The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 21

#21.

‘Tsk, if you’re going to lie, do it properly until the end!’

I felt like I was the only one being made a fool by that overly honest and nonchalant remark.

Zerachiel turned his gaze away and remained silent. An awkward atmosphere seemed to fill the room. And it felt like I was the only one feeling that awkwardness.

He was no different from usual. Or rather, he looked very happy and peaceful, like he had just woken up from a good night’s sleep.

‘I collapsed because of whom!’

Recalling the pheromone battle that had occurred right before I fainted made me feel resentful. I was just about to protest when suddenly Zerachiel looked at me and opened his mouth with a face that couldn’t overcome his curiosity.

“By the way, Chi Chi.”

“…….”

“Did you leave this on purpose?”

He cautiously pointed to something on my head. I tilted my head, wondering what he meant, and Zerachiel said,

“Your ears are showing.”

Ears?

At that moment, my ears perked up on my head. The position of the ears was strangely high.

With a doubtful heart, I reached my hand to my head. My eyes were already wide with shock.

What I touched was not a human ear. It was a fluffy ferret ear with soft fur.

* * *

“Don’t be too, *pfft*, heartbroken, *sh*, *pfft*, hahahaha!”

Ivan, who had barely managed to hold back his laughter, finally burst into laughter, bending over. It was extremely annoying that he wasn’t even trying to hold it in anymore.

“Still, your ears are, *pfft*, cute, *pfft*, hahahaha!”

I glared at him, knowing full well that his voice was mocking me.

The joy of successfully transforming into a human was fleeting, and I couldn’t shake off the gloom.

I had dreamed of a rosy future of becoming a full-fledged beastman, but I was devastated to find ferret ears on my head.

What is this?

As my energy drained, I could feel my ears drooping naturally. That made me feel even more dejected.

To gain only a half-human transformation after experiencing extreme growing pains. They said my pheromones were amazing, that they were unique! So why is the world doing this to me?

I thought I had finally escaped being the weakest, but what kind of mutation is this!

Just as I was about to burst into tears, Marina said,

“Don’t be too disappointed. Your ears will change into human ears over time.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“When will they change?”

“That’s…….”

Marina hesitated, unable to confirm. Judging by the way she was avoiding my gaze, she didn’t seem to know either.

“Sigh.”

As I let out a deep sigh, my ears drooped along with it. The shame was all mine because of my ears that jumped around depending on my mood.

I guess it’s a relief that my tail didn’t come out. If I had a tail, I might have poured water into a dish and buried my face in it.

Meanwhile, Zerachiel kept glancing at my ears, which were never still, as if he found them fascinating. Seeing his eyes sparkling with curiosity, I covered my ears with my hands and growled.

“Don’t look!”

“What am I supposed to do if you tell me not to look at what’s visible?”

Zerachiel tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. As amusement settled in his languid eyes, I involuntarily shuddered.

That guy is enjoying me being embarrassed!

I had felt it before, but he was truly unpredictable. Whenever I felt the signs of the original story creeping in, my heart would clench for no reason.

At that moment, Marina deliberately raised her voice cheerfully to give me hope.

“Ah! Maybe it’s because of Hebel [likely a location or magical area]. This place has so many restrictions on beastmen that it must have affected the human transformation process.”

“Then will I be okay if I leave here?”

“Maybe……?”

She couldn’t be sure and trailed off again, smiling. It was a blatant lie that she was trying to comfort me.

In the end, Marina doesn’t know either! Is it okay to just smile prettily?!

I made a tearful face and lowered my hand that had been covering my ears.

“Still, congratulations on successfully transforming into a human. They say the beginning is half the battle. Now that you’ve succeeded in transforming once, you’ll naturally be able to control it when the time comes.”

Marina encouraged me and held out a mirror. Only then did I realize that I hadn’t properly looked at my face.

I carefully looked at myself in the mirror.

As I had expected when I was a white ferret, my hair was snow-white silver. The texture that fit snugly in my hand was very soft.

Of course, I was bothered by the cute ears perched on top, but it wasn’t too unsightly.

My eyes were cotton candy-like clear pink. The lovely appearance at a glance looked about ten years old in human years.

I seemed to be about a head shorter than Zerachiel. Well, the development of a black lion and a white ferret couldn’t be the same.

As expected of a ferret, my build was a bit small. My soft and fluffy skin was as soft as flour dough.

I stared at myself for a long time, grabbed a handful of my unkempt long hair, and said to Marina,

“Can I cut this?”

“Of course. It’s too long for you to be active anyway, right?”

“Yeah.”

“How short should I cut it?”

“To a bob!”

Short hair is easier to wash and dry than long, flowing hair!

I wasn’t interested in dressing up in my previous life. Or rather, I was too busy living hard to even think about it.

So, a bob was convenient for now. It’s also easier to manage after escaping.

“Just wait a moment.”

Marina, who had no idea what I was thinking, burst into laughter and brought scissors.

The sound of hair being cut quietly echoed. In the corner, Ivan was still chuckling as if looking for an excuse to tease me, but I lightly ignored him.

For some reason, Zerachiel was just staring at me without saying a word.

“It’s done!”

“Thank you, Marina.”

I thanked Marina, who had shown skills no less than a hairdresser, and looked in the mirror. I quite liked the much shorter hair than before.

Perhaps because of my delicate impression, the bob suited me very well. Looking at it, I realized that I had transformed into a human.

“Hehe.”

I am now a beastman who knows how to transform into a human.

Well, it’s not perfect yet, but at least I can talk now, and I don’t have to pant when going from the bed to the door.

I was so happy that I kept laughing. Seeing this, Zerachiel opened his mouth.

“Why do you keep laughing?”

“Because I’m happy.”

“Strange.”

Zerachiel frowned and muttered lowly.

He’s calling me strange to my face! The real strange one is himself!

It was a very offensive remark, but I was in a very generous mood right now. I snorted lightly and turned my head away, and my eyes met Ivan’s. He smiled slyly and said,

“Congratulations. You’ve gone from a bite-sized snack to a proper two-bite meal.”

“Do you want to be hit by that two-bite meal?”

As I clenched my fist, Ivan grinned and brought his face closer.

I was about to slap his disgusting snout, which was even pretending to bite, when I became furious. It was a swift movement that would have definitely hit if Zerachiel hadn’t stopped me.

“Huh?”

Ivan made a strange noise as he looked at Zerachiel, who had blocked him as if protecting him. Then, with a touched face, he gathered both hands at his mouth.

“I didn’t know Zerachiel-nim thought of me this way. I, Ivan Kali, will continue to serve you, Master, with all my heart.”

I looked at Ivan, who was pretending to be a loyal subject in an exaggerated way, with cloudy eyes. I feel like I’ve often seen in movies that the person who says those words is the first to betray you.

Of course, Ivan was loyal to Zerachiel throughout the original story. He’s just a bit talkative.

The novel must have filtered out a lot of content, considering his more flamboyant mouth movements than in the original.

I glared at Zerachiel with eyes asking why he stopped me. Then he grabbed my hand and said sullenly,

“I told you to only hit me.”

So that’s what it was.