Caged Tiger

"What kind of fucked-up world do you make, Terra!"

The name Mahendra is derived from this forefather's original name. The home planet of the Mahendra family is called Mahendra's Step, where Mahendra was born and raised. A planet that has a tropical climate with two seasons, rainy and dry.

The Mahendra Family is one of the noble families with royal blood that rules the Gunepolt Star Cluster. The region under their control is vast, with approximately thousands of star systems falling under their dominion.

Not only that, but the Mahendra family is also the wealthiest family in the entire Gunepolt Empire. Coupled with the strength of their tiger beast bloodline, the Mahendra family can be considered a power that surpasses other noble families with royal blood.

However, with the power, strength, and wealth they possess, the Mahendras have become a terrifying specter for other noble families. If the Mahendras did not have a wise matriarch, other noble families might have already formed a coalition to destroy them.

The Matriarcha of the Mahendra family is Baralyn's grandmother, named Sarala Mahendra. Sarala is exceptionally wise, unlike the typical tiger beast who uses force before words. She implemented several policies that eased the ill intentions of the royal blood noble families towards the Mahendra family.

Thanks to her decision, the tense atmosphere in Gunepolt has somewhat eased, and the opposition within the Mahendra family has fallen silent. However, as intelligent as Sarala may be, she couldn't predict how fate would play with her.

Baralyn's birth has made Sarala regret her wise decision to this day. Baralyn was born with a bright golden light that covered half of Mahendra's Step, which is usually a sign of the birth of a legendary treasure.

Baralyn was born with the same body as the Mahendra Family's forefather, the Golden Tiger. The power of the Golden Tiger is legendary in Gunepolt, and even now, Mahendra is considered the most powerful werebeast after two werebeast ancestors: Proailurus and Hesperocyon.

Unfortunately, after a thousand years of the Mahendra Family's existence, none of their descendants had inherited the Golden Tiger's power. This turned the tale of the Golden Tiger into a bedtime story for children.

But when the bedtime story suddenly became a reality, the Mahendra Family was unprepared to face it. Sarala had tried to conceal Baralyn's birth and give him the middle name Rajendra. She even considered marrying Baralyn herself, replacing her old husband. Nevertheless, her previous policies, which made the Mahendra Family too open, led to her failure.

As a result, Baralyn's birth nearly nullified all of Sarala's attempts to ease the world's ill intentions to the Mahendra Family. All the elders who had previously supported Sarala now turned against her and wanted Baralyn for themselves, or at least to be shared among the women in the Mahendra family. But the other noble families refused to allow the Mahendra family to become any stronger.

In the end, Sarala decided to take a step back to prevent her family from going to war with the entire Gunepolt Empire. Perhaps they could win, but the price would leave the entire Gunepolt Empire crippled, ultimately giving other galactical powers that despised werebeast the opportunity to destroy them, reducing them to nothing more than slaves, as happened in the Aurelia Empire.

Sarala gave Baralyn the middle name Chandra but didn't eliminate Rajendra. This was to give the elders of the Mahendra family a chance and deter them from rebelling against her.

For the first time in the history of the Gunepolt Empire, a noble-born male was granted the power to choose his own partner. They publicly decided this to honor the legend of the Golden Tiger, which had once protected the Gunepolt Empire from demon attacks. However, in reality, this was a constraint on Baralyn, preventing him from having offspring for the rest of his life. Because anyone who became his partner would become an enemy of all the powerful forces in the Gunepolt Empire.

No force desired the second Mahendra Family, not even the Mahendra Family itself.

However, this made Baralyn someone highly favored, not only within the Mahendra Family but throughout the entire Gunepolt Empire. There wasn't a noblewoman in this world who didn't desire his seed, and if his existence weren't kept private, there would probably be trillions of commoner women dreaming of spending a night with him.

"Young Master, Matriarcha and the others are waiting for you for breakfast. Would you like me to assist you in getting ready?" Alex asked with his gentle smile.

A glint of jealousy could be seen in Alex's eyes when he mentioned that Sarala was waiting for Bara for breakfast. Being Matriarcha of a noble family as large as Mahendra meant that Sarala's schedule was undoubtedly packed. However, she never missed the opportunity to have breakfast and dinner with Bara.

Of course, Alex, being a Mahendra himself, felt envious of Bara. He found it challenging to even steal a glance at Sarala, let alone dine with her. Unfortunately, he wasn't Baralyn, born with a legendary golden tiger body.

Perhaps, if he were Baralyn, Bara might have felt uneasy about Alex and given him special attention. However, at this moment, Bara was a Blood Master with thousands of years of life experience. He knew that there might be a conspiracy behind Alex's appointment as his personal servant, whether it was to watch over him, influence him, or control him. Bara didn't care. One thing was clear: Alex was not someone he could fully trust.

