A Snake’s Life Ch 5

Chapter 5

 

After waking up, I stretched my body and yawned. Ugh… a groan escaped me naturally. Anyway, where is this place? I looked around and then remembered that I was picked up by Zerpell. People say snakes have a good sense of smell, and it was definitely true. Why? Because the scent I picked up from Zerpelll was lingering in the air here. I looked around.

 

Oh~ This room is freaking nice. Life’s going to be comfortable from now on.

 

Even though the room didn’t feel lived in, the large paintings hanging here and there, the golden ornaments, and… a sword? Anyway, just by looking at it, I could tell a lot of money had been invested. This was now the place where I would live. Exploring the room was a must. I started crawling in a straight line without thinking much, only to freak out when I realized the floor dropped off underneath me.

 

Crazy. I barely survived and almost died again…

 

Cold sweat ran down my back. I was on top of a drawer next to the bed. There were cushions below making it soft, and a blanket covered me to keep me warm. On top of that, the cushions were incredibly fluffy, and the blanket was so smooth that it felt like nothing I’d ever known before.

 

This guy. He knows his stuff. Money really is everything.

 

Next to me was a king-sized bed, large enough for two or three people to sleep on comfortably. I became curious about what it would feel like to lie on such a bed. I stretched my body, trying to reach it. Just barely, I touched the edge of the bed sheet.

 

Grunting and groaning, I clung to the sheet and barely managed to climb onto the bed. The sheet was cold, proof that no one had been there yet. The sheet was luxuriously soft, befitting its high quality.

 

Is this what they call the wealth gap—no, a status gap…?

 

I thought of the modest bed that used to take up a corner of my one-room apartment. It made me want to cry, thinking of the comparison, but now this bed was practically mine. I started rolling around from right to left, wondering what it felt like to lie on such a bed. A bright smile formed on my face out of satisfaction. But that was short-lived. As time passed, I got bored and began to miss my phone and the TV.

 

Of course they wouldn’t be here…

 

It was now confirmed that this was another world, and based on their belief in gods and the term “empire,” it seemed to be something like the medieval era. There was no way a modern necessity like a phone would exist here. I squirmed around in boredom. Still, I comforted myself, thinking that at least my basic needs were taken care of. My stomach growled, demanding food. Now that shelter was secured, it was asking for meals.

 

What is that guy doing, not coming?

 

Just then, like they say, speak of the devil and he shall appear—Zerpell walked in as the sound of the door opening echoed. As soon as he came in, he tossed off his outer coat onto the nearby chair and changed into pajamas.

 

I quickly got up and stared at him. Isn’t that usually something a servant does? I was thinking that when Zerpell and I locked eyes. In the darkness, his golden eyes turned toward me, and even though the lights weren’t on, he pinpointed exactly where I was.

 

His golden eyes gleamed sharply, and his pupils narrowed—was that just my imagination? The moment I saw those eyes, a chill ran down my spine. I could feel the temperature in the room drop all over my body, and my heart thumped while my mind screamed at me to run.

 

Without realizing it, I coiled up and hissed in a threatening way. As that sound echoed through the room, the cold tension that had filled the air moments before vanished in an instant. But my body, still remembering the earlier fear, kept trembling and wouldn’t stop easily.

 

Zerpell, perhaps realizing what he had done, came over to me.

 

“Ah… right. You were here.”

 

That must have been killing intent. His eyes were locked onto me, and his hand twitched as if he might draw the sword next to him at any moment.

 

Maybe he felt guilty. He began stroking me gently from head to tail, as if to calm me down. His expression didn’t change, but the continuous soft stroking made me feel safe. Slowly, my heartbeat returned to normal. He kept petting me until my trembling stopped.

 

“Shuiren. I forgot about you.”

 

He spoke in a casual tone, like he had mistaken me for another assassin. Hearing that, my fear strangely melted away, and I looked up at him in a daze.

 

I’d read countless times in novels about protagonists facing threats like assassination and poisoning, yet overcoming them. But knowing someone in front of me was actually going through that made my heart ache.

 

He looked younger than me—how could someone so young be under threats to their life… Is it because he’s the Crown Prince…?

 

My heartbeat finally calmed. He finished putting on his pajamas, and as he turned around, I saw the scars across his back. My heart sank. Those scars seemed to tell the story of his painful past. Any anger I had over being forgotten disappeared.

