Chapter 431 - 430: Formal Bonding

「The next day.」

When Yu Zhizhi woke up, she was the only one in the room.

Ai Xi heard the stirring and came in, all smiles. "Good morning, Lady Lord."

"...Where is the Lord Leader?"

"The Lord Leader was up very early. He went to patrol the territory."

Yu Zhizhi remembered how she had stood guard outside the bathroom door out of worry last night. She had gotten too tired and fallen asleep, and vaguely recalled seeing Spider.

As Ai Xi helped her change into a light blue formal dress, she asked, "Does he... seem alright?"

The Bee Clan female’s hands paused for a moment. She smiled and said, "The Lord Leader is very happy. He’ll be back on time."

Yu Zhizhi nodded lightly.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Because it was a special day, she was wearing a formal dress.

After finishing her preparations, she lifted the hem of her skirt and walked outside.

The Little Octopus and the Little Ice Ball were both waiting at the door.

They swarmed her as soon as they saw her.

"GUJI GUJI~" The Little Elf fluttered its ice-colored wings. It was a little bigger than yesterday.

The Little Octopus held a bouquet high in its tentacles. "Here! Just picked!"

These were all flowers it had grown for Tutu.

The Little Octopus had picked one of every color.

The bouquet was a riot of color.

Yu Zhizhi bent down and took the flowers from its tentacles, the corners of her mouth lifting into a slight smile. "Thank you."

The Little Ice Ball flew in a circle and carefully landed on Yu Zhizhi’s shoulder. It still looked like a junior Elf, with a ring of ice-colored wings and a dark blue center that emitted a faint glow.

The castle guards bowed one after another. "Lord."

Outside the castle doors, a red carpet was laid out. At its end was the place for the ceremony, bathed in sunlight and surrounded by flowers.

Jialou stood at the edge of the red carpet. During the peaceful days in the territory, he rarely appeared in Yu Zhizhi’s line of sight, but this time, he was also fulfilling his duty to ensure the Lady Lord’s safety and the smooth conclusion of the marriage ceremony.

The Paradise Leader had already returned.

He stood at the end of the red carpet, turned to the side, smiling as he watched the Rabbit Clan female walk out of the castle.

Yu Zhizhi’s pace quickened. She lightly lifted her skirt and walked toward the man.

Before the high platform, a floating screen appeared.

The witness from the Empire Alliance had been waiting for a long time.

This was a formal, public marriage ceremony, broadcast in almost every region of the Beast World Planet. A flood of viewers poured in.

The camera focused on the young Rabbit Clan female. As a noble SS+ female, she was the only female in recent years to possess her own territory, and she was jointly protected by the Three Great Empires.

This was simply unheard of!

Relations between the Empires were always tense, but this time, they had reached an unprecedented consensus.

The comments in the livestream chat overlapped into a blur.

[Aaaah, I’ve been waiting for this!]

[It’s the Lord of Paradise! Hahaha! I’ve been looking forward to this since the Hunting Season!]

[Is this Ms. Zhi Zhi’s second Beast Husband?]

[Where’s Lord Locke, aaah, come back! I never even got to see Ms. Zhi Zhi’s wedding with Lord Locke!]

[No matter what, Ms. Zhi Zhi belongs to our Varolan Empire!]

As Yu Zhizhi drew closer, she realized it was Louis standing before her.

On the large floating screen before the high platform, the envoy from the Empire Alliance, dressed in formal attire, smiled and bowed to the Rabbit Clan Lady in front of the camera.

"Ms. Zhi Zhi, Paradise Leader, greetings. I am the witness for your marriage, Lloyd. The following ceremony will be public, notarized as valid, and permanently entered into the archives."

Yu Zhizhi stood beside Louis. She looked up at the screen in the air, her heart gradually growing tense.

"Okay," she nodded lightly.

Louis sensed her nervousness and reached out to lightly squeeze her fingertips.

At their side, Ai Xi brought up the Marriage Contract and placed it before them.

The camera zoomed in.

Viewers all over the world could see the glittering gold script on the red Marriage Contract, which bore the most sincere promise of the Beast Clan—[To grow old together, and never be parted by life or death.]

Yu Zhizhi picked up the ink pen and signed her name in the designated space.

She passed the pen to Louis.

The man standing beside her lowered his gaze, staring intently at the red Contract Book. He took the pen from Zhi Zhi and, stroke by stroke, wrote down a single word: "Spider."

’To be able to stand under the sun and hold a marriage ceremony with my beloved female... this is something my former self would have never dared to dream of.’

Yu Zhizhi was slightly stunned when she saw the name Louis had written.

She then had a sudden realization: Louis and Lou were, in fact, both Spider. Although she saw them as independent beings, they were actually one with Spider.

Yu Zhizhi pressed her thumb on the ink pad and left her thumbprint.

Louis, however, bit his finger and used his blood instead.

’From this day forward, I will protect this Rabbit Clan female with my life. No matter what happens, I will always stand by her side.’

—Contract signed successfully.—

From this moment on, he was truly Zhi Zhi’s Beast Husband.

The comments in the livestream were now too dense to read.

Everyone was cheering.

Yu Zhizhi watched as the Marriage Contract slowly transformed into a golden Unity Lock. This was the first time she had experienced such a sense of ceremony.

’I really...’

’...have a Beast Husband now...’

Back at the gates of the Extreme Ice Palace, when the envoy from the Varolan Empire had taken out the Contract Book, Yu Zhizhi herself had been completely bewildered.

She suddenly felt a little shy and lowered her head, too embarrassed to look at Louis beside her.

On the other side of the video call, the witness declared their union valid.

Fireworks bloomed in the sky above the territory.

Before Yu Zhizhi could even process what was happening, Louis had already handed his body over to Spider.

Her ears were filled with the laughter of the territory’s guards, the explosions of fireworks, the blessings of the witness...

Spider looked down at her. "Zoning out?"

Hearing his voice, Yu Zhizhi looked up, only to realize that Louis was gone... ’Is this what they agreed on yesterday?’

’One takes the first half, the other takes the second?’

’Then, what about Lou?’

When Spider appeared, he glanced at the now-validated Contract Book, barely managing to suppress the upward curve of his lips.

Seeing the little rabbit’s clear eyes, he could no longer hold back. He bent his neck, gently lifted her chin, and slowly kissed her.

Yu Zhizhi felt Spider’s gentle, light kiss. Her heart trembled, and she nervously clutched the hem of her skirt as her cheeks slowly grew red and hot.

’S-so... so many people are watching...’

The Lord of Paradise could feel her tension and trembling.

Joy spread through his heart. He gave a triumphant little smile and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "You can’t run away now."

There was a contract between them.

’This little rabbit had better not even think about leaving me behind again.’

Thinking about what would happen after all the missions were over... Yu Zhizhi suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She lowered her head and took the initiative to hug the Lord of Paradise.