Chapter 1The Blessed Womb System

Of all the cursed years of my life, the one where I, a male fox fey, got stuck with a "Blessed Womb" System had to be the worst.

And all because I was carrying the child of a Sword Saint on the Path of Detachment.

Naturally, I did the only sensible thing. I ran for the hills.

* * *

I was being hunted.

It was completely unreasonable. I’d only pilfered a few lousy enchanted berries, but did they really need to send a whole pack of sanctimonious clerics after me, chasing me from the heavens to the earth?

Still, I was a hundred-year-old fox fey of some renown. I wasn't about to let them catch me.

A frantic voice shrieked in my head. It was Pip.

"Host, faint spatial fluctuations detected ahead! It's a hiding spot, go, go, go!"

Just thinking about Pip gave me a headache. It called itself the Blessed Womb System, its grand purpose being to help me "capture superior genetic material" to produce the perfect offspring.

Excuse me, I'm a guy. The system was clearly defective.

But there was no time to argue.

I dove headfirst toward the spot Pip indicated—a seemingly ordinary cliff face.

My vision blurred, and a cold so sharp it felt like a thousand needles instantly enveloped me.

I shivered, realizing I’d landed in a colossal, frozen pool. The water was surrounded by ever-frost, and the air hummed with a powerful, oppressive energy. My instincts screamed that this place was bad news.

Suddenly, Pip let out a cheer.

"SSS-grade genetic source detected! Compatibility: 99.999%!"

"Procreation protocol forcibly initiated. Binding..."

Whoa, hold on. What does that even mean?

Panic seized me. It was all sounding a little too real. Could it actually make me pregnant?

Just then, the immense energy signature surged closer. The air fluctuated between scorching heat and freezing cold. My head buzzed, and then an impossible, searing heat exploded from the core of my being.

My consciousness began to fade, my body no longer my own.

I don't know how much time passed before the chaotic haze in my mind cleared.

I found myself lying naked on a massive jade slab, a dull, throbbing ache in a place I’d rather not think about. And next to me lay a man, equally naked.

My eyes involuntarily drifted downward, and—holy hell, what is that?

My heart leaped into my throat. I snapped my head away, then slowly, cautiously, forced myself to look at the man's face.

It was a face the entire realm knew. Coldly handsome, all sharp angles and unforgiving planes, with a severe sword-shaped mark etched between his brows.

Kaelan. Sword Saint of the Path of Detachment, the youngest elder of the Aethelgard Academy.

At only two hundred years old, he had already forged a Sword Heart, ascending to the rank of Sword Saint.

I was so terrified my heart nearly hammered its way out of my chest.

I'm dead. I'm so, so dead.

I’d just done the unspeakable with the legendary killing machine himself—a man who had renounced all mortal desires and emotions. They said anyone or anything that dared to taint his sacred path would be obliterated, their very soul sliced from existence by his blade.

He was going to kill me. Absolutely.

I scrambled to my feet, but my legs gave out, and I stumbled, falling right on top of him.

"Oof—"

I bit my tongue, frantically trying to push myself up. That was close. I almost planted my face on his icy one.

Pip, ever the master of bad timing, chirped excitedly.

"La la la, congratulations, Host! Successful acquisition of SSS-grade genetic material! Pregnancy chance: 100%!"

"Hee hee, and it's a two-for-one special!"

Seriously? With death breathing down my neck, now is not the time for jokes.

Pip's voice was a grating buzz.

"Host, don't run! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"Shut up! If we don't get out of here before he wakes up, we're both finished."

"Ground to dust, soul scattered to the winds, you get it?"

I summoned every ounce of skill I possessed and bolted out of that frozen cavern like my tail was on fire.

So long, sucker. Hope we never meet again!