It instantly stopped crying and rubbed against her hand affectionately.
Cutie Pie watched them silently, his gaze complicated.
His wife and child...
Once Grace confirmed the father-son bond between Cutie Pie and Little Antler, she was as excited as if she'd discovered a new continent, and couldn't wait to tell Evan Xiao.
Evan Xiao sensed her intentions and quietly slipped away, returning to the General's Manor to resume his duties as General.
"...Evan Xiao, look at him!" Grace put Little Antler right in front of Evan Xiao's eyes, her voice bubbling with excitement.
"What's wrong with him?" Evan Xiao asked.
"Doesn't he look a lot like Cutie Pie?"
"Yeah."
You know what? I tested them with the Bloodline Stone today, and it turns out he's actually Cutie Pie's child!" Grace exclaimed with delight.
Grace nudged him, her tone playful: "Tell me... how did Cutie Pie even manage it? How does a tree... get pregnant?"
Maybe he was napping in the tree, started dreaming about Dotty... and, oops, had a little accident? Hahaha!
Evan Xiao's face darkened even more: "Why would he dream about Dotty?"
Dotty's a female serpent! She's the only lady snake Cutie Pie knows," Grace said, looking a little disappointed. "I was hoping they'd mate, but Dotty doesn't seem to like Cutie Pie..."
Evan Xiao took a deep breath, decided to ignore Grace, and poked Little Antler with his finger.
Little Antler glanced at him.
When he's in human form, he's barely presentable.
As if he knew what Little Antler was thinking, Evan Xiao chuckled, picked him up, and stroked his scaly little body.
Little Antler squinted his eyes in pure bliss.
"Evan Xiao, should we give him a name?"
Evan Xiao paused for a moment, then said, "Let's call him Ray!"
"What did you say?"
"Ray."
"But... that's our son's name!"
"He really likes that name!" Evan Xiao said. "Right, little guy?"
Little Antler nodded solemnly at Grace.
After becoming an Antler Serpent, he kept some memories from his previous life.
He didn’t remember much, but he remembered his mom, and he remembered his name—Ray. That was enough to make Grace’s heart ache and swell with joy all at once.
Grace was a little reluctant.
But seeing how much he liked the name—and how much she liked him—she finally agreed, though just barely.
When Grace left the General's Manor, she ran into Sophie Shang.
She was holding the reins of her horse, with her loyal aide Shirley Shao following behind. It looked like they were about to leave.
Grace didn't want to deal with her and pretended not to see her, ready to walk away.
"Hmph! So rude," Shirley Shao snorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You see General Shang and don't even bother to say hello! What, too good for us now?"
Grace just ignored her, waiting at the door for Chu Shi to bring her horse.
"What's with the attitude?" Shirley Shao huffed, clearly getting more annoyed. "You strut around like you're already the General's wife! But who knows if you'll actually land him in the end!"
Grace glanced at her. "Oh? The Emperor decreed my marriage to the General. Why would you say otherwise?"
"Because the General doesn't even want to marry you!" Shirley Shao shot back. "Your horoscopes were a perfect match for last year, but the General bribed the fortune-teller to delay it until this year! Now the wedding's almost here, but the General's Manor still hasn't started making preparations. Maybe you won't be the General's bride after all!"
"Shirley Shao!" Sophie Shang snapped. "That's enough!"