Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Knox had no desire to join the tedious procession. He had joined the war because he wanted to fight. The battlefield was a perfect place to justifiably unleash his boiling instincts.
And so, he had fought as a mercenary on the side of the empire, annihilating the enemy forces. He was as valiant and fierce as befitted the last black panther beastkin. The empire’s commander-in-chief, recognizing his abilities, had him enlisted in the imperial knighthood and made full use of his talents.
Even when the victorious emperor generously bestowed upon him the title of count, Knox remained indifferent. Titles and gold coins held little meaning to a beastkin.
Rather than being confined to a mansion, he would much rather race freely across the vast grasslands.
That was why Knox had slipped away from the watchful eyes of his adjutant, a former comrade, and ridden his horse up to the top of a hill. The territory granted to him was more expansive and prosperous than he had expected.
Though the war had driven many to starvation, his lands still showed signs of life, with plumes of smoke rising here and there. Smoke rising from chimneys meant food was being cooked.
That alone told him the harvest yield in this village was not bad at all.
“The emperor gave me a decent territory after all.”
Not only had he been elevated from a commoner to a noble, but now he had been given such fine land. He had heard that the crown prince had personally chosen it in place of the aging emperor, and it seemed the man was somewhat lacking in financial sense.
As Knox took in the scenery for a moment, he caught a sweet scent carried by the wind from somewhere.
“Hmm?”
It could easily be mistaken for the fragrance of sweet fruit or flowers, but he knew better. He could tell what this sweet scent truly was—the body fragrance of a female in heat.
“There’s a beastkin here?”
He, too, had not encountered another of his kind—let alone another beastkin—in a very long time. His heart began to stir restlessly. A female beastkin, no less.
“Hyah!”
He kicked the horse’s flanks forcefully with both heels. Following the scent, he began descending the steep hill at a rapid pace. The base of the hill met the far edge of the territory. The village boundary, with no castle walls to speak of, was easily breached.
He spurred his horse through the back alleys. The shifting wind made it difficult to track the scent. Knox roamed the alleyways, replaying that first fragrance in his mind, until he spotted a woman collapsed in front of a shabby house.
“…It was real.”
He had not been entirely certain. His instincts had screamed that it was the scent of a female, but it had been so long since he had last laid eyes on one that he could scarcely believe it without seeing for himself.
And now, there she was before his very eyes. A female beastkin in heat, exuding that mouthwateringly delectable fragrance.
The corner of his tightly shut lips curled up fiercely. At the same moment, he leaped off his horse and dashed toward her with swift strides. No one witnessed his nimble movements, silent as they were.
Every last villager had gone to the main street to see the welcoming parade for their new lord.
Arriving before the collapsed female beastkin, Knox dropped to one knee and pushed back her robe.
Snow-white hair cascaded down. The sight of those long locks, reaching all the way to her waist, splayed across the dirt ground made Knox lift her up at once.
His brow furrowed briefly at how light she felt—light enough to hold with just one arm—but the fleeting thought was instantly obliterated by the scent that slammed into his brain.
“Hah…”
He pressed his nose to the nape of her neck and inhaled deeply, drawing the fragrance all the way into his lungs. Just as humans succumbed to d***s, to a beastkin, the scent of a female in heat was more intoxicating and dizzying than any narcotic.
“A female beastkin…”
And one of a species so similar to his own, at that. Could there be any greater fortune? This was a gift far more to his liking than the territory and title he had received from the crown prince.
“Hoo… Come with me.”
With every breath he took, the scent of her heat clung to his nasal membranes, sending a dull ache straight to his lower abdomen. He mounted his horse, cradling her in one arm. After neatly tucking her disheveled hair back inside her robe, Knox seized the reins.
Without a moment’s delay, he rode on. Toward his manor, perched at the highest point of the territory.
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