Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 202: Episode 201: They Get Suspicious.

Nimue stood with her arms spread wide, her violet eyes blazing with a hatred so intense it made the water vibrate.

That’s some intense family drama.

Behind her, Vespera and Thalassa had their tridents leveled at the intruder’s chest.

And floating in front of them, looking utterly bored by the threat of imminent death, was the black-tailed merman.

Keenan hovered with a lazy grace, his ruby-red eyes tracking the bubbles rising from Nimue’s gills. He didn’t even look at the weapons. He looked at his nails, which were black and sharp as shards.

"Put your weapon away, ladies," Keenan drawled, his voice a low, raspy rumble that scraped against Roxy’s eardrums. "If I wanted you dead, I would have collapsed the gate on you ten minutes ago."

"You are not allowed in here!" Nimue shrieked, her usual bubbly demeanor replaced by the ferocity of a cornered eel.

"I know, I know," Keenan waved a hand dismissively. "Exile, death, eternal shame. I heard the speech. It was very dramatic."

He drifted forward an inch. Vespera hissed, her trident sparking.

Keenan stopped, raising his hands in a mock surrender.

"I mean no harm, little sister," he said, his eyes sliding past Nimue to lock onto Roxy. "I am simply a delivery service. I found this little... glowing thing... wandering in the dark."

He smirked, flashing a row of serrated teeth.

"She has a talent for trouble," Keenan mused. "She managed to attract three Ancient Leviathans. Three. I had to scrape her off the dinner menu."

Nimue’s head snapped back to look at Roxy. "Leviathans?! You were in the Leviathan Grounds?"

Roxy shrank back, clutching her frying pan. "I... uh..."

"She was terrified," Keenan continued smoothly, his grin widening. "She was swimming so fast away from the city, one might think she was trying to escap—"

Roxy smacked her frying pan straight in his face. The sound was wet, loud, and incredibly satisfying.

Keenan’s head snapped to the side.

Silence descended on the group. Absolute, stunned silence.

Keenan blinked. He slowly turned his head back to the center. There was a red mark on his pale cheek. A few loose scales floated in the water.

He looked down.

Floating in front of him, slowly sinking toward the ocean floor, was a pan.

"Shut up!" Roxy shouted, her face burning pink to match her tail. "Just shut up! You talk too much!"

Keenan stared at the sinking pan. Then he looked at Roxy. The murderous glint in his red eyes flickered, replaced by something that looked suspiciously like shock.

"Did you..." Keenan touched his cheek. "Did you just slap me with a pan?"

"And I’ll do it again!" Roxy threatened, reaching into the basket that Nimue held for a sea cucumber. "I don’t know who you are, or what your family drama is, but you are ruining the vibe! Go away! Shoo away."

Keenan was dumbfounded as he stared at her and pointed at himself and her.

Why was this particular female saying something like that as if she didn’t know him?

Roxy, on the other hand, grabbed Nimue’s arm with her other hand.

"Come on, girls," Roxy commanded. "We are leaving. He is clearly delirious from the deep pressure."

She yanked Nimue backward. "Guards! Close the gate!"

The Royal Guards, who had been watching the scene with slack-jawed horror, suddenly snapped to attention.

"Close the gate!" the Captain roared. "Seal the perimeter!"

Huge stone doors began to grind shut. Energy shields flared to life.

Keenan didn’t fight it. He just floated there, watching the doors close. He didn’t look angry about the slap. If anything, his smirk had returned, sharper and more intrigued than before.

"Interesting," Keenan muttered to himself, his gaze lingering on Roxy’s pink tail until the heavy doors blocked her from view. "Caspian has found a wild one."

He flicked his massive tail.

"Enjoy the joining, Little Pearl," he whispered.

With a burst of speed, Keenan vanished back into the black water, leaving only swirling silt in his wake.

****

Inside the courtyard.

"Are you insane?!" Nimue screamed, spinning Roxy around. She checked Roxy’s face, her arms, her tail. "That was Keenan! The Black Shark! He killed three generals during the Civil War! He tried to overthrow Mother!"

