Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 218: Episode : I will win you over.

The guards dragged the body away by the tail.

It was a grim, silent procession. Lysander’s golden scales scraped against the coral floor, leaving a faint trail of dark fluid that the current quickly washed away.

Roxy stood motionless, her hand still tingling from the impact of the trident strike.

She looked down at her palms. They were clean. The water had washed away the physical evidence instantly. But the weight remained.

I killed him, she thought, the realization settling in her gut like a stone. I didn’t just order it. I did it.

Back on Earth, "kill or be killed" was a metaphor for corporate ladders or traffic jams. Here, in the wild, it was the literal law of physics. If she hadn’t struck him, Nerissa would have tortured him for days.

If she hadn’t intervened, he would have died screaming. She had granted him mercy, yes. But it was still a killing blow.

The Spires aren’t a fairytale, Roxy reminded herself, taking a shaky breath. It’s a fish tank filled with sharks. And if I want to survive, I have to be the biggest shark in the room.

"This looks very good," Nerissa’s voice broke the silence.

Roxy turned. The Matriarch was looking at her reflection in the polished surface of a pillar.

Nerissa reached up, her massive, clawed hands surprisingly gentle as she touched the soft waves of black hair Roxy had styled. The gold clips caught the bioluminescent light, but for the first time in centuries, they didn’t look like shackles weighing her down. They looked regal.

"The headache," Nerissa murmured, tilting her head left and right. "It is... gone. The scalp breathes."

She turned to Roxy, her expression unreadable.

"You have a talent for order, Little Pearl."

Nerissa floated closer, looming over Roxy.

"The females of the court... their manes are tangled. They are heavy with wax and salt. It makes them irritable. And irritable females make for a chaotic court."

Nerissa gestured to the empty throne room.

"Teach them," the Matriarch commanded. "Show them this... ’softness.’ If they feel lighter, perhaps they will stop bickering over territory and focus on the hunt."

Roxy blinked. She had been planning to ask for permission to open a salon later. another step in her Influence Quest, but Nerissa was handing it to her on a silver platter.

"You... you want me to teach them?" Roxy asked. "I thought you said softness was weakness."

"Strategic softness is not a weakness," Nerissa corrected. "It is maintenance. A sharp blade must be oiled, or it rusts. A Queen must be groomed, or she frays."

She looked at Roxy with a rare flicker of approval.

"Consider it your second duty. First, the Kitchens. Now, the Grooming. You are reshaping the Spires, Daughter."

"Thank you, Mother," Roxy bowed, feeling a rush of relief. The Influence Meter in her peripheral vision ticked up again. She was winning. She was actually doing it.

Nerissa nodded, then her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized Roxy’s face.

"But not today," Nerissa decided. "You look pale. The killing blow takes a toll on the spirit, especially for one raised in the gentle currents of the Surface."

She waved a tentacle at Caspian, who had been hovering protectively by Roxy’s side.

"Take her," Nerissa ordered. "Return to the Pearl Wing. Let her rest. She has fed the court and cleaned the trash. She has earned her sleep."

"At once," Caspian said, looking relieved.

He didn’t wait. He scooped Roxy up into his arms, bridal style, because apparently, that was his default mode of transport, and propelled them toward the exit with a powerful kick of his indigo tail.

"I can swim, you know," Roxy murmured, resting her head against his chest. She felt drained.

"I know," Caspian whispered, kissing the top of her head. "But I like holding you. And you are trembling."

They swept out of the throne room, leaving the politics and the blood behind.

***

The swim back to the Pearl Wing was quiet, until it wasn’t.

Caspian was moving fast, eager to get Roxy into the sanctuary of their private room. He wanted to wrap her in, feed her, and make her forget the sound of the trident hitting flesh.

But as they turned the corner into the Royal Corridor, Caspian stopped abruptly.

He spun around, his tail lashing out to block the path behind them.

"Stop following us," Caspian snarled.

Roxy lifted her head.

Hovering a few feet behind them, looking completely unbothered, was Kaia.

The General had cleaned her blade. She was back to her stoic, terrifying self, but her eyes were fixed on Roxy with that same intense, puppy-dog devotion.

