4. Mating season.

“I wondered where you were hiding for two days, but fortunately, you’re still hiding in the palace. Princess.”

General Ha smirked disgustingly.

Two days.

She thought it had only been a day, but two days had passed.

That means she had slept for a whole day and woke up.

“You, you!”

Cheong-Ah glared at General Ha, full of anger.

“Aren’t you afraid of heaven, you scoundrel!”

“Princess. I am doing this to protect your safety and the country. What if traitors, taking advantage of Your Highness’s pregnancy, harbor ill intentions and harm you? If you do not understand my sincere efforts to protect you, I can only feel disappointed.”

He speaks eloquently for someone with a pierced mouth.

“So, did you send away King’s concubines and dismiss my attendants?”

“I expelled the impertinent ones.”

“You don’t think you’re impertinent at all, do you?”

“Princess, I am now your husband. So, I hope you will respect me as your husband from now on.”

Husband? Husband? Even if all the husbands in the world froze to death, she didn’t want to think of this guy as her husband.

‘That wicked snake. It just satisfied its desires and left.’

She also cursed the snake.

That damn snake behaved as if it would fulfill her wishes, did as it pleased, and then disappeared without taking any responsibility.

It was clear that it had become a bother to ruin the country.

Otherwise, it had no ability to ruin a country in the first place.

Or maybe the statement that it no longer hated them was a lie, so it mocked and deceived her, took revenge in the opposite way she desired, and disappeared.

One thing was for sure; the snake left, and she was left behind.

‘A lying snake just like the general.’

General Ha and the snake were all the same.

“Princess. It’s something I should have done two days ago, but it’s not too late now. Let’s start with our union. I’ll skip the bath schedule, so please understand.”

“What, what are you doing?”

No, did she see such a shameless person before?

“Don’t touch my body.”

“Do you have the power to do anything to me, Princess? Don’t resist unnecessarily. Even if you do, it will only hurt your body. If you spread your legs nicely, I’ll make you happy, Princess.”

When General Ha gestured, all the soldiers and maids in the chamber went out.

Once the door was closed, leaving only General Ha and Cheong-Ah, she took a step back.

But there was nowhere to escape from this room.

“Princess. If you taste a man, your heart will change. I’ll show you the taste of a man properly today.”

Smirking sinisterly, General Ha began to undress.

“If you touch my body, I’ll kill you!”

Cheong-Ah hastily picked up the candlestick next to her.

However, Cheong-Ah knew that something like this wouldn’t be of any help.

Waving a candlestick at a seven-foot tall bulky man, what kind of threat would that be?

In this situation, Cheong-Ah’s resentment was solely directed at the snake.

‘A wicked snake… A snake, a maggot-like creature, what kind of snake is that? Not even as good as a maggot!’

Cursing silently in her mind, Cheong-Ah extended the end of the candlestick toward General Ha, who was approaching.

In a worst-case scenario, she was ready to stab her neck with this candlestick and die in front of General Ha.

“Princess, put that down.”

General Ha approached right in front of her.

Cheong-Ah didn’t even glance at the lower half of General Ha.

She found his face disgusting, and she didn’t want to see anything more disgusting below.

“Princess, I will scream for help. You will surely regret this.”

“If I hadn’t killed you already, I would regret it. Do you think I won’t regret it? Then let me die in front of you.”

“Princess, your mouth is too much.”

“Was it you who killed my father? Did you poison him?”

Upon hearing this, a smile spread across General Ha’s lips.

It was undoubtedly an evil smile.

“Even if that’s true, who would believe it? There is no evidence or witness, and His Majesty is already buried in the ground.”

It was him after all.

This guy killed the Emperor.

“This, you…!”

Cheong-Ah gritted her teeth and raised the candlestick.

‘Even if I die, I won’t let this guy inflict any wounds on me…!’

When she clenched her teeth and raised the candlestick, screams were heard from outside.

“Aaah!”

“Kyaaah!”

“Aaah!”

It was the screams of the maids and soldiers.

“What’s going on?”

General Ha, who was about to pounce on Cheong-Ah, stepped back.

“Princess, please wait a moment. I will be back soon. It would be better if you put that down and lie on the bed, spread your legs, and wait.”

Leaving Cheong-Ah behind, General Ha, who came out of the bedroom, stepped into the front yard, chuckling.

Although it was supposed to be a night with a moon, it was unusually dark.

‘Why is it so dark?’

When he looked up at the sky, he couldn’t see any stars.

Just a moment ago, the moon was clearly up, but now, neither the moon nor the stars were visible, and only darkness covered the sky.

‘Is it going to rain?’

Although the weather was not bad, the sky might have darkened in anticipation of rain.

‘What’s this commotion about?’

Screams echoed from all directions.

‘It couldn’t be General Jang Wi already. Did the soldiers I drove out intrude into the palace? Wretches. They came into the palace to die on their own.’

Perhaps the soldiers that she had expelled, claiming to rescue the princess, had invaded the palace.

Or maybe General Jang Wi had already returned?

That was unlikely.

