“But for that, someone has to have actually studied the Lupus…”

He stretched and let out a deep sigh. Ever since Shed’s first heat, he had had his subordinates dig up any material they could find, but nothing promising had turned up. After all, no one had ever bothered to study the Lupus, creatures that had been treated as slaves for so long.

And who would openly research those bestial instincts, which were considered taboo by all?

‘Heat’ was a particularly difficult subject to study. Even among the Lupus themselves, discussing or sharing opinions about their heats was considered shameful.

There were almost no accessible case studies, and surveys or interviews were out of the question.

“They say it usually manifests in the late teens and comes at regular intervals every month or two…”

Eclace skimmed through the material on heat cycles. Heat typically manifested itself between the ages of sixteen and nineteen. Cases of it emerging in someone’s twenties were virtually unheard of, aside from the rarest of exceptions.

‘Shed Lester isn’t a teenager anymore—there’s no way that could have been his first heat…’

Shed was already in his mid-twenties. No matter which cases he looked at, none of them seemed to apply to Shed.

‘So up until now, he’s either been one of those rare cases where the heat is so faint as to be barely noticeable… or I thought he was just… impotent…’

Pressing his fingertips to his throbbing temple, Eclace turned the page of the book he’d been reading.

[There are various symptoms during heat. The most notable is that, due to the influence of pheromones, the body’s natural scent intensifies, and it draws in the opposite s*x…]

He read through the text, which was written sloppily, with minimal interest until his eyes were caught by a certain chapter.

[Bonded Imprint]

To anyone other than Lupus himself, the term was entirely unfamiliar. He’d always thought that Lupus used the word ‘mate’ in an unusual way. But was there a deeper connection to their heat cycles?

Eclace continued reading.

‘It’s not just about marriage in the traditional sense; it’s also about biological and physical imprints.’

According to the records, under certain circumstances, lupus would form a lifelong bond with a partner.

They regarded their partner as incredibly precious — someone they believed they could not live without.

Having a partner stabilized their mood and subdued their more savage urges.

[In extreme circumstances, a mate gives them the strength to endure. Since a mate’s presence brings stability to their heat, early marriage is favored among the Lupus.]

‘…Their heat can actually be stabilized?’

As he continued reading, Eclace’s eyes narrowed. Up until now, he had only ever heard of incidents and disasters caused by heat. Because of this, he had always assumed that heat was entirely negative — just another troublesome issue. However, upon further consideration, he realized that the number of incidents caused by Lupus in heat was actually quite low, given how common it was.

If that many Lupus were experiencing heats every month or two, the resulting problems should have been far more frequent than they were.

‘So that’s why they marry so early…?’

Eclace pored over this new information with genuine interest. Until now, he’d never considered why people with lupus tended to marry young.

It demonstrated how little ordinary people paid attention to the Lupus. Yet almost everyone he knew with lupus, aside from Shed, was already married.

Sir Carlisle was no exception. He’d had a wife even before he became a knight.

‘I always thought it was just because Lupus died young…’

They were constantly being sent off to war, forced labor, or monster hunts—always living with death hanging over their heads.

He’d assumed they rushed into marriage simply to start a family before it was too late. But apparently, that wasn’t the only reason.

[The younger a Lupus is when they imprint on a mate, the stronger the binding force of that imprint. This is why early marriages are so common among the Lupus.]

‘Is it a matter of vitality, then?’

Some records even stated that, in certain Lupus villages, they deliberately encouraged young Lupus to form bonded imprints, all for the sake of stabilizing their heats.

Eclace skimmed through the text, idly chasing after such trivial thoughts.

[The conditions for a bonded imprint are as follows: Firstly, it must occur during the mating season. Secondly, there must be a deep emotional connection with the intended partner. Thirdly, one must drink the other’s blood.]

Eclace’s eyes stopped, and his brow furrowed as he read the next line.

‘Drink blood?’

It was hardly an appealing method.

‘And what about this vague requirement for a deep emotional connection?’

As the research was incomplete, the criteria for imprinting were never clearly defined. Consequently, countless married couples failed to form a true imprint bond.

Those who could not imprint were often the ones who caused trouble for society. In a world where marriage could no longer be based solely on love, instinct became a complicated and dangerous thing to manage.

As he read on, Eclace slowed, his eyes lingering on a passage describing the disadvantages of a bonded imprint.

