Character Information - Who is who?

Because I have created quite a variety of characters, I will now create little cheat sheets before a chapter for the characters who will appear in the chapter, but not for those who haven't. Please open the spoiler if you need some reminders. (Be careful. It can be a spoiler for the chapter!)

Narsiz K. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)

* Known Position

* The second child of the current Leonandra household (Nobility)

* Specialization(-s)

* Administration, Economy, etc. (Bureaucracy in general)

* Eyecolor

* Golden-Colored

* Hair (Fur-) Color

* Golden-blonde fur and hair color

* Miscellaneous

* Incredibly beautiful and charismatic

* Brother of the MC

(Close-)Retainers

* None mentioned

Linuel O. Nine-Fire (Fox-kin)

* Known Position

* A child of the current Nine-Fire household

* Specialization(-s)

* Hunting, Scouting, and Tracking

* Eyecolor

* Scarlett-Red Colored

* Hair (Fur-) Color

* Charcoal-Black Colored

* Miscellaneous

* A little rough around the edges

* Bad luck in finding a spouse

(Close-)Retainers

* None mentioned

Lorient M. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)

* Known Position

* The first child of the current Leonandra household (Nobility)

* Specialization(-s)

* Martial Arts, Acrobatic, and Hunting

* Eyecolor

* Golden-Colored

* Hair (Fur-) Color

* Scarlett Red

* Miscellaneous

* A user of wild demon energy

* Sister of the MC

(Close-)Retainers

* Larry L. (Protector)

* Franko L. (Head Butler)

Sarah M. Leonandra (Wolf-kin)

* Known Position

* The third child of the current Leonandra household (Nobility)

* Specialization(-s)

* Shield Arts

* Eyecolor

* Pink-Colored (Heart-formed pupils)

* Hair (Fur-) Color

* Pastel-greenish

* Miscellaneous

* Loves Shopping

* Sister of the MC

(Close-)Retainers

* None mentioned

Fiorello P. Nine-Fire (Fox-kin)

* Known Position

* Child of the Nine-Fire family

* Specialization(-s)

* Manipulation and Socialization

* Eyecolor

* Green Colored

* Hair (Fur-) Color

* Black Colored

* Miscellaneous

* Incredibly beautiful

* Incredibly sadistic

* In cahoots with Klepto and the Asylum camp in Kratikal

(Close-)Retainers

* Strawberry N. (Personal Maid (?))

...

At the estate's art room

"You really have a room purely for art, huh?"

"I am sure the Nine-Fox estate has one, too, Ms. Linuel."

Linuel looked around the room. Calling it like this was disingenuous since they were multiple rooms connected through wide floors with each other.

Every wall in every room had multiple art pieces on it, and sometimes, a whole wall with a plague full of text was dedicated to one single art piece of some wolf-kin—an evident dedication to former lords and ladies who achieved something meaningful.

There were also some art pieces like beautiful and delicate sculptures standing on pedestals. A whole corner was also dedicated to a statue out of wood, which gave off the typical energy nature-dwellers did. It looked funny to her as it was obviously some kind of canine but heavily distorted. She decided not to comment on this since it was clearly a gift from the temple to the current lord.

Everything looked beautiful, but she also felt like she saw this already. It looked eerily similar to their art room at the Nine-Fire estate, but their paintings were much smaller, while some of Leonandra's ones sometimes took the whole wall.

She turned to Narsiz with a smile, "Please call me Lin. Not like we are that much different in age or status."

After saying this, Linuel could see how Narsiz forced a smile. She just blurted that out to relax him, but she could see his juvenile behavior after saying it, as he acted a little unsure of what to do. She knew the age gap was around five years, which wasn't large, but it was substantial since he hadn't gone through his first mating season.

Yet, besides his unsure behavior toward her, he seemed much more refined and adult-like than she was, especially while they dined. She needed to force herself to mirror him so she would not come across as some commoner, as he followed the etiquette to a tee.

This weird dichotomy made it harder for her to treat him more appropriately. However, the last thing she wanted to do was make him uncomfortable.

He smiled at her, "Okay, Lin, call me Narsi then."

Linuel turned around while her face blushed, 'Calm down, Lin! Damn it!... He looks so cute, though.'

Luckily for her, it seemed that Narsiz didn't notice it and thought she was looking at the art pieces, "This is an interesting artwork by an artist who created the art form Creativism."

Linuel only now noticed that she looked away at an artwork that looked like nothing to her, "Well, it looks unique."

She cared for art as much as a commoner. She only saw some colors sprayed onto the canvas without much thought. However, because she had a date, she wanted to pretend at least to be interested in the art of primarily dead painters.

Narsiz walked beside her and explained, "It shows the expressions and feelings of the artist. He drew it while being poor and barely able to eat. What a shame."

