The mating period of the Luota race can be long or short.

If there is no partner to spend it with, the mating period will quickly end on the third day after it begins. This is how Viji's three other single companions got through it.

But if there is a partner to spend it with, it's hard to say when it will end.

Perhaps it depends on the degree of desire accumulated and the stamina of the partner...?

Unsurprisingly, the two people who were immersed in an indescribable atmosphere on the second day were unable to go to class, and this continued on the third and fourth days.

...It wasn't until the evening of the fourth day, when His Majesty the Emperor personally flew his starship to bring his young relative back to the palace, that the two finally ended up missing class for a full half month.

When the new school year started three months ago, the first-year class president took a half-month leave together with his rumored love interest. Considering the physiological characteristics of the Luota race, what happened during that half month naturally goes without saying.

So when Su Duan returned to school, he was faced with all kinds of meaningful looks.

Although mating is not a very taboo subject for the beastmen, who have a relatively weak sense of propriety, it still becomes widely spread gossip when it happens to the already eye-catching class president and his pursuer.

"Half a month--"

"Yes, half a month. The class president is indeed the class president. Sigh, my brother only lasted five days back then."

"But if the partner is a fragile human, can the body really handle that long?"

"Well... perhaps the royal family has their own methods?"

"But that's still impressive. Humans are truly a low-key race."

Su Duan: "........."

Actually, he was mentally prepared for becoming the center of discussion after he and Vigter returned to school. After all, Viji's mating period came so suddenly that they didn't have time to cover it up properly, so it was normal for the truth to be guessed. But the problem was - the voices of these gossiping beastmen were really too loud.

Even if Su Duan wasn't intentionally eavesdropping, he could hear their undulating exclamations whenever he passed by his classmates with books in his arms.

Things like "humans are truly a low-key race"... really made one afraid to think too deeply about the underlying meaning.

Actually, it wasn't like that at all. Not to mention that Su Duan wasn't actually human, just the fact that he was able to return to school in good shape should be attributed to the healing pod that could relieve most of the body's fatigue after soaking for half an hour.

-- Thanks to modern advanced medical technology.

The adult Luota probably still suffered from the influence of an abnormally short infancy compared to normal cubs. The duration of the first mating period after adulthood was especially long. Even with the help of the healing pod, Su Duan's consciousness had basically become hazy in the last few days, only remembering the wet sensation of sweat sliding down from his chin.

......

After the mating period, the adult Luota's height undoubtedly shot up a bit more, stopping at a position a head and a half taller than Su Duan.

When kissing, it was no longer enough for just one person to bend down. Su Duan also had to stand on tiptoe to cooperate.

But the adult Luota would not let him get tired. He would often lift him off the ground by the waist with his palms and press him against his chest. Su Duan only needed to obediently open his mouth.

Su Duan watched the black-haired Luota grow from a small cub the size of his palm, to a large cub the length of half an arm, then suddenly become a verdant youth standing in the snow, and now become the existence of the first-year class president of the empire's highest institution of learning, participating bit by bit in the entire process of the other party's growth.

...Although strictly speaking, the time span involved in this was not very long, he inexplicably had a feeling that a very, very long time had passed.

The cub that used to spit up milk had completely grown up and become an adult who could take on responsibilities.

Mm... of course, he could also get married now.

Once the mating period passed, Vigter was of legal marriageable age.

Of course, he was eager to legally establish a partner relationship with his little prey, but according to royal custom, in order to show solemnity and formality, an engagement ceremony must be held before the wedding, and the engagement had to wait at least until Vigter graduated from school.

Even though Vigter tried his best to negotiate with His Majesty the Emperor for a long time, he could only move the engagement up to the end of his third year, and the wedding still had to wait until after graduation.

"Children who haven't graduated yet should be more obedient." His Majesty the Emperor with light golden hair said with a subtle smile at the corner of his mouth, his deep emerald eyes also flashing with a playful light: "Of course, if one day you can stand in a position where no one can restrain you, when you want to take someone home is your own business."

Vigter pursed his lips: "...Mm."

As if he had developed some strange bad taste, Aiberta had recently been provoking him with such words.

Although he knew that the other party must be doing it on purpose, those words hit his soft spot every time, making it impossible for him not to care.

Perhaps it was because of the proud nature deeply buried in the race, but the feeling of being restrained by others -- not just in terms of marriage -- always left an indelible sense of unease in the heart of the adult Luota.

So although he clearly knew that inheriting the throne meant inheriting a full twelve ugly dumplings, out of the desire to control in his nature, the adult Luota, after much deliberation, still decided to work hard for the throne.

-- Perhaps he didn't need to work too hard, because his three other competitors who lacked ambition seemed to be preparing to celebrate with great joy when he inherited the kindergarten.

Vigter: "......"

