Chapter 5
“The Woman with Blood-Red Hair”
Even though the life in his eyes was faint, for some reason, I couldn’t pull myself away from it.
Idrish slowly reached out his hand. His fingertips lightly touched my cheek.
“You…”
A rough breath mixed with his voice.
“Don’t go…”
With those words, his eyes fluttered shut. The hand that had barely risen dropped limply.
I raised my hand and touched my cheek. His slightly cold warmth lingered there, tickling my skin.
There was blood on my hand—his blood, from his injured hand.
My heart pounded.
My chest felt like it was burning. It was hard to stay conscious.
In the midst of that, my body was being shaken.
‘I wish the pain would go away too… that terrifying white tiger…’
Was I hearing things?
Was the woman in white before me just a hallucination?
Her white clothes fluttered in the wind, revealing her bare shoulders.
Above them, hair as red as blood flowed down like silk.
Idrish reached out his hand.
He didn’t want her to leave his side.
What he thought was a hallucination was clearly grasped in his hand.
She collapsed toward him. Her red hair scattered like flower petals.
At the same time, a dizzying sweet scent wrapped around him.
In her eyes, a warm night sky—unlike anything he had ever seen—was reflected.
For a moment, a distant wish arose within him.
To remain there forever.
If he could, perhaps both his body and mind would be freed from pain.
…This had to be a dream.
Damn it…!
In the end, last night, I failed to escape.
While I was distracted after Idrish grabbed me, raccoon servants came running from afar. It was already too late to run.
So I had no choice…
I turned back into a hedgehog.
And with a heart full of despair, I crawled back into the cage lying on the ground…
With my own two feet.
Ha… how humiliating.
I’m an idiot.
An idiot who kicks away good fortune that rolls right in front of her.
Not only did I enter a tiger’s den myself trying to steal whiskers without even knowing I was a beastman—I couldn’t even escape because I tried to save that tiger.
And only later did I realize—I didn’t even need to escape in human form.
I was so happy about becoming human that I forgot. If I had just turned into a hedgehog and escaped, I wouldn’t have wasted time tearing curtains. I might not have even found the collapsed Idrish. Then I wouldn’t have been caught again.
I scratched the cage bars furiously with my front paws, swallowing my frustration.
Fine. Let’s say I remember all that.
But what happened next?
After suffering in the cage for days and using up all my strength dragging Idrish, I must have fallen asleep like I fainted.
And when I slowly woke up…
I felt amazing.
Mmm… a soft blanket, the smell of sunlight. So nice.
I turned my body and scratched my belly with my hind leg.
Being a four-legged animal has its perks. You can scratch your belly with your foot.
Then suddenly, I froze.
Why am I under a blanket?
A bad feeling shot through me, making even my spines tingle.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
“Did you sleep well, little chestnut?”
Idrish was looking at me, resting his head on his hand.
Sunlight streaming through the window shimmered against his bare white shoulder. His upper body, exposed above the blanket around his waist, was completely naked.
His cat-like eyes curved into a crescent as he smiled.
Unlike yesterday, his face was full of life.
This is a nightmare.
Panicking, I scrambled away from him.
Idrish lazily lay on the bed, watching me.
“Running away? You can’t leave anyway. The door’s locked.”
At his relaxed tone, I stopped and turned back to look at him.
What do you even want from me…?
“Come here. If you behave, I’ll let you live.”
He kept smiling, clearly in a good mood.
…Is he really going to let me live?
As if pulled by a magnet, I approached him. Then I quietly stretched my front legs forward and lay down in front of him, like I was bowing.
If he says he’ll spare me, I’ll do whatever I can.
I’m here. Please spare me.
Idrish laughed again, this time with a low rumble.
“So you’ve given up pretending you don’t understand me?”
Ugh… how am I supposed to obey and pretend not to understand at the same time?
“Why didn’t you run away yesterday? The cage door was open.”
Because I was helping someone who was dying!
Yes, I’m an idiot. But even if everyone else laughs at me, shouldn’t you be the one person who doesn’t?
“Didn’t go because you’re stupid? Or because you like me?”
If I had to choose, obviously the first. You might be handsome, but I’m not a hedgehog with such poor survival instincts that I’d fall for a crazy beast villain.
“About those intruders yesterday.”
Idrish continued in a low, quiet voice.
“Even the dead bodies disappeared without a trace. That means there’s someone behind them who doesn’t want to leave evidence.”
