...

A week later, after the attack

The atmosphere inside a room at the Leonandra estate was tense, not because of a fight but because of how heavily two teenagers flirted with each other for hours. The pheromones they produced made everyone's sense of smell go haywire when they entered the room.

It wasn't unusual, but because one of them couldn't leave because of her injuries, they were stuck inside, making the cloud made out of pheromones what it was now: Equivalent to a mating season.

The boy inside this cloud looked at the girl lovingly while feeding her some vegetable mush with honey. On the other hand, she didn't let him feed her but tried to move closer to him.

She looked at him the same way as he at her, not wanting the vegetable mush but something different. However, Narsiz was new to this, so her sudden movement made him worry about her injury as he oversaw the obvious clues she gave, "Don't move! If you need something, just tell me, okay?"

She looked at him lovingly with her ruby-red eyes while her disheveled charcoal-black hair covered part of her face, "No, I just wanted to come closer to you... is that okay?"

Narsiz blushed and turned his head away. However, he also moved toward her. He removed his shoes and lay beside her as carefully as possible while being as close as possible.

His heart started to beat faster as he slowly caressed her hand. The silence around them made the endearing moment feel like it would never end, and he dearly hoped so.

Even though the moment was one he didn't want to end, other thoughts invaded him, and he started to feel worse. She was heavily injured, trying to protect him, but fortunately was healing quickly. It was sad that the Temple healer barely even looked at her, but it was necessary since his brother was in a much more critical condition. He wasn't much better as every healer wholly ignored him.

After the assassination attack, he fell unconscious, but as luck wanted it, he woke up after two days and felt incredible pain. Yet, all he could think about was Linuel. She saved him even though he acted like an idiot and showed too much off without thinking further.

It made him feel a little ashamed since the first thing he should consider was if his other siblings were fine. So, when he heard about Alexander, he immediately visited him after checking on Linuel.

However, his little brother was his usual self and looked at him like he was a moron. He clearly remembered what he said: What the fuck are you doing here? Go to Linuel. I am not dead, so everything is A-OK. See you later.

Narsiz wanted to stay, but he got thrown out by Sarah and Lorient while Alexander made fun of him. It felt a little isolating, but he understood what they tried to do and was genuinely thankful for it, even though his little brother's comments were a little hurtful as he made fun of him loving her. Yet, he knew how his little brother was, and with the injuries added, he ignored the jabs against him.

When he remembered Alexander's terrible wounds and how he got them in the first place, he started to look more closely at Linuel's. Of course, he blamed himself for what happened to her. His guilt worsened when he remembered how she was in mortal danger, so he tried to tend to her needs to the best of his abilities.

The little gesture by his siblings became, over time for him, something he truly appreciated. Because of this, he could now spend the whole day with her. They talked for hours, and he tried to entertain her since she could do nothing but lay around.

However, even though he felt terrible about what happened, it wasn't the main reason he spent all day with her. He found her incredible: Her personality and beauty. There was nothing that wasn't perfect about her. Even how she ate the gross vegetable mush he made for her made her look adorable.

It was evident to him what happened. He fell in love with her but couldn't confess. It was like there was something inside his throat that pushed down his words toward the chest, unable to utter them.

He wanted to say it but feared rejection, especially since he was premature and not versed in such things. There was always a thought that told him that she could've done everything till now only to accommodate him as Alexander did with Patricia. His anxiety rose from day to day as he couldn't say it, but he wanted to endure it since their time together was a blessing for him. He didn't want it to end because of another stupid mistake he made.

He came out of his thoughts when he heard her dry voice, "Narsi..."

He was about to jump up to get her some water, "Yeah?"

"I love you."

The moment she said it, he felt elated. It was like the world was his to grab and rule. Nothing could ever stop him, so he got the courage to confess his true feelings, too. He looked into her beautiful eyes, "I love you, too," her face was so close to his that he could feel her breath as he said it. There was a smell she gave off he ingrained fully, never to forget.

Linuel wanted to say something as she moved her lips slightly but didn't. Narsiz noticed it and asked, "Is everything fine, Lin?"

Stuttering and nervous, she blushed and asked him, "You... do you ever k... kissed someone?"

He felt like he could crush the world with his pinky, and his usual shy nature was gone after Linuel told him her true feelings. Without waiting, he came close to her face and kissed her. She accepted him and kissed him back while softly patting his cheek with her hand with which she could reach him.

