"Darlings, look this way—"

CLICK.

Evangeline hooked a finger around her camera strap. Her alluring voice rang out, accompanied by a flurry of shutter clicks.

Through her lens, she captured them all: the domineering CEO, the overlord of the Demon Realm, the school’s dream boy, the divine Immortal, the heartthrob of the Demon Realm, the Human War God, and even the boy from Exotic Xylos. Every last one of them was a top-tier god of a man, flawless from any angle.

Piercing eyes, a wild, untamable smile, a chiseled profile, the deep shadow beneath a brow ridge—not a single detail was anything less than perfect.

Evangeline shot straight through until the sky paled at dawn, finishing reluctantly, still wanting more.

She sat cross-legged on a soft cushion, half-buried in the sea of photos spread across the floor. Her fingertips gently grazed one masterpiece after another. She let out a soft sigh. ’It’s true what they say,’ she thought, ’the models really make the shoot.’ Every single photo was the cream of the crop; it was impossible to part with any of them.

After sorting the photos, Evangeline tilted her head slightly, her gaze sweeping over the men themselves.

Beneath the pear blossom tree, Thorne lounged lazily against the trunk, arms folded casually across his chest. He wore the exquisitely tailored black suit with a feral edge, and the Red Fox tattoo peeking out on his neck gave him an air of danger.

Caden Albright and Danton were seated around a stone table. One held a black stone, while the other held a white stone like a piece of jade between his fingertips. They traded moves back and forth, locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle on the board.

The chessboard had just been a prop for the photoshoot, but Caden Albright and Danton had unexpectedly taken a great interest in the game.

She had only taught them the rules once, and now the two were hooked.

But the most stunning of all had to be Lachlan on the other side of the pear tree.

He was sitting under the tree with one leg bent and the other stretched out casually, his wrist resting on his knee. Perhaps tired, he was resting with his eyes closed, his long lashes casting faint shadows just beneath them.

Pear blossoms drifted down, covering his shoulders in snow-white petals. He was the very image of the ultimate campus heartthrob, brought to life straight from the pages of a manga.

Loras stood alone, apart from the group. The morning breeze ruffled his curly purple hair as he gazed into the distance. His profile was a hazy silhouette against the rising sun. A faint, sweet fragrance drifted on the air, making him seem so beautiful he was almost illusory.

Drake and Julian stood a little farther away.

Drake stood as straight and tall as a pine, his slender fingers steadily holding the butt of his Red Tassel Spear. He spoke only occasionally, his words few and to the point.

Julian, on the other hand, was fascinated by the spear. He flicked the tip with a finger, his ear twitching as if listening. A moment later, he extended a sharp claw from his fingertip and scraped it against the spearhead, sending sparks flying.

Startled, he jerked back, and the silver bells in his hair jingled crisply.

Evangeline stared at the group, then suddenly looked away. With a light flick of her slender fingers, she raised her camera and framed them all in the viewfinder.

CLICK.

Although the absence of Nix and The Everwake left the picture feeling incomplete, Julian’s arrival added a new vitality to the scene. ’This is a pretty precious shot, too,’ she thought. ’I’ll call it "The Beast World Beauties—Group Photo."’

Evangeline raised an eyebrow and flicked the edge of the photo, listening to its crisp snap. She suddenly understood. This must have been what it felt like for The Tyrant King at Vexia, feasting his eyes on all the peerless beauties of the world.

Pure indulgence.

*

「At sunset.」

Evangeline had cleared away the set from the previous night’s photoshoot, leaving only the pear tree and the Go board. In their place, she had set up several long walnut tables and a standing slab of black stone that held a deep sheen in the setting sun.

When the males emerged one by one, rubbing the sleep from their eyes, this was the scene that greeted them.

Evangeline glanced over at them. They were still wearing the clothes from the photoshoot, now rumpled and creased. Standing near the long tables and the blackboard, they looked for all the world like a pack of animals that had stumbled into a human classroom.

Which, of course, they were.

’From now on, their days of wearing beast skins were over,’ she decided. ’A wealthy woman ought to dress her men well.’

She tapped the blackboard with a pointer. "Since you’re all awake, go on and find a seat."

Caden Albright let out a low chuckle, his crimson robes sweeping past the edge of the table like a sunset cloud.

The moment he was seated, Bunny, who was on his lap, wriggled like a happy worm. Her chubby little arms wrapped tightly around her father’s neck, but her big, dark eyes darted about, looking from this father to that one, as if she could never get enough of the sight. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Father Danton! Over here!" Bunny spotted Danton holding the swaddled baby and perked up at once, waving her chubby little hand frantically in his direction.

The little girl’s voice was filled with delight as she stared eagerly at her baby brother.

A gentle smile touched Danton’s lips. He walked over with the swaddled baby and sat down beside Caden Albright.

Thorne strode to the table, leaned down, and gently tapped Bunny on the head with a long finger. "You heartless little maiden. Have you forgotten who used to hold you and cheer you up? All you care about now is Father Danton, is that it?"

Bunny clutched her forehead and giggled. Blinking, she grinned and said, "I just like my baby brother! I want to play with him. Father, when will my baby brother be able to run and chase me?"

Caden Albright reached out and gently patted the cute little tuft of hair on Bunny’s head. "In a few more days," he said softly.

Bunny stood up on Caden Albright’s lap and gently poked the baby’s cheek with a chubby finger. Suddenly, she tilted her head and looked at Danton.

She shook her head back and forth, her voice full of childish innocence. "Father Danton, my baby brother’s eyes are all colorful! They’re not like yours. He doesn’t look like you, and he doesn’t look like Mother, either. Why is that? I look just like my Father!"

Thorne’s lip twitched. His gaze swept over the swaddled infant in Danton’s arms, and a flicker of amusement flashed in his dark green eyes. He settled back in his seat at the long table, lazily propping his cheek on his hand. "You silly girl," he said languidly, "your baby brother doesn’t have a father."

"Huh?" Bunny’s eyes went wide, and she turned anxiously to look at Caden Albright.

"Father, didn’t you tell me that everyone has a father? Why doesn’t my baby brother have one? Isn’t Father Danton his father? Who will teach him how to hunt and how to grow up?"

The little girl’s thoughts were simple. All she knew was that her baby brother didn’t look like any of her fathers.

A hush fell over the twilight gathering.

Danton frowned, his gaze grave as he looked at Thorne. "He is Eva’s child, too."

Thorne’s eyes narrowed, and a sneer tugged at his lips. "Did I say something?"

Then, he lowered his voice and said to Danton with a touch of malice, "You probably haven’t seen what kind of bastard The Everwake is, have you? I, for one, am very much looking forward to his reaction when this little cub starts calling you ’Father.’"

’After all, if it were *my* child calling another man Father... heh. I’d kill the man, no question.’

Danton was silent for a moment, his light blue eyes exceptionally clear. "Then I will be his father."

A grim smile curled Thorne’s lips. "The Everwake used some despicable trick on Eva during her heat and nearly got her killed. After that, he vanished without a trace. She went through so much while she was pregnant. If it weren’t for Eva, this little cub would never have survived. And Eva... who knows how much she suffered just to protect him."

Hearing this, Danton pressed his lips together and fell silent.

’He had seen with his own eyes how much his female had suffered giving birth to this child.’

"He has The Everwake’s blood. Who knows if he’ll grow up to be just like his father, so utterly..." His voice trailed off as the baby’s rainbow-colored eyes, clear and uncomprehending, landed on his face.

Thorne fell silent abruptly, because in the baby’s face, he could see a faint shadow of Eva.