I know I was wrong, but it was a lifeordeath situation for me.

But suddenly, with the Duke’s cold eyes on me, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘…It was for someone.’

I tried to stop the Duke from drinking the poison.

Of course, the Duke couldn’t know my intention.

But getting angry just because I disobeyed him without asking why was too much.

‘I was really scared.’

That thought made my heart ache again. My vision started to wobble.

“I suppose it’s not for nothing they call him the villainous Duke.”

It was all for the Duke. Now, I will never worry about the Duke again. Whether the assassins come again or drink poison.

‘I won’t care anymore.’

I wiped my eyes again with my right sleeve.

But suddenly, I felt a burdensome gaze.

There was no one else in the room, which was strange.

‘What?’

I turned my head and saw a slender silver body, with bright red eyes.

“Oh, it’s that snake from before.”

It was the silver snake that had saved me from the assassin earlier.

I even thought I had seen wrong because the snake disappeared suddenly.

But seeing it again confirmed it was real.

Since when had it been sitting there on the floor, coiling its tail?

Had I seen it for the first time, I might have been terrified.

But I knew that snake had saved me earlier, so rather than disgusting, I was curious and glad. But it seemed the snake didn’t feel the same way.

[What did you just say?!]

“Huh?”

An angry voice rang in my head. Startled, I looked around.

[I’m asking what you just said! Why can’t humans understand when spoken to once?]

Heh, this voice was familiar.

It was the voice that yelled at me to dodge before the shelf fell.

“What, what did you say?”

[I just asked what you said! Why don’t humans understand when spoken to once?]

The silver snake grumbled. I answered, bewildered.

“I said, ‘I suppose it’s not for nothing they call him the villainous Duke’…”

[And?]

“Uh… then, ‘Oh, it’s that snake?'”

[Squeak! Yes, that!]

The coiling snake raised its body.

It hissed at me, flapping its red tongue.

[How dare you compare me to such lowly creatures?]

“What? You’re talking?”

[Yes!]

“Huh? How can a snake talk?”

[You, you…! You called me a snake again! You are the most worthless and talkative human in this world!]

The silver snake thrashed its head here and there, agitated.

The tail slapped the floor.

Then the door flung open.

“Baby! I brought the pudding first…, huh?”

Delma’s head stiffly turned. Delma’s mouth gaped soundlessly.

“Th, that, belly, snake…”

And then she fainted on the spot.

[This is a time separator.]

“Really! There really was a silver snake in the baby’s room?!”

Delma moved her hands, repeating the words in a flustered manner.

I vigorously chewed the cookies that Sophia had brought, without saying anything.

“Delma, you must have seen it wrong.”

Sophia wiped the cookie crumbs from my mouth.

While doing that, I stuffed the last piece of the cookie into my mouth.

“But I really saw it…”

Delma complained and tilted her head, trailing off her sentence. As there was no evidence left, she seemed uncertain.

“Baby, didn’t you see it?”

“Huh?”

“The snake, it was definitely here, a silver snake!”

“Um, well…”

I rolled my eyes, and Sophia intervened.

“Delma, it might happen if you’re tired.”

“Yeah, Delma must be tired.”

I quickly chimed in with Sophia’s words. Delma slightly pressed her temples and said.

“Ugh, that must be it? Then I’m really relieved. I’ve been tired lately. A snake in the baby’s room! Just the thought is horrifying!”

I silently apologized to Delma.

‘Delma, sorry.’

The fact was, what Delma saw was not wrong. I saw the silver snake too.

I even talked to it.

But the silver snake had slipped under my bed when Delma fainted. And it even threatened me before it went.

[Don’t talk about me to anyone! Or else, I won’t let you off, you stupid creature!]

Probably, it was still listening to our conversation from under the bed.

However, even without the snake’s threat, I had no intention of talking about this. If I told anyone, it would only give me a headache.

Then someone knocked on the door. It was Filen.

“What is the baby doing?”

Filen looked around the room, trying to find me.

I quickly slid into the blanket, pulling it all the way to my head.

The reason Filen had come was clear.

“As you can see, the baby is feeling a bit…, please let them know they are taking a nap for now?”

“…Yes, understood.”

At Sophia’s words, Filen answered gloomily and left.

Whether she came back to my side or not, Sophia softly patted the blanket.

“The Duke is probably worried about the baby. He must have thought you might have been badly hurt.”

Sophia spoke gently.

“He must have been more angry at himself than the baby.”

That’s unlikely, Sophia.

I sighed deeply inside the blanket.

‘If that were true, he would have asked if I was okay before getting angry.’