Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 303: Episode 301: Don’t Worry, Roxy.

Back in the iron-wood manor.

Roxy stood on the second-floor landing, leaning over the wooden banister to survey the ground floor. She let out a long, deliberate breath, ensuring her perfectly orchestrated plan was holding together.

She had spent the last hour meticulously, ruthlessly putting every single male in the house to work.

Zarek was out back by the forge, happily deafening himself by hammering a massive pile of scrap iron to reinforce the outer perimeter gates.

He seemed to like that Roxy was ordering him around.

Torian and Kaelen had been dispatched on a highly specific, totally exaggerated "perimeter sweep" deep into the northern woods, hunting for fresh venison.

Syris was locked inside his makeshift apothecary, brewing a week’s supply of nutritional tonics for her pregnancy.

And Ren was currently sitting in the center of the courtyard, using his master-tier illusion magic to conjure glowing, ethereal butterflies for Drax, Axel, Onyx, and Iris to chase, thoroughly exhausting the pups.

Even little Tanith was fast asleep in her bed.

The Manor was finally, beautifully distracted.

Roxy turned away from the banister and slipped quietly into the master bedroom. She pushed the heavy oak door shut, throwing the iron deadbolt into place with a solid clack.

She didn’t want any interruptions. She didn’t want the overbearing, fiercely protective Kings hovering over her shoulder and growling at the magical projection.

She walked over to her spatial inventory chest at the foot of the bed. Reaching inside, her fingers brushed past healing potions and spare clothes until she found what she was looking for: the smooth, heavy, iridescent communication stone.

Roxy sat cross-legged in the center of the massive fur-covered bed. She placed the smooth, pearl-like stone in her lap and placed both hands flat against its cool surface.

[System, alright! do your work!]

The relic instantly warmed beneath her palms. A soft, glowing blue light began to emanate from the center of the pearl, projecting a shimmering, liquid pane of magical water into the air directly in front of her. The surface of the projection rippled violently, thick with static and the crushing interference of the deep trench.

For a terrifying minute, there was nothing but dark, swirling water.

Then, the interference fractured. The projection stabilized, revealing the dimly lit, pink-coral walls of a royal abyssal chamber.

And there he was.

Caspian was hovering in the center of the projection. He looked absolutely tired and depressed. .

He hadn’t noticed the projection activating. He was staring blankly at his webbed hands, completely lost to the dark.

"Caspian," Roxy breathed, her voice cracking slightly in the quiet bedroom.

Inside the magical projection, the Merman King violently flinched. His massive head snapped up, his silver-blue eyes locking dead onto the shimmering window connecting their worlds.

When he saw her, the breath completely left his lungs.

"Roxy," Caspian gasped, a raw, breathless whisper that carried the weight of a thousand apologies.

He surged forward, his massive silver tail propelling him so close to the magical pane that his face filled her vision.

He raised a trembling, webbed hand, pressing it flat against his side of the barrier, as if he could somehow feel the warmth of her skin through the miles of crushing water and magic. The absolute, unadulterated joy and overwhelming relief radiating from his eyes was blinding.

"You’re safe," Caspian choked out, a single tear escaping his eye to mix with the ocean current. "You are calling me. My Queen... you have no idea how much I—"

He stopped, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard, clearly preparing to grovel. "Roxy, I am so sorry. I was a monster. I kept you in the dark, I lied to you, and I almost destroyed everything you loved. I deserve every ounce of your hatred, but please, just let me say—"

"Stop," Roxy interrupted gently, raising her own hand to press her palm against the magical projection, aligning her fingers with his.

"I am not calling you to hear your apology, Caspian," Roxy stated, her voice soft but ringing with absolute clarity. "I already know you’re sorry. I can feel it."

Caspian stared at her, utterly bewildered. "Then why..."

Roxy took a deep breath, dropping her gaze for a fraction of a second before meeting his eyes again, refusing to let her pride dictate her family’s future.

"Because I am the one who is sorry," Roxy confessed, her voice thick with emotion. "I am sorry for saying such harsh, terrible things to you on that cliffside. I was so angry, Caspian. I was so terrified of what you almost did to Zarek and the others, and the betrayal hurt more than I could process. I wanted to hurt you back. But I shouldn’t have said that I hated you. Because I don’t."

Caspian’s breath hitched. His broad chest heaved, his hand pressing harder against the magical glass.

"I don’t hate you," Roxy repeated firmly, a warm, genuine smile breaking through her tears. "I love you, you giant, overbearing fish. You are the father of my child. And sitting in this massive Manor, surrounded by the rest of the pack, the only thing I can think about is the fact that there are two empty seats at my dining table."

Caspian let out a wet, broken sound—a sigh and a laugh. The sheer, overwhelming relief of her forgiveness visibly stripped centuries of weight from his shoulders.

"Roxy," Caspian whispered, looking at her as if she had just hung the stars in his sky.

"So," Roxy said, wiping a stray tear from her cheek and shifting instantly into her fierce, pragmatic matriarch mode. She leaned closer to the projection. "We need a plan. I want my son, and I want my Merman. But Ren told me your biology won’t survive the transition to the Iron-Wood. How can I get you to the surface? What kind of magic do we need? I will ask the gods, I will drain the System shop, I will do whatever it takes to build a reservoir for you."

Caspian watched her scheme, completely touched that she was actively, fiercely fighting for him. The radiant, unyielding determination in her green eyes was the most magnificent thing he had ever seen.

A slow, incredibly soft, and profoundly serene smile spread across Caspian’s face.

It wasn’t his usual arrogant, royal smirk. It was the smile of a man who had already looked death in the eye and made his absolute peace with it.

"You don’t need to build a reservoir, my beautiful Queen," Caspian said, his telepathic voice carrying a strange, peaceful resonance that sent a sudden chill down Roxy’s spine.

"What do you mean?" Roxy frowned, her maternal instincts instantly flaring with suspicion.

Caspian’s smile remained, though his silver-blue eyes gleamed with a heavy, devastating finality. "I don’t know if I can make it to the surface in the way you expect. The ocean is vast, and the laws of the deep are unforgiving."

He paused, his gaze tracing the features of her face as if he were trying to brand her image permanently into his soul.

"But I promise you this, Roxy," Caspian vowed softly, his voice echoing with the terrifying, unbreakable weight of the Abyssal Transmutation magic he had just agreed to. "I will try anything to come meet you."

Roxy’s breath caught. The phrasing was too absolute. The serene, sacrificial look in his eyes was entirely wrong.

"Anything?" Roxy repeated, panic suddenly spiking in her chest. She leaned forward, gripping the communication stone tightly. "Caspian, what does that mean? What are you going to do? What did you agree to?!"

Caspian just smiled sadly, resting his hand against the glass one last time. "I love you, Roxy."

"Caspian, wait! What is going on—?!"