Without much delay, the three beastmen moved beyond the inner walls.

Outside the castle and its smaller surrounding walls lay the buildings of servants and soldiers, workshops, and stables.

It felt more like a small village than part of a noble estate.

Then came the outer walls.

And beyond them lay the town of Steinstein.

Mirabelle’s chambers had faced the opposite direction, giving her a wide view of nature.

That was why she had seen so little of the town until now.

It consisted of stone buildings no higher than two stories. Each house stood on its own plot, with a spacious garden behind it.

In front of some houses, families had set up small stalls, offering goods for sale or trade.

Mirabelle saw clay pots and bracelets, smoked meat, fresh roots and vegetables, animal pelts, and finished clothing.

So absorbed in looking around, she didn’t notice at first how everyone was looking at her.

Every beastman and woman regarded her with warm, approving gazes.

Young beasts ran alongside Leontis. Zome in their animal forms, others on two legs.

A young female, sitting on her father’s shoulders, waved enthusiastically at her.

Smiling, Mirabelle waved back.

It was the first time she had seen such young beastfolk.

Especially in their animal forms, they fascinated her.

They looked almost like small puppies.

It was hard to believe they were children.

All kinds of scents hit her nose, and she almost felt the urge to jump down and run off to find their source and explore the town.

Loud, cheerful voices drifted through the air.

Amazed, she took it all in.

Somehow, for the first time, it truly dawned on her that this was a completely different world.

She watched the interactions between beastmen and females with interest.

Many females lay on something like lounging sofas, while the men did almost everything else. Some females, however, took care of the young or helped at one of the stalls.

It was strange to see how they behaved toward multiple beast husbands.

Here, it was completely natural.

But Mirabelle’s modern mind still struggled to accept it.

How were you supposed to treat several men equally? Without favorites or jealousy?

Many of the beastmen seemed to have a brotherly relationship.

But she was sure that behind closed doors, things often looked different.

Her thoughts drifted to Silas and Kaelith.

She couldn’t imagine how the two of them would behave as brother mates.

She would probably lose all her hair from stress.

A cold shiver ran down the lynx female’s spine, and she made a face as if she had tasted something sour.

’Better not.’

Unaware that the female was thinking about them, the panther and the hyena beast trotted behind Leontis.

Both were still shocked by Mirabelle’s exposed back.

At first, Kaelith had felt the urge to rush forward and somehow cover her — but he knew that would only earn him her displeasure.

Silas had analyzed instantly what Mirabelle intended with it.

Still, he was irritated by the looks of the unbound males staring after her. More than one he answered with a low hiss.

Then he simply released his aura — careful not to disturb any children or females.

Very quickly, the admiring stares disappeared.

At the outer wall, a group of soldiers had joined them. All beastmen of at least the third cultivation level.

Even though Leontis, Silas, and Kaelith were strong, they did not want to take any risks.

The heir of Luchsenstein was too valuable to be careless.

They now followed the two beast nobles and made an effort not to stare at their young duchess.

All of them could sense how tense the two males ahead of them were — and none of them wanted to draw their attention.

In the meantime, Mirabelle’s thoughts had drifted further.

She tried to imagine a life with multiple partners, because by now it was clear to her that sooner or later, it would be expected of her.

And since she didn’t know many beastmen, the men in her thoughts were Silas and Kaelith.

In the meantime, Mirabelle’s thoughts had drifted further.

She tried to imagine a life with multiple partners. By now, it was clear to her that sooner or later, it would be expected of her.

And since she didn’t know many beastmen, the men in her thoughts were Silas and Kaelith.

Mirabelle narrowed her eyes slightly.

’Okay... purely hypothetical.’

She imagined living with several men.

A shared bedroom?

’No. Absolutely not.’

The thought alone made her inwardly flinch.

’Or... multiple bedrooms? Some kind of rotation system?’

She blinked.

’What am I, a schedule?’

Her nose wrinkled.

How was that supposed to work?

Did they talk about it?

Were there rules?

Or... did everything just happen instinctively?

Her gaze drifted unconsciously toward Silas and Kaelith.

’They’d kill each other within three days.’

In her imagination, Kaelith casually grabbed a crispy piece of meat from Silas’ plate to hand it to her—

—and the next second, Silas grabbed Kaelith and threw him out the window.

’...Okay. Maybe two days.’

The problem was that she couldn’t imagine Silas accepting another beastman at his side at all.

Of course, men grew up knowing they would share a female.

But the stronger a beastman was, the more possessive he became.

’Maybe it would be better to choose someone like Kaelith as a first mate.’

Despite his somewhat aloof nature, he seemed like someone who could adjust.

Yes, he was quick-tempered and impulsive.

But there was also something about him that made it easy to forgive his missteps.

Suddenly, Silas’ fur bristled.

For a brief moment, it felt as if dark clouds were gathering above him.