#11.

Lost in thought, I alternately glanced at Zerakiel and the woman.

Strictly speaking, I wasn’t a mouse, but it seemed that she had experienced some trauma related to them when she was young, seeing how she was so scared of animals smaller than me.

It was truly a terrifying sight, unable to approach and trembling. In that moment of uncertainty, Zerakiel spoke.

“It’s not a mouse but a ferret. And it’s a beastman.”

“Oh, it’s a beastman?”

The woman, showing relief at the word “beastman,” quickly approached.

“That’s right. A real beastman.”

The woman, belatedly sighing in relief, smiled brightly. The face that was pale just a moment ago instantly became calm, making me feel oddly pleased.

How could such a cute ferret be scary…

Feeling a bit awkward, I was sticking to Zerakiel for no reason when the woman greeted us.

“Hello? I’m Merina. I’m a doctor.”

Seeing her readily extending her hand, it seemed that she was okay with beastmen. Feeling awkward, I offered my front paw, and Merina shook it.

“But why did you call me? If it’s Lord Zakari, there should be a separate chief physician, right?”

It seems that Merina is not affiliated with the Zakari family.

“She’s a cat beastman who underwent humanization late. I heard that she helps beastmen who have failed in humanization.”

“Oh… So, she also…”

Merina looked at me with a strange expression, trailing off at the end of her sentence. I blinked at her mention of her late humanization.

The current her seemed proficient in humanization, just like any other beastman. Knowing that she had faced similar difficulties made her more trustworthy.

Also, there was a gut feeling that her fear of small animals wasn’t a trivial matter.

“Yeah, Chichi hasn’t undergone humanization yet.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Merina, with a serious expression, gently moved me from Zerakiel’s hand to the table. Although there was no cold on the soft cushion, the tension increased in front of the doctor.

“Relax your body.”

Following Merina’s guidance, I lay on the cushion and relaxed my body. Merina raised one finger over my belly.

At that moment, her fingertip became warm. It naturally made my body feel relaxed, like a warm pack.

It was around the time Merina was conducting her examination.

“That’s strange.”

Merina raised her head as if puzzled, then continued to stroke my belly for a while.

As time passed, I couldn’t help but worry.

Could it be that there’s no hope?

Well, even if I were reborn, having no family fortune was an eternal truth.

When I opened my eyes in this world, I was a neglected beastman with less value than others.

If family could abandon me, there was nothing more to say.

I couldn’t shake off the sudden melancholy. It was because the memories of my past life came to mind.

‘That kid’s mom died holding her, right? How difficult must it have been to see your parents die with your own eyes.’

‘Still, thankfully. After surviving such a big accident, she’s the only one left alive.’

‘But what should we do? Who will take care of that child?’

‘That’s the problem.’

Losing my parents early in a traffic accident and pondering such thoughts while guarding the funeral home—those were the memories that came to me suddenly.

I learned for the first time then that losing a cozy fence meant colliding bare-bodied with harsh reality.

Relatives were all reluctant to take me, and eventually, my grandmother extended her hand to me.

But even that fence disappeared when I turned twenty. My grandmother passed away from illness. I was alone again. Since then, I only had memories of working hard whatever came my way.

‘It’s okay. Being alone is familiar anyway.’

Not having what everyone else had was sadder than I thought.

In my previous life, I had no parents, and in this life, I was a beastman who couldn’t even undergo humanization despite being a beastman. Parents, needless to say.

During a moment when I was trying to firm up my emotions, a familiar touch reached me. Surprised, I looked, and Zerakiel was furrowing his brow.

“Why are you crying?”

“Oh, did you cry? Are you in pain, by any chance?”

While Merina examined me, she assessed my complexion without saying a word.

It seemed that she was scrutinizing my face, possibly wondering if my condition was the cause.

I quickly expelled the memories of my past life and shook my head. Relieved, Merina continued her examination.

“It’s all done now.”

After a moment, Merina patted me and shook her hand. She spoke to Zerakiel.

“You don’t need to worry too much.”

“I don’t need to worry?”

“Have you, by any chance, have you exposed Chichi your pheromones recently?”

If it was recent, Zerakiel had used pheromones to capture me. I had fallen asleep under the strong charm pheromones, a sensation I had never experienced before.

Even now, just thinking about how Ivan covered me with a blanket from head to toe back then made my teeth grind.

“I’ve had exposed my pheromones.”

“That’s probably the catalyst. She’s feeling the awakening of the dormant pheromones inside her body. However, if there’s a problem…”

Merina looked at me and Zerakiel, then continued speaking.

“The reason why beastmen can’t undergo humanization is simple. Usually, they are born premature due to not receiving enough pheromones in the pouch or the mother’s womb. In this case, it just takes time, and humanization will eventually occur. To expedite humanization, you expose the individual to the pheromones of their kin.”

“But normally, they’re weak, and that’s why they’re discarded, according to the laws of the beastmen’s world.”

Merina nodded in agreement with Ivan’s answer, who had been waiting by my side.

“That’s right. It’s truly cruel, but that’s the law of the beastmen. However, Chichi seems a bit different.”

“Different?”

“It seems like your pheromones were manipulated.”

At the mention of pheromone manipulation, Ivan and Zerakiel’s eyes widened.

I had heard about it. In ‘Kingdom of Ella,’ the reason why the female lead, Ella, possessed special pheromones was because of that.

Injecting the pheromones of a dominant beastman intentionally to produce beastmen with special pheromones was a violation of beastmen’s laws. However, beastmen with dominant pheromones attempted to secretly acquire the pheromones of dominant ones.

Ella was the victim of that. But why suddenly talk about special pheromones?

When I looked at Merina with confusion, she continued speaking.

“I sense two pheromones from Chichi.”

“Two?”

Merina explained in response to Zerakiel’s question.

“Yes. Perhaps because of this small body, it might be harder for her to handle two pheromones, causing the humanization process to slow down even more. If she humanizes recklessly, her body might not be able to endure it.”

“…?”

“In fact, it’s the first time I’ve seen someone with two pheromones. Moreover…”

Merina hesitated, sweat dripping from her, and she trailed off. It was because there was an unsettling aura coming from Zerakiel.

Precisely, since the mention of pheromone manipulation, his expression had become frightening.

I covered my nose from Zerakiel’s pheromones. It wasn’t threatening, but it was a pheromone strong enough to intimidate a person.

Ivan patted Merina’s shoulder and spoke.

“It’s okay; speak comfortably. If you had malicious intentions, you would already be lying on the ground.”

Was that supposed to be comforting?

I shook my head in bewilderment at Ivan’s almost zero empathy. As expected, Merina took a deep breath and continued.

Observing this, Ivan lightly advised Zerakiel, “You should also receive the pheromones from Chichi. Otherwise, Merina won’t be able to provide accurate examination results.”

At that moment, the heavy atmosphere lightened a bit. After a while, Merina spoke, breathing heavily, “The probability is high that both pheromones are special pheromones. One of them seems not to have fully awakened yet… but judging by this ripple, it’s certain.”

“!!”

Wait, do I have special pheromones? Moreover, two of them?!

Deng-deng-deng…

The sound of my life getting tangled reverberated faintly.