MPBGS 15

Chapter : 15

For a long while, the sound of footsteps pacing beyond the door, teasing his appetite, had disappeared.

Andras, mockingly given the trivial name “Jelly” by Evangeline, leaned against the doorframe, gasping for breath. Every harsh cough wracked him with excruciating pain, expelling his insides and flesh. His face was already a mess, blood streaming from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

The wounds inflicted by the cat had healed within hours, yet the holy water Evangeline had forced down his throat completely destroyed his body from the inside.

His tongue couldn’t withstand even the smallest sip of water and burned, his esophagus felt like melting, seared flesh. Perhaps because it was holy water of the Sun God, it resembled the sensation of being burned at the stake in the past.

The best Andras could do was try to repair his rapidly corroding body. Had he not eaten as much before coming, he wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the damage and would have died.

Damn cat. He had only teased it for suddenly playing the role of an inappropriate pet, never imagining it would react so angrily.

And to think Evangeline would force him to drink holy water. If it were that bastard Plauros, he might have been able to avoid it—but in Evangeline’s grasp, escape was impossible.

His body instinctively froze, even without a tight grip. So when the holy water was thrust at him, he had no choice but to swallow the poison obediently.

What had entered Evangeline Rohanson’s body was extraordinarily strange.

Wearing a mask, it seemed almost humanlike in behavior, yet it made no effort to hide its oddness.

Being a non-corporeal entity, even just looking at it was suffocating and terrifying. To subjugate Andras and make Plauros fawn like a cat—could anything but a god do such a thing? Yet that thing could never become a god.

Whoever summoned it had called forth something incredible.

Although he had known Plauros for centuries, he seemed indifferent to Andras bleeding and vomiting. Out of sheer annoyance, Andras resisted going outside at the door.

He had even prevented Evangeline from letting him sit on her sofa because of the smell of blood, and yet that damn cat lay there comfortably, irritating him to no end.

“Be quiet.”

Not only that, but when he whimpered in pain, the cat got angry at the noise. Who brought the holy water in the first place? He was on the brink of death, yet that cruel creature worried only that Evangeline might wake from the sound.

Plauros, shedding the guise of a cat, was so graceful in form that he could be mistaken for an angel descending—at least superficially. His curly blonde hair looked like it could melt in sunlight, and his skin, like powdered sugar, glowed even to Andras’s critical eyes.

The only flaw was the ridiculously embroidered collar—though Plauros seemed oddly fond of it.

Acting as if he were truly a cat, Plauros rubbed his face against Evangeline’s hand, appearing tender. If not for the hundreds of eyes that had sprouted like mold across the ceiling and floor, the scene would have seemed peaceful.

To Andras, the countless eyes made the room feel like the innards of a living creature. No wonder the cat’s scent had been drifting from afar.

Those eyes focused solely on Evangeline. For her to tolerate such a grotesque spectacle suggested she, too, cherished Plauros greatly.

Then, the eyes simultaneously turned to look at Andras—or was it from beyond the door? While wiping his blood-stained mouth, the door opened silently. Through a small gap, a pair of yellow eyes appeared.

“Mr. Jelly, you’re too noisy; I can’t sleep.”

The voice beyond the door was Kanna’s.

Kanna glanced into the room, then lowered her voice upon seeing Evangeline asleep. She whispered, as if unwilling to wake her.

Andras’s wheezing from pain was clearly audible even in the room below. Kanna, unable to ignore the noise, had spent time outside but, upon returning, still heard it, reaching all the way to Evangeline’s room.

Unable to enter without the lady’s permission, Kanna voiced her complaint from beyond the door:

“Miss, could you please be quiet? She’s scared.”

Sounds carried unusually well through the Rohanson mansion at night. Henna blocked her ears from the incessant groaning, worrying, “What if your voice sounds like crying?” She asked Kanna to talk to her occasionally to distract her.

Andras felt conflicted realizing he was now being disregarded even by humans, but remembering that Kanna was someone Evangeline particularly cherished, he drew on patience.

Indeed, as expected of someone chosen by Evangeline, Kanna was no ordinary person. She seemed capable, noticing even as eyes moved yet remained entirely composed while others vomited blood, requesting quiet. After Plauros, this was the second such demand that day.

