Chapter 1: The Male Successor of the Bestiel Family
Egon! You must return to the Nest immediately. Wilhelmina, the Duchess, is having complications during the Dire Wolf's delivery.
What does this mean all of a sudden? How could there be a problem in a bloodline that is completely immune to genetic diseases?
“Ella, I will return to the Nest at once.”
“Yes, Egon.”
Upon arriving at the Nest, I immediately entered the birthing room. The sticky heat brushed against my face. Then, the unpleasant scent of blood reverberated. My sister, who had always appeared full of vigor and strength, was pale from head to toe.
“Egon, come closer…”
I went to my sister's side. The Dire Wolf, who had been crouching beside her, yielded the spot. It was Las, Wilhelmina's partner who had relocated to the Nest five years ago.
That is to say, he is my brother-in-law. As members of the Bestiel family, we must perform interbreeding to survive. The monsters born through interbreeding will soon become the power of the Bestiel family. My sister, to protect the family and for her own survival, quickly mated with a monster as soon as she reached adulthood.
Our parents had passed away early, leaving no means to protect the duchy. Nevertheless, I thought it was better than humans, knowing that my sister had chosen a Dire Wolf as her partner, which loves only one partner for life.
“Grroar…”
Las stared at me with a sorrowful gaze. I could understand his words if I used my ability, but even without it, I could grasp the meaning. I stroked my brother-in-law's neck and sat beside my sister.
“My lord.”
“Do not call me that, Egon.”
“...Sister.”
“I will not survive this night.”
“Do not speak such weak words. You have always been strong.”
“It seems that was not the case until today.”
My sister reached out her hand to me. I took her hand. There was no warmth whatsoever.
“From tomorrow onward, the head of the Bestiel family will be Egon. There was never a time when a male was the head of the Bestiel family. However, our current situation is not very favorable.”
“Because only women can give birth to monsters and beasts and tame them, that is why. I am male, so that is impossible.”
“That is correct. But the problem is that more will arise. I will learn gradually. How complex this family is.”
Seeing my sister's composed expression, I felt pity for her. She had protected me and the family while enduring all sorts of opposition from those who coveted the duchy after our parents passed away early.
Even before coming of age, she was more intent on protecting herself than being protected by others. There was no romance with the usual peers in her life.
As soon as she became an adult, to protect me and the family, she underwent a temperament test and went to the Dire Wolf's habitat alone to mate with the most suitable Dire Wolf for her temperament, bringing Las as her partner and immediately beginning interbreeding.
At twenty-five, facing death. What else could this be but a cursed life?
“Still, I love this family. Therefore, I, Wilhelmina von Bestiel, wish to leave a will to my successor Egon von Bestiel.”
“It is prepared.”
“Now, Egon von Bestiel is the rightful owner of the Querencia Duchy and the head of the Bestiel family. I hope you will not abandon this territory and family. I am sorry for taking your freedom from you. You have always longed for a free life.”
“No. I will obey your orders. I will also love the family and territory that my sister loves.”
“Thank you. And my partner Las will become a single wolf when I die. That is, he will not be easy to see as a member of the Bestiel family. Las has the right to find a new partner. Respect that.”
“I will gladly do so. Then, what about the children?”
“The children… do as you wish.”
The Dire Wolves my sister gave birth to are a total of seven. She gave birth to three today, and the remaining four are not yet mature. After my sister dies, there will be no way to control the Dire Wolves.
Only the mother who gave birth has the right to control the monsters and beasts of her own bloodline. Because Las is a mature Dire Wolf who has been in deep empathy with my sister for a long time through her, but when my sister dies, there is no guarantee that the baby Dire Wolves will be friendly to humans.
My sister knew this fact better than anyone, so she is saying that even if I kill her children, she would accept it.
“Understood. Although we cannot stay together in the territory forever, we will protect them to become safe adults. We do not want the children to feel the anxiety we experienced.”
Bloodshot tears flowed down my sister's snow-white cheeks. It was a tear I had never seen even when our parents passed away.
“Thank you. The rest will be well taught by Ella, who is a tormentor. Finally… live happily. The things I thought were important turned out to be trivial compared to happiness. I was happy because of you and Las.”