In this situation, the person General Ha was most wary of was General Jang Wi.

The late Emperor had tried to make General Jang Wi his son-in-law.

Having instigated Courtiers to convince General Jang Wi, Cheong-Ah, instead of herself, sent him far away.

General Jang Wi had soldiers, and if he brought those soldiers with him, there would undoubtedly be a fierce battle.

Therefore, they had to finish the meeting with the princess before General Jang Wi arrived.

‘Once I embrace the princess, I become the son-in-law, so what can General Jang Wi do?’

First, become the son-in-law, then falsely accuse General Jang Wi, send him into exile, or there was no choice but to kill him.

After that, he planned to deal with Advisor Kwon as well.

The throne cannot be shared.

Although they joined forces with Advisor Kwon for now, there was no intention of sharing power.

‘This country is mine.’

General Ha adjusted his military uniform and stepped out into the courtyard.

However, there were no soldiers to be seen anywhere.

Screams were heard from all around, but there were no soldiers, no officials, and no maids to be seen.

“Where are they all?”

With dissatisfaction, General Ha drew a knife from his scabbard.

Just in case, he had brought the knife when he left the princess’s chamber.

People with unsavory thoughts could be found anywhere.

“Aaah!”

Only screams were heard, but there were no people to be seen.

As General Ha moved towards the direction of the screams, he suddenly realized a new fact.

“No way….”

The screams were coming from above his head.

Directly above him.

“There’s no way….”

Slowly raising his head, General Ha found nothing visible except the dark sky.

Thunk. Thunk.

At that moment, warm liquid splashed onto General Ha’s face.

‘Is it raining?’

But why is the rain so warm?

Drip, drip, drip.

The warm liquid continued to fall from the sky.

‘A foul smell…?’

However, from the wetness on his face, a foul odor emanated.

This was… the smell of blood.

“Ugh!”

General Ha was startled and wiped his face with the back of his hand.

The sticky substance on his hand was undoubtedly blood.

Right now, blood was raining from the sky.

“Ugh!”

At first, it was just a few drops, but soon it began to pour like a shower.

Literally, blood was falling from the sky like rain, causing General Ha to panic.

“Aaah!”

As the blood shower intensified, General Ha, in horror, started running away.

“Is anyone there? Is anyone there?”

No matter how loudly he shouted, there was no answer.

Instead of an answer, intermittent screams were heard from the rain of blood.

“Aaah!”

Drenched in blood, General Ha rushed into the courtyard of the princess’s chamber.

That was when it happened.

Thud!

Something enormous blocked General Ha’s path.

At first, he didn’t know what it was, but as he regained his senses, he realized it was the tail of a gigantic snake.

“A serpent?!”

Fear distorted General Ha’s face.

“What… what is this…?”

What in the world is happening?

The tail of this enormous snake – what is it, and what is this blood rain falling from the sky?

Sssrr…

As the tail moved, the air seemed to ripple strangely.

General Ha, looking up, witnessed the unsettling scene in the sky.

And only then did he realize. It wasn’t a dark sky; it was the colossal body of a snake.

The massive body of the snake covered the entire sky, blocking the view of stars and even the moon.

Could such a gigantic snake exist in the world, enough to cover the entire sky?

“Uh, uh, uh…”

Terrified, General Ha sat down right there.

Fear paralyzed his entire body, rendering him unable to move a single finger.

In front of the trembling General Ha, the serpent’s head slowly descended.

Two bottomless black pupils halted in front of General Ha.

As the serpent opened its mouth, a split, forked tongue emerged gracefully.

“Uh, uh, uh…”

General Ha was on the verge of fainting.

Fear had immobilized him, and he couldn’t move a single finger.

As the serpent’s mouth opened wider, froth bubbled from General Ha’s mouth.

From the serpent’s colossal head, the part that descended slowly was its mouth.

Two black eyes, as deep as an abyss, stopped right in front of General Ha.

As it opened its mouth, revealing a split, forked tongue, General Ha was mesmerized with fear.

“I am a snake.”

The serpent, with its enormous mouth open, spoke.

It had a gloomy and chilling voice.

“I am the snake of calamity.”

“Uh, uh…”

General Ha was on the verge of passing out.

Foam bubbled from his mouth, and his fear was palpable.

The naked lower half of an eunuch, adorned with the commander’s belt, drenched in fear, now had urine streaming down.

“I am a snake.”

The serpent spoke with a voice that echoed ominously.

“I am the snake of calamity.”

“I beg you… spare me…”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. You are the last.”

The last.

General Ha understood the meaning of those words.

To be alive in this palace now means that he is the last one left.

Everyone is dead.

Right after the snake spoke those words, corpses began falling from all directions.

The bodies falling from the sky were all soldiers, court officials, and maids.

As the brutally torn bodies fell like hail from all directions, General Ha sensed his impending death.

‘Oh, the throne is right in front of me…’

The coveted seat of the Emperor, now within reach, and yet, where did this monster come from?

“Hu.”

As the snake exhaled, its cold breath enveloped General Ha.

“Aaaah!”

