Volume 6 Chapter 37 Princess of Belandi Wolves
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”…Wait. I’m not a guard. Just calm down,” Klock said, raising both hands in a gesture of harmlessness, as if trying to coax a stray cat. His movements were deliberately unlike anything a jailer would do.
The girl’s wolf ears twitched at the sight. When he froze, her sharp gaze softened just slightly.
”—Could it be you’re an escapee? Will you get me out of here? If you can free me from this place, I shall reward you handsomely,” she declared, her long white hair swaying with each word.
Her voice rang clear despite her small stature. Unlike the fox girl from earlier, this prisoner seemed to be holding on to her willpower.
…’I’…? She just used the word like a queen addressing her court.
Klock’s foot stopped mid-step toward the cage. The way she spoke was unsettling. He frowned, noticing in the dim red light the claws gripping the bars—too long and sharp for a human’s. One careless swipe could slit a throat with ease.
”…What is it? Are you hesitating because you don’t know who I am?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. “I am Rosetta Beledia, Second Princess of the Forest of Belandi. Save me, and you will be hailed as a hero who rescued a princess. I promise you a great reward.”
A bead of cold sweat slid down Klock’s back. The girl wagged her tail like an eager wolf-beastkin, her dainty appearance clashing with her bold attitude.
Royalty? He had guessed she might be of high status, but—
Wait. Hadn’t the fox girl also claimed to be a princess?
If he hadn’t misheard, this would make the second royal behind bars. But what could bring people of such status to a place like this?
”…Right. If I find someone who can help, I’ll let them know,” Klock said, turning to leave.
”Wait! Wait, wait, WAIT!” Rosetta cried, pressing her face hard between the bars. Her expression was desperate now.
”All right, I’ll make you a better offer,” she insisted. “You’re human, aren’t you? Don’t you want to have your way with me?”
Klock blinked. “…What?”
”The right to touch this noble body—I’ll give it to you,” she rushed on. “I’ve been raised well, my skin is youthful and firm, my claws are kept clean every day, and I’ve never neglected my hair. They say there is no beauty in Belandi to match mine.”
The wolf princess spoke rapidly, listing her own virtues through the bars as if she could trade them for freedom.
”How about it, human? Don’t you want me? This country is full of women, but aren’t you tired of poor, shabby ones? Help me. I know humans are a mating-obsessed race. Don’t you want strong children? If you sire them with me, a wolfkin princess, you’d be a clan leader with guaranteed prosperity. Wolves fear neither cats nor demons.”
Her desperation was plain, but Klock took a step back. In the faint light, her hair was tangled and uneven, her body marked with burns, bruises, and cuts. There were traces of beauty there, but she looked unmistakably like someone who had been tortured.
No. Sympathy’s not the issue. The problem is I can’t trust her. She might attack me like the fox did. And royalty’s nothing but trouble.
Nobles and royals—no matter the situation—tended to keep their airs. This wolf princess already showed signs of that. In Klock’s experience, anyone who talked about their status in a crisis was trouble. He couldn’t risk it. He had neither the time nor the luxury to smooth-talk someone during an escape.
More than anything, he was short on time. The fox girl he’d angered could track him here at any moment.
”…Where are you going? Why? I’ve offered so much—why ignore me? Hey, don’t you dare! You’ve got a big one, right? Show it to me! There’s a naked princess here!”
Klock averted his gaze and walked toward the corridor he’d come from. Rosetta followed within the cage, keeping pace.
”Are you listening? Save me! I carry the pure blood of Duke Beledia! I’m a woman beyond reach—don’t you want me for yourself? Wouldn’t you like to boast about getting me pregnant, showing me off to other males?”
”You’re too damn noisy,” Klock muttered.
She clearly understood enough about males to know how to provoke them. But no man in his right mind would rescue a dangerous stranger in the middle of his own life-or-death situation.
”Why not? Wait! Look—just say you want me to pleasure you, I can do that through the bars. Let me at least—wait! Don’t ignore me!” she shrieked.
Klock kept his face turned away, ignoring her as she pounded the bars, making them groan.
When he glanced back, she was shaking her head wildly, tears and snot streaking her face.
”Aaahhh! Uuuhhh… ugh… huuuh…”
If they’re all like this in here, I’m screwed. He didn’t have the patience for it.
Is it the miasma? Or just too long in captivity? Either way, she’s unstable. Taking her would be asking for trouble.
”…I just want to go home… back to the forest…”
The wolf princess collapsed to her knees. Her cheeks were wet, her ears drooping flat. Her tail lay limp on the floor as she curled in on herself. The cage fell silent except for the sound of her sniffles.
”…Damn it,” Klock cursed under his breath.
He turned sharply, footsteps slapping against the floor, and stood before her cage. Brow deeply furrowed, he looked down at her small, hunched figure.
With a sigh, he reached through the bars and gripped her arm. The prison lock responded to his touch, yielding instantly.
Her skin was warm—human-warm—beneath his fingers as he pulled her up.
She stepped out of the cage with a soft pat of bare feet on the stone. Their eyes met—hers wide and blinking, as if she couldn’t believe it had been that easy. In another time, Klock might have laughed at the dumbfounded look.
”There. You’re free,” he said flatly, as if tossing coins to a beggar. The pity she had wrung from him left a bitter taste.
”…Thank you. You have my gratitude,” she murmured. Even now, her tone carried a trace of hauteur—likely more upbringing than arrogance.
Leaving her behind, Klock moved toward the corridor. He didn’t have the time to keep dealing with her. Bringing her along was an option, but nobles and royals were liabilities.
