NOVEL NEXT Chapter 388: Double Forked
Cassius's words hit Nala like thunder. Her chest thumped so hard she thought it might burst, yet the man didn't stop.
His gaze dipped down her body, lingering on her tail with such vexation, such disbelief, as if the very thought that others had once mocked it offended him personally.
"I mean, come on..." He said with a huff of disbelief. "Just look at it. Just look at your tail, Nala. How in the world could anyone look at something like this and feel disgust?"
"It's smooth, shining white, like marble polished by the hands of the gods themselves. Not some ugly slab carved by men, no, this thing looks forged by a goddess who was trying to show off."
"...If statues of heroes were half this beautiful, I'd bow before them every morning."
Her breath hitched. She hadn't expected him to spit out words like that. Nobody ever said things like that to her, ever.
But before she could gather herself he pressed on, the glint of laughter in his eyes making her more dizzy.
"And to tell you the truth..." He went on smoothly. "...when I ran over here, the first thing I saw wasn't even your face or your body...It was your tail."
"The moonlight made it gleam so much I almost forgot to breathe. I just stood there thinking 'by the stars, that's breathtaking.' I swear, if I hadn't snapped myself out of that daze, I would've just stood gawking while that poison finished you off."
"...That's how caught up I was in how pretty your tail looked."
"Y-You're exaggerating!" Nala gasped audibly. "You're exaggerating way too much!"
But Cassius shook his head calmly.
"Not at all. Every word I'm uttering is the truth. Nothing exaggerated." His smirk curved sharper. "In fact, when I saved you...sure, I played it off like I was just being a hero. But really, I had other intentions. You know what they were?"
Her eyes widened. "W-What?"
"I wanted to touch it. Your skin. The smooth scales, the cool glide of them under my hands. That was my real, secret plan." He chuckled darkly. "Hell, rubbing my face into your breasts was just a bonus—I mainly wanted to get my hands on this tail of yours."
Her mouth fell open. Words, normally so quick on her tongue, tangled uselessly. It felt wrong, improper, shameless...and yet her chest swelled with a foreign warmth.
But she forced herself to fight back, because she couldn't just melt under this madness.
"Y-You! It's not just about appearance!" She jabbed a finger at him, cheeks blazing. "You don't get it, my tail itself is a huge problem! With a wife like me, with a tail like this, you'll never have a peaceful life. It'll all be messed up."
"...So, take it back right now or you'll regret it!"
Cassius tilted his head, genuinely curious. "What exactly is so wrong with having a tail like that?"
Nala puffed her chest stubbornly and fired off her points one by one.
"First of all, it's enormous! I can't go through narrow places. I need wide space or else I end up knocking things over. You'll spend your life replacing broken furniture!"
Cassius scoffed. "That's nothing. I've got a huge mansion. Wide halls, wide rooms, more space than you'd know what to do with. Even if you tried, you couldn't knock anything over. Problem solved."
"Tch!" She clenched her fists. "Fine! But listen! I sweat. Humans sweat, right? So do I. My tail sweats in heat, and I leave little moisture trails when it gets too stuffy. And since my bottom half is cold-blooded, I constantly need regulated temperatures. Always!"
Cassius waved her off like it was nothing.
"Simple. I'll have heat regulators installed in every room. I'm rich enough to make sure the entire estate is temperature-controlled. And as for trails? I've got maids. They'll wipe behind you. Besides…" His grin turned wicked. "…I wouldn't mind licking up the sweat myself."
Her whole body jolted. "Y-You pervert! That's disgusting!"
"Disgustingly devoted." He countered smugly.
Nala snarled, refusing to let him win.
"I eat a lot! A tail this big requires tons of food to keep up my strength. You'd be broke feeding me!"
Cassius shrugged. "Not a problem. I can cook, and I can afford enough food to feed a small army. You'll eat like a queen every day."
She snapped her fingers desperately. "When I sleep, I wrap myself around anything nearby. Anyone sharing a bed with me risks suffocating!"
"I'd welcome it." He said without hesitation. "I want to fall asleep tangled up in the one I love. If you choke me out, I'll die happy."
Her face burned hotter. "I shed my skin! Snakes shed, you know! It's gross! Flakes, peels, people would gag just looking at it!"
"Oh, I'd love that." Cassius replied instantly. "I'd collect every single piece. Frame them, hang them on the walls. A shrine to my wife."
"You're insane!" She cried, clutching her cheeks. "There's no way I'd let you do something so embarrassing!"
"Too late." He teased. "I already plan to."
"Argh!" Nala rattled her tail furiously, racking her brain for one last flaw. "I-I hiss when I'm angry or startled! Loudly! It's not cute at all!"
Cassius just smirked.
"Then I'll make it my goal in life to hear that hiss every single day...Because it's adorable."
Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. Nothing came out. No matter what weakness she threw at him, he flipped it into some outrageous declaration of affection and she could only scream out in frustration
"YOU...YOU—YOU ABSOLUTE SHAMELESS MAN! STOP TURNING EVERYTHING AROUND!"
But Cassius just smiled knowingly, letting her frustration spill while his calm, unshakable voice wrapped around her like a net she couldn't escape.
Nala's chest heaved as if she had run a marathon. Her scales prickled with heat, her throat a tight knot, because no matter what flaw she threw at Cassius, he caught it in his hands like a tossed flower and twisted it into some outrageous compliment until she was painted into a corner with nowhere left to retreat.
She wanted to scream, to stop this game, to demand he stop smothering her with such reckless affection, because the more he said, the more her own heart betrayed her with these trembling, uncontrollable beats.
She had never felt this confused, never so lost within herself, never so defenseless. She knew, she had to do something. Push him back. End this flood before she drowned in it.
And so, even though it was the most shameful part of her, the part she swore to never show anyone—the part she hid with more desperation than even her pale scales, she made her decision.
If this man wanted to boast so confidently about loving every inch of her, then she would prove him wrong, she would tear down his delusions with one undeniable truth.
Her tail rattled faintly against the ground as she jabbed a trembling finger toward him, her face blazing crimson.
"Y-You said you'd love every part of me, didn't you?! No matter what I showed you, no matter what I am, you'd accept me as your wife without hesitation, right?!"
Cassius blinked, amused by her sudden flare. "Of course." His voice was steady, smug, too calm for her liking.
"There's no single part of me you'd ever dislike?" She pressed, her throat dry but her indignation pushing her on.
"None." He said, as if it were the simplest truth in the world.
"Sure. Let's see about that then. Since..." She scoffed, heat and panic warring across her face. "...there's something I've never shown anyone before, something I always keep hidden, because it's strange, too strange. No one would ever appreciate this."
Her voice lowered, trembling, yet defiant.
"But since it's come this far, since you keep spouting these impossible claims, I'll show you."
Before he could ask what, before he could smirk back another infuriating reply, she sucked in a breath, leaned forward, and suddenly opened her mouth wide.
Cassius's eyes widened instantly.
It wasn't just the faint glint of saliva catching the moonlight.
It wasn't only the way her tongue unfurled farther than a normal human's would.
It was the fact that her tongue didn't end in a single tip.
It split.
Two wet, glistening forks slithered apart inside her mouth, moving with uncanny independence, curling and twitching as though they were alive on their own.
Her tongue wasn't human at all—it was a snake's, doubled, forked, writhing.