#5.

My mind became hazy as I shook hands with the boy who trembled all over.

Oh, no! I didn’t agree to this…

It was around the time when the dizziness made my stomach turn.

The boy grinned impishly and spoke with thunderous confidence.

“Alright. So, now you’re also a member of the Jabisi family.”

‘What?!’

J-Jabisi?!

Continuing on the page, Jabisi.

As the ominous premonition turned into reality, I was shocked.

It dawned on me belatedly where I had heard the name Ivan before, and I was left dumbfounded.

Now that I knew this was Jabisi, there was only one thing I could do.

I-I have to escape!

I expressed my refusal with all my might, but my head spun around like a top, as if turning a statue.

Ivan, misunderstanding this as boundless enthusiasm, looked at me with pity, speaking gently.

“Well, there’s nothing to be done. Since even fluffy wants it this way, you’ll just have to grow up like that.”

That gaze seemed like the sympathetic look one would give to a sparrow robbed of its last chance.

“Then, I will add Miss. fluffy to Lord Zerakiel’s property list and set the budget.”

Thunk.

It felt like the sound of the world collapsing.

‘This can’t be real. This guy is the genuine lunatic villain, Zerakiel?’

* * *

As the Jabisi family entered the story on the page, I could no longer deny that this place was the world inside “Ella’s Kingdom”.

The fact that this was a novel…

Of all things, the Jabisi family had to be the villainous family. And not just any villains, but a notorious bunch of lunatics.

“Chu, chuwoo!”

I cried out with my whole body. To come into the lair of villains all for a bit of food and a warm place to stay!

It was like carrying around a time bomb that could explode at any moment.

“Ella’s Kingdom” was a romance fantasy where the female lead, a rabbit-like creature, got entangled with beasts due to her peculiar pheromones.

In particular, the Paige family and the Jabisi family were candidates for the male lead and archenemies at the same time.

From the start, it was unrealistic for hyenas and lions to get along well. It was a natural setup.

I wouldn’t be in such despair if I had been captured by the Paige family instead.

Among the male lead candidates, Zerakiel was the craziest of them all.

He was an obsessive stalker who kidnapped and imprisoned the female lead, who was under the protection of the Paige family. In addition to his personality being severely twisted due to the hereditary madness in the family, he also had a tremendous case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. So, I never even dreamed that the boy who looked so gentle in front of me was Zerakiel. He must have captured me and rolled on the floor at some point!

“Chi―!”

I bit into the handkerchief Ivan had given me and swallowed my excitement. Zerakiel, who had been watching me all along, sighed with a raised eyebrow.

“You never stay still, do you?”

Only then did I realize that I was still in Zerakiel’s bedroom, and I flinched and trembled. Naturally, Ivan and his conversation from earlier flashed through my mind.

“What about Ms. fluffy’s accommodation? Shall we offer a guest room?”

“No. I’ll raise her in my room.”

“What? But Ms. fluffy is obviously female…”

“I’ll raise her here.”

“…You have a truly outstanding idea. Ms. fluffy seems so pleased, nodding her head.”

The traitor Ivan left me as a hostage and went on his journey. How can nodding be seen as a positive thing, this betrayer! The next time I see him, I’ll gladly pluck out his glossy hair!

Fueled by anger, I tore at the handkerchief while whimpering. Then, exhausted, I slumped onto the bed. My stomach was growling too much out of hunger.

Gurgle.

“……”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday. I had come to someone else’s house to raid their shed out of hunger, so it was a given.

I was trying to calm my hunger by clutching my stomach, and Zerakiel suddenly burst into laughter.

“Phew.”

I mustered the last of my strength to glare at him, who was clearly mocking me. In response, he pressed his slender hand against my hungry belly and said,

“Are you hungry?”

“Chu!”

“Well, how about this then?”

He extended his finger and chuckled. He had been insisting on this since a while ago.

His personality was really strange; he was undoubtedly already crazy even before becoming an adult!

“Chu, chuwoo!”

As if I couldn’t do it if he asked for it! I bit down on Zerakiel’s finger with all my might.

“Chuuuu! Chi—!”

I’ll make sure not to refuse a meal! I’m hungry! Give me food, not this nonsense!

While growling, I bit and shook Zerakiel’s hand. Someone entered the room with a knock and placed a basket down.

From a distance, the fragrance in the air suggested it might be jerky. My mouth started watering without me realizing it. Seeing this, Zerakiel gently wiped my mouth with his hand.

“You have to eat it all, without leaving any. Your belly is too skinny.”

Once again, he gently poked my belly and placed the basket in front of me. I leaped into the basket as if I’d been waiting for it.

Let’s eat first and think later!

I was devouring the food, completely lost in the act of satisfying my intense hunger, when I felt another pair of eyes on me.

“Chu?”

When I raised my head slightly outside the basket, I met the gaze of a girl with rosy cheeks.

“Wow.”

The girl gaped with her mouth wide open as if she had seen a rare creature.

“Just as Ivan said…”

The girl mumbled faintly and suddenly clenched her fist. I cringed in disgust and lowered my head, and she even sighed in awe.

“Oh…”

“If you’re done admiring, please leave.”

“Trying to monopolize Miss fluffy all by yourself.”

The girl, named Ayla, spat out and surrendered to Zerakiel. She was undoubtedly a formidable woman, just like Ivan.

Ayla left the room, clearly disappointed, and she kept watching me with her eyes until she closed the door.

I know I’m cute, okay?

I stuck my head out, stretched my neck, and continued to devour the jerky.

For now, I need to eat my fill in this villain’s lair so I can make a proper escape later.

The jerky in the basket had vanished before I knew it. My stomach had long been comfortably full. I looked at Zerakiel with a bit of leftover jerky in my mouth.

“Chu?”

Dessert?

I’ve eaten the jerky, so it’s only fair to get some fruits as well, isn’t it?

Whether he understood my request for more or not, Zerakiel’s eyes widened.

“Do you have some sort of space compression magic in your stomach?”

He seemed incredulous that I had eaten so much. Well, come on, it’s not like I had much of a choice. Have you ever tried going without food for two days? It’s hard to stay sane, you know?

I awkwardly rubbed my nose with my forepaw, feeling embarrassed. With a full belly, Zerakiel in front of me didn’t seem quite as intimidating.

After all, people who give you food are supposed to be good people, right? Of course, this guy is not a person but a creature, but still.

With newfound energy, I stared at Zerakiel intently. I never expected to come face to face with the childhood of a villain from the original story.

Contrary to the description in the original work, Zerakiel was a well-grown young man, quite unlike a typical villain. He didn’t seem much different from other kids his age, except for the fact that he didn’t say perverted or bizarre things, and he knew how to smile kindly.

In the original story, Zerakiel was the antagonist who interfered in the relationship between the main character Ella and her love interest Heathcliff. His obsession with Ella’s pheromones seemed to be related to a genetic condition that the story alluded to, and her unique pheromones seemed to have a calming effect on his madness.

‘Moreover, ‘Ella’s Kingdom’ was a novel that was on hiatus due to the author’s circumstances.’

I remembered when it was halted at the peak of its excitement. Clearly, at the end, the Paige and Jabisi factions had waged war over the female lead.

‘A world where wars are fought over a single woman, and it’s not even the Trojan War.’

In such an extraordinary novel, being born as a nameless sparrow who couldn’t even become human made my life even more legendary. I would have preferred to be born as Ella and make a name for myself across the continent. What is this?

At that moment, Zerakiel, with his chin in his hand, asked,

“What’s your name?”

He sure asked that quickly.