WBRS 26

Chapter 26

I carefully slid out of bed, a dagger in my hand, and moved silently toward the window.

The moment I sensed danger, my heavy eyelids became light in an instant.

I was still a rabbit with a bright future ahead of me—I couldn’t be taken out here by some faceless assassin.

More importantly, I had only just seen my fiancé’s face for the first time in 23 years! I couldn’t die with this kind of injustice hanging over me!

With my sleep completely gone, my eyes sharpened as I stared toward the window. At that moment, a large, elongated silhouette flickered faintly beyond the white wall.

It was a massive shape—neither fully human nor beast. Whatever it was, it was far too big to be called something like a petty intruder.

“That’s not a petty monster…!”

The more I looked at it, the more certain I became.

Instinctively concluding it was an assassin, I gripped my dagger tightly and swung toward the shadow.

Even though it was pitch dark, I didn’t even blink. I had aimed precisely at the moving silhouette, so there was no way I could miss.

…or so I thought.

But the blade stopped mid-air. It felt as if…

“It’s holding my sword?”

Something large and solid had caught my dagger.

I didn’t know what it was—but I knew for certain it wasn’t human.

“W-what is this…!”

Just as I was about to step back in panic, I heard a familiar sound.

Hiss—!

A very specific hissing sound I could never mistake.

“…Wait, don’t tell me.”

A chilling realization rose within me. I quickly pulled the curtain aside.

Moonlight poured into the room, illuminating everything clearly.

Under the pale light, a huge white serpent stared down at me with glowing golden eyes.

It was even holding the dagger I had swung at it, coiled around its tail like it was nothing more than a toy.

“…Mangdeok?”

I muttered in disbelief. The serpent opened its mouth wide, almost like it was smiling. The pressure it gave off was overwhelming—as if it could swallow me whole at any moment.

“It really is Mangdeok…? That’s impossible… it can’t have grown this much in just a few days…”

As I stared in confusion, the white snake blinked its golden eyes slowly, almost as if pleading innocence.

“Did you… undergo some kind of beast transformation?”

Hiss.

As if answering me, its long pink tongue flicked out smoothly.

Meanwhile, the dagger stuck on its tail dangled back and forth like an ornament.

Thinking about how I had tried to stab something this huge with such a tiny blade—it was absurd. At most, it would’ve left a scratch.

Then came another familiar sound.

Crack. Clang.

With a flick of its tail, the dagger snapped cleanly and fell apart.

…Well. The one Dain gave me is broken again. I’m not even surprised anymore.

“But you’re too big. Can you shrink?”

At that moment, the massive white body glowed brightly. I blinked against the flash of light—and when I opened my eyes again, the huge serpent had become the small Mangdeok I knew.

So it could change size after all.

Hiss—

Now smaller, Mangdeok slithered onto the bed and curled up under the blanket like it owned the place.

“…Still shameless as ever.”

Seeing that behavior, I was certain—it really was Mangdeok.

After calming down, I walked toward the bed.

“Oh, the window.”

I had almost forgotten something important. I turned back and quickly closed the window tightly.

Now that I had erased all traces of the incident, there should be no early-morning visit from Letty.

With my heart finally calming down, I lay down on the bed—and met Mangdeok’s bright, sparkling eyes staring at me from under the blanket.

“…Are you going to sleep like that?” I asked.

It tilted its head slightly. I was starting to understand that gesture meant confusion.

“Well… I don’t mind, but most people don’t sleep in their beast form.”

Most beast-people preferred human form while sleeping, since beast form had many inconveniences.

Even I hadn’t used my true form in a long time. Though sometimes, running freely in it helped relieve stress.

At my words, the snake flicked its tongue again, seemingly thinking.

Hmm… that look… it’s hesitating.

Wait. If it turns into a human here, wouldn’t that be a problem? If Letty came in now, a snake could be hidden—but a person would be immediately discovered.

“Wait, actually… it’s better if you stay like this. It’s safer.”

I gently patted its head, meaning “don’t transform.” But its expression became… complicated.

It didn’t like that answer.

And then—

A flash of white light burst out again.

In the blink of an eye, a man stood where the snake had been.

“Hey—!”

“You like this form more, don’t you?”

He looked down at me calmly, as if he already knew everything.

That wasn’t entirely wrong… but still!

“You don’t need to worry.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked.

“I can sense everything nearby. Even when your guards are supposed to be on patrol, I can tell when one of them is dozing off under the wall.”

“…What?”

“He was awake when I arrived. Now the surroundings are quiet—he’s probably asleep.”

That was disturbingly specific.

I should probably reconsider the palace security… though technically that wasn’t my department.

Still, he didn’t look like he was lying.

“Then… can you turn back into Mangdeok? Just in case.”

“Didn’t you say you liked me more than Mangdeok?”

His eyes drooped slightly like a wet puppy.

…That’s unfairly cute for a grown man.

But I quickly shook the thought away. What am I even thinking?!

“Unfortunately, it’s the opposite.”

“Really?”

He lay down beside me and opened his arms.

That pose… don’t tell me—

“What does that mean?” I asked cautiously.

“You used to hold me whenever I slept. So do it tonight too.”

He was definitely doing this on purpose.

“I only did that because you were Mangdeok! I’m not hugging a grown man!”

“But I can’t sleep unless you do.”

That was an obvious lie. A completely transparent one.

“Liar.”

“Then just pretend.”

This man… really had no shame at all.

Do all snakes behave like this? Or is it just mine…?