Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 150: The Broken Mirror

Primrose didn’t stay fainted for long. The scent of mint and rain woke her up.

She blinked open her eyes. She was being carried. The chest she was pressed against was firm, wet, and smelled like the ocean.

"Put me down," Primrose mumbled.

"No," Caspian said immediately. He didn’t look at her; he was busy stepping over the rubble of the shattered egg shell. "You exhausted your mana core. If you walk, you will fall. And I do not catch people twice."

"I have legs," Primrose argued weakly.

"And you have a tail that is currently trying to photosynthesize," Orion pointed out, walking beside them.

Primrose looked back.

Sure enough, her new Green Tail was instinctively reaching toward the glowing moss on the cave ceiling, absorbing the ambient light. It felt strange—cool and tingly, like dipping a toe in a stream.

"Great," Primrose groaned, resting her head back on Caspian’s shoulder. "I’m a plant."

Jasper was walking ahead of them, guarded by Cassian.

The little boy was cradling the tiny green snake in his arms like it was made of glass. The snake—the baby Imugi—was asleep, coiled tight.

"It is heavy," Jasper whispered to his brother.

"It carries the weight of the Clan," Cassian said softly, looking at the glowing gem embedded in the snake’s forehead. "That stone... the Yeouiju... it is the heart of our magic. Venetia tried to force it into a monster. But you gave it a home."

Cassian stopped. He looked at Duchess Venetia, who was still slumped against the wall, staring blankly at the floor.

"What do we do with her?" Cassian asked.

"Leave her," a voice said from the tunnel entrance.

They turned.

Luna stepped into the light of the Sanctuary.

She looked terrible. Her dress was muddy, her knuckles were bruised, and her long rabbit ears were drooping low. She was dragging her heavy iron ladle behind her like a club.

She wasn’t crying anymore. She looked numb.

"Luna!" Primrose tried to wiggle out of Caspian’s arms.

"I’m okay," Luna said, her voice hollow. "I secured the... the prisoner."

"The prisoner?" Caspian asked.

"The Courier," Luna corrected herself. "Jax. The real one."

She pointed back down the tunnel.

"He’s tied up with his own belt. He has a concussion. But he’s alive."

She looked up at Primrose, her eyes filled with a heartbreaking mixture of relief and grief.

"He really doesn’t know us, Prim. I checked his pockets. No dried flowers. No letters. Just military orders and a ration bar."

She let out a shaky breath.

"The Jax we knew... the one who liked spicy stew... he’s dead. He never existed."

Primrose felt her heart ache. She reached out, and her Green Tail instinctively stretched toward Luna. A puff of golden pollen drifted from the flower at the tip, landing on Luna’s bruised hand.

The bruise faded instantly.

"I can’t fix the heart, Luna," Primrose whispered. "I’m sorry."

They walked out of the cave and back into the ruined palace.

The Husk guards were in chaos. With the Boss gone and the God vanished, they had no orders. They stood around like broken toys.

Cassian walked to the center of the Main Hall. He stood on the raised dais where Venetia usually sat.

He didn’t look like the lazy, bored Snake Lord they knew. He looked terrifying.

"Listen to me!" Cassian’s voice boomed, amplified by his magic.

The Husks turned to look at him.

"Duchess Venetia has failed," Cassian announced cold and sharp. "The Ascension was a lie. The Void has been purged."

He pointed to Jasper, who held the baby snake.

"Behold the Heir! The Imugi lives!"

The Snake-Kin guards stared at the tiny green snake. They felt the pure aura radiating from it—not the sickening purple Void magic, but the clean, green energy of their ancestors.

One by one, the guards dropped to their knees.

"We serve the Scale," one captain murmured, bowing his head.

Cassian sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. He looked at Lady Zhu (the gatekeeper), who was trembling in the corner.

"Lady Zhu," Cassian commanded. "You are acting Regent until Jasper comes of age. Clean up this mess. Destroy the Void labs. And lock Venetia in the tower until she remembers who she is."

