“Madam, surely that’s…!”
Hayley, with a startled expression, hurriedly asked.
“Yes, it’s the method for the princess to return to being human. It’s mentioned in ancient texts, so I can’t be 100% certain, but the way to humanize her is through pheromone regulation.”
“Woof?”
Her vague explanation made her nose wrinkle in confusion.
“Young lady, do you know how to turn a beast into a human or vice versa?”
The lady looked at me and asked, and I recalled the long-forgotten knowledge of beast transformation that I learned ages ago.
“Hmm….”
By emitting their own unique pheromones, they become beasts; by withdrawing pheromones, they turn back into humans. But this process is instinctively learned as they grow.
Of course, this is probably another unrealistic setting by the author.
Phew…
Nevertheless, I just nodded weakly because I knew it.
The lady continued speaking after seeing my response.
“Currently, the princess is still in her beast form. That means she is unable to control her pheromones and keeps emitting them. So, a beast with very strong pheromones needs to be near her and forcibly inject her body with her own pheromones. It’s like a strong stream of water blocking the outflow from a hole in a damaged pipe.”
“Woof… Woof?”
“I see.”
Hayley nodded as if she understood, tapping her cheek. Then she smoothed her chest.
“Then, this problem is solved.”
“Woof?”
“The strongest pheromones on the continent are held by the Lycan family, aren’t they? Since Duke Lycan is absent, we should start practicing pheromone control with Lord Alekhiaid.”
“Woof…?”
“Young lady. You were worried for nothing. Madam, thank you very much.”
However, Lady Creme Sud’s face was not bright.
As her nanny finished speaking, she gently shook her head.
“I thought so too… but it’s strange that the Lycan family’s pheromones are still resonating in this Duke’s estate, and he’s still in his small dog form.”
“Woof?”
“Probably, because you grew up with Lycan pheromones since childhood, your immunity has become strong.”
At that, Hayley’s expression slowly hardened.
“So, you’re saying we need to find a beast with pheromones stronger than the Lycan family? Madam Creme Sud, such a beast doesn’t exist.”
Hayley said firmly, wrapping her arms around me.
“As you know, the current Lycan family has pheromones even stronger than those of royalty.”
“…”
“Moreover, even if such a beast existed, it hasn’t been publicly known so far, so it must be hiding for some reason. It would take time to find.”
“That’s true. But the method I know ends here.”
When Lady’s words finished, Hayley sighed with a worried look.
She probably believed that no beast with stronger pheromones than Lycan exists in this world.
But it does.
“Woof.”
It exists.
There is a beast that surpasses the powerful and noble pheromones of the Lycan family.
A man with hair as black as the night sky and eyes redder than blood— the protagonist of this world.
Lavian.
‘Is that the one I need to find?’
But where is he? He’s probably soWoofhere, cruelly discarded and wandering around.
“…Woof.”
Suddenly, the image of Lavian on the novel cover comes to mind.
On a battlefield where all kinds of monsters had fallen, he was carrying a massive crescent moon sword on his left shoulder.
His hair, turned a gentle sunset hue, was as if dipped in the glow of dusk, looking like it was stained with blood.
He was proving that he was the strongest and most superior in this world, yet somehow, he looked unbearably lonely.
‘Ban…’
Where are you now?
~~* * *~~
KWAANG-!!!
A loud, thunderous noise echoed in the dark basement.
“Grrr…”
Bang-!!
Again.
Bang-!!
The two guards, exhausted by the unbearable noise, finally approached the cage.
Soon, they viciously shoved a metal rod into the noisy cage they held in their hands.
That scene was quite brutal.
“Hey, man! Shut up!!”
“If you’re a captured slave, be quiet!”
Weary from working tirelessly since dawn, the two took out their frustrations on the helpless creature.
But it didn’t seem like the creature was going down easily.
It revealed fangs about the size of a grown man’s arm and swiftly tried to bite the metal rod!
And as a terrifying roar echoed through the dark basement, the two guards hesitated and stepped back.
“…That thing… Isn’t it supposed to be restrained with a cursed shackle?”
“The cage is also under a seventh-circle spell. Yet it’s trembling like that?”
“…Some kind of jaguar beast, huh.”
The two guards, exchanging words, watched as the creature growled again, baring its teeth.
Jaguar beast….
Of course, if you saw it in the dark, that creature did resemble a jaguar quite a bit.
