Breeding Instinct - Chapter 6: Full Moon III (1)

The Crown Prince heard from his aide about how Damian had drawn attention in the middle of the city.

“There must’ve been quite a crowd that day, Your Highness. The rumors are spreading incredibly fast.”

“Hmph…”

Heinrich realized what Damian must have been feeling when he heard that Damian had acted in a way he had never done before.

“So he must be sincere.”

“The nobles seem skeptical, but although I may not be as close to him as Your Highness, I’ve known the Duke for a long time, and I share the same opinion.”

“This is… quite something.”

Indeed, the secret Damian had revealed that day was extraordinary. The idea of a person growing animal ears and a tail…

Heinrich recalled his lonely childhood when, as the Crown Prince, he couldn’t truly connect with the nobles.

Back then, Damian had an aloof image, and being seen walking with him hadn’t felt bad. Heinrich had believed Damian might understand his loneliness.

And yet, his dearest friend had been harboring an even greater secret and spent his days in isolation. Heinrich felt a pang of sympathy. To Damian, Kanna must be someone more important than social class—yet now there was such a commotion about it.

Heinrich realized someone was deliberately spreading the rumors even faster. That’s how rumors worked, after all.

“Father will be curious about the matter of being drenched in beast blood. I’d better take care of this myself.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that the rumor even reached the Imperial Palace earlier this morning.”

“Send a letter to the palace immediately. No—never mind. I’ll go myself.”

“Yes, understood.”

Heinrich quickly headed for the Imperial Palace with his chief attendant. As he was just stepping inside, he spotted two men walking toward him from the opposite direction.

Count Liffe and Baron Mecklen recognized the Crown Prince and quickly bowed their heads. Heinrich could vaguely guess why they had been at the palace.

And he had a good idea of who was the rat inflating the rumors.

“We greet His Highness, the Crown Prince, the little sun of the Empire.”

They greeted him in unison, but Heinrich did not tell them to raise their heads. A heavy silence pressed down on them, and both Count Liffe and Baron Mecklen felt embarrassed.

A long time passed—so long their backs and legs began to ache—before the Crown Prince finally spoke.

“Raise your heads.”

Count Liffe and Baron Mecklen hurriedly straightened their backs. They had bowed so long that blood had rushed to their heads, leaving them dizzy.

Heinrich stared coldly at their faces and continued.

“Are the Count and Baron aware of the dangers of magical beasts?”

“…Of course.”

“They’re filthy creatures. I’ve heard they’re worse than animals.”

The count and baron answered one after the other. The Crown Prince scoffed at them.

“Then, are you also aware of this? That their incursions are becoming more frequent. I’ve heard that if the border regions are breached, it would take less than a day for them to reach the capital.”

“We weren’t aware of that…”

“Then what are the border-protecting families doing?”

The count quietly nodded in acknowledgment, while Baron Mecklen became agitated. The Mecklen family estate was located on the lower side of the capital, as that area was relatively affordable. The upper side of the capital was inaccessible to anyone without considerable power. So if the beasts were to invade, the baron’s family would be the first to be endangered.

Heinrich leaned in and whispered discreetly to the disgruntled Baron Mecklen.

“How about you go and hunt them yourself? If you succeed, it might just be the chance to raise your family’s prestige.”

“Th-that’s a bit much…”

“Hmm, is that so? Well, judging by your physique, it doesn’t look like you’ve been training.”

“Yes, that’s correct. It’s been a long time since I last held a sword.”

“What a shame. It could’ve been a rare opportunity to sacrifice for your family…”

At the Crown Prince’s abrupt comments, Count Liffe grew extremely tense. It seemed that coming all the way to the Emperor and escalating the matter had been a grave mistake.

With a sharp glint in his eyes, Heinrich turned to Count Liffe, who had been silently standing by like a mouse, and asked:

“Then what about you?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but it’s also been a long time since I last wielded a sword.”

“Hmm, I see. You’re in even worse shape than Baron Mecklen.”

Heinrich openly stared at Count Liffe’s protruding belly as he spoke.

“…Ahem, my apologies.”

“There’s no need to apologize. But even without swordsmanship skills, surely one can still make sacrifices for the Empire, no? Hm?”

As the Crown Prince took a step forward with an imposing air, both men instinctively stepped back.

“They say the magical beasts aren’t as fearsome as they seem. Of course, that came from Duke Royce, so it’s not the most reliable source, ha ha!”

“Ha ha…”

“I-I see…”

“There’s a lack of capable people to deal with the beasts. That’s why Duke Royce has been doing the hard work in secret all this time. But if someone were to lie about the duke hunting the beasts and deceive His Majesty with some strange tale…”

The Crown Prince’s voice grew lower and colder with each word. He stared intently at Count Liffe and Baron Mecklen, then added:

“Then I shall personally select a few families and grant them the honor of noble sacrifice for the Empire. What do you say?”

