#77

Right after Cersia returned to her human form, there was a fleeting but undeniably sweet scent in the air.

It wasn’t as intense as the one that stopped Zakari’s rampage, but it had a similar essence. Zerakiel turned to Ivan, who was still scratching his head in confusion.

“Did you catch a whiff of that smell?”

“Smell? Not at all.”

Ivan shrugged, looking genuinely puzzled. Zerakiel frowned. If Ivan hadn’t noticed it, it seemed likely that their mate bond heightened their sensitivity to each other’s pheromones.

‘What is this?’

As questions swirled in Zerakiel’s mind, Cersia spoke casually, as if in passing.

“By the way, that fox? Turns out they targeted me on purpose.”

“…What?”

“They said so earlier. Apparently, there are a lot of people after me. Turning me into a fox was just to make kidnapping easier…”

Crunch.

Before Cersia could finish, she paused, her eyes darting to the side. The armrest Zerakiel had been gripping was now nothing but powder.

Ivan, sensing danger, quietly backed away, positioning himself behind Cersia. Not that his tall frame hid him very well.

“That bastard was targeting you?”

“Ahaha…”

“He’s got a lot of nerve.”

Zerakiel’s smile turned icy, his elegant features taking on an unnervingly menacing quality. It was the kind of presence only someone with both immense power and a refined appearance could pull off.

Cersia, breaking into a nervous sweat, quickly interjected, “You’re not planning to kill him, right?”

“And why wouldn’t I?”

“That’s not how we should handle this! If anything, we should make an example of him to prevent this from happening again. First, we extract the fox bead from Mother. Then we blackmail the Rodin family, bleed their coffers dry, and finally corner them bit by bit for maximum suffering…”

It was so typically Cersia to strategize a way to deliver vengeance without outright killing. Of course, she seemed oblivious to the fact that her method might be even crueler than simply ending it.

She looked soft on the surface, but her lack of mercy made her the perfect mistress of the Jabis family.

Zerakiel chuckled brightly. “Naturally.”

“Oh?”

“For now, I’ll let him live.”

With a seemingly warm smile, Zerakiel vanished in an instant, heading in the direction Kiera had gone.

He was here just moments ago, and now… gone.

Cersia and Ivan exchanged bewildered looks before Ivan nudged her side and commented, “That’s definitely not ‘letting him live.’”

“Yeah, I figured.”

Cersia let out a deep sigh, her resignation evident. Ivan, ever playful, smirked.

“So, shall we prepare for a funeral?”

“I’ll pass.”

Cersia declined firmly and plopped down onto the floor, unbothered by her husband charging off to deal with a beastkin. Life in Jabis seemed to have hardened her.

Ivan, seeing her calm reaction, murmured with admiration, “You’ve truly become one of us, Lady Chichi.”

He looked at her with the pride of a father watching his child grow, but Cersia merely shrugged.

“You adapt to survive.”

“A most admirable mindset.”

Ivan clapped his hands in approval, to which Cersia stretched her neck confidently and declared, “Hah! This is nothing.”

She had indeed acclimated perfectly to life in the Jabis household, though whether that was a good thing, even she wasn’t sure.

Sometimes, it was better not to overthink things.

And so, Cersia quietly avoided acknowledging the fact that to others, she was beginning to resemble Zerakiel in her own chaotic way.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rachel found herself increasingly dazed lately. Her mind often went blank, her body felt drained of strength, and sleep constantly pulled at her.

‘Since when?’

Ah, yes. It must have started after Zerakiel’s wedding banquet.

After hearing that ridiculous suggestion from Zakari to “give things a try with Erhardin,” she had stormed back home in anger.

Then Erhardin had followed her…

‘Ugh, what a headache.’

Her thoughts, which hovered just out of reach, annoyed her to no end. Rachel shook her head vigorously, but it was as though a fog had settled over her mind, making it difficult to think clearly.

She was in one such daze when—

“Roar!”

A lion’s growl snapped her back to attention. Rachel’s head jerked up, and what she saw left her flabbergasted.

‘Zakari?’

It was definitely Zakari, but something felt off. Only when she noticed his fur color had changed did she tilt her head, puzzled.

“What’s he doing?”

Had he lost his mind?

For some reason, he had dyed his fur yellow and was wagging his tail as if daring her to catch him.

Rachel watched with a bemused expression as Zakari began jumping and shaking his mane in a pitiful attempt to provoke her.

‘Is he trying to get me to follow him?’

Rachel narrowed her eyes, observing him closely. Zakari must have mistaken her hunting gaze for interest, as he abruptly turned and began to flee.

“Huh?”

Instinctively, Rachel gave chase. A predator’s pride wouldn’t allow her to ignore prey running right before her eyes.

The chase escalated quickly.

“Stop right there!”

Frustrated, Rachel infused her pheromones into an arrow and fired.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot forward with a sharp whistle, aimed at Zakari. She fully expected him to dodge, intending it only as a warning.

But to her shock, Zakari didn’t move, and the arrow struck his hind leg dead on.

Crack!

The sickening sound of impact was followed by Zakari letting out a pained roar as he collapsed to the ground.

“Roar!”

“Oh no!”

Rachel gasped, sprinting to his side. She didn’t stop to wonder why a massive lion would fall from a single arrow—she was too alarmed.

“Zakari!”

Zakari lay limp, looking at her with pitiful eyes. Rachel, panicked, supported his head and yelled.

“Why didn’t you dodge?”

“Roar.”

“And what’s with showing up as a lion?”

“Growl.”

Zakari let out another groan, lowering his head. Rachel frowned, utterly unable to decipher his roars.

“Shift back to human form now, or I’ll cook you on the spot.”

Zakari flinched and immediately shifted. In moments, the golden lion disappeared, replaced by a blonde man cradling his injured leg.

As he tilted his head slightly, his golden locks fell softly over his face, giving him a disheveled yet strikingly beautiful appearance. With the lion gone, the ethereal man before her deliberately turned on his charms, leaving Rachel swallowing hard without realizing it.

Zakari spoke.

“Why do you think I came here like this?”

“How would I know…”

“You wouldn’t meet me any other way.”

“…”

“So I did whatever it took to see you.”

Zakari’s soft murmur accompanied his hesitant hand reaching toward her. Slowly, his fingers moved closer to her, trembling slightly as if uncertain.

“At last, I get to see you.”

Zakari smiled faintly and lightly touched Rachel’s cheek. When she didn’t push him away, he grew bolder, caressing her cheek with his palm.

Rachel froze, staring at him with a tense expression. Her voice sharpened.

“What are you doing?”

This was the same ex-husband who had spent all his time pushing her away. Now he was acting affectionate, and it felt unsettling.

“You’re the one who told me to get along with Erhardin.”

Her voice trembled slightly. Just days ago, she couldn’t stand the sight of him and wanted nothing to do with him ever again.

Yet now, seeing his pitiful face, she couldn’t help but feel her resolve waver. Sensing her hesitation, Zakari moved closer, lowering his voice to a whisper.

“I was lying.”

“…”

“So don’t see that bastard. Start over with me.”

Zakari whispered as he closed the remaining distance between them. But just as he was about to draw near, a crimson glint flashed in Rachel’s eyes, and she abruptly pushed him away.

“Why should I?”

 

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