"I apologize, Alex, but can you tell Matriarcha that I'm not feeling well? I'd like to rest in my room for a while, and please inform the guards outside not to let anyone enter. Ah... also, bring my breakfast to my room. If you have no other business, you're free to leave and carry out my orders," Bara's words were not harsh, but the tone conveyed firmness. While his memories as Baralyn had returned, his Blood Master nature still dominated. He didn't want anyone, especially Sarala, to discover this difference. It would be better for him to stay alone for now and explore all the memories Baralyn possessed.

"..." Alex fell silent, and his previously gentle smile froze.

Based on his memories, Baralyn was someone gentle and overly indulgent towards his subordinates. His gentleness made Alex overly confident in handling Baralyn and frequently pushed Baralyn to fulfill his desires. As a result, Alex forgot his own place as a servant and acted as if he were a master in front of Baralyn.

Bara didn't let Alex think for long. "Alex? Did you hear my orders?"

"Ah... yes... I heard them, Young Master--"

"Then, why aren't you carrying them out?" Bara continued firmly without waiting for Alex to finish his sentence.

"Ah... yes... yes..."

"Then... GO!" Baralyn waved his hand and turned around, signaling that their conversation was over.

Though he couldn't see it, he was certain that Alex was clenching his fists tightly, with a face that held back anger. Even though he shouldn't make an enemy right now, Alex was just a pawn. He wasn't so important that his anger would make his master suspicious of Bara. Most likely, Alex's master would think that Bara was going through puberty, making him a bit sensitive and in need of some time alone.

"Then... Young Master, I will bring your breakfast right away," as Alex's deep voice, something Baralyn had never heard before, resonated, his bedroom door was closed. This left Bara alone, staring at his face in the mirror.

"Fucking too handsome!" Bara lamented, once again in awe of his own appearance.

Bara had a few people he suspected as Alex's master, but one person he believed to be the correct answer: his blood-related aunt, Amara Mahendra.

According to his middle name, Alex was destined to marry one of the Mahendras, and given his age, he should have already had a partner. Strangely, he remained single and became Baralyn's personal servant.

Despite Baralyn being a seven-year-old living with a diamond spoon, his old Blood Master's cautiousness remained. Alex's singleness intrigued Baralyn, prompting him to investigate further. He chose not to ask Alex directly, as he feared it would hurt him.

So, he turned to someone who was too innocent to lie or deceive him, his younger cousin, Anika Mahendra. Anika was Amara's child, and she had an older sister, Priya Mahendra, who was five years older.

From Anika, Baralyn discovered that Alex had been scheduled to marry Amara when he reached the appropriate age before Baralyn's birth. However, for unknown reasons, the marriage was canceled, and Alex ended up as Baralyn's personal servant.

Bara inferred that Alex's master was indeed Amara. Perhaps the wedding was called off because Amara chose to marry Baralyn instead. She might have feared that Baralyn would probably feel repulse to marry her who already has a husband.

Alex would never be able to marry again due to his status as Amara's castoff. It's worth reiterating that a male's virginity in this world was more important than a woman's virginity in the previous reincarnation world. Although Amara and Alex didn't marry, there was no guarantee that Alex remained a virgin. Thus, Alex's fate was sealed, and instead of marrying one of the Mahendras, he was reduced to being a mere servant for a newborn toddler.

However, Alex's fate could be considered relatively fortunate when compared to Sarala's husband, who disappeared without a trace two weeks after Baralyn's birth.

"Degenerate world!" Bara exclaimed as he momentarily set aside the issue of Alex.

"Right now, I might not be in danger due to my two middle names. However, no one can guarantee what will happen when I become an adult. My fate as the Main Hero(in?) will make me a target for the Adherents. Maybe I can use them with my cleverness and cunning, but I don't want to be a weak person who is always protected. Therefore, seeking power is the most important thing. Even though I'm no longer an Adherent, the knowledge I have from two reincarnations may exceed what the Mahendra Family can provide. So, even without their help, I can still become strong, and that way, I won't owe them anything. Then.. the first thing I need to do is to reach the Stasis Point. Hmm..."

Staring at the golden totem on his forehead, Bara fell into deep thought. His mind revolved around the vast ocean of knowledge he possessed. Finally, he remembered what he was looking for, and a sly smile appeared on his lips.

"Golden Tiger Body, huh? Hehehe... Maybe I can try to do that..."

The smile of the handsome boy in the mirror had the power to wet any woman's crotch who dared glance at him.