Its sleek body was covered in black fur, its eyes sharply slit, and its claws and fangs were terrifyingly suited for hunting.
But, no, that was not a jaguar beast.
It was, in fact, a lion beast—the only black lion in the continent.
Of course, lions weren’t uncommon. The lustful lion emperor spread his seed everywhere.
But they were fundamentally gold-colored.
There was a difference: the more noble the lineage, the more radiant the golden hue; the lower the birth, the more dull and worthless the color. But aside from him, they were basically gold lions.
The black lion is a beast that has never been born in history, so the guards didn’t know his true identity.
Of course, he had a mane, but they cut it off to put a restraining shackle around his neck.
Perhaps by magic, it was cut without leaving a mark, so it was perfectly clean.
And unless the shackle is removed forever, he won’t grow his mane back.
“Hey, when they cut it, it looks just like a female.”
“Even the mighty black lion is ultimately a cat, huh?”
“From now on, you’ll live like a big cat, Lord Black Lion.”
Thinking of the magicians joking while cutting his mane made rage swell up inside me.
Furious, he raised a front paw the size of a child’s head and struck the iron bars.
When another massive tremor shook the cage again, the two guards flinched and shrank back.
“…Hey, isn’t it kind of scary?”
“Yeah. I wonder what kind of guy he is.”
“I want to see what he looks like when he’s human.”
They cautiously took a step or two closer to the cage, shivering with fear.
Then, as they knelt slightly and observed him carefully, they gasped.
“Hey, this guy’s covered in wounds?”
“But he’s moving so well…?”
“Rrrr….”
In that instant, a flash of sharp, blazing eyes turned toward the two men. A fierce red flame flickered within his large pupils, sending a shiver down their spines.
Terrified, the two guards fell silent.
They decided not to mention this dark creature anymore.
This was the first beast like this in over ten years of working at the beast trading post.
They instinctively felt that if they kept observing, they might not survive.
“…”
Watching their reactions, Ban once again violently struck his body.
He was determined to escape from this cage.
Though he was imprisoned in a slave market, having lived a life far worse than others, overcoming this hardship was easier than eating cold soup.
For example, Ban had once been captured by Titan tribes. But he escaped from their enormous iron prison, which everyone thought no one could break out of, and slaughtered them all.
He proved his brutality by turning giants made of nothing but rocks into dust, leaving not even a bone behind.
He also challenged a blue dragon sleeping several kilometers below the ocean. Of course, the dragon—who considered humans mere insects—swallowed him whole the moment it saw him. But naturally, Ban didn’t go down easily.
Calmly, he thought of a way to escape inside the dragon’s mouth as it breathed fire, and ultimately, after breaking its teeth, he snapped its wing stem, rendering it unable to fly again.
To add one more feat, he fought against a pirate fleet to secure a trade route. He had to eliminate the pirates obstructing him.
The pirates, whose power rivaled that of a kingdom, were so vicious and cold that no one dared to attack them. But Ban casually visited their stronghold as if on a stroll and wiped them all out without leaving a trace.
No one could be stronger than Ban. He was unimaginably ruthless and cold.
So what does it matter if he’s just locked in a cage?
“…”
Well, if I had to be precise about the ‘matter.’
‘Zeros…’
Prince Zeros, the fourth prince, whose golden hair outshines even the royal sun and whose eyes are as blue as the ocean— perfect and flawless.
It’s because he betrayed me, the one who risked my life to place him on the throne.
‘You damn…’
Ban cursed inwardly.
He had trusted him his whole life, loyal to his brother and friend, and regarded him as his lord. And yet, the result was… murder?
‘Ban, I’m really glad you’re here.’
The image of a handsome, kind-looking man with blue eyes and a gentle smile flashed in his mind.
He had told me that he was a friend, a younger brother, an indispensable person.
But now, that all was a lie. It was so disappointing that a sneer escaped. Soon, the red eyes inside the cage flickered like flames.
Grace threefold. Revenge squared.
The one who betrayed him would surely pay with his neck and limbs torn apart.
It didn’t matter who the target was.
Ban was someone who could trample demons and fiercely climb up through evil spirits even if he fell into hell.
Of course, all of this had been done solely for Zeros, to see him crowned emperor.
But once he left this place, everything would change. The sharp black sword he had honed until now would turn toward the very Zeros he had served so loyally.
“…Grrr!!”
Angry roars echoed from the darkness.
~~* * *~~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released on July, 18.
See you then!!
