Just then, someone from the beast tribe shouted first, "Mistress!"
Immediately, all the other beasts raised their arms and shouted together, "Mistress! Mistress! Mistress!"
For a moment, the atmosphere was incredibly intense. The sound of their shouting was like thunder shaking the sky.
Fannie looked at Miliano quietly, feeling his strong presence and powerful aura.
With such a strong big leopard as her backing, she thought she could safely earn ten thousand points in the beast world.
Her eyes accidentally glanced at Batuya, standing quietly nearby.
She lowered her head and pressed her lips together, like a schoolgirl being scolded after making a mistake.
Fannie admired Batuya for being brave for love. Because of that courage, she decided to help her.
Fannie lifted her hand and shouted loudly, "Stop!"
Immediately, the noisy crowd went silent.
After everything quieted down, Fannie walked to Batuya.
In front of the confused beasts, she held Batuya's hand tightly and looked at Alessio with sincere eyes. She said, "Alessio, Batuya is a good female. You should accept her."
As soon as she spoke, the crowd gasped in shock.
They had seen many females fight over a male before, jealous and aggressive.
But never had they seen someone willingly give their companion to another female.
At that moment, they respected this generous and noble mistress.
Miliano looked at Fannie deeply. His eyes were full of complicated emotions. She was letting Alessio go so easily. Did she really have feelings for him? Or was she only with him for protection?
Batuya stared at Fannie in disbelief.
But seeing her face so sincere, without any false feelings, she realized Fannie really meant what she said about sharing the lord. Batuya regretted challenging her in public. How foolish she had been!
At that moment, Batuya felt endless gratitude.
Not just because Fannie was willing to share the lord, but because she had saved her from an extremely embarrassing situation.
With Fannie's help, Batuya's hope was reignited.
She looked at her beloved lord with anticipation, her heart pounding, waiting anxiously to hear him say the word she longed for.
But in the next moment, something unexpected happened.
Alessio suddenly pulled Fannie close and said firmly, "Fannie, why should I accept her? I only love you and belong to you alone. I don't want anyone else."
Alessio's declaration of love struck Batuya like a lightning bolt, a harsh and heavy blow.
Batuya's heart broke.
She didn't understand why she had lost.
Was it because she hadn't fully transformed, and that's why the lord kept rejecting her?
The beasts around began whispering among themselves.
Some pitied her, while others blamed her for being overconfident.
These words pierced Batuya's proud heart like sharp arrows.
The proud Batuya could not bear such harsh judgment. She had never imagined that her love would end in such a miserable way.
At that moment, she felt ashamed and humiliated. Like a gust of wind, she quickly fled from this extremely embarrassing place.
Only then did Batuya's father, Elder Bagu, slowly step out from the crowd.
Elder Bagu was a kind and gentle man, but the unique leopard marking on his forehead gave him an air of authority.
He had watched Batuya's entire display of love from beginning to end.
The reason he didn't step forward immediately was that he felt his little daughter was too young and had always been overly protected by the tribe.
She needed to face setbacks and grow!
She needed to understand that in this world, except for her close family, no one was obliged to spoil her.
No one was obliged to accept her.
One day she would leave the tribe and see the wide world outside. She had to learn to face unexpected situations alone and make choices. Only then could she become mature and steady.
Tonight, he, as her father, was giving her the first lesson in life.
Elder Bagu did not blame the young lord, nor did he have any dissatisfaction with the mistress.
He looked at Fannie and slowly said, "Batuya doesn't understand well yet. Please, Mistress, don't be angry. I will teach her properly."
Fannie truly wanted to match Alessio with Batuya.
She did not expect Alessio to reject the tribe's most beautiful female so decisively.
Even more surprising was that Elder Bagu witnessed everything calmly, without stepping in to defend Batuya.
Batuya had said she was Elder Bagu's most beloved daughter. Why was he so calm?
Fannie politely said, "Batuya is genuine. She is brave in pursuing her feelings, which is not wrong. Personally, I am very willing to—"
As if knowing what Fannie was about to say, Alessio quickly interrupted, "I don't want that!"
Fannie turned to Alessio and said sincerely, "I really don't mind…"
Alessio felt a pang of sadness rise in his heart, his voice tinged with regret, "Is it because you don't love me? That's why you're willing to share me with another female?"
Uh…
Who in their right mind would say they love someone they've only known for two days?
Especially when the person in question is a big leopard!
She had been exiled to the beast world because of falling for a scumbag. Her heartbreak was too deep, and she could not easily get over the shadow of being deceived.
But when she saw the sadness and grievance in Alessio's eyes, she immediately felt compassion.
Alessio was the leopard she used to earn points.
Whether she could leave the beast world depended entirely on him. Even if she had to coax him, she would make him happy.
"…Love!"
"I knew it!"
Alessio was overjoyed, holding Fannie tightly, "I knew you loved me! I knew it! Don't ever talk about sharing me with other females again. I belong to you, only to you!"
With the fire finally ready, Fannie could take a hot bath.
Fannie had planned to find another place for a bathroom, but Alessio didn't hesitate. With his fists, he quickly smashed out a new space inside the cave.
Fannie was shocked when she saw this!
Is this the strength of a seventh-rank beast?
