Breeding Instinct - Chapter 5: Full Moon II (3)

“No, it wasn’t just the two of you. All of you turned your back on me and left me behind. You say we’re family, but why were you so cruel to me?”

“This wretched girl has finally lost her mind!”

Nils, his eyes bulging with rage, shouted at the top of his lungs. Just then, Hermann approached the gate and struck it hard with the hilt of his sword.

BANG!

The heavy iron gate shuddered like thin paper, ringing loudly.

“How dare you speak so recklessly in this place?”

Hermann, his voice filled with authority, spoke in a chilling tone that sent shivers down the spine of everyone present. Nils and even Philip stumbled back in fear.

“This is the Duke of Royce’s estate. From the bridge you crossed to get here, everything is his property. Yet here you are, trespassing illegally, and now you dare raise your voices at someone?”

Hermann quickly pieced together what was happening. He realized that these people must have known the Duke was away, which was why they were behaving so boldly. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared to make such a scene.

With that thought in mind, he took a step beside Kanna, positioning himself at her left while Landon remained on her right. Seeing the two of them standing protectively at her sides, Kanna’s eyes welled up with tears.

Even without Damian there, his people were protecting her. Gratitude filled her heart, and she couldn’t help but think she would deeply miss this place if she ever had to leave it. Wiping her tears, she looked at her family and finally spoke her mind.

“You only come looking for me when you need something, but I was always a member of the Mecklenburg family… wasn’t I? I begged you not to sell me, yet my brother sold me as a slave. And now, you come here claiming we’re family and even try to threaten me?”

Kanna didn’t know everything, but there was one thing she understood clearly—she had never truly been part of their family.

A real family didn’t only show up when they needed something. A real family stayed by your side, even in difficult times.

When she was at her lowest, the one who saved her was Damian. If he hadn’t taken her away from that place, she might still be living in ignorance, a helpless fool.

“Kanna, it’s me—your mother. I gave birth to you. If you act like this now, you’ll regret it later.”

Paula, sensing something was very different about Kanna today, grew uneasy. Remembering what the Countess of Liffé had said, Paula had decided this was the perfect time to visit.

If the Duke had been present, she wouldn’t have dared to say a word. That’s why they waited for the perfect opportunity—when he was away. From the start, they had planned to push Kanna hard, believing that if they could manipulate her, the Duke would eventually have no choice but to comply with their demands.

“You’re still our daughter. You’re still registered as part of the Mecklenburg family. How could you say such cruel things and hurt your family?”

Paula squeezed out fake tears and pleaded with her most pitiful voice.

Landon and Hermann sneered at her performance, but Kanna’s face remained completely blank.

Then, with a resolute expression, she spoke directly to her so-called family.

“I already belong to my master. So, please remove my name from the family registry. You were planning to do that anyway… weren’t you?”

“You wicked girl! How can you be so cruel and heartless to your parents?”

“I know you never thought of me as your child, Mother.”

“…How arrogant and conceited you’ve become, thinking you’re something special!”

Paula spat venomous words at her, but Kanna simply blinked, then calmly spoke.

“Mother, these new shoes don’t hurt at all.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Lily muttered in disbelief, but Kanna didn’t stop. She lightly tapped her feet on the ground, confirming just how comfortable her shoes were.

“You always used to say that new shoes would hurt my feet, so you gave me Lily’s old ones instead. You told me to apologize to my sister for all the sacrifices she made for me…”

Paula and Lily’s expressions hardened as they finally understood what Kanna was saying.

Kanna felt lighter with each word she spoke. She thought of Damian and continued in a polite tone, adhering to her recently learned etiquette.

“So, you don’t need to sacrifice anything for me anymore. I can wear new shoes now.”

Even if the new shoes hurt her feet, she was prepared to take responsibility for it herself. Though, of course, she had yet to experience any pain from them.

Landon and Hermann, standing beside her, lifted their heads proudly. It was common knowledge among Damian’s closest aides: the future Duchess of Royce was not as fragile as her delicate appearance suggested.

“No matter how bold you act, if we submit a petition to the imperial court, you won’t be able to stay by the Duke’s side,” Philip sneered.

Kanna blinked, her voice steady as she replied,

“If my presence causes trouble for my master, I’ll prove my innocence before His Majesty by taking my own life.”

As she spoke, Kanna recalled the kindness and love Damian had shown her. Just the memory of it warmed her heart, giving her the strength to carry on.

“Would you really do something that stupid?” Philip asked with a mocking laugh.

Kanna answered calmly.

“I don’t think I need to take advice on foolishness from someone who’s always called me stupid, Brother.”

“You little—!”

“If you truly intend to harm my master,” Kanna interrupted, her eyes unwavering, “I’ll risk my life to stand before His Majesty and tell him everything you’ve done to me. I’ll reveal why you despised and abused me so cruelly… every last secret. Then I’ll die knowing I’ve told the truth. I can do that.”

She gripped her hands tightly and spoke each word with conviction. Fear still lingered in her heart, and she didn’t want to expose everything about herself, but the thought of her family bringing harm to Damian was unbearable.

The Mecklenburg family was stunned by the fierceness in Kanna’s expression—a side of her they had never seen before.