"I am escorting the Queen," Kaia stated calmly. "The palace is large. Threats are everywhere."

"I am the King!" Caspian shouted, clutching Roxy tighter. "I am the threat! I mean—I am the protection! We do not need a chaperone!"

"Every Queen needs a Lady-in-Waiting," Kaia countered smoothly.

"Focused on what?" Caspian narrowed his eyes. "You are focused on my wife!"

"Our Queen," Kaia corrected.

"What do you want, Kaia?" Caspian demanded, his patience snapping. "Why are you stalking us? We are going to rest."

Kaia tilted her head. She looked at Roxy, then at Caspian. A slow, calculating look crossed her sharp features.

"Rest," Kaia repeated. "Or... recreation?"

She swam a little closer, lowering her voice to a husky purr that vibrated through the water.

"The King is skilled, I am sure," Kaia said, eyeing Caspian dismissively. "But he is... one male. One set of hands. One tongue."

Roxy stiffened in Caspian’s arms. Wait. Where is this going?

Kaia looked directly at Roxy, her grey eyes darkening with invitation.

"I have seen how you look at the females, Majesty," Kaia lied. "You admire their strength and their form."

Roxy blinked. "When did that happen?"

Kaia placed a hand on her own armored chest.

"If the King permits... I could join you."

Caspian’s jaw dropped. Roxy’s eyes bugged out.

"Join us?" Caspian choked. "In... in the bed?"

"To please the Queen," Kaia clarified, looking strictly at Roxy. "I know the currents of the female body in ways a male cannot. I can show you the deep bliss. We could take turns. Or... together."

She gave a small, sharp-toothed grin.

"I am very flexible."

Roxy felt her face flush so hot she thought the water around her might boil again.

A threesome. The Shark General was proposing a royal threesome.

"Whoa!" Roxy yelped, scrambling out of Caspian’s arms to put some distance between her and the amorous General. "Okay! Pause! Timeout!"

She held up both hands.

"Kaia," Roxy said, her voice high and squeaky. "That is... wow. That is a very generous offer. Very detailed."

"I aim to serve," Kaia bowed slightly.

"But," Roxy continued quickly, "I am... how do I say this in ’fish’?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

She pointed to herself.

"I am strictly into males. Boys. Men. The ones with the... you know." She gestured vaguely. "I appreciate the female form! You are gorgeous! Very strong! Very shiny! But romantically? Sexually?"

She shook her head vigorously.

"Sadly, I am not into women. It’s just not my... current."

Kaia’s face fell. She looked genuinely crushed, like a child who had been told Santa Claus was actually a barracuda.

"Are you sure?" Kaia pressed, swimming forward. "Have you tried? perhaps you just haven’t had the right—"

"NO!" Caspian roared, swimming between them and flaring his fins to their maximum size. "She said no! Back off! She likes the sausage, not the clam! Get it through your thick skull!"

"You are limiting her potential," Kaia scowled at him.

"I am protecting her preferences!" Caspian shouted back.

Before Kaia could draw her dagger and challenge Caspian for the right to try and turn the Queen, a booming voice echoed down the hallway.

"KAIA!"

Nerissa appeared at the end of the corridor. She didn’t look amused.

"Stop harassing the couple," Nerissa commanded, her tentacles pointing back toward the throne room. "I have work for you. The cleanup of the Gilded Fin estate requires a heavy hand. And since you are so eager to serve the Crown, you can seize Lysander’s assets."

Kaia hesitated. She looked at Roxy with longing. She looked at Caspian with disdain. Then she looked at the Matriarch with fear.

"Yes, Matriarch," Kaia sighed, defeated.

"Go," Nerissa barked.

Caspian didn’t wait for a second invitation. He grabbed Roxy’s hand.

"Move," he whispered. "Before she changes her mind."

He yanked Roxy down the hall, swimming so fast he was practically creating a wake.

Roxy glanced back over her shoulder.

Kaia was drifting backward, obeying the Matriarch’s order, but she cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Do not despair, my Queen!" Kaia shouted down the corridor, her voice echoing off the coral walls.

"I will go to the surface market! I will find gifts! I will bring you lots of goodies later! You will see! I will win you over yet!"