A self-deprecating laugh, hoarse and bitter, rumbled in Rask’s throat.

Julian’s golden eyes gazed quietly at Evangeline. He pursed his lips, knowing her words were meant for him as well.

"Even if you don’t accept me, I’m still going to follow you. You took my prized possessions, so that makes us a team!" Rask took a deep breath, choosing not to stand against Evangeline but to immediately pledge his loyalty.

’He wanted to be with her. But it wasn’t just about having a powerful female bear his offspring—more than that, he wanted to become stronger. Having been a wandering Beastman for so long, he knew full well that strength was the most important thing. If he could just get stronger, what couldn’t he obtain?’

"A team?" Evangeline raised an eyebrow, sizing up Rask’s fervent gaze before letting out a soft chuckle.

’This Rask is more astute than I gave him credit for.’

’An Eight-Marked Beastman, willing to give up his freedom just to follow me.’

’I can see his intentions clearly.’

"Female, these words are branded on my very bones! I promise, I’ll listen to everything you say from now on. I’ll fight whoever you tell me to fight! I can be your follower! Long ago, the Beast God Witch of the Beastman Continent had many followers. If I can’t be your mate, then I’ll be your sharpest weapon!"

Rask’s expression was sincere, his voice so deep it seemed to be ground from his very chest.

Hearing this, Julian narrowed his eyes and sneered at Rask. "Followers also have to form a Contract."

"A Contract?" Evangeline asked, slightly surprised. ’I’ve never heard of this ’follower’ business... and what in the world is a Beast God Witch?’

Julian lowered his gaze, his eyelashes casting a shadow on his cheeks.

He looked up at Evangeline and said softly, "On the Beastman Continent, there were once emissaries who served The Beast God, and witches who had many followers. For a witch who was unwilling to form a Mating Contract with a male, there was something called a Follower Contract, which is different from a Mating Contract."

"Its only restriction is that the follower can never harm the female they follow. A male who enters a Follower Contract can never choose another female for his entire life. It’s extremely strict, so over time, this Contract fell out of use."

As he spoke, Julian glanced at Rask. ’He didn’t believe for a second that this man would willingly enter into a Follower Contract with Evangeline.’

Evangeline mused to herself. ’This Beastman Continent is full of constraints. I wonder what The Beast God is really like.’

Rask looked at Evangeline with a resolute gaze. "Female! I am willing to form a Follower Contract with you!"

’This female... she’s beautiful, powerful, and kind-hearted. She’s completely loyal to Julian, a male who isn’t even her mate. Even if I were just a follower, I would be close to her, a Beastman under her protection. Isn’t that right?’

’Beastmen are driven by self-preservation, but they can still tell the difference between good and evil. I believe following her is the right choice.’

"You..." Julian’s expression changed as he stared at Rask in disbelief.

Rask, however, didn’t look at him. He kept his eyes fixed on Evangeline. After a moment, he dropped to one knee, laid one arm across his chest with his fist over his heart, and declared in a deep voice, "I, Rask, wish to follow the witch Evangeline, to become the bone knife in your hand. Even if I fall into eternal night, I will never betray you!"

As he finished speaking, the Eight-star pattern in the center of his forehead began to flash, waiting only for Evangeline to accept the Contract.

Julian watched Rask, who had acted without a moment’s hesitation, his expression dazed.

’Even I wouldn’t be willing to so easily give up the position of her mate. To become her follower means to forever stand behind her, to forever be beneath her mate, to forever be unable to touch her.’

’I know Evangeline is worth it, but does Rask?’

’This ragged, wandering Beastman hadn’t hesitated for even a second.’

Evangeline also lowered her gaze to Rask. On her shoulder, the snow-white Bunny lifted its head, its pitch-black eyes falling upon Rask.

But only for a moment. It then retracted its gaze and curled back up on Evangeline’s shoulder, quietly absorbing the Spiritual Energy around her.

Rask felt every moment of waiting stretch into an eternity, as if time itself had frozen. His own heartbeat thundered in his ears like a war drum. He was terrified of being rejected, but also terrified that he was making the wrong move and truly tying himself down for life.

After what felt like an agonizing eternity, a languid, charming voice finally spoke. "Rask, get up."

Rask snapped his head up. Still kneeling on one knee, his gaze met Evangeline’s long, beautiful eyes.

Her face was expressionless as she looked at him calmly. There was no pride in having an Eight-Marked Beastman pledge to follow her, nor was there any disgust at a Toad Beastman coveting her. Her demeanor was nonchalant, as if this were a trivial matter of no consequence.

"Female..." Rask’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he mumbled her title.

Evangeline lifted a finger, and a gentle breeze swept past, irresistibly pulling Rask to his feet.

He staggered for a moment before finding his footing.

"I don’t need followers." Evangeline’s voice was soft and detached.

"There is nothing more precious in this world than freedom. Rask, you are a wandering wind by nature, free and untethered. Why would you give up what you already possess for a small gain? That’s not a worthwhile trade."

Evangeline gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. When she looked at Rask, her expression was a mixture of mockery and pity.

’We employees of the Transmigration Administration Bureau toil every day, casting aside our dignity and freedom, all for the sake of retirement. We do it all for one comfortable life in our final years, a life like a long, hazy dream.’

’After that, our unhappy memories are erased, leaving only the mission data. We’re ’rehired’ and rebooted, starting the cycle all over again. We’re like puppets with new programming, serving the Bureau for the rest of our lives until we finally die in one of the small worlds. Only then does it end.’

’The reason I value this retirement life so much is because, for me, this is my last chance.’

’Once my emotions are wiped and I’m ’rehired’ and sent back, will I still be ’Evangeline’?’

’Hah. When that time comes, the being that wakes up will just be a new program wearing the same skin.’

’As a matriarchal society, the rules The Beast God established for the Beastman Continent have their own logic. Females are born revered, and males willingly submit. What flows through these Contracts is the law of survival that has governed this land for millennia.’

’It’s just that I don’t like it.’

’The males of the Beastman Continent are mostly loyal by nature; the Mating Contract’s restrictions are only a small part of that. It’s a shame that for the sake of that single binding, they must live in shackles, even competing with countless other males for one female.’

’Some males, after forming a Contract, might be quickly cast aside by their female and left to be forgotten. They’ll never have the chance to enjoy a gentle word from her, let alone have offspring.’

’Just like the seven males contracted to the original "Evangeline." They were victims of that female’s greed. They hated her to their very bones and wanted revenge, even at the cost of their own lives. How pitiful is that?’

’And the Follower Contract is even more absurd.’

’I don’t like Rask and won’t take him as a mate, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to enslave and command him.’

"I, by nature, love freedom."

"Having too many people around me... for me, isn’t that just another kind of shackle?"