[However, if a partner were to die, a lupus’s heat could disappear entirely — along with their will to live. In the most extreme cases, they might even choose to end their own life. Yet, if they managed to endure the loss, they could go on to live as anyone else would, free from heats altogether. Some slave owners exploited this by forcing a lupus into a bonded imprint, only to kill their partner afterwards.]

Eclas reread the same paragraph.

“Heat disappears…?”

The hands and eyes that had been moving so busily froze in place.

He knew of at least one Lupus who, as far as he could tell, had no heat at all — or at least he had always believed that to be the case: Shed Lester.

A Lupus who hadn’t gone into heat for years. And yet, who had recently experienced a heat unlike any before.

“…No way…”

Eclace twisted his lips in a wry smile and shook his head.

“Father, there’s a strange smell coming from the box.”

Eclace recalled a memory from long ago. The day he had bought the slave Shed Lupus and had him loaded onto the ship.

He could remember the metallic scent of blood wafting from the crate that Shed had been locked in. Mixed in with it was a thick, hot, heavy fragrance.

‘Did they pack musk into that crate? Or maybe they poured perfume in to cover the blood?’

He’d thought about it briefly, but at the time, it hadn’t seemed important enough to dwell on.

But what if Shed Lupus had actually gone into heat that day? And what if he’d spent all this time believing his mate was dead?

Eclace set the book down with a quiet thump and let out a dry laugh.

“This is turning into quite the gamble…”

His gaze drifted to the scales resting on the desk as he murmured to himself.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

“Y-Your Grace!”

The hurried, uneven sound of running feet was followed by a stammering voice that called out to Shed.

When Shed stopped and turned, he saw Dietrich bent over, gasping for breath, sweat beading across his forehead. For someone who loathed physical exertion, it was unlike Dietrich to come running this way.

“What is it, High Priest Dietrich?”

“We—we’ve found it! We’ve found where the heretic has been hiding!”

Dietrich’s eyes gleamed with an uncharacteristic, fervent excitement.

“You’ve found it?”

“Y-Yes. It seems he must have been badly injured himself, so he’s been lying low. But last week, there was another victim. I tracked the trail and…”

He launched into a rapid, stammering explanation of how he had managed to achieve this great discovery. Perhaps from excitement, his words stumbled even more than usual.

“I-I noticed a pattern. The heretic seems to come down to hunt every fortnight at the very least. If we set the trap before he strikes again, w-we can catch him.”

With a voice charged with conviction, Dietrich clenched his fist. His expression was oddly bright—childlike, as if thrilled by the promise of some grand adventure.

Shed lowered his lashes briefly, then gave a short nod.

Ever since arriving in Faradel, rooting out the heretic had been his greatest purpose.

‘Once the heretic is dealt with, Liana will finally be able to feel safe.’

The thought of her stirred within him again, sharp and insistent against his chest. She never showed it outright, but he knew—she carried her fear of the heretic in silence.

But since she had already been attacked by him once, she was surely uneasy.

“When do you expect it will happen?”

“W-Well, since I tracked the trail from the most recent victim, it should be within ten days to a fortnight at most.”

“Ten days to two weeks… that would put it right after the Holy Festival.”

Shed weighed the timing. In the end, the festival would be held, just as Giselle had insisted. It was an exhausting prospect. Once the festival was over, the hunt for the heretic would begin almost immediately.

“With the festival underway, will it not strain our preparations for the hunt?”

Shed recalled the memory of crossing blades with the heretic. At the time, he had managed to overwhelm him by sheer force, but he had no illusions. The heretic hadn’t been idle since then. If anything, his silence until now was what troubled him most.

The heretic, too, would have his strategies. And for him, there was no such thing as an honorable fight. He would wield unpredictable dark magic with every trick and vile deception at his disposal.

“D-Don’t worry. The festival will be overseen by High Priestess Giselle Marlheine, and the hunt… the hunt will be my responsibility.”

“Then, during the hunt, High Priestess Giselle will…”

“Hi-High Priestess Giselle will remain behind to guard Faradel Castle. If we leave it undefended, the heretic might seize the chance to strike while we’re away.”

“Wouldn’t leaving the protective wards and the ordinary priests be enough?”

“St-Still, abandoning such a great city without even a single high priest in residence… And, w-we can’t perfectly predict how the heretic might move. It’s best to place safety above all else.”

Dietrich scratched his head awkwardly.

Shed hesitated for a moment, then gave a firm nod. Yes. With Giselle Marlheine present, he could rest easier. Liana would also be staying in Faradel.

“We’ll settle the details in tomorrow’s morning council.”

At that, Dietrich adjusted his spectacles and gave a sharp nod.