Interstellar Beast World: All My Husbands Are Powerful and Rich!-Chapter 46: Burnt dumpling

If Kather were to reveal who he truly was, it would only paint a larger target on Rory’s back.

So he chose the only option left to him—he went completely limp in her palm, playing the part of an ordinary, slightly stupid bird. No resistance. No reaction. Just a soft, useless weight to take pity on.

Rory stared down at him, momentarily at a loss.

"...So you only understand ’come with me’?" she muttered. "What a peculiar little thing."

Still, confusion aside, this chubby black bird had just saved her life. If not for its frantic pecking, she would have been torn apart by a beast while unconscious. No matter how she looked at it, this little thing was her feathered lifesaver.

"Alright," she said at last, her voice softening. "You can come with me."

Her plan was simple—leave the valley first, then reunite with Jasper, Dax, Gina, and the others. Between them, someone was bound to know what this strange bird actually was, if it was anything at all.

Rory smiled faintly and reached out, gently stroking the bird’s feathers.

Kather froze.

The moment her fingers brushed his plumage, instinct flared violently inside him. He squirmed in reflex, trying to wriggle free of her touch.

His feathers were not meant for just anyone. As the Second Prince of the Interstellar Empire, bound by laws far stricter than those governing ordinary Etherian males, his body—his very existence—was reserved solely for his future huntress. Loyalty to her was not a choice. It was an absolute law, written by the Beast God himself.

Rory, blissfully unaware of the internal storm her simple action had triggered, noticed something odd.

"There’s... a twig stuck on you?"

While petting him, her fingers brushed against a small, pitch-black stick tangled in his feathers. Thinking it was poking or irritating him, she plucked it free without hesitation and flicked it aside.

The world stopped.

Kather’s flame-colored eyes snapped wide as he watched Yuel—Yuel!—arc through the air.

"Chee—!"

The sound that burst from him was half shriek, half crack of pure horror.

He leapt from Rory’s hand, flapping frantically toward the flying twig. But his current body was far too round, his wings far too stubby. Instead of soaring, he dropped like a stone and smacked straight into the ground, helpless.

"Cheep! Cheep!"

He scrambled to the edge of the bank just in time to see Yuel plop into a shallow pond and begin drifting away with the current.

In bird form, Kather couldn’t swim.

There was no way for him to enter the water.

"Cheep! Cheep!"

Female—why would you throw Yuel away like that?!

"Cheep!"

Save him! If he drifts off like this, who knows when he’ll ever recover! If at all!

Rory blinked, finally realizing something was very wrong.

"...Was that twig important to you?"

Seeing the small black bird nearly losing its mind, she immediately crouched down and retrieved the pitch-black twig from the water.

Up close, it didn’t look special—just unusually dark and strangely sturdy.

The instant Yuel was safe, Kather released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Leaving Yuel alone in his current state was unthinkable. After a moment of consideration, he gently nudged the twig toward Rory’s palm.

"Cheep!"

She frowned. "You... want to give it to me? Do you want me to keep it?"

Kather shook his head so hard his feathers nearly flew off. Hand over Yuel permanently? Absolutely not.

"Cheep!"

Just hold onto him for now!

Understanding dawned slowly on her face.

"...You want me to keep it safe for you?"

"Cheep!"

Kather nodded rapidly.

She really was sharp. He got lucky with this female.

"Okay," Rory agreed. "I’ll keep it safe. Just tell me when you want it back."

She tried to place the twig into her storage band—but it refused to go in.

Rory paused, puzzled.

What kind of wood is this?

With no other choice, she tucked the pitch-black twig carefully into the inner breast pocket of her combat suit instead.

Once that was settled, she pulled out her Gravicar and placed the little black bird gently onto the passenger seat. The valley showed no abnormal energy readings, and there were no massive trees blocking the way. She could drive out safely.

As Rory slid into the driver’s seat, she glanced sideways at the bird beside her.

"You’re so round... and so black," she mused. "I’ll call you Burnt dumpling."

"Cheep... cheep..."

Kather’s feathers puffed up in absolute outrage.

Burnt dumpling?!

He was Prince Kather—Second Prince of the Astrium Planet, heir to the Interstellar Empire’s royal bloodline! How dare she saddle him with a name so cheap, so ridiculous, that even low-tier beasts would laugh themselves sick hearing it?

Unthinkable!

***

Far from the valley, Jasper and Dax were tearing through the forest like madmen.

Two full days.

Two full nights.

Not a single trace of Rory.

Jasper’s composure was hanging by a thread. Finally, he whirled on Dax, fury blazing in his eyes.

"This is your fault!" he snapped. "If you hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve killed that Chitinid—and Rory would be safe!"

"Don’t you dare put this on me," Dax shot back, his own exhaustion and fear barely contained. "Did you even think about what the Female Master would’ve done if you’d died?"

His voice hardened.

"When she pinned that monster down and told us to run, she was choosing our lives over hers. If you’d gone through with that sacrifice, she’d have broken. She might’ve thrown herself after you."

Jasper clenched his fists.

"My decision was the only logical one," Dax continued. "If anyone’s to blame, it’s that cursed Ophidian secret art of yours. That ritual took too long."

"If it hadn’t taken so long," Jasper snarled, "the Female Master would be safe by now!"

Silence fell.

Jasper finally lowered his head, covering his face with one trembling hand.

"...It’s all my fault," he whispered.

The gentle, composed expression he always wore around Rory was completely gone, stripped away by guilt and fear.