A Snake’s Life Ch 55

Chapter 55

 

I stared absentmindedly at Aiden as he chatted beside me. Then Kir suddenly blurted something out of nowhere.

[Do you wish for that child to live?]

“I’ve always said it. I hate seeing anyone die.”

[Then I shall lend my strength.]

“What?”

[I mean I’ll keep watch. I’ll make sure he can’t eat any more so things don’t worsen.]

“You’re right, but…”

I roughly gauged Kir’s size with my eyes. His relationship with Aiden wasn’t bad, but could he really follow Aiden into the palace? Kir leisurely crawled toward Aiden.

“Kir?”

Aiden looked surprised as Kir, who had always watched from a distance, approached him. The child had always wanted to touch Kir, but the serpent had never allowed him near. Now, Aiden lifted the large Kir onto his lap and stroked his scales for a while.

“They feel weird…”

Aiden’s face was flushed. I watched with bated breath.

“Kir, what are you even…?”

“It’s fine. I’m okay.”

Although Kir was the one being spoken to, Aiden mistook the words as meant for him. Kir glanced at me and said,

[This was the reason I appeared in the first place. Now that you’re able to wield your power with some skill, I can feel assured and return to my duties. As I said before, it’s not hopeless—your powers respond to mine. We share the same power, you and I. I shall stay by the child’s side and ease the resentment he harbors. That would at least help a little.]

Despite having always behaved haughtily, Kir now rubbed himself against Aiden affectionately.

[But remember this. It’ll only be temporary. A solution must be found before time runs out.]

“How can you even…”

I looked Kir up and down. He was just a snake. How could he possibly prevent Aiden from taking the medicine? Aiden tilted his head, glancing between me and Kir, finally noticing my gaze was not on him, but on Kir.

“Hyung, are you talking to the snake?”

Caught up in the conversation with Kir, I had forgotten to keep my voice down. Seeing me converse with the snake, Aiden asked, probably suspecting I was also a snake. A reasonable suspicion.

“Ah… Actually, I can communicate with snakes…”

“Really? That’s amazing! Why is Kir acting like this all of a sudden? I thought he didn’t like me…”

I averted my gaze awkwardly while Aiden looked at me with sparkling eyes. Kir had indeed always treated Aiden coldly. Influenced by other snakes, Kir hadn’t warmed to him. He would curl up on the side opposite Aiden and stare at him intently.

I’d been startled a few times catching that gaze. Even when Aiden greeted him with a smile, Kir would quietly avoid him.

With a faint smile, I said,

“Ah, actually, it seems like Kir wants to go with you…”

My voice trailed off as I glanced at Aiden. He didn’t respond, and I cleared my throat unnecessarily. You should’ve been nicer before, I thought, clicking my tongue inwardly. That ship had likely sailed.

“Still, maybe not… or…”

“It’s okay.”

“What?”

“I think it’ll be fine… Though I’m not sure how the new nanny will take it… Since Kir’s kind of big…”

Aiden didn’t seem to mind much. Maybe I was overthinking it. Still, Aiden did seem concerned about Kir’s size. Kir interpreted those words differently.

[Hmm… It would be a problem as a snake. Humans live communally. Just wait a moment.]

I didn’t know what he meant by “wait,” but I asked Aiden again if it was really alright for Kir to go with him, and Aiden said it was. That put me at ease. Since I couldn’t stay by Zerpell’s side, having Kir near Aiden was the next best thing.

“Are you really okay with this?”

“Yes. I’ll say it confidently! I want to be with Kir too.”

Aiden spoke with a flushed, delighted face. Understandable—there were likely few people in the palace he could truly talk to.

“Well, then great. I’ll leave Kir in your care.”

I lightly placed my hand on Aiden’s shoulder and leaned forward as I said so. But then a faint figure began to swell before my eyes. Between me and Aiden stood Kir, who had told us to wait.

The hand I’d placed on Aiden’s shoulder was pushed away by the swelling figure, and I landed on my backside.