His fists were so hard!
Even harder than modern mechanical arms!
Fannie quickly checked Alessio's hands. Surprisingly, they were completely fine—no scratches at all!
The bath was made from a large hollowed-out log. Fannie had never seen such a big tree used this way; it felt incredible.
The bath liquid came from a plant called Xiangbai. It could make white foam and had a fresh, rainy scent. Hair washed with it became smoother than using conditioner.
Of course, she needed clean clothes for bathing.
Before Fannie could say anything, a female beast brought her a leather skirt and boots.
From the woman, Fannie learned that Alessio had told them to prepare these last night. Once ready, they delivered them immediately.
Fannie felt deeply touched that Alessio had prepared clothes and shoes for her so carefully.
Alessio said indulgently, "These were made in a hurry. You can wear them for now. Later, tell them what you like, and they can make new ones."
Fannie couldn't refuse his thoughtfulness. She smiled obediently and nodded, "Okay!"
Saning was supposed to help Fannie with her bath, but Fannie refused. Saning had to stand at the door, not allowing even a single insect to enter without Fannie's permission.
Even Alessio was blocked from going in by her firm insistence.
Night fell over the land, and everything became quiet.
Fannie still couldn't escape fate and had to share the bed with two big leopards.
Luckily, the stone bed was wide enough. She curled up as far inside as possible, keeping as much distance from the two leopards as she could.
At first, everything was calm. The three of them slept peacefully.
After some time, as Fannie drifted into a dreamy sleep, suddenly, an incredibly heavy force pressed down on her.
Fannie woke up startled!
In the dark cave, her vision was blurry.
Although she couldn't see clearly, Fannie immediately sensed that the pressure came from Alessio!
Just what she feared had arrived!
Alessio's hot breath swept over her face like a wave. His passionate and urgent kisses fell like heavy raindrops. His voice was low and hoarse: "Fannie, I want you…"
No way!
She knew this big leopard could never be satisfied!
If it were only him, maybe she could handle it slowly.
But there was another big leopard next to them! Couldn't he at least care about the situation a little and hold back?
"No, no!"
Fannie held Alessio's head tightly with both hands, tears welling in her eyes, and whispered urgently, "Miliano is still sleeping next to us. You'll wake him up. Please, you really can't do this."
Alessio had been holding back for a long time.
He had waited until Miliano was asleep before acting. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to hold back. He whispered softly, "He's asleep. Don't worry."
Fannie didn't believe Alessio. What if Miliano was pretending to sleep?
Even if Miliano was really asleep, he would be woken up by the noise soon. Fannie firmly refused to continue.
After thinking it through, she used the child in her womb as an excuse, softly saying, "I'm pregnant. You can't be so rough. You'll hurt the baby."
Alessio whispered, "I'll be gentle."
Fannie still refused, "Even gently, you could hurt the baby."
Alessio's voice was hoarse as he said, "Fannie, please, just this once."
Fannie wanted to cry but had no tears.
There was no way she could do it.
After a long inner struggle to help Alessio with his urgent need, Fannie finally decided to go ahead.
In the pitch-black cave, she could almost hear her own heartbeat.
While moving, Fannie stayed alert, listening carefully to every sound around her.
She was afraid Miliano might suddenly open his eyes and catch her in the act.
The heavy breathing nearby grew louder, echoing clearly in the quiet cave.
Fannie's heart pounded violently, almost bursting from her chest. In desperation, she leaned forward and kissed the sound that made her scalp tingle.
Unexpectedly, in the next moment, a big hand pressed on the back of her head, taking control.
Sometimes a man being too enduring isn't a good thing.
Like now.
Fannie was exhausted, but one of the big leopards was still going strong!
Just when she felt she couldn't keep up, another hand held hers tightly.
After persistent effort, they finally exceeded the goal!
After lying back down, Fannie's heart still raced. Only after confirming she hadn't woken Miliano did she gradually calm down.
But Fannie had no idea that Miliano wasn't asleep at all!
Even though she had been extremely careful, what she did couldn't escape Miliano's ears.
No one could know what this night meant for Miliano. Without exaggeration, it was the hardest night of his life!
Before dawn, Miliano quietly left.
The moon was high, and the stars filled the sky.
Miliano walked alone through the forest, listening to the wind brushing past his ears. His restless heart slowly calmed.
Suddenly, he heard a female calling for help, growing louder as it came closer.
At first, Miliano thought it was stray beasts chasing each other. When the voice got closer, he realized Batuya was being chased by several stray beasts!
At the same time, Batuya saw Miliano and shouted desperately, "Lord Miliano, help me! Stray beasts are catching me! Please save me!"
But Miliano didn't move. He just stood there, waiting for her to come to him.
The stray beasts chasing Batuya froze when they heard Miliano's name.
They looked carefully and saw a man with an eyepatch over his left eye standing right in front of them!
They had never seen Miliano's true face, but they had heard of the eighth-rank beast, Miliano. No stray beast dared act recklessly in front of him. The eyepatch confirmed his identity.
"It's Miliano!"
"Run!"
"Run!!"
The stray beasts panicked and ran away immediately.
Miliano's gaze moved from the fleeing beasts to the panting Batuya. His expression remained as serious as always.