Chapter 430: How about I touch this?

"Rory, eat a bit more." Vincent placed a piece of mutated beast meat into Rory’s bowl, then cast a subtle glance at Nix.

That guy really knew who to gossip with. He hadn’t gained anything himself, but he had handed the perfect opportunity right to Jasper and Wen.

Nix was incredibly depressed too. He hadn’t even said anything during dinner—so why did Rory only question Jasper and Wen instead of asking him? Nix was unhappy, so Nix ate two extra bowls of rice.

After dinner.

Since it was Wen’s turn to clear the table, he was busy for the moment, so Rory grabbed Jasper and made a run for it.

"Rory, slow down." Jasper’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest as he watched her run. He quickly stepped forward and swept her into his arms. "You’re carrying cubs right now; you can’t run like that."

"I asked Lian about it, and he said it’s fine. I can do light exercise as I please, and a gentle jog is absolutely no problem." Otherwise, Rory wouldn’t have dared to run like that either.

She took Jasper’s hand and led him up to the castle’s rooftop terrace. From here, she could practically reach out and touch the stars Yuel had prepared for her.

"There’s no one else here, so tell me quickly. What made you unhappy?"

"I wasn’t unhappy," Jasper said, looking down at her. "This afternoon, Nix mentioned that Xarion wanted you to groom his fur. I was just regretting that I don’t have any fur."

In truth, he didn’t actually mind. But since Nix had practically served this opportunity to him on a silver platter, it would have been a waste not to make use of it.

Rory: "..."

That Nix. How on earth did he find out?

"So that’s what this is about." Rory stepped closer to Jasper, her fingers pressing lightly against his abs. "How about I touch this instead?"

Staring at her movement, Jasper’s body stiffened slightly, his breathing growing shallow and rapid. He quickly caught Rory’s hand. "Rory, don’t..." He was close to his mating cycle these days, and he couldn’t handle this kind of teasing.

He wouldn’t let her touch his abs?

Rory wrapped her arms around Jasper’s waist. "Then should I stroke your tail?"

Jasper chuckled, shaking his head as he pulled Rory close. "I don’t care about that. I just used the topic as an excuse to get some alone time with you."

Having said that, he gently rested his face against her ear. Because his mating cycle was approaching, he had grown highly sensitive and increasingly dependent on her.

"Jasper, your body feels a bit warm. Are you feeling unwell?" Rory sensed that something was off. Normally, Jasper wouldn’t behave this way.

"Yes," Jasper admitted, nodding. "I’m a bit sensitive today. It’s nothing major; I’ll get through it." Since she was pregnant with cubs, there was no way she could help him through it anyway.

Rory returned his embrace tightly. Hearing his response, she knew exactly what was happening. "I understand."

The two of them stayed on the terrace for a short while. Once the breeze began to grow chilly, Jasper immediately brought Rory back downstairs.

Rory still needed to find Wen. She said to Jasper, "Go wait for me in my room. I have something to discuss with you later."

"Alright." Jasper nodded. He watched her walk into Wen’s room before turning around to step into the levitating elevator.

As Rory stepped into Wen’s room, she was greeted by a stretch of silvery-white sand. Wen had practically transformed his entire room into an ocean. The room was incredibly massive, resembling a miniature sea, filled with seawater he had specially commissioned to be transported from the aquatic territories.

"Master, you’re here." Sensing Rory’s presence, Wen instantly breached the water’s surface.

His pink merman tail shimmered beneath the seawater, appearing incredibly mysterious as it caught the shifting light.

Rory walked forward step by step. Guided by Wen’s elemental control, she walked across the ocean’s surface as if traversing level ground, her clothes staying completely dry.

Wen reached out to grasp Rory’s hand. He looked at her with pure excitement; this was the very first time his master had stepped into his room.

"Master, would you like to go down and see my palace?"

"Sure," Rory agreed with a nod. She hadn’t seen what Wen’s palace looked like yet. Wen had mentioned before that he had painstakingly decorated his current residence himself.

