“…M-Mother…?”
Ian looked down at Fenrex’s reaction.
Seemingly unaware of Ian’s gaze, Fenrex hurriedly ran to Bernaba and clung to him.
“G-Give me the potion, quickly! I’ll drink it right now!”
“Little wolf?”
“Hurry! If I drink it, Mother won’t have to come here! Tell her to leave! I’ll drink it—”
“Fenrex.”
At that moment, a gentle yet firm voice rang out.
Fenrex, still clinging to Bernaba, froze completely.
When he turned his head, a woman stood beside him.
‘The queen?’
The sharp sound of high heels echoed through the quiet hallway. A woman with short blonde hair, slicked back, looked down at Fenrex.
“Do you not intend to greet your mother?”
“M-Mother… H-Have you been well?”
Fenrex trembled as he forced a smile.
“You brat!”
The woman grabbed Fenrex by the nape and started smacking his backside with her palm.
“Not only did you run away from home, but you also imprinted on someone?! And you didn’t even send a single message to your mother?! How is it that you act exactly like your father?! Didn’t I tell you to grow up?!”
“Aagh! Mom! I was wrong! Mom!”
The sound of her scolding was just as loud as the smacks landing on him.
“Uncle…”
Shocked, Rose clung to Ian’s neck.
“Rose. Stay with Hamil—no, Fred, for now.”
Rose looked up at Ian.
Seeing her gaze, as if asking why she couldn’t stay, Ian kissed her forehead.
“I need to talk with Fenrex’s mother. Play with Fred, and I’ll come to get you later.”
Rose hesitated for a moment before nodding. Ian then set her down on the floor.
“Go on now.”
“My lady, let’s go together.”
Glancing between Fenrex and Ian, Rose took Fred’s hand.
As Fred and Rose went up the stairs, Ian turned back to the queen of the Beastfolk Kingdom, who seemed determined to give Fenrex a proper punishment.
“Your Majesty, perhaps a conversation should come first?”
The woman let out a deep breath and stopped the spanking.
Sweeping back a few strands of hair that had fallen out of place while disciplining her son, she spoke.
“I’ve shown an unsightly side of myself without even greeting you properly.”
After tossing aside her sobbing son, she extended her hand to Ian.
“Nice to meet you. I am Kura, the Queen of the Beastfolk Kingdom.”
“Nice to meet you. I am Ian Loenbaum. And this is—”
Just as Ian was about to introduce Bernaba after shaking hands briefly with Kura, she shook her head.
“I am aware. I greet the dragon who governs the balance of the world.”
Unlike how she had shaken hands with Ian, Kura knelt on both knees and bowed deeply.
“Very well. Rise.”
Bernaba waved his hand, as if receiving such treatment was only natural.
Kura smiled gently and stood up. Then, looking at Ian, she spoke.
“My child has caused trouble. I heard about the imprinting too late.”
“The King of the Beastfolk should have known, though.”
“That fool…”
Kura ground her teeth as if recalling her husband.
Then, as if it were of no importance, she smiled again.
“That doesn’t matter right now. Could you explain the imprinting removal in detail?”
Ian nodded.
“Please, this way.”
He led them to the drawing room.
It seemed Sebastian had already prepared for their arrival, as the table was set with light refreshments and tea.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
It was almost hard to believe that this was the same woman who had been spanking her son just moments ago—every movement of Kura’s was graceful.
While Ian poured tea, Fenrex, still suffering from his punishment, couldn’t decide whether to sit or stand, sniffling all the while.
However, neither Ian nor Bernaba paid him any attention.
Children learn through discipline—especially ones who cause such a huge mess.
“Sniff… sniff… sniff…”
“Son, you’re being noisy.”
At Kura’s elegant remark, Fenrex immediately held his breath.
Ian took a sip of his tea before speaking.
“First of all, I apologize for making you come such a long way.”
As Ian set the tone, Kura placed her teacup down, clasped her hands, and rested them on her lap.
