Depraved Noble: Forced To Live The Debaucherous Life Of An Evil Noble!

While both Cassius and the serpent were in disbelief, the girl went on, her voice pitching higher as if she were trying to sell it a cursed teapot in a shady market.

"Just, just look! Look at me, Mr snake!" She jabbed a finger toward her own body. "See? Even though my top half is human, my bottom half is completely snake! Watch, I'll prove it!"

She wiggled her tail, the tip flicking back and forth like a child showing off a new toy. Then, with a determined look, she slithered a little circle on the ground.

"See? Ta-da! Snake! Half-snake, just like you!" She spread her arms wide, beaming with desperate pride. "I'm the same as you! We're family! Snake buddies! Same species!"

Cassius's mouth fell open.

And then she added, in a muttered tone, "But of course, I'm not as big and scary as you, though...and also not nearly as ugly."

Cassius nearly choked. 'Did she just insult a Leviathan's face?!'

But she wasn't done.

"I'm much cuter. Much more beautiful, too!"

She puffed out her chest, pressing her hands against her breasts as if that somehow counted as evidence. Her yellow eyes sparkled with fake confidence as she looked up at the looming beast.

"So, see? We're the same kind, so you don't need to kill me! People of the same race should stick together, right?"

"...One snake is weak, but snakes together are strong!"

She clasped her hands together, almost pleading.

Cassius actually felt dizzy. He had seen kings bargain for their lives with more dignity than this, and here she was trying to sweet-talk a monster like it was a grumpy uncle she wanted pocket money from.

And yet, her face was full of hope.

"And since you're staying quiet." She continued breathlessly. "I'll take that as a yes! You've decided to listen to me! Thank the gods!"

She let out a huge sigh of relief, patting her own chest dramatically.

"Alright then, bye-bye Mr. Snake. You should just go back into your lake now, and I'll just go on my way."

She turned as if to leave, raising her hand in a little wave. "Snakes together strong!" She chirped, like a child reciting a motto, while Cassius buried his face in his palm.

'This girl is insane.'

The Leviathan, however, clearly didn't share her optimism. Its eyes narrowed, its enormous body rippling with irritation.

Then—

HISSSSSSSSS!

The sound was so loud the ground vibrated beneath Cassius's hands. The hiss rattled his bones, the trees trembled, and droplets of venom sprayed from the beast's mouth as it pulled back its head. A sickening gurgle rose from its throat.

It was about to spit.

The girl froze. Her hopeful grin crumbled, replaced with wide-eyed horror.

But even then, her expression wasn't the noble despair of someone facing death.

No, it was dumbfounded, as if she were genuinely shocked her flawless plan hadn't worked.

"W-Wait...you're actually gonna—" She muttered, her voice trembling. Then, in disbelief. "Seriously? You're actually going to kill me like this? Ugh, my body won't even be found...the acid's going to melt everything…"

Her lips trembled as she whispered the words under her breath.

"I guess it is what it is, I just hope that grandma will be fine without me…"

And the moment those hopeless words left her mouth, the beast reared back fully. Its jaws parted, and from its throat came the horrible sound of liquid churning.

"Grgrgrgrgr!!!"

The girl shut her eyes tight, bracing herself.

And then—

SPLASHHHHHHHHH!

The ground sizzled. Trees hissed as venom ate into their bark. The sound of corrosive fluid burning the earth filled the air.

But she...felt nothing.

The sound had come, the splash had come, but...no pain. No burning. No melting.

Her brows furrowed in confusion. 'Did the dumb snake...miss?'

She blinked her eyes open. Slowly. Hesitantly.

And her mouth fell slack.

A man stood before her. A human man. His back turned to the Leviathan, his figure tall and broad.

His coat and shirt clung to him, hissing faintly where the acid had struck, yet his body itself was unmoving, steady.

His hair caught the moonlight, his head tilted just slightly so she could see the faint curve of his lips.

And when he turned his face toward her, his crimson eyes glimmered with amusement and shockingly...he was was smiling.

Not with concern. Not with struggle. But with sheer wonder, as though all of this was nothing more than a play put on for his entertainment.

The girl's mouth worked soundlessly.

Was this real?

Was this...a dream?

Because surely no man could stand there, bathed in acid that could melt steel, and look so perfectly unbothered.

But the madness did not end there.

The man, this stranger who had so casually placed himself between her and certain death, shifted his gaze back to her.

