Chapter: 196
‘If only I could check the pheromones… everything would be clear.’
As that thought crossed his mind, a natural yearning to know more about pheromones flickered through Lian’s head. Suddenly, he felt a peculiar intuition deep within his chest.
Like a newborn baby instinctively knowing how to suckle, he realized something.
Lian looked down at his hands and body.
‘If I’m soaked in pheromones… then I should be able to tell.’
His gaze, which had been focused on Jess—the Demon Lord—shifted as his power awakened, making him contemplate his own body.
“Uh..?”
‘Since my ability lets me see and understand things, it should at least tell me if my body is covered in pheromones, right?’ That thought left him paled in fear at the changes in his body.
The power flowed through him like a snake, curling around the nape of his neck before smoothly dissipating.
Where the power had vanished, a strange sensation became vivid. As he gingerly traced his neck—
“Khuh?!”
A rich scent slapped him in the face like he had stuck his nose in a bottle of perfume. In a panic, Lian clamped his hands over his nose, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“What is this…?”
Sniffling and blinking away tears, he realized he understood the situation.
‘Did I just develop an organ to sense pheromones…?’
Instead of merely identifying their existence, the ability had inexplicably created an organ on the side of his neck that could feel and produce pheromones.
Because of this, he could believe without a doubt that Jess had drenched him in her pheromones.
‘I can’t breathe…!’
True to their function as markers of territory, simply blocking his nose could not hold back the thick pheromones invading his senses.
His eyes stung, his nose tingled, and his whole body ached.
Usually, when a partner drenches someone in pheromones, they’d be careful to keep the other from suffering. But since Lian was only human and couldn’t detect pheromones, Jess had poured them on him without restraint.
As a result, he writhed in agony. Overwhelmed with the desire to escape his suffering, he inadvertently awakened a new way to use the organ on his neck, like a hero born from a crisis.
‘I have to cover it with my own pheromones…!’
To claim a territory, he needed to mark it as his. To wash away Jess’s pheromones covering him, he would have to layer it with even more pheromones.
Desperate, Lian released pheromones to cover Jess’s scent. It flowed out as clumsily as when he first learned to hold a spoon or a pencil.
While shaky, his efforts finally paid off, and he succeeded in drenching Jess’s pheromones with his own.
“Phew, ha… ha…”
Taking a long, deep breath to clear his airways, he wiped his wet cheeks free of tears. It felt as if something spicy had gotten into his eyes.
“Phew, I thought I was going to die.”
The ‘scent’—now akin to a strong pheromone—was intriguingly manageable through the newly formed organ. Perhaps it had evolved so he wouldn’t be detected by someone stronger than him. As soon as he thought about withdrawing the pheromones, he felt everything covering him retract to the organ.
‘Is it just me…?’
Not knowing how the pheromones of other beastfolk functioned left him uncertain whether this was normal or not.
‘Well, no news is good news.’
Believing he wouldn’t be rejected anymore filled him with satisfaction, but the thoughts he had been avoiding began to invade his mind.
‘The fact that Jess has drenched me in pheromones means… everything Jess did was justified.’
It was as if the reality he had tried to ignore was laid bare before him. How could he like Noah and still harbor romantic thoughts for Jess?
While he could rationalize being flustered or concerned by Jess’s impressive physique, it felt different now—especially since he was so deeply entangled with Noah, just one confession away from solidifying their relationship.
Feeling romantic interest for Jess, who was essentially like a little sister to him, made him feel like utter garbage.
‘Was I always this straightforward?’
If he had established some relationship experiences or acknowledged that polyamory could exist, perhaps he would feel less confused. But for him, harboring feelings for another while being in love with someone else seemed impossible, and clinging to the belief that monogamy was the only acceptable form of love made this turmoil all the more intense.
Under normal circumstances, he would have suppressed his emotions and forced himself into a conventional mold. Still, oddly enough, he found himself unable to yield. The affection he felt for Jess was undeniably significant.
If he had doubts about his love for Noah, he would have readily embraced his feelings for Jess—yet he was now viewing her as a potential romantic partner.
