Chapter 20

I thought the worst-case scenario would be rejection or humiliation. Who would have thought that he would turn into a beast after listening?

Why? Why did it turn out this way? Was there something wrong with what I said? Or did he not hear my confession and was overtaken by his beastly instincts? If it’s the latter, then it’s easy to handle; I just need to repeat it when he’s conscious. But what if I’m willing to speak, and he’s not willing to listen?

After finally gathering the courage to confess, it turned out to be such a terrible result. Looking at Lambert’s beastly round pupils and the occasional flick of his snake tongue, I sighed deeply and scratched his chin. Although I preferred his human form, I had to admit that he was easier to get along with in his beast form. Sure enough, just scratching his chin made him squint contentedly, his snake head rubbing against my neck, emitting a low growl.

He had no idea how huge his body was, nor was he aware of being a cold-blooded animal. I was forced to hug him, and before long, my arms and shoulders were frozen stiff. Yet he continued to nuzzle my cheek, growling softly. To avoid freezing to death, I pushed him away, hugged my shoulders, shivered, and asked, “It’s so cold. Do you know how to get into the castle?”

I didn’t expect him to answer. While asking him, I looked around, trying to find a side door hidden by the blizzard. Unexpectedly, he nodded, indicating he knew.

A minute later, I pointed blankly at the castle’s main gate: “You mean we go in through the main entrance?”

He looked at me in confusion, his round pupils making his gaze pure as if asking: If not here, then where?

I held my forehead. I really didn’t know what to say. The two Lamberts had completely opposite personalities: one would never use the main entrance, while the other, driven by instinct, insisted on it. So, what was the point of the previous argument?

“Do you really want to go in from here?” I asked him.

He answered me with action—a loud roar of impatience, then he strode over and kicked open the castle’s main gate. Inside, people were still drinking and making merry, holding their glass jars high. A short, fat, flat-nosed old man sat by the door, enthusiastically playing the accordion.

The door was kicked open, and the wind and snow roared in. The old man rubbed his red nose, looked blankly outside, and saw Lambert’s snake head, black scales, and lizard-like limbs. In an instant, the old man’s beady eyes widened, and he fell to the ground, trembling and shouting, “Giant python, giant python… the giant python is here!”

My feelings were complicated; I wanted him to use the main entrance, not to be labeled as a giant python. I quickly followed him, only to see the castle in disarray, with chicken, duck, and fish bones piled on the tables, fruit cores scattered everywhere, and ceramic soup pots boiled dry.

Drunkards lay sprawled on the ground. The old man caught sight of me, took two steps back in fear, and opened his mouth wide. It wasn’t until I walked under the crystal chandelier that he closed his mouth: “You’re the old carpenter’s daughter, Rosalind… You’re not dead? Everyone thought you were eaten by the giant python!”

Thanks to my birth mother’s beauty and some gossiping women, I was pretty famous in the whole town. However, I was rather solitary by nature and rarely interacted with anyone except my father and the shop owner.

“I’m not dead.” Their actions were really too much, and I could only barely maintain my politeness. “If it’s convenient, please tell my father that I’m safe, and he shouldn’t worry.”

The old man seemed to want to ask why I was here, but he didn’t dare to speak due to Lambert’s cold and imposing presence. At this moment, a young man stepped forward, looking me up and down rudely under the influence of alcohol: “Are you the Rosalind everyone talks about?”

His gaze made me feel offended. I frowned, not wanting to answer him.

The young man continued rudely, “Can you communicate with this giant python? Or did you use some special drug to prevent it from harming you?”

The man’s gaze and tone also displeased Lambert. He let out a low growl, his pupils gradually narrowing, emitting a cold, warning light. Everyone gasped, and the short, fat old man trembled even more. I patted Lambert’s back gently. He immediately stopped growling and rubbed his snake head against my cheek. His actions made everyone gasp again.

Ignoring their mixed looks of shock and fear, I glanced at the mess around and said calmly, “Do you like asking people questions so much? Fine, I have a question, too. Why are you all here?”

The young man’s arrogance weakened considerably: “This castle has been abandoned for a long time. Why can’t we be here?”

