A Snake’s Life Ch 107

Chapter 107

 

At first, he looked at me with a fierce gaze, as if he didn’t recognize me, but then he must have realized who I was, for he hurriedly lowered his head.

 

“M-my apologies!!”

 

I waved my hand dismissively to show it was fine. Then the knight standing behind me asked about Zerpell’s whereabouts.

 

“Is His Majesty present?”

 

“Yes! He is currently in a meeting with Count Albus.”

 

“Inform him that Lord Shuiren has arrived.”

 

The knight straightened into a formal posture and saluted before opening the door. But through the crack of the door, I caught a glimpse of someone pleading. Curious, I leaned my head in slightly.

 

“Y-Your Majesty… Please forgive me. I was momentarily blinded and acted foolishly.”

 

“Hah… I have no business with you. Cedric, take him away.”

 

Then I heard Zerpell’s cold voice. Peeking through the door, I felt a chill down my spine. Zerpell was looking down arrogantly at the noble as though he were nothing more than trash.

 

Even the way he clicked his tongue with disdain was impeccable.

 

Cedric promptly obeyed and dragged the noble out. His golden eyes glinted chillingly.

 

But… he looked so damn cool… I must really be hopeless.

 

Zerpell must have sensed someone watching him because he slowly turned his head and locked eyes with me. There was no reason for me to be intimidated, but I instinctively clamped my mouth shut. Awkwardly, I tried to close the door again.

 

I felt like I had been caught eavesdropping, and I didn’t want to disturb him when he was busy.

 

Once the situation was resolved, and before the knight could even announce my arrival, Zerpell suddenly stood up. He gently pushed aside the knight who was standing in front of him and grabbed the door just before it could close.

 

His eyes widened in surprise. He had seen me in serpent form just this morning, so it must have puzzled him to see me like this now.

 

But soon, he gave me a gentle smile. The stark contrast from earlier made me scratch my cheek awkwardly.

 

“It’s been a while.”

 

Voices from behind called out, “Your Majesty,” but Zerpell remained calm. When he began to walk away, the noble raised his voice even louder to call out to him, and it was so loud that Zerpell’s own voice was hard to hear.

 

“Cedric.”

 

“Yes.”

 

In the end, Cedric gagged the man and dragged him away. I stared blankly at the scene.

 

“Shuiren. What are you looking at?”

 

The tone was kind but strangely forceful.

 

“Huh…? Oh… I was just wondering who that was.”

 

Zerpell gave a soft chuckle.

 

“No need to concern yourself. He was merely someone dreaming a foolish dream.”

 

“Really?”

 

Judging from his curt reply, the man must have offended Zerpell somehow. Was it about the event Camilla mentioned earlier?

 

“More importantly, you’re human again.”

 

Without warning, Zerpell pulled me into a tight hug. He pressed his nose into my neck, as if inhaling my scent. I could feel his hot breath on my nape.

 

“W-why are you doing this?”

 

There were knights around… and this was the audience chamber, so nobles were passing by as well.

 

I tried to push Zerpell away because he was clinging to me too tightly, but he wouldn’t budge. Instead, he held me even tighter.

 

“Just let me stay like this for a moment. It’s been so long… I missed you.”

 

I rolled my eyes around for a bit, then finally gave up and patted Zerpell’s back as he rubbed his face into my neck.

 

Anyone passing by would’ve thought we looked ridiculous, standing in the middle of the corridor holding each other, but his languid tone somehow made me feel good too, so I just stayed still.

 

After a long while, Zerpell finally raised his head.

 

“You’re still the same.”

 

“Well, did you expect me to change?”

 

I chuckled, finding his comment silly. Zerpell laughed heartily.

 

“Shall we head to the office, then?”

 

“The office?”

 

He smiled and took my hand, leading me along. Ian, who had been standing behind, muttered that things weren’t finished yet, but Zerpell didn’t even listen. He seemed so happy I’d returned to my original form that he was taking me to what he considered a place full of memories—his office.

 

When we arrived, Zerpell wordlessly pulled me by the hand. He sat down in his chair and effortlessly pulled me onto his lap.

 

Strangely, it didn’t feel awkward. It felt… nostalgic.

 

“We used to do this a lot, didn’t we?”

 

I reached out and gently stroked his hair.

 

“Yeah. It’s been a long time for me too.”

 

A warm atmosphere settled between us for a while. Ian must have followed us, because he was in front of us, looking utterly drained, as if he had seen it all before. He glanced over the desk, then told a servant to prepare some light refreshments.

 

Seeing that, both Zerpell and I let out small chuckles. Ian was acting exactly like he had a year ago. Perhaps feeling self-conscious, he cleared his throat awkwardly.

 

When the servant quietly brought in the refreshments, Zerpell placed a small cookie in my mouth. It was exactly the flavor I liked.

 

But somehow, it was a bit different from the ones I had a year ago.

 

“Hmm… Did the chef change?”

 

“You noticed? Technically, no—the chef didn’t change, but I did hire a new one just for desserts. I wanted to serve you delicious treats whenever you came.”

 

Zerpell didn’t originally hire a pastry chef, as he wasn’t one for sweets. But “whenever I came”… A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips.

 

“Thanks. But is it okay for you to be slacking off like this?”

