#89

[Zerakiel’s gaze as he looked at the limp Ella was as cold as ice. Caught mid-attempt to escape, Ella panted and snapped at him.

“What on earth did you do to my body?”

“Just a small precaution for situations like this.”

“A precaution? You nearly killed me, and you call it that?”

When Ella accused him with bloodshot eyes, Zerakiel merely shrugged. For someone who had secretly planted pheromone poison in her body, his reaction was disturbingly nonchalant.

Then, with an audacious smile, Zerakiel said, “Well, you’re not dead, are you?”

“How is that even—!”

“Besides, your leaving right now would be rather inconvenient for me.”

Zerakiel strode toward Ella, who was slumped on the floor, and knelt in front of her. Grasping her chin, he tilted her face upward, forcing her to meet his gaze.

As his face drew close enough for her to feel his breath, Ella instinctively flinched, and Zerakiel spoke.

“I’ll let you go once everything is over, so don’t waste your energy struggling.”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I need the power you have. Desperately.”

His fox-like eyes briefly swept over the curve of her neck, sending a chilling sensation down Ella’s spine. She froze, her body rigid as ice.

“So behave yourself. Otherwise, you might actually die next time.”

The calmness in his voice, as if he were discussing a casual outing, left Ella in despair. The unbearable pain she experienced made detoxifying the pheromone poison painfully slow.

Ella shuddered at the thought of the Jabis poison coursing through her veins.

As long as it remained in her body, she wouldn’t be able to take a single step out of this wretched estate without Zerakiel’s permission.

The moment she left, the pheromone poison would spread throughout her body. Even with her healing-type pheromones, she would inevitably suffer severe internal damage.

Making it to Page Manor while injured was an impossibility from the start.

Yet staying here, imprisoned, was a fate worse than death.

“I hate you so much.”

“Go on hating me. It’s not like I ever begged you to like me.”

“……”

“Besides, liking someone like me wouldn’t do you any good in this world, would it?”

“…Ha!”

“In a mad world, it’s easier to survive by keeping a madman happy, Ella.”

With those words, Zerakiel reached out toward Ella. At that moment, the light in her eyes dimmed, and she collapsed into unconsciousness.

After a brief pause, Zerakiel picked up the unconscious Ella and carried her to her room with unhurried steps.]

I stared blankly at Ella and Zerakiel. Compared to the original story, the atmosphere felt much more subdued.

At least Ella hadn’t been forcibly infused with the pheromone poison, and Zerakiel hadn’t gone completely off the rails like in the original.

Still, I couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling. After all, this was still the same situation where Ella ended up carrying the pheromone poison, just as in the original.

While I was lost in thought, Ella, who had just been injected with the poison, approached me.

“Lady Cersia, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Her determined expression, as if she finally had the courage to speak, made me tilt my head in curiosity.

“What is it?”

I thought nothing could surprise me more than the pheromone poison incident—but I was wrong.

The moment Ella opened her mouth, both Zerakiel and I froze in place.

“I know who caused the head of the Jabis family to go berserk.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Zakari found himself unexpectedly delayed after hearing that Cersia and Zerakiel had headed to Hebel.

Erhardin had escaped from prison. To make matters worse, he had transformed into his beast form, making it difficult to track him.

Under normal circumstances, they would’ve quickly picked up his scent.

Zakari scowled as he sniffed the air within Jabis Manor.

Erhardin had been scattering scent-neutralizing powder to evade pursuit, filling the entire estate with a nauseating stench.

To add to the chaos, he had been transforming the beastfolk he encountered into foxes and using newly created fox beads to cast illusions on everyone.

It was a cowardly but effective tactic, combining the shapeshifting ability of fox beastfolk with the power of fox beads.

The result was utter pandemonium. Lion beastfolk, now turned into foxes, were rolling on the ground in fits and fighting each other throughout the estate.

It was a remarkably efficient way to buy time.

‘There are so many ways to rush toward death.’

Recreating the fox beads wouldn’t take long, but with this level of power, backlash was inevitable.

Zakari was certain Erhardin was already suffering the aftereffects of overexerting himself.

Amidst the chaos, Zakari kicked away a fox lunging at him and turned his frustration toward Ivan.

“Why haven’t you caught him yet?”

“How am I supposed to tell when everything’s a fox? Not all of them have unique fur colors like you, Zakari.”

“And you call that an excuse? This wouldn’t have happened if you’d kept your guard up!”

“How was I supposed to stop someone who broke their restraints and ran off?”

“And you still take your paycheck?”

“Don’t mess with my paycheck!”

Though the argument sounded fierce, Zakari and Ivan continued to scour their surroundings with vigilance.

If not for the scent-neutralizing powder, they wouldn’t have been searching for this long. The thought made Zakari’s irritation flare further.

“Damn fox. I should’ve crippled his legs to keep him from running.”

Zakari growled as he scanned the area. The manor looked like a fox den, with foxes everywhere. The problem was that most of them were allies caught in the chaos.

Ivan sidled up to Zakari and commented, “You’re usually so sharp with your nose, but today you’re sluggish.”

“Should I chop you up to make this easier? That might help.”

“No, thanks.”

Ivan paled and took a few cautious steps back.

Zakari let out a shallow sigh as he glared daggers at Ivan. He knew Erhardin’s condition couldn’t be great, having broken his restraints. Judging by the state of the torn bindings, Erhardin had likely drained his life force to free himself.

What on earth was he thinking?

Whether he fought to the death or endured torture, the end result was the same.

Just then, a peculiar pheromone that didn’t belong to a lion beastfolk tickled Zakari’s nose.

Finally catching a lead, Zakari moved swiftly, and Ivan followed close behind.

They arrived at a dimly lit corner of the underground chambers, where a panting fox—presumably Erhardin—was slumped against the wall.

As expected, blood was trickling from his hind leg, which had been injured while breaking free of the restraints.

“Grrr.”

Something was off about Erhardin’s condition. The saliva dripping from his mouth made him look more like a feral fox.

Zakari pointed at the fox with a puzzled expression. “What’s wrong with him now?”

“Who knows? Maybe he’s in heat? Though there aren’t any vixen around, poor thing.”

“Enough with the disgusting jokes.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll take care of it.”

Ivan stepped forward with an air of smug generosity, but Zakari shot him a glare.

“You’re just trying to take all the credit now?”

“How did you know?” Ivan admitted with a sheepish smile.

“You little—!”

Zakari growled in exasperation as Ivan skipped over to Erhardin, still panting on the ground.

“Alright, let’s head back to your room, nice and quiet, okay?”

Calling the underground cell a “room” made Zakari shake his head at the absurdity.

Suddenly, Erhardin’s crimson eyes flashed with a sinister glint, and a surge of pheromones erupted around him.

“Ugh!”

Ivan instinctively stepped back, but he wasn’t quick enough to avoid the effect entirely. Staggering, he muttered in disbelief, “Wait, don’t tell me… me too?”

Boom!

With a shocked expression, Ivan transformed into a fox. He touched his now-foxish cheeks with his forepaws and let out a wailing growl.

“Grrr!”

It was as if he were lamenting, ‘How could I end up like this?!’ Zakari clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Before Erhardin could unleash another blast of pheromones toward Zakari, the latter moved faster.

“Not so fast!”

Zakari countered with his own pheromones, causing Erhardin, who had been thrashing wildly, to collapse limply.

 

 

 

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