After learning of his partner's decision, Su Duan was depressed for a long time. He still stood on tiptoe, took a deep breath, and patted the shoulder of his partner who was a head and a half taller than him to comfort him: "It's okay, we'll raise them together. It's just... ten, twelve of them, right?"

If we were to seriously trace it back, the seed of his desire to become emperor should have been planted by himself jokingly when he was very young.

"...You are royalty now, maybe you can even become an emperor in the future." Su Duan remembered saying that at the time. Sigh, if he had known that becoming the emperor also meant inheriting a kindergarten, he never would have said such a thing.

Although the cubs were indeed cute and adorable, rolling on the ground like delicious little dumplings, based on his experience of spending a great deal of effort raising just one of Viji's cubs, twelve of them... would definitely be an unimaginable challenge.

The adult Luota who had his shoulder patted quietly leaned over and hugged him, strong arms passing under his armpits and firmly fixing around his waist. The furry head deeply nuzzled into his neck, rubbing slightly, hot breath falling on the side of his neck. A mature voice with a hint of huskiness came muffled from Su Duan's neck: "It's my fault for implicating you..."

Although he had grown very large, he still couldn't change the habit of rubbing against Su Duan's body like a little kitten. At night when sleeping, just like countless years before, he had to bury his head in his chest.

Perhaps this was the price that had to be paid for wanting power, the adult Luota who was used to intensifying his marking on his partner thought somewhat depressedly.

Time passed quickly. The empire had long entered a period of stable development and peace, so for the beastmen of this era, although there were occasional ripples in student life, overall it was still very relaxed and comfortable.

Vigter was no exception. Apart from being a bit busier than most students as the president, and having a fiancé candidate prepared early, there didn't seem to be much difference.

When he graduated in the third academic year, the engagement ceremony that the adult Luota had been looking forward to for more than two years finally took place in the palace as scheduled.

Although it had been delayed for a long time, in fact His Majesty the Emperor attached great importance to this engagement ceremony. It could be seen from the arrangement of every detail that a lot of effort had been put in.

At the engagement ceremony, almost all the major nobles attended. After the ceremony was a banquet full of social implications. After a round of essential socializing, the adult Luota who had become an engaged beastman tightly interlocked his fingers with his fiancé, possessively spending the rest of the banquet time with his partner.

When the banquet finally ended, it was already late at night. Vigter had drunk quite a bit of alcohol, his cheeks slightly flushed, and his lowered gaze also seemed to have an inexplicable moist feeling.

In the empty hall with only servants bending over to clean up, Su Duan couldn't help reaching out to touch his hot cheeks, looking up and saying softly, "You can't drink this much next time."

In fact, Vigt's alcohol tolerance was not bad, but due to his physique, his face would easily turn red after drinking. Su Duan was always worried that he would feel unwell.

The adult Luota obediently made two "en" sounds, held his hand, lowered his eyelashes, and took the opportunity to bury his cheeks in his palm and rubbed twice. Then he bent down, pinched the waist of his little prey and lifted it up, preparing to steal a kiss before returning to the bedroom.

——But he was interrupted by a message that suddenly arrived.

[Scheming Kindergarten Principal His Majesty]: Please come to the cub care room.

The emperor had left when he announced the end of the banquet, leaving the space to the two of them. But unexpectedly, at this time, he suddenly sent a message asking him to go to the place where those ugly dumplings were.

Vigter reflexively wanted to dismiss the message and pretend he didn't see it, but Su Duan quickly pressed his hand. "A message from Mr. Aiberta?...Let's go over, maybe there's something important?"

The adult Luota reluctantly bit the side of his lip, saying, "Okay, let's go."

After opening the door of the care room, four little dumpling balls of various colors enthusiastically rolled over, crowding at Su Duan's feet, raising their heads and chirping, their tails wagging rapidly on the ground, hoping that this good-smelling human in front of them could pick them up.

However, as soon as their eyes met the fierce adult Luota beside him, they all dejectedly lowered their little heads again, and the chirping also became listless.

——Long experience told them that as long as this fierce adult of the same race was beside that human, their chances of being picked up would be greatly reduced.

The older Luota quietly watched this scene.

"Vigter, you are now an adult in every sense." His Majesty the Emperor picked up a little dumpling from the ground and held it in his arms, pointing out bluntly, "You can't keep rejecting these cubs, otherwise I can't rest assured to hand them over to you."

...He actually threatened him with not letting him inherit the throne. Vigter's heart sank a little, but he felt helpless about this threat from his elder.

But the other party's purpose was obviously not to simply threaten him, but to do something practical: "Now I'm going to teach you how to quickly become close with the cubs."

Vigter pursed the corner of his lips and answered very cautiously, "...You were saying?"

"The simplest and most effective method is to transform into your original form and rub fur with them."

Slowly understanding the meaning contained in the words of the elder in front of him, Vigter suddenly shivered. His eyes, which were originally in normal form, turned into beast pupils, and the pupils contracted into a line nervously.