Chosen Mate Of The Beastmen Empire

The usually charty line est suddenly fell silent. The oft mew disappeared

He stared intently at those glaring red marks, as if punishing himself, his expresion filled with grievance and bitterness.

He thought, Why have I been one step too late? If we really aren't meant to be, then why did we met?

Aurelius took a deep breath, forcing himself to hold back the sourness in his heart, and made a silent so

Once he successfully rose to power, he would leave more traces behind, covering up all of this

His gaze was intense, almost tangible

Nyx was lowering her head, drinking some supplements, and she sensed his gaze. She awkwardly curled her toes, and in a daze, she recalled that before this test started, she had just endured an unbearable burden of life, one that began with this little scheming cat.

She pressed her lips together in frustration and flicked the little white cat on the head, which failed to recognize her.

Meeting its innocent blue eyes, she felt a pang of guilt. She picked him up, rubbed his head, and fed him some soup.

Little did she know, Aurelius's heart was also racing,

In that brief moment, he had thought that Nyx had mind-reading abilities, that she had seen through his hidden thoughts and had warned him by flicking his head.

But even if he had to be hit, he would still do it.

This time, the blow was absolutely not unjust.

The little white cat was resilient, unfazed by pain. He bore no grudges and spent the entire day following Nyx, always looking for ways to make her happy.

When the curfew was near, Nyx saw that he still hadn't left, so she took him outside to find someone.

Sure enough, those same people from yesterday were still at their usual spot. When they saw her, their expressions became a bit complicated.

Aron couldn't help but sigh.

,

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that Aurelius had suddenly turned into such a lovesick fool, willing to spend an entire day wooing the woman he admired, even putting off state affairs.

Fortunately, Aurelius didn't completely ignore state matters, as Aurelius stayed up late to finish reviewing the memorials.

In the dead of night, after finally putting several thick stacks of documents back, Aron let out a sigh of relief and was about to step forward when he saw Aurelius pick up his paper and pen again.

Aurelius's face showed a gentle smile, the weariness in his eyes completely gone. He carefully wrote a letter, weighing each word.

The next morning, when Nyx saw Cotton Candy again, she was surprised to find a satin ribbon tied around his letter attached.

She raised an eyebrow and began to open it. As expected, the letter was from the little cat.

with a

The letter wasn't long, but it carried an air of nervousness and inexperience, clearly a first attempt at communicating with the person he liked Every word was carefully crafted and deeply thought through

He pretended to be the car's owner, thanking her for taking care of the cat, while modestly but eagerly revealing his identity. saying that his last name was Maximilian, he was eighteen years old, unmarried, and his home was near Duke's Mansion.

Everyone knew that Maximilian was the royal family's surname. Any discerning person could easily guess that the letter was from the current emperor.

Looking at the detailed personal information in the letter, which looked like a matchmaking profile. Nyx couldn't stop laughing, her shoulders shaking

The little white cat sat beside her, watching her with confusion, unable to understand why she was laughing so much.

He thought, Do I make my romantic intentions too obvious, and she notices? Is she laughing at the idea of me falling in love with a married woman?

His heart was about to fall into the abyss.

But suddenly, Nyx hugged him and gave him a big kiss. "You're so cute.

"You, your master, is just too adorable..." she laughed so hard she could barely breathe.

The Aurelius in this world, compared to the one in the star realm, was naturally different in character, with subtle changes.

Unlike the almost unreal, perfect image Nyx had of the imperial ruler, the current Aurelius was more lively, with all his emotions on full display, real and unfiltered.

She thought it was so cute, and couldn't help but kiss him a few more times. The little white cat was blushing all over, feeling his face growing hot. He pawed at the letter and pushed it toward Nyx.

Besides the paper, there was something else inside. The letter also mentioned that it was a thank-you gift for taking care of the cat.

Nyx reached in, rummaged around, and pulled out a heavy jade pendant.

If Aron had seen this, he would have been shocked. This wasn't just any jade pendant. Since the first emperor's reign, every queen had inherited this jade pendant. While it didn't carry the power of the phoenix seal, it was still a symbol of the queen's status.