Her gesture made it clear—Go on, explain.
So Ian continued.
“I assume you’ve heard some of the details, so I’ll get straight to the point. We have a potion that can break the imprint, and we intend to use it on Prince Fenrex.”
Kura gazed at her son, who had grown noticeably taller since she last saw him.
The King of the Beastfolk, Napharoa, was a slacker.
He constantly looked for ways to avoid work, often running away to the palace just to escape his duties.
But that didn’t mean he was incompetent.
If he were, how could he have surpassed all his siblings to claim the throne?
Napharoa simply had a playful nature and was full of tricks.
Because of this, Kura, as his wife, was burdened with an overwhelming workload.
She had to handle all the affairs he neglected, monitor the political landscape of the surrounding kingdoms and empires, and keep an eye on the nobles who were always scheming to gain leverage over the king.
With days that felt as short as an hour, she had been too busy to even realize that Fenrex had disappeared.
Since her son was always out playing late into the night, she had assumed he was simply off somewhere having fun again.
Above all, the royal family of the Beastfolk Kingdom never raised their children weakly.
Tradition dictated that the strongest wolf would inherit the throne.
Once a child passed their most vulnerable first year of life, they were no longer sheltered. No bodyguards were assigned to them.
Whether they ran through the mountains or dove into the sea, they were left to their own devices.
It was their destiny to become strong. If they failed to survive, it was simply nature taking its course—a sign that the child was too weak to live.
Amidst her busy days managing the kingdom, Kura was blindsided when Napharoa returned from the capital, chuckling.
“Our son is amazing! He imprinted at five years old! And with the empire’s princess, no less! We’ll have her as our daughter-in-law.”
Unlike her thoughtless husband, Kura felt as if lightning had struck.
Imprinting at five? And with an imperial princess?
Imprinting wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
After grabbing her husband by the collar and shaking him for details, Kura finally lost her patience.
She didn’t hold back—she gave him a thorough beating.
But no matter how furious she was, she couldn’t undo what had already happened.
The only relief was that the princess had accepted her youngest son.
If she hadn’t, Kura might have lost her child in the most ridiculous way possible.
Yet her son, oblivious to his mother’s concerns, didn’t send a single message—perhaps too happy with his imprinting partner.
Just as her anxiety reached its peak, she finally received news from the duke’s residence where her son was staying.
They intended to break the imprint.
When Napharoa volunteered to go, Kura warned him that if he left the palace, she would divorce him.
Instead, she gathered an envoy and set off for the duke’s territory in the empire.
Her mind was a whirlwind the entire journey.
She worried for her son, but political concerns weighed heavily as well.
To the Beastfolk, imprinting was a divine gift exclusive to the wolf clans—especially the royal lineage.
If a potion to break the imprint became widely available, it would strip the wolves of their unique power.
This could shake the very foundation of the Beastfolk Kingdom’s monarchy.
So before anything else, she had to confirm the truth about this potion.
“Duke, imprinting is a power exclusive to the royal wolves of the Beastfolk. It can happen only once in a lifetime and is supposed to be irreversible. So tell me—where did you obtain this potion?”
Kura’s gaze was icy.
Before Ian could answer, Bernaba spoke first.
“I procured it.”
Kura turned to him, her expression stunned.
“Breaking an imprint disrupts the balance—”
“Do I really need to explain where I got it?”
Bernaba’s voice was calm, but Kura’s face instantly paled.
“Cough!”
She suddenly coughed up blood, her body staggering.
“Mother!”
“Queen Kura?!”
As tension filled the room, Ian shot a glance at Bernaba.
But the dragon only held his teacup in his short hands, as if he had done nothing at all.
“What did you just do?”
Bernaba shrugged.
‘He definitely did something…’
As Ian eyed Bernaba suspiciously, Kura wiped the blood from her lips with a handkerchief and spoke.
