"Ask your heart, Betty. If it also chooses me to be your [That Person], even without a contract, I will always stay by your side."
Grin's voice was filled with undisguised earnestness.
"No... it's not like that..."
Betty stumbled, propping herself up, her trembling fingers fumbling through the book of wisdom in her arms, her movements so frantic it seemed she might crush the pages.
A scalding tear finally escaped her eye, landing with a "plop" on the paper, spreading into a small, dark stain.
She hastily raised a hand to wipe it, but the tears flowed like a broken string of pearls, more and more with each wipe, rolling down her cheeks and soaking into the delicate lace skirt, leaving tiny, scattered marks.
"Look... your name is clearly in the book!"
Betty pointed to the inscription, clearly visible from the tears, which read "Grimm Andersen."
Grin took a deep breath, his voice sinking: "I'm sorry, Betty. That was actually written by wolgaroth."
"No... no... please, just have mercy, and lie to Betty, alright...?"
Betty shook her head hysterically, her cries filled with grievance and pleading.
How could she not guess who wrote those words?
Betty knew better than anyone how many pages this book had; even if just a corner was missing, she would notice instantly.
"Choose me, Betty, I will definitely be more suitable for you than that ethereal person!"
Grin reached out to her, his palm open, his eyes filled with tenderness.
Betty, her eyes brimming with tears, numbly flipped through the book of wisdom.
"The book doesn't say whether Betty should respond to you."
"I am not waiting for the book's response, I am asking your heart."
"The book also doesn't say whether Betty should have a heart..."
"Then what does the book say? What should you eat for breakfast tomorrow? Which shoe should you put on first tomorrow? Betty, put your hand on your chest and listen to your heartbeat!"
"The book doesn't..."
"Just throw away this damn book!"
Grin raised his hand and knocked the book of wisdom from Betty's grasp, sending it flying into the air, transforming into countless scattered paper fragments.
"Human! Stop tormenting Betty, please... end Betty's life and pain together..."
Grin's eyes softened, and he couldn't help but embrace her.
"In your eyes, am I a beast that would bare its fangs at a friend?"
"Then what do you know about Betty?"
"I don't know how many times I've dreamt of new writing appearing on the last page. Every time someone opens the door, I'm disappointed."
"Betty has already resigned herself to fate, but you just had to intrude into Betty's dreams..."
Grin was a little surprised; did he really have a part in the beautiful dream the magic mirror gave Betty that time?
Betty struggled in Grin's arms, and the entire library trembled violently with Betty's emotions.
"But dreams always end. When I open my eyes, there are still no words in the book."
"Betty finally understood that the reason the book had no continuation was that its owner's future ended here."
"Do you know how much I hoped to be saved? Do you think I gave up so easily? If I reach out my hand, can you pull me out of this darkness where I see no future?"
"If you could really do that, why, why did you leave me here alone for four hundred years!"
"Why didn't you come sooner?"
The girl's heart-wrenching cries drenched Grin's clothes with scalding tears.
A violent surge of magic swept out like a tsunami, fiercely pushing against Grin's body.
To resist this force, Beastification patterns began to appear under his skin, and sharp claws grew from his fingertips.
Whoosh.
Pages were swept up by the strong wind, and the shelves, which had been repaired, began to creak and sway.
"I'm sorry, Betty, this is the fastest I could run on the path of destiny."
Grin tried his best to stabilize his embrace, attempting to soothe the girl's agitated emotions.
"Betty's throat has long been hoarse, unable to utter words of help, and she has long given up hope of being saved..."
"If... if you still want to save me, even so."
Betty's voice rose, pouring out four hundred years of grievances and unwillingness.
"Then put Betty first in your heart, think of me first, choose me first!"
"To overwrite and erase the contract, take me away, pull me, hold me tight, you absolutely cannot do such a thing!"
"But I am already embracing you with all my might! If this is your heart's choice, I will strive in the direction you desire!"
Buzz!
Grin couldn't hold on any longer; his entire body transformed into the form of the beast prince, only then barely stabilizing himself.
Betty's magic was truly exceptionally violent.
The small girl in his arms looked up at his ferocious beast face, yet there was no fear in her eyes.
Instead, there was a hint of almost pathological anticipation, as if yearning to be completely swallowed, chewed, and melted into the bones and blood by this beast.
"Betty is a useless failure who violated the contract... if I could die in your warm stomach... for Betty, that would already be the happiest ending..."
Ah, damn Witch of Greed, look what you've turned Betty into!
When I go to the Sanctuary, I'll dig three feet deep to find you and expose you to the sun!
"You must be very tired, Betty."
Grin lowered his head, gently enveloping the girl with his huge beast body, his soft fur brushing against her tear-streaked cheeks.
"Do you remember that story, Betty, of the lonely beast locked in a castle, waiting day after day for a princess's salvation?
Princess, you haven't even taught the beast how to love and be loved, how can you easily abandon your own life?
My heart has chosen you, so I ask you now.
"Betty, are you willing to be my [That Person]?"
Speaking of which, Grin, drifting alone in another world, was also a solitary mast in a dark ocean.
If two turbulent hearts could draw closer, perhaps some warmth could be born.
Betty was stunned into silence for a long time, then finally raised her head to look at Grin.
"How can this be... your way of speaking is too cunning, this was clearly Betty's question."
Betty's heart seemed to waver for a moment, and her hands involuntarily clutched the beast's fur.
"For four hundred years I have been alone. Even if I hold your hand now, you will still die very quickly. A human's lifespan is like a blink of an eye to me."
Grin carefully held Betty's small hand, and his huge beast head slowly pressed against Betty's face.
"No, Betty, this body carries the curse of life. As long as there is a vibrant place, I will not die."
"After we spend a thousand years, ten thousand years together, we can surely bury those four hundred years of loneliness in the deepest part of our memories, until you can never remember them again!"
"Choose me, Betty, I will help you fix the crooked bookshelves, I will bring you soothing stories on your anxious nights!"
"I still have so many gifts I want to give you, so many places I want to take you to."
"So, choose me, Betty, my embrace will surely be thousands of times warmer than that cold chair!"
Betty was a little flustered. She was afraid that in the next second she would break her promise to her mother, and she unconsciously began to recite his name.
"Grin... Andersen..."
Betty's voice had softened, seemingly just one step away from breaking the shackles of the contract.