Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 270: Episode 268: I was waiting for you.

Roxy forced her heavy eyelids open, her vision swimming in the sickly yellow-green light of the kelp forest.

The massive, terrifying leviathans that had just been batting her around like a toy were completely gone, scattered into the deep trenches by the sheer, suffocating aura of the Merman holding her.

Last time he had single handedly finished them off.

She stared up into the face of Caspian’s brother. Keenan.

His sharp jawline, his flowing dark hair, and the iridescent, midnight-blue scales that painted his shoulders were a haunting mirror of her husband. But where Caspian’s eyes always held a deep, possessive warmth for her, Keenan’s eyes were wild, calculating, and untamed.

Despite the sudden, intimate proximity, Roxy didn’t panic. The adrenaline that had been screaming through her veins slowly began to ebb. She wasn’t wary of him. In fact, as she looked at his devastatingly handsome face, the only thing she felt was a profound wave of relief. He had just saved her life.

Just like he had done before.

Roxy let out a long, shaky breath, a stream of silver bubbles escaping her lips. She placed her hands flat against his solid chest and gently pushed herself back.

To her surprise, Keenan didn’t resist. Unlike the last time they had encountered each other, when he had boldly invaded her space and dropped her off at the entrance with a heavy, lingering touch, the exiled Prince let her go immediately. He drifted backward, his powerful, dark tail flicking to maintain a respectful, cautious distance between them.

"You’re a long way from the sun, Surface Queen," Keenan observed, his eyes dropping to the sluggishly bleeding scratch on her arm before flicking back up to her face. "And you’re swimming in circles. This kelp forest is a graveyard for those who don’t know the currents."

"I got turned around," Roxy admitted. She rubbed her aching ribs, wincing slightly. "Thank you, Keenan. For stepping in."

Keenan offered a lazy, enigmatic shrug, crossing his powerful arms over his chest. "I couldn’t exactly let a school of overgrown eels chew on the King’s favorite treasure. It would be a waste of a perfectly good tragedy."

He turned gracefully in the water, gesturing with a tilt of his head. "Follow me. If you stay here, the scent of your blood will just bring them back."

Roxy didn’t hesitate. She whipped her pink tail, falling into line behind him as he navigated the dense vegetation. Keenan moved with absolute certainty, weaving through the massive, slimy stalks of kelp without a single wasted motion.

He kept his distance, staying a few yards ahead of her, his presence acting as an impenetrable shield against any other predators lurking in the dark.

As they broke through the edge of the kelp forest and the open, crushing blackness of the abyss stretched out before them, Keenan slowed his pace. He glanced over his shoulder, his dark eyes narrowing in genuine curiosity.

"My brother expressly forbade you from ever returning to the Spires," Keenan stated, his tone dropping its playful edge. "He let you go knowing fully well you wanted the surface more than the deep. So why are you back, Roxy?"

"There is something I must do," Roxy answered, her green eyes hardening with absolute, unwavering resolve. "Something I cannot accomplish anywhere else. My family on the Surface is in danger, Keenan. I have to fix this."

Keenan stared at her. The arrogant smirk on his face slowly melted away, replaced by a look of profound, silent understanding. He recognized the look of a ruler willing to sacrifice everything for her people. It was a look he had rarely seen in the decadent, treacherous courts of the Deep Spires.

Before he could respond, the water pressure around them suddenly shifted.

Keenan’s dark eyes darted upward, the finned ridges along his ears flaring sharply. He sensed the movement instantly, the organized, rhythmic displacement of water that signaled a heavy patrol of Abyssal Knights approaching from the upper ridges.

"You’re out of time," Keenan murmured quickly. He pointed downward, toward a faint, glowing cluster of lights illuminating the ocean floor miles ahead. "Follow the thermal vents. They will lead you straight to the main gates. Do not stop for anything."

"Keenan, wait—" Roxy started, wanting to thank him again.

But the Prince didn’t linger. With a powerful, blindingly fast thrust of his tail, Keenan darted into the shadows of the subterranean trench, vanishing into the pitch-black abyss as swiftly and silently as he had arrived.

Left alone once more, Roxy didn’t waste a second. She tucked her arms tightly against her sides and angled her body downward, swimming with every ounce of speed her mermaid biology could muster.

The journey felt endless, the crushing pressure of the deep pressing against her scales, but soon, the darkness began to recede. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The Deep Spires came into view, and despite the urgency of her mission, Roxy’s breath hitched at the sheer, overwhelming majesty of it all. The underwater city was a breathtaking marvel, something she didn’t think she would have returned to.

She swam past the outer residential rings, ignoring the shocked, wide-eyed stares of the Merfolk citizens who recognized the iridescent tail of their Queen. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, heading directly for the colossal, heavily fortified gates of the royal castle.

The gates were guarded by two towering Abyssal Knights clad in thick, spiked crustacean armor.

As Roxy approached the entrance, the guards’ eyes widened in sheer disbelief behind their visors. But training overrode their shock. With a loud, metallic clack that vibrated through the water, they crossed their heavy, glowing tridents, completely blocking her path.

"Halt!" the guard on the right commanded.

Roxy stopped, hovering just a few feet from the crossed weapons. She kept her posture straight, her chin held high.

"Forgive me, Queen Roxy," the guard on the left spoke, his voice trembling slightly with the sheer anxiety of addressing her. He lowered his head respectfully, though he did not lower his weapon. "You cannot come in. We are under strict, absolute orders from King Caspian."

"The King was clear," the first guard added, his grip tightening on his trident. "You are forbidden to return to the Spires. If we allow you to pass these gates, it will mean our heads."

She looked at the two terrified guards with a calm, steady patience that unnerved them far more than anger would have.

"I am not here to return," Roxy stated, her voice smooth, level, and carrying clearly through the water. "I just wish to see Queen Nerissa quickly. It is a matter of life and death for the Surface world. Please, send word to her chambers."

The guards exchanged a frantic, helpless look. They were torn between their absolute terror of Caspian’s wrath and their ingrained reverence for the woman who had worn the Abyssal Crown.

"We... we cannot, Your Grace," the guard stammered, preparing to forcefully push her back into the open water. "We must reject your entry. You have to leave before the King’s vanguard—"

The two heavily armored guards froze mid-sentence. The heavy, oppressive aura that flooded the courtyard was not the fierce, fiery possessiveness of Caspian. It was something far older, far deeper, and infinitely more dangerous.

Roxy would know this reaction anywhere even in her sleep, because she shuddered too.

Queen Nerissa drifted toward the gates, her silver hair floating like a halo around her ancient, hauntingly beautiful face.

The Abyssal Guards immediately dropped their heads low, lowering their tridents.

Nerissa didn’t even look at them. Her dark, knowing eyes locked directly onto Roxy through the iron bars. The corners of the older woman’s lips curved upward into a slow, mysterious smile that sent a shiver racing down Roxy’s spine.

"Let her pass," Nerissa commanded, her voice an echoing, melodic whisper that held the weight of the entire ocean.

The guards scrambled backward, frantically pulling the heavy gates open. Roxy swam forward, crossing the threshold into the courtyard, her heart hammering against her ribs as she came face-to-face with Caspian’s mother.

Nerissa reached out, one of her elegant tentacles gently brushing against Roxy’s shoulder in a maternal, welcoming gesture.

"I knew you would figure it out, little Queen," Nerissa murmured. "I was waiting for you."