At Heinrich’s words, the two men’s faces darkened. They desperately wanted to return to the Emperor right then and take back everything they had just said.

Count Liffe finally realized how far out of hand things had gotten. What started as an attempt to protect his trading company now threatened to cost him his own neck.

“Well, if you two aren’t suitable, then your sons could do it instead.”

The Crown Prince ended on a bizarrely cheerful note and politely dismissed them:

“Well then, off you go.”

Upon hearing their sons mentioned, both the count and the baron were horrified and wanted to say something—anything—but the Crown Prince was already striding away. As they watched him head toward the Emperor’s office, they turned on each other with irritated voices.

“Count, how exactly do you plan to take responsibility for this?”

“Baron, have you lost your mind? Who exactly are you telling to take responsibility right now? This whole mess started with your foolish son! How could you sell your own younger brother as a slave, honestly…”

“Y-you…”

“Perhaps it’s because you come from such a vulgar family that something so disgraceful was born in the first place. I’ve been far too lenient until now!”

The count cut ties with the baron without hesitation and hurried off toward his carriage. He needed to find the duke and beg for forgiveness before the Crown Prince made his next move. Forget Leoni’s marriage proposal—his entire house was on the verge of ruin, and he had no room to care about anything else.

“That damned count! No—this isn’t the time for that…”

Baron Mecklen also hastily moved. His son might be a fool, but even so, he couldn’t send his heir to such a dangerous place.

* * *

Heinrich ordered the Emperor’s chief attendant to announce his presence.

“Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

“Please go in, Your Highness.”

“Thank you for your service.”

He walked into the Emperor’s office at a leisurely pace. The enormous wooden doors opened silently and smoothly, revealing rows of classic bookshelves tightly packed with a tremendous number of volumes.

At the center, behind an aged mahogany desk, sat his father. Whenever Heinrich saw his father, who had aged with dignity, he thought he, too, would like to grow old like that. But since they aspired to different things, there was always a tinge of regret.

“Father.”

The Emperor, sensing the reason for Heinrich’s visit just from that simple address, spoke coolly.

“I’ve told you many times—a ruler must put his vassals before his friends.”

“This time, it was a reasonable command. The Duke simply fulfilled his duty.”

“Do you truly believe that was a wise decision made in your role as Crown Prince?”

“Yes. I’ve been regularly checking the reports from the border regions. The number of magical beasts has been increasing, while support to the frontier has been steadily decreasing. It’s easy to cut funding, but very difficult to restore it. In the meantime, I sent the Duke to aid the local lords. You yourself know Duke Royce’s capabilities well, Father.”

The Emperor set aside the documents he was reading and removed his glasses.

“But that’s not the only reason you’ve come, is it?”

“Well, that depends. What exactly have you heard, Father?”

Seeing Heinrich’s feigned innocent smile, the Emperor let out a deep sigh and said,

“In all my years, I’ve never seen a noble sell another noble into slavery. And to think a duke would be involved…”

“Isn’t the greater problem the family that sold their own kin into slavery?”

“…Hmph. I suppose I agree.”

“Then, Father, please overlook this matter.”

“Why should I?”

“Because there’s nothing truly significant about this incident.”

“What do you mean?”

“The relationships in question were superficial to begin with. According to my investigation, Baron Mecklen’s second son gambled with the money he earned from selling his own sister on the black market. He then used that money to buy a necklace from an auction as a gift for his mother and sister. And later tried to extort money using his daughter, who had been staying comfortably at the Duke’s estate.”

Heinrich had already conducted a thorough investigation in case it came to this.

“Count Liffe, who got involved midway, leaked the Duke’s schedule to the Baron’s family to make his daughter the future Duchess. That wasn’t enough—he even brought the young duke into the matter to drag him into this whole affair.”

“You’ve done your research thoroughly.”

“Father, do you know who the biggest victim in this incident is?”

Though the matter started with Damian revealing his secret, Heinrich realized through the investigation that the most tragic life belonged to Kanna. She had never had a choice in anything.

“Are you saying it’s that woman?”

“Yes, I am. Despite being of noble birth, she was neglected by her family and never even learned to read. She was suddenly sold off to a slave auction by her own brother. And then, for their own convenience, they arbitrarily changed her status—turning her into a slave, then back into a noble. So what kind of existence do you think she’s become now?”

Hearing how thoroughly his son had investigated the matter, the Emperor smiled in satisfaction.

“So then, what is it you want to say to me?”

“Father, I truly respect Mother. As Empress, she supports the Empire’s internal affairs with strength and grace. Thanks to her, Your Majesty is able to govern with peace of mind.”