Huh?
A faint sensation brushed his skin—a breeze. It came from the passage he’d taken earlier.
She’s here.
He didn’t need supernatural senses. His instincts, honed from countless narrow escapes, screamed the truth. The fox princess was close, moving in silence. The darkness hid her, but Klock’s mind’s eye saw her clearly. Going back now would mean a direct confrontation.
Should’ve left sooner… He glanced at Rosetta. Can she even fight?
At this point, there was no choice.
That Beastkin seemed like a far too formidable opponent for Klock to face alone. He wanted to avoid a fight, but instead of cooperation, some strange misunderstanding had left them as enemies.
If possible, he wanted to settle things through words. But if it did come to a fight, he would need help.
”Hey, you—” Klock began, his tone cautious.
Could she fight?
Maybe she could lend a hand against that thing?
He tried to get the words out. In this world, a small frame didn’t mean weakness. Maybe, with the girl’s help, he could get through this.
But the words died in his throat. His vision swayed, everything tilting and blurring. It felt like a concussion—sudden and disorienting.
”—Don’t move. I’ll crush you,” the girl’s voice growled low behind him.
A jolt shot down his back. He choked—”Gah!”—and his breath stopped. Before he could turn, something yanked him off his feet, slamming him to the cold stone floor. The weight pressing down on him—warm, soft in places—could only belong to her.
It took him a moment to process it. In an instant, she had mounted him, pinning his arms and neck with unnerving strength. Against his throat, something sharp grazed his skin. Her breath fanned over him, and he realized what it was—her fangs, poised like a predator about to kill its prey.
”How dare you… How dare you humiliate me. The only man who has ever dared refuse my offer—besides Julius, son of the Captain of the Warrior—was you,” she hissed.
”H-Hey! What the hell are you doing? To the guy who just saved you—” Klock barked, straining against her grip.
”You didn’t save me willingly!” she shot back. “You shamed me. I begged you, and you tried to leave. You ignored the naked princess’s plea! I am the proud Wolfkin princess of Beledia. I cannot forgive a male who would disgrace me so.”
Her high-pitched accusation cut sharp in his ears. Her slightly long hair fell forward, brushing and tickling his neck and shoulders.
”I don’t care about your circumstances!” he snapped. “I saved you and this is how you repay me?!”
”This is not vengeance—it’s justice!” she declared. “Every word of a royal is politics. A princess’s body is politics. Every phrase is a scheme. Consider this a valuable lesson, human.”
Being lectured by someone so small was infuriating. Anger flared—he tried to push up, determined to show her he wasn’t to be trifled with. But the moment her fangs pressed harder against his skin, he froze.
From the corner of his eye, razor-sharp claws glinted. Against his throat, those fangs—made for tearing flesh—were unlike anything humans possessed. Her body and instincts screamed lethal capability.
This was bad.
She had called herself Wolfkin—a canine Beastkin specialized in combat and hunting. Famous for working in packs, yes, but individually among the strongest of all Beastkin.
”Alright! Fine, fine! I’m sorry, okay? Just calm down! I did get you out of that cell, didn’t I?” Klock said quickly.
”Do you think an insult to royalty can be erased with a mere apology?” she asked coldly.
Apparently, being rescued didn’t count for much in her book. Klock wanted to shout something crude, but he bit it back. This was not the time.
Her movements had been too smooth, too precise. She knew exactly how to control vital points, and her grip was unyielding. If he tried to shove her off now, she’d rip his throat open before he could blink.
This wasn’t impulse. This was practiced skill. The way she sank her fangs near his neck, the way her claws angled for his flesh—she had done this before, and more than once. Whatever her appearance suggested, this princess was no stranger to killing.
”Well? Have you resigned yourself?” she asked, voice cool and taunting. “Or did you think you could hide and slip away?”
A soft pat sounded.
From the sandstone floor, a slender foot covered in black fur stepped forward. Long black hair drifted in the air as he looked up. The curves above him were nothing like the diminutive wolf princess’s—full, elegant, bathed in the crimson light of the magic stone.
A Foxkin princess.
Had she followed the scent here? How had she crossed the Abyssal miasma unscathed? She had descended without the shield of water the others used.
They had been caught. It was exactly the situation Klock had dreaded. With only one corridor leading in and this chamber a dead end, escape was no longer an option.
”You—” the wolf princess began.
”—!” the fox princess reacted sharply.
It seemed neither had noticed the other’s presence until now. Both froze, eyes locking. The fox princess’s gaze widened, while the wolf princess still held her teeth at Klock’s neck.
Now he was trapped between them. One princess’s fangs dug into his throat, while the other—an unknown factor—blocked the only way out.
What the hell was this?
Weren’t princesses supposed to be demure, hiding behind their men, gentle and graceful?
Yet here they were—both princesses. Both had been saved by Klock. And both had turned their fangs on him. Refined ladies? Hardly. They were as feral as the lands they came from.
A stray thought crossed his mind—Beast Country was supposed to be a nation of Cat Beastkin.
The Beast Continent was united under the Empire of Il Rasiella, ruled by the Emperor of the Hundred Beasts. Normally, that would mean any princess of the Beast Continent would be a Cat Beastkin.
Yet before him now stood two foreign princesses, glaring at each other. Not the famed black-and-white cat princesses he knew of. So… where exactly were these Beastkin princesses from?
Notes:
• Il Rasiella – A region within the Beast Country, divided into areas each ruled by a local lord.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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