Linuel looked at him and couldn't take her eyes away, 'He is really adorable...'

When Scarlett was at the Nine-Fire estate, she talked a lot with her mother and afterward with all her sisters. She told how beautiful and refined Narsiz was but somehow made a mistake by underselling him massively, especially his beauty.

Some were interested in him, but in the end, Linuel decided to give it another try and could convince her sisters to let her go alone. She had problems finding a husband on the last rendezvous arranged for her and thought that the guard households were her best bet.

She visited mostly the noble societies in the west and attended one or two in central Mal-Gil. She had multiple reasons not to start in the east of Moorgrel, which had more to do with how she hated the northern households and the southern had practically no males in her age bracket at that time.

The western and central noble youths were all delighted by her, yet after a little more time, they saw that she was nothing more than a good fighter and pretty much useless in every other position at the estate. This brought a lot of problems since the competition was intense for able husbands who didn't want to have harems.

It didn't make it easier for Linuel as she also wanted to have a fulfilling relationship. So, a commoner would actually be her next best bet, but she had obligations to fulfill, and for this, she needed a husband from a noble household.

Narsiz was perfect in that sense since he complimented her perfectly. He was highly sophisticated in every aspect she wasn't, like administration, while she could take the military part—a perfect splitting of responsibilities.

The next thing she liked was that his father was an uncultured druid and former mercenary. While it sounded terrible, she liked it since he would have no prejudices against muscle brains as she was one.

Last but not least, she wanted to find out if he was actually nice. Her only brother was a womanizer in the worst sense, and she heavily disliked such a trait.

She wanted to have her husband for herself. She was too jealous to imagine having her loved one share with another woman. She would rather kill her rival and castrate her spouse before allowing something like this to happen.

In her mind, she built a list of attributes that her husband needed to be and have. She would even cut out the talented thing if he was somewhat competent. She made a list when she was young, and many points changed significantly over time. Now, she would be fine if he didn't run the territory into bankruptcy or chaos.

After a moment, she caught herself out of her thoughts and asked, "Why is it a shame?"

He didn't take his eyes off the painting while she stared at him, "It is a shame that hunger and pain could be this beautiful."

She turned back toward the painting and frowned. All she could see were splashes and blobs of color, but she didn't utter it. However, her mind wandered again somewhere else, only to be interrupted by Narsiz as he saw her facial expression, "You don't understand it, right?"

Linuel looked at him back and sighed, "I am sorry. I am not the type to appreciate such things."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

It was too much out there. Linuel loved to have a trail of an animal and hunt it down leisurely. Hunting was her favorite pastime, and her actual dream was to live somewhere in the forest in a hut while doing nothing but hunting.

The wolf-kin boy smiled at her, "Follow me. I think I have something for you."

Linuel followed him, and while strolling, they talked about the places they lived and how they differed.

However, her mind was already somewhere else. Her instinct had already told her he was a good catch. He was friendly, while most nobles at the balls Linuel visited were rude and arrogant toward her. Even though he was a little stiff, he was also very comforting at the same time. It made her like him even more, thinking how he would be if he could open up more to her.

She followed the smiling and talking wolf-kin while thinking about how to win him over because she had already started to like him. Her intuition was excellent, and she could feel he was the right person, but she had no idea if he thought the same about her.

Thus, her old habits came out as she analyzed him like her game. She saw he had two smaller crossbows and some throwing daggers hidden away, but this didn't mean he was an actual fighter. It could be for a last-resort attack when cornered. So inviting him to a hunt was something she decided against.

While dining, he talked with Scarlett about politics, administration, and everything she hated. In her mind, he probably wanted to become a politician or marry the head of the household to administrate a territory.

If she were right about his ambitions, it would be perfect for her, but the moment she saw his sisters and brother, she knew they had no interest in such things, so he had all the freedom to decide who to marry since he would probably become the new lord and would need a competent lady.

She was talented but not like her older sister and would probably end up as a mercenary if she didn't find someone who was a competent bureaucrat soon, 'Damn it...'

While she became a little restless, he wasn't. He asked her little things here and there to relax her, which she appreciated, "You seem to really like wildflowers..." He looked at her bracelet, which she decorated with flowers only found in the wild, which were also hard to cultivate, "... are you maybe into hunting? Lorient really loves the outdoors, too."

She nodded while walking beside him, "You have sharp eyes. I do love hunting, but not so much..."

He chuckled slightly, "Hehe, don't worry. Alex already told me how you analyzed us like we were prey. I would guess that those were the eyes of a hunter."

She sighed, "I am sorry, it was ru..."

He shook his head and smiled at her, "I like it. It means you want someone not only for marriage. I also look for something like what my parents have."

Linuel smiled back at him and almost screamed, "This is exactly what I look for!..." She held her hand in front of her mouth in shock,"...sorry for..."

Narsiz interrupted her while laughing, "Haha! Like I said, don't worry. My siblings are much more rowdy, and you look like the perfect noble beside them."

She started to chuckle, too, "Hehe, sorry. I am a little on edge since I really don't want to come over as rude."

He shook his head, "Let me tell you something funny and what is considered rude at this estate. Some time ago, Lorient went through her first mating season and traded all her servants, who were men, with Alexander's without asking. So..."

While he told the insane story of how his little brother almost pierced his sister's servants for being rude, she looked at him more closely.

She didn't know why, but his calm demeanor was something she loved, like a still lake inside a forest surrounded by bloodthirsty beasts. She really wanted to know him better, 'Should I ask him to go for a hunt? Maybe he is actually good at archery. I should show him my good sides and how capable I am.'

She sighed inwardly as something told her he wasn't the type who liked to camp outside and hunt monsters for fun. However, she would ask him at some point when they knew each other. Even though he was open-minded toward her, she wanted nonetheless not to put all of herself in the open in front of him from the beginning.

While they talked, Narsiz stopped before an artwork of a wolf-kin killing a demon lord, and while doing so, he had his arm cut off simultaneously, "What do you see?"

Linuel looked at the painting, "He fucked up..." She turned around and wanted to apologize but saw that Narsiz was chuckling.

Narsiz looked at her with an honest smile, "Sorry, it is quite refreshing that we could forget the etiquette for a moment. So, he fucked up? That's all?"

Linuel became more relaxed, and it felt like another boulder fell from her shoulders. Cursing was seen as something terrible and highly unmannered for nobles, never mind the ranking. So, him not caring about such things made her feel more at ease.

"Yeah, he lost his arm while fighting those bastards."

Narsiz smiled, "But what about the demon?"

Linuel started to look at the demon, "What about him?"

"How do you think he feels?"

Linuel tilted her head in confusion, "What do you mean how he could feel?"

"Every monster, animal, or demon you kill has emotions, wishes, or instincts it follows. So, what does this demon think?"

Loriel crossed her arms, "I guess..."

...

Hours Later

The talk went on till night broke and ended in a lovely rendezvous. Linuel left with her servants to her room and felt that he liked her but was careful as he was probably told that Scarlett could bring some vixen to the estate and seduce him, 'Scarlett told me a lot of shit how her family respects her. I would call it fear.'

She was also cautious regarding her behavior. Even though she slipped up several times and was even calmed down, it felt a little embarrassing to be comforted by someone so much younger, but it was also somewhat exciting for her. Such a trait was undoubtedly one she loved and found attractive.

However, she tried her best till the end to avoid ruining the situation because she was usually too straightforward. While he was fine with some slip-ups here and there, she wasn't so sure if he was that relaxed if she showed her true self.

She licked her lips even thinking about him but became immediately frustrated since he wasn't through his first mating season. She could already smell his pheromones, which was a good sign that she would need to wait a year at most, making her more giddy. Then, she would show her wild side.

There were a lot of rumors inside noble circles where women or men manipulated much younger nobles who weren't through their mating season and slept with them. Usually, it was impossible since they had no pheromones and wouldn't even be aroused to the extent that they could mate.

However, there were a lot of alchemical solutions for such situations where one could force it out. Something like this scarred the premature beast-kin mentally, and she wanted to avoid even giving him the assumption that she would do something like this.

It was a weird situation for her. Both were cautious but also tried to accommodate the other one. For Linuel, it was the best rendezvous she had, even though it started a little rough.

...

Leonandra Estate, Main Garden

A fox-kin strolled together with two beautiful wolf-kin girls through the main garden beside the major mansion where the lord and lady resided while trying to make small talk.

Lorient wasn't big into artificially making the garden beautiful and liked it more wild and unruly. However, right now, she couldn't think what her backyard would look like since an annoying voice interrupted her thoughts.

"So, how are my most beautiful flowers doing? What interests do you have besides being so adorable?"

She already understood what he wanted to do. The situation before showed her his true colors, so she adjusted herself to be as conscious of any skills as possible.

She already told this to Sarah and didn't allow Janina to join them. While Sarah was surprised, she became cautious now. On the other hand, Janina didn't understand the situation and wanted either way to follow them. Only by throwing her into her room and posting a guard there could she hold her far away from, what she considered, the scumbag.

Lorient didn't know Sarah's thoughts, but both would need to suck it up and be as cordial as possible while counting the seconds to his leave. Yet, she would need to find out if he was just somewhat slimy and annoying while accidentally using a skill or if he intentionally used the skill to have a go with her. If the latter one was the case, she would rip him apart. If the former, she would just see it as a lousy match-up and endure it.

After her first mating season, which she considered Outer Circle, she thought she had become much more composed and immune to such effects, even more so after getting rid of her frustrations. However, it wasn't the case, as she could see how someone manipulated her.

