It rose up again.
Under the brilliant silver hair, round and sparkling cherry-blossom-colored eyes. The lips smiled like the sea, the hollows of the cheeks, and the high cheekbones, a pale flush on the face.
Even the thin, soft fingers that brushed against my hair.
I wanted to grab all of those fingers, press my lips onto the palm, and lift my own hand to touch the silver hair, soft and surely kind.
No, not just the silver hair—through the plump cheeks, to the eyelids, the bridge of the nose, and the lips, to everything, I wanted to search every part.
“Damn it…!”
Why do these feelings keep arising like this?
He shook his head and spat out a curse.
“Fine, just say you’re in heat. That would be better.”
In the end, harsh words spilled out.
Of course it seemed true enough, but whether it was true or not, I didn’t want to deal with this ticklish feeling.
He began to rationalize furiously, spinning around the room like a dog about to be sick with longing.
“So these feelings are just instinct. They’ll settle down soon enough.”
He had forgotten a few times before those Basilisk members who had been consumed by pheromones and nearly forgotten their missions.
But survival instinct is always the strongest rule.
Including Ban, they had always suppressed their desire for pheromones.
This time, too, it would be only for a while.
After a little more time, this feeling would pass and I could leave.
“That’s probably true.”
This time as well, he gazed beyond the snowy mountains at the glimmering palace.
Though he had pledged his life and loyalty, he would ultimately be the man who betrayed him in the palace.
‘There must be a purpose, think about your purpose.’
Yet somehow, today, when he looked at the palace, Zero’s face did not come into clear focus.
“Damn it…”
Even if his body hadn’t fully recovered, leaving this place with the duke would be wise.
But for some reason?
That decision never rose in his mind.
As if leaving the company of a noblewoman was unthinkable.
Ban only kept muttering curses.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
These days Ban has been strange.
“Woof woof…”
Now it’s time to practice alone, and he keeps saying he’s tired, that his body doesn’t feel quite right yet.
He’s making all sorts of excuses to avoid humanization practice.
And!
Yesterday, on a moonlit night, he allegedly circled the practice yard 700 times?
And he ran into Eric and exchanged a quite awkward greeting. He said he apologized for what happened last time.
“Woof woof woof…”
Why on earth is he like this? I lay on the bed, watching Anna.
-Anna, what do you think?
“Hmm… Perhaps it might be worth writing a letter to Madam Cream Sude?”
Eureka!
“Wouoff!!”
Yes, if Anna the Sentry understood Ban’s strange reaction.
I hopped onto the table using my forepaws and called Anna to sit on a chair.
-Anna, write exactly what I tell you.
“Understood.”
I instructed Anna to write in detail about Ban and what happened, and his reaction.
Of course, I excluded the strange atmosphere surrounding it, but a competent Instructress like Anna would know everything.
“Wooof!”
Good! Send it.
The reply came surprisingly quickly.
“Was he curious about my situation?”
Somehow, I felt the urge to try to solve it with Anna’s help, as if a beast’s instinct whispered from behind the scenes. I let Anna go and immediately tore the letter envelope open with my claws.
“…Wouoff.”
When people are too surprised, words don’t come out, do they?
I began reading the letter and my whole body stiffened.
“Dear Princess, could it be that he was unsettled by your pheromones?”
He explained it in a diplomatic way, but I could understand the meaning.
‘Are you crazy? To say I was unsettled by my pheromones means… ugh.’
“Wouoff!!”
I shook my head and continued reading.
“Dear Princess, you didn’t tell me what his humanoid form was, did you?
If you tell me, I might consider that he could be a non-human. In other words, the so-called <Illusory Type>.
So perhaps he might have a body structure different from other humanoids.
Therefore it may be possible that your pheromones unsettled him.”
Ban, among the Illusory Types, is a Black Humanoid—Anna had already picked up on that. Still, why didn’t she tell me earlier…!
“Woof!! Wooof!!”
I, furious, crumpled the letter.
‘So Ban was avoiding me because he was embarrassed by my pheromones after all? What does that mean for the future?’
“Wouoff…?”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
What lies ahead? I don’t know!
Little barking won’t hold back!
“Woof! Wooof!”
I stormed into Ban’s bedroom.
And without any pretense, I swung his door wide open and stepped inside.
He clearly wouldn’t let me in if I knocked, after all!
“Woof woof woof woof!!”
