Chapter 1.
That had been a long nightmare.
A dream where I couldn’t tell if I was the squirrel, or if the squirrel was me.
Days when my short arms and legs could do nothing.
Those were horrifying times.
‘Right. I’m saying goodbye to those days now.’
For the first time in a while, Carly slept soundly.
Back when she’d been trapped inside the body of a squirrel, both her body and mind had felt so uncomfortable.
Maybe that’s why she hadn’t slept properly in ages.
Now, she never would again.
‘This is what life should be. Unhappy days, bye-bye.’
Carly raised her upper body to stretch—
but then suddenly felt something strange.
There shouldn’t have been anyone next to her, yet there was something heavy there.
It was too big and firm to be a doll.
When she was a squirrel, that presence had looked enormous.
So she thought that, now that she was human again, it wouldn’t be an issue.
But that wasn’t the case.
“Why is he here…?”
To Carly, the man was still huge.
Broad shoulders, a solid chest, long limbs.
He was unchanged.
“Sleep more.”
He grabbed Carly’s wrist and pulled her into his arms.
As a result, her face ended up buried against his bare chest.
There was one bad thing about being human again:
a man’s bare chest was way too dangerous.
The vivid warmth made it impossible to look anywhere properly.
“Good girl.”
His hand touched the top of her head.
The gentle, brushing movement was endlessly tender.
Just like when she’d been a squirrel.
As Carly struggled to figure out where to put her hands,
Leonhardt took her wrist and placed it around his waist.
‘Wh-what? I’m touching his skin!’
Her whole body stiffened with tension.
Once her arm was on his waist, she couldn’t move a muscle.
Trying to avoid the sight of the firm muscles in front of her,
her eyes drifted up toward his face.
Even asleep, the beautiful man showed no flaws.
‘Seriously… his looks are unfair.’
She studied him for a moment, then stretched out her hand.
Lashes longer than a woman’s, a sharp nose, features unreal in perfection.
Now that she was on the same level, it felt so strange she couldn’t stop staring.
She kept wanting to touch him.
‘But why is he sleeping here? He is asleep, right?’
She waved her hand in front of his face.
No reaction—definitely asleep.
Carly sat up.
As a squirrel, maybe it would’ve been fine.
But now, as a woman again, sharing a bed with him was awkward.
‘Like we’re really a married couple or something…’
Her gaze kept slipping back to his upper body.
She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away.
‘What are you thinking, you pervert!’
She moved carefully, trying to slip out of bed.
But then an arm coiled around her waist like a snake, freezing her breath.
“Ah…!”
That arm yanked her backward.
Before she could struggle, his torso pressed against her back.
Their bodies were flush. Carly gasped.
“Carly.”
His low, husky voice stabbed at her heart.
His hot breath brushed her nape, so close his lips might touch her at any moment.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“…Where are you going.”
“Uh, just for a bit…”
“Trying to run away?”
“I—uh…”
She opened her eyes wide and glanced back.
His eyes were still closed. Was this… sleep talking?
She tried twisting free, but his arm was locked tight.
Somehow, she ended up turned around, facing him.
“No, Carly. Don’t run away.”
His gentle murmur was followed by his eyes slowly opening.
From beneath his lids, golden eyes gleamed.
His arm around her waist tightened.
His other hand moved freely, sliding from her shoulder upward.
Every touch made her body tremble.
“W-why are you here?”
He was definitely awake now.
Carly clutched his solid arm tightly.
But she couldn’t stop him—the muscle was too strong.
“Why, you ask?”
His gaze deepened.
The corners of his lips curved into a smile.
“Carly. I’m seducing you.”
His hand reached her face, radiating heat.
His thumb brushed her lips. Carly swallowed.
His golden eyes darkened further.
“Hurry up,”
his thumb traced along her lips.
“Fall for my temptation.”
Oh no. Big trouble.
The moment she returned to being human,
Leonhardt Spencer, the great duke of the realm, had started seducing her.
‘Why is this happening…?’
It seemed she couldn’t leave this man.
Couldn’t escape him.
Everything was ruined.
It felt like she’d lost her way.
I was definitely dead.
Because my last memory was being hit by a damn drunk driver’s car,
my body thrown up, then crashing to the ground.