 

If he’s the Crown Prince, he must be surrounded by people, and it’s only natural that attendants or maids should take care of him—but there was no sign of that at all. On the contrary, he seemed so used to handling everything on his own. It was clear he had been doing so for a long time.

 

Even though he was the Crown Prince, he didn’t keep anyone close. At the garden earlier, there had been only one knight with him. Other nobles usually paraded around with groups of people. Maybe he doesn’t trust others, or maybe he just finds it bothersome—but judging by how he immediately assumed I was an assassin the moment he sensed another presence in the room, I could cautiously guess that he doesn’t trust people because many are after his life.

 

At the same time, I wondered why he had brought me here.

 

Because I’m an animal?

 

Animals can’t talk, so there’s no fear of betrayal. As he said, I couldn’t possibly pose a threat to his life. My heart throbbed. As I lowered my head slightly, Zerpell cupped my face with the same hand he had used to pet me. When I looked up at him, he slowly opened and closed his eyes, then said seriously,

 

“How long do you think you’ll live?”

 

Startled, I looked at Zerpell. It was practically a death sentence.

 

Don’t say stuff like that, it makes it sound like I’m going to die!

 

Frightened, I clung to his hand and stared into his eyes. Then I hissed loudly as if demanding an explanation. Zerpell chuckled softly, finding me cute. His calm laughter after such a bombshell made me angry, and I thrashed the bed with my tail. Perhaps understanding my protest, he said gently,

 

“Don’t worry. I won’t let that happen.”

 

His words, spoken while looking into the distance, carried a deep resolve. The strength in his voice gave me reassurance, and my shaken heart began to settle. I couldn’t take my eyes off his face, full of determination. As I blinked up at him, he turned his head as if noticing my gaze. When our eyes met, the corners of his eyes seemed to soften slightly.

 

“Looks like you’ve relaxed. Really, the more I look at you, the more it seems like you understand what I’m saying.”

 

Though I wasn’t hiding it intentionally, his words, which seemed to pierce right through me, made my chest tighten.

 

Ugh. I’ll let it go just this once. It’s late—go to sleep already.

 

Turning my head quickly and curling up, I heard the sound of a sigh. He moved my cushion and blanket next to his pillow, said goodnight, and then fell asleep. I looked at his sleeping face. He seemed to have dozed off as soon as he closed his eyes. I found myself staring at him sympathetically.

 

I thought being a Crown Prince meant he could live leisurely, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. He was already burdened with hardship at such a young age, and it bothered me. Like it or not, we now had to live together.

 

There was no point in blaming the gods—there was no way to return to being human. I had died in an accident and was reincarnated as a snake. I had to accept the situation and get used to this life. Luckily, being picked up by the Crown Prince was a stroke of fortune. The cozy and luxurious room suited me perfectly.

 

When I looked at other pets, I often thought they acted more like masters than their owners. Since things were already like this, I decided to fully enjoy life as a snake and a pet. After all, what’s a pet’s role? To make their owner happy and cheerful! I’ll just act cute and enjoy a life of luxury!

 

 

—

 

Rustling sounds woke me with a start. I must have fallen asleep without realizing it while thinking about how to move forward after yesterday’s resolution. When I raised my head and looked around, he was already fully dressed.

 

So diligent.

 

I yawned widely and stretched to wake myself up. Alright! Starting today, I’ll work hard to earn his favor. Watching me, he started talking.

 

“You’re awake.”

 

I nodded in response. Then I climbed off the bed and crawled toward his leg. It was uncomfortable moving around with this crawling body, but I endured it. When I finally reached him, I tugged at the hem of his pants with my mouth. Master, take me with you. For a luxurious life, I needed to earn his points of approval. Zerpell looked at my behavior and said,

 

“You want to come with me…?”

 

Hearing that, I nodded vigorously, expressing with all my might that I wanted to go.

 

“You’ll have to stay still.”

 

Do I look like a child to you? I stared at him disapprovingly. He quietly held out his hand to me, and I quickly climbed on. When he opened the door and stepped outside, Ian was already waiting.

 

“Your Highness. Good morning. Um… the snake… I mean, Lord Shuiren is coming too?”

 

As he greeted us, he saw me and struggled with what to call me, finally adding an awkward honorific at the end. I never imagined I’d be called “Lord” one day.

 

“He wanted to follow me.”

 

“…Excuse me?”

 

I lifted my head and nodded, confirming it. Seeing that, Ian squinted at me. His brows furrowed like he was doubting what he had just seen. I quickly averted my gaze.

