The moonlit night was still, smoke swirling in the air.
The Duke took a drag from his pipe, his gaze fixed on the distant lake. "I, for one, will not choose a wife from any clan other than the Snake Clan."
This was a principle that had been drilled into him since birth.
His mother was the most noble female of the Snake Clan, and his father, its most powerful male.
Together, they had eleven children.
Of all of them, only the Duke was an extreme purist on the matter, finding it impossible to accept a wife from another clan.
Bolun couldn't remember when it started.
It was as if it had happened overnight.
This stubborn notion had taken root in his mind.
The Duke tapped his slender pipe, glancing at the little female in his arms. She looked a bit bewildered, so, fearing she hadn't understood, he made himself clearer.
"I will not vie to be your Beast Husband."
Even though they had been intimate, even if they were to have a child—
