Interstellar Beastworld: Raising A Cub With My Mummy System!-Chapter 35: EXPOSE THE RAT
He looked down at her, at their son in his arms, at the garden around them that was now theirs.
"Yes," he said. "I do."
She smiled. "Good. Because I think I would like that."
[FINALLY. I WAS GETTING WHIPLASH FROM ALL THIS BACK AND FORTH.]
Lin Yue ignored the voice in her head.
Uriel shifted Auriel to one arm and reached out with his free hand, brushing a strand of hair from her face. The gesture was gentle, almost hesitant, like he was still learning how to touch her.
"I should tell you though," he said quietly. "It will not be a wedding. Not yet."
She tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"I am a prince. There are protocols. The King and Queen must be involved. The whole court expects a ceremony." He paused. "We cannot just sign papers and call it done. There will be an actual wedding eventually. Just not right now."
Lin Yue nodded slowly.
"Tomorrow, we go to the registry. We sign the papers. Legally, you become my wife. Lin Yue Khyrnos, Princess of Primus. That is official. That is real." He looked at her carefully. "The ceremony comes later. When things are settled. When my parents can be bothered to pay attention."
She laughed softly. "So paperwork first, party later. That is very practical."
"You are not upset?"
"Upset? Uriel, I just survived two days of labor and almost died. A delayed wedding ceremony is nothing." She reached up and touched his cheek, mirroring his earlier gesture. "Besides, now I get to be a princess without having to stand in front of a bunch of strangers in a fancy dress. That sounds like a win to me."
He stared at her for a moment. Then his lips twitched.
"You’re a strange one.."
"I am efficient."
[PRINCESS LIN YUE KHYRNOS. I LIKE IT. VERY REGAL.]
She bit back a smile.
Uriel noticed. "What?"
"Nothing. Just... Princess Lin Yue Khyrnos. That is going to take some getting used to."
"You will adapt."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it is true."
Auriel stirred, letting out a tiny whimper, and they both looked down at him. His little face scrunched, then relaxed again.
Lin Yue reached out and touched his cheek. "So tomorrow. Registry. Papers. Princess."
"Tomorrow."
She looked up at Uriel. "And after that? When do I get to meet your parents?"
His expression flickered. "Soon. They will want to meet you. And Auriel." He paused. "My mother will have opinions. My father will be... distant. Prepare yourself."
"I have dealt with difficult people before. I worked in a customer service."
-_-
"Is customer service that bad?"
Lin Yue gave him that look that screamed "You don’t know the half of it" while nodding.
"It’s hell, people have no manners over the phone. Which also means I can handle your parents, I’ve met all types of people."
He almost smiled. "I believe you."
They stood there in the garden, the three of them, with a tree to plant and papers to sign and a future to build.
Eventually, Mira appeared at the edge of the garden, keeping a respectful distance. "Your Majesty, Madam? There is food prepared in the dining room whenever you are ready."
Lin Yue looked at Uriel. He looked at her.
"Food sounds good," she said.
"Then we eat."
They walked back toward the house together, Auriel still asleep in Uriel’s arms, Lin Yue close at his side.
Tomorrow she would become a princess.
Today, she was just a mother and a soon-to-be wife, walking through a garden with her family.
[CONGRATULATIONS. YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE INITIAL PHASE. NEW MISSION AVAILABLE.]
Lin Yue slowed her steps slightly, keeping her expression neutral.
[THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT. HIGHER STAKES. BETTER REWARDS.]
Uriel glanced at her. "Something wrong?"
"No, just... thinking." She smiled. "About tomorrow. About everything."
He nodded and kept walking.
Inside her head, the screen flickered to life with text only she could see.
[NEW MISSION: EXPOSE THE RAT]
[DESCRIPTION: THERE IS A RAT IN THIS HOUSE. NOT A LITERAL RODENT. SOMEONE WITH POWER. SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN HERE FOR YEARS. THEY STEAL. THEY MANIPULATE. THEY HAVE RUINED LIVES AND NO ONE HAS STOPPED THEM.]
Lin Yue’s stomach tightened. Someone with power in the house.
[OBJECTIVE: IDENTIFY THE RAT WITHIN THREE DAYS.]
[REWARD: FULL BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION. RESISTANCE TO ALL PRIMUS FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICALS. YOUR BODY WILL FINALLY BE AT HOME HERE.]
Her breath caught. That reward was everything.
[TIME LIMIT: THREE DAYS]
[FAILURE PENALTY: NO ADAPTATION. PERMANENT VULNERABILITY TO PRIMUS BIOLOGY.]
Permanent vulnerability. Forever watching what she ate. Forever being different.
[CLUE: THEY WALK THE HALLS LIKE THEY OWN THEM. STAFF BOW LOWER WHEN THEY PASS. SUPPLIES GO MISSING. ACCOUNTS NEVER QUITE ADD UP. AND THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE NOTICES NOTHING.]
Lin Yue’s blood ran cold.
The master of the house notices nothing.
How could Uriel not notice anything?
They entered the house, Auriel still sleeping peacefully. Uriel handed him carefully to a waiting Mira, who took the baby with practiced ease.
"I have some things to attend to," Uriel said. "Rest. Eat. I will find you later."
He kissed her forehead, brief and warm, and disappeared down the corridor.
Lin Yue watched him go, then turned to look at the house around her. The corridors stretched in multiple directions. Staff moved quietly, efficiently, barely making a sound.
One of them was the rat. Someone with power. Someone staff bowed lower for. Someone who stole and manipulated right under Uriel’s nose.
She looked at Mira, holding Auriel with such gentle care. At the guards standing at attention. At the servants passing with trays and linens.
Somewhere among them was a traitor.
And she had three days to find them.
She needed more information.
"MS, what exactly are they stealing?"
[FUNDS. LARGE AMOUNTS OVER TIME. SALARIES BEING CUT WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION. MONEY DISAPPEARING FROM HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNTS. STAFF HAVE BEEN PAID LESS THAN THEY ARE OWED FOR MONTHS.]
Lin Yue’s eyes widened.
Salaries being cut.
Staff being underpaid.
That meant real people were suffering because of this rat.
