Episode 42

Zerakiel rested his chin on his interlocked hands and smiled languidly. The tension in the room escalated instantly.

If they opposed him here, they would have to face Zerakiel directly. Yet, backing down now would mean yielding to an incredibly one-sided and coercive decision.

Moreover, they hadn’t yet heard the white ferret’s opinion.

Just as Balzac was about to step forward, Zerakiel spoke with a serious face, spouting nonsense.

“Of course, Chichi is the only one who can hit me…”

At that moment, a white blur leaped at Zerakiel. The white ferret, without hesitation, latched onto Zerakiel’s face, spreading its limbs wide.

In an audacious move, the ferret covered the black lion’s face. Slipping down, it didn’t give up and began kicking Zerakiel fiercely.

Thud―!

“What in the world…!”

Balzac’s eyes widened. The fearless ferret, still not satisfied, continued to hit Zerakiel with ferocity, as if it had tolerated enough.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

What was even more astonishing was that Zerakiel didn’t retaliate. Instead, he turned his face to make it easier for the ferret to hit him.

Infuriated even more, the ferret began to go wild.

“Chuuuu!”

With a cute cry, the ferret lunged at Zerakiel’s mouth in a final, decisive move.

Pow―!

With a tremendous sound, Zerakiel’s head snapped back.

“…”

“…”

The room fell silent, naturally.

* * *

Having been dragged into the meeting room unexpectedly from the morning, I was dizzy from the insane discussion.

If I had known that all that was needed was my consent, meaning Zerakiel would threaten the elders on his own, I would have been more cautious!

I glared at Zerakiel and sent him a telepathic message.

‘Please, just keep your mouth shut!’

But Zerakiel didn’t seem to understand. His sly smile was infuriating.

I was on the verge of a breakdown because of that mad black lion who wouldn’t listen to reason. Then came his familiar, perverted remark.

“Of course, Chichi is the only one who can hit me…”

Unable to hold back any longer, I lunged at Zerakiel. After a few hits, realizing he wasn’t fighting back, I was struck by the chilling silence around me.

‘Oops.’

I belatedly remembered that not only was Zakari, the head of the family, present, but also the elders. I barely managed to hold onto my sanity. The longer I stayed at Jabisi castle, the worse my temper seemed to get.

It was all Zerakiel’s fault for egging me on.

Zerakiel’s head, which had been bent back, returned to its original position. He turned his gaze to the elders.

“See?”

He looked almost proud, and I collapsed into a heap.

It was clear he had brought me to the council meeting for this very reason.

Ignoring the elders who were frozen like stones, Zakari stepped in to calm things down.

“As you can see, this child is perfectly suited to be by his side.”

“…”

“Any objections?”

No one spoke up. Zakari chuckled.

“Then we’ll consider this matter settled unanimously.”

And so, the meeting ended absurdly. The elders avoided my gaze, as if startled by a plague.

* * *

After the meeting ended and the elders had left, Zakari called Zerakiel.

“You stay, have a seat.”

Zerakiel, standing, tilted his head, puzzled. When he showed no sign of sitting, Zakari spoke again.

“You must have something to say to me.”

“Nothing at all.”

“When did that ferret become strong enough to hide its pheromones?”

“I deliberately deceived the elders. This way, there will be fewer complaints later.”

“Then what excuse do you have for bringing a cat beastman here?”

Zakari’s golden eyes turned icy cold. Jabisi was a family that was highly exclusive to other races. Keeping Melina, a cat beastman, as a guest physician was an unusual decision for such a family.

Unless there was a secret that the Orban family shouldn’t know about, it was an unnecessary measure.

“It seems she is dedicated to Cersia,” Zakari said, his gaze shifting to me peeking out from Zerakiel’s front pocket. The intensity in his eyes made me tremble, and I couldn’t look away.

“Let’s stop this,” Zerakiel sighed deeply, moving me onto his palm and sitting down. He blocked Zakari’s view of me naturally.

The atmosphere grew heavier with silence.

‘Did he suspect something?’

I watched the silent standoff between Zakari and Zerakiel, feeling despondent.

Zakari mentioned Melina, indicating he wasn’t going to let this slide easily.

Maybe he had discovered my unique pheromones.

Even if not, Zakari’s suspicion was reasonable.

Thanks to the Pearl of Purification, my pheromones were thoroughly concealed. But that also meant it was easy for someone who had already detected my pheromones to feel uneasy.

Suddenly, not sensing any pheromones at all would naturally raise suspicion.

‘This is all Tabby’s fault.’

As soon as we made the contract, Tabby activated the sacred relic’s power. The divine energy flowing through my body hid my pheromones like a thin veil. Unless I used my pheromones, others couldn’t sense them first.

And then, Tabby disappeared.

“I’ll come back when the time is right.”

Leaving only that vague promise behind.

Since then, I had no contact with Tabby. Compared to the original story where Ella frequently communicated with Tabby, this was a strange situation.

Maybe it was because I was just a stand-in for the heroine, but it was a frustrating situation in many ways.

‘I made a mistake.’

I initially sought the Pearl of Purification to escape. But now that I was staying in Jabisi castle for the foreseeable future, this power was somewhat bothersome.

I was in a state where it was easy to be mistaken for a master who could hide their presence even at close range.

Moreover, Zakari had previously sensed my pheromones. Knowing that I could suddenly hide my presence completely, his suspicion was justified. Zakari spoke with a questioning tone.

“I remember it being just a tiny bit of pheromones.”

“It was made to feel that way.”

When Zerakiel replied calmly, Zakari snickered.

“Are you saying that child has been deliberately showing only a portion of their pheromones?”

“Well, only Chichi would know the exact details.”

Zerakiel deflected the question towards me. He also didn’t know the full details of my strange phenomenon, so it was the best he could do.

Just as I was feeling betrayed, wondering why he was suddenly stepping back from his support…

“Come to think of it, there is something I should mention. Since you brought up Melina, you must have already heard about the situation from her.”

“…I haven’t pried into it yet.”

That meant he intended to do so soon.

‘Poor Melina…’

I felt sorry for Melina, who had to live in the dangerous Jabisi household because of a ferret like me.

Given her usually timid nature, she might faint if Zakari summoned her.

It might be better for me to come clean about my pheromones now. Just as Zerakiel seemed ready to talk about my pheromones…

“Actually, Chichi’s pheromones are…”

Pop.

With a sound like a firecracker, pink smoke filled the surroundings. It seemed the adaptation phase was over.

As the smoke cleared, my perspective rose higher than when I was a ferret. The first thing I saw was Zakari’s golden eyes looking at me.

“Gasp.”

I held my breath as my gaze met Zerakiel’s. Unfortunately, I had transformed into a human while sitting calmly on his lap. Zerakiel, unconcerned, spoke casually.

“Welcome back.”