JSOML 17

Chapter 17

‘Where is it going?’

Lery had arrived deep within the thicket. Looking back, he saw he was getting farther and farther away from the garden where Sonia was.

‘……My body feels strange. I can’t stop, and I’ve never come this far before.’

As he reached a desolate area, his fear grew even more.

He worried that Sonia might be looking for him, and he grew anxious, not knowing when the snake might attack him or where it was leading him.

Just as he was trembling in fear for a while, the snake finally stopped moving, and only then was Lery able to stop as well.

Finally able to move his body, he was about to lift his front paw when,

“*&^%%%#$*”

The snake muttered something in an incomprehensible language and then vanished.

Lery hurriedly looked around.

‘It definitely came with me? Where did it go in that short time?’

Even as he closed and opened his eyes, there was only himself in the vast, spreading thicket.

Lery examined the thicket with a bewildered expression, then suddenly remembered Sonia’s face he had left behind.

‘I should go back. Sonia might be looking for me.’

Thinking of Sonia, who would be worried about him, made him impatient. He quickly turned his body in the opposite direction.

‘What’s that?’

Black, hazy smoke began to rise from all directions. The thick, heavy smoke, like soot, was suffocating.

‘My throat hurts!’

As he coughed and looked around, the black smoke was enveloping the snake’s body, which had disappeared.

Soon, where all the smoke had evaporated, a man’s naked body began to be revealed.

‘Oh my god!’

At the unexpected and lewd scene, Lery squeezed his eyes shut.

The angry-looking, bulging back muscles and smooth waistline were so sensual that he couldn’t bear to look at them with a clear mind.

Soon, he heard the rustling sound of fabric brushing against itself.

It was a very dangerous situation, both visually and audibly. Sirens flashed above Lery’s head.

Gulp.

Nervous for a different reason, Lery instinctively swallowed his saliva. His expression alone was enough to threaten a PG rating.

‘No, no!’

Lery shook his head vigorously and managed to exhale his ragged breath.

‘That back isn’t what’s important right now. Get a grip!’

But even with his eyes closed, the broad back was vividly drawn in his mind.

The skin, shining as white as the moon, was so delicate…….

“Myaang! (Stop!)”

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, Lery muttered to himself and tried to compose his mind. More than the back, what he needed to focus on was the man’s identity.

‘Wait, but…… did that snake just turn into a human?’

Was he originally human? How could a snake turn into a human?

Lery mumbled to himself, reasoning repeatedly. No matter how different this world was from the Republic of Korea, he couldn’t tell if it was plausible for a snake to turn into a person.

‘Well, I am a human possessed by a cat, so…….’

While Lery was lost in thought, all surrounding noise began to cease. Even the sound of the wind brushing against the grass blades was no longer audible.

Sensing something strange, Lery slightly opened his closed eyes. Again, he was gone.

‘Where did he go?’

Could he have just imagined it? Between the snake’s sudden disappearances and appearances, he was beginning to doubt his own eyesight.

Lery looked around everywhere with a dumbfounded expression.

Just then, he heard an unfamiliar voice from behind.

“Are you looking for someone?”

At the voice that tickled his ears, Lery spun his head around.

Where his gaze landed, a man with jet-black hair was standing, his red eyes half-lidded, like a languid beast.

‘How can they be so red……? Eyes that look like they could suck you in any moment.’

Even though cats can’t distinguish red, it was clear enough to be recognized.

‘Sentineo language?’

Moreover, he was speaking the Imperial language fluently. Just like Theodore and Ian’s speech, Lery could understand him perfectly.

‘Just who is he?’

To Lery, who stood still and dazed, the man tilted his head and asked.

“Done with the show?”

His question had no object. Still, Lery could understand well enough what he meant.

Lery mewed as innocently as possible. Pretending ignorance was the best policy now.

“Myaang……. (I didn’t see anything…….)”

The back…… I mean, the transformation.

The man licked his lips with his tongue and said.

“Liar. You saw everything.”

“Mya-aa……! (No, I didn’t……!)”

Flustered, Lery swung his soft paws and vehemently denied it.

The man tilted his head crookedly and said.

“Cunning little thing.”

“Myaak……. (What are you talking about…….)”

“If you want to see more, just say so. I’m ready anytime.”

“Mi-yaak! Mi-yaang! (Ready for what! I don’t need that kind of thing!)”

Feeling a bit wronged, Lery screeched sharply. In an instant, he felt like he had been demoted to a perverted cat.

Then the man burst out laughing and asked.

“Haha. Fun. You’ve got great delivery, you know.”

“…….”

“As expected, you’re a cat that understands human speech, right?”