Narsiz had never kissed someone, so it all felt strange, but Linuel took the lead. However, after the first seconds of trying to sense what he was doing, he just started to enjoy it. It felt fantastic like he became one with her. He wanted to be as close as possible to her but didn't know how or why, but kissing her made the feeling bearable.

Nothing but them mattered anymore. Time stood still, and smells invaded his nose, which started to intensify. It was like he knew who she was the moment their tongues touched.

From the food she ate days ago to which servants were attending to her. It felt like Core (heaven) to him getting to know her like that without any talking. It felt natural.

However, after an unknown amount of time, a familiar smell invaded his nostrils. Too familiar, and soon he found out why he got weirded out as a rough voice woke him up from his dream-like state, "I see that my boy is trying to ravage the heroic maiden?"

He immediately stopped and accidentally scratched his tongue at Linuel's fangs, "Ouch!"

Linuel also moved too quickly and suddenly squirmed, hurting herself, "Argh, damn it!"

Narsiz then fell from the bed, "Oof!"

He quickly stood up and looked around at where the voice came from, only to see a rat with many tribal tattoos sitting on the window silt and smiling at him, "Sorry about that, but I couldn't wait for hours till your little romance ended for today."

Linuel also looked at the rat and became confused, but only momentarily, until she caught up with who it was. Only then did she suddenly panicked, "Kair... lord?! I am so sorry! I will never..."

Kairoso interrupted her while laughing, "Guhahaha! Calm down, squirt. It's not like you started it, but you are quite the manipulator..." Then he imitated her voice but made her sound some octaves higher while acting like he was in a theatre, "...oh Narsi! Did you ever kiss? My plumb lips are yearning for a knight who can..."

Linuel blushed heavily while Narsiz angrily threw a cup at him, yelling, "Did you spy on us?!"

The rat caught it easily while some of the tea inside spilled, "Wow, you are really like your mother, only less aggressive and no. I was already here when you had your little declaration of love. Still, I waited and moved my mana around me to kill the smell since I didn't want to disturb..." The rat's smile became even wider, "...your little moment."

Kairoso then shrugged, "I even tried to come close to you while stopping the mana from killing my smell so you could sense me. Nothing helped to bring you both out of your little moment, my bad."

Narsiz looked daggers at his father and wanted nothing more than to squash him with his shoe, but he quickly calmed down, "So, and then you decided to stay and spy on us?"

The rat looked baffled at him but then laughed, "Guhahaha! Calm down. Everybody knew about this, and the servants even started to bet when it would happen....." He jumped down from the window silt and ran towards the door, "...follow me, I need to talk with you...." He became more serious, "...from man to man."

Narsiz frowned and decided to follow him, but before he did, he came to Linuel and kissed her on her cheek, "I will come later, Lin."

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She nodded, but before she could answer, Kairoso corrected his son, "He will not for reasons he can tell you tomorrow."

Narsiz glared at his father and said nothing. He didn't know what was happening but obeyed his orders, not thinking that what they did was outrageous. While Linuel's behavior could be seen as manipulative, he would vehemently defend her since he was the one who kissed her first. However, he was ready to have a long and arduous discussion.

...

5 minutes later, Alexander's mansion, training hall

"Wow, he really gives 100% while training, huh."

Alexander's training hall looked like an army went through. Everything was either burned or crushed. Yet, it was clean, 'At least one brat found someone reliable.'

Every one of Kairoso's puppies had some kind of problem in recruiting people. So, he was relieved that Alexander had at least no issues in this aspect and was also the only one with a host of retainers and subordinates who did their job well.

After Alexander was well again, he decided to introduce an artisan to him since he truly needed someone who could repair his facilities with how destructive training with magic was.

'Well, now I must teach my other brat... this will be annoying.'

Kairoso wasn't annoyed because he didn't like to teach his son, but that his son was almost a mirror image of his mother, only less aggressive and more versed in discussing his problems to death, which wasn't something he liked to do.

When the door closed, his son stood still and angrily asked, "Father, what do you want? If it is about my relationship with Li..."

Kairoso turned back into his beast-kin body and looked at his son seriously, interrupting him, "I don't care about Lin. What I care about is you."

Narsiz looked suspicious at him, "She didn't force me."

Kairoso came closer, and slight bloodlust escaped him, "I don't care about this either. Wanna have another guess?"

Now Narsiz looked confused at him and became more relaxed, "What is it then?"

Kairoso stood before him, looking down at him, "Did you get fully healed?"

Narsiz nodded, and Kairoso smiled fiercely, "Clench your teeth..." he reeled back and punched him full force into his stomach.

