#15

“Suit yourself.”

Zakari climbed into the carriage with a tired expression on his face.

Zerakiel followed behind him and boarded the carriage with Ivan.

The place they were heading to was called ‘Fog Hill,’ located in Hebel.

Every quarter, leaders from each region held meetings in Hebel, a neutral zone.

In the center, bordering the neutral city, was a lawless zone.

Hebel was shrouded in fog unique to the area, disrupting the pheromones of (beastkin), making it a neutral zone. Trying to use pheromones as a weapon here would only make one feel sluggish instead.

In other words, it was a place where beastkin who didn’t belong to any family or anywhere else gathered to live.

It was also known as the abandoned beastkin city, where beastkin who had been abandoned and had nowhere else to go could live without fear of being hunted down due to their lack of powerful pheromones.

It was truly a safe haven for beastkin. At least here, there was no need to fight using pheromones.

“If it’s a meeting, Hiskleif will probably come too,” Page was the leader of the northern region, so Hiskleif, his successor, would also attend.

“By now, Ella might have come too.”

“Ella’s Kingdom” was originally a healing novel that surprisingly turned into a war novel. Although there were many readers who dropped off as it turned into a war novel in the latter part, in the beginning, it was a healing novel that captured the hearts of many readers.

Ella was a rabbit beastkin who fled after being manipulated by pheromones. Fortunately, she was rescued by the leader of the Page family and raised as a foster daughter of the Page family.

The relationship between Hiskleif and Ella, who had grown up like siblings, became complicated after they reached adulthood.

There were memories of being thrilled as a reader every time a strange atmosphere arose between the two as they grew up.

But things changed after Ella reached adulthood and could no longer hide her unique pheromones. Tragedy began as various beasts began to pursue her regardless of age or gender.

Thus, the latter part of the novel, befittingly titled “Ella’s Kingdom,” was formed. And just when the group planning to reveal the group behind the pheromone manipulation was about to be caught, the year changed.

“I never thought I’d be born as the second victim.”

Seeing that my story wasn’t mentioned in the novel, it was clear that I must have starved or frozen to death.

If I hadn’t thought about raiding the Jabisi family’s warehouse, I would have died either way.

“I wonder if Bianco is doing well.”

Even though I was caught, he must have run off carrying his hands full of meat, so he probably had a good winter.

It was almost spring now. Outside, there was a layer of spring snow signaling the last cold spell. Nevertheless, seeing how warm the sunshine was, it was soon to be melted.

As they arrived in the neutral zone, Ivan murmured with a wrinkled expression.

“There’s still a nauseating smell lingering in the air here.”

A smell?

I sniffed around but couldn’t really smell anything. The dense fog outside just added to the mystery of the surroundings.

Zerakiel nudged my nose and murmured, “Sniffing around won’t help you sense anything.”

Why?

He muttered with a lazy look in his eyes as I cocked my head.

“Strong beastkins feel even more discomfort in places like this.”

That meant I was weak. In a moment of anger, I growled at Zerakiel, feeling like an unlucky black lion.

***

“It’s been a while, Lord of the Jabisi Family.”

Naaman, the head and chief administrator of Hebel, recognized the Jabisi family’s carriage and greeted them. Beside him, Hebel’s servants, all dressed in pure white attire, lined up to welcome them.

“Welcome, Lord of the South.”

The Lord of the South referred to Zakari, the lord of the Jabisi Family.

I glanced at the servants of Hebel quietly. I heard they were half beastkins without pheromones. Normally, without pheromones, they couldn’t live long, but here they could survive. That’s why the servants of Hebel couldn’t step outside Hebel. They would die if they did.

On the other hand, within Hebel, they could be complete beings. This place was a space where everyone was equally restricted in pheromone use.

Hebel was a sanctuary and temple in itself. It was a place known as the beginning and end for all beastkins, where pheromones, the powerful weapon of beastkins, were useless.

I heard that many parents entrusted their beastkins with a shortage of pheromones to this place.
“But it seems like my parents abandoned me.”

At least if they had affection for their child, they would have sent me to Hebel to live comfortably for the rest of my life, rather than leaving me out in the wild to endure harsh winters.

“It’s been a while, Naaman.”

“You look even more impressive since we last met.”

“Your flattery has increased.”

Naaman laughed at Zakari’s reply. After exchanging greetings a few times, they moved to their assigned accommodations.

The meeting lasted for a month. It took quite a while for all the families to gather, and once they arrived here, everyone seemed to struggle to adapt.

I heard they took about a week to acclimate to Hebel.

As Ivan headed towards the lodging, he frowned deeply and said, “Looks like the Page family is already here.”

At his words, I glanced at where Ivan was pointing. There, a silver crescent moon flag representing the Page family was displayed.

Coincidentally, right next to them was the flag of the Jabisi family.

A sentence entwined like a black rose by thorny vines. At first glance, it seemed like both enveloping and protecting the black rose.

“Whoever arranged the seating seems to do it intentionally sometimes. Last time, weren’t we not next to the Page family?”

“That’s just what you remember. Last year, we were next to the Louis family.”

“Oh, really? Because of Hebel’s fog, it feels like even my memory is affected.”

Ivan shook his head dizzily at Zerakiel’s rebuttal.

Is it that tough?

Ivan seemed more sensitive than usual. Meanwhile, Zerakiel was no different from usual.

He had always been somewhat clear-eyed, so even if his eyes were a bit clearer now, it was the same.

Of course, seeing that he seemed a bit slower than usual, it seemed like there was no influence at all.

In contrast, I wasn’t much different from usual. Instead of feeling sluggish, I felt more alive.

It must be because I’m weak.

“Are you okay?”

Zerakiel nudged me without any movement. When I lifted my foreleg, signaling that I was okay, he chuckled.

As Zerakiel was about to enter the lodging, the door to the Page family’s room opened, and a handsome young man appeared. He spotted us and widened his eyes.

With his dark silver hair and cloudy silver eyes, he looked like the epitome of the Page lineage at a glance.

“Hiscleif?”

I hadn’t expected to meet the male lead of the original work so soon, so I was taken aback.

When Hiscleif saw Zerakiel, he stopped with a stiff expression. Rolling his eyes only, he glanced at me, who was in Zerakiel’s hand.

“Ferret?”

At Hiscleif’s murmured words, Zerakiel hastily put me back into his pocket.

“Chi, Chi!”

Hey, can’t breathe!

Completely crumpled up in the pocket, I couldn’t tell what was going on.

“So, you really were raising a pet.”

“Did that rumor spread all the way to the north? That’s quite unpleasant.”

Zerakiel’s voice sounded even more lazy and indifferent than usual. Seeing his soft voice, it seemed like he wasn’t in a good mood at all.

I managed to wriggle out of Zerakiel’s hand and peeked my head out. Then, I met eyes with Hiscleif again.

From his crystal-clear silver eyes, a chilly aura emanated.

“It looks like a beastkin, can you just raise it as you please?”