“Abandoned for a long time? That’s quite a claim.” I kicked the bundle on the ground, and with a clink, a large number of exquisite silver items spilled out. “I remember Prince Ulysses saying this is royal territory. You broke into royal territory and stole royal belongings. Aren’t you afraid of the death penalty?”

A drunkard slurred, “You… you don’t say, I don’t say, who will know?”

I laughed and asked, “Why should I cover up your misdeeds?”

“For the sake of the old carpenter, Rosalind, we don’t mind your nonsense! As long as you swear not to reveal today’s events and cut off the head of this giant python, we will share its bounty with you!”

“This giant python is worth thirty gold coins… thirty gold coins! The old carpenter has never seen so much money in his life.”

“Think about your father. We’re all from the same town. Why make things unpleasant over a castle and a beast? Leave some room for maneuver so we can meet again in the future.”

I was silent for a moment: “This is not my territory. I have no right to make any decisions, but I can ask the castle owner what they think.”

This statement caused an uproar. Everyone looked at each other, discussing in whispers. Even the drunkards lying on the ground woke up.

“The castle owner is here? Is it someone from the royal family?”

“Oh no… oh no, what should we do?”

Some timid people showed signs of retreat: “It’s none of my business. I came because you said this was an abandoned castle! If I had known it had an owner, I wouldn’t have come! Blame the person who suggested coming here. They got us all into trouble!”

“It’s all Ford’s fault, drawing that map…”

“Enough, everyone be quiet!” The young man spoke angrily, “Rosalind, I don’t know why you’re causing panic. We just had a few drinks and took a nap in this castle. We didn’t do anything wrong, and you want to put us to death?”

I looked at the various bundles on the ground: “Didn’t do anything wrong? These silver items are…”

“Aren’t they just some broken silverware? Return them, return them all! Is that enough?”

Facing these people, I felt a sense of helplessness, like playing the piano to a cow: “Let’s hear what the castle owner has to say.”

Hugging Lambert’s black-scaled neck, I stood on tiptoe and softly asked, “Are you willing to let them leave?”

In his beast form, sometimes he could understand my words, but sometimes his reactions were extremely slow. Just like now, I was asking a very serious question, but he half-closed his eyes, sneezed lightly, and affectionately rubbed against my palm, seemingly enjoying my hug.

The young man’s face turned red and blue, and he questioned in a deep voice: “Ridiculous, the castle owner you speak of is this beast?”

“Hahaha, did you see that? She’s actually asking a beast…”

“Rosalind, you’re just as strange as your father!”

Perhaps because there were no high-ranking nobles to fear, most people breathed a sigh of relief. The young man spoke again: “Rosalind, I don’t know why you want everyone to leave this castle. But no matter what, the giant python can’t be the castle owner. Prince Ulysses said this castle belongs to the royal family, unless this giant python is a royal pet.”

“Stop talking nonsense with her. This girl is clearly not right in the head!”

“We shouldn’t have talked nonsense with her from the start… This beast doesn’t seem aggressive, why not just cut off its head and claim the reward!”

As soon as he said this, everyone exchanged glances, crouched down, picked up their weapons, and quietly approached us. Lambert’s pupils narrowed, revealing sharp fangs and a warning growl rolled from his throat. The crystal chandelier shook with the growl, and the floor trembled, but it didn’t stop these people from trying to claim the bounty: “Hold down this beast, Rosalind!”

I pursed my lips, stepped forward, and stood in front of Lambert: “Don’t provoke him.”

“Did you hear that? She called this beast ‘he,’ not ‘it’! Interesting, really interesting, could it be that you consider this beast your man?”

“That’s possible. No wonder this beast is so docile in front of her. It must have tasted a woman’s touch…”

Such humiliation was really low. I clenched my fists, but there was nothing I could do. You can persuade one person, but you can never persuade a group. One person might repent for their robber-like behavior, but a group will only become more aggressive. Maybe it’s better to let them suffer a bit from Lambert. But if I do that, it will only confirm that “Lambert is a giant python,” which is really troubling.

At this moment, the flat-nosed old man sitting by the door suddenly shouted, trembling: “Giant python… giant python, there’s another giant python outside… much bigger than this one!”

Following his bark-like finger, I saw the giant python I had encountered before: murky white eyes, a thirty-meter-long snake body, reverse scales, a blood-red mouth full of sharp teeth.