The group left the small town and entered a dense forest first. Centuries of wandering beasts had worn a wide path into the ground, allowing them to move forward quickly and safely.

A few of the soldiers scouted ahead in the forest.

But the daily patrols of the city guards ensured that there were no ferals here.

The scents of the forest hit Mirabelle unprepared.

A hunger stirred inside her that she didn’t recognize.

It was as if her stomach was doing flips, pulling her in different directions.

Hunting instinct.

Her growling stomach only made it worse.

Internally, she cursed Ana. As if eating would have noticeably ruined her makeup. She had seen herself in the mirror — aside from the golden lines and something that gave her lips a darker shade, she couldn’t even tell she was wearing any.

The group moved quickly, and it didn’t take long before they left the forest again and entered a wide plain full of green grass, colorful flowers, and scattered fruit trees.

As soon as they had left the forest, all of them began to sprint even faster.

Mirabelle loved how the wind rushed around her and played with her hair.

She just hoped that the hairstyle Tara had so elaborately put together wouldn’t be completely ruined by the time they arrived.

She continued to drift through her thoughts.

Then suddenly her eyes widened, and she began to fidget. Impatiently, she tapped Leontis on the shoulder.

"Stop. Stop!"

Startled, the commander sprinted forward — a wolf beast.

"What is it, Lady Mirabelle?"

Leontis spoke at the same time, concern in his voice.

"Are you hurt? Should we take a break?"

He tried to turn his head back toward her.

For the first time, she noticed how strange it was that beastmen could still use their human voices in their animal forms.

Shouldn’t their vocal cords change too...?

Before her thoughts could drift again, she forced herself to focus.

"No, I’m fine. I want to know what that is."

She pointed toward a small patch where man-high plants with golden spikes at their tips were growing.

The wolf frowned in confusion.

’That’s what caught her eye?’

Females really are strange...

"That? It’s nothing special. Some bird beasts eat it when other food is hard to find."

Mirabelle: ’Nothing special?’

"Take me closer."

The bear didn’t question her and simply followed her request. He was used to the lynx female having... unusual ideas.

Mirabelle leaned down and studied the plants closely.

Then she clapped her hands excitedly.

’That’s wheat!’

She had already wondered why there was no bread or other grain-based food.

Apparently, the beastmen didn’t know how to process it and make it edible.

She grinned.

’I’ll show you what you’ve been missing all these thousands of years.’

"Can we take some with us? Please, please?"

Leontis sighed.

"On the way back, that can surely be arranged."

The commander stepped forward again.

"Can we continue? We shouldn’t stay in one place too long. Ferals often hide in tall grass."

Mirabelle nodded — but glanced around uncertainly.

Everything here looked so peaceful.

And yet...

Traveling was still extremely dangerous.

The group continued moving, but this time Kaelith caught up to the bear and kept pace beside him.

Level with Mirabelle, he threw her a questioning look.

"What do you need that thorn-grass for?"

’Thorn-grass... is that what they call it here?’

In a good mood, Mirabelle let herself get drawn into the conversation.

"Baking."

’Baking?’

He had never heard of that before.

"What is... baking?" He tried the unfamiliar word on his tongue.

"It’s something like cooking," she explained, "except you have to get everything right from the start. With cooking, you can still change things until the end."

She smiled brightly at the hyena.

Kaelith didn’t understand a word.

His mother had always wanted him to learn how to cook, but somehow he had always thought there would be time. And then the war had come and suddenly he was here.

For the first time, he wished he had learned.

He wasn’t stupid. In fact, he was quite smart compared to his brothers... and other males.

But in the presence of this female, he felt like an idiot.

Mirabelle misread his expression.

(But honestly: Who really knew what a hyena’s facial expressions meant?)

"I can teach you."

To her, it wasn’t a big deal. She would have to explain it to everyone anyway once she brought them wheat.

So she said it without much thought.

But to Kaelith, it meant something entirely different.

’She wants to show me how to do it... so I can do it for her in the future?’

His heart pounded louder in his chest than his paws against the ground.

Silas, who had heard everything, moved up to Leontis’ other side.

"Can you teach me as well?"

The hyena’s gaze darkened.

’Say no. Please say no.’

He wanted so badly for her to choose him over the panther.

"Of course."

Once again, Mirabelle had no idea what her words were doing.

The hyena’s heart stumbled, and he nearly tripped over his own feet. A bitter taste spread in his mouth.

For a moment, he had thought he had gotten a little closer — maybe even taken a step ahead of that damn panther.

Only to be pulled back again the next second.

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who comments and sends power stones. ♡

Seeing those Webnovel notifications really makes my day. (〃▽〃)