Come to think of it, I saw that too.
The man who attacked me with a dagger and awakened my name—when I returned, he was gone.
He definitely wasn’t in a condition to escape on his own.
So someone must have taken him away.
Which means, just like Idrish said, there’s a bigger force behind the attack.
“But how did they cross the barrier? This mansion’s location has never been discovered.”
Why are you looking at me like that?
You know better than anyone that I was locked in a cage the whole time! I’m not some kind of psychic hedgehog or secret-agent hedgehog!
“Except for you, little chestnut.”
That’s unfair.
When I first found this place, I didn’t even notice any barrier.
“I checked today, and the red stones of the barrier were disturbed. You know what that means, right?”
Red stones? What red stones? I’ve never seen anything like that—
…Wait.
I have.
On my way here, I got tired and sat on a red stone to rest. I even took a nap on it. It was nice and flat.
That… was part of the barrier?
I swallowed hard.
I-I don’t know anything about that. Truly.
“When you turn human, you’ll tell me everything. I’m not very patient, so don’t drag it out.”
As I avoided his gaze, Idrish suddenly picked me up and lay back.
Dangling in the air, I curled up and hid my face behind my spines.
“Don’t hide.”
Why do you keep ordering me around? Anyone would think I’m your pet hedgehog!
I peeked out slightly. Idrish chuckled.
So annoying.
I tried to bite the hand holding me, struggling, but my teeth couldn’t reach his body. I quickly gave up and went limp.
…Come to think of it, this was the same position as yesterday.
Me above, looking down at him.
But only from my perspective. There’s no way he’d recognize me.
I’m a hedgehog now, and yesterday I was human.
As long as he doesn’t see me transform, I can deny everything.
If he finds out I’m a beastman, he’ll kill me brutally—just like that scout yesterday.
But something didn’t make sense.
If he suspected me this much, why not just kill me?
Instead, he was questioning me… and even letting me live.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand that strange white tiger.
Then something else caught my eye.
Idrish’s broad chest looked different from yesterday.
The black marks were almost gone.
Yesterday, they had spread to his side. Now, only a faint trace remained on his right chest.
That’s strange. I definitely didn’t imagine it.
His face looked comfortable too, as if he wasn’t in pain anymore.
“Where are you looking, you perverted chestnut?”
Snort!
Hey! What are you calling me?!
If you don’t want me to look, then wear some clothes in the first place!
Angrily, I kicked with my hind legs.
Tap tap tap.
Maybe startled, Idrish placed me back on the bed.
“Oh right. I think I saw someone during all that.”
I jumped in shock.
Idrish pressed down on my head with his fingertip, pushing my spines back.
He must mean one of the intruders… right? There’s no way it’s me.
“A woman with hair as red as blood.”
God… have you abandoned this poor hedgehog?
Of all things, why did my hair have to be such a noticeable red?
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Thankfully, Idrish stopped questioning me.
“Lord Idrish, your meal is ready. Shall I bring it to your room?”
“No. I’ll come down. But first, I have something to ask.”
“Yes?”
“Who has red hair among beastmen?”
Wasn’t that already over?! Just think of it as a dream, you idiot!
“Fox beastmen have that kind of hair color. It’s more orange than red. Ah, some monkey or cat beastmen might have it too.”
“Is that so? Then what about hedgehogs?”
Even as he asked, Idrish looked at me.
The servant, Xeros, also turned to look at me.
I deliberately looked away.
“Hedgehog beastmen… it’s been a long time since I’ve seen one. Usually they have black or white hair.”
See? Black or white.
Wait. Then what am I? Am I actually a porcupine? I don’t like that…
But Xeros wasn’t finished.
“Though occasionally, there are red ones as well. Please come down when you’re ready.”
…
The door closed, and the room fell silent.
Idrish got up and dressed himself.
I buried my nose into the blanket, unable to move.
There’s still no proof… right?
But despite that, my spines trembled.
Then, fully dressed, Idrish muttered quietly,
“Then again… it might’ve been a dream. It was so dark.”
Really?
Hope flickered, and my nose twitched.
“No… it was too vivid to be a dream. It was definitely a real beastman.”
Are you messing with me?!
While I was still confused, Idrish picked me up and shoved me into his pocket.
Hey! Let me go, you bully!
When I tried to get out, he covered the pocket opening with his hand.
“Oh right. From now on, you’ll sleep in my room with me.”
…What?!