 

When we arrived at the office, Zerpell placed me on one side of the desk and began sorting through the stack of documents. Not wanting to get in the way, I sat quietly and watched him at first.

 

But… this guy doesn’t stop. Is he even human? Take a break, man.

 

The sunlight streaming through the window was so warm that I dozed off for a moment, and when I opened my eyes, he was still processing the documents in the exact same posture as before. It was at the level of being a workaholic. Of course, looking at the mountain of paperwork piled up in front of me, I could understand, but still, rest was important. As he swiftly dealt with the documents, the once-overwhelming amount was gradually decreasing. There was no room to lower my guard or gauge his likability—it felt like any interference would be a hindrance.

 

Just stay quiet.

 

I curled up my body and tried to fall asleep again. As I was about to drift off, a very important thought popped into my head.

 

Wait a minute! Did I eat? My stomach had been slightly growling since yesterday, but given the situation, I had completely forgotten about my hunger. The chilly air I had felt yesterday came to mind again, sending a shiver down my spine. I trembled and turned to look at Zerpell beside me.

 

Since I came to the office with Zerpell, there was a high chance he hadn’t eaten either. I craned my neck and glanced around quickly, but I couldn’t find any trace of food—only paper. The place was made entirely of paper. At most, there was a cup of tea beside him…

 

Don’t tell me he didn’t eat? People should eat three meals a day! I quickly looked around and discovered a small assortment of refreshments on the guest table. I glanced to the side and saw Zerpell still focused on his work.

 

Seeing that, I made up my mind and carefully approached so as not to disturb the mountain of documents, then tugged on his collar. He was looking at the documents but turned his gaze to me. I pointed toward the refreshments I had found earlier with my tail, energetically indicating.

 

Let’s eat! You should eat something before working more!

 

Worrying about the owner is part of a pet’s job. With this, I could earn some points and eat—killing two birds with one stone. I prayed that my gestures would get through to him and expressed myself with my whole body.

 

He gazed at my movements for a moment and finally set down the fountain pen he was holding. Zerpell seemed to understand my message as he patted my head and said,

 

“Alright. You must be hungry.”

 

He reached out and rang the bell that was beside him. The sound of the bell rang out, and Ian, who had been waiting outside, came in.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Shuiren seems to be hungry… Has the scholar arrived?”

 

“He’s on his way. He’s expected to arrive in an hour or two.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

He stared intently at Shuiren.

 

“Snakes… usually eat small birds or mice. Can you prepare something like that?”

 

Ian was smiling, but his lips were trembling slightly. He seemed to be thinking for a moment, then realized Zerpell was pondering and quickly offered a suitable alternative.

 

“It might be difficult to procure birds or mice. I’ll prepare some tender raw meat cut into small pieces. If it doesn’t suit her, I’ll come up with another solution quickly.”

 

When mice were mentioned, I silently cried inside, wondering if I really had to eat one. But I sighed in relief at the mention of preparing raw meat. I wasn’t sure if I could eat it, but it was a hundred, no, a thousand times better than mouse meat.

 

That seemed to be the end of the matter, as Zerpell picked up the documents again, and Ian was about to leave. Wait, just mine? Growing anxious, I kept tugging at his collar. Logically, wouldn’t the attendants be worried if their master skipped breakfast?

 

Feed him too. Aren’t you worried?

 

I tugged on Zerpell’s collar while giving Ian a look. There was no way a snake and a human could communicate, but somehow we were perfectly in sync at that moment. Zerpell looked at me, wondering what was wrong. Meanwhile, Ian seemed to seize the opportunity and spoke gently, concealing his emotions.

 

“Perhaps its worried that Your Highness hasn’t eaten?”

 

“What?”

 

I let go of his collar and nodded, as if to say that was exactly right. Seeing my response, Zerpell furrowed his brows and asked if that was really the case, to which I nodded even more vigorously.

 

Scored some points with the attendant too, right? Please bring us something tasty~!

 

After a moment of hesitation, he told Ian to prepare a portion for himself as well.

 

“Yes. I’ll prepare it right away.”

 

Perhaps Ian had always worried about Zerpell, who regularly skipped breakfast—he disappeared quickly before Zerpell could take back his command. Feeling satisfied and proud, I smiled and returned to my spot, deciding not to disturb him any further now that I had achieved my goal. Watching me, Zerpell brushed his hair back. As if feeling awkward. But the corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly.