"Tomorrow, if you still don't have an appetite, you must go with me to see Elder Bagu. I said I would make you plump and healthy, and I always keep my promises!"
"I think this is fine."
"No, it's not fine at all. Last night by the river we…"
Alessio hadn't finished speaking when Fannie quickly covered his mouth with her hand.
When she heard the word "we," her heart skipped a beat. She instantly understood what Alessio was about to say and hurried to stop him, at least saving her face at that critical moment.
Fannie knew very well that she couldn't judge the Beast World by modern society's standards. But for her to fully accept and adapt to this strange world so quickly was really hard.
Civilization takes time to develop.
Since she couldn't blend into the world of beasts, she would guide this tribe toward civilization.
The first thing she needed to do was teach Alessio to use polite and proper words.
Words about personal matters, like "mating," should never be said casually, and definitely not in front of other beasts.
Alessio had no shame, but she did.
"Fannie…"
"Don't say that word."
Alessio had just started to speak when Fannie interrupted him. Her cheeks turned bright red, her eyes shyly staring at him. She bit her lip and whispered softly, "What happened last night, don't tell anyone. If you do, I won't talk to you again."
Alessio loved seeing his little companion shy and acting cute. Her red face and playful anger were adorable.
Feeling soft inside, Alessio gently held her hand over his mouth and kissed it, his eyes full of affection. "Okay, okay. I promise, I won't tell anyone."
Fannie's cheeks burned like sunset as she shyly pulled her hand back.
Alessio wanted to take her back, but Fannie didn't want to squeeze into a cave with Miliano, so she thought of a plan. "You haven't seen Brother Miliano in a while. You probably have a lot to talk about. I'll stay at Saning's place tonight."
Saning quietly looked at her single bed. How was she supposed to sleep?
"Did Brother say something to you?"
Alessio comforted softly, "Brother already agreed. He doesn't mind us being together. Besides…" He glanced at the small bed. "This bed can't fit both of you. Come back with me."
Fannie looked at the tiny stone bed.
Uh… it really can't fit two people.
Well.
You can hide for a while, but not forever.
Miliano was cold and always against her. Maybe he didn't want to see her, so she just moved out.
When they returned to the cave and saw Miliano was still there, Fannie felt heavy inside. She could only comfort herself that it wasn't dark yet. Once it got dark, he would leave.
Miliano sat upright quietly at the stone table. When he saw Fannie and Alessio enter the cave, he slightly lifted his eyes, signaling them to sit.
Just as Fannie settled on the stone bench, a piece of bright red raw meat appeared in front of her.
She froze for a moment, then followed the meat with her eyes and finally looked at Miliano's cold, serious face.
Fannie didn't understand what Miliano meant. Was he trying to be nice?
As the saying goes, "You can't hit a smiling person."
Even though Miliano wasn't smiling, he had lifted the meat on a bamboo skewer and offered it to her.
So, she decided to take it as a gesture of goodwill.
But for this kind of "friendly" gesture, Fannie found it hard to accept.
She forced a smile. "Thank you, but I really don't need it."
Alessio also wanted to quickly make his little companion plump and healthy, but since his little companion said she had no appetite, he explained to his brother, "Brother, Fannie's appetite isn't very good. She only wants to eat light food."
Miliano's action wasn't what Fannie thought as a "friendly gesture." He was purely using this as a chance to test Fannie's identity.
The Silkworm Clan is vegetarian.
If Fannie ate the piece of deer meat in his hand, it would mean she definitely wasn't from the Silkworm Clan.
Miliano stared at Fannie intensely, his eyes sharp and piercing, like a sword that could cut through the heart, and asked clearly, word by word, "Can't eat it, or won't eat it?"
Although Alessio was a little stubborn, he was very smart and clever.
In an instant, he realized that his brother's purpose was to test his little companion.
Seeing Miliano pressuring her, Fannie suddenly felt shocked. She realized too late that Miliano giving her the deer meat wasn't being nice, but testing her.