The cold breath of the snake instantly tore through General Ha’s body.

As if thousands of invisible small blades were cutting through him, wounds appeared all over his body, and General Ha died, vomiting blood.

Looking briefly at General Ha’s lifeless body on the courtyard, the snake turned its head and lightly tapped the door of the chamber.

The chamber’s door broke easily.

“What do you intend to do with that?”

Holding the candlestick tightly, the snake, facing the trembling Cheong-Ah, spoke leisurely.

“Wh-where…”

Cheong-Ah, who saw the snake, finally dropped the candlestick from her hands.

“W-where have you been and now…”

Feeling too miserable, she burst into tears.

“What are you trying to do by disappearing without a word?”

“Such a crybaby.”

The snake, with a somewhat different voice than when confronting General Ha a moment ago, taunted Cheong-Ah.

“A real crybaby.”

“You disappeared without a word…!”

“Such a whiner.”

“I had some business.”

“You should’ve said something before leaving!”

Upon seeing the snake, Cheong-Ah’s legs weakened.

It was because she felt relieved.

Now that she thought it was over, the moment she knew the snake had returned, she couldn’t feel relieved.

“You should’ve spoken… said you were going and then left…”

“I need to regain my strength, won’t you lend me your wind?”

“W-where did you put your strength?”

“Your ancestor took my strength and hid it.”

“Where is it?”

“I also searched for it, and it happened to be in an unexpected place.”

“Where is it?”

“You didn’t know it was hidden here.”

The snake’s tongue pressed firmly against Cheong-Ah’s chest.

“Your ancestor swallowed my strength and let it continue through the descendants. Swallowing the power of a snake would invite a curse. Can humans handle the power of a snake? Having an uncontrollable power within, your life would have shortened, and your descendants born one by one would have died.”

Only now did Cheong-Ah understand.

The reason the royal family was important was ultimately due to the greed of their ancestors.

“Fearing that the snake’s power might be taken away, they probably swallowed it. But in the end, that power doomed the descendants due to my greed.”

“Then, quickly take it away. I don’t need such a thing.”

She had no idea that the power of the snake was within her body.

“Now it seems impossible.”

“Why, why?”

“Because, unknowingly, my essence was poured into your body, and the power and essence within you met and became one mass.”

“What does that mean…”

“It means my descendants have been conceived within you.”

“That can’t be…”

Just after one time.

But with just one time, it’s already conceived?

In two days?

How is such a thing possible?

“Now that my descendants are conceived, you are no longer a human.”

“If I’m not human, does that mean I’ve become a snake?”

“Why? Don’t you want to become a snake?”

“Of course not…”

To become a snake?

To give birth to a snake?

“You gladly accepted my essence, but you dislike the idea of becoming a snake’s bride or mother?”

“I hate it. I really hate it.”

The goal has been achieved.

General Ha is dead, and probably everyone in the palace has died.

And soon, Won-tae-sa would meet the same fate.

Now that the goal has been achieved, Cheong-Ah no longer wanted to cater to the whims of this snake.

Now that this country has fallen according to her wishes.

“What should I do to make you like me then?”

That won’t happen.

“Do you dislike the appearance of a snake?”

Is that it?

Do you dislike the appearance of a snake?

“That too was partly true.

“If I were to take on the appearance of a human male, would you still reject me?”

“Well…”

The appearance of a human male?

It’s unimaginable for a snake to take on the appearance of a human male, but is that even possible?

If it is possible, then what the snake said might be true.

If it were to take on the appearance of a human male, she might not dislike it too much.

Cheong-Ah nodded slightly.

“Yeah. If the offspring of the snake really took root in my belly, there’s no choice but to accept it. If I have to live with a snake, being in the form of a human is much better.”

“Oh, really? Then if you wish, I’ll take on the appearance of a human for you.”

With those words, the snake’s head, which had been inside the sediment, smoothly emerged.

Cheong-Ah didn’t know what was happening outside.

She could only feel the air vibrating strangely.

And the next moment, just when it seemed like the surroundings quieted down, a man walked into the sediment.

He was a man she had never seen before, but the moment she saw him, Cheong-Ah realized that he was the snake.

“It’s been a while since I took on the appearance of a human. It was like this when I met your ancestors.”

As he walked into the sediment, the man looked around, muttering as he examined Cheong-Ah’s body.

He wasn’t wearing a single thread, and most importantly, his lower body had something that Cheong-Ah recognized.

A crimson flesh covered in black scales.

Even when transformed into a human appearance, the venom was still the same.

The only difference was that there was only one venom. (His pp🍆)

“The season of mating I’ve been longing for has finally come.”

With a smile on his lips, the man approached Cheong-Ah.

Cheong-Ah couldn’t move until his hand spread the collar of her clothes.

His pupils were completely those of a snake.

Even in the appearance of a human, this man was a snake.

A man with an eerie appearance, tall enough to reach the ceiling, with long black hair that touched the ground.

Cheong-Ah couldn’t move a muscle until he spread her collar and buried his face in her cleavage.

The man’s cold hand touched her waist.