’s gaze landed on me.

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