'I hope for him that it was a one-time use and only in the spur of the moment.'

Everyone saw skill usage to manipulate others as a taboo, especially in noble circles, and when found out, a challenge to a duel to death wouldn't be unreasonable.

Such a dislike was a remnant from history, where the church manipulated beast-kin into slaves. So, covertly using such skills against unsuspecting victims was seen as nothing short of a challenge to get their heads chopped off.

There were obvious exceptions, like the natural charisma one exuded or the transparent use of skills, like intimidation skills. These were seen as acceptable and even positive if one could coerce others with their charm rather than skills.

She answered him with a fake smile, wanting to appear at least somewhat friendly, "I love going out for a hunt. What about you, Sarah?"

Sarah acted apprehensive but forced a smile nonetheless, "Not much. I like shopping and good food."

He leaned forward and looked Sarah into her eyes, "Well, you surely look gorgeous and have a perfect sense for fashion."

Sarah blushed but suddenly got angry, "Did you use skills on me?!"

He tried to play it off as he sighed and looked apologetic, "Sorry, but no. My [Charisma] attribute is very high, and with my naturally strong charismatic aura, many think I use skills, but..."

He smiled sheepishly and scratched his cheek slightly, "I am very untalented when it comes to such stuff... sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

Lorient came from behind and grabbed his shoulder, putting pressure on it, "My brother is, in that sense, more than enough for us to notice something like this. How about you stop lying?"

Fiorello turned around and showed his hands in a sign of peace, "But I am not lying? See? The effect is just that high?"

Sarah smiled at him viciously, "I would stop if I were you. I have [Mystic Skills], which are even more potent than your little charisma enhancement, and I can feel it too now through it. It doesn't stay still but fluctuates a little. Natural charisma does not do this."

Lorient knew of her sister's [Mystic Skills]. It could bring the opponent to do what she wanted. However, she needed very high [Charisma] to use it, and her opponent would need a low [Spirit] attribute. General skills also played a vital role, but fighters rarely cared for mental fortitude skills, so it was easy for her to manipulate anyone at their estate.

Lorient often asked Sarah to use the skill on her to develop her mental fortitude skills, which she had neglected in the past. It worked, and by doing so, they also found out that Sarah was highly sensitive to any manipulation skills used on her.

Lorient was the typical fighter and barely sensed any manipulation skills used on her. However, her intuition was excellent, and she could feel it when someone used something at her.

The best example was Alexander when they trained, and he got exhausted, huffing and puffing, wanting a break. He usually used [Charm] to manipulate her, a cute trick she ignored since the situation allowed it. Yet, she would push him even more after he used it on her as punishment.

Behind them came the personal guard of Fiorello, a cat-kin maid, and out of her oozed an aura that told them to back off, "Excuse me, my ladies, but this little play ends here. If my master said, he didn't do it then he didn't."

Lorient smiled and let go, "Fine by me..." She turned toward the cat-kin, "...how does it feel to serve such a scumbag? I would rather kill myself than..."

Before she could end the sentence, Fiorello held a dagger at her neck, "I would stop if I were you. While I am nice enough to admit I have weird natural charisma, you are too stupid to understand. I will not be insulted in front of my retainer."

Sarah and the cat-kin readied themselves for a confrontation. This intense stand-off was interrupted by a deep laugh, "Muhahaha! What is going on here?"

Lorient looked to the side and saw Larry walking toward them with his mace out and ready to attack. His following words sounded like a threat, "I would say that we deescalate it now and forget what happened. Otherwise, we will have a situation at hand that may not be solvable."

His mistress became surprised and then angry, "You can actually talk just fine?! On our travels, you were mostly mute! What is going on?!"

She ignored the dagger and walked toward Larry. She also returned to her senses before anything worse could happen, and something told her that Fiorello provoked her on purpose and used a skill again. She wanted to avoid an escalation and tell her mother before a war between households could start.

Sarah relaxed too and saw how Fiorello frowned but quickly changed it to a smile. He approached his maid and looked back at Sarah, who suddenly shivered slightly, "Well, not like I expected..."

Before he could end the sentence, something snapped inside of Sarah. Her heart-shaped eyes glowed pink, and her following sentence came with an immense increase of her aura, "Why don't you just shut up and kill yourself?"

Without a word, he took his knife and was about to ram it in his neck, only to stop an inch before. He was sweating and became angry outwardly, "Are you crazy in using a skill against me?!"

Sarah pointed at herself in surprise and became playfully furious, "Me? No way! I think..." She took a few steps forward and gleefully bowed while looking up at him, "...I just think you saw the ways of your wrongdoings and wanted to repent. By the way, I fully agree with your decision."

She turned her heel and walked away while the cat-kin guard became agitated and was ready to attack. Fiorello needed to hold her back.