Leopards eat meat.
If she refused to eat the raw deer meat Miliano offered, it would tell them she wasn't one of them.
If Alessio knew they weren't the same kind, would he kick her out of the tribe?
Even if Alessio didn't, the other beasts in the tribe might not agree to let an outsider stay, especially with Miliano, who always looked at her with dislike… Thinking of this, Fannie's heart grew very heavy.
Saning also said there were many stray beasts outside.
And they were fierce.
If she were kicked out of the tribe, her chances of survival would be slim.
Well.
It's just a piece of raw meat.
Could it be worse than death?
For survival, she would act like a wild person.
"Who says I can't eat it?"
Fannie forced herself to accept the discomfort and took the bamboo skewer with raw meat from Miliano.
She held the skewer tightly, took a deep breath to encourage herself, but when she brought the food to her mouth, her body reacted strongly.
As soon as she opened her mouth, a wave of uncontrollable nausea rose, and Fannie immediately held onto the table, vomiting violently.
"Fannie!"
Alessio quickly reached out to support her, his eyes full of concern and worry.
He turned to Miliano, speaking firmly, "Brother, don't force her to eat! She'll feel terrible if you do!"
Seeing Fannie in such pain, Miliano already understood a little.
His eyes became cold and sharp as he stared at Fannie, coldly saying four words: "You are not one of us!"
These four words pierced Fannie's heart like a sharp sword.
Her heart tightened instantly. She knew her true identity might no longer be hidden.
Facing Miliano's questioning, she felt extremely helpless.
But to stay here, she had to find a way to deal with the situation.
Fannie closed her eyes tightly and fell into a brief thought.
After a moment, she opened her eyes again, determination shining within them.
Since there was no way to retreat, she had to face it bravely.
She steadied herself, finally deciding to play her card. Calmly, she looked at Miliano and said, "Haven't you heard of morning sickness?"
"I'm pregnant!"
Fannie's words exploded like a heavy bomb, lighting up the air like colorful fireworks!
Both brothers were stunned!
Miliano didn't expect that Fannie would use such a clumsy excuse to hide her identity. He immediately replied with three words: "Impossible!"
Alessio, however, was extremely excited and thrilled, showing no doubt at all.
Anxious, he asked his beloved companion again, "Really?"
Fannie gently nodded at Alessio.
Then she turned to Miliano, looking at his disdainful expression, and said clearly, word by word, "I am pregnant!"
Over the years, Miliano had been self-studying medicine to find a way to heal his left eye. Though not necessarily highly skilled, he could still feel a pulse.
Miliano suddenly stood up and walked toward Fannie, looking down at her from above.
Suddenly, he grabbed Fannie's wrist tightly, focusing on feeling the pulse at his fingertips.
In an instant, a look of shock flashed in Miliano's eyes. Full of doubt, he muttered in disbelief, "How is this possible?"
"How is it not possible?"
"You are not one of us, so how can you be pregnant?"
His gaze suddenly became sharp as a knife, as if he had seen through Fannie's scheme. "I understand. The child in your belly has nothing to do with Alessio. You deliberately set a trap to get close to him, just so that your illegitimate child would have a proper father!"
Fannie felt extreme anger in her heart. She hated being falsely accused more than anything!
She could tolerate Miliano's dislike and hostility toward her, but she would never accept such baseless slander!
"You're lying!"
Fannie stood up angrily from the chair, staring fearlessly into Miliano's icy gaze. "You can dislike me, but you cannot humiliate me! I can clearly and openly tell you, the child in my belly is Alessio's!"
Alessio was very certain he was the father.
He quickly stood up and gently pulled Fannie into his arms, soothing her softly.
After Fannie calmed down a little, he turned to face his brother's angry eyes, giving a firm and steady reply: "Brother, I am very sure, the child in Fannie's belly is mine!"
"How can you be sure?"
"Because she was still a virgin when she gave herself to me!"
The word "virgin" was the best proof.
