“Aargh!”
The man screamed and collapsed. The sword he had been holding also fell helplessly to the ground. He clutched his bleeding forearm with his other arm.
Yellian didn’t understand what had happened. Still frozen in place, panting with dog breathing, Yellian’s body was suddenly lifted. Not roughly like before, but gently cradled, so Yellian quietly complied.
“……What an utterly troublesome cat.”
Leonard muttered in a low, subdued voice. The one holding Yellian was none other than Leonard.
With pitch-black eyes whose depth was unfathomable, he examined Yellian’s body all over. Soon, his gaze fixed on the wound on Yellian’s leg.
“Elton.”
“Yes.”
Leonard called for his adjutant while still staring at Yellian’s leg. At the cold summons, Elton responded in an equally flat tone.
“Take care of the aftermath.”
“M-my lord, w-wait, just a moment, a-ah, aaargh!”
In an instant, Leonard drew a long sword from his waist and plunged it into the man’s left thigh. As the sword pierced through, the man let out a dying scream.
Paying no heed, Leonard pulled the sword out as if nothing had happened. Elton stuffed a piece of cloth into the man’s mouth and dragged him off somewhere.
“……Running away?”
Leonard broke the silence of the now-quiet forest. Until then, Yellian, half out of their senses, with a reddened nose and still using dog breathing, looked at Leonard. Leonard’s image filled their dilated pupils.
His expression was cold but somehow tinged with concern. Come to think of it, Yellian was now cradled in Leonard’s arms. For a human, it wouldn’t be strange to strike Yellian for daring to run away, yet far from acting brutally, his demeanor was almost gentle, which left Yellian bewildered.
“……I’m sorry. But it’s true that my head really hurts.”
Yellian mumbled in a barely audible voice. Leonard didn’t reply, but he still held Yellian carefully.
His embrace felt quite warm and comforting, making Yellian wonder if it wouldn’t be so bad to stay like this. As a feline humanoid, and together with Leonard.
Yellian knew it was an absurd thought. They couldn’t just abandon the world Juan had lived in and live as Yellian forever. Of course, staying with Leonard, the protagonist who must follow the original story’s flow, didn’t make sense either.
……But all those issues weren’t something to worry about right now. At least for this moment, Yellian wanted to rest in Leonard’s arms. Yes, that was all.
That was the moment Yellian’s world began to turn upside down. A splitting headache, far worse than anything before, felt like their head was being torn apart.
Writhing in excruciating pain, Yellian involuntarily thrashed and nearly jumped out of Leonard’s arms. An ominous feeling, as if something terrible was about to happen, washed over them.
“Yellian! Stop right there!”
Running blindly wasn’t intentional. Their head just hurt too much, and it felt like something was about to happen to them. Instinctively, they felt they couldn’t let Leonard see that moment. However, Yellian’s escape didn’t last long.
Every joint ached and throbbed. At the same time, Yellian felt something strange. The grass, which had seemed so tall before, was now somehow below their line of sight.
“What’s this……? My voice……. No, more than that…….”
The voice that had only squeaked before was now louder and deeper. But even more shocking was the sight of their lower body. In other words…… it wasn’t a cat’s lower body, but a human’s.
“Yelli……an.”
Leonard, who had been urgently chasing Yellian, called out in a flustered tone. He should have scolded them for trying to run away again, but he couldn’t.
Because Yellian…… had turned into a human.
“M-my lord…….”
A voice on the verge of tears wrapped around Leonard’s ears. He was at a loss for words at the sight before him.
Underneath beige hair with a fine texture that shimmered in the sunlight, pale skin glowed with a sheen. Ashen-blue eyes trembled with anxiety. In contrast to the white skin, their cheeks were flushed red.
Not knowing what to do, they crossed their arms over their chest. But there was no way all the exposed skin could be covered.
“D-don’t just stare, do something…….”
Amid the thick grass, their naked body was revealed. Their slender, lithe frame and deep pink nipples appeared and disappeared with each sway of the grass in the wind.
Though the face was unfamiliar, it wasn’t entirely foreign. Leonard took one step, then another, slowly approaching. His expression seemed entranced, yet his hands diligently removed his coat and draped it over Yellian.
Yellian, with a flushed face, pulled the coat closed. The prominent deep pink nipples were hidden beneath the fabric.
“I…… my lord.”
“What is it?”
“I can’t stand up……. My legs hurt too much…….”
At Yellian’s words, Leonard’s gaze shifted to their legs. On the pale, slender thighs, blood had pooled. Realizing it was the same leg injured in their cat form, Leonard quietly lifted Yellian into his arms.
“……Thank you.”
“Be quiet.”
Leonard responded coldly to Yellian’s words. He likely couldn’t forgive the fact that Yellian had tried to run away twice.
He looked extremely angry. His pale face, uncharacteristically flushed, and his inability to meet Yellian’s eyes showed as much.
Feeling guilty, Yellian had no excuse to offer and quietly stayed in his embrace. It felt completely different from when they were held as a cat.
Leonard’s chest was broad and firm. A quick glance at it made it seem as though the buttons were barely holding on. Feeling inexplicably embarrassed, Yellian couldn’t lift their face.
“M-my lord!”
As they neared the carriage, Elton, who had been waiting, rushed over. He stared in shock at the unfamiliar young man, wrapped only in a coat, naked underneath, and cradled in the lord’s arms.
Elton thought quickly. He had last seen the lord with Yellian, and Yellian was a feline humanoid who could transform into a human.
Thus, he concluded that this man must be Yellian. Moreover, though it was strange to say a cat resembled a human, there was something similar between Yellian and this man.
“Call a physician. And clothes. We need clothes.”
“Yes!”
At Leonard’s words, Elton quickly responded and hurried off. Meanwhile, Leonard boarded the carriage with Yellian.
The numerous subordinates of the lord’s household harbored doubts about the sudden appearance of this person. A man personally carried and placed in the carriage by the great lord himself. Yet no fool among them dared to openly express their burning curiosity. They simply followed Elton’s orders to find a physician and prepare clothing.
“My lord……. Are you angry?”
“I told you to be quiet.”
“Yup.”
At Leonard’s sharp rebuke, Yellian quickly shut their mouth. Pouting, they lowered their head.
Leonard quietly watched Yellian. With their head bowed, instead of their face, he saw a round crown of hair. The soft, fine-textured beige hair somehow tempted him to touch it. Leonard struggled to suppress the urge to reach out.
It was strange. He couldn’t help but imagine that slender frame that made the coat look oversized.
The deeply indented collarbone and the cherry-like flesh atop the round chest below it seemed especially enticing. Enough to make him want to take a bite.
The lithe waist looked like it could be held in one arm. He couldn’t understand why he was having such thoughts.
“My lord?”
At that moment, Yellian suddenly lifted their head and called out to Leonard. His heart raced, as if he’d been caught having improper thoughts. But Yellian, oblivious, merely tilted their head with an innocent expression.
That gesture seemed to happen in slow motion. Each blink of their large eyes made their lashes flutter, and a lively flush colored their cheeks. Below their sharp, straight nose sat plump, red lips.
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