Evangeline casually tapped a piece of chalk against the blackboard with her slender fingers. Her presence was commanding.

A dangerous curve lifted the corners of her eyes as her red lips curled into a smirk. "This isn’t the place for idle chatter."

Thorne immediately straightened up, his dark green eyes curving in a placating manner. "You’re right to scold us, Eva."

As the small disturbance died down, everyone took their seats.

Julian hadn’t wanted to join in on the fun, but he was curious about what other secrets Evangeline was hiding.

’Learning to read words... It doesn’t sound that hard.’

Evangeline glanced at the seated group and gently stroked her rounded belly. "To learn how to write, we’ll start with your names. After all, a name is the symbol that represents a person."

Just as she’d expected, this piqued their interest. All eyes turned to Evangeline.

Caden Albright’s long fingers tapped lightly on the table. A faint smile played in his amber eyes, and his voice was alluringly soft. "But I’d like to learn Eva’s name first. I imagine it must be more beautiful than the most dazzling flower of the hunting season."

Thorne looked up and, sure enough, saw the soft look in his female’s eyes. A vein throbbed on his temple. ’Damn vixen!’

Evangeline gazed at Caden Albright. His crimson clothes made his features seem all the more stunning. Even while holding a child, it did nothing to diminish his captivating aura. When it came to charming females, Caden Albright was in a league of his own.

"Alright." Evangeline’s eyes glinted. With a slight smile, she turned and wrote the two characters of her name on the blackboard.

The nape of her snow-white neck was barely visible through her dark hair. The males stared at that dazzling sliver of skin, each lost in his own thoughts.

The first character of her name wasn’t too difficult, but the second was quite complex.

Caden Albright stared at the two characters on the blackboard, a strange glint appearing in his narrow, fox-like eyes.

His long fingers unconsciously traced the strokes on the long table as his thin lips parted. "Evan...geline..."

The name rolled between his lips and teeth, tinged with an indescribable intimacy.

Julian stared at the two mysterious symbols on the blackboard as a tempest raged in his heart. He knew all too well the enormous impact it would have once the history and culture of the Beastman Continent could be recorded in writing.

’Evangeline wasn’t lying. She really knows this. She truly is a witch favored by the Beast God.’

Thorne was usually short-tempered, but as he looked at the characters on the blackboard, his dark green eyes filled with reverence. He snapped the twig in his hand, knelt on one knee, and began to copy the characters on the ground, his movements a bit clumsy as he drew them stroke by stroke.

Evangeline’s gaze fell upon him, the corners of her eyes lifting slightly.

’Thorne is definitely the grumpiest and most difficult of them all, but his affection is also the most transparent.’

’It was better this way, with each man having his own distinct charm. A true variety.’

"There are pens and paper on the table. And since this is a lesson..." Evangeline deliberately drew out her words, her gaze sweeping over pairs of beautiful Beast Eyes. She chuckled. "There ought to be a reward. The first one to learn my name..."

Her eyes danced as her lips curved. "I’ll spend the night with him."

The moment she finished speaking, the males at the table were in an uproar. Every one of them suddenly looked much more serious.

Evangeline leisurely stroked her gently swelling belly, a sly glint in her eyes.

’When you have so many men, the hardest part is treating them all equally. See? Problem solved.’

"Eva, how do we use this pen and paper?" Caden Albright asked, his tone laced with interest as he looked down at the items on the table.

Evangeline stepped forward and naturally took Caden Albright’s hand, guiding it to hold the pen. The ink spread from the tip onto the paper. With a few fluid, masterful strokes, her name, "Evangeline," appeared on the page.

Of course, she wouldn’t show favoritism, so she taught each of them in turn.

When it was finally Julian’s turn, the handsome Myojen youth went completely stiff, the tips of his ears turning so red they looked ready to bleed.

But before Evangeline could take Julian’s hand, a voice called out from ahead of them. "Eva, is this right?"

Evangeline raised an eyebrow and went to see who had called.

Julian watched her walk away, and the faint, sweet scent that had lingered around the pen departed with her. His tense shoulders relaxed, but for some reason, an inexplicable feeling of emptiness and bitterness welled up in his chest.

He looked down at the pen and paper on the table, his lips pressed into a thin line.

’Of course, he knew. Evangeline’s promise to spend the night with whoever learned her name first had nothing to do with him.’

’He wasn’t one of her males.’

The realization was like a tiny splinter—not painful, but irritatingly itchy.

Julian’s golden eyes darkened, and for a moment, he was lost, falling back into the sensual dreams that had filled countless nights.

Moans that were bewitching to the bone, mixed with whimpers, seemed to echo in his ears. He was holding her, his hand gripping her slender, snow-white waist, pinning her against the windowsill in an ultimate entanglement. In the dream, he had ravished her until her whole body trembled.

"Julian?" Drake called his name a few times. Seeing no reaction, he turned to teach him.

Julian’s throat bobbed. He abruptly threw the pen aside, stood up, and strode away without a backward glance.

’He didn’t belong here anyway. There was no need for him to learn this.’

Drake quietly watched him leave, his gold-and-crimson eyes calm, deep, and reserved.

Evangeline didn’t seem to care whether Julian left or not. She watched as Caden Albright, stroke by stroke, wrote her name perfectly. The brushwork was so strong and confident, it didn’t look like the work of a beginner at all.

"Eva, did I write it correctly?" Caden Albright’s red lips curved slightly, a lock of his silver hair swaying.

Evangeline’s mouth twitched. She gave the devastatingly handsome man, who was now batting his eyes at her, a complicated look. "Yes."

Bunny, who was nestled in his arms, was still a bit lost but had clearly heard what was said earlier.

"Father is amazing! Does that mean Mother will sleep with Father tonight?" The little girl blinked and suddenly started clapping and giggling. She knew that when Mother slept with Father Danton, he was always very happy.

The little girl whispered, "Bunny will be good. Bunny can sleep all by myself!"

Caden Albright let out a low laugh, a gentle warmth spreading through his eyes.

He raised a hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Evangeline’s ear. The pad of his finger brushed, as if by accident, against the delicate skin of her cheek. His eyes darkened, and his Adam’s apple bobbed silently. A dangerous shadow crept into his magnificent features.

Thorne looked down at the crooked rendition of "Evangeline" on his paper, his sharp brows knitting together tightly.

The second one to learn was Lachlan.

He sat quietly at his spot. By the time Evangeline walked over, he had already written several rows. He had written her name five times on each row, and the characters were so neat they looked as if they had been measured with a ruler—absolutely perfect.

"Lachlan, if you ever went to school, you’d be a straight-A student," Evangeline said with a sigh of admiration. ’The characters in my name are a bit complex for a beginner. It’s amazing that these Beastmen, who have never even seen written words before, can write them so perfectly!’

’And she was certain Lachlan had to be a perfectionist.’

Although Lachlan didn’t understand what "straight-A student" meant, he knew it was a compliment.

He looked up at Evangeline, a faint smile spreading across his gray-brown eyes. His long finger gently stroked her name on the paper, and his voice was ethereal. "I will carve Eva’s name here."

Lachlan tapped his finger over his heart, his gaze intent, as if nothing in the world mattered more.

Evangeline froze for a moment, her heart skipping a beat.

’That kind of straightforward, corny pickup line would have sounded forced and greasy coming from anyone else. But from Lachlan, with his cool expression, clear voice, and undeniable sincerity, it was utterly captivating.’

’That’s just unfair.’

Evangeline turned her face away, grumbling to herself.