The conversation he had with Clyne in the past suddenly flashed through his mind.

Is that lion bastard doing this on purpose, knowing that Clyne likes men? Since he’s a lion therianthrope who keeps multiple partners anyway, is he planning to keep Clyne, who likes men, by his side too?

That promiscuous lion bastard dares!

Hugrey was swallowing his anger and disgust while looking at Calcus.

As if he himself had nothing to do with being in heat.

As if he had completely forgotten the fact that he was a wolf therianthrope who goes into heat terribly for his imprinted target, to the point of being a threat to non-therianthrope partners.

In fact, the breeding habits of therianthropes all had different aspects. Each species had its own unique characteristics, and these uniquenesses often became their weaknesses.

Whether human or animal, the moment when they are most exposed to danger is when they breed.

If the uniqueness and weakness of wolf therianthropes was that they could only go into heat for their imprinted partner, lion therianthropes were the complete opposite.

To the extent that it could be said to be the exact opposite of wolves, lion therianthropes kept multiple partners at once.

Because of this unique breeding habit, even the emperor had several empresses and bore numerous heirs. As a result, the imperial family had been plagued by intense power struggles for generations, with only one surviving to inherit the throne while the rest were all purged.

Calcus’s current situation, hiding even his status as a prince and living confined in this Roizen, was the result of the power struggle stemming from the promiscuity of the lion therianthrope emperor. Of course, the lion therianthrope clan might not consider their way a weakness.

In any case, it was a completely opposite method from wolf therianthropes, where the next alpha is decided by clan consensus from among the heirs born to the wolf alpha and his single imprinted partner.

In fact, Hugrey, who automatically inherited the alpha position without clan consensus as the only heir of the previous alpha father, had never thought that the ecology of the lion therianthrope clan was promiscuous or disgusting until now.

Since he had no interest in other clans or families, he naturally had no prejudices or feelings about them.

However, if that lion therianthrope prince was coveting his Clyne Liden…

In an instant, the heat of lion therianthropes became a dirty and detestable behavior beyond compare.

It was a conclusion drawn by Hugrey, who considered it his own business rather than someone else’s because they were coveting what was his, ignoring individual differences completely.

Ignoring the fact that Clyne Liden himself, being male, couldn’t be applied terms like heat or breeding in the first place.

“Your Grace, please sit back over there and wait. I’ll prepare it quickly and bring it to you.”

Clyne tried to send him back to the sofa while preparing the flower petal tea.

‘Just me? Then, what about that lion bastard?’

Hugrey’s gaze naturally turned to Calcus. Calcus was looking at Hugrey with a slight smile, his back turned to Clyne.

That smile very clearly meant, ‘Clyne only told you to go.’

“As you wish, Your Grace.”

Outwardly, he answered so politely and softly that it was pleasant to the ear, so all Clyne could hear as he turned away was the sultry voice of the promiscuous lion cub pretending to be a small, cute kitten.

Damn lion cub!

“Clyne, I’ll get the cups.”

Calcus said, turning his eyes away from Hugrey whom he had been facing.

In an irritatingly gentle and soft voice and tone.

I see.

It was clear that Calcus had been showing only this side to Clyne all along. Hugrey’s fists were trembling, suppressing the urge to transform into a wolf right now and tear that lion cub to shreds at his artificial attitude.

Chloe was so preoccupied with thinking about how to drive the Duke out of the house that she didn’t even know if the tea was going into her nose or mouth.

The sun had already set, and being in the mountains, it was completely dark outside.

Of course, if Calcus guided him as suggested earlier, it wouldn’t be difficult for the Duke to go down the mountain path. Strangely enough, Calcus was a lucky person who had never encountered a wild beast even when traveling on mountain paths at night.

Well, the same was true for her.

Although her mother had earnestly warned her not to go out every night, it was strange that she had never been attacked by a wild beast while living in these mountains.

So when Calcus mentioned earlier about wild beasts appearing at night, she almost retorted, ‘What nonsense are you talking about?’

It was probably a lie to help her.

“Your Grace, I… I really think it would be too much for you to sleep in this house.”

Afraid that he might twist her words as trying to drive him out on a mountain path in the middle of the night, Clyne brought up the unfinished issue again with the biggest smile he could muster.

“What’s too much?”

The Duke put down his teacup and responded as if he really didn’t understand.

What’s too much? Everything is too much.

“The only empty bed is my mother’s, and you’re so big that you’ll be uncomfortable in that bed.”

“It’s fine.”

I’m not fine!

“It’s a small bed even for me. It will be very small for Your Grace.”

Calcus also started helping her to send the Duke away. But the Duke stared at Calcus and suddenly looked around the rooms.

“Tacan, which room do you use?”

“Ah! Calcus uses that one over there, bro…!”

Chloe stopped mid-sentence and closed her mouth.

The room Calcus was using was the room her brother used. As she was about to point to her brother’s room, she almost let the word ‘brother’ slip out.

Before, when she was telling the Duke about the memory of her mother and brother being attacked, she had almost blurted out the word ‘brother’ in her excitement without realizing it. At that moment, she didn’t realize her slip of the tongue, and only when she lay in bed that night did she finally realize her mistake and turn pale.

She had been relieved that the Duke hadn’t noticed and let it pass, but to make such a mistake again.

Pull yourself together and be careful! Chloe Liden!

“That room? I suppose that’s the room your younger sister used?”

Fortunately, this time too, because she had stopped mid-sentence, the Duke didn’t seem to notice her slip.

“Yes!”

“May I have a look?”

“Pardon?”

Chloe felt a chill down her spine.

In her brother’s room that Calcus was using, her brother’s belongings remained as they were. After her brother’s death, she had to go to the Duke’s mansion right away, so she didn’t have time to organize her brother’s things.

But she had already told the Duke that Calcus was using that room and that it was ‘Chloe’s’ room.

She couldn’t understand why the Duke wanted to see that room, but if he really opened it, it would be a big problem. Because it was full of her brother’s traces.

Moreover, after seeing the room her brother used, he might ask to see the room Chloe was using, like someone touring the house.

It would be an even bigger problem since her room was full of women’s clothes and belongings.