His eyes flicked over her form in one smooth, almost lazy sweep before he asked, in a voice as steady as if they were discussing the weather.

"Are you all right? Did any of it land on you? Are you hurt anywhere since even though I blocked it all, some of it might have splashed on you."

The lamia girl blinked rapidly, her lips parting in disbelief.

'What kind of question is that?!'

She thought, staring at the steam still rising off his back. She could see it, acid, burning, sizzling into his flesh, eating holes into his shirt.

And yet...his expression was calm, amused even, as though he wasn't the one being dissolved alive.

"Uh, uh, I—yes, ! I'm fine! I'm fine! Nothing happened! Nothing happened at all!" She stammered, her voice a shaky mess, hands clutching at her chest like she might faint on the spot.

He nodded slowly, almost as if satisfied.

"That's a relief." He murmured. Then, with a faint smirk, he added, "I wouldn't know what to do if even a single drop landed on one of your scales. They're far too smooth and spotless."

"...A blemish on them would bring me to tears."

Her head swam. 'Is he complimenting me?! Right now?! With that thing still behind him?!'

Her long tail curled in tightly, her cheeks heating as she stared at him in utter disarray. He wasn't just ignoring the Leviathan; he was flirting, while acid literally ate away at his back.

'What great luck I have...Not only do I run into this damn snake for the second time, but I also got myself involved with this crazy man, who's flirting with his life on the line.'

But before she could even form words, a thunderous hiss ripped through the air.

The Leviathan...The monster's fury spiked at being ignored, its massive coils tightening, the air vibrating as its roar rolled across the lake.

The sound made her bones tremble. She shivered violently, the scales along her tail rattling together as instinct screamed at her to flee.

'He doesn't even notice!' She panicked, heart racing. 'He's still facing me! He's going to get swallowed whole if he doesn't move!'

Her lips parted to cry out, to tell him to run, to beg him not to stand there like an idiot, but her voice caught in her throat when she looked at him again.

Because he had noticed.

And instead of fear, instead of panic, all she saw was irritation.

A faint crease of annoyance marred his brow, like a man whose pleasant chat had been rudely interrupted by a buzzing fly. He then exhaled slowly through his nose and turned his head ever so slightly, eyes glinting faintly in the moonlight.

And then the world seemed to stop.

The lamia girl had thought she had seen it all. She had seen the legendary Leviathan rise from the depths, its monstrous form blotting out the stars.

She had seen a human man throw himself in front of her and take an acid strike that could melt iron as though it were nothing.

She had thought her heart had already reached the breaking point of disbelief.

But this, this was worse.

Because when the man turned fully, his crimson gaze locked on the beast...the Leviathan froze.

Its golden eyes went wide.

Its body shuddered once, a ripple coursing through its endless coils.

And then, it shrieked.

"Shhhhhhh!!!!!!"

A hideous, guttural cry, not of rage, but of something rawer. Something almost unthinkable.

Fear.

The girl's mouth fell open, her yellow eyes round as moons. 'No...no way. Did the Leviathan—'

But before she could even get her thoughts in order, the massive serpent reared back, its head twisting, water spraying from its movements as if the entire lake itself shuddered under its weight.

And to her disbelief, she saw hesitation, terror, in the eyes of a creature that was supposed to be untouchable.

It recoiled.

Step by step, or rather coil by coil, the monster retreated. Its great head lowered, watching him warily, as though staring into those crimson eyes was to stare into death itself.

The lamia girl trembled so hard she thought her tail might snap in two.

'It's retreating?! The Leviathan...is afraid? Of him?'

With one last hiss, louder, but weaker now, the beast slithered back, waves surging violently as it began to sink into the lake.

The water churned, foamed, and rippled outward in crashing waves as the enormous body disappeared beneath the surface.

Then, silence.

The great lake lay still once more, the moonlight glimmering off its surface, as if nothing had happened.

The girl's breath came out ragged, her chest heaving. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst.

And the man...the man who had stood unflinching in the face of certain death...turned back to her, his face alight with the same casual amusement as before.

He brushed a bit of steam from his shoulder burning from the acid like dust and said, as if he'd just finished swatting away a mosquito.

"See? Problem solved...No need to worry anymore, since I shooed that worm away."

Her lips parted wordlessly.

'Did he just call the legendary Leviathan...a worm.'

'Just what...what the hell is going on here?! Grandma save me! You're granddaughter is about to go crazy here!'

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Illustration of snake girl has been uploaded to the character description page and discord...Check it out!