*
The grief of losing my sister after the funeral had not yet sunk in. Rather, my head ached because of what lay ahead.
To have a male head of the Bestiel family. As my sister said, there had never been a male head. However, a male head was more like a regent who temporarily acted as head until the legitimate female successor became an adult.
“Ella, it seems the Bestiel family is over now. Is that okay?”
“Our family has been loyal to the Bestiel family for generations. I have no other thoughts.”
Ella frowned deeply and cleared her throat.
“But I cannot control monsters. Although I have innate taming ability due to my bloodline, it is insufficient to build an army. The control is not as complete as blood relations.”
“There is no way. After Wilhelmina, the Duchess, inherited the title of Duke, she read the documents left by her predecessors. And she also organized the documents to be passed to Egon. There must be a way in there.”
“For me, my sister?”
Hearing Ella's words, I immediately headed to the study where only Bestiel family members could enter. In the study, documents prepared for me were sealed with the family's wax seal.
When I touched my hand to break the seal, blood flowed from the tips of my fingers. I felt no pain.
“It is a magic seal.”
The seal absorbed my blood and verified my identity. Then, recognizing that I was of the Bestiel family bloodline, it naturally burned. The contents of the documents whose seals were removed were mainly about the blessings of the bloodline.
Blessing of Taming
The blessing that allows one to tame beings with the attributes of monsters and beasts.
It can be used without restrictions on directly born targets, and for others, the number of beings that can be used is limited according to the blessing grade.
The level of the monsters and beasts that can be tamed also varies according to the blessing grade.
Separately from the blessing grade, if the understanding level of the species is high, there are cases where the blessing can be applied to targets of higher entity levels.
This is the bloodline ability that allows us to understand why the Bestiel family is a representative family of beast tamers. It is a blessing that is maximized when used by female seedbeds, but even for males, if the grade of the blessing is high or the understanding of the interbreeding is high, it is a blessing that allows one to become a beast tamer through the Blessing of Taming.
Blessing of the Seedbed
One can become a seedbed that can give birth to monster and beast offspring.
It requires 'physical adaptation' to the interbreeding individual until the seed of the interbreeding individual can be fertilized.
'Physical adaptation' develops according to the species as mating with the entity of that species continues.
The type of species that can give birth to children is determined according to the innate temperament.
The level of the entity to which the blessing can be applied varies according to the grade of the blessing.
Even if the innate blessing grade is low, the grade of the blessing increases as one repeatedly gives birth to appropriate level entities.
Although I knew something about the content of the Blessing of the Seedbed, I did not know the detailed content. Because as a male, there was no meaning in knowing it.
Blessing Bestowal
'This is the first time I've seen this content.'
Blessing Bestowal
A male who cannot give birth can bestow a portion of the Blessing of the Seedbed power to another person to make them a seedbed. Blessing Bestowal can only be perfectly bestowed with mutual consent between the bestower and the recipient.
The temperament of the seedbed can be checked after the Blessing Bestowal. The blessing grade of the seedbed who received the blessing is usually formed low, but the fact that it is growable is the same.
I learned that it is possible to bestow blessings and felt puzzled. Then, why was there no male head? If I gather seedbeds through Blessing Bestowal and use monsters as soldiers, that would be the case?
This was also written in the document. Although it is not the definition of Blessing Bestowal, there was a problem that if Blessing Bestowal is performed, the person of the Bestiel family who originally had the blessing would not have control over the monsters born from the seedbed.
'In the end, if the seedbed wants, she can attack the bestower with monsters.'
The monsters born from the seedbed are ultimately the power of the seedbed. The Blessing Bestowal for my own and the family's protection could become poison. That is why there was no male head until now. Then, a thought crossed my mind. It was none other than the explanation of the Blessing of Taming.
“The Blessing of Taming can only be used for beings with the attributes of monsters and beasts. Then, is it not true that a seedbed who has completely physically adapted through mating with monsters and beasts has acquired the attributes of monsters and beasts?”
There was no explanation for this part anywhere in the document. My assumption might be wrong, but one does not know unless one tries. Even if it does not apply, one can prepare countermeasures later. Even if it is not complete control, it would be enough to prevent them from rebelling against me.
“Now, I just need to find a suitable person for the seedbed.”