Future Beast Clan The Enchanting Consort
Chapter 76: So Ruthless!

Chapter 76: So Ruthless!

Just as she reached out, her hand was caught by Abyss.

"What do you mean by ’you want to be with Lisa’?" came Abyss’s voice tinged with confusion.

Carlotta shook off Abyss’s hand, "Isn’t it because of Lisa that you’ve suddenly become so strange?"

"I’m... strange?" Abyss’s purple eyes were filled with puzzlement. "Where am I strange?"

Carlotta felt like Abyss was asking deliberately.

She really wanted to snap at Abyss.

But out of the corner of her eye, she saw the pups crawling by the edge of the basket, quietly wagging their tails of different shapes and staring at her with their round eyes.

Their cute and innocent looks softened her heart beyond measure.

She just wondered how much they could actually understand of her words, given how intently they were listening.

Briefly distracted by the pups, Carlotta took a deep breath, "And you’re not strange? Suddenly changing your skin color to match Blaze’s, and when I was picking out clothes earlier, you stared at Lisa for ages and wouldn’t budge."

"Plus, now you’re asking about Lisa and laughing about it. Not strange?"

After hearing Carlotta’s words, an indescribable embarrassment suddenly welled up in Abyss’s heart.

He changed his skin color because he thought Carlotta liked it, he stared at Lisa because he sensed something was off about her, and he laughed while asking about Lisa because he was reminded of Carlotta’s previous demeanor.

But Carlotta attributed all of this to him being strange.

Abyss closed his eyes and opened them again, his pupils dilating as his lower half transformed into a snake tail.

For serpentine orcs, when their eyes and bodies change together, it’s a sign of courtship.

But Abyss felt that this might not be obvious enough. He grasped Carlotta’s hand and placed it on his abdomen, "You once looked at Blaze’s body with dry lips and a parched throat. I changed my skin color just to let you know that my body is not inferior to his."

"Carlotta, it was my fault for proposing the agreement in the first place. Can you... can you..."

Abyss really wanted to ask if she could treat him like a real husband.

But he felt that Carlotta hated him so much that she would never agree.

Perhaps Carlotta would say something sarcastic to him, just like before.

Abyss didn’t want to endure such a blow, so he changed his words, "Can you... just be a little nicer to me? Even if it’s just a little, even if it’s just treating me like Lisa?"

Unexpectedly hearing such words, Carlotta instinctively raised her hand to touch Abyss’s forehead.

"Abyss, do you have a fever?" She paused, glanced at Abyss’s snake tail, and added, "Or is your rut approaching? Are you craving spiritual union because of that previous taste?"

"But it’s written in the agreement that you don’t need me for those things. Alright, I’ll have someone send you an inhibitor."

Abyss never expected that after acknowledging his issues, he would receive such a response from Carlotta.

Carlotta’s hand rested on his abdomen, yet there was no affection in her eyes for him.

Carlotta... didn’t like him.

Oh, right.

Carlotta had just said that they hated each other.

Even if he admitted his mistakes now, even if he begged Carlotta, she could only be like this towards him.

A sense of helplessness completely overwhelmed Abyss.

Just like when he once held a meticulously crafted bracelet, intending to give it to a female, only to be told by her that she didn’t like serpentine orcs and to stay away from her so as not to soil her eyes.

It was the female who first took a fancy to his father, marking him during his rut. But after obtaining him, she removed the mark and allowed him to succumb to illness and die.

Perhaps Carlotta was the same.

Carlotta also looked down on him. Everything he had said and done had made Carlotta hate him completely.

It was as if no matter how hard he tried to be the strongest, he would never earn a word of affection from a female...

Females, they were all the same, indeed.

Seeing Abyss standing with his head bowed, neither rebutting nor speaking, completely devoid of his usual arrogant and snarky demeanor, Carlotta’s brows furrowed even more tightly.

She feared that Abyss was, like the first time they met, in the throes of his rut and mentally unstable, so she quickly picked up the pups and hid them behind her.

When half-transformed,orcs’ perception of changes in their surroundings increases significantly.

Carlotta’s protective gesture towards the pups caused Abyss, lost in his thoughts, to suddenly look up and stare at her intently.

Not only did Carlotta not like him, but she was also worried that he might harm the pups?

Did he mean so little to Carlotta, not even worthy of being considered better than insects?

The deep sadness in Abyss’s eyes caused Carlotta to stiffen.

Was Abyss sad?

And... what was that at the corner of Abyss’s eyes? Tears?

