04. Stupid Little Liar
No. That can't be. I must be dreaming. There's no way I could turn into a beast overnight. Right. Haha. This must all be a dream. It's just because I have a really bad cold. Right!
Okay. Close your eyes again. And let's count to exactly 10.
Then everything will be back to normal.
1. 2. 3.
Take a peek.
Wow!
It's the same!
'What on earth happened?'
I quickly looked around. It was difficult to adjust because my vision had been lowered since I had turned into a wolf.
An empty cup caught my eye. I approached and sniffed it.
A foul smell stung my nose. Perhaps because I had become a wolf, my sense of smell seemed to have become even more acute.
'Is it because of this? I'm sure I was told to make it with the herbs I had.'
I sniffed around, looking for the whereabouts of the herbs. I spotted a basket sitting all alone to one side.
At that moment, I suddenly remembered the herbs the merchant had given me a few days ago.
A rare herb that is impossible to find in the North.
'You didn't eat that, did you?!'
I rummaged through the basket with my foot. There was exactly one herb with a blue tip left. And even that was heavily crushed. I guessed... that was the herb I had eaten.
'This is crazy.'
If you couldn't get it because it wasn't there, you should have just eaten it yourself! Why did you give it to me and cause this mess?
Aww!
My irritation spread like a wolf's howl. Argh. I quickly shut my mouth. It would be a disaster if anyone else heard me.
'Come to think of it, where did everyone go?'
When I caught a glimpse of it in my sleep, I think I heard that they were going to get water. It was terrible timing.
But what if they return before I find my original body?
I thought of the dragon siblings.
If they saw me in this state right now, probably...
'They'll burn me to death.'
I got goosebumps. I trembled violently like a shedding puppy. I had to get back as soon as possible.
However, having only had ears and a tail while in human form, it was the first time it had transformed into a complete wolf, so it didn't know what to do.
If it really is because of the medicine, I would have to wait until the effects wore off, but what if I meet Noelier before then?
"..."
Just imagining it made the wolf's fur stand on end.
'Let's get out of here for now. We'll go out, and when the effects wear off, we'll come back.'
I walked toward the door and stood on two feet. I tried to grab the doorknob, but no matter how hard I tried with my soft feet, it wouldn't open.
'Please open...!'
Just as it was whimpering pleadingly, another sound caught my ears, which had become sensitive like a wolf.
“Is your sister awake?”
"She's probably asleep. They say getting plenty of rest is the best way to recover when you're sick."
"I hope she gets better soon."
It was the voice of children.
It was even getting closer.
'Oh my god, crazy!'
I quickly stepped away from the door. Then I spun around like a puppy just starting potty training. No matter how much I thought about it, there was nowhere to hide in this small house.
Should I take advantage of the moment the door opens to escape?
No, they will think it is a bigger problem since I am gone.
If God exists, this couldn't have happened. What did I do wrong? Is reading a novel like that in a past life such a huge sin?
While I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, the sound of wet footsteps stopped in front of the door.
Sigh.
The door opened before I could even resist.
"..."
"..."
I made eye contact with Rachel.
"...What is this?"
Rachel narrowed her eyebrows and muttered in a cold voice.
I jumped back at the fierce look in his eyes.
'She's not the Rachel I knew!'
Little Red Riding Hood, the heroine who was endlessly cute and adorable to me, was, as expected, merciless to the wolf.
I recoiled and stepped back. A frightened wolf was reflected in Rachel's red eyes.
'I don't want to die like this...!'
Humm. A dog's sob escaped from the back of my throat.
"Ruby?"
Zion peeked his head out from behind Rachel. Zion, who had been blinking like Rachel, opened his eyes wide.
'Zion. Save me!'
Hing!
I barked loudly at my only blood relative. However, Zion merely tilted his head with a bewildered look on his face.
For a moment, I forgot how clueless Zion was.
'Since things have come to this, at least you run away! Run away quickly!'
I clanged wildly with that intention. Even if Rachel burned me for being a noisy wolf, I had to make sure at least Zion could escape.
"Ruby, what is this?"
Just then, Zion, ignoring my shout, asked in a voice full of curiosity.
Since he had lived only in this forest, Zion had never seen a real wolf.
The only appearance of a wolf that Zion knew was his own ears and tail. So, seeing a 'complete wolf' for the first time seemed simply fascinating to him.
"..."
Rachel remained silent, not answering Zion's question. Her fierce red eyes were as undiminished as ever.
That's even scarier! I shivered uncontrollably.
"Let's show it to my sister too!"
As if wanting to show me this fascinating thing, Zion shifted his gaze to the bed.
"Uh?"
However, 'Eve, who was groaning in pain from a cold,' was not there.
There was only 'Eve, who turned into a wolf after taking the wrong medicine'.
"Ruby, no sister!"
"..."
Zion tugged at Rachel's clothes with a tearful expression. Rachel, who had been staring intently at me, shifted her gaze to the empty bed.
"I don't have an older sister, but instead..."
Rachel slowly drew out the end of her sentence.
“There is this.”
My body trembled at the terrifyingly low voice.
"Did she go out to look for us because we arrived too late? Hmm? Ruby?"
Zion drooped the corners of his eyes as if he were about to cry.
"Or he'll take my sister...!"
As I opened my mouth in worry, the small mouth stopped abruptly. At the same time, the finger pointing at me slowly dropped downward.
"Huh? Those ears...?"
Hing.
Startled, I jumped up from my seat.
I shook my head urgently.
No. Don't say it.
Don't say it!
Hing! Hing!
I looked up at Zion, fidgeting nervously. Zion stared at me with a face that looked as if he were possessed by the glasses-wearing detective.
"Surely not, my sister..."
“Woof...! Zion!”
“It’s a puppy.”
It was then.
Suddenly, Rachel covered Zion's mouth.
"...?"
Zion rolled his eyes with his mouth covered. His wide-open pupils were filled with question marks.
Rachel, frowning slightly, glanced at me with a sour expression.
"I've seen it."
“Huh?”
“This is a puppy.”
Rachel looked down at me as she said that, as if asking back, "Isn't that right?"
Puppy?
'Come to think of it, wolves are canids, aren't they?'
I lowered my head and looked at my feet. There were no sharp claws whatsoever. No matter how I looked at them, they were soft paws that didn't look like wolves.
'Does Rachel think of me as a puppy?'
I cautiously raised my head and looked up at Rachel. Rachel was still covering Zion's mouth.
"Phew! I thought I was going to die!"
Zion, having barely managed to escape from Rachel's grasp, gasped for breath. Then, pouting, he pointed at me.
"That's a puppy? But the ears..."
"Puppy. I remember seeing this before."
"Huh? Did your memory come back?"
"..."
Rachel clamped her mouth shut at Zion's sharp question.
No. You little rat! Usually, you just let it slide with an "Oh, really?" attitude! Why are you so sharp today?
'At this rate, Rachel is going to notice!'
I hurriedly stepped over to the little mice. At my sudden movement, the children's gazes swept toward me.
...Given the circumstances, that was the only option. I squeezed my eyes shut, flopped down, and exposed my belly.
Then, shaking my foot as if to tempt them, I looked at the children.
"What....?"
"..."
Hing!
"So cute!"
My innocent and clueless younger sibling approached me with sparkling eyes. The little detective had long since disappeared.
As Zion bent down to sit, I quickly placed my front paws on his knees and wagged my tail wildly.
"So cute! Ruby, you try touching it too!"
"..."
Rachel approached me with a slightly reluctant look on her face.
A subtle suspicion still lingered on her face. Although she said that, she seemed to be trying to distinguish whether I was a dog or a wolf.
Damn it...! Holding back tears, I rolled on the floor again.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment