C19
"... Nonsense."
What is this?
Did my humanization suddenly break free here?
"I have to change back to normal for now."
I quickly tried to change back to my human form.
The problem is...
"What should I do?"
I don't remember being dehumanized or rehumanized by my own will.
The surroundings were pitch dark.
I struggled to somehow get out of the darkness.
Just as I barely managed to shed what was supposed to be my clothes, a teddy bear that was much larger than me appeared right beside me.
"Did the teddy bear grow so big?"
No, I must have shrunk a lot.
As I realized the reality, the people around me also started making noise.
—Kyaaa! It's a Suin!
—Where does a filthy Suin dare to go...?!
—A reptilian Suin, the lowest of the lowest ranks...
Um, the plan is a bit messed up anyway, isn't it?
Well, no, maybe a bit too messed up.
The plan went wrong.
"First of all..."
Should I jump?
Tap, tap.
I turned around and kicked my feet desperately.
Tap, tap.
The sound of little feet hitting the marble was quite loud, probably because the conference room was enveloped in silence.
—Catch her!
The moment I tried to flee the conference room, the soldiers and vassals stood up and began to chase me.
—Catch her!
—I hate snakes!
Aren't I a lizard, not a snake?!
"Aagh!"
They mercilessly stomped their feet.
"I'm really going to be trampled like this!"
Plak.
—Kiiik...!
Indeed, my tail was stepped on.
A strange sound leaked out, whether it was a scream or something.
Physiological tears welled up.
—I caught her!
As I struggled reflexively, my tail broke off.
"Oh, come to think of it, lizards could shed their tails."
When it came off, the pain was somewhat less.
Tap, Tap, Tap
I quickly climbed up the wall. I looked down and saw people surrounding me.
Even though I had turned into a lizard, I was somehow out of breath. Erno Etham was visible in the distance.
He must have been disappointed.
Sure enough, he looked at me with a stiff expression and then slowly moved toward me.
As he approached, as if a miracle of Moses had occurred, the people dispersed in large numbers.
Erno Etham, who had come closer to me, slowly extended his hand to me.
—... Here.
Quickly, I ran further back, avoiding the hand reaching out to me.
It was painful and sad.
The teddy bear lying on the ground had already been trampled by people and was a mess.
"...It was the first gift I received in my life."
Seeing the teddy bear trampled and dirty made me shed tears without reason.
Can a lizard cry?
The answer to the irrational thought quickly resolved.
Tak, Tak, tak.
It was because the tears running down soaked Erno Etham's palms.
—You...
Erno Etham's hand reached out a little further.
I don't want to die.
I tightly closed my eyes.
"Please, let me get out of here. Anywhere is fine."
At that moment, my eyes shone in pure white.
When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer in the Etham family.
At the same time that the pure white light was emitted, the girl suddenly disappeared.
The surroundings stirred at the sight of the girl vanishing as if she had teleported.
—Whatever it is...
—They have to find her quickly. They can't let something like that roam around the Etham family...
—...That's right.
Amidst that low murmur, someone asked with a bewildered expression.
—What?
Shwaaa-
With a creepy sound, his cold eyes met Mayla's.
An arm fell to the ground.
Erno Etham had escaped from the crowd and stood in front of Mayla, who was standing right next to Duke Miriel.
And he did so while holding a blood-dripping sword.
At a speed no one noticed.
—Aaaaack!
Upon realizing that one of her arms had become lighter, Mayla let out a breathless scream.
—My daughter cried.
—P-Prince Erno! Th-that's not your daughter...
—She called that girl her daughter...
His golden eyes stared into Mayla's unfocused ones.
—Uuaaaargh!
—Do I need more reasons than that?
He moved his sword.
—Tell me where.
A creepy sound echoed again and again.
It wasn't until Mayla stopped moving that the blood-soaked demon slowly turned his head.
His gaze reached the vassals surrounding Eirin.
—They were so noisy, won't they speak anymore?
The moment he let out a brief sigh and took a step, he was in front of his vassals again.
His sword moved once more.
—My daughter cried.
As soon as he finished speaking, the man who had stepped on Eirin's tail fell to the ground.
—Aaaaargh!
Everyone turned pale, closed their mouths, and began to slowly back away.
—I deliberately approached with caution in case my daughter got startled.
—Erno Etham, you've crossed the line. Stop.
Duke Miriel, unable to watch the situation, got up from his seat and spoke.
—Ah..., it seems that madness has begun. Seeing that my sword cannot control itself.
He murmured slowly and gently swung his sword in the air.
The tip of his sword narrowly grazed in front of Duke Miriel's nose.
—If you hadn't done something like this in the first place... tsk.
He turned around.
—I'm leaving the house for a while, so you know.
—Where are you going?! Brainless bastard! If you go out and go crazy...
—It must be all because of the Patriarch.
—Although you weren't going to adopt her as a foster daughter in the first place, weren't you using her to drive me crazy? Besides, being a reptilian Suin... The chance of her having Etham family blood is slim!
Erno Etham's sword, which was coming out, flew straight towards Duke Miriel's head.
Duke Miriel moved the fountain pen in his hand and slightly changed the sword's trajectory.
Kwaaang-!
A huge hole was created in the wall.
—That's something I'll decide. The fact that I didn't adopt her as a foster daughter was something to think about for a moment.
He said coldly.
—But it angers me that she was brought in like this.
Erno Etham muttered quietly.
—Come back now! Don't you know that your body is at its limit?
—So you better put my daughter in front of me before I go crazy. I think you know the communication coordinates.
Erno Etham left as he was.
—You, you...! A child who commits immoral acts without even thinking about it...
Duke Miriel slammed the round table hard. The round table split right in half and collapsed again.
—...He went a little too far this time.
The head butler, Kylo, approached from behind.
—Are you doing this too now?
—I didn't know that the maid was part of the "Bright Moon."
—I was just trying to confirm it from her own mouth!
—It must have seemed intimidating to the girl. The aura that the master exudes sometimes gives me goosebumps.
—Mumbo jumbo!
—But, you'll find her, won't you?
—...I don't know!
—Yes, I will mobilize "Terem."
—I said I don't know.
Duke Miriel exited the conference room. Kylo sighed briefly as he looked at the messy meeting room.
—What's this? A... lizard?
The handsome-looking boy tilted his head. Long hair flowed down.
The flowing purple hair became lighter at the tips. The boy's eyes opened in amusement.
A silver teardrop-shaped earring hung from the boy's right ear.
—Where's your tail? Silly lizard.
The boy reached out and lightly grabbed the small lizard.
The body was cold. The boy pulled a worn handkerchief from his chest and wrapped it around the lizard.
—I just needed a pet, should I use this?
It doesn't look like an animal, but it is, it seems.
—I like you. You have no tail, and I have no parents, so we're quite alike.
The boy, adding softly, descended from the hill with a small, cold lizard in his hand.
"Orphanage Germination Time."
The letters were clearly engraved on the sign in front of the bright and colorful building the boy entered.