“Princess?”
As expected, the man who had been lying quietly on the bed sat up in surprise.
“Why here… and why no knocking again? Are you turning into your brother?”
-Who says I should answer?
“What…?”
-That is, seriously… is it all about pheromones? You can overcome that with willpower!
-It’s a bit rude to say it like that though.
“Wouoff…”
Embarrassed, I scratched my ear with a paw.
-Hmm… want to go read some books?
“Books?”
He looked puzzled at the sudden direction.
-There’s talk that the Royal Library is bigger than the palace library. There might be something there about solving this.
Of course, I wasn’t just bringing this up for fun.
Rykkan Grand Library is famous for housing all sorts of books, including those regarding Illusory Types—perhaps there’s something about the Illusory Type-Black Humanoid.
Maybe there’s something that could help us.
He seemed interested and rubbed his chin.
“…Couldn’t be a bad idea.”
-Then you’ll turn me into a human, right?
When I reached out with my paw, Ban looked briefly startled.
A moment later, his response was affirmative.
“…Let’s do that.”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
I did become human.
But it wasn’t through his touch, as in the early days when Ban forcibly exuded pheromones to change me. Rather, he kept me at a distance as if I had contracted some plague, and then humanized me from afar.
“Who would have thought he could be so cautious?”
He muttered to himself as he and I headed toward the library. When we arrived at the Grand Library, I almost cried out in awe.
“Wow…”
Of course, it was Ban’s Library. Bigger and with more books than many capitals’ libraries.
“As expected, a Lycan. Bigger than the palace library.”
“What will you look for?”
“I’d like to browse some humanoid-related books.”
“Over here.”
I guided Ban toward the shelves filled with books about humanoids. Soon, he stopped, picked a book, and began reading.
It was < Illusions Library >.
‘So he’s going to learn about Illusory Types, I guess?’
By the way, the reason I came to this library wasn’t to read, but to give Ban a book.
Thus, I roamed around near the shelves like a wanderer.
‘Maybe I should read something too?’
Usually, it’s best to read something related to the original work, isn’t it?
‘Then…’
I looked around and moved a foldable ladder leaning against the wall.
‘I feel like there’s something there. My feelers don’t deceive me.’
The highest shelf. A pure white book glinted there. I fetched the ladder, placed it right under that book, and climbed up.
One rung. Then another.
The ladder was quite tall, and each ascent required me to not look down. If I did, I’d get scared and want to descend immediately.
“Excellent!”
The climb paid off! From that book, all the others I desired followed.
Specifically, it was a book describing Ban’s eventual ally, the < Illusion Type – White Humanoid >.
‘The Black Humanoid Ban is important, but the White Humanoid is also a very significant setting, so reading it isn’t a bad idea.’
I pulled two books off the shelf and tucked them under my arm, then carefully climbed down.
No, he told me to come down. Until I lost balance and nearly slipped!
“Huh? Nooo? Eek?”
The ladder toppled first and knocked over a low shelf. Dozens of books tumbled in a slow-motion cascade.
‘If I fall on top, I’ll be hurt!’
I shut my eyes tight. But a few seconds later, I didn’t feel the pain I’d expected.
When I opened my eyes a little, a tangle of black hair fell across my cheek.
“…Ban?”
“This idiot…!”
He stood in the Rose Room, with an angry expression like I might fall from the window ledge, and pulled me into his arms.
I should have been angry at being called an idiot, but in this moment, my mind went blank. The warmth in his arms, the firm chest beneath, the man’s breath on my head—these were all things I had never felt before.
Stunned, I stared, then looked away and muttered awkwardly.
“So, uh… you there? Uh… over there?”
Huh, I wanted him to let go, but he wouldn’t. His arms felt like iron shackles, binding me tightly.
“Ban? I’m fine, so please let go.”
“…”
When I spoke, the two arms that had felt locked suddenly loosened. But he didn’t simply release me.
He lifted me up with a strong grip and then tidied up the ladder and the fallen books around us. Watching him, I spaced out, but when he came right up to me, I snapped back to reality.
“Everything’s tidied up now.”
Then he abruptly handed me two books I had pulled earlier. I took them in a flutter of surprise.
“Uh? Oh… yes. Thank you.”
“Then go ahead.”
The voice was disturbingly tranquil.
Why…?
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released on October, 10.
See you then!!