However, this still didn't remove Miliano's confusion.
Miliano couldn't understand.
Since she could get pregnant by Alessio, it meant they were the same, both leopards.
If they were the same kind, what was the problem in telling the truth?
Looking at his younger brother, who had once relied on him completely, now standing firmly beside a female, Miliano felt a sense of loss.
His gaze slowly landed on Fannie.
Seeing her look at him with mild anger, Miliano neither felt guilty nor ashamed, and didn't look away. He boldly stared at her and asked, "Why lie to me?"
Fannie was confused by the question. "Lie to you about what?"
Miliano said solemnly, "If we are the same kind, why didn't you make it clear when I asked?"
Hearing this, Fannie was also puzzled. She replied, "Who said we're the same kind?"
This statement stunned both brothers again.
Alessio was surprised. "Fannie, what do you mean by that?"
A lie needs countless other lies to cover it, but Fannie didn't have the brain or energy for that.
Since that's the case, she decided to be honest.
Fannie looked at the two brothers and said seriously, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Fannie. I come from a place called Blue Star. I was exiled here to the Beast World because of a mistake. People from Blue Star don't have beast bodies, so what you see is my original form!"
"Blue Star? What kind of place is that?"
"A very beautiful place, surrounded by barriers. Outsiders cannot enter!"
"What mistake did you make?"
"Don't ask about that. Anyway, I'm not your enemy, and I won't do anything to hurt you."
Recalling the past was painful, so Fannie didn't answer the question.
Looking at Miliano's cold face, she continued, "So please stop targeting me. I don't have any bad intentions. I just want to live peacefully."
Miliano had already felt the pulse of pregnancy on Fannie.
Now she was saying they weren't the same kind?
If not the same kind, how did she get pregnant?
Miliano kept a skeptical expression. "If you're not one of us, how did you get pregnant?"
"Isn't it amazing?"
Fannie thought it was amazing too!
A small pill could actually change her body's genes, allowing her to get pregnant with Alessio's child. It was unbelievable. "In Blue Star, there are many amazing things. If you can imagine it, you can see it!"
"My body is special. My bloodline can merge with any beast. Getting pregnant with Alessio's child is normal!"
"I'm not lying to you!"
Glancing at the piece of deer meat on the bamboo skewer on the table, Fannie bent down, picked it up, and placed it in front of Miliano. "I can eat meat, but in Blue Star, we only eat cooked meat. Cooked meat means roasted over fire… but you probably won't understand."
Hearing "fire," Alessio looked down and asked, "Drill wood to make fire?"
Fannie nodded lightly at Alessio, then turned her head to Miliano. "To prove that what I say is true, I can teach you how to make fire. I hope you use it well and bring new life to the Beast World!"
To prove herself, Fannie gathered materials and began to show her "special skill."
The principle of making fire by drilling wood is "friction generates heat."
If the friction is strong enough and fast enough, two sticks of wood are enough.
With Fannie's constant rubbing, wood shavings finally smoked, and the first "fire" in the Beast World was born!
Adding some kindling, the small flame slowly grew bigger.
Looking at the flickering flame, both brothers were shocked. It was their first time seeing fire!
"This is fire?"
Alessio was amazed.
When Alessio reached out to touch it, Fannie didn't stop him. Only by truly feeling the fire could one understand its power!
As expected, Alessio's hand was burned by the flame. The pain made him quickly pull it back, looking at Fannie for comfort. "It hurts…"
"It should hurt."
Fannie blew on Alessio's burned hand and explained patiently, "You have to feel it to understand how to use it."
Miliano slowly put his hand near the flame, feeling the heat bit by bit, and only pulled it back when it became painful.
Fannie threw the deer meat into the fire, and soon the smell of roasting meat filled the air.
She divided the cooked meat for Alessio and Miliano, letting them taste it.
Beasts naturally liked raw food.
The two brothers didn't think the cooked meat was especially good. It was dry and had no juice, even hard to swallow. This whole process seemed like a waste!