She hadn't managed to die, and her seven Beast Husbands had failed to break their contracts. They were determined to kill her, so they would definitely be back.
'Anyway, I have no interest in going out to find them. Might as well find a spot, build myself a nice little retirement home, and wait for my Beast Husbands to deliver themselves to my doorstep. I can cure them on the spot, and then... have cubs?' The thought alone was enough to make her happy, and Evangeline couldn't help but break into a smile.
Suddenly, a sound came from the deep pool ahead.
Evangeline glanced over curiously as ripples spread across the water's surface.
The next moment, with a flash of azure light, Danton's head broke the surface of the stream. He was holding two fish.
His torso was above the water, droplets rolling down his chest, tracing the lines of his waist before disappearing beneath the surface along his V-line.
The two plump fish, still very much alive, thrashed their tails.
When she saw Danton, Evangeline blinked. Her gaze met his icy eyes. His pale blue irises were no longer clear; his pupils had narrowed into vertical slits, filled with the grim hostility of a wild beast.
Unafraid, Evangeline simply curved her lips into a smile. "Fancy meeting you here."
Once Danton got a clear look at Evangeline, his slitted pupils returned to normal. He stared at her, his expression flat, his voice like a thin, cold shard of ice. "I'll bring the fish back. You don't need to come out here to watch me. I intend to get my tail scales back before you starve to death."
'Tail scales?'
Evangeline searched her memory, her brow furrowing slightly.
The Oasis Tribe had been brutally massacred, and her Beast Husbands were determined to kill the original owner—the fatal wound to the back of her head was proof enough.
But the original owner hadn't been stupid. Before passing out, she had clung desperately to Danton's arm and, with a single sentence, convinced the simple-hearted Beast Husband from the Mer Clan to flee with her, far from the hornet's nest that was the Oasis Tribe.
"Danton, do you still want your mermaid scales back? Save me!"
The original owner was of the Fox Clan—intelligent and cunning. She knew exactly how painful the memory of losing his Mermaid Tail was for Danton.
He couldn't return to the sea, couldn't go back to his people, couldn't see his family again. So an obsession had taken root in his heart: he had to get his mermaid scales back. 'Maybe if I get my own things back,' he must have thought, 'I can regain my Merfolk form and return to my tribe?'
But the original owner was completely selfish. Even after she grew tired of the Mermaid Tail Skirt, she refused to give it back to Danton.
After all, Danton was beautiful and perfectly suited the original owner's aesthetic. He was also a Five-star Patterned Beastman. Even though the stripping of his Mermaid Tail Scales had shattered his Star Pattern and greatly reduced his lifespan, he was still far superior to an ordinary Beastman. Having him as her Beast Husband was both prestigious and easy on the eyes.
Danton had carried the original owner far away from the Oasis Tribe, but she had succumbed to her injuries and kicked the bucket, leaving her to come over and clean up the mess.
Unfortunately, after just one rainy season, the original owner lost interest in the Mermaid Tail Skirt and carelessly tossed it aside. It had most likely been picked up by another Beastman by now.
After all, it was a rare item made from mermaid scales. To a Terrestrial Beastman, it was a treasure they might never see in their entire life. At a tribal trading assembly, a Mermaid Tail Skirt could be exchanged for a great deal of prey and salt stones.
Evangeline sighed. 'Looks like I have to go back to the Oasis Tribe after all.'
Before Evangeline could say anything, she saw Danton's gaze sweep over her waist with disgust. He climbed ashore and limped away.
She lowered her gaze toward her waist, a shimmering azure fish tail flashing in her mind's eye. Pursing her lips, she looked up at Danton's unhesitating retreat. She couldn't resist another glance at her own delicate and alluring figure. 'To think it holds absolutely no attraction for him.'
'Looks like I need to re-evaluate the depth of Danton's hatred for the original owner.' This was a hatred that could apparently override a Beastman's basic instincts.
Beastmen could take human form, but they were still wild beasts at their core, driven by primitive desires that were difficult to suppress—urges that drove them to fight and to take. Yet, the way Danton had just looked at her was no different than how he'd look at a dead fish.
Evangeline climbed ashore, looked down at her filthy Beast Skin Skirt, and decisively pulled a change of clothes from her dimensional space to put on.
She stroked the outfit fondly. 'I was saving this for my retirement, for lounging on the beach.'
'When in the Beast World, do as the beasts do. The Beast Skin Skirt is a no-go, but a bikini should be fine, right?'
And so, Evangeline flaunted her way back, wearing nothing but the bikini, with vast expanses of her snow-white skin on display.