Societal perceptions that insisted he shouldn’t, combined with memories of seeing her merely as a sister, clung to his ankles.
Knock. Knock.
“Master?”
“Ah…”
While Lian was suffering in confusion, time seemed to have flown by, and Jess came looking for him. She’d grown worried when he didn’t appear for mealtimes. With his mind still a mess, Lian walked slowly to the door.
Creeeak.
“Jess… good morning.”
Jess, looking a bit worn but still smiling gently, greeted him.
“…”
But there was no response.
“…? Um, Jess… do I have something on my face?”
As Lian awkwardly touched his face and forced a smile under her penetrating gaze, Jess replied with a cool expression she usually didn’t show him.
“Who was it?”
“Huh?”
“Who were you with?”
Jess stepped closer, pressing her body against him. Her assertive chest squished against his upper body. Just as he was about to gasp at the delightful sensation, Jess shoved him roughly into the cabin.
Boom!
Then she slammed the door behind him, pinning him against it. Dizziness gripped him as he turned, wedged between the door and the cabin, wearing a bewildered expression. Jess grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down firmly. Stumbling, he found himself looking up at her.
“Whoa!”
Jess held Lian’s face with both hands, trapping him in her gaze. Her eyes, filled with a mix of excitement and intensity, bore down on him like a hungry beast.
“Who were you with last night?”
“Uh… um, I was alone…?”
The atmosphere felt like he had been caught cheating, making his voice tremble. He hadn’t really done anything wrong, but his heart raced unpredictably. Jess leaned in closer, as if to read the truth behind Lian’s half-lies and emotions.
Her vibrant red hair cascaded beside his face like an exquisite curtain. He felt as if he were trapped in her world, swallowing hard.
Unlike usual, her cool demeanor was dangerously seductive, making his heart skip a beat.
“So, who were you with?”
Under Jess’s persistent questioning, Lian couldn’t even blink as he answered.
“I was… all alone, then, ah! Early in the morning, a beastfolk with cat ears came by—”
Crash!
Before Lian could finish his sentence, Jess vanished. He found himself sitting on the ground, facing the door, which had been ripped off its hinges.
“Jess?”
Startled by the sudden chaos, Lian frantically looked for Jess. All he heard in response were the sounds of something breaking and beastfolk voices shouting, “What? Huh?! What’s going on?!”
After a few more loud bangs echoed, clarity returned to him. As he pushed himself off the floor, something suddenly sprang into the cabin from outside.
“Aaaah! Let me go!”
“Kuh!”
The strange creature turned out to be a cat-like beastfolk with black ears and short black hair. With a puffed-up tail, the frightened cat beastfolk leaped into Lian’s arms, burrowing behind his back.
Shiver, shiver.
He could feel the trembling little body pressed tightly against him. Just as confusion washed over Lian, a menacing presence filled the doorway of the cabin.
“Come out quietly, and I’ll put you out of your misery.”
Jess’s eyes sparkled dangerously as her sharp claws glinted. The claws that could slice through stone aimed directly at the cat beastfolk.
“Gyaaaaak! I don’t want to die!”
“Ugh…!”
The sight of an enraged Jess terrified the cat beastfolk, and in fear, she clung to Lian’s waist. The sudden, strong embrace made Lian involuntarily let out a groan. That reaction only made Jess sharpen her claws further.
“Wait, Jess!”
“…Just a moment, and it’ll all be over.”
Jess appeared completely out of control, ignoring Lian’s plea. Memories of the moment she had vanished before him shot through Lian’s mind.
‘In my current state, I can’t stop Jess!’
Before he could do anything, the cat beastfolk was about to be shredded.
‘Is there… any way to stop Jess…? Ah!’
Amidst the panic, the method he recalled was something he had never tried before. He couldn’t guarantee it would work, but if he didn’t act, the cat beastfolk would become a dead… cat.
With that in mind, he sprang into action.
“…!”
Lian awkwardly released pheromones to lightly coat Jess, causing her to freeze and widen her eyes in surprise.
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