Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 216: Episode : How Dare Him?

Roxy floated near the dais, her smile fixed in place, but her mind was spinning.

Nerissa had said it with such finality. Not "if" the tide takes you, but "before." It sounded less like a metaphor for death and more like a travel itinerary.

System, Roxy thought, a cold prickle of unease running down her spine. Does she know? Does she know about the Key? About the Quest?

[TheSassyGoddess: Oh, honey, that squid definitely knows something. Did you see that look? That wasn’t a ’proud mother-in-law’ look. That was a ’I know your rental lease is expiring’ look. She’s ancient, Roxy. She’s probably seen more dimension-hoppers than you’ve seen hot dinners.]

Roxy swallowed hard.

Don’t panic. If she knew I was planning to bail, she’d have locked me in a dungeon, not given me a cooking show.

"She’s just being poetic," Roxy muttered under her breath, dismissing the warning bells. "Old people love cryptic metaphors. It makes them feel mysterious."

She shook her head, physically clearing the thought, and looked at the Matriarch. Nerissa was still licking the spicy glaze from her fingers, looking uncharacteristically relaxed. But Roxy noticed something else, the Matriarch’s hair.

It was a massive, floating cloud of black, wiry strands, weighed down by heavy golden ornaments and what looked like centuries of accumulated wax and salt. It looked heavy. It looked uncomfortable. And for someone as tactile as Roxy, it looked like a project.

"Mother," Roxy spoke up, swimming closer.

Nerissa looked up, her black eyes narrowing slightly. "You linger, Little Pearl. Do you seek more praise?"

"No," Roxy shook her head. She reached out, her hand hovering near Nerissa’s mane. "I was just looking at your hair. It looks... heavy. Does your scalp not ache from the weight of all that gold?"

Nerissa stiffened. The court went silent. One did not comment on the Matriarch’s grooming.

"Are you insulting the Crown’s Mane?" Nerissa asked, her voice dropping to a dangerous rumble. "This style has been worn by Queens since the First Current."

"And it looks very regal," Roxy added quickly, sensing the danger. "But it looks stiff. I just..." She wiggled her fingers. "I want to make you feel good. I know a surface technique. A massage. A way to unbind the knots without losing the volume. It will make it soft to the touch."

Nerissa hesitated. She looked at Roxy’s small, soft hands, hands that had just delivered the most delicious meal she had ever eaten.

"Soft?" Nerissa grunted. "A Queen does not need to be soft."

"Everyone deserves to be soft sometimes," Roxy countered gently. "Even the Kraken sleeps in the sponge beds."

Nerissa let out a huff of bubbles. She turned around on her throne, presenting her back to Roxy.

"You may touch," Nerissa commanded. "But if you pull a single strand, I will turn you into a decorative lamp."

"Understood," Roxy smiled.

She swam behind the massive throne.

The court watched in fascinated horror as the new Queen buried her hands in the Matriarch’s hair.

It was like detangling steel wool. But Roxy was patient. She used her nails to gently scratch the scalp, a sensation that made Nerissa let out a low, involuntary moan of pleasure that echoed through the hall.

"Oh," Nerissa breathed, her tentacles going slack. "That is... acceptable."

Roxy worked through the knots, removing the heavy, oxidized gold clips and replacing them with lighter, woven patterns using the hair itself. She massaged the tension out of the ancient neck muscles.

To the side, General Kaia hovered like a sentinel. She watched Roxy’s hands with an intensity that bordered on religious devotion.

Nerissa, lulled into a state of semi-conscious bliss, opened one eye and spotted her General.

"Kaia," Nerissa murmured, her voice slurring slightly from relaxation. "You are staring. You look... domesticated. It is unsettling."

Kaia didn’t flinch. She swam forward and bowed low, lower than she had ever bowed to a General.

"I have changed, Matriarch," Kaia stated, her voice trembling with sincerity. "I have seen the light. The Queen... she is not just a ruler. She is calm in the storm."

Kaia looked up, her grey eyes shining.

"It seems," Kaia whispered, "that I have found the one."

The doors to the Throne Room slammed open.

"FOUND THE ONE?!"

Caspian swam in, his tail thrashing with agitation. He had been handling a quick trade dispute outside, but he had clearly heard the General’s declaration.

