NOVEL NEXT Chapter 387: I'll Turn Them Into Mashed Potatoes!
Nala's tail tightened around him as she thought smugly to herself,
'Perfect. Absolutely perfect. There's no way he can wriggle out of this one.'
She imagined him flustered, backpedaling, stammering something ridiculous like "W-We can't be married, that's impossible!"while she watched him shake under her gaze.
'Oh, how satisfying that would be, to see him as the timid one for once, to watch him retreat.'
But as quickly as that smugness came, an ache crept in with it. Because if he really did pull away...if he really did tell her "No, I can't be with you"...that sting would hurt deeper than she wanted to admit.
For all her shamelessness, for all her wild talk of husbands and babies and fake noble titles, the thought of his rejection pinched at something fragile inside her.
Still, she had started this show, and there was no backing out. So with a forced but bright smile, she leaned closer, her golden eyes locked on his.
"So then, darling." She said sweetly. "What do you think? Don't you think it's only natural that we should get married?"
And just like that she pasted on her brightest, fakest smile, waiting for the axe to fall.
Except it didn't and instead…
Cassius didn't move. He didn't stutter, didn't pale, didn't give her the awkward, fearful rejection she was bracing herself for. He just sat there, eyes steady, lips curling into the faintest smile before he said, calmly,
"Sure. Let's do it...Let's get married."
"Ah! O-Of course! I knew you'd say that! I knew there's no way you'd marry someone like me, but—"
She started, but the words died on her tongue as the meaning of his answer clicked. Her eyes widened, her body stiffened, and she whispered in disbelief,
"…Wait. What did you just say?"
Cassius leaned in, his voice steady, his gaze unwavering.
"I said—let's get married. Just like you said. We suit one another, don't we? And honestly…" He gave a small smile. "I'd be happy with you around. If you're willing, I'll happily marry you."
Nala blinked at him as if he had sprouted a second head. She had been ready, ready, to hear him push her away. To be called a freak, a snake, something impossible to love.
But instead he was saying, without hesitation, that he wanted her.
And then he kept going.
"Of course, normally I'd prefer we spend more time together first. Get to know each other properly. Go on a couple of dates, let me make you some dinner. Maybe even...spend a night together in bed."
His lips quirked, teasing, but his tone was maddeningly sincere.
"But since you're so hasty, I don't mind rushing things. We can find a church tonight, exchange vows, and make it official."
Nala's face went pink. "Wha—wait, you, you're serious?! Right now?!"
"Why not?" Cassius grinned, unbothered. "With a lovely girl like you, only a fool would hesitate. We can even go to the nearest pawn shop, and get some rings. Maybe they'll have a sale."
He chuckled at his own joke, then added warmly,
"To be honest, I never imagined I'd meet my bride after only a few minutes...but you've made tonight one of the most interesting night of my life."
"...So, I just know I won't regret marrying you, as with you around every night will be as crazy as tonight."
Her body swayed; she genuinely thought she might faint again. She was supposed to be the one teasing him. She was supposed to win. Instead, here he was, looking at her with such honest eyes that she couldn't tell if it was masterful acting or...terrifying sincerity.
"You, no, you're lying!" She sputtered, tail flailing in embarrassment. "This is a joke! You're just saying all that to get back at me! You're teasing me—I know it!"
But Cassius didn't flinch. He didn't even smirk. He just held her gaze and said firmly.
"I'm not lying, Nala. From the bottom of my heart, Nala, I want to marry you."
Then, with solemn weight he added,
"I'll even swear on the lives of everyone I cherish most, that I want to take as my bride and I want to have the honour of becoming your groom...That's how serious I am."
The words hit her like a physical blow. Her breath caught, her chest tightened, and her forced grin crumbled. He wasn't smirking. He wasn't bluffing. He looked...serious.
"How…" Her voice cracked as she shook her head in disbelief. "How can you say that? Humans, they never want someone like me. They see my face, my body, they smile. But then they notice this—"
She slapped her tail against the grass, scales gleaming white in the moonlight.
"...and they recoil. They either look at me like I'm a monster about to eat them, or worse, they look at me with disgust. Like I shouldn't even exist."
Her eyes, wide and trembling, locked onto his.
"So tell me...how can you look at me like that, and say those things, when everyone else runs away?"
But Cassius only blinked at her words, genuinely thrown.
"Wait...you're serious? They really did that? Humans actually treated you like that, like you were some kind of monster just because of your tail?"
Nala's shoulders slumped and she gave the smallest nod. "Every time…" She whispered, her voice low, as if repeating it aloud stung worse than keeping it inside.
For a heartbeat, Cassius was silent. Then he suddenly shot up, fists clenching so tight his knuckles popped. His voice then roared across the quiet night, sharp with outrage.
"THOSE BASTARDS!"
Nala blinked in shock, her mouth falling open at his sudden outburst, while Cassius raged on as if he were already fighting them in his mind.
"How dare they?! Looking at you, smiling at your face, admiring your beauty—and then the moment they see your tail they run away like cowards?!...The sheer audacity!"
"Do they think they're kings of the world just because they've got two stubby legs instead of scales?!"
He stopped, pointing into the distance as though those humans were standing right there.
"Godammit! If I ever get my hands on those idiots, I'll beat them so badly their own mothers won't recognize them! No, scratch that! I'll beat them so hard their mothers will mistake them for potatoes!"
Nala covered her mouth, eyes wide. "P-Potatoes?"
"Yes! Potatoes! Mashed ones, at that!" Cassius snapped, throwing a mock punch into the air. "I'll pound their faces until they're nothing but lumps, and then I'll drag them home, toss them in a pot, and serve them up with gravy!"
"...That's how worthless those cowards are. They'd be lucky to be on the dinner table after the way they treated you!"
He spun around, his hair a wild mess, his chest heaving with fury.
"And to actually run away from you? Cowards. Staring at you with disgust? Hypocrites! If I ever meet one of those so-called 'men' who dared to make you feel unwanted, I'll kick him so far into the sky that he'll see the gods on his way up and the demons on his way down. And I'll make sure he doesn't land until next year!"
Nala's eyes were round as saucers. She never imagined...never in her life...that someone would get this angry on her behalf.
And yet there he was, raving like a lunatic—yes, but all that rage, all that fire, was for her. Something inside her chest tightened, warmth flooding her in a way she wasn't prepared for.
Cassius finally stopped his rant, breathing hard, his fists trembling with pent-up fury. He turned back to her, and this time there was no outrage in his voice, only sincerity.
"I don't know about those other humans, Nala." He said firmly, stepping closer. "I don't care what they saw, what they thought, or how they treated you. That's on them. That's their blindness, their weakness, their loss."
Nala swallowed, staring up at him.
"But me?" Cassius lowered his voice, every word purposeful, heavy. "I'm not like the rest of them. From the very moment I saw you...I was struck dumb. Enamored. Not by your face, not by your figure…" His eyes flickered down, then back up, locking with hers. "…but your tail."
"...That was the first thing that caught my attention and made me stare at you like a caveman you saw fire for the first time in his life."
Nala gasped, her whole body jolting as though he'd just hit her with lightning. Her tail instinctively squeezed tighter around him, her scales shivering from the shock of hearing him say something no one, no one, had ever said to her before.