“Mya-a……! (Absolutely not……!)”

Lery flinched and stepped back under his penetrating gaze.

‘Wait a minute. That man, he understands everything I’m saying, doesn’t he?’

Lery, getting goosebumps, shut his mouth. It was because, flustered by his nudity, he had only just realized that the man understood his words.

‘……Let’s think calmly.’

Lery carefully retraced the situation.

So far, everyone had only inferred the meaning of his cries, never understanding him precisely.

But this man understood him perfectly. As if he could communicate with him.

‘I knew he wasn’t an ordinary human all along, but I didn’t know he could talk to me too. Is it because he’s a snake? For instance, like communication between animals……?’

Lery began to observe him.

His jet-black hair gleamed like obsidian, and his handsome features exuded a strange, alluring aura. He wouldn’t be out of place as the male lead in a 19+ rated, angsty novel.

‘I guess handsome guys are a dime a dozen here…….’

Lery clutched his heart. It seemed the saying ‘your heart tingles when you see a handsome man up close’ wasn’t just an unfounded rumor.

While Lery’s mind momentarily drifted away due to the man’s beauty, he smiled seductively.

“I guess what you saw earlier wasn’t enough.”

“Mya……? (Pardon……?)”

“That’s a pretty direct look.”

His sharp, low laugh scraped against Lery’s ears.

Lery’s soft tail trembled. Of course, it was true that he was admiring his looks, but he hadn’t been giving him that kind of look.

It was merely a natural, physiological reaction that occurred whenever he saw a good-looking person.

‘How ridiculous. Why do you keep trying to paint me as a pervert?’

Lery, as if annoyed, kicked the ground with his front paw.

“Mi-ya. (You’re mistaken.)”

“Oh, really?”

“Mi-ya-ong……! (Anyone can see it’s an innocent look……!)”

“Innocent? No. It was sticky.”

Throughout, his playful tone made Lery look back at him with suspicious eyes. Looking into his snake-like eyes, his instincts screamed danger.

‘It’s okay. They say even if you enter a tiger’s den, you’ll survive if you keep your wits about you.’

Lery became hyper-vigilant.

Now, even if he pretended otherwise, it seemed he had been caught understanding human speech. So it was better to just deal with it calmly.

And the more exposed to danger he was, the calmer he needed to be. The more scared he acted, the more the other might enjoy the situation.

‘Right, let’s just be brazen about it.’

This place is the imperial palace, where Theodore and Ian are. What could possibly happen?

“Mya, mi-yaa. (Well, you’re free to misunderstand.)”

Lery deliberately answered, raising his pink nose haughtily.

At the unexpected response, the man twisted the corner of his mouth.

“Look at you……. You’re more amusing than I thought.”

He found Lery interesting. The reason was that despite his answer, his tail, standing straight up, betrayed his fear.

“An interesting cat.”

Lery didn’t respond to his words and took a step back. Then he carefully scrutinized him again.

‘I’ve definitely never seen his face before.’

He hadn’t been possessed for long, so he couldn’t remember everyone, but he had certainly never seen such a striking impression.

‘He stands out so much, there’s no way I’d forget him.’

Lery was deep in thought.

‘Right. That man is strange in more ways than one. If he were an Imperial citizen, he wouldn’t need to disguise himself as a snake. Besides, I’ve only ever seen hair color like that at the temple.’

It would definitely be more convenient to walk around transformed as a human rather than as a snake.

But the fact that he was moving around this vast imperial palace in snake form suggested there must be a good reason for it.

Lery’s eyes widened as he asked.

“Mya-ang? (You’re an intruder, aren’t you?)”

“And if I am?”

“Mya-aa mya-aa-ong. (If I meow loudly, people will come flocking here.)”

“Is that a threat?”

He let out a laugh, as if finding it ridiculous. For a threat claiming he would call people, Lery’s front paws were trembling.

Lery didn’t avoid his eyes and said.

“Myang. (Yes. It’s a threat.)”

Then, a light flickered in his red eyes.

He stroked his sharp chin and leaned towards Lery.

“You’re interesting. How about with me…….”

But suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence, and his eyes began to waver.

In an instant, he emitted black smoke and transformed back into the snake.

‘What now?!’

Swoosh-

Before he could grasp the situation, a sword, flying like an arrow, blocked the space between them.

Lery barely dodged the danger with a cat’s dynamic visual acuity. One wrong move and he could have been stabbed.

‘Where did it go again?’

Lery meticulously traced the path of the sword, looking for him. But all that dominated the ground was the coldly embedded blade.

Examining it quickly, the handle was engraved with a wolf pattern.

It was a pattern all too familiar to Lery.