I Met the Male Lead in Prison
chapter-132

Chapter 69. The Magical Beast Who Lost Its Contractor

-I said I don’t know, Nyang!

“Why don’t you know? He’s the successor to Hernim?”

The snow leopard’s eyes widened. Is it such a surprise?

-Su, su, successor?!

“Yes.”

No, the color is perfect for him. The fur color and pupils of the snow leopard match exactly with Ricdorian’s.

“You don’t have to look at me like that. He’s Hernim’s successor.”

Originally, you were supposed to be the guardian deity of Ricdorian’s, right? I think so.

“Isn’t he your original owner?”

-You are the owner!

“Oh, I’m surprised.”

-The, there is no master of this great body! The guardian deity and the contractor do not have a master-slave relationship, Nyang!

“Yes, yes. Not ‘the’ owner, right?”

The eyes of the baby snow leopard shook a lot because they were full of confusion.

-N, no wonder. It was said the guardian deity, Nyang, can only enter the dream of a contract candidate…

“…You realize that now? Are you stupid?”

-Eek, this body is not a fool!

“Yeah, yeah, then you’re an idiot.”

-Hiiik!

Haak, haaak!

Now this cat did a lot of ‘haak, haak’. Even if it’s young, isn’t it a great cat?

I didn’t even treat it as a beast anymore.

“Yes, anyway. Why is the great idiot in this mansion?”

-I’m not an idiot, Nyang! And I’m sealed!

“Yes. Sealed. Why are you sealed?”

-That’s… .

The child’s voice in my head was blurred. Even the baby’s cotton-bat-like feet trembled. I felt the chaotic feeling overwhelming it.

-I don’t know… .

“You don’t know?”

-I… . This body was originally supposed to be in the candidate’s body upon birth. Nyan.

The snow leopard stuttered.

-But one day, a human caught me and then I opened my eyes and it was a dark space, Nyan. And I was sealed somewhere. Nyan.

Waeong, waeong, it weeped altogether.

-I can see the outside, but no one listened to this body, Nyang.

“You can see?”

-Yes, Nyang. I could climb the wall, but… No human beings noticed me, Nyang….

I can’t believe it had been climbing the walls. I remembered the fragmented patterns that made me come to this place. Is it related?

-…. Except for the humans who have captured me.

The snow leopard trembled.

-Human, you were the first!

The small soles of its feet were lifted up. The snow leopard jumped into my thigh. It’s fur was fluffy, but at the same time it was anxious.

-So, I’ll give you a chance to help this great body!

“Rejected.”

As expected. My guesses for these points are always good. For example, things that can be bothersome or difficult.

-Why?! Help this great body!

“Umm, I refuse.”

-Why? Why!

“I don’t help cats.

-Weren’t you able to be honest thanks to me?*

“Is that ancestral accent a habit? Why do you keep using that accent?”

Instead of talking, the snow leopard asked back ‘accent?’. It tilted its little head while doing so. I should teach it a way to speak.

-This, to be polite… If we do this, we will overflow with dignity.

Polite?

“Are you talking about the beasts of Grand Duke Hernim’s?”

Grand Duke Hernim was said to have the ability too. Maybe it asked because they might have beasts too.

-Yes, Nyang.

“Hmm. Let’s get rid of it. It doesn’t suit you at all.”

-N, no! This great body will be a guardian deity full of dignity!

It’s stubborn. Yes, do whatever you want. I shook my head slightly.

“Yeah yeah. Great uh, um yeah. I’m done.”

And why don’t you go back there? I took turns looking at the broken stone chips and the snow leopard.

-Oh, I won’t go in!

“If you don’t change that tone, immediately.”

-I’ll fix it, fix it!

The snow leopard screamed loudly.

-No, I’m not going in!

“I’ll put you in anyway.”

I didn’t say I wouldn’t put it in. Then, as if the snow leopard realized that I wasn’t too serious, it raised its claws and grabbed me.

-That’s too much!

“Yes, yes, I have too much radish. I have lettuce too.”

-This, don’t be ridiculous! Nyang, I shouldn’t be like this!

Waaaoonngg!

At that moment, the snow leopard cried desperately. Without knowing, I removed my gaze and turned to the snow leopard again.

Why are you shaking?

-I, I don’t want to disappear, Nyang….

“Why are you like this?”

The baby beast’s body was trembling. It was different from the previous surprise trembling.

Only then my face got serious.

-Originally, the body of the contractor candidate and I were one. By if we’re far away for so long….

The voice coming into my head was whimpering.

-The contractor candidate will die. I also have no place to go back, Nyan. I will disappear too.

“….Die? What do you mean? Tell me in detail.”

The watery blue eyes of the beast captured me. I felt as if Ricdorian was looking at me.