That should’ve been enough. I had to have died.
But my eyes opened.
And I was breathing just fine.
‘What…? Didn’t I die?’
I’d endured a wretched life.
I had finally hoped to be happy.
And then to die in a car accident?
Unfair. Why me?
Maybe God had taken pity.
Maybe He’d spared me.
‘I’m alive, right? Really? Not dead?’
Warmth wrapped around me.
I blinked slowly, bathed in sunlight.
‘Where am I?’
The ceiling above was unfamiliar.
At first, I thought it was a hospital.
That I’d miraculously survived the fall.
What a relief, I thought.
“This is…”
My voice came out.
But it sounded odd.
Like my pitch had gone up a notch.
Ah, I must’ve been bedridden for a long time.
“Ah, ah. Testing. Ah, ah.”
My voice was clear. My words normal.
But it wasn’t mine.
It was like I was borrowing someone else’s voice.
Still, maybe it was from disuse.
That had to be it.
I tried to sit up and look around.
And froze.
‘Wait… why does everything look so high?’
I scanned the room calmly.
It was spacious—like an expensive hospital room.
There was a dresser, wardrobe, and table.
Even a terrace, curtains fluttering lemon-yellow in the breeze.
“Uh…”
And all the furniture looked huge.
Had I shrunk? Or was I in a giant’s house?
I took a deep breath.
Then glanced at my hands—and my lower body.
I nearly leapt in shock.
Sitting or standing, my height barely changed.
“…This must be a dream.”
My arms and legs were way too short.
But that wasn’t even the biggest problem.
“What’s with all this fur…”
No, it had to be a dream.
It had to.
There was no way I’d suddenly become a ball of fluff.
Heart pounding, I crept toward the full-length mirror in the corner.
Thankfully, standing on the bed was enough to see.
“Hoo… ha…”
I was talking just fine, wasn’t I?
So how could I be some hairy little monster?
It had to be a nightmare.
And I had to wake up.
“…Ha.”
The reflection was ridiculous.
Short arms and legs.
A tail, and soft white fur covering everything.
The mirror showed a perfect squirrel.
An albino squirrel, no less.
One that talked.
‘No. No, no, no.’
Panicked, I spun in circles.
Then stepped up to the mirror again.
There, a white squirrel with black eyes stared back.
“No. This can’t be.”
I paced anxiously, muttering, then leaned in close.
This time, the squirrel twitched its ears.
“N-no.”
It couldn’t be true.
Muttering like a lunatic, I leaned right up to the glass.
The squirrel’s face came closer too.
“Aaagh! No, no…!”
The squirrel’s reflection twisted like Munch’s The Scream.
“I’m…”
I’m a squirrel?!
The shock was too much.
I staggered and fell off the bed with a thud.
‘Please, if this is a dream…’
Let me wake up.
And I fainted on the spot.
Leonhardt returned to the mansion with a hardened face.
The moment he stepped inside, his mood soured.
“So you’ve finally come.”
Because of the careless mistake of a duke three generations ago,
the Spencer line had been cursed by a witch.
That damned curse had been passed down from his grandfather onward.
It came in two parts:
First.
Every new duke must marry a bride who also bore the witch’s curse.
If he disobeyed, he would die.
Second.
Every new duke was born afflicted with madness from the curse.
That blood-cursed insanity would consume him—
and only blood could quell it.
‘This is driving me mad.’
The blood in his veins writhed.
Rage and irritation flared for no reason.
He wanted to destroy everything around him.
Clenching his fists, he forced it down.
To suppress the madness, he killed monsters.
He couldn’t kill people, so monsters became his outlet.
The more blood he spilled, the calmer he became.
“Your Grace, you’ve returned.”
As he passed through the grand hall, his aide approached.
“Where is she?”
“Pardon? Who do you mean…”
Leonhardt leaned against the wall, covering his face with one hand.
He gave a crooked smile.
“Who do you think.”
His golden eyes flashed dangerously.
“My cursed bride.”
“That is…”
“She’s here, isn’t she? Hm? Where is she?”
“I’ll bring you to her.”
Why must his descendants suffer for the mistake of a duke long dead?
“So. My cursed bride—
is she human? Or a beast?”
