Chapter 330: "I Want to Marry You.

An ornate candelabra sat in the middle of the round table, three candles burning quietly. Darkness surrounded them; even the Talisman Array above had been deactivated.

Yu Zhizhi sat in her chair, hands clasped together, hoping with all her heart that Zero would notice someone had entered the Divine Hall Illusion Realm.

’I hope...’

’...he comes as soon as possible.’

She didn’t have to wait long this time.

Across the round table, a shadow quickly appeared.

Zero probably hadn’t expected the Rabbit Clan Lady to come to the Illusion Divine Hall at this hour, especially since they were both in the Royal Palace.

He had just finished a meeting and rushed over.

"Ms. Zhi Zhi."

The young man from the Cat Clan walked toward her.

He noticed the Rabbit Clan female’s eyes were red, as if she had just been crying.

"What’s wrong?"

Zero wasn’t wearing a mask this time. He stood beside her chair and asked with concern.

Yu Zhizhi looked up at him, her rabbit ears drooping and the tip of her nose red. "In three days, I’m getting married."

The young Cat Clan man’s expression faltered slightly. "...To whom?"

He hadn’t heard any rumors.

’How could she suddenly be getting married?’

"To someone from the Green Snake Clan—" Yu Zhizhi paused, her voice full of sorrow. "I haven’t even memorized his name."

The young Cat Clan man understood at once. "The Duke arranged the marriage?"

Yu Zhizhi slowly nodded.

Zero leaned lightly against the round table, crossing his arms over his chest as if in thought. "...That’s to be expected. It’s actually a bit slower than I thought."

Seeing the little rabbit’s confusion, he explained, "Everyone on this planet now knows you’re an SS+ female. If the Valoran Empire doesn’t do something, you’ll likely be taken away by another empire, one way or another."

"But..." The young Cat Clan man’s voice held a trace of confusion. "Why the Green Snake Clan?"

’There are so many nobles in the Valoran Empire. Why, of all choices, the Green Snake Clan?’

Yu Zhizhi replied softly, "The Duke said I’m to live in the Duke Mansion after the wedding, too."

The young Cat Clan man didn’t immediately understand. Then, a sudden realization struck him, and a flash of astonishment crossed his eyes.

’To keep an SS-Level female forever, any noble male could have been her Beast Husband. But he specifically chose the Snake Clan—’

’Did the First Duke of the Valoran Empire go to such great lengths just to permanently confine the Rabbit Clan female to the Snake Clan’s territory?’

If Zero had only been suspicious after their meeting last night, he was now certain: the Duke’s feelings for the Rabbit Clan female were not as simple as the outside world believed.

"Zero..." Yu Zhizhi gently tugged on his sleeve. "Can I escape directly from the Divine Hall Illusion Realm?"

She had wanted to see the young Cat Clan man specifically to get away from the Duke.

Teleportation Scrolls could only be obtained from side quests.

They couldn’t be exchanged for in the shop, either.

But the rewards for side quests were different every time.

And this time, the side quest was taking a long time to appear. ’Could it be because I already completed a side quest in the Valoran Imperial City?’

The young Cat Clan man understood what the little rabbit was getting at.

He explained softly, "I’m afraid that won’t work. In the Divine Hall Illusion Realm, envoys are returned to the place they came from."

"This is a place for everyone to conveniently gather for meetings, not a transit hub. You can’t travel from one region to another from here."

"Perhaps... there is someone who can help you."

Seeing the disappointment on the little rabbit’s face, Zero couldn’t help but comfort her. "Don’t be sad, there’s still a chance. First, we need to find a way to stall for a few days. I’ll go talk to Noel. We’ll try our best, before everything is set in stone—"

The young Cat Clan man couldn’t be one hundred percent certain he could help her.

"Stall for a few days..." Yu Zhizhi murmured.

"A week," Zero said.

Yu Zhizhi didn’t have much confidence. The Duke was a man whose word was law.

She slowly nodded.

She would just have to try her best.

"If there’s really no other way, just ask him this—" The young Cat Clan man leaned down and whispered a few words in Yu Zhizhi’s ear.

Yu Zhizhi’s eyes widened. "Isn’t... isn’t that a bad idea? What if... he agrees?"

The young Cat Clan man laughed, revealing a small canine tooth. "Don’t worry, he’ll never agree."

If the Duke of Varolan had any such intentions, he wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of assigning a young man from the Snake Clan to her.

Yu Zhizhi left the Divine Hall Illusion Realm.

It seemed there was no better solution for now; she just had to try and stall for a week.

She curled up on her bed, surrounded by complete darkness.

The night deepened.

A full day and night passed with her locked in her room.

The food on the table had gone cold.

When the Duke returned, Dai Li reported truthfully, "Duke, Ms. Zhi Zhi hasn’t eaten all day."

In the darkness, the Duke’s steps faltered for a moment. He looked toward the young female’s residence. After a while, he finally made his way toward her room.

The servants waiting outside the door saw him, bowed, and retreated.

The Duke pushed open the door.

He could faintly make out a figure curled up behind the bed curtains. Upon hearing the door open, the young female on the bed’s rabbit ears twitched, and she quickly pulled the blanket over herself.

The Duke glanced at the food on the table, completely untouched.

His eyes turned cold. "Trying to starve yourself?"

The moment she heard the Duke’s voice, Yu Zhizhi wanted to cry.

She sobbed softly.

’I’m not trying to starve myself, I just have no appetite. I can’t eat at all.’

The Duke came to the bedside, his tone icy. "If you refuse to eat, I’ll have Dai Li give you Nutrient Liquid injections. Do you plan on spending the next two days in bed?"

"I don’t want to marry him." Yu Zhizhi clutched the blanket tightly. The thought that the Duke was standing right by her bed robbed her of the courage to turn around.

The Duke said, "We have already discussed this issue."

Seeing the young female’s shoulders tremble slightly, and thinking of how she hadn’t eaten all day, the Duke softened his voice. "Do you care that much about the title of First Beast Husband? Who are you planning to save that position for?"

"The Mermaid? The shark? Or the Spider?"

"Don’t even think about a male from outside the Valoran Empire."

The Duke would never allow her to be taken away by another empire.

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the blanket away.

The young female’s body trembled visibly as the Duke pulled her up. In the darkness, he could see her slightly swollen eyes, with glistening tears about to spill from their corners.

He was furious.

But there was nothing he could do.

He couldn’t punish her, nor could he lock her up. He couldn’t even bring himself to say harsher, more cutting words.

’The little rabbit has no idea what her status truly means.’

Yu Zhizhi didn’t struggle. She just sat on the bed, letting the Duke grip her wrist.

They remained at a standstill.

She thought of what the young Cat Clan man had said.

Seeing how unyielding the Duke’s attitude was, she could only muster her courage and say with a trembling voice, "I... I don’t want to marry him."

Yu Zhizhi looked up at the man before her. His golden, vertical pupils were chillingly cold, staring intently at her in the darkness, his eyes filled with many emotions she couldn’t comprehend.

"Duke..."

She said, word by word, "I want to marry you."