Iska caressed Rudis’s b*ttocks with excitement, chattering happily as though imagining her future tail.

“I’ve prepared other things just in case…”

Rudis’s pupils darted wildly as she suddenly remembered how Iska had recently asked about potion usage, claiming he would take over the ranch work. The memory of his strange question now took on a sinister meaning.

‘What happens if it’s used on a human?’

She should have sensed something wrong then. Iska hadn’t been asking what would happen if he used the potion on himself—he’d been asking if it would work on her, on a human.

“But I suppose none of that is necessary? You’ll keep my c*ck inside you until you conceive.”

“Mmph!”

As he finished speaking, an overwhelming pressure filled her belly. Whatever was inside her began to expand, stretching her entrance until it felt ready to tear.

“Ngh!”

Rudis whimpered through the excruciating pain, scratching desperately at the bed as she tried to escape, but couldn’t move an inch. Her mind went blank with agony.

“It’s alright. Just stay like this a little longer. This is how we’ll make a child. You keep spilling what I feed you, so I have no choice.”

Iska embraced her from behind, gently stroking her belly. His once dreamy, languid voice now dripped with obsession and hunger. Only then did Rudis truly understand what was happening to her body.

“Let go! Let me go!”

“Stay still. You might get hurt if you move.”

“Ugh!”

Just as Iska warned, the more she struggled, the more intense the pain became. Rudis curled up quietly, clutching her stomach as she sobbed. She couldn’t understand why this was happening to her—or even what exactly was happening.

‘The Tarkar are cruel. Cunning and gloomy.’

‘You don’t need to worry about anything.’

She had trusted Iska. She had insisted to Xenon that his concerns were unfounded. But this was the result.

“Why are you crying, Lady Rudis?”

Iska’s reaction confused her even more. After doing this to her without any warning, he now seemed distressed by her tears, acting as though he hadn’t expected this outcome.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pressure filling her belly subsided, and Iska finally released her. He gently laid her on the bed and carefully wiped her swollen eyes, his face looking ready to burst into tears himself.

“The mushrooms… It’s because you haven’t eaten the shadow mushrooms. I’ll go gather plenty right away, so please stop crying, Lady Rudis. Please…”

Rudis turned her back toward the edge of the bed, clutching the blanket tightly. She bit her lip and held her breath. As darkness deepened and the moon became more distinct outside the window, her body grew increasingly hot. These were signs of heat—extremely inappropriate to experience now.

“I’ll be back soon, so please wait just a little while.”

Iska whispered in a tender voice as he covered her with a thick blanket. His touch was so infinitely careful that Rudis sank into deeper confusion. The door closed and his footsteps faded away. Rudis finally exhaled her held breath.

Her body, bathed in moonlight, was strangely sensitive. Every time her sweat-beaded skin brushed against the blanket, sensations rippled throughout her body. Everything felt intensely stimulating.

At that moment, a man appeared outside the window, silhouetted against the red moonlight.

“…Xenon?”

Rudis’s voice trembled thinly. The silhouette by the window leaped into the bedroom in one swift motion. Rudis flinched. Everything felt provocative—the passing breeze, Xenon’s body heat, and the masculine scent that suddenly enveloped her.

This isn’t the time for such thoughts…

Her mind refused to function properly. The only thought she could form was a desire to devour this male before her.

“You… What on earth happened to you?”

Only when Xenon hastily covered her with the blanket did she realize what she had been unconsciously doing—rubbing her legs together while completely n*ked, like a lustful beast.

But that lasted only a moment as Rudis gazed up at him blankly, her eyes seemingly pleading for something. Her eyes were wet, and her trembling lips appeared to have stopped mid-speech. Xenon furrowed his brow in confusion at the sight.

“We need to leave now.”

Xenon spoke in a resolute voice. He wrapped her tightly in the blanket and lifted her in one motion. Rudis buried herself in his arms. When her face touched his heavy, solid chest, she instantly responded to his body heat.

Even in this state, Xenon carried Rudis, blanket and all, and left the house. Against the rapidly changing scenery behind them, Rudis whispered with difficulty.

“Something’s wrong with me…”

Her faint voice brushed against Xenon’s ear. He momentarily stopped in his tracks, his red eyes trembling slightly.

“Yes. It seems so.”

What the hell did that beast do to her? Xenon gritted his teeth and began running even faster.

Xenon quickened his pace. His steps grew increasingly rapid as he carried Rudis in his arms, cutting through the quiet night air toward the forest.

“Haa…”

Even while running, he couldn’t stop sighing and flinching. Finally, with a long groan, Xenon pleaded with Rudis.

“Haa… Rudis, please move your hand.”

Rudis kept touching him below. She was looking at Xenon with a face that sparkled like stars. Her tongue, caught between her teeth, was particularly seductive.

Rudis isn’t herself.

Xenon kept muttering to himself, trying to banish a demon’s voice whispering in his ear. Otherwise, he felt he might drag Rudis away to do something else entirely.

Something had gone terribly wrong. Just as in his distant memories, Xenon was prepared to shed blood. He was also prepared to face an unconscious Rudis, just like before. But what he experienced today wasn’t like the brutal torture of the past, nor the smell of burning flesh, nor an unconscious Rudis. The situation was similar yet clearly different.

Similar, but…

They were definitely different people. Too different to overlap in his thoughts.

Xenon sneered, deliberately ignoring Rudis’s constantly touching hands.

Before long, they reached the northern forest. Standing before the massive tower, Xenon swallowed hard again.

“You’ve come.”

Yet Rudis still reminded him of that day—the first time he had brought the woman to the temple. The blue-eyed man who had received the woman he handed over. The same situation was repeating itself, albeit differently.

“Rudis is…”

“You can go now. I’ll take care of this.”

Unlike before, the blue-eyed man took Rudis into his arms, snatching her away.

“Noah?”

“Yes, it’s me. So it’s come to this after all. Poor thing. You must be tired, let’s get you some rest.”

With a light stroke of his hand, Rudis quietly closed her eyes. Her flushed face became peaceful, showing no trace of what had happened. Xenon gritted his teeth as he approached Noah.

“…You knew about this?”

Noah blinked and nodded leisurely, treating it as nothing unusual.

“Why didn’t you prevent it?!”

Xenon’s red eyes flashed.

“Why blame me? Weren’t you the one who took away all the protective charms I carefully made? I made it so that beast couldn’t even speak to her.”

Xenon swallowed hard at Noah’s cynical words. He couldn’t refute them. After hearing that Rudis fell asleep at 2 AM, he had thought of Noah. Only that arrogant man had the power to do such things to someone. So he had removed all her accessories. But he never imagined one of them might have had the power to ward off beast-people.

“Even a moment’s thought would have made it obvious. How stupid.”

Noah’s words cut sharply, like a blade through bone. Xenon’s fingertips trembled.

“Can you fix her?”

Despite Xenon’s pointed tone, Noah merely looked at Rudis and coldly replied.

“And if I said no, what could you do about it?”

Xenon bit his lip at Noah’s words. What he said was true. This was also why Xenon couldn’t snatch Rudis from those hands and take her to his own sanctuary.

Before heading to Rudis’s house, Xenon had considered countless possibilities—from Rudis simply growing tired of the village and not leaving her home, to being imprisoned somewhere and losing consciousness, just like that day long ago. And if Rudis’s situation was even slightly unfavorable, Xenon had planned to go to Noah. He knew the power Noah possessed.