Chapter 03
As if instinctively going on guard, my fur stood on end and puffed up my body. The problem was, no matter how much it fluffed, it didn’t make any noticeable difference.
I took a step back, glancing left and right as I surveyed my surroundings.
When I finally got up and looked around, neither Celestine nor her maids were anywhere to be seen.
The garden—decorated with winter-blooming flowers to suit Celestine’s taste—was now stained a deep red, the flowers snapped and scattered everywhere.
Bodies of servants lay strewn across the garden. Faint screams echoed in the distance.
The scene before me drained all color from my face.
“…A furball?”
At that moment, a pleasant voice drifted down lazily from above.
At the word that seemed to refer to me, I cautiously lifted my head.
No way…
And then our eyes met.
…The male lead?
Damn it.
Whoooosh.
A biting winter wind carrying snow tore between us, as if to divide the space.
His hair fluttered softly in the wind.
Unlike his neat, elegant strands swaying beautifully, my fur whipped about in every direction, completely unruly—like a tangled ball of fluff.
It reflected the chaos in my mind perfectly.
Facing the harsh wind head-on, I didn’t even blink as I stared at the tiger before me.
My eyes stung from the cold wind, but I dared not close them.
If I blinked—even for a moment—I felt like that terrifying silver blade would cut me down.
“Ahh!”
Just then, a scream rang out behind me, followed by a dull thud.
Thud. Roll…
Yeah. I felt like I’d end up just like that.
I glanced at what rolled to my feet—then immediately looked away. I didn’t have the courage to face a severed head staring back at me with open eyes. It belonged to the watcher who had been chasing me.
Frozen in place, I couldn’t move a single inch.
Looking ahead, the male lead—his expression unchanged—frowned slightly as he inspected the blood on his sword, as if it were something filthy.
So today was the day this psychopath massacred the Simond family? Damn it. Ah… my life. I shouldn’t have come down from the mountain.
Is Celestine dead? Or did she escape? What happened?
Right now, there was no sign of Celestine—only a breathtakingly handsome man holding a sword dripping with bright red blood.
Hair like flowing strands of silver silk, and piercing blue eyes as cold as glaciers. A sharp jawline, a high, elegant nose, and overwhelmingly long legs with perfect proportions.
On top of that, his black uniform and perfectly tailored trousers made those long legs look even longer.
Seeing him in person felt completely different from reading about him. It was as if a god had painstakingly sculpted him, pouring a soul into every detail. He was devastatingly handsome—enough to leave anyone dazed.
As expected of Kadelion, famed for his beauty.
Even if his personality was trash.
Even standing still, he radiated an overwhelming pressure—like a top predator who had cornered countless prey before.
Wow… insanely handsome….
His appearance was enough to make me momentarily forget the severed head lying at my feet.
No—if anything, it made him shine even more in contrast.
So the rumors that beastmen are all good-looking… were true after all.
I recalled what the maids had once said.
“Hey, miss said beast-type demi-humans are ridiculously handsome.”
“They say they look almost divine.”
“Seriously? I want to see them. Especially the Kadelion family—they’re supposed to be unbelievably good-looking.”
“They say you could go blind just from looking at them.”
“Hey, hey, didn’t you hear that rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“That the Kadelions charm people and then devour them alive.”
“Ah… if I could just see that face once, I wouldn’t mind being eaten…”
Back then, I had thought, What are they, nine-tailed foxes? Seducing people and eating them?
But now that I was seeing it for myself, I understood exactly what that meant.
That was a face you couldn’t help but be devoured by.
Wow… how can someone’s eyes look like that?
If this were my previous life, he would’ve monopolized every glasses and contact lens advertisement out there.
Mesmerized by his dazzling beauty, I unconsciously let my guard down for a moment—until a sudden chill ran through me.
I shuddered, then smacked my cheek with my front paw.
Get it together. You’re standing on the brink of life and death.
The person in front of you is Ian Kadelion. The one rumored to charm beastmen with that handsome face and then devour them.
Even though I knew I needed to stay alert, I couldn’t help sneaking glances at that flawless face. Beauty had far more impact than I ever imagined.
Maybe those rumors really were true. With that face, there were probably countless people lining up to be eaten.
Since our eyes had already met, I decided to stare at him openly—no, more precisely, to admire his face properly.
After all, they say even a cat that dies after seeing something beautiful dies looking good.
Judging by his face—and that blood-soaked sword—there was a high chance he wouldn’t spare me.
Still… after everything I’d gone through, it felt too unfair to die like this.
Should I just run for it?
The male lead in front of me wasn’t even looking at me—he was just fiddling with his black gloves.
Maybe I can escape.
As I glanced down, preparing to slip away, my eyes met the severed head on the ground.
If I ran, I’d probably end up just like that.
What should I do to survive?
A new dilemma arose.
…Should I try lying down?
After some thought, I slowly lowered myself to the ground in a submissive posture.
I can’t hurt you anyway, so… could you just pretend you didn’t see me and leave, please, male lead?
Flattening myself as much as possible, with my nose nearly touching the ground, I stayed completely still.
But aside from the sound of the wind, there was no response.
When I peeked up, the man was simply staring at me coldly.
Why no reaction? Was this not it…?
My eyes trembled as I shifted posture again and thought.
Right. In my past life, raising both hands meant surrender.
A scene of waving a white flag flashed through my mind.
I don’t have a white flag… should I wave my hands instead?
Slowly, I raised both front paws in a gesture of surrender.
But the man didn’t react.
Higher…?
I raised them even more—like when my mom used to shout “Hands up!” after I did something wrong.
Then I slowly waved them side to side.
After doing that for quite a while, my legs started to feel like they’d fall off.
That should be enough, right?
I looked at him proudly.
But the result…
Total failure.
Complete and utter failure.
Those blue eyes felt colder than ever, devoid of any warmth. Was it just my imagination, or did it feel like he could kill me at any moment with that terrifying blade?
Seriously, neither this nor that works? What do you want from me?!
What exactly did this man want?
Honestly, the fact that my head was still attached to my body felt like a miracle.
Ugh….
Letting out a small sigh, I suddenly had a realization.
Right. I was holding a flower.
A plea for life needs a bribe.
I hadn’t predicted this situation, but I had spent hours suffering in the mountains picking flowers today.
Wait… I waved my paws like that while holding a flower in my mouth?
The thought made me want to melt from embarrassment—but that didn’t matter right now.
Here.
Please take it.
This was my last resort.
I gently placed the red flower I had been holding onto his shoe and sat down in front of him.
“Iss that a bribe?”
Finally, he spoke. His tone was much softer than before—almost… pleased.
Yes!
I nodded quickly.
So how about taking it and just leaving? You can pretend you didn’t see one little animal, right? Please, show me some mercy. Even if others ask you the same thing.
Thinking that way, I realized I wasn’t any different from the others begging for their lives.
And sadly… that was true.
What makes me any different from them?
Wait! Male lead, I gave you a flower! And not just any flower—I climbed a snow-covered mountain to pick it. It’s rare! Who else would go through that trouble?
The man stared at me, then picked up the flower from his shoe and spun it idly between his fingers.
For a moment, it felt like my life—just like that flower—was at his mercy, easily decided by his whim.
I looked at him desperately.
After a while, he finally spoke.
“Spare you?”
Yes!
I nodded eagerly, clinging to that thread of hope.
My eyes shone like a kitten’s, staring up at him.
There is hope. I can live. I repeated it to myself like self-hypnosis.
“Hmm…”
He glanced at me indifferently, still spinning the flower.
“Why should I?”
What?!
Hey.
My mouth fell open.
You cold-hearted tiger. You could at least spare me once.
Just show a little mercy.
But arguing wouldn’t help—I was the one at a disadvantage.
Think about it. If you kill this poor animal, your chances of going to hell increase. You know hell, right? Terrible place.
I desperately hoped my thoughts would somehow reach him.
But if you spare me, your chances of going to hell go down! You don’t want to go there, right? And I’ll probably die before you anyway, so if you save me today, I can even testify for you at your judgment!
I looked at him with hopeful eyes.
I’ll say good things about you. Deal?
Yes, I knew it was nonsense. But survival came first, so I poured all those ridiculous thoughts into my gaze.
He met my eyes briefly, then slipped the red flower—still spinning—into his breast pocket.
Maybe because I was used to everything I brought being discarded, seeing him keep it made something stir in me. I wrinkled my nose unconsciously.
“Hmm…”
With his arms crossed, he tapped his fingers lightly, thinking.
The moment was short—
Yet it felt like eternity.
