With that, Mani hurried off to prepare the human pet’s food.
Cheng Xi didn’t say much and headed to the dining room on her own.
‘I was unconscious for two days!’ she thought in surprise.
Mary walked beside her, saying, “Cheng Xi, you probably don’t know this, but the Sir was furious when he found out you were poisoned by Mao Mao’s sting.
He punished Mao Mao harshly and forbade it from ever climbing onto the castle again.
He also ordered Mani and me to take special care of you from now on.”
“If you feel unwell in the future, you must tell us right away.
The Sir is very concerned about you.”
‘Concerned?’ Cheng Xi was noncommittal.
‘I just haven’t gotten used to my status as a pet yet.’
Mani was thoughtful.
Knowing that it wasn’t good for Cheng Xi to eat cold things right now, she had even heated up the gooey paste.
It made Cheng Xi crave just a couple of bites of something salty.
‘Seriously, couldn’t they just give me some raw ingredients?
Some fruits and vegetables, and I could even cook them myself!’
‘Eating this paste every day is making me feel like an old woman who’s already lost all her teeth!’
The misery of being unable to communicate was something no one could understand.
In the dining room, only Mani was there to keep her company.
Meanwhile, Mary went to report the human pet’s physical condition for the day to her Sir.
“Sir, we gave Cheng Xi some hot water, and she’s eating in the dining room now.
But I don’t think she’s feeling well.
She keeps clutching her stomach, and I haven’t seen her smile at all today.”
Hotte, who was in the training room, put down the weight he was holding and asked, “What’s this about a stomachache?
Is the poison not fully cleared?”
Mary shook her head.
“No, Sir. Human females, during their physiological period…”
Fearing she couldn’t explain it clearly, she took out an encyclopedia and turned to the relevant page for her Sir to see.
The more Hotte read, the more he frowned.
“Human females’ bodies are so fragile. They’re too much trouble to raise.”
The last human male he’d kept wasn’t this much trouble.
Just preparing some food and drinks was enough.
Why were the females so high-maintenance?
‘Can’t be cold, can’t be hot, can’t be barefoot, and definitely can’t use a harsh tone.
I have reason to suspect Hunter thought I had too much free time and decided to find me a little troublemaker.’
With a headache coming on, he asked, “So what’s the solution for this? Should we find a human pet doctor?”
Mary shook her head.
“The internet says seeing a doctor is useless for this.
Our painkillers would only add to a human’s physical burden.
But experienced people online say you can use external objects to relieve the stomach pain from their period. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
The best thing is to find something warm to press against the stomach for a while.
That should make it much better.”
“But Mani and I searched for a long time and couldn’t find anything suitable.
Perhaps…
you could help Cheng Xi?”
Hotte: “…”
He scoffed.
“She’s just a pet.
Am I, the master, supposed to look after her as diligently as a servant?”
Mary: “…” ‘That’s true.’
‘The Sir’s status is so noble…
Sigh, poor Cheng Xi.’
“You’re right, Sir. It doesn’t really matter if we don’t have those things. We can just let Cheng Xi endure it. After all, it’s not life-threatening.”
Hotte huffed.
“Don’t worry so much.
Humans aren’t as fragile as you think.”
“Later, you and Mani go upstairs and move Cheng Xi’s den to the room next door.
She’ll have her own room from now on.”
“Yes, Sir.” Although Mary had questions, she didn’t ask and immediately went to do as she was told.
After Mary left, Hotte continued his physical training in the training room.
He set the gravity to its highest level.
If someone were standing outside, they would have heard muffled impacts from within, and the entire area would have been vibrating slightly.
The heavy, ragged breathing of a male could be faintly heard from the training room, a testament to the intensity of the workout.
Hotte’s black hair was already soaked with sweat as he vented his energy without holding back.
In the past, every time he heard a scandal from the Royal City about some noble male from the Beast Clan getting involved with a human pet, he had held an attitude of disdain and contempt.
‘It’s a perversion of their beastly nature, a complete moral collapse, a defilement of the Beast Clan’s bloodline.’ In short, just one word: perverted!
It wasn’t until he had a female pet of his own that he realized he had underestimated the allure of human females.
‘Such a clean, pure scent…
no wonder it makes male beasts lose control.’
Hotte let out a soft breath.
‘To avoid anything uncontrollable from happening after living together for too long, it’s best to maintain some distance in our daily lives.’
‘If the opportunity arises, it would be better to find a female owner for Cheng Xi.’
…
On the other side, Cheng Xi couldn’t have been happier to learn she would have her own room.
Mary was still worried.
“Cheng Xi, if you get scared at night, just come down and find us, okay?”
“Mhm, mhm,” Cheng Xi replied, nodding agreeably.
‘How could I possibly be scared?’ she thought.
‘Sleeping by myself is going to be the best~’
~
「The day passed unhurriedly, and soon it was dinnertime.」
For a rare change, Cheng Xi was given the honor of dining at the same table as her alien master.
Aside from the occasional clink of cutlery, there was only the faint sound of chewing.
The atmosphere was a bit dreary; if she could, she would have preferred to take her tray and find Mary and the others.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option today.
Her lower abdomen still had a dull ache.
The pain wasn’t sharp, but it was still very uncomfortable.
The rich, meaty aroma filled her nose, making her mouth water so much she nearly drooled, yet she couldn’t have a single bite.
She quickly scooped a spoonful of paste into her mouth to hide the fact that she was swallowing her own saliva.
To be honest, she didn’t usually have such strong cravings, but she hadn’t eaten any meat in two months!
Never mind meat—even a single carrot or an apple would make her salivate at this point.
‘If I couldn’t see or smell it, it would be fine, but tonight of all nights…!’
The warm paste entered her mouth, filling her heart with bitterness.
‘Damn it, what’s the big deal about giving me one piece of meat?
All he knows how to do is pat my head when he sees me.
Doesn’t he know that feeding is the real joy of raising a pet?!’
Cheng Xi complained internally while shoving spoonfuls of paste into her mouth with a look of utter resignation.
In Hotte’s eyes, her pained expression of endurance simply looked like she was in great discomfort.
He swallowed the food in his mouth and asked, “Is your stomach still hurting a lot?”
‘Huh?’ Cheng Xi paused mid-bite.
‘Why is he suddenly asking about this?’
After hesitating for two seconds, she nodded.
Then she waved her hand, trying to indicate that it wasn’t too serious.
Then she went back to eating her paste.
This portion of paste was quite large; she estimated it was at least five hundred grams.
It looked like a lot, and eating it all made her feel a little bloated at first, but it digested extremely quickly.
If she ate this for every meal, a smaller portion wouldn’t be filling at all.
With her head down, focused on her paste, she didn’t notice the flash of conflict in Hotte’s eyes.
Seeing the female pet’s pale face, which had lost some of its usual color and vitality, and how she kept frowning from time to time, he felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
‘Forget it.
Who else’s fault is it that this little thing is my private pet now?
If I, as her master, don’t care about her, who will?’
‘She’s the first female pet I’ve ever had.
I guess I have no choice but to spoil her.’
“Cheng Xi, after dinner, come to my room. I’ll help you.”