"He eats people?" Roxy asked, feeling a belated wave of nausea. "Okay, that’s bad. But he was annoying."

"He could have snapped you in half!" Vespera added, looking pale. "And you slapped him!"

"My bad..." Roxy squeaked.

"What was he going to say?" Thalassa asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

The three mermaids looked at Roxy. Suspicion, cold and slimy, began to creep in.

"Why were you out there, Roxy?" Nimue asked, her voice quiet. "You said you wanted cravings. But you went to the Leviathan Grounds? That is the opposite direction of the kelp beds. That is the exit to the Open Ocean."

Roxy’s heart hammered against her ribs.

[System Warning: Suspicion Level Rising.] [Diplomatic Crisis Imminent.]

Roxy took a deep breath. She looked at Nimue. She summoned the memory of every soap opera she had ever watched.

She let her lip tremble. She let her shoulders slump.

"I... I wanted to be worthy," Roxy whispered, her voice cracking perfectly.

The mermaids blinked. "What?"

"Keenan was right about one thing," Roxy lied, clutching her frying pan to her chest. "I went to the dangerous grounds. But not to run away."

She looked up at them with big, watery eyes.

"I went to find a gift."

"A gift?" Nimue frowned.

"A Hunter’s Gift," Roxy improvised, remembering Keenan’s words. "Caspian... he is a King. He killed a Kraken for me. He gave me a home. And what am I? Just a soft, pink thing from the surface. Everyone looks at me like I’m weak. Like I’m a pet."

She sniffed, wiping a tear bubble away.

"I wanted to find a Black Pearl. Or a Leviathan Scale. Something dangerous. Something that would prove to his mother, and to you, that I am strong enough to be his Queen. I wanted to surprise him tonight."

She gestured helplessly to the gate.

"But I failed. The monsters were too big. And then that creepy brother of his showed up and mocked me."

She buried her face in her hands and let out a sob. A fake sob of course.

Silence stretched for three seconds.

"Oh, sister!" Nimue sighed, throwing her arms around Roxy. "You foolish, brave, romantic idiot!"

"You tried to fight a Leviathan for love?" Vespera sniffed, lowering her trident. "That is... that is the most metal thing I have ever heard."

"We are terrible friends!" Thalassa cried, hugging them both. "We doubted you! We thought you were cold feet! But you were just trying to be a Warrior Bride!"

Roxy hugged them back, hiding her relieved grimace in Nimue’s hair. I am going to hell. I am definitely going to hell.

"It’s okay," Roxy sniffled. "I just... I don’t want to disappoint him."

"You won’t!" Nimue pulled back, gripping Roxy’s shoulders. Her face was fierce with determination. "You don’t need a Leviathan Scale. You have us. And we are going to make sure you are the most breathtaking gift he has ever received."

Nimue grabbed Roxy’s hand.

"Forget the crab! Forget the traitor! We have a wedding to execute!"

She dragged Roxy toward the Pearl Wing, Vespera and Thalassa flanking them like an honor guard.

"We have two hours until the moon is high," Nimue calculated rapidly. "We need to polish your scales. We need to scent your hair with Ambergris. We need to weave the pearls."

They burst back into the bridal suite. The room was exactly as Roxy had left it, soft, beautiful, and inescapable.

Roxy looked at the balcony one last time. She realized, with a heavy finality, that the door was closed. She had played her hand. There was no running tonight.

"Sit!" Nimue commanded, pushing Roxy onto the clam bed.

Nimue swam to the wardrobe. She rummaged through the shelves, throwing aside lesser fabrics. She dug deep into a chest carved from white coral.

She turned around, holding up a bundle of fabric that shimmered like starlight.

It wasn’t just silk. It was woven from the threads of the Ghost Jellyfish, translucent, glowing, and impossibly delicate. Beside it, she held up a crown made of living white coral and pink pearls.

Nimue clapped her webbed hands in joy, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I got you the perfect silk and the Royal Clam for your wedding," Nimue declared, her voice filled with genuine, terrifying sisterly love.

"And we are going to make you look very beautiful."

A/N: Haappy New Monthhhh :3