Wen blew an enormous bubble that fully encased both himself and Rory. Holding her hand, he led her down into the depths of the ocean.

The seabed was brilliantly illuminated, teeming with various species of fish Rory had never seen before. These were all raised specifically for her by Wen; whenever she wanted some, she could have them caught and prepared at a moment’s notice. The sheer quantity down here was enough that she wouldn’t be able to finish them even if she ate them for the rest of her life.

Wen’s palace was constructed from moonlight coral that had crystallized over tens of millions of years, its pillars emitting a soft, ethereal glow. The coral roof tiles were adorned with fluorescent snails; whenever a current drifted past, delicate flecks of light would roll down the eaves, resembling an endless shower of shooting stars beneath the sea.

The steps leading to the entrance were paved with the remnants of deep-sea krill. Stepping on them left fleeting, silvery-white footprints, making it feel as if one were treading over scattered starlight.

"It’s absolutely beautiful," Rory exclaimed in awe, staring at the palace before her.

"I’m glad you like it, Master." Seeing Rory’s amazed expression, the warmth in Wen’s eyes grew even gentler. "When I was designing this place, my only wish was for you to like it."

He had consulted both Yuel and Vincent regarding Rory’s personal tastes. Fortunately, the finished palace had not disappointed her.

"I love it." Rory looked around the interior of the palace. It was decorated in her favorite colors, exuding a highly romantic atmosphere. "Wen, you still haven’t told me why you were so quiet during dinner tonight."

In truth, Rory had already guessed the reason; Nix had most likely relayed the bit about the fur grooming to Wen as well.

Wen didn’t rush to answer. He looked at Rory, gently reaching out to cup her face. "Master, before I answer your question, can I take the initiative to kiss you?"

In the past, he wouldn’t have dared to harbor such thoughts. But now that his master had fully accepted him, he finally felt allowed to.

Rory caught Wen’s hand and, without waiting for him to make the move, leaned in and kissed his lips.

"Don’t ask about things like this in the future."

It makes it so awkward to answer. Although she had grown quite thick-skinned by now, she still preferred a more direct approach. Don’t ask—did he really think she would say no?

Wen stared at Rory with excitement. The moment she pulled back, he immediately took the initiative to kiss her lips again.

The surrounding currents surged and quickly converged to form an incredibly large water bed. He gently pressed Rory down onto the water bed, kissing her cheeks and lips with absolute tenderness.

"Female Master." Wen’s breathing grew slightly shallow, his eyes reflecting a deep sense of restraint as he looked at her. "Female Master, I’m so happy." He had wanted to call her ’Female Master’ for a very long time, but had never dared to.

Rory reached down to touch his merman tail. "Now, can you tell me why you wouldn’t talk during dinner?"

"Doesn’t the Female Master already know?" Wen chuckled, leaning down to plant another kiss on her lips. "Just like Jasper, I only wanted to use it as an excuse to spend some quiet, alone time with the Female Master."

They didn’t have fur, and they couldn’t exactly grow it out of thin air. Consequently, they wouldn’t stress over such things—they would simply use the situation to secure a few benefits for themselves.

Rory looked at him, running her hand over his beautiful tail a few more times. "I always used to think that, aside from Nix, you were the most innocent one in our household."

As it turned out, her judgment had been completely off.

Wen let out a low laugh. "Female Master, if I were truly innocent, how could I possibly be the King of the Merman race? I’m simply better at hiding it than the others."

As he spoke, he lay down beside Rory and pulled her into his arms. "My inability to control my tears and my tendency to cry easily are real. But there’s no way I am actually as naive as Nix." He simply knew how to show vulnerability; it didn’t mean he was actually weak.

Staring at Wen, Rory realized that not only had she misjudged him, but Yuel and Vincent had likely misjudged him as well.

"What rank are you, exactly?" Rory suddenly asked.