Meanwhile, Hermann, with his heightened senses, detected something peculiar about her aura. It was subtle, but it reminded him of the raw, untamed presence Damian had as a child. In that instant, Hermann understood why his master was so deeply drawn to her.

Kanna turned her gaze toward her father, mother, sister, and brother in turn. Then, with perfect composure, she bowed deeply.

Her graceful posture and calm, unwavering blue eyes looked like the still surface of a windless lake—clear and serene.

In that quiet, steady voice, she gave her final farewell.

“Thank you for raising me. I wish the Mecklenburg family good fortune from now on.”

It was a flawless, respectful goodbye—a clean severance of all ties.

* * *

“What? Haha! Ahahaha!”

Damian was initially shocked by the story delivered by his knight, but soon burst into loud laughter. His booming laughter surprised the knights around him. They had seen their lord smirk or chuckle from time to time, but this was the first time they had ever seen him laugh so heartily.

Damian had expected their visit, but what actually happened went far beyond his predictions.

The fact that they found out about his absence and sought him out, coupled with the story of Kanna boldly putting them in their place, was almost too incredible for him to believe right away.

“Quite the feisty one, isn’t she?”

In front of him, Kanna could act as fragile as she wanted. Whether she pouted or threw a tantrum, he was prepared to indulge her every whim.

However, when he was away, it was Kanna’s responsibility to protect their territory. Defending their domain and offspring was more the role of the female—far more than it was his.

As for the male’s role? It was to strengthen and expand the territory.

“Have they been found?”

“Yes, sir. They were working as blacksmiths in this village.”

“Whether they’re real blacksmiths or just fakes, we’ll figure it out soon enough once we interrogate them.”

Muttering lightly to himself, Damian sat on a rock halfway up the mountain, carefully polishing his sword.

“Did you capture him too?”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

The elite squad Damian had brought with him had long been responsible for handling his dirtiest work. They were more skilled at assassination and tracking than front-line combat, though their swordsmanship was still nothing to scoff at.

One of the knights dragged over an unconscious man and threw him onto the ground. His eyes and mouth were bound, and his hands and feet tied. Even if he woke up, there was no way for him to escape.

Damian fixed the man with a chilling stare, his voice cold and eerie.

“Even if I cut off a few fingers, it won’t stop you from breathing… but hmm, what should I do? Killing you cleanly feels too merciful.”

The cook who had tampered with Kanna’s food began to regain consciousness at the sound of Damian’s voice. He struggled desperately, but all he could manage was a pitiful thrashing on the ground.

“Once you’ve captured all those involved in running the slave auctions on the black market, release them into the mountain.”

“Your Excellency, are you planning to show off your skills after such a long time?”

One of the knights asked cheekily, prompting Damian to give a crooked smile and reply coldly.

“I’ve never properly shown off my skills before. Have you seen them, then?”

“Kuh… As expected of you, Your Excellency!”

“Whistle~ Our lord is the best!”

The banter between the knights was crude for a conversation among comrades, but for Damian, this was his version of rest—a time to unleash his instincts, to hunt wild and aggressive enemies without restraint.

He waited for nightfall.

His subordinates, who had dispersed earlier, returned one by one with their targets in tow. They released the prisoners into a pitch-dark place that, to humans, was shrouded in total darkness.

“I-I’m sorry! Your Grace! P-please, just give me one more chance!”

While the others were busy trying to escape, the former head chef of the duke’s household fell to his knees, begging for mercy.

“I absolutely despise anyone who dares to meddle with what’s mine in my territory.”

“I-I’ll never do it again! So please, have mercy…”

Damian found the man’s pleas ridiculous.

“You won’t be able to do it again even if you want to. Anyone watching might think you were the one who sought forgiveness first.”

“Y-Your Grace…”

The former head chef, lying face down on the dark forest floor, glanced up at Damian. Although the night sky was as black as ink, with the moon hidden behind thick clouds, a pair of golden eyes glowed down at him, as brilliant as a full moon.

The gleaming eyes looked so inhuman that the chef could barely breathe. Panting and terrified, he began to crawl backward. He remembered what the one who had captured him had said: “If you can manage to escape, I’ll let you live.”

“I swear… I’ll survive and expose that monster for what he really is!”

Humiliated by Damian’s disdainful gaze, the chef stumbled through the pitch-black forest, tripping over rocks and branches. He could hear footsteps ahead—the sound of others who had been captured with him moving farther away.

The dark mountain was eerily silent, the air thick with a chilling stillness.

“Huff… Huff… Which way… where should I go?”

Unable to figure out where he was, the chef walked blindly in the direction his feet took him. Suddenly, a low, choking noise echoed from somewhere in the distance—a gurgling sound as though someone’s throat was blocked. His body froze, and for a brief moment, he nearly lost control of his bladder.

Up in the trees, knights perched on sturdy branches whispered among themselves as they watched their lord in action.

“There’s no way he’s human.”

“How can he move that fast?”

“The fact that he only smiles when doing stuff like this is terrifying…”

“…Yeah, that’s seriously scary.”

“Actually, didn’t we just see him laugh for the first time earlier?”

“Probably?”

The knights observed the scene calmly, having grown used to it. Damian leaped from tree to tree with breathtaking agility. But calling it merely “agile” felt wrong—it was something beyond human limits. Silently, the knights followed him with their eyes, holding their breath.