Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 196: Episode : Is there a youngling?

Roxy was tempted to say yes, but she bit her inner lip and refrained, shaking her head meekly.

Queen Nerissa’s question hung in the heavy water like a blade waiting to drop. Her black eyes bored into Roxy, searching for a flinch, a lie, or a reason to turn Caspian into sashimi.

Roxy’s heart hammered against her ribs. She looked at Caspian, who was pale as a ghost, his fins clamped tight against his head in sheer terror.

She couldn’t say yes. If she said yes, Nerissa might actually hurt him. And despite everything, the kidnapping, the singing, the questionable gift-giving, Roxy didn’t want him dead.

She shook her head violently, her black hair swirling around her face.

"No!" Roxy squeaked. "No, Your Majesty. He... he has been... perfect. A model King."

Nerissa stared at her for a second longer, the pressure in the room suffocating.

Then, the Queen grinned, a wide, terrifying grin that showed far too many teeth.

"Ha!" Nerissa laughed, a sound like boulders crashing together underwater. She slapped the arm of her throne, sending a shockwave through the court.

"Look at her!" Nerissa boomed, gesturing to Roxy. "She is shy!"

Roxy laughed half-heartedly, "Ha. Ha. Ha."

YES, TERRIFIED KIND OF SHY.

The court exhaled collectively. Caspian slumped with relief.

"She is modest," Nerissa declared fondly, squeezing Roxy’s hand until the knuckles popped. "A rare trait in the Trench. Most females throw themselves at the throne like eels. But this one... she holds back. I like it."

She stood up, her tentacles uncoiling to their full, massive height.

"Prepare the Banquet Hall!" Nerissa commanded. "We celebrate the return of the King and his bashful Queen!"

The Royal Banquet Hall was a testament to the fact that pearls could buy anything, even at the bottom of the ocean.

That was one thing Roxy was thankful for.

She didn’t have to teach them economics.

The table was a single slab of polished jade, long enough to seat fifty dignitaries. It was set with plates made of abalone shell and goblets carved from crystal.

Roxy sat at the head of the table, to Nerissa’s right. Caspian was on her other side, looking smug and delighted to be alive.

Servants swam in, carrying massive platters.

"Behold," Nerissa announced as a dish was placed in front of Roxy. " The Heart of the Blue-Fin Leviathan. Still beating."

Roxy looked down.

On her plate was a fist-sized lump of muscle. It was dark red. It was slimy. And yes, it was pulsating rhythmically.

"Oh," Roxy whispered, her stomach doing a backflip.

Gross.

"Eat," Nerissa encouraged, picking up her own beating heart and taking a massive bite out of it. Blood splattered on her face. "It grants strength to the blood."

Roxy looked around the table. Vespera was tearing into a raw squid. Nimue was slurping up something that looked like glowing worms. Everyone was eating with gusto.

Roxy felt the bile rise in her throat.

She couldn’t do it.

She had eaten seaweed. She had eaten strange fruits. But raw, beating heart was a line she could not cross.

Or anything they were all munching on.

She gagged visibly.

She picked up her fork, a three-pronged trident made of gold, and pushed the heart around.

Minutes passed. The pile of raw meat on her plate remained untouched.

"You do not eat," a voice rumbled.

Roxy froze. She looked up.

Queen Nerissa had stopped chewing. She was wiping blood from her mouth with a silk napkin, her black eyes fixed on Roxy’s plate.

The table went silent.

"Does the Royal Bounty offend you?" Nerissa asked, her voice dropping to that dangerous, low register again. "Is the kill not fresh enough?"

"Mother," Caspian interjected quickly. "She is—"

"Let her speak," Nerissa silenced him with a glance.

Roxy swallowed hard. She needed a lie. A good one.

"It is fresh, Your Majesty," Roxy said, forcing a polite smile. "It looks... vigorous. But... my species... we have delicate stomachs."

She placed a hand over her belly, trying to look frail.

"We cannot digest the raw essence," Roxy explained. "Our internal fire is weak. We need... external heat. To prepare the meat for our bodies."

Nerissa tilted her head. "You need heat? To eat?"

"Yes," Roxy nodded. "Cooking. It breaks down the... toughness."

Nerissa stared at her. For a moment, Roxy thought she had failed. Cooking underwater was a ridiculous concept to them.

Then, Nerissa snapped her fingers.

"Bring me Pyra."

The doors to the kitchen burst open.

A mermaid swam in. But she looked different from the others. Her scales were a deep, burning crimson. Her hair floated around her head like flames frozen in time.

She bowed low before the Queen.