-I, I am the guardian of the red rose. We call the future contractors, the state before signing the contract, the contractor candidate. Nyang. And when the contractor of the red rose awakens.

Awakening, I don’t know what to say.

-Originally, I should have been sleeping in the body of the contractor candidate. But someone took me away, Nyang.

“So?”

-The contractor candidate must have been short-lived and incomplete, Nyang. It is a characteristic of a red rose. We are one body.

The little snow leopard buried its head on both feet.

-He is also a contractor candidate… Did I lose my ability to recognize? Nyang.

The baby beast cried, and said that he couldn’t recall its abilities right after seeing Ricdorian in a dream a while ago.

-This, this body isn’t stupid, Nyan. I am weak enough to forget we’re connected to a dream.

It’s not because you’re stupid, but because you’re imperfect… .

“Not only you, but the candidate successor is incomplete?”

-Because me and the candidate successor in the first place, mature by being together… Nyang.

Why, what passed by is Ricdorian’s appearance. Among them, he was barking loudly.

… I certainly never read something like that in a book. Why does the male protagonist bark, I was amazed. I do.

Wasn’t this just because it was a time before the original book?

I couldn’t decide.

-And after the preparation for awakening, the successor candidate meets the ‘companion’ who will help the awakening, I also show up outside, Nyang.

Companion, this must be referring to the original female protagonist. My expression subsided.

“You. Who is the person who sealed you? Remember?”

I don’t want to be bothered anymore or give up my comfort, but my mouth moved.

-I… I remember, Nyang! It was a young human. Black hair….

The baby beast thought it was scary, and he dug in my palm and buried my head.

-Ot, other humans called the human ‘Chaser’. I remember it!

Chaser.

The moment I heard the name, my heart sank. As I put my hand on my chest, I heard a thumping and beating sound. I could hear it, but it was a distant feeling to hear that.

I knew it.

The prediction was correct, but I just wondered if it was possible. It could have been Duke Domulit, not Chaser.

I wondered how the young Chaser got this beast out of Ricdorian.

But I couldn’t bring it up.

However, I couldn’t even put my face on my fingers and let go of the trembling baby beast.

“You know, Hernim is originally known to have a short lifespan. You said that if he doesn’t meet his companion, he dies.”

This tattoo of a red rose, born of Von Hel’s, led to death if the destiny partner was not found until all the leaves of the rose fell.

-Right, right. However… If it remains in this state, the successor candidate will die sooner.

Ricdorian will die.

At least three more years left until the time of the original book. Until then, the story began under the assumption that Ricdorian was alive.

“…How much do you have left?”

-It’s three years, Nyang.

The baby snow leopard explained that it is also the time when it disappears.

3 years.

It was about the same time as the beginning of the original book. When was the season of the beginning of the original work?

Listening to snow leopard’s words, it was a few months after the original work began.

A few months apart, that is, when Ricdorian’s life span is only a few months left, he will meet the heroine.

Until then it must meet him.

The beast trembled and said that he had no idea what would happen if he was still away from Ricdorian.

I held the snow leopard to my chest for now. It was like the shivering snow leopard looked up at me.

“…Just move and talk to him.”

I sighed a little.

Oh my life.

I couldn’t get rid of it now that I’ve heard this far. Although I want to live quietly and comfortably as much as possible.

I can’t let Ricdorian die. In addition, I am the younger sister of the current villain who is not willing to help. My brother was the villain who took this small guardian deity and sealed it.

Why are you feeling guilty when you’ve never felt like him as a brother?

“I’m going to my room.”

Right now, I shook the heavy story to the lighter side.

“Yeah, now I know your situation. Even showed Ricdorian.”

Honestly, it wasn’t unwelcome to see Ricdorian after a long time. It’s because the feeling is a bit complicated.

The moment I thought of rubbing my face on my fingertips in my dream a while ago, it felt like my hands were burning again.

… Why do you want more?

“But there is one thing I don’t understand yet, why do you want me to be honest?”

I understood most of what this cat said. Except for this.

-When pulling me out, didn’t you think of that human? Nyang.

The snow leopard, who I didn’t know if it was a beast or a cat, tilted its head.

“I didn’t think about him?”

-No, you did.

Well, it was Ricdorian’s family pattern, so it could be..

“Yes, let’s say that, you showed me the dream and told me to be honest.”

-Wasn’t you honest in your dream?

“Speak clearly.”

-This great body speaks with dignity…

“Do you want me to help you?”

-..… Didn’t you?!

“Yes. Did I become honest in the dream?”

The snow leopard tilted it’s head.

-Rubbing snouts with that human…

“Ah, ah! Ah. All right. All right. Stop there.”

(T/N: the Deity was using a way of speaking that is mostly used in historical dramas and not used now.)