Breeding Season - Chapter 26
“It feels like I’m dreaming.”
After a long period of silence, Siren slowly spoke when the heavy air had settled.
“Am I really alive? I didn’t die back at the palace… Did I?”
“You’re alive. I told you not to have such useless thoughts.”
Yasamin’s firm tone didn’t feel hurtful; rather, it was comforting.
I see. I’m alive, and this is real.
Then, I’m glad I didn’t die back there…
“Huh, Madam!”
Perhaps because the tension had eased, Siren suddenly collapsed. Fortunately, Yasamin, who was beside her, caught her and carefully laid her down.
Though he clicked his tongue.
“You’re as fragile as paper. How do you expect to survive in the South if you can’t even sit up to eat?”
“You said… you would protect me.”
“At least you still have the strength to argue. That’s a relief.”
By now, Siren understood that those scoldings weren’t threats.
Yasamin was a kind person.
As promised that day, he was sincere in saving her.
“Is this what being a diet is like? Is it always this… that you don’t have to do anything?”
“Well, it depends on the diet. The relationship depends on what the master desires.”
“I see.”
“What I want from you is simple: eat well, sleep well, and take care of yourself.”
The last comment was so blunt that she pretended not to hear it.
‘Does he really think of me as some sort of pet?’
It’s not that I’m dissatisfied. I’m just embarrassed.
“Some diets establish a strong vertical relationship. Some resemble the relationship between a lord and a vassal. And some are more like that of a master and pet.”
At that moment, as though he had read her mind, Jin interjected with a knowing expression.
“Between them, there is sometimes love, and sometimes there is not. That love can take the form of romantic love or familial love.”
Jin’s explanation was easy to understand. Though she still didn’t understand how being owned by Yasamin could benefit him, if he was satisfied with it, then that was probably enough.
There’s never a prey that considers the perspective of the predator.
Right now, Siren didn’t even have the energy to think about her own situation.
“You seem to think you have no value.”
Yasamin, who had been quietly listening, lightly pinched her cheek.
“Don’t forget that you are the official owner of the Wilkeron. None of your family survived.”
“Master! How could you say such an insensitive thing!”
“Well, pretending it’s not true doesn’t change anything, does it?”
“Even so!”
Jin was shocked and pointed an accusing finger at Yasamin. Yasamin swatted his finger away. At that moment, Pamilla seized the opportunity and snatched the fruit from Jin’s bowl.
That sight…
“Pfft. Ahaha!”
Beings who surpassed humans by far. Those who were not human.
It was strange only because they were gathered together.
Not strange at all…
It was so amusing that she burst into laughter, and eventually, she inhaled too quickly, causing a bout of hyperventilation.
Her chest ached, so intensely.
“I’m glad I’m alive…”
No one said anything as she muttered to herself while wiping away her tears. That silence, in fact, was a comfort, and it helped Siren calm down quickly.
‘I don’t have the courage to show my true form right now. But… someday, I think I’ll be able to tell them and show them. Still, they won’t call me disgusting or a monster.’
What is this feeling called? A sense of belonging?
It seems like it.
‘To get here, I had to suffer so much.’
For the first time, Siren, who had always been cast aside, found a place where she could belong.
The wound that had been firmly embedded in her began to crack, and a small fissure formed.
As the afternoon wore on, the sun grew hotter, so she couldn’t go outside.
Instead, she was free to wander around the mansion as much as she liked, with no place she was told not to go.
“You can sleep anywhere. You can lie down anywhere. Do as your heart desires.”
“But, then it will be difficult for Pamilla to clean up.”
“She’ll be happier if she has something to do. The more you make a mess, the more she’ll like it.”
Yasamin casually gestured with his chin. Pamilla nodded enthusiastically, as though agreeing with that.
Her eyes sparkled uncomfortably.
‘Maybe I should accidentally knock something off the bookshelf.’
Though she didn’t really intend to do so… the problem was that Pamilla would probably enjoy it.
“I want to see the garden… first.”
“That’s not a bad idea. It’s a bit hot by design, but it still has a magnificent charm.”
Looking at him like this, he actually seemed younger.
