Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Just then, a voice lashed against her ears. Even though he was not in his true form, his voice had a low, rumbling growl to it. It was terribly rough and murderous.
“C-Count!”
“G-Greetings, my lord!”
“Wh-What brings you here…”
The three gardeners panicked. It was only natural, given that the master of the manor had suddenly appeared in a secluded corner of the garden. And seeing the Count up close, he was far more massive and intimidating than they had imagined.
Knox, who had returned with food, had confirmed the empty room and trembled with rage. The fury over the female who had dared to take his virginity and vanish, mixed with the desperate anxiety that he might not find her, had robbed him of all reason.
But then he caught the female’s scent not far away. Along with it, his own pheromones as well.
Having poured an absurd amount of s***n into her, he could easily detect the female’s presence even from a distance. He almost wanted to praise his past self from yesterday.
It was all well and good that he had sprinted over and located the female, but the scene unfolding before his eyes was utterly intolerable. The sight of his female cradled in a human male’s arms, making pleased little sounds, was so shocking it made his vision go red.
What was more, the man was patting his female’s rump!
No matter how much of a beastkin he was, he was aware of the rules of human society. He could not kill humans recklessly outside of war. Yet he was deeply conflicted.
If he killed the men working in his own manor and buried them quickly, no one would ever know…
But he could not show such cruelty in front of the female who was staring up at him with wide, round eyes. She already feared him for being a panther—what if she saw his brutal side and ran away?
Of course, if she ran, he would simply catch her again.
Knox clenched his teeth and glared at the three gardeners. Soon, he spat out in a sinister voice.
“That’s mine.”
“…Pardon?”
“It’s mine. Hand it over. Now.”
“…”
His demeanor as he extended his hand, demanding what was his, was utterly commanding. The gardener holding Irene flinched in alarm and placed the cat onto the Count’s hand. His large hand seized Irene in an instant.
“Nyaang!” [What are you doing!]
Irene cried out in protest, struggling against him as he gripped the scruff of her neck, but Knox simply glared with bloodshot eyes at the gardener who had held her in his arms. The gardener stood frozen stiff, completely clueless as to why.
“Hand that over too!”
“Pardon?”
“The leaf in your hand.”
“Ah…”
The gardener swiftly handed over the leaf he had been holding. Knox took it, confirmed the scent, and spoke in a rumbling growl.
“Using such an underhanded trick…”
“M-My apologies…”
The gardener still had no idea what was going on, but he apologized. How could he not, when the master of the manor was furious? He might lose his job or face severe punishment.
He looked at the Count with a tense expression, but the Count’s face seemed to have relaxed somewhat.
Knox had caught the scent of catnip and was growing entranced. He had never seen such a terrifying leaf before. Even having roamed across battlefields, this was new to him.
How did a mere gardener come to possess such a dangerous item? Knox decided he would need to investigate the gardener’s background.
“What is your name?”
Thinking that the moment he had dreaded had finally come, the gardener answered in a trembling voice.
“It’s Sam Brown…”
“How long have you worked at this manor?”
“I was newly hired this time.”
“Hmm…”
As Knox narrowed his eyes and studied Sam appraisingly, Irene finally scratched the back of his hand and yowled shrilly.
“Nyaaaong!” [Let me go, I said!]
At the female’s voice, now bristling with irritation, Knox shot Sam one last fierce glare before giving orders to the three gardeners.
“From now on, if you encounter this cat, you will treat her with the same respect you would my wife. That means no patting her rump recklessly. Understood?”
He spoke with a killing intent laced in his voice, just as he had commanded on the battlefield. Immediately, the three gardeners fell to their knees, trembling. The murderous aura deliberately released by the panther beastkin was beyond what they could withstand.
While the two other gardeners glared at Sam, who had patted Irene’s rump, Irene herself had tensed up at the menacing voice. Frozen stiff, she dangled limply from his grip.
Knox moved swiftly and entered the manor. The busy servants flinched when they saw the snow-white cat in their master’s hand.
More precisely, they were startled by the Count’s terrifying expression as he held the cat.
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