“Ki… Kir??”

The figure began to take on human form—as though rising upright. Suddenly, there stood a man. His skin was bronze-toned, and his build was so massive I had to tilt my head back to look up at him.

His finely sculpted back muscles shimmered in the sunlight. The way they rippled was so vivid before my eyes. Wait—back muscles? And… naked?!

The man stood stark naked, not a thread of clothing on him, as if it were the most natural thing. I jumped up and instinctively grabbed his arm to spin him around.

“Hey! Are you seriously Kir?!”

“I am.”

My voice rose in disbelief. Kir responded nonchalantly. It was undeniably his voice. I stared at him from head to toe with my mouth agape. I knew he could turn human, but every time I asked to see it, he refused, saying it was awkward. This was the first time I’d actually seen it.

I lowered my head. There he was, proudly displaying his existence… Damn it… My face contorted on its own. Kir, seemingly pleased with his transformation, raised his arms and examined every inch of his body. My face had turned deathly pale. I felt sorry for exposing Aiden to something so indecent.

“Hmm. Not bad.”

With a short grunt of approval, Kir raised an eyebrow as he noticed my expression and asked,

“What’s with that face? Is there a problem?”

Yeah. You’re a walking obscenity. How dare you expose such filth to an innocent child. I immediately kicked Kir’s side. Caught off guard, he staggered aside.

Once Kir was out of the way, I saw Aiden standing with his mouth wide open, his pupils shaking uncontrollably. Clearly shocked by what he saw… I offered an awkward smile and said,

“Aiden, I’m really sorry. Just forget everything you just saw, okay? I’ll get rid of him right now, alright?”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Shut up! Don’t you feel any shame?!”

Aiden didn’t say anything, only nodded his head. Meanwhile, I gave a sharp scolding to Kir, who was whining about the pain. I covered Aiden’s eyes and shouted at the ones lurking uselessly behind us.

“You guys! Don’t just stand there gawking! Move it! Get him some clothes and escort Aiden out!”

I pointed at the guards behind me, demanding they fix the situation quickly. Paul stood with his jaw slack, his eyes darting everywhere, unsure where to look.

“Your Highness, excuse us.”

At my signal, Wol snapped to attention and quickly scooped Aiden up like he’d just encountered a pervert, carrying him far away. I would’ve done the same… Casa, without hesitation, took off his outer coat and threw it at Kir. It landed squarely on Kir’s face. Kir lifted the fabric with his fingers.

“What is this?”

“Clothes!”

“I know that. Why are you giving them to me?”

“Just put it on! Or turn back into a snake!”

Kir’s calmness embarrassed me more.

“You said being a snake was the problem, so I turned into a human, and now you’re all in a fuss…”

“When did I say that?! You just interpreted it that way. That’s not even the point—just shut up and put it on!!”

“Honestly, I don’t understand why humans put so much importance on appearances.”

“Are you not even embarrassed…?”

“What is there to be embarrassed about?”

Kir looked straight at me as he spoke. My fists trembled. So proud of yourself, huh? Hmph. I sighed deeply and pressed my palm to my forehead, running my hand down my face.

In the meantime, I wished someone would at least cover up that ridiculous sight. After a moment of dry-washing my face, I looked up and saw Kir—awkwardly, but thankfully—wearing the clothes. Unfortunately, because of his massive size, they were too small. What’s the point of only wearing a top…

In the end, I yanked the clothes away, turned my gaze aside, and tied the garment around his waist. Casa offered to do it himself, but I felt I had to take care of it to feel at ease.

“Can you please act your age? Why do you require so much effort…”

As I spoke, I suddenly felt a chill. My spine shivered. What was this coldness? I turned my head. My mouth dropped open. I desperately wished it was just an illusion… but there stood Zerpell, exuding a terrifyingly dark aura, and behind him, Cedric with wide, stunned eyes.

Ha. Ha. Ha…