There was only one in the world, and yet Aurelius had casually given it away like this.

The jade was smooth and warm to the touch. Nyx ran her fingers over the intricate carvings and immediately understood that this was something important.

It wasn't something newly made. It seemed to have passed through many hands, enduring a long history, likely carrying some special significance. Thinking about her mate's identity, Nyx had a pretty good idea of what it meant.

"I'll keep it safe with me," she said helplessly, giving the kitten's head a little pat before tucking the jade pendant into her

clothes.

As for showing it off in public, she'd better wait a little longer.

Aurelius was already satisfied that she accepted it, purring happily for a few moments.

Nyx paused for a moment, then took out some paper and a pen, sitting down with the kitten in her arms, deci him a reply letter.

0

O write

09:59

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She didn't want to expose him just yet, so she treated him only as the owner of Cotton Candy. She filled a whole page with praise, continuously flattering how cute the kitten was, and even drew a little sketch of a white cat stretching on the back of the letter.

A few quick strokes outlined the shape, with some dark hair on its forehead, perfectly capturing all the features. Anyone who saw it would think it looked exactly like the kitten, and the drawer clearly knew the little cat very well. Aurelius squatted nearby, peeking over, his eyes sparkling as he watched Nyx draw.

Aurelius had had many portraits painted by various artists, some of them famous masters, but he thought none of them were as good as the one Nyx had drawn.

He was so happy, he didn't know what to do with himself, rubbing his head against Nyx's wrist in delight.

She even complimented him. She said his fur was soft and fluffy, that he felt great to the touch, calling him the cutest little kitten in the world.

Just by gathering the courage to send one letter, Aurelius experienced a joy he couldn't describe and was greatly encouraged.

For many days afterward, whenever he didn't have court, he would bring the letter

to Nyx, writing it himself at night and delivering it in the morning, eagerly waiting

for Nyx's reply. In the evening, he'd return to the palace with Nyx's letters. carefully storing them.

As he wished, Nyx and his relationship slowly grew closer with each exchange of letters, becoming more intimate.

He learned what colors, flavors, clothes, and jewelry she liked, and he kept tracknoveldrama

of every detail, occasionally slipping small gifts into the envelopes to win her

favor.

His efforts paid off, and he always got a response.

In return, Nyx gave him a hand-sewn sachet as a gift.

Although she hung the sachet on the kitten's neck and clearly stated in her letter

that it was for Cotton Candy, Aurelius unilaterally declared it to be their token of

affection.

He hung the sachet in the most obvious spot on his waist, staring at himself in the bronze mirror, unable to take his eyes off it.

"Your Majesty, what is this?" Aron, who spent every day serving Aurelius and knew his wardrobe well, was surprised he hadn't seen this sachet before.

The sachet was exquisite, rivaling even the finest court-made crafts.

The base was a snow-blue satin, with a silver-white thread embroidered with a lifelike little white cat. The dark hair on its

forehead showed its status.

The fabric, the embroidery, and the design were clearly not something you could easily buy outside.

Aurelius couldn't hide the joy in his eyes. "It's something Nyx made for me."

After becoming pen pals for a while, he had softened her up enough to gain the right to call her by a nickname.

The only thing that bothered him was that Nyx still hadn't asked who he truly was. He didn't know if she genuinely didn't know or if she was deliberately avoiding it. Aurelius couldn't wait any longer. Although he was happy being her cat, he wanted to meet her, in his humar true identity.

m, with his

*****

By the time the sun was high and up, Nyx slowly woke up.

Pale Wolf had been a bit unruly last night, which left her feeling groggy and as if

she hadn't rested at all.

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She blearily thought for a moment, then realized it wasn't a morning for court, so

she wondered why she hadn't heard the

cat's meow.

She called for her maid in a hoarse voice, washed her face with warm water, and

began to feel a little more awake. "Has Cotton Candy not come?"

"No, he hasn't," the maid replied, also puzzled.

That cat usually disappeared for a day every five days, but other than that, it was

always reliable, coming to find her early in the morning. According to routine, it should have come today.