Had she actually made Abyss cry?

Carlotta recounted their conversation in her mind and remembered how Abyss had asked her to be nicer to him, while she thought he was mentally unstable...

But if he wasn’t mentally unstable, why would Abyss say those things?

Carlotta felt a headache coming on and softened her voice to explain, "Don’t cry. I was just wary of you because I was worried you might not be entirely coherent due to your rut."

"You know, we lack rationality during our rut."

Seeing that Abyss’s face was still sad, Carlotta sighed and continued, "Alright, I’m sorry. My behavior just now hurt you. It’s my fault. I apologize."

Abyss still showed no reaction.

Just when Carlotta was about to think her apology was useless, something cold suddenly wrapped around her ankle.

The sensation was quite familiar.

When Carlotta looked down, she indeed saw Abyss’s snake tail.

The tails of snakes become slimmer towards the end, even in their half-beast form.

The snake tail, as thick as two fingers, gently hooked around Carlotta’s ankle and rubbed against it twice.

When Abyss saw Carlotta suddenly look down, he glanced down and realized that the tail of his lower half had somehow made its way to her ankle.

Not wanting to see disgust in Carlotta’s eyes, Abyss hastily pulled his tail back and said coldly, "The tails of serpentine orcs are not very controllable. There is a scientific explanation for this. If Duke doesn’t know, you can look it up yourself."

Even though his eyes still held the mist of tears from crying, Abyss, who had quickly put away all his earlier thoughts, raised his chin high and pretended not to care.

"I cried just now because I thought of some unhappy things. It has nothing to do with Duke Carlotta." The cold-faced serpentine orc, with his tail tucked behind him, controlled his lower half to move forward.

As he passed Carlotta, he added, "I’ll go to the hospital for a check-up immediately. Once the report is out, I would appreciate it if Duke could remove the mark."

After saying that, he paused.

Seeing no reaction from Carlotta, which seemed to be tacit consent, the interstellar admiral, still wearing his military uniform on the upper half and a black snake tail on the lower, maintained his stern expression and quickly left the room.

He wanted to maintain his dignity and leave on his own terms, rather than watching Carlotta turn and walk away.

This way, it would be him abandoning Carlotta, rather than being abandoned time and again, like when he was a child.

However, Carlotta stared at Abyss’s retreating back for a moment.

When serpentine orcs are half-transformed, do their hips stick out and their waists get so slim? No wonder they say things like "water snake waist"; there’s some truth to it.

Wait...

Carlotta slapped her forehead and secretly despised herself for being like a pervert. She carried the basket out of the study and had just taken a couple of steps when she heard a scream.

"Ah!!"

It was Lisa.

Having probably encountered Abyss in his half-beast form, Lisa screamed and frantically approached Carlotta.

Her hand originally intended to grasp Carlotta’s hem, but she withdrew it when she realized Carlotta’s identity, instead saying in a frightened voice, "Duke, I’m sorry for losing my composure... but why is Admiral Abyss like this?"

Isn’t the half-beast form only displayed during courtship?

Especially for serpentine orcs.

These cold-blooded orcs usually only display their scales when courting. But when their lower halves transform into snakes in such a grand manner, it signifies that they are facing a female they love deeply.

And now, Abyss running out like this—could it be he failed to seduce Carlotta?

Lisa couldn’t suppress a giggle when she considered this possibility.

But she managed to hold it in, continuing to pretend she was scared.

Seeing Lisa shivering in fear of Abys, Carlotta felt a bit annoyed.

Her mood was already strange because of Abys, and now she had to watch Lisa’s pretend act.

After some thought, Carlotta smiled and said, "Don’t be afraid. He’s just angry; he won’t hit anyone."

Lisa still acted timidly, "Really? I’m terrified of cold-blooded orcs. I’ve heard they’re as cold-blooded and terrifying as the Insect race..."

Lisa discreetly observed Carlotta’s expression.

Carlotta hates Abyss, which is why Abyss ran out like that. So by talking badly about Abyss, Carlotta would surely agree.

But Lisa was disappointed. Instead of agreeing, Carlotta spoke in a tone of admonition, "Lisa, it’s not polite to label people randomly. Without having interacted with all cold-blooded orcs, we shouldn’t believe rumors."

"But... if Duke doesn’t hate snake orcs, why did he let Marshal come out like that?"

"I..." Carlotta explained to Lisa with a headache, "The reasons behind our situation are complicated. It’s hard to explain to you."