#6.

Unfortunately, I had no name in this place. I might have had one, but I didn’t remember it. All I could see when I opened my eyes was a field of grass.

“I guess you don’t have a name.”

Zerakiel mumbled thoughtfully as he rolled me around. It seemed like he was considering what name to give me.

It was quite a coincidence that my belly was full, and my body was rolling around.

“Chuuuu!”

I felt dizzy!

My vision was spinning around. Who rolls around after feeding someone full? This guy is like an animal abuser!

I managed to grab his finger and tried to hold on.

“Chi—!”

Stop it!

At that moment, Zerakiel suddenly grabbed me and lifted me up.

Then, he lay down on the bed, still holding me. My spinning vision stopped abruptly, and Zerakiel’s face filled my view.

He slowly smiled and said something.

When he smiled, he had the most innocent face in the world.

“Okay. Chichi sounds good.”

“?!”

“Because you’re always chichi-ing.”

Seriously, who gives a name so casually like that? Moreover, I was not just a ferret; I was a ferret-human hybrid. Even though the human transformation had failed, who knows, it might work someday!

“Chuuuu!”

I don’t like it! That name!

I was just about to give Zerakiel a fiery kick to the face when I saw him blushing belatedly.

Don’t act like you’re happy while hitting me!

I lost the will to strike and looked at Zerakiel with cloudy eyes.

“Your eyes are like looking at bugs.”

“Chi…”

It was the moment when I was about to say, ‘Even now, if you withdraw the name Chichi, I’ll forgive you with the heart of a generous ferret-human.’ I was trying to explain that I would be willing to forgive him if he withdrew that support-like name.

I don’t know how he interpreted my anger-filled eyes, but Zerakiel suddenly covered his cheek with one hand and mumbled softly,

“It makes me feel excited like that.”

Hey, are you looking at me like that?

His shy voice sounded like a girl in her first love. However, the content was not beautiful at all.

“I’d prefer if you stepped on me.”

He seemed quite sincere as he even brought his face closer. It’s still weird… Did I really make a wrong choice?

That day, I confirmed that Zerakiel Rune Jabisi was not in his right mind.

* * *

It was the early morning when Chichi fell asleep from exhaustion.

Zerakiel, who had used every means to wake her up, stared at the sleeping ferret-human intently.

His gaze was quite different from the one he had during the day when he was fooling around, now filled with a cold intensity.

He looked intently at the finger that Chichi had bitten, lost in thought.

The Chichi that appeared before him was indeed an intriguing subject.

White fur, pink eyes, and a fearless and rough personality. Not to mention the weak pheromone that was no bigger than a mouse’s tail, its actual abilities remained a mystery.

One thing was certain: Chichi’s pheromones didn’t work properly.

Instead, her peculiar pheromones seemed to consume and overwhelm his own.

Zerakiel’s pheromones were renowned as the most potent in the Jabisi Lion Clan, known as the strongest among the seductive pheromones in the animal kingdom. It possessed the power to paralyze and devour its prey. It was considered the highest-ranking pheromone among the predator species.

Normally, those affected by his pheromones would tremble in agony or sleep all day.

However, the ferret-human who couldn’t even transform into a human had detoxified it in less than an hour and was now energetically running around.

It might have been a spy sent by the Page Clan, as Ivan had suggested.

“Sarvani? Or maybe Plunia?”

For a while, the names of the ferret clans he knew resonated in the quiet bedroom like lullabies.

But that was it. Zerakiel, who had let this fascinating ferret-human roll in, wasn’t about to just let her go.

First, he needed to satisfy his curiosity. If it turned out she was a spy, he could deal with her later.

He muttered sardonically while poking Chichi’s cheek.

“It doesn’t look tasty, but let’s see.”

Having said what he wanted to say to Chichi, he closed his eyes.

* * *

“Miss Chichi!”

I rushed down the hallway, ignoring Ayla’s call. Since the first day, Ayla had taken it upon herself to be my protector in Zerakiel’s absence.

She might be a lion-human who occasionally devoured food like a starving person when looking at me, but I was far more manageable than Ivan or Zerakiel.

However, that didn’t mean I was entirely content with my life here.

It had been a week since I was taken in by the Jabisi Clan. Every night, I endured Zerakiel’s tortures, which were more like abuse than care.

‘He definitely wants to raise me to eat me!’

Otherwise, why would he keep feeding me until I burst, and then immediately roll me around on the bed as if to make me exercise?

It felt truly awful to be rolled around while my stomach was still digesting. I’d rather be running in a hamster wheel than be subjected to Zerakiel’s constant rolling.

I had to retract my previous carefree thoughts of being like an angel as Zerakiel Rune Jabisi was clearly a demon.

‘My side still hurts. I can’t go on like this!’

“Waaah!”

My mournful ferret cries echoed down the hallway.

I clenched my sore side and crossed the corridor. I couldn’t live like this anymore. I’d rather roll around in the grass. Just as a frog couldn’t remember being a tadpole, I forgot the harsh winter I’d endured and focused solely on escaping from Zerakiel.

As I sneaked past Ayla, I almost ran into someone as I turned a corner. I couldn’t prevent myself from colliding with their legs.

“Waaah!”

As I sprinted full speed, I was thrown backward with a shock, and I almost ended up crushed by the stranger.

I gazed up at the person who had almost trampled me. He frowned and raised an eyebrow.

“A white ferret?”

His voice sounded like he was saying, “What is this one?” He had a cool, even cold, demeanor, and he looked like a grown-up version of Zerakiel.

‘Who is this?’

The man was a complete stranger, despite me wandering around the castle for a week. He gave me a perplexed look and looked rather frail, with dark circles under his eyes, as if he would collapse with a nudge.

‘Is he a part of Zerakiel’s family?’

As I engaged in an unusual staring contest with the man in front of me, Ayla, who had followed me, noticed the man and greeted him.

“Lord Zakari.”

“Ayla, what’s with this white bean? Who told you to bring this smelly creature into my castle?”

What? White bean? Smelly creature?!

I was taken aback by the insults, and I blinked in confusion. But then I felt the cold aura of the man, and I stretched my arms toward Ayla.

“Chu, chuu!”

Ayla, please, hold me, I’m scared!

Ayla, following my lead, embraced me. Then, she comforted me and explained to the man.

“Chichi here is Lord Zerakiel’s pet.”

“Pet?”

“Yes. She was raised during Lord’s absence.”

“Raising a ferret as a pet now? That’s a new low.”

Zakari grumbled at the notion of me being Zerakiel’s pet.

Meanwhile, I was surprised to learn that he was addressed as ‘Lord.’

‘Is he the lord? Zerakiel’s father, perhaps?’

In the original story, Zerakiel was the head of the Jabisi family. He stood out as a young leader on par with Page, the heir, which made a lasting impression.

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen anyone in this house other than Zerakiel.

In the original story, only the mother appeared, so I assumed there was no father.

‘Could he have died from an illness?’

It wasn’t unthinkable, especially when I looked at Zakari in front of me. He looked like he might not be long for this world.

He seemed quite similar to how Zerakiel was described in the original story. If the current Zerakiel was a crazy lunatic, this man in front of me seemed like a debauched and weak lunatic, more or less.

Both had madness in their eyes, making them look like villainous family members.

Could this be a combination of a madman with clear eyes and a madman with dull eyes? One thing was clear: neither of them seemed entirely sane.

Zakari seemed to notice my gaze and tilted his head.

“Your eyes look impure.”