Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 319: Episode 317: Banishing Titus

"It just stings a little, my Queen," Caspian murmured, his hoarse voice dropping into a soft, placating whisper. He leaned his face into her warm palm, completely melting under her touch. "You shouldn’t worry too much."

But Roxy was worried. She was incredibly, overwhelmingly worried.

Her eyes meticulously scanned the swelling, purple-and-black bruise blossoming across his sharp cheekbone and the bright, sluggish trail of red blood leaking from his split lip.

If Torian or Zarek had taken that punch, their ferociously potent Alpha biology and the lingering magic of their beasts would have already begun knitting the tissue back together.

In an hour, it would have been nothing more than a faint red mark.

But Caspian wasn’t an immortal merman anymore. He had traded his impenetrable abyssal scales and his rapid, magical healing for a fragile, human existence. He was mortal now.

He was exactly like her.

That meant the bruise was going to swell, his head was likely pounding with a localized concussion, and his lip was going to ache for days. The sheer vulnerability of him standing there, bleeding, made her heart twist with a fierce, terrifying protectiveness.

[You are exaggerating things.]

No one called you here, really.

Roxy pulled her hand back, turning her blazing green glare away from her mate and locking it directly onto the cowering Regent of the eastern plains.

"Torian," Roxy commanded, her voice ringing with absolute, zero-tolerance authority. "Show them out. Now. Before I go absolutely crazy looking at him again."

Torian stepped forward instantly from the wall of warlords. The massive White Tiger Alpha did not hesitate to obey his Queen, his dark eyes fixed firmly on the man who was currently holding his former title.

Titus flinched, but before the guards could completely surround him, Roxy raised a single, silencing hand. She took a deep breath, forcing the white-hot anger to subside just a fraction as she looked past the Regent to the trembling female tiger clutching little Sienna in the doorway.

"Your wife and your innocent cub have absolutely nothing to do with this," Roxy stated, her tone softening considerably as she addressed the terrified mother. "They are always welcome in the Iron-Wood. You have my blessing, and your daughter has her name."

Roxy’s gaze then snapped back to Titus, the warmth evaporating into pure, glacial ice. She crossed her arms tightly over her violet silk robe.

"But as for you, King Titus..." Roxy scoffed, her eyes narrowing into lethal slits. "I will never forgive you for punching my mate. Humph!"

The sheer, unfiltered disdain in that single, dismissive huff completely broke the Regent.

Titus let out a devastated, whimpering gasp. The massive Beastman physically collapsed, dropping heavily to his feet. He sank to his knees right there on the woven rugs of the parlor, his broad shoulders shaking in absolute, unadulterated despair.

To be openly despised and banished by the Matriarch who had saved their entire continent from the Wither-Rot was a political and social death sentence.

"Queen Roxy, please!" Titus begged, reaching a desperate hand toward the hem of her robe. "I was a fool! My pride clouded my judgment! Please—!"

He didn’t get to finish the apology.

Zarek had seen enough. He pushed past Torian, entirely out of patience for the groveling feline. Zarek reached down with one hand and grabbed the back of Titus’s heavy, embroidered collar.

Zarek effortlessly hoisted the massive, two-hundred-pound Tiger Beastman entirely off the floorboards using only one arm.

"You heard the Queen," Zarek rumbled, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Zarek didn’t escort him out; he dragged him. The Dragon Alpha hauled the sputtering, humiliated Regent backward through the parlor, through the grand foyer, and practically tossed him out onto the front porch. Torian respectfully guided the weeping wife and her cub out behind them, offering them a secure escort to their carriage.

Zarek pulled the heavy iron-wood doors shut with a concussive, vibrating force that rattled the glass in the windowpanes.

The grand parlor was finally, blessedly free of the eastern delegation.

"I assure you, Roxy, I am perfectly fine," Caspian tried again, offering her a crooked, highly apologetic smile. He immediately winced as the movement pulled at his split lip.