"Pyra," Nerissa commanded. "You are one with the vents."

"Yes, my Queen," Pyra hissed.

"You belong to the Princess now," Nerissa declared, pointing at Roxy. "She requires heat. Serve her."

Roxy blinked. "You’re... giving me a person?"

"She is a servant," Nerissa shrugged. "Use her. Make your... ’cooking’."

Roxy looked at Pyra. The fire-mermaid swam over to Roxy’s side, she actually lit a flame in her palm. The water around her hands boiled, creating tiny bubbles.

"What is your command, Princess?" Pyra asked, and Roxy hesitated. The entire court was watching.

"Okay," Roxy whispered. She grabbed her plate with the beating heart. "Pyra... can you... See this?"

"Sear?" Pyra looked confused.

"Burn the outside," Roxy clarified. "Just... hold your hands over it. Make it brown."

Pyra nodded. She placed her hands over the meat.

The sound was loud in the quiet hall. The water around the meat boiled instantly. The raw, metallic smell of blood vanished, replaced by the rich, savory aroma of searing meat.

The scent hit the currents.

Noses twitched.

Vespera stopped chewing. Thalassa sniffed the air. Even Nerissa leaned forward, her nostrils flaring.

"It smells..." Nimue whispered, eyeing the plate. "Different."

Roxy wasn’t done. She reached into the sash of her robe and pulled out a small leather pouch of sea salt and a grinder of black pepper.

She sprinkled the salt over the searing meat and cracked the pepper.

The spices hit the hot meat, releasing oils and aromas that had never existed in the Spires before.

"Done," Roxy announced.

The heart was no longer a slimy, beating organ. It was a seared, seasoned steak. It looked... edible.

Roxy cut a piece. She put it in her mouth. She chewed.

It was gamey, but the salt and the heat made it palatable. She swallowed.

"Mmm," Roxy hummed, mostly for show. "Much better."

"What did you do?" Nerissa asked, her eyes wide with curiosity. "You put dust on the meat. And you burned it."

"It is called seasoning, Mother!" Nimue burst out, unable to contain herself. "She is a master! In the cave, she made the crabs taste like heaven! She has a yellow paste that smells like aggressive flowers!"

"Garlic butter," Roxy corrected under her breath.

Nerissa looked at the seared meat. She looked at Pyra, who was beaming at being useful. She looked at Roxy.

"I am intrigued," Nerissa admitted. She reached out a tentacle and pointed at Roxy’s plate.

"Give me a piece."

Roxy didn’t hesitate. She cut a generous slice, making sure it had plenty of salt, and floated it over to the Queen on the tip of her fork. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Nerissa took it. She sniffed it suspiciously. Then, she ate it.

The Queen froze.

Her eyes widened. Her tentacles curled tight around the throne.

The explosion of flavor hit her primitive palate, and she chewed slowly, savoring the alien sensation. She swallowed.

She looked at Roxy. "You will cook for me," Nerissa demanded, her voice thick with pleasure. "Tomorrow. You will use your ’seasoning’. Promise me."

"I promise," Roxy said, forcing a smile. If I’m still here tomorrow.

"Good," Nerissa sighed, leaning back in her throne, looking satisfied.

The banquet continued. The tension had broken. The nobles were now clamoring for Pyra to sear their squids, asking Roxy to pass the "magic dust."

Then, Nerissa stood up.

The chatter died instantly. When the Queen stood, the ocean listened.

She tapped her crystal goblet with a claw. Cling-cling-cling.

"Silence," Nerissa commanded.

She looked around the room, her expression solemn and heavy with purpose.

"The King has returned," Nerissa spoke, her voice echoing. "He has brought a mate of power. A mate who brings new magic to our bloodline."

Roxy felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She didn’t like where this was going.

Nerissa turned her gaze to Caspian, who straightened in his seat. Then, she turned her void-black eyes to Roxy.

She leaned forward over the table, clasping her hands together.

"The Lineage of the Deep is fragile," Nerissa stated. "Caspian nearly died. If he had fallen, the Spires would have crumbled into civil war."

She paused, letting the weight of that reality sink in.

"We cannot risk this again. The succession must be secured."

Roxy stopped breathing. She looked at Caspian. He was looking at his plate, his ears turning pink.

And what the fuck are you blushing for?

"Tell me, Princess of the Tide," Nerissa asked, her voice booming through the silent hall, loud enough for every general, noble, and servant to hear.

"Have you and my son become one?"

She narrowed her eyes, searching Roxy’s face for the truth.

"Is there a youngling on the way?"