His son fell to his knees and almost threw up. Kairoso grabbed his hair and pulled him up, "You know, wanting to show off while some assassins want to kill you is not really the most brilliant idea."

Kairoso was incredibly angry and barely held back his intent to teach his son a good lesson. He could've risked much less and come out much less injured, but his ego was much bigger than his rationale, and he needed to show off. For Linuel, though, he was genuinely thankful to her since she saved this dumbass's life while risking her own. So, he had no qualms with her at all.

He was, in fact, so thankful that even before leaving Linuel's room with his son, he told his wife what happened but made clear that he wanted her not to be punished for kissing their son since she saved his brat's ass. Marisia waited outside to talk with Linuel and thank her, but now he hoped that his wife wouldn't break her neck.

Narsiz didn't know this, but he would if the girl told him everything, which he heavily doubted since he assessed Linuel as one who wouldn't do something this stupid, 'Mari will probably not touch her but made her stance clear.'

Kairoso came out of his thoughts when Narsiz barely could get a word out while looking at him with one eye open, "What do you mean?"

He frowned and slightly threw him up into the air only to reel his arm quickly back and grab his face. He pushed him against the ground, which cracked and produced a small crater.

Narsiz was pushed into the ground and spit out saliva while trying to grapple his arm. However, the difference in strength and skills was too apparent, as his son couldn't do anything.

"Argh!"

Kairoso let go of him, straightened back up again, and looked at his son, who tried to stand up again. His voice became solemn, "Lori was punished by us because she was too stupid to listen to us and went haywire with her [Divinity Line], almost injuring you seriously. So we imprisoned her inside the estate until she got the hang of it."

Narsiz suddenly pulled out a throwing knife and aimed at his father's head, only for him to catch it effortlessly, "Sarah was punished because she is arrogant beyond anything reasonable, endangering our family in a fit of adventure seeking. She needed to learn to be humble and more careful, especially with the [Mystic Skills] she has, so your mother is training her till she starts to act not like a moron."

He looked at his son and smirked, opening his arms, "Now you. Do you want to play the hero in front of your little girl? Feel free, but before you try to kill both of you simultaneously, I must ensure that at least you survive..." He came closer and looked at him with a menacing smile, "...I thought you would be a great paper-pusher and would just walk around with enough guards to invade whole cities, but it seemed my boy found out, even though late, that you have the blood of a warrior."

After Narsiz stood up, he wobbled slightly back, glaring at his father, "You want to train me?"

He shook his head and pointed with his thumb to the side, "Not only me but also someone else."

From the side came a menacing aura, "Master, I think I can get him to be a great kil... warrior, excuse me, hehe."

Narsiz looked at him and back at his father, "You want this psycho to train me, too?!"

Kairosos's smile widened, "So what? He is a genius when it comes to [Throwing Arts], and he also has a knack in [Archery Arts] even though he rarely uses it."

Sarusos shook his head, "Too impersonal for me, but I know a couple of things."

Narsiz shivered slightly and became even angrier as he suddenly remembered something, "I understand that you want to train me since I made mistakes like my sisters, but what about Alex?"

Sarusos's suddenly became more joyful, "Training him? I would love to, but he is already so brilliant! Sadly, he is also a mage, and your sisters are already training him well. He has no time for my special training even though he would probably be a true genius..."

Sarusos suddenly smiled so genuinely it weirded Kairoso and his son visibly out, "Everything he did was impeccable, even without any experience! Every decision he made was for the sake of the little fox-kin girl, never mind his stubbornness to stay and fight with me, which he did well..." He frowned suddenly, "...I failed, not he. I am the one with the experience, but I listened to his last command as I trusted him. I should've known better what dangers could be there."

Narsiz looked back at his father, who only shrugged, "You forgot one thing: He is not even through his legacy, and once he is, I don't know what I can teach him. He is already training in everything he can get his fingers on and excelling in it. What should I do? Deprive him of sleep and teach him the doctrines of the Temple?"

His son relaxed and nodded while pulling out a small throwing knife, "Fine, I agree with you. I need to be stronger, but it doesn't mean you can beat me to a pulp!"

He smiled at him, "My training methods are a little rough, but you will survive them."

Kairoso watched how his son positioned himself so he could grab the other hidden throwing knives while his energy surrounded him rather clumsily. However, his stand was solid, and the basics were present, 'I should've trained him even though he loved and showed so much talent in other things...' He started to walk toward him, '...it doesn't mean I can't make it good afterward.'

