Apocalypse Prefer the Beast World Real Estate Market (Joyread) novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Find a Good Matriarch for Him

Rosalie didn’t know how long she had been unconscious. When she opened her eyes, the sky had already begun to brighten.
Her injured shoulder had been bandaged, but even the slightest movement made her let out a sharp hiss of pain.
Rosalie’s face was pale as she pushed open the door, only to be startled by a dark shadow.
Leon was on his knees, a dried wound crossing his chest, his expression cold and indifferent, as if he himself were not the one injured.
“Were you the black panther?” Rosalie asked cautiously.
“Yes, Matriarch,” he replied.
It turned out that Leon had been the black panther who saved her. Rosalie had fainted yesterday, and she hadn’t expected that Leon would also suffer such severe injuries. His bloody wound had dried, the exposed flesh pale, and upon closer inspection, his lips were completely colorless.
Rosalie stepped forward, trying to pull Leon up, but he didn’t budge.
“Protecting you is my responsibility. If you’re injured, then I must bear the punishment,” Leon said firmly.
Rosalie didn’t care. Her beliefs were rooted in equality, and besides, Leon had just saved her life. How could she stand by and watch her rescuer kneel like that?
“Get up!” she demanded sharply.
Leon remained on the floor, unmoving.
Rosalie’s temper flared. “Fine! If you’re such a stubborn beastman, I won’t keep you. I’ll go out now. Even if I have to borrow the money, I’ll gather enough silver to set you free. You were forced into this anyway, so letting you go is exactly what you want!”
She turned and walked out swiftly, sensing someone silently following her.
“What are you following me for?” she demanded.
It was Leon, weakly saying behind her, “Matriarch, you cannot be injured. I must protect you.”
Even knowing that Leon held no romantic feelings for her and that his actions were purely his duty as a beastman, Rosalie’s eyes welled up with emotion.
She calmed herself and decided that the best way to repay Leon might be to earn enough silver to set him free.
At that moment, an unexpected voice rang out, “Rosalie! Why are you up so early today?”
Hearing Reva’s voice, Rosalie groaned inwardly. She didn’t know why her younger sister always seemed to pick fights for no reason whenever she saw her.
Rosalie tried to ignore her and walk on, but Reva, ever restless, grabbed her wrist. The pain from her injury made Rosalie frown, clutching her shoulder.
“What do you want now?” she asked irritably.
Seeing her injured elder sister looking so helpless, Reva’s eyes gleamed with cruel delight. “Oh my, it’s dangerous outside the tribe. You only left for two days and came back like this!”
She then looked at Leon, who was also wounded, mistakenly thinking the chest wound was from Rosalie’s vented anger.
Reva stared at Leon’s pale face, yet his cold, captivating aura made her heart race. Her expression softened with false sympathy. “Your Matriarch treats you badly. Why suffer following her? Just say the word, and I’ll have you follow me instead!”
Reva had long coveted Rosalie’s several stunning beastmen, not knowing how Rosalie had gotten so lucky. Each beastman had his own distinct charm.
Confident in her own beauty, far superior to what she thought was Rosalie’s lazy and indulgent nature, Reva reached for Leon’s chin.
But even wounded, Leon could fiercely fling Reva away. His eyes were filled with disgust, as if seeing something filthy, and his words were as cold as ice, “I already have a Matriarch. Show some respect.”
Reva fell to the ground, her face full of resentment, and her hatred transformed into rage. She commanded the beastmen beside her, “This male assaulted a female! Capture him and bring him back to the tribe for punishment!”
Rosalie stepped in front of Leon, shouting, “I dare anyone to touch him!”
Seeing Rosalie’s smooth, glowing skin and slender waist, Reva’s jealousy boiled over. She screamed, “Seize them!”
Two lion beastmen, glaring fiercely and baring their teeth, took steps forward, exuding the aura of tearing someone apart.
Leon transformed from his human form into the black panther. Just as one lion lunged at them, the black panther pounced, entangling it, while the other leapt toward Rosalie.
Rosalie, pale from the blood she had lost yesterday, felt her entire body weak, but she gritted her teeth and rolled on the ground to evade the beastman’s attack.
She didn’t fight back directly, only dodged, which still drained half her energy. Soon, the wound on her shoulder split open and started bleeding again.
The scent of blood made the beastmen even more frenzied. The black panther tossed the entangled beastman aside and bit fiercely into the one attacking Rosalie. The lion beastman let out a roar.
Seeing her beastmen fail, Reva yelled in frustration, “Useless! You can’t even handle two against one? Wait until I teach you a lesson!”
Meanwhile, the lion on the ground quietly got up. Taking advantage of Leon’s distraction, it lunged for Rosalie’s waist. Had it bitten her, she would have been crippled or worse.
Leon quickly dealt with the lion beastman and ran toward Rosalie, but it was already too late.
As her heart raced, Rosalie heard a sharp shout come from the distance, “Matriarch!”
Then, a glowing white snake tail appeared, wrapping around the lion mid-air and slamming it to the ground.
The massive white snake constricted the lion beastman like an unbreakable rope, making it struggle to breathe.
Its sharp eyes gleamed with anger, and its fangs shimmered dangerously, as if ready to crush the lion’s neck.
“Enough.”
Rosalie gently stroked the white snake’s smooth scales, halting its attack—not out of kindness, but because her foundation was unstable. With one injured and one weak beside her, she could not let Reva seize any advantage.
The small snake obediently closed its mouth, its eyes moist as it looked at her.
The white snake released the beastman, and the lion immediately transformed back into human form, face red with embarrassment. Reva, furious at losing face, kicked the beastman on the ground.
“Get your ass home!”
Reva, wary of the white snake beside Rosalie, stomped off in anger. The white snake, finally exhausted, reverted to human form and fell into Rosalie’s arms.
Seeing Micah’s pale face, Rosalie’s heart ached. She reached out to touch his weak cheek but realized he disliked her touching him and withdrew her hand.
Micah pressed his cheek against her palm, releasing a faint, cool, elegant fragrance.
“Why did you come looking for me?” Rosalie asked.
Micah smiled faintly. “I hadn’t seen my Matriarch for so long. I was worried, so I came to find you.”
Rosalie was moved. Among her beastmen, Micah was the one who made her feel the most concern, even though she had treated him poorly before. He still worried for her and came searching.
Rosalie closed her eyes and silently resolved to nurse Micah’s illness properly, and that hopefully one day, she would find a good Matriarch for him.