 

“It’s fine. Just for a day. After such a long time… I can’t just let it pass quietly.”

 

He ran his fingers through my silver hair. My strands flowed like threads through his fingers. “So beautiful,” he murmured in a dazed tone, which made me blush.

 

Then suddenly, I remembered meeting Camilla.

 

“Oh right, I ran into Camilla earlier.”

 

“…Camilla?”

 

“She’s changed a lot too. She’s really matured.”

 

“So?”

 

“Eh??”

 

“Was she pretty?”

 

Well, she was… but I turned my head at Zerpell’s cool tone and saw him clicking his tongue with disapproval. I quickly waved my hands and said sharply,

 

“No. Don’t get the wrong idea again!”

 

“……”

 

Zerpell said nothing. Instead, he glanced away. I gave a baffled laugh. Then he muttered in a voice that almost sounded sulky.

 

“You were talking about someone else, that’s why.”

 

“…A year really has been a long time…”

 

Even as I witnessed this unexpected side of him, I found myself liking it. His cuteness made my heart flutter, and I gently pressed my hand on top of his head.

 

“I’m still here, you know. What’s there to be jealous about?”

 

“Well… you’ll be mine soon enough anyway. I can’t help getting impatient.”

 

“Yeah, I… wait, huh?”

 

Zerpell replied with a satisfied look on his face.

 

Hadn’t I already been his from the beginning? I felt confused but didn’t voice it aloud. Saying something would be… embarrassing.

 

I changed the subject for no reason.

 

“Anyway, weren’t you saying there are lots of pesky nobles? Camilla said she was irritated—uh, I mean, annoyed.”

 

“That all disappeared the moment you arrived.”

 

He still had a way with words. I smiled goofily and said that was a relief. Just then, there was a knock at the door, and I saw someone I hadn’t seen in a long time. It really had been a while…

 

I raised my hand high and waved.

 

“Casa!”

 

Casa, who had supposedly searched far and wide for me, had returned. Dressed neatly in a knight’s uniform, he gave me a respectful greeting. As my face lit up, Zerpell’s mood soured, thinking his time with me had been interrupted.

 

“It’s been a while, Lord Shuiren.”

 

“Don’t you think you’re being a little too happy?”

 

“Oh come on, don’t be jealous. It’s just been a long time. Since I got here, I’ve only seen Cedric, Ian, and Kir, you know? Let me see some other people too!”

 

Now that I thought about it, after being taken back by Zerpell, I’d only stayed inside the room. Even though guards were stationed, I hadn’t seen Paul or Wal at all. Weren’t they originally my escort knights? I hadn’t even seen Aiden!

 

Seeing Camilla again made me realize how much time had passed—an entire year. I suddenly felt curious about how the others were doing.

 

I first expressed my apologies to Casa.

 

“Sorry… I heard you had a tough time because of me.”

 

“It’s fine. It was my own failure for not protecting my master properly.”

 

Why did it sound like a backhanded comment? Was it just me? I glanced at Zerpell and lifted the collar with the necklace.

 

Now that I was human again, I could take care of myself.

 

“By the way, could you take this collar off? Ian made it, right? It’s not like I’ll get kidnapped again now that I have both arms and legs. What’s there to worry about?”

 

“……”

 

But no one refuted me. Even Zerpell just gave a faint, eerie smile.

 

“Well… Lord Shuiren does have a tendency to run off unpredictably.”

 

“There is precedent, after all.”

 

“Still not allowed.”

 

Those were the words of Ian, Casa, and Zerpell—united from the start. With all three of them saying the same thing, my jaw dropped.

 

“It was a year ago but… didn’t you get kidnapped back then?”

 

Casa hit a sore spot. Crap… that’s right. I had been kidnapped when I was human. I sulked and muttered in protest. I couldn’t even argue against it.

 

“It’s not like I wanted that to happen…”

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll take it off after the ceremony.”

 

“Lord Shuiren… Are you really okay with that?”

 

“Doesn’t bother me.”

 

I didn’t understand why Ian looked at me with such a pitying gaze. He shook his head as if resigning to my will. Casa remained expressionless.

 

“Casa.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“It’s time for you to return to your original duties. Protect the most precious person in the Ailfelt  empire.”

 

“I will guard them with everything I have.”

 

Then Casa silently approached and gave me a respectful salute. The most precious person, huh… I tried hard to suppress the smile tugging at my lips.

 

Old memories came flooding back. Just then, there was a very cautious knock on the door. It was the kind of knock someone would use if they didn’t want the person inside to notice their presence.

 

At Ian’s call, a man poked his head in. His arms were full of documents, and he walked like a stiff robot.

 

He never even looked at Zerpell. Instead, he handed the documents to Ian, bowed hurriedly, and rushed back out. Ian casually accepted the papers and held them up as if to say, “Look at this.”

 

“Your Majesty. There are a lot of documents waiting for your seal.”

 

“Tsk.”

 

Since we had spent some time together already, I figured it was time to let him go. I climbed off his lap and waved my hand lazily. Zerpell looked at me with regret but didn’t stop me.

 

“Master, I’m going to see Aiden. That’s okay, right?”

 

“Go ahead. Casa will guide you.”

 

“Got it.”