He surged up to the dais, ignoring the nobles who scattered out of his path. He positioned himself directly between Roxy and Kaia, his dorsal fin flared in aggressive display.

"What do you mean, ’the one’?" Caspian snarled, pointing a webbed finger at Kaia’s nose. "She is MY one! She is my wife! My Queen! My mate!"

He turned to Roxy, grabbing her hand away from his mother’s hair and pressing it to his chest.

"She is mine!" Caspian declared, his golden eyes wild. "Mine to keep! Mine to hold! You are Kaia. Go find a fish to chase and leave my Pearl alone!"

"Caspian!"

The voice wasn’t Roxy’s. It was Nerissa’s. She looked annoyed at the interruption of her massage.

"Stop posturing," Nerissa snapped. "And correct your tongue. She is not a thing. ’Mine to keep’? She is not a shiny pebble you found in the sand."

"Exactly!" Roxy shouted, yanking her hand back from Caspian.

She glared at her husband. "Thank you, Mother! I am standing right here! I am not a possession, Caspian. You don’t ’keep’ me like a pet in a tank!"

Caspian looked stricken. The anger drained out of him, replaced by a desperate, wounded look.

"I did not mean it like that," he stammered, reaching for her again but stopping when she glared. "I only meant... I love you. The bond... It makes me crazy. When I see others looking at you..."

He shot a venomous look at Kaia.

"...Looking at you like they want to steal you away... I cannot bear it. You have always been my mate, Roxy. Since the moment I saw you. No one can come in between us."

"I wasn’t trying to come between," Kaia said smoothly, swimming around Caspian to stand on Roxy’s other side. "I was merely offering my eternal servitude. If the King is too insecure to handle a loyal General, that is a pity."

"Insecure?!" Caspian roared, his hands lighting up with blue mana.

"Okay, stop!" Roxy laughed, stepping between them. She looked from the fuming King to the smirking General.

"Honestly, Caspian, you need to relax," Roxy teased, nudging his arm. "Besides... I like Kaia. She’s handy. She keeps the servants in line. And she appreciates my cooking."

Kaia preened. She literally puffed out her chest, her grey eyes shining with victory. "The Queen has spoken. She likes me."

Caspian looked like he had just been slapped with a wet trout. He looked at Kaia, his former ex-girlfriend turned rival, with a look of pure loathing.

"She likes you as a guard," Caspian hissed. "Do not get ideas, Kaia. I am the husband. I sleep in the bed. You sleep in the hallway."

"For now," Kaia muttered under her breath.

"What was that?!"

"Oh my god," Roxy chuckled, shaking her head. "You two are ridiculous. Is this what my life is now? Fighting off admirers?"

She swam back to Nerissa, picking up the comb again.

"At least you guys are better than the alternative," Roxy said casually, resuming her work on the Matriarch’s hair. "I’d take a jealous husband and a simping General over that slime-ball I met earlier."

The mood in the room shifted instantly.

Caspian froze. "Slime-ball?"

Kaia’s hand went to her dagger. "Who?"

Even Nerissa turned her head slightly, her eyes narrowing. "Who disturbed the Queen?"

"Oh, just some guy named Lysander," Roxy said breezily, pretending to focus on a knot. "From the Gilded Fin? He cornered me and Nimue in the plaza. Tried to woo me. Said you were boring in bed, Caspian. And he called Nimue ’too loud’ and made her cry."

Roxy paused for effect.

"He basically implied I should cheat on the King because he has shinier scales."

The silence that followed was terrifying.

The temperature in the room dropped to freezing.

Caspian’s face went devoid of all color, his eyes turning into pits of black rage. The mana around him began to boil.

Kaia slowly drew her bone dagger. Her smile was gone. Her face was a mask of pure, predatory violence.

Nerissa slowly stood up from her throne. Her new, soft hair floated around her like a dark halo. Her tentacles writhed, cracking the stone floor beneath them.

They didn’t look at each other. They didn’t need to coordinate. The insult to the King, the insult to the Princess, and the insult to the Queen was a declaration of war.

"Lysander," Caspian whispered, the name sounding like a curse.

"Of the Gilded Fin," Kaia added, testing the edge of her blade.

"That parasitic worm," Nerissa rumbled. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Their voices merged into a singular, terrifying shout that shook the coral walls of the Spires.

"HOW DARE HIM!"