Kairoso showed him to attack him, "Bring it on."

Narsiz cringed, "Please... don't use Alex's vocabulary. It is not fitting of your standing."

He suddenly laughed, "Guhahaha! Even though you are about to get beat up, you are trying to hold on to the right conduct. You are truly Mari's son..." His smile became vicious, "...this means, though, you can endure more than I first thought."

Narsiz suddenly shivered but smiled back, even though a little frightened, "It was such a nice day till now."

...

Linuel's room

A wolf-kin woman stood before Linuel and looked at her stoically while crossing her arms. It was like her gaze could kill her when she blinked, 'I didn't know Marisia was this scary.'

When Narsiz left with Kairoso, Marisia suddenly visited her a minute later. However, although Linuel didn't know how, the lady knew what was going on for some reason, as evidently seen how she looked at her, ready to rip her head off.

At first, Linuel thought she was a mediocre combatant and great administrator since their fief prospered after Scarlett's stagnant phase. Yet, her whole demeanor showed that she could smoothly kill her even if she were in excellent health.

Linuel smiled at Narsiz's mother, "M... My lady, nice to see you."

Marisia didn't move and was as stoic as ever, "Hello, Linuel. I am here to talk to you. Do you have time?"

Linuel smiled and answered as friendly as possible, "Of course, my lady."

Inwardly, though, she tried to hold back her anxiety, 'What other answer can I give without getting killed?!'

She suddenly thought that it was a terrible mistake to kiss Narsiz. While it was nothing special for commoners to kiss premature beast-kin as adults, for nobles, it was a big taboo.

It was seen as highly manipulative because it was regarded as not really something sexual but something at the cusp of it. So, an adult kissing someone premature who experienced it for the first time was a sure way to bind the premature beast-kin toward them, primarily when the adult built a friendly or loving relationship beforehand, 'I am so fucked.'

Marisia's voice was stoic, but Linuel could've sworn that every word felt like a knife pressed against her throat, "How do you feel?"

Linuel maybe imagined it, but her danger-sensing skills rang like crazy at her, "I feel fantastic! All thanks to the great healer you provided. Thank you for asking, my lady."

Marisia nodded, "That is good to hear, and you are welcome as you are part of the Nine-Fire household, who are family to us. Now that we had our chit-chat, how about you tell me what you were doing with my son?"

Linuel's smile vanished, 'So straightforward!'

She decided that being honest was the best way to do it. While lying on her stomach, she bowed her head to seek forgiveness, "I am in love with Narsi, and it was a mistake I made! I apologize for my dumb behavior!"

Silence invaded the room for minutes. She could've sworn that she could cut the air with a knife so thick was it. However, there was no bloodlust, killing intent, or any other malicious aura—only silence.

After what felt like an eternity for Linuel, Marisia broke the silence, and her following words felt like a whole mountain was lifted from her shoulders, "My husband is fine with how you conducted yourself and is emphasizing that because you saved Narsiz, he has no problem at all what you did..."

However, the knife was again at her throat, "I am not, though. The moment you mistreat my son in any way, be it cheating, violence, coercion, or anything else I disagree with, I will personally hunt you down. Do I make myself clear?"

Without raising her head, she answered, "Yes, my lady!"

Marisia nodded and left, but before she closed the door, she looked the last time at Linuel. Even though she couldn't see it, she felt enormous wrath coming her way. It was like someone was about to step on her, squashing her like a bug.

Linuel sweat like never before and ingrained the following sentence into her soul, "I am allowing you both to continue but anything more than this, and I make sure to make my warning come true."

Clack

Linuel didn't raise her head for the next hour as she was frightened out of her mind. She never experienced such fear before. She knew the moment she would fuck up, her head would roll. So she made sure not to forget the warning, 'Narsi... your whole family is fucking crazy.'

While Linuel's parents were somewhat on the protective side, when it came to their puppies, what Marisia did was far above what her parents would ever do. She knew it since her sister, Clara, was premature, and her fiancé was at least ten years older. However, even though they kissed, her parents only ensured nothing more would happen by putting servants by their side so they would observe them all day when he visited.

On the other hand, Marisia felt like she would genuinely cripple her if Kairoso wasn't there to give his okay. It was scary, but she also gave them much more freedom to enjoy themselves, which made Linuel shudder, 'I think she truly meant what she said...'

While freedom was great, one mistake on her side and something terrible would happen, probably involving a sparring session and an unforeseeable accident, 'One year is doable... please, Narsi, don't take more time than this!'