A Snake’s Life Ch 20

Chapter 20

 

Sunlight coming through the window woke me up. I felt a weight on me, and when I opened my eyes, I saw an arm pinning me down. Turning my head, I found myself tightly held in Zerpell’s arms. His abs, visible between the folds of his pajamas, caught my eyes. Gasp—why am I here? I was startled and tried to get up, but his arm strength was too much, and I couldn’t budge.

“Did you sleep well?”

Sensing my squirming, Zerpell turned to look at me and spoke in a soft voice. His golden eyes reflecting the sunlight, the hand reaching out to brush my hair, his affectionate expression—it all made me struggle to stay composed. Noticing my dazed gaze, he let out a quiet puff of laughter.

At this rate, my master will conquer me before I can conquer him. Get a grip, get a grip!

While I slapped my cheeks and tried to pull myself together, he had already gotten out of bed, taken off his pajamas, and was getting ready to head out. I hastily threw off the covers and tried to get up to go with him, only to realize—I had no clothes. The ones I had on weren’t suitable for going outside.

I sneakily tried on Zerpell’s clothes lying nearby, but the sleeves drooped over my hands, swinging loosely. When I looked at Zerpell in that getup, he covered his mouth and laughed.

“My clothes seem too big for you. I’ve called a designer today, so let’s go together.”

“You’re coming with me to get clothes?”

Being alone in the room yesterday was absolute torture. Casa wouldn’t let me out no matter what I said. I tightly grabbed his collar and asked to make sure he wasn’t planning to leave me locked in the room again. For the first time since becoming human, I was finally getting to leave the room. He placed a hand on my head and nodded. Zerpell rang the bell on the table, and Ian entered.

“Prepare some clothes suitable for Shuiren.”

Ian scanned me with his eyes and said to wait a moment before leaving the room. When he returned, there were neatly folded clothes in his hands. Zerpell picked them up and touched them, frowning.

“These?”

“I’m sorry. The only clothes that fit were spare garments prepared for nobles.”

“Tsk.”

He must not have liked the material. They looked fancy enough to me, but he seemed dissatisfied and scolded Ian. Eventually, he clicked his tongue and spoke to me apologetically.

“I’ll buy you better clothes later. For now, wear these.”

I didn’t care as long as I could go out, so I nodded. I thought I’d just wear them like a suit or something, but that was pointless thinking. As I stood there holding the clothes, he reached out, took them, and began dressing me while explaining each piece.

“I can do it myself…”

I had both hands and feet now—it felt awkward having someone dress me. It wasn’t even that difficult to put on.

“I like doing it, so it’s fine.”

Zerpell had always taken care of me, so it wasn’t anything new. The clothes that touched my skin were soft and comfortable to move in.

“Anywhere uncomfortable?”

“Nope.”

“Shall we eat before going to look at clothes?”

“Sounds good!”

With that, Zerpell took my hand and led the way.

Message retraction! Some things really don’t change.

The long dining table was filled with food. Except meat. Again today, I had only soup.

“Where’s my meat?”

Zerpell responded with an apologetic look.

“They said if you eat something hard to digest right after not eating for a week, you’ll get a stomachache. I’ll prepare a feast in two days. For now, bear with this.”

Holding just my spoon, I stared at the floating peas in the soup. Soup again today, just like yesterday… And the rest was all easily digestible salad. A salad with no meat.

Did they think I was a herbivore? I’d lived as a snake for three months. I’d eaten nothing but meat the entire time. Vegetables didn’t even register to me.

Seeing his worried gaze at my uneaten food, I forced myself to move my spoon. Vegetables are good for you too. Now that I’m human, I should eat a balanced diet, I reminded myself and started stabbing at the salad with my fork. Surprisingly, the sweet-and-sour crunch echoed in my ears—it was fresh and not bad at all.

As Zerpell watched me eat with a satisfied look, his eyes subtly narrowed. Why? I looked up at him while chewing, but his smile felt… strange. The same smile as before, but it made a chill run down my spine. He rested his chin in his hand and spoke in a suspicious tone.

“I’m glad you’re eating well. But… you’re good at using it.”

“Huh? Using what?”

Not understanding his words, I asked back. Tilting my head, I followed his gaze—it was the spoon in my hand. What about it? He added in a meaningful voice,

“I thought you might struggle with using utensils.”

That’s when I understood. He’d been staring to see if I could use a spoon and eat properly. Worried I wouldn’t know how. Then tell me from the start! There was a spoon, fork, and knife, and I’d used the spoon for the soup, and fork for the salad, as one naturally would. Honestly, at 28 years old, I wasn’t spilling food everywhere either. My surroundings were clean.

