It had been planned that Leontis would take her to Rotwald.

Technically, Luchsenstein was also a duchy. However, the ancestors of Rotwald had been granted the honorary title High, giving them not only authority over their own territory, but also command over the three neighboring duchies.

That’s why they now had to travel half a day to get there.

Mirabelle was excited.

Not because of the ball — she expected it wouldn’t be much different from modern events.

No, she was excited because she would be riding Leontis in his beast form.

Beastmen had always carried their partners and children. Some noble beastwomen even had special saddles or palanquins made, fitted to a beast’s animal form.

But Mirabelle wanted to experience what it was like to ride on the back of a bear.

Her heart pounded up to her throat with anticipation.

So the moment she stepped outside, her gaze searched for Leontis.

He was already transformed.

But the bear she saw...

was not the kind of bear she had expected.

He was massive. Easily over three meters tall. And that was on all fours.

She stared in awe, taking it in.

She was so absorbed that she didn’t notice the panther and the hyena sitting a short distance away in their animal forms — each carrying something like a pack with their clothes strapped to their backs.

The moment Mirabelle stepped out into the light, Silas lost his ability to speak.

Just moments ago, he and Kaelith had been exchanging sharp remarks.

Now, his mind was blank.

All he saw... was the lynx female.

Her eyes glowed like honey in the light. Golden decorative lines framed them, giving her face an almost unreal beauty.

Her usually wild, untamed hair curled into corkscrew spirals over her back and shoulders.

Her shoulders!

His mouth went dry.

’Why aren’t her shoulders covered?’

Kaelith stared at Mirabelle and the dress she wore.

It was made of something like snakeskin, shimmering in different shades of blue.

But that was where anything familiar ended.

He had never seen a garment like it.

To him, she looked like a being from another world.

So beautiful. So delicate.

For a moment, he was almost afraid to blink — worried she might disappear.

As the lynx female walked down the wide staircase, the sway of her hips made the fabric move with each step in a way that was... distracting.

Drool slipped from Kaelith’s slightly open mouth and landed on Silas’ paw.

That snapped the panther out of whatever trance he had just been in.

Disgusted, he hissed — and then smacked the hyena across the head with his paw.

BONK.

Kaelith’s legs weren’t prepared for the sudden attack and buckled beneath him.

Flat as a pancake, he hit the ground.

His eyes shot up, glaring furiously at the panther.

"Was that really necessary?" he grumbled, pushing himself back up.

Then he shot a quick glance toward Mirabelle. Checking if she had noticed anything.

But she was so focused on her father that nothing else seemed to reach her.

"Then stop drooling."

"As if you’re any better..." Kaelith shot back, still clearly looking for a fight.

"Wasn’t yesterday’s demonstration enough for you?" Silas narrowed his eyes.

"Pah. A cheap sneak attack. Without that, it wouldn’t have worked." Kaelith’s pride was still bruised.

A quiet, amused chuckle rumbled from Silas.

"A beast caught off guard is a dead beast. Are you really capable of protecting Lady Mirabelle?"

Kaelith growled.

Silas flicked his tail, his voice dropping slightly:

"Stop trying to mark territory that isn’t yours."

"Yours neither! Be glad I can’t use my ability here — otherwise, you wouldn’t be talking like that."

The panther beast fell silent.

Not because he was intimidated.

But the voice of his ancestors whispered to him that the hyena was not just a fourth-rank cultivator. He had heard the rumors. He hadn’t wanted to believe them.

But every story had a true origin.

Mirabelle noticed none of it.

Not because her senses were lacking. In fact, they were sharper than those of most females.

But her modern mind was overwhelmed by all the impressions, automatically filtering out what it deemed unnecessary.

Leontis bent his knees and lowered himself as much as possible.

Even so, Vera had to lift Mirabelle — the dress made climbing impossible.

Comfortably, she settled onto the broad neck of the bear beast.

She had to keep both legs to one side, but she shifted slightly forward, bending one leg in front of her to steady herself. Thankfully, the dress allowed enough freedom for that.

The bear’s fur was soft and fluffy against her skin.

Somehow, she had expected it to be rough.

"Hold on tight," Leontis said.

She grabbed firmly.

Her memories told her that beastmen were fast.

Leontis barely felt the pull on his fur.

Carefully, he rose, and Mirabelle adjusted her position once more until she sat securely.

"Okay."

Now that she was suddenly so high up, she looked around with excitement.

Her gaze fell on the hyena and the panther.

Both were significantly larger than the animals she knew from her world.

The hyena’s mane fell to one side, longer in a way that reminded her of Kaelith’s hair. In daylight, his eyes held a warm copper tone.

’He looks a bit silly... like that hyena from The Lion King.’

The thought made her smile.

And that smile sent sparks racing through Kaelith’s chest.

’She smiled at me!’

Meanwhile, Silas cast Leontis a quiet, envious glance.

He would have preferred to carry the lynx female himself.