NOVEL NEXT I Became the Wicked Beastmen’s Catnip
Chapter 1
“Choose, Yeni.”
I stopped eating the pudding at the sudden voice and raised my head. Then my eyes met the boy who was staring at me. “Hm? Chooshe whath?” Because of the pudding in my mouth, my pronunciation was a little muffled. Up until this point, I had neglected the question that would follow, “Among us, with which one are you going to marry?” I almost spit out the pudding at his serious question without any hint of playfulness. …Is he serious? Today has been exactly 7 years since I became a member of the Persian family. That means, that guy was asking me such a crazy question when I’m only 7 years old. Unfortunately, however, it wasn’t only the noble Third Prince of the Myo Clan who had gone crazy. “Of course it’s me! Isn’t it, Yeni?” His bright red hair, like a rose in summer, swayed along with the movement of the boy who became 8 years old this year. And it wasn’t long after our first meeting, he hissed as he ran like he was about to kill me. The Fourth Prince who growled with his ears flattened whenever he saw me. He was now showing me unfounded confidence with his chest stretched out. ‘Gosh.’ As I put down the spoon with a cold heart, this time the Second Prince, who was basking in the sun by my side, reached out his hand as if he was waiting. His long, smooth fingers gently rubbed my lips and pulled away. “Yernian. Why is your face buried in the pudding every time you eat this?” You’re so cute I want to bite you off. Contrary to the soft tone of speech, the content was brutal. The Second Prince, who rolled his eyes, gnawed at the remains of the pudding on his fingers. My cheeks turned red involuntarily at a feeling close to shame rather than shyness. ‘Ah, I’m tired.’ The first picnic I enjoyed with the royal family of the Myo Clan and the direct descendants of the noble Persian family ate my mind from the start. Meanwhile, the Third Prince, who was quietly waiting for my answer, pushed me to make a choice. “Yeni, hurry up.” What kind of wind made this guy who had no interest in anything other than the sparkling constellations do that? Grasping the fork tightly, I turned my head. And with earnest eyes, I looked at Licht, the head of the Myo Clan and Persian family, who had been silently watching the situation from earlier. The sunlight streaming through the leaves collided with his silver hair that eventually scattered. Licht, who felt my gaze, took his eyes off the document and raised his elegant face to gaze upon me. The red lips parted little by little as if they had bitten off the juice. A low-pitched sound pierced my ears. “So, who are you going to marry?” Ah, for real. Why is he also acting like this? “Of course it’s me, isn’t it?” “Yeni. Answer.” “Will you feed me the rest of the pudding?” The Fourth Prince, the Third Prince, and the Second Prince uttered ferocious noises one after another. I had a gut feeling that if I answered wrong here, the peaceful picnic would be messed up. Feeling dizzy just by imagining it, I gently grabbed the spoon. “I…” As I opened my mouth, the ears of the beastmen that soared above my head were pierced at the same time. ‘How did I come to be treated like this by those wicked beastmen?’ Closing my eyes as if I was escaping from reality, I looked back on the distant past to go back to 7 years ago, when I was born at the Prophecy Night. *** I was born as a princess of a ruined kingdom. Exactly on the night of the damn twin moon rose, the kingdom came to an end as soon as I was born. And I lost my human dignity, falling into a mere experiment subject in the hands of ‘them’ who destroyed my life in an instant. Obviously it should’ve ended like that, but… “Baby.” I fell into my mother’s arms who was on the verge of fainting and cried, but I couldn’t control the amount of confusion I had. ‘How did this happen?’ On the day of my Coming of Age, my entire body was shattered as the magic power ran out in the laboratory. But why did I become a baby again? “Yernian.” My mother’s voice calling to me trembled pathetically, as if I had sensed the impending separation. “Only you who must survive.” A deep shadow fell on my field of vision in which its proper shape couldn’t be distinguished yet. My mother’s fingertips, trembling and as messy as her voice, lightly touched my cheek and then fell. “Your Majesty! You must escape immediately! The water is already close to the sanctuary—” “Escape the princess first, head maid.” So that they can never find her. Mother’s voice, which had already lifted the tremors, was firm. I watched Mother’s hazy figure with a slightly strange figure. However, there was no way that I, who had just been born, could see Mother’s face clearly. The woman who was supposed to be the head maid carefully carried and hugged me. The horrifying sound of a knife being pulled out of its scabbard pierced my sensitive hearing. “Yernian el Merni.” She called me with the same voice as on the day Mother’s tragedy happened in front of my eyes, without an inch of error. The screams that were faintly heard from afar came closer to the sanctuary. “No matter what, you can never burst into tears.” At the last words close to a plea, my blurry vision was covered with complete darkness. In the cold space presumed to be a secret passage, I gave my whole body strength not to cry. Today, 18 years ago, I had to lose my right to live like a human in exchange for disobeying my mother’s words. I didn’t want to go back to that cramped test tube again. ‘I’m sorry, Mother.’ There is no way I, who was just born, can prevent today’s tragedy. The desperate need for survival barely suppressed the cry that reached my throat. Please, if there’s such a thing as God, please give me another life option for this time. I wish they won’t find me. As I clenched my lips in nervousness, I could feel the intangible power that had been wriggling in my body spread through my whole body. Mana. In my past life, it’s the cause that drove me into hell and the source of the power of those who desperately want to attack the kingdom. This energy, which I had been wanting to cut out of my body if I could, was now making a slight effort to protect me. It was an early manifestation, even earlier than my last life. ‘I don’t want to go back.’ I didn’t want to be caught by them and locked up in a lab tube where a single ray of light didn’t come through for the rest of my life. How much time had passed in the darkness of death, I wonder. I focused all my attention on the way home from which the amniotic fluid had not yet escaped. There was no more sound. ‘Did they give up?’ Originally, it was the time when I should’ve been caught and dragged away in exchange for breaking Mother’s order and crying. I forcibly applied force to my eyelids that didn’t open well. At the same time, there was a sound like a wooden plank being ripped apart, as well as a strange tilting sensation. ‘I haven’t even cried yet!’ I screamed inwardly in regret, but the reality didn’t change. From now on, I will be dragged by them again and locked up in a basement laboratory. With my resignation, I could feel the mana surrounding my body dissipating. Then a hot heat that I had never felt before came over me as if it was waiting. ‘Huh? Fire?’ Formerly, they found me and after completely escaping the palace, they set fire to erase their traces. Before noticing the subtle change from 18 years ago, a merciless and large hand lifted me up in the air, surrounded by silk. The head that scorched my skin came from all directions, fluttering my tongue. The heat was so intense that I thought if I hadn’t been discovered by now, my whole body would’ve been burned to death in the fire. “…Found it.” The Messiah of the Myo Clan. The gentle hand that lifted me up and the soft low-pitched voice were definitely not in my memory. Those who are born with mana can’t enjoy the privilege of oblivion from the moment they’re born, so it should be certain. I felt a strong confusion and focused my attention on the fuzzy figure. ‘…What is that?’ The man’s head had two triangles that I had never seen before. It was something that I had never seen even in my last life before I lost sight of the humans I encountered. “Your Majesty! Human babies are different from beastmen, and if you treat them like that, you’ll get in trouble!” “Then how should I deal with it?” “The newborn baby can’t hold her neck, so you have to carefully support her head and neck… Aack! Rather, please give it to me!” Something is strange. 18 years ago, they raided the royal palace and took me, never having such a fussy conversation. Moreover, ‘Your Majesty’ is the same title as my mother’s. Meanwhile, they always called each other by strange or unintelligible codenames, never using a name that could infer a specific identity. ‘It’s not them.’ As soon as I realized that simple fact, the tension that had been tightening my whole body was released. I felt a man approaching me with a fuss and taking me over. It was definitely a more skillful hand than the man called Your Majesty. ‘Ah, I can’t sleep yet though.’ They may have come to pick me up for a purpose that has nothing to do with me. However, I, who had already reached my limit physically and mentally, let go of my sleepiness in the arms of a stranger. *** Licht el Persian. The head of the Myo Clan and Persian family, he looked at the sleeping baby with a strange expression, as if she was fainting. Somehow, it felt strange. And that seemed to be the case with his aide, Mir, who was holding the baby carefully. “Your Majesty, this one is really…” Mir’s eyes trembled violently, unable to continue speaking. The existence of prophecy that had been passed down from generation to generation only to the head of the Myo Clan was a fact that even Licht’s closest aide had learned only a few hours ago. Licht, who was looking at the baby, turned away. As the mana supporting the sanctuary, which was one step closer to collapse, was removed, the bright red fire horses that engulfed the palace flooded and cast long shadows under their feet. A stinging smell touched his sensitive sense of smell and passed by. Licht closed his eyes and stared at his own shadow with adorable triangular ears. He heard the sound of the sanctuary turning to ashes and collapsing behind him. Mir, holding the baby tightly, followed Licht with quick steps. “Mir.” “Yes, Your Majesty.” “Tell Ignis to come to my bedroom at dawn tomorrow.” A blazing flame spread through the wall behind Licht, who turned back slowly. As if he was waiting for the night of the prophecy, he remembered a number of mysterious intruders who invaded the palace. He got here a bit late because he had to deal with them. If the baby hadn’t hidden herself by awakening her mana, he would’ve lost her under his eyes. Mir raised his eyebrows, surprised at the sound of ‘Ignis’. “The Second Prince?” Licht rubbed the corners of his stiff eyes, shook his head dryly. “Since there is no one who would persistently follow Ignis, surely we have to find it.” A traitor who dared to hide inside the Myo Clan and rebel against the family. A cold smile appeared on Licht’s lips. Mir felt a goosebump on his back and quickly turned his gaze away. “Baby… No, what should we do with Her Highness the Princess? Keeping her in a separate place for the time being—” “No.” Licht lifted his head, gazed upon the twin red moons in the center of the roaring palace. The baby in Mir’s arms was the only hope for saving the Myo Clan in the future. He should never miss anything until the day of the baby’s Coming-of-Age. Licht, who had slowly closed his eyes and came to his senses, opened the door which led into the Myo World and commanded with a dry voice. “…Get a separate room next to my bedroom.”
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