“…I will not question the existence of the potion. However, if such a thing exists, it threatens the authority of the royal family—”
“There’s no need to worry about that. This potion is the only one in this world, and it can never be obtained again.”
Bernaba’s firm declaration eased Kura’s expression slightly.
“Will it harm my child in any way?”
“It will only remove the imprint. Nothing else.”
As he answered, Bernaba glanced at Fenrex’s backside with an unimpressed look.
His expression seemed to say, You claim to care, yet you spanked him that hard?
“…Can you swear to that?”
“How insolent.”
At Bernaba’s words, Kura’s face darkened, and her body trembled with suppressed fury.
Sensing the rising tension, Ian quickly stepped in to mediate.
“Lord Bernaba, let’s stop here. If anything happens to the queen right now, all my plans will fall apart.”
Bernaba scoffed and turned his head away.
Ian then turned to Kura, who had stopped trembling and now looked much calmer.
“Your Majesty, I am also raising a child. I would never save my own by taking another’s life.”
“…But…”
“I have already confirmed with Lord Bernaba that the potion will not harm the child. So please, don’t worry.”
At Ian’s words, Kura bit her lip and looked at her youngest son, who gazed back at her with teary eyes.
Fenrex’s eyes were filled with reluctance—he did not want the imprint to be broken.
Sensing Kura’s hesitation, Ian continued.
“I understand that imprinting is a sacred power and a blessing among the Beastfolk. But from a human perspective, it can sometimes be a form of violence.”
“…I know.”
Even in the Beastfolk Kingdom, there were instances where an imprinted partner rejected the bond.
Sometimes, persuasion from their family led them to accept it. But there were also tragic cases where they despised it so much that they took their own lives.
In fact, during Napharoa’s generation, such incidents had been frequent.
Kura had long understood that, to some, imprinting could feel like coercion.
“If you agree, we will proceed immediately.”
As Kura nodded, Ian turned to Bernaba.
With a snap of Bernaba’s fingers, Fenrex suddenly collapsed.
“Fenrex?”
Kura hurriedly caught her falling child and called his name in alarm.
Ian reassured her.
“He’s just asleep. He shouldn’t hear what we’re about to discuss.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Once the imprint is broken, I want to send Fenrex back to the Beastfolk Kingdom.”
Kura hesitated.
One of her main reasons for coming here was to investigate the potion, but she had also intended to take her son back.
So she couldn’t understand why the duke was treating something so obvious as a secret matter.
Ian pointed at Fenrex.
“The prince will most likely refuse to leave.”
“Ah.”
Kura finally understood.
Breaking the imprint wouldn’t erase his memories.
Still, she couldn’t help but ask.
“But is there a reason he can’t stay in the duchy? Why are you insisting on sending him back, even if he doesn’t want to go?”
Though she understood his reasoning, she couldn’t help but feel slightly offended.
Fenrex may have imprinted on Rose against her will, but wolves devoted themselves wholeheartedly to their imprints.
They were not a race that forced harm upon their partners.
Especially Fenrex—he was still so young that his love barely extended beyond holding hands.
It wasn’t as if the duchy lacked food or lodging.
Yet, they were already talking about sending him away the moment the imprint was broken.
‘What’s wrong with my child?’
Kura’s voice carried a hint of displeasure.
Ian replied calmly.
“We’re worried that he might imprint again. There is only one potion.”
Only one potion existed.
If Fenrex saw Rose again and imprinted once more, there would be no way to undo it.
“Ah.”
Kura finally understood.
“I already explained to Lord Bernaba—I have no intention of separating the two children forever. In a way, they’re childhood friends. I don’t want to take away their good memories.”
Ian’s expression remained calm.
“But given the circumstances, it would be best for them to stay apart for a while—until they’re both ready. I’ve heard that Beastfolk experience a second stage of growth, where they mature emotionally. Once he reaches that point, he won’t imprint so easily.”
“Wait a moment.”
Kura interrupted Ian with a bright smile.
“If imprinting is what worries you, then there’s a way to prevent it.”