"You are not fine, you’re bleeding," Roxy scolded, though the anger had drained from her voice, replaced entirely by anxiety. She reached up again, gently dabbing at his lip with the soft silk sleeve of her robe.

Syris glided forward from the shadows, his pale, elegant features set in a mask of clinical focus.

"I will fetch a cooling balm from the apothecary," the Snake Beastman offered smoothly, his vertical green pupils assessing the swelling on Caspian’s cheek. "It is a mild, surface-level salve. It will reduce the inflammation and prevent the skin from scarring, perfectly safe for a mortal constitution."

Ren stepped out from beside the fireplace, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned casually against the stone. The vibrant Fox King flashed a charming, arrogant smile.

"There is absolutely no need for sticky, foul-smelling ointments," Ren declared smoothly, his bushy red tail swishing behind him. "I can heal little scars like this in a matter of seconds. Just a simple application of my magic."

Roxy paused, turning her head to shoot the Fox King an incredibly dry, deadpan look.

"Ren," Roxy said flatly. "No."

Ren pressed his lips into a tight, thin line. His charming smile evaporated, and his green eyes darted to the side as his tail gave an indignant, offended flick.

He muttered something under his breath about the underappreciation, but he didn’t argue further.

Syris offered a soft, superior smirk in the Fox’s direction before turning and gliding swiftly out of the parlor to retrieve his supplies.

He returned less than a minute later, carrying a small, beautifully carved jade jar. He handed it directly to Roxy, stepping back to give them space.

Roxy unscrewed the lid. A sharp, soothing scent of crushed mint and winter-root filled the air. She scooped a small amount of the pale blue balm onto her fingertips and stepped close to Caspian.

"Hold still," Roxy murmured.

She gently, painstakingly applied the cooling salve to his bruised cheekbone, feathering her touch so lightly it barely registered as pressure.

Caspian closed his eyes, leaning down slightly to accommodate her height. A soft, contented sigh escaped him as the icy balm instantly numbed the throbbing pain.

As she worked the salve into his split lip, the fierce scolding resumed.

"What were you thinking, Caspian?" Roxy muttered, her brow furrowing as she glared at his chin. "Letting a Tiger Beastman hit you freely? Do you have any idea how dense their bones are? You don’t have your abyssal magic anymore. You don’t have scales! He could have fractured your jaw. You have to start acting like a mortal man, not an invincible sea monster with a death wish."

Caspian didn’t defend himself. He simply opened his silver-blue eyes, looking down at her with such profound, overwhelming adoration that it derailed her reprimand entirely.

He loved it when she scolded him. It meant she was fiercely, possessively guarding his life.

Before Roxy could complain about his dopey smile, Kaelen cleared his throat from the corner of the room.

The Wolf Alpha stepped forward, his golden eyes sweeping over the quiet, domestic scene. "I will go to the training yard. The sun is beginning to set, and it is time to bring the children inside for their evening meal."

"Thank you, Kae," Roxy smiled, stepping back from Caspian and wiping the excess balm from her fingers onto a cloth Syris provided.

Kaelen offered a respectful nod and headed for the back doors, eager to wrangle Drax, the wolf twins, and the young dragons before total chaos erupted on the lawn.

With the immediate crisis handled and the tension finally bleeding out of the Manor, Mara and Lyra stepped forward from where they had been quietly observing near the staircase. The two powerful Matriarchs exchanged a fond, highly amused glance.

"We should likely be taking our leave soon as well, Queen Roxy," Lyra announced gracefully, her crimson scales catching the dimming light of the setting sun. "Rhae, Kaida, and Ryuu need to fly back to the peaks before the nocturnal predators begin their hunt."

Mara nodded in agreement, smoothing her practical, woven tunic. "Yes, and my pups have had more than enough excitement for one day. It is a long journey back to the cabins. But before we gather our broods..."

Mara paused, a bright, eager spark lighting up her wolf eyes. She looked from Roxy to the staircase leading up to the nursery.

"We must ask," Mara grinned, her tail giving a hopeful wag. "Are you going to hold a grand celebration party for baby Tyara, just like you did last time?"