Zerpell thought that, considering I was a snake until recently, I was awfully skilled at using utensils—thus, suspicious. Internally panicking, I stammered,

“W-well… I’ve always been watching my master, so of course I know!”

Please, don’t let my voice tremble.

I could hear it shaking from embarrassment. Zerpell opened his eyes slightly and smiled. That smile made cold sweat run down my back, but I ignored it and resumed eating.

This time, I intentionally dropped a couple vegetables clumsily.

Zerpell quietly observed Shuiren, who was overly conscious of his gaze. He clearly remembered that when he’d asked before, “Are you sure you’re okay being human?” Shuiren had hesitated for a moment.

He hadn’t said outright that it was his first time being human.

And Zerpell had a rough idea that the way Shuiren behaved around him was all an act.

I clearly remembered the first thing Shuiren said when he woke up. The very first words out of his mouth were a curse. I hadn’t heard him speak since, but I distinctly recalled him grumbling to the divine messenger in a nervous and sharp voice. When that same Shuiren later babbled adorably upon seeing me, I was so pleased.

It felt like I was being treated specially. How could I not fall in love?

I didn’t know why he was hiding it from me, but since even that side of Shuiren was so adorable, I simply observed quietly. Still, his habit of avoiding my eyes was annoying. Whenever those red eyes, which used to look straight at me, awkwardly turned away, I had to fight the urge to grab his chin and make him look back at me.

Should I pretend not to know, or should I try to probe deeper? First, I needed to find out what Shuiren wanted and liked. Zerpell tapped the table lightly with his finger, lost in thought.

From the beginning, Shuiren hadn’t realized. His behavior had always been unusual, even as a snake, and with this latest incident, Zerpell became even more certain that Shuiren wasn’t purely innocent. He had been laying countless traps while observing Shuiren’s every reaction. Shuiren, with his head buried in his plate eating, didn’t notice—the hungry, predatory glint in Zerpell’s eyes as he licked his lips ominously.

I noticed Zerpell tapping the table in thought. Worried that I might have been found out, I hastily tried to interrupt his thoughts and noticed he hadn’t touched his soup.

“Aren’t you eating, Master? You must be hungry. You need to eat to have strength!”

Perhaps it was out of consideration for me—there was the same soup in front of him, and no meat in sight. Upon hearing my words, he finally began to eat. Having overcome a hurdle, I cried internally.

I couldn’t even tell if the food was going in my mouth or up my nose.

Still reeling from his earlier remark at the table, I staggered to my feet. I was walking with Zerpell to meet the designer. The place Ian guided us to was the parlor. Inside were a woman dressed in a glamorous gown and a man wearing chunky gemstone rings on every finger. They were from a clothing boutique and a jewelry shop, respectively.

With a clap, countless clothes and jewels began to be displayed. It was no wonder my jaw dropped. Even when I had dressed up for the rain-making ritual, I had been overwhelmed while browsing through ornate accessories. Now, a dazzling festival of lights and colors unfolded before my eyes. My cheeks flushed red with excitement. Without realizing, I clasped my hands and looked at Zerpell. He must’ve sensed my sparkling gaze, because he smiled and said,

“Shuiren. Pick as much as you want.”

“Really?? How much??”

“As much as you like.”

Amazing. Truly, my master!!

Brimming with excitement, I stroked fabrics and held up gems to the light, fully enjoying the display. Still, I had some conscience. Picking too many might look greedy, and picking too few might seem like I was pretending to be modest. I decided to start with just ten outfits.

“Master! That one over there, and this one, and that one—buy them for me!”

I ran up to him and tugged at his collar, pointing out the clothes I had chosen. The hand that had been propping up his chin reached out toward me. He tried to pat my head, but I instinctively leaned into it like I used to when I was a snake. Wait—hold on, isn’t this posture weird? I was kneeling on the floor, rubbing my face against his palm to match his height.

Startled, I glanced up and saw the curve of a smile on his lips. He seemed delighted by my behavior, his expression gentle. Feeling like I couldn’t care anymore, I buried my face in his lap.

To hell with pride.

The servants began collecting the clothes I had picked and setting them aside. Zerpell asked kindly,

“Do you like them?”

“The fabric is so soft!”

My voice came out more excited than usual in response to his words. He smiled softly, his eyes crinkling. My cheeks, flushed red from excitement, were reflected in his gaze.

“Your cheeks have turned red.”

He gently stroked my flushed cheek. At that moment, a servant from the boutique approached from behind. To take my measurements for alterations, she asked me to remove my outerwear.

I was eager to try things on and had been measured before, so I obediently began to undress. But just as I did, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me down into Zerpell’s lap. I looked up at him instinctively. His golden eyes flashed with a dangerous glint—he clearly didn’t like me undressing in front of others.