By this point, Andras felt like a criminal for being in pain.

Ah… sleep paralysis. Why must a fantasy romance world have ghosts? After hearing one sob beside the door all night, he hardly felt rested. He had woken late again.

In fact, it wasn’t just today. Since being possessed, he had become lazy, always waking when shadows were shortest. Searching for his phone to check the time, he realized it wasn’t there, so he checked the clock on the desk and lay back down.

He suspected he was still dreaming, until feeling the warmth of a cat beside him confirmed reality. Still, reality didn’t feel heavy. The world was made of mere letters, so it wasn’t much different from a dream.

Right. No need to think too deeply; he might get homesick. There was no way back anyway.

After tossing and turning, unable to sleep, he got up.

“Good morning, Pudding.”

“Did you sleep well?”

He greeted Pudding, but the reply came from somewhere else. Jelly had somehow climbed onto the bed from the sofa, wagging his tail beside him.

“Get down immediately.”

“Why does he get special treatment?”

Jelly threw a tantrum, demanding to sleep on the bed, complaining about unequal treatment compared to Pudding. Naturally, Pudding was just a child.

Yesterday, he asked Jelly if Pudding could turn into a human. Jelly’s response was “You didn’t know?” Andras had been embarrassed to realize he had always thought Pudding was just a cat, so he tried to avoid it briefly, but Pudding felt hurt, so they reconciled. Not that they could pat his behind like before.

Unlike Jelly, Pudding struggled with human speech, suggesting he was still a young beastman. Thankfully, he wasn’t a fully grown male.

“Be friendly.”

Having woken suddenly in this body, Andras guessed he might disappear just as suddenly. Concerned that Pudding would lose his caretaker if he left, he felt a pang of sympathy—but at least Pudding was a beastman. With Jelly, another beastman, Pudding would be cared for.

After a day together, it was clear Jelly was not the male lead. Handsome, yes, but more like a pet than a hero. Could saying that be considered species discrimination? Was he really a speciesist…?

Knock knock.

While despairing, a knock came at the door.

“Miss, it’s Kanna.”

“Come in.”

The door opened, revealing a head of curly hair as red as the garden’s cherry blossoms, filling his vision.

It created an illusion of petals fluttering—like a cover of a fantasy romance novel. It felt healing to his wounded heart. Fantasy romance heroine quality, indeed.

“Miss, look at this!”

Kanna proudly displayed the name tag he had embroidered. Though he made it, it was truly awful. Hieroglyphics, perhaps? Yet seeing Kanna so pleased warmed his heart.

As they chatted, Henna brought food. Even though Jelly had started freeloading, meals were shared only between Andras and Kanna. Jelly left with Pudding, saying he would eat separately.

“I hope he doesn’t come back again.”

Watching Jelly vanish like a vagabond, Kanna whispered quietly.

Kanna had been cautious around Gabriel, yet seemed to simply dislike Jelly. Initially, she seemed fond when she thought he was a wolf, but as soon as he transformed into a human, her gaze hardened. The fact that Andras discovered Jelly first seemed to strain their relationship further.

“Gabriel hasn’t contacted me yet.”

“That’s true.”

Assuming the male lead would handle it well, she still felt uneasy.

Hurry and finish your painting so you can declare me innocent! Without contact, isn’t it likely the male lead will fail? Not at all! Impossible. How competent are fantasy romance male leads!

A true male lead doesn’t need GPS to track a runaway heroine, yet easily retrieves her, labels a duke’s daughter a traitor with a single word, and generally wields immense power. If he lacks ability, he isn’t a male lead.

For crown princes or dukes, wealth and power compensate for flaws—but Gabriel is a knight commander, right? If incompetent, he wouldn’t last. Knights being mostly side male leads is for a reason.

Huh?

Whoa. Gabriel might also be a side male lead!

The otherworldly crown prince is middle-aged, no grand duke title, so Andras assumed he was the male lead. But knights were more often side male leads.

Since he had been holed up, he may not have met the male lead yet.

Gabriel and Kanna seemed unlikely to fall in love, so why analyze this now? Because…