Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 219: Episode : I am Sorry

The heavy pearl doors of the bridal suite slammed shut, sealing out the shouting voice of General Kaia.

Caspian placed his webbed hand against the seam, channeling a pulse of blue mana that fused the lock with a magical seal.

Only then did he exhale.

"Safe," he muttered, turning to face the room. "Finally."

Roxy floated near the center of the room, her silk wrap drifting around her legs like a cloud. She felt heavy. The adrenaline of the execution had crashed, leaving her limbs feeling like lead.

"You really sealed it?" Roxy asked, offering a tired smile. "Kaia is persistent, but I don’t think she’s going to batter down the Royal Door."

"You do not know her," Caspian grumbled, swimming over to check the balcony windows, ensuring the privacy curtains of woven kelp were drawn tight. "She is like a thresher shark. If she smells an opening, she bites. And she has been smelling you since"

He turned back to her, his golden eyes dark and turbulent. He didn’t look like the triumphant King who had just purged a traitor. He looked like a man on the edge of a breakdown.

Roxy sighed and swam over to the massive clam bed, sinking into the soft moss. "Come here, Caspian. Stop patrolling. The day is over."

Caspian hesitated. He hovered a few feet away, his arms crossed over his bare, scarred chest. The bioluminescent light of the room cast shadows across his face, highlighting the tension in his jaw.

"It bothers me," he admitted, his voice low and rough.

"What? Kaia’s proposition?" Roxy rolled her eyes, lying back on the moss. "Ideally, I’d be flattered, but mostly I’m just confused. Ignore her. She’s just... enthusiastic."

"It is not just the proposition," Caspian snapped, his tail lashing behind him.

He swam closer, his movements jerky. He clenched his fists.

"I hate it," Caspian whispered, the confession tearing out of him. "I hate seeing them look at you. I hate seeing them touch you. Even the females. Even the air."

He coiled his tail beneath him so he was level with her. He reached out and touched her cheek, his thumb brushing the skin.

"I want to be the only one," he said, his voice cracking. "Is that madness? I want to be the only one who knows the texture of your hair. The only one who sees you smile. I want to lock you in this room and keep the world away so they can never stain you with their eyes."

You are already doing that.

Roxy looked at him. She saw the fear behind the possessiveness. He knew, deep down, that she didn’t belong here. He knew she was a flight risk. His jealousy wasn’t just about ownership; it was about the terror of losing her.

He is my ticket home, Roxy reminded herself. He is the lock, but he is also the key. I need him stable. I need him secure.

But looking at his pained face, she realized it wasn’t just strategy. She did care for him. He had saved her life. He adored her. He was a good man in a hard world.

She reached up and covered his hand with hers.

"Caspian," she said softly.

"I am a tyrant," he muttered, looking away. "I know. You value your freedom. And I am here, building walls."

"Look at me," Roxy commanded.

He slowly turned his gaze back to her.

"You are not a tyrant," Roxy lied—or perhaps it was a half-truth. "You are a King who loves hard. And I get it. The court is loud. Everyone wants a piece of the Queen. Kaia wants my time. Nerissa wants my influence. The people want my cooking."

She sat up, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him down until their foreheads touched.

"But that’s just the role, Caspian. That’s the Crown."

She looked deep into his golden eyes, summoning every ounce of sincerity she could muster.

"They get the Queen," Roxy whispered, brushing her nose against his. "They get the braids and the food and the speeches. But they don’t get me."

[Ew.]

Oh shut up dumbass!

She guided his hand from her cheek down to her chest, pressing his palm over her heart.

"You are the only one who holds this," she said. "While I am building influence out there, remember where I sleep. Remember who I chose."

It was a necessary lie. Her heart was split—pieces of it belonged to all her mates up there, to the children, to the surface. But in the context of the Deep, in this isolated world, it was true enough. He was her person here.

Caspian let out a shuddering breath. The tension drained out of his frame as if she had cut a string.

"You chose me," he repeated, clinging to the words like a lifeline.

"I chose you," Roxy confirmed. "So stop growling at her. She’s just a guard dog. You are the master of the house."

Caspian closed his eyes. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent. "My Pearl. My life."

He kissed the sensitive skin beneath her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. The mood in the room shifted instantly. The anger evaporated, replaced by a heavy, humid heat.

"Let me show you," Caspian murmured against her skin. "Let me show you that I am the only one."

He pulled back, his eyes dark with intent. He reached for the knot of the silk wrap at her waist.

"May I?" he asked, though his hands were already moving.

Roxy nodded. "Please."

The silk drifted away, floating to the floor. The clam shell bra followed.

Caspian didn’t rush. He worshipped her. He touched her with a reverence that made her feel like a deity. He traced the line where her skin met her scales. He kissed her shoulders, her throat, her lips.

They moved together in the weightless embrace of the water, a slow, rhythmic dance of pink and indigo. It was gentle, healing, and overwhelmingly intimate. It was an affirmation of life in a place that was so often filled with death.

As the bioluminescence in the room pulsed in time with their movements, fading to a soft, rhythmic darkness, the world outside ceased to exist.

Hours later.

The room was silent. The light had dimmed to a deep, slumberous blue.

Roxy was fast asleep.

She was curled up in the center of the moss bed, her hair floating around her face like a dark halo. One of her hands was resting near her stomach, her fingers loose and relaxed.

Caspian was awake.

He lay beside her, watching her. He traced the curve of her jaw with his eyes, afraid to touch her lest he wake her.

He felt the hum of the mana in the room. He felt the change in her scent, subtle, faint, but undeniable to his senses.

The Healer hadn’t been called yet, but Caspian suspected. The connection during the Rite had been strong. And tonight... tonight felt different.

He looked at her stomach.

An heir, he thought. A key.

The joy that should have filled him was dampened by a cold, suffocating wave of guilt.

He thought of her reassurance earlier. "You are the only one who holds this."

He wanted to believe her. Gods, he wanted to believe her.

But he remembered the way she looked at the surface of the water when she thought he wasn’t looking. He remembered the name she whispered in her nightmares.

He knew she was playing a game. Maybe she loved him, yes. But she also loved the sun. And by keeping her here, by filling her with his heir, he was anchoring her to the dark.

He was the villain in her story, disguised as the hero.

He reached out and gently took her hand, bringing her knuckles to his lips.

"I am selfish," he whispered to the silence.

He kissed her fingers, one by one.

"I will give you the world, Roxy. I will give you the Spires. I will give you the gold, the army, the power."

He leaned in, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead.

"But I cannot give you the one thing you truly want."

He looked at the sealed door. He knew he could open it. He could take her to the surface right now. But his heart clenched in panic at the thought. He couldn’t. He was too weak. He loved her too much to let her go.

"I love you, Roxy," Caspian whispered, his voice breaking.

He pressed his forehead against her sleeping hand.

"And I am sorry."