Danton tilted his head back, gazing at the bright moon hanging high in the sky. His azure Fintan stretched and swayed in the seawater.

His emotions churned like the tide, and he found he didn’t dare to look at her.

But her gaze was too scorching. It burned him, making his heart tremble, and in the end, he turned his face toward her.

The sight nearly made his breath catch in his throat.

Evangeline’s face was as white as a sheet, and even the usual rosy hue of her lips had vanished completely. She looked as fragile as a bubble about to pop. He instinctively reached out and pulled her into his arms, his voice trembling with a tremor he himself didn’t notice. "What’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing. I’m just tired. Let’s sit for a while." Evangeline shook her head gently. Her hair brushed against the side of his neck, damp with seawater. She took the opportunity to wrap her arms around his waist, her fingertips lightly grazing the fine scales there.

Danton’s entire body went rigid. Even the fins of his tail tensed into a sharp arc. When he gave a slight flick, a trail of flustered bubbles scattered through the water.

Acting as if she hadn’t noticed, Evangeline pulled him down to sit on a nearby reef.

The moment their fins touched, the friction of their scales made a faint sound, like a string of silver bells.

She deliberately wrapped the tip of her tail around his. The cool touch made the membranes of Danton’s tail fins unfurl, blossoming like translucent gauze in the current. He didn’t dare move—neither avoiding nor responding.

Danton’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His lips parted and closed several times, wanting to say something to break the awkward atmosphere. In the end, all he could manage was a choked, "Your tail..."

Evangeline blinked. Tiny droplets of water clung to her eyelashes, shimmering under the moonlight like stars about to fall, yet her eyes held a cunning glint. "Is it pretty? You like it, don’t you?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

As she spoke, she deliberately flicked her crimson Fintan, splashing up a spray of crystal-clear water.

Danton felt his face flush. The blush spread down to his collarbones, almost rivaling the brilliance of the Red Fox Contract Mark on his neck. ’Like it? Should I still like her?’

’The thought felt more dangerous than the Demonsea Abyss itself.’

Evangeline paid his silence no mind, simply tilting her head to rest it on his shoulder.

The ancient chanting of the distant Merfolk drifted over, lingering by her ear. She closed her eyes, her tail fins swaying unconsciously to the rhythm, her voice as soft as if she were talking in her sleep. "Danton, sing for me."

The voices of the Merfolk are the most enchanting of all, capable of making one willingly drown in their song. As the Young Clan Leader of the Mer Clan, Danton’s singing was especially bewitching. It was one of the reasons the original Evangeline had set her sights on him.

Danton’s body was still a little stiff. His Adam’s apple bobbed a few times, and he hesitated for a moment. But in this setting, he finally parted his lips, and a stream of melodious notes flowed from his throat.

At first, his song was somewhat halting, but it gradually became smooth and fluid.

Evangeline listened to the pleasant song, her crimson tail fins swaying along.

She curved her lips into a smile, her fingertips lightly tracing the pattern of his scales. "Danton, I know that all the suffering of the past can’t be easily undone. I want you to be free forever. I won’t force you to come with me."

"But... could you leave a little merling for me?"

Her voice grew even lighter. "One just like you, with a blue tail, who can sing."

Hearing this, Danton’s body stiffened even more. He finally understood what she had meant by her promise.

Back when they left the Oasis Tribe, she had mentioned wanting to have a child with him. At the time, he had felt it was an insult. But now, with his Star Pattern restored and his path home clear, she was bringing it up again.

Her voice was utterly sincere.

He was certain she truly wanted to have a child with him.

The thought made his heart burn, but it cooled just as suddenly before the taboos of the past.

He didn’t know if he should continue this entanglement. The pain from before felt as if it were still carved into his very marrow.

’Though he hesitated, he couldn’t help but wonder what he would be like as a father.’

’He wouldn’t let her bear the burden of raising a child alone. And that little life... would it be an active, lively male, or a soft, sweet little maiden who loves to laugh? Would its tail be like his?’

’It would probably be very cute, wouldn’t it? A very beautiful child.’

Danton was lost in thought, his mind drifting far away.

It wasn’t until he heard the sound of even breathing beside him that he snapped back to reality and turned to look at Evangeline.

The moonlight, like gauze, gently draped over her.

She was exhausted. Her skin was almost transparent in the moonlight, looking as if it would dissipate at the slightest touch. Her long lashes were lowered, casting two faint shadows, her long, beautiful eyes now peacefully closed.

She was still just as beautiful, not much different from his memories, and yet completely different.

Her once stunning and flamboyant features were now tinged with weariness. Even in sleep, her brows were slightly furrowed, as if holding a sorrow he couldn’t comprehend. He suddenly remembered what Stellan had said.

At the tribal trade gathering, she had been stabbed through the heart by her own male.

A Nine-Marked Beastman. He didn’t know who it was, but with the purple curly hair and the strange fragrance, it could only be Loras. To think that the once most timid and gentle Beastman would drive a bone knife through his own partner’s heart.

At that thought, Danton’s own heart couldn’t help but ache with a sharp pain.

He didn’t know how to explain this feeling. He just gazed at her quietly. His fingertips twitched, wanting to reach out and smooth her brow, but he stopped mid-air, afraid of disturbing her.

In the current, their tail fins rested gently, one on top of the other.

*

When Evangeline came to, sunlight was piercing through the cracks of the wooden hut into her eyes.

She propped herself up, her fingertips touching the cool Merweave Silk beneath her. Looking around the rickety little hut, she called out in a hoarse voice, "Danton?"

Evangeline waited for a long moment, but there was no sound.

She frowned. ’That guy... Don’t tell me he just took off right after getting his Star Pattern reforged and his tail back?’

"Evangeline? You’re awake!" A flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the door.

Coral ran in, the pearl shells on the ends of her hair jingling. The moment she saw Evangeline, she breathed a sigh of relief, even patting her chest with lingering fear. "You were asleep for so long! I thought..."

A small smile played on Evangeline’s lips. "I just used up some of my vital energy reforging the Star Pattern. It’s nothing. Where’s Danton?"

Coral pouted. "And here I was, the first one to check on you. But you... you ask about someone else first."

Evangeline tilted her head slightly, a gentle smile rippling in her eyes. "He’s not just ’someone else.’ He’s my Beast Husband."

Coral rolled her eyes and drawled, chuckling sarcastically, "Right, ’Beast Husband.’ Your Beast Husband, that’s him. But, his sister is here, and let me tell you, she’s not exactly sweet-tempered."

Toward the end, a hint of schadenfreude crept into Coral’s tone.

She hadn’t forgotten the awful attitude Danton’s sister had toward Evangeline back in the Mer Clan’s territory!

"Rhea’s here?" Evangeline’s eyebrow twitched. Then she remembered last night’s tide, and it no longer seemed strange.

She wasn’t in a hurry to go find anyone. Instead, she unhurriedly turned her hand over and took out the iridescent, shimmering egg.

The eggshell had a lustrous sheen and pulsed gently in her palm. She could feel the life throbbing within it. It was a size larger than when it had just been laid, and even the patterns on its surface had grown more magnificent.