The maids had even followed their mistress's instructions, bringing a variety of

seasonal fruits and vegetables, along with a large piece of pork ribs. Nyx had planned to cook for Cotton Candy herself.

The meat and vegetables were ready, but the guest was nowhere to be seen.

Nyx rubbed her forehead. "Alright, I understand."

She wasn't particularly worried about Cotton Candy's safety. After all, his true identity was Aurelius, with many protectors around him. He had the whole world to care for, and sometimes, when urgent matters came up, it made sense he couldn't come to see her.

"So, should we still cook?" the maid asked, seeing that Nyx didn't seem very disappointed, and everyone sighed in relief.

They had been worried Nyx might be upset, spending the entire morning thinking

of ways to comfort her.

"Of course we should." Nyx yawned, stretching as she slowly got up.

She thought, 'The ingredients are already here, so why not cook? If Cotton Candy couldn't enjoy the meal, we could change things up and enjoy it ourselves.' With so much food, she and the little maid in the courtyard wouldn't be able to

finish it all. Since Cotton Candy wasn't coming, she would send some to Pale Wolf and, on the way, give his ears a good tug.

Thinking back to last night's events, Nyx couldn't help but grind her teeth.

Pale Wolf had been so disobedient. She was going to give his ears a good yank.

***

In the study, Erik suddenly felt an itch on the tip of his nose and sneezed loudly. When he looked up, he immediately saw an annoying face. Seeing the fake, polite

smile on it, he couldn't help but click his tongue and asked impatiently, "What do you want from me?"

His leg injury had nearly healed, and the poison had almost dissipated. So far, it hadn't flared up once today. If nothing went wrong for the rest of the day, he could

finally leave this cold, isolated study and return to the courtyard, where he could spend the day with Nyx like before.

Erik was filled with joy at the thought. But he hadn't expected Aurelius to show up

and ruin his good mood.

He thought, 'Is this guy aware that my leg has healed and now wants to find something for me to do?'

In the past, he would have cursed and complained, but he would have still gone to

battle. However, this time, he really didn't want to listen to orders. He had gotten married, and now he had ties to hold him back.

Just thinking about Nyx waiting for him at home made him not want to go off to

war, lewing her alone in an empty house,

Facing Erik's blunt question, Aurelius sat up straight, took a sip of hot tea, and replied calmly, "Is it wrong, to fare about my subjects?"

"Who? Care about me? So kind of you?" Erik sneered, as if hearing the biggest joke, “Every time you show up, it's never for anything good."

The tension in the air was palpable, like a fight could break out at any moment.

But if you paid attention, you'd realize that between the two of them, there was

none of the usual formality or distance that should exist between a monarch and his subject.

In fact, they both felt quite relaxed in each other's presence. But clearly, others didn't see it that way.

Arlong nervously stood to the side, glancing disapprovingly at Erik, deeply

troubled.

No matter how familiar they were, the relationship between the emperor and his subject was different. He thought, 'Serving the emperor is like walking alongside a tiger. How could the master speak so rudely to His Majesty? 'Right now, His Majesty magnanimous and considerate of old ties, not holding it against the master. But who could say what would happen in the future? The

careless words spoken today might one day turn into a blade aimed at the master's neck!

Not far away, Aron had his head lowered, drenched in sweat. He felt guilty on behalf of Aurelius and didn't dare look up.

He thought, 'If Duke Read finds out that His Majesty had feelings for his wife,

would he take action? He certainly would. The hatred of a man stealing another's wife is something that could never be forgiven.

'When it happens, it might not just be a fight with fists, but swords might be drawn

as well!

He didn't dare to imagine what a terrifying scene that would be.

The two servants subtly looked up, their gazes meeting, and they both saw the

same expression of fear on each other's faces, letting out a wry, sympathetic

smile.

Aurelius, still drinking tea calmly, hadn't made any moves yet. He was thinking,

nervous inside, and weighing how to casually run into Nyx and start a

conversation with her later.

Erik, growing impatient, clicked his tongue and said, “You..."

He thought, 'How long are you planning to sit here? If there's nothing, just leave

already!'

Just as he was about to speak it out, a servant suddenly called out from outside,

"Madam has arrived."

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