chapter 90
“Then you’re going to stay here the whole time?”
“Yes, so you should go back, Kenih.”
I hugged my knees even tighter and told him firmly.
“Go back? Where.”
He tilted his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“To your room….”
I stretched my arm out and pointed to the room next door, but all I got from Kenih was a short, incredulous laugh.
And then—
Kenih, who had been sitting with his knees up, suddenly plopped down on the floor.
“No. I’m staying here too.”
“Why…!”
“Because Cherry’s here. I haven’t slept in five days—one more day isn’t going to kill me.”
His eyes peeked at me through the wall made of dresses.
“You haven’t slept for five days…?”
I muttered to myself without thinking.
He had rolled me around like a burrito in pain from muscle aches until he finally fell asleep late, but he seemed to sleep fine after that… Or not?
I was trying to recall and refute him when—
“You didn’t sing me a lullaby.”
“M–me…?”
I did sing one though?!
While I opened and closed my mouth in disbelief, Kenih only nodded.
“You didn’t show me your face for five whole days.”
…Huh? What was he talking about?
I tilted my head in confusion when he continued speaking.
“You slept the whole five days, Cherry.”
“I… did?”
I stuck my face out between the dresses and pointed to myself. Kenih’s expression twisted strangely.
His face even looked a little red.
“Yeah. The doctor said since your clothes were kept somewhere cold, you went into hibernation. So Cherry…”
Kenih reached his hand toward me carefully.
“Let’s go to the room. It’s still cold here.”
He then ordered the servants to heat this room.
And he said he’d bring me back if it warmed up later.
Watching him frown like he usually never did, I pressed my lips together silently.
And once again, I thought:
He really has a dangerous face.
“Okay….”
I nodded quietly.
When Kenih pushed away the dresses blocking me, I crawled out awkwardly on my hands and knees.
I actually thought things were going smoother than expected.
That is, until—
“Finally caught you.”
Kenih grabbed my hand tightly, grinning with mischievous eyes.
“…!”
Before I knew it, he interlaced our fingers tightly and pressed our joined hands against his cheek.
“Cherry, you’re not going anywhere now.”
W–what?!
Save the squirrel!
No—save the squirrel beastkin…!
* * *
Dragged—no, practically hauled—into Kenih’s bedroom, I finally snapped:
“Kenih, what is this?”
I scowled and glared at him.
As soon as we arrived, he had tossed me onto the bed.
Then, without giving me a chance to speak, he wrapped me up in blankets.
In other words—
I had become a giant cocoon.
I had finally turned back from a squirrel into a human, yet somehow I had become an unexpected pupa.
I narrowed my eyes and stared at Kenih.
He lay next to me on his side, propping his head up with his arm, looking perfectly satisfied.
He still sees me as a squirrel, doesn’t he…
There’s an old saying: men and women over seven shouldn’t sit together.
This cheeky dragon, seriously.
Tsk tsk. I clicked my tongue, but suddenly Kenih called my name.
“Cherry.”
“I—I didn’t say anything bad!”
Feeling guilty, I muttered quickly. He let out a small laugh.
“So you badmouth me every time you look at me like that?”
“N-No! Never!”
…Actually, yes.
Thankfully, Kenih didn’t seem to care.
“It was fun guessing squirrel language, but being able to actually talk like this is even better.”
His hand gently stroked the hair that had slipped out of the blanket.
And honestly…
I felt the same.
He met my eyes, and I loved seeing myself reflected in his always-beautiful golden pupils.
Whenever I was caught in that golden gaze, I felt like I glowed more brightly than usual.
I kept stealing glances at his face when a quiet, careful voice reached me.
“Was the Black Dragon Castle cold these days?”
“Um…”
It did feel a little chilly, but not painfully so.
The bear mountain—especially the deep hut in the heart of it—was far colder than this.
I had never gone into hibernation early before. How did this happen?
Truthfully, I was different from normal squirrels and didn’t hibernate at all.
Usually, I just slept a bit more than normal…
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find the answer.
My eyelids grew heavier and heavier. I kept forcing them open.
“Sleepy?”
“No! Not at all!”
I shook my head violently, but honestly I felt like I’d be dragged under by sleep any moment.
And if I fell asleep like this, I felt like I might turn back into a squirrel.
I hate that…
What if I went back into hibernation?
And also—
Human greed is funny.
Once you gain one thing, you start wanting another.
After talking to Kenih, I wanted to meet Yeloise again. I wanted to greet Gerard and Ferdinand too.
“I wish today wouldn’t end….”
But—
Contrary to that wish, my eyes slowly drifted shut.
* * *
When I woke up again, it was nearly noon.
My whole body is stiff…
Did I fall into hibernation again and wake up after several days?
I lifted my unwilling eyelids with a gloomy feeling when—
“Wak…!”
I let out a bizarre noise at the sight before me.
Which was understandable.
Ferdinand, Yeloise, Gerard—and the physician who had examined me the first time.
Familiar faces were all gathered around me in a circle.
But the real shocking part was—
I’m… still human!
I screamed “Wak,” not “Chuu,” like a squirrel.
Contrary to my fears that I’d revert back, I was still fully human.
“Cherry, Cherry, did you sleep well?”
“So this person… is Lady Cherry…?”
“Child, is your body alright?”
Yeloise greeted me first, followed by Gerard and Ferdinand.
Their kindness made me happy—then suddenly embarrassed.
I must look awful after just waking up.
What if I drooled in my sleep…?!
Squirrel rights. No—human rights.
Where did my human rights go?
I shut my eyes tightly and screamed:
“K–Kenih…!”
Bang!
Right as I was on the verge of tears, clutching the blanket, the sound of a door breaking echoed.
“I told them to behave so they wouldn’t scare Cherry, but they couldn’t wait even a minute…”
Kenih hurried in, letting out sigh after annoyed sigh, patting my cocooned form.
“I—I didn’t want to greet them looking like this…”
“Then shall we pretend none of this happened and let them come in again?”
“Yes, dear. We shall re-enter once you call us.”
Gerard and Ferdinand answered one after the other after hearing my sniffles.
But Yeloise…
Why wasn’t she saying anything?
I peeked sideways and saw Yeloise looking at me with a face like a pleased cat.
“But Cherry, Cherry, you were so cute just waking up that I wanted to bite you.”
Her lips were tightly pressed together—clearly holding back laughter.
“Uuugh… You’re mean!”
After that chaotic fuss, everyone was chased out of the bedroom.
And the one who came in afterward was Ria.
“Huuuh… Lady Cherry. The day has finally come where I get to do your hair. I, Ria Viper, can die without regrets now.”
Ah. So the chaos wasn’t over yet.
Ria cried nonstop while brushing my hair and helping me dress.
“But Ria… you knew I was a beastkin…?”
When I asked cautiously, she replied shortly:
“No?”
“You didn’t seem surprised when you saw me…”
“Ah, well… that’s because—”