When she got back to the cave, the first thing she saw was Danton sitting by the entrance.
He hadn't gone inside. A large, clean leaf was laid out on the ground in front of him, on which two fish lay side-by-side, now quite dead. He didn't even look up at the sound of her footsteps, saying tonelessly, "The embers have gone out."
He didn't finish the thought, but Evangeline understood the meaning: 'The fire's out, so we can't cook the fish. Just eat it as is.'
She said nothing, her slender eyes blinking as she looked at the two fresh, plump fish.
'Compared to the utter ruthlessness of my other Beast Husbands, Danton's actions are as benevolent as could be. Perhaps because the original owner was the reason he came ashore in the first place, he never thought of actually killing her, despite his hatred. His only desire is to get his tail scales back and return to the sea.'
After they fled the Oasis Tribe, the original owner had been in and out of consciousness, and it was Danton who had been feeding and providing for her the entire time.
The iron law of the Beastman Continent might be that males must provide for females, but Evangeline didn't think Danton had any reason to keep providing for the original owner after everything that had happened. He was just genuinely simple and kind. A shame the original owner had ruined it all.
Evangeline didn't touch the fish. Instead, she deliberately went and sat down right next to Danton.
A pair of long, smooth, fair-skinned thighs suddenly entered Danton's downcast line of sight.
His expression changed instantly. He shot to his feet and scrambled a few steps away from Evangeline before he got a clear look at her attire.
A fiery red bandeau top, held up by a single thin strap, was so vibrant it made her skin seem to glow.
Her waist was so slender it looked as if you could circle it with one hand. Above it, the swell of her chest was enough to make a man blush and stir an unconscious reaction.
Danton stared at her, his expression shifting repeatedly, and he turned as if to flee.
Evangeline chuckled, grabbing his arm and giving him a little spin. "Am I beautiful?"
'Lust is only natural,' she thought. 'Appreciating beauty is a universal human trait. There's nothing wrong with being open about the attraction between a man and a woman.'
Danton squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to look at her or speak, but a faint blush crept across his pale skin.
Evangeline eyed him for a moment, then let her gaze drift down to a certain... unspeakable area. A smile played on her lips. "Danton, you're my Beast Husband. Why be so formal? Come on, let's go back inside. We can pick up where we left off yesterday."
At her words, Danton's eyes snapped open. He wrenched his arm from her grasp and stared at her, his voice clear and cold.
"I am just a Beastman with a shattered Star Pattern. I can't produce cubs, and I can't protect you. There's no point in you keeping me. I got you out of the Oasis Tribe, I kept you alive. You should give me back my tail scales."
As he spoke, his pale blue eyes filled with defensiveness and disgust. His entire posture was on high alert.
Evangeline shot him a glance and sat back down, looking a little dejected. She put a stop to her fatal-level teasing.
She looked at Danton and pursed her lips. "The tail scales are at the Oasis Tribe. I have to go back for them."
Danton looked surprised for a moment, then frowned at her. "You're willing to go back to the Oasis Tribe just for the tail scales?"
'That place is full of people from the Grymdale Tribe. It's incredibly dangerous. Going back now is suicide.'
Evangeline's face was blank. "The Oasis Tribe is gone. My father is dead, and so is my mother. I have to go back to see. Besides, your tail scales are there. If I don't go back, how am I supposed to get them for you?"
She wasn't particularly concerned about the Grymdale Tribe, but she definitely had to get those tail scales back.
'As one of the male leads, Danton's main issue is his lost tail scales and shattered Star Pattern. As long as I can find them and restore his Mermaid Tail, he'll regain his vitality, and then we can have cubs. So, getting those tail scales back is the top priority.'
'As for building my retirement home, that'll just have to wait.'
Danton didn't care whether she was going back to die; he only cared about getting his tail scales. "When are you leaving?" he asked.
Evangeline replied, "I'll go by myself. You wait here. I can feel that the others aren't far."
As she spoke, she reached back to touch her lower back. That was the location of her Contract Mark, which allowed her to sense the whereabouts of her Beast Husbands. Of course, it was only a vague feeling, not some kind of GPS with precise tracking.
Danton glanced at the movement. "If you die," he stated flatly, "I won't get my tail scales back."
Evangeline gave him a suggestive smile. "Worried about me? Don't be. I still have to have your cubs, so I'm not going to die."
Danton showed no reaction to her words, his attitude as cold as ever. He simply turned and walked away.
"I can't produce cubs."
His clear voice was filled with an icy chill, drifting back from his retreating figure as he disappeared into the distance.