"Yes, Lord Cassian!" Lady Zhu bowed frantically. "And... and you?"

"Me?" Cassian looked at his friends—the fox, the fish, the rabbit, and the children.

"I am going home," Cassian said. "I have a Daycare to run."

The next day,Before they headed to the docks, Jasper tugged on Cassian’s sleeve.

"I have to say goodbye to the Cousin," Jasper said firmly.

Cassian hesitated, looking at the chaos of the palace. "Jasper, we need to leave."

"It is protocol," Jasper insisted, adjusting his sash. "And... she has my ball."

Cassian sighed. "Five minutes."

Jasper walked back to the Serenity Garden.

Lady Mei was still there. She hadn’t moved during the attack. She hadn’t run when the Void Beam fired. She was sitting on the bench, hands folded in her lap, staring at the rubber ball Jasper had left on the gravel.

She looked small. The perfect, heavy silk robes looked like a cage.

Jasper walked up to her.

"We are leaving," Jasper announced. "My brother says the air quality here is bad for his complexion."

Mei looked up. Her face was as blank as ever, but her hands were gripping her knees tightly.

"My mother is screaming in the tower," Mei stated. "The guards say she is a traitor. Does that mean I am a traitor?"

"No," Jasper said simply. "You are just Mei."

He pointed to the ball.

"You should keep that."

Mei looked at the cheap rubber ball. "It is inefficient. It bounces in unpredictable patterns."

"That is the point," Jasper explained, stepping closer. "If you know where it is going, it is just physics. If you don’t know, it is a game."

He reached out and patted her stiff, hair-sprayed head.

"You should try playing, Cousin. It is harder than math, but the data is better."

Mei blinked. For the first time, the robotic mask cracked. She looked confused, scared, and just a little bit curious.

She reached out and picked up the ball. She squeezed it. It squeaked.

The corner of her mouth twitched upward. A micro-millimeter. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"I will... analyze this game," Mei whispered.

Lady Zhu (the new Regent) stepped into the garden. She looked exhausted, but she bowed to Cassian and Jasper.

"I will look after her," Lady Zhu promised Cassian. "She will not be raised like a doll anymore. We have had enough perfection for one lifetime."

Jasper nodded. He turned and walked away, holding Cassian’s hand.

As they left the garden, they heard a sound behind them.

Thump. Squeak.

Thump. Squeak.

Mei was bouncing the ball.

They didn’t stay for the feast. They didn’t stay for the apologies.

They loaded their gear onto the river barge.

There was one extra passenger.

Real Jax lay unconscious on a bench in the back of the boat, his hands bound.

"Why are we taking him?" Caspian asked, steering the boat with a wave of his hand. "He is dead weight."

"We can’t leave him here," Primrose said, looking at Luna, who was sitting as far away from Jax as possible. "The Boss used his identity. He might have information. Or... maybe the Boss left something inside his head."

"Or maybe," Luna whispered, staring at the water, "I just need to hear him say it one more time. That he isn’t him."

As the barge drifted down the emerald river, leaving the Jade Valley behind, the mood was heavy.

They had won. They had saved the Imugi, unlocked a new tail, and stopped a Void Dragon.

But the Boss had escaped. And he had stolen something precious—their trust.

Jasper sat on Primrose’s lap, petting the sleeping snake.

"What will you name him?" Primrose asked softly, stroking Jasper’s hair.

Jasper looked at the snake. It was green, small, and had a shiny rock in its head.

"Pickles," Jasper decided.

Orion choked on his water. "Pickles? It is a Divine Beast! You cannot name it Pickles!"

"He looks like a pickle," Jasper argued, sounding five years old for the first time all day. "And I like pickles."

Primrose laughed. It was a weak, tired laugh, but it broke the tension.

"Pickles is a great name," she agreed.

She looked up at the sky. The rain clouds were clearing.

They were going back to the Capital.

But the war wasn’t over. The Boss had mentioned a wedding.

Rajah and Leonora’s wedding.

Primrose gripped the railing.

"We have to hurry," she whispered. "He’s going to crash the party."