I Received the Beast Male Lead as a Birthday Present

“Are both of you satisfied now?”

I wiped my face with the towel the servants had prepared separately and smiled gently.

As I looked around, the bathhouse appeared to have been devastated by a hurricane, in total disarray.

At its center, Michael and Eren stood like sinners, bowing their heads.

“CeCe”

Eren, drenched by rain like myself, cautiously opened his mouth, resembling a wet rat.

I raised my hand quietly, signaling him to stop speaking, and spoke in a cold tone.

“No need for explanations. If both of you enjoyed it, then it’s fine. Isn’t that right?”

In response to my words, Eren’s shoulders slumped.

“It wasn’t me who started it…”

“Woo!”

As he massaged his wet neck and mumbled, Michael raised his voice in protest from the side.

It seemed unfair the way Eren was accusing me.

I watched their interaction, wiped my face with my hand, and sighed.

With each movement, my hair, soaked with warm water, and my dress clung heavily.

‘…I was a fool to trust those two.’

All of this had started when Eren unexpectedly splashed water at Michael.

Suddenly baptized by water, Michael retaliated by splashing Eren as if seeking revenge, and Eren responded in kind.

Thus, a battle, more like a war, had unfolded between them, resulting in the current chaotic scene.

‘They’re not even one or two years old.’

I wiped the wetness running down my cheek with the back of my hand and let out a bitter laugh.

Both grown adults, yet they were fighting over something like this.

The more I thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

“I’ll go to another room to change my clothes. Fix everything here before I return. Got it?”

As I opened my eyes and released my stern expression, Eren and Michael both nodded simultaneously.

Perhaps because they felt guilty for what they had done, both of them were lying there completely exhausted.

‘Even when I come back, they’re still in this state. I won’t leave them alone next time.’

After giving both of them one last stern look, I led the dripping wet bodies to the bathhouse door and opened it.

As I stepped out into the corridor, a knight who had been guarding the bathhouse entrance greeted me.

“Are you done… milady?”

The usually outspoken knight noticed me belatedly and stammered.

“No, tell me, why are you so wet? Did something happen inside?”

“It’s a long story if I explain.”

Sighing, I pointed with my chin to the room right next to the bathhouse.

“I’ll be changing clothes in there. Mr. Knight, make sure no one goes in there.”

“Understood.”

Leaving the concerned gaze of the knight behind me, I headed for the adjacent room.

As I opened the door and stepped inside, I was met with a dusty interior.

‘There should be some clothes to change into here.’

I immediately made my way across the room toward the wardrobe. Fortunately, inside it, there was a dress that seemed to be spare.

It looked like a dress that had been brought in case a guest spilled something on their outfit.

‘Since I’ll change again when I get back to the room, I’ll wear this for now.’

Even though it was slightly worn and covered in dust, it was still better than walking around like a soaked rat.

‘…By the way, they couldn’t have caused another incident while I was away, could they?’

Suddenly, a sense of unease crept up, but I forced myself to dismiss that feeling.

‘Well, people have a conscience, right? They surely wouldn’t be up to something again…’

* * *

Meanwhile, at the same moment,

An uncomfortable silence settled between the two of them, Michael and Eren, who were left alone.

With nothing else to do, they hurriedly cleaned up the disarrayed bathhouse in the silence.

To be precise, Eren did all the cleaning on his own while Mikael sat quietly and watched.

Nevertheless, the once chaotic bathhouse slowly returned to its original state.

“…Instead of sitting quietly, how about you wash up?”

Eren, who had finished some of the cleaning, looked at Michael with a cold expression.

It was a stark contrast to the cheerful person who had been smiling in front of Cynthia earlier.

‘…Was that just directed at me?’

Michael stared at Eren with a chilly expression.

Cynthia Evergreen, and that vet, and even others had all seemed to assume quite naturally that he would understand human speech.

“They probably don’t even know I’m a shapeshifter.”

Michael paused, not letting out a bitter laugh this time. It was because of the fleeting thought that crossed his mind, wondering if perhaps Eren had truly realized he was a shapeshifter.

‘…Could it be, did he really figure out that I’m a shapeshifter?’

The suspicion only lasted for a moment.

Michael immediately dismissed the thought from his mind.

‘No. That can’t be.’

Unless the other person was also a water nymph like me, it was nearly impossible to visually distinguish shapeshifters from humans.

‘Neither that man nor Cynthia Evergreen gives off the scent of a shapeshifter.’

In other words, the probability of those two being shapeshifter was close to zero.

‘Of course, there are ways to mask the scent, but…’

Michael stared at Eren contemplatively.

In the northern regions, there was a rare herb called “Ghost Herb.”

By making it into perfume or using it as medicine, it was possible to hide the distinctive scent of shapeshifter.

However, obtaining the ingredients for Ghost Herb wasn’t easy due to its rarity.

‘If the person used Ghost Herb, I wouldn’t know.’

Using Ghost Herb would effectively render one odorless, like a ghost.

In other words, it meant that no one could detect the usual scent that any ordinary human should have.

‘But from the vet, I can still sense a human-like scent.’

Though it wasn’t easy to pinpoint exactly what kind of scent it was, it was certainly different from being completely odorless.

And the same applied to Cynthia Evergreen as well.

“Hey