Formo, who entered Sotes Palace with Serdin, was shown the room he would be using. At first, he was delighted thinking he’d have a room to himself, but his shoulders drooped right after Serdin, with a smile on his face, suggested they sleep together every day. Unlike the Detached Palace, the room Formo would be staying in this time had a structure where you had to pass through an attached private sitting room to reach the bedroom.
Serdin led Formo, who was frantically looking around the private sitting room and bedroom, toward the dining room.
“Pipi, this is the space for meals. Let’s have our meals here from now on.”
“Mmm.”
“This is a space for receiving guests, but you don’t really need to know about it, Pipi. There won’t be any occasion for other bastards to set foot in this palace to see you.”
“……Mmmm.”
Formo flinched when Serdin used the word “other bastards” with a cold face. Serdin occasionally used such raw words like that. Though the frequency wasn’t high.
Formo mechanically nodded his head as he was introduced to various spaces including the dining room, reception room, study, office, and glass greenhouse. It was a succession of spaces that were far too different from Arancha. Various spaces existed in the Detached Palace as well, but because Serdin had restricted his range of activity out of concern for Formo’s escape, all the spaces comprising Sotes Palace felt new.
Having finished the general introduction to Sotes Palace, Serdin headed back to the room with Formo. Orange sunset light burst through the windows in the corridor leading to the room.
Formo stared at the warm sunset as if entranced.
“Pipi?”
At Serdin’s call, Formo, who had collected his thoughts that had been captivated by the sunset, moved his steps again. The room they entered was also filled with the evening glow dyed by the sunset. It was a vivid color as if the sky was burning up. The room dyed in brilliant orange light was beautiful enough to be called a spectacular view.
Formo passed by Serdin and stood in front of the large window, looking outside.
“You know, Pipi.”
Serdin spoke quietly to Formo, who was standing vacantly in front of the window looking outside.
“Remember when I said there’s a price needed to become a beastman?”
At that question, Formo, who had been looking out the window, turned his head to look at Serdin. He remembered the story about the price, but had completely forgotten about his own price. Since there were no signs of it, he couldn’t help but forget. While he had been busy adapting to life as a beastman, forgetting even what his price was, it seemed Serdin was not.
Thinking Serdin might have found something out, Formo quietly waited for his words.
“Until recently, I couldn’t even guess what your price was, Pipi.”
“……”
“I found out today.”
“What is it?”
Formo asked with a tense face. Since it was a problem directly connected to him, he became excessively anxious.
“But Pipi. I still don’t know whether this is a good price or a bad price for you.”
Formo squinted his eyes at the incomprehensible words. Just what could his price be to make Serdin act like that? The actual person involved, Formo, hadn’t even felt any changes. Because he’d been tormented by Serdin so much, he even suspected it might be nothing much and Serdin was just setting the mood for no reason.
Serdin’s silence lengthened. Formo decided to wait for Serdin’s words without rushing him. Seeing how quite serious his face was, it didn’t seem like he was trying to spout nonsense.
It was the moment when Serdin broke the silence that had continued for quite a while and parted his lips.
“Your Highness, this is Teram.”
The voice of an unfamiliar beastman named Teram was heard from outside the door. Formo, who had been in a state of tension, looked at the door with wide eyes. Serdin twitched his eyebrows then opened his mouth.
“What is it.”
“I’ve come by His Majesty’s command, Your Highness. Please spare me a moment of your time.”
Teram was the head chamberlain who oversaw the overall affairs inside the castle. He was a beastman who received considerable trust from Harold and was also Kert’s father. Serdin also had no particular objection regarding Teram’s work abilities.
“I’ll come out right away.”
Serdin said in a voice mixed with a sigh while looking at Formo.
“Pipi, I’ll be out for a moment. Rest here.”
“……Okay.”
Formo, who nodded and responded, saw Serdin off. He wanted to quickly finish the story about the price, but it was cut off in the middle due to Teram’s appearance. Formo, who had been bustling around the sitting room worrying about his price, decided to sit on the smooth sofa and wait for Serdin.
The voices of Serdin and Teram could be heard through the closed gap as they conversed outside the door.
“Absurd……”
“……did. I also…… curious.”
“……don’t.”
“Heartless……. will you?”
“That’s enough.”
Formo narrowed his brows as he listened to the sporadically heard voices. Because the sentences were broken, there was no way to know what kind of conversation they were having. The conversation that continued after that ended with Serdin opening the door and entering.
“Pipi, did you wait long?”
Serdin asked in a gentle voice as he sat across from Formo, who was sitting on the sofa staring blankly at him. When Formo narrowed his eyes and nodded his head, a smile appeared on Serdin’s lips.
“How much did you miss me while waiting?”
“……”
Formo sighed inwardly. This wretched jaguar couldn’t maintain seriousness for long and had started spouting nonsense again. Just when would he become a serious jaguar?
“You won’t answer?”
Formo ignored Serdin, who was asking again. Then Serdin pulled up the corners of his mouth crookedly and smiled.
“Alright, Pipi. You want me to stop saying obvious things and finish the story I was telling, right?”
“Wh-what? What’s obvious!”
Formo snapped irritably, then gestured with his eyes for him to finish talking about the price.
“If my thoughts aren’t wrong, Pipi’s price is.”
Finally, the main point. Formo stared intently at Serdin, who was making a serious expression while squinting his eyes.
“Pain.”
“Pa……in?”
“Yeah.”
When Serdin, who had responded briefly, suddenly stood up from his seat, Formo’s eyes widened. Formo tilted his head as he watched Serdin’s back as he went toward the direction where the dresser was. Soon he could confirm what was in Serdin’s hands as he turned around. It was an elaborately decorated tabletop mirror.
Serdin, who had returned to his seat, placed the mirror in front of Formo.
“Why this?”
When Formo asked with a puzzled face, Serdin gestured with his chin.
“Look in the mirror, Pipi.”
As he did so, not only did he personally turn the mirror for Formo to see comfortably, but he even adjusted the angle. Formo looked at Serdin absurdly as he suddenly brought a mirror and thrust it at him while talking about the price being pain.
He examined Serdin with suspicious eyes, then thoroughly checked his own face reflected in the mirror.
“……Huh?”
Formo, who had been examining his face for a while, discovered scratches on the tip of his nose and left nostril and moved his lips with bewildered eyes. It seemed to be the wound Serdin had mentioned in the carriage earlier. However, because there had been no pain, he had completely forgotten about the existence of the wound.
“Th-this is……”
“Pipi, you didn’t know you had a wound on your nose until I told you in the carriage, right?”
“……Yeah.”
Formo nodded his head with a shocked face. Just as he said, not even the slightest pain was felt from his nose. He couldn’t even guess when or how he’d been injured. Though he hated to admit it, if it had been his usual self, he would have forgotten his dignity as a guardian and made a fuss saying it stung and hurt.
Formo, who had been examining the wound through the mirror, took his eyes off the mirror and asked Serdin.
“The thing I lost as a price is pain……?”
“Unfortunately, it seems so, Pipi.”
“But……”
This isn’t as bad a price as I was worried about.
Looking at Serdin’s serious face, the rest of his words wouldn’t come out. Formo, who swallowed his remaining words, rolled his eyes around. Honestly, he didn’t take the fact that he couldn’t feel pain very seriously. Rather, since he wouldn’t have to complain about pain, he thought it fortunate that he wouldn’t look like a crybaby anymore.
However, Serdin’s thoughts seemed to have gone in a strange direction.
“It’s okay, Pipi.”
“Huh?”
“Because it’s a problem I just need to look after you better.”
He continued in a sunken voice.
“So cooperate with me, Pipi.”
“……With what?”
“I mean don’t be surprised even if I constantly check your body, Pipi.”
“Wh-what?”
To check his body “constantly.” Formo couldn’t help but be startled at those words. This was because he hadn’t anticipated that Serdin would take this matter so seriously.
“I might check more than ten times a day, Pipi.”
“Ten times……”
“Maybe it’ll be more than a hundred times. Of course, I’ll strip your clothes off too.”
“A-are you crazy?”
When Formo yelled with a face drained of color, Serdin said composedly.
“I’m perfectly sane, Pipi. And of course, it’s something I must do.”
“N-no! I just need to be careful. There’s no need to…… uh, go that far.”
“Pipi.”
At Formo’s words, Serdin sent a cold gaze.
“If I don’t do it, who will.”
“I-I can do it. So……”
“No.”
Formo squinted his eyes and glared at Serdin.
“I can’t trust you either, Pipi. So cooperate.”
Serdin urged cooperation with eyes that felt cold. If he didn’t comply, it seemed Serdin would carry out what he said even if he had to restrain Formo.
Formo stared at Serdin with a face drained of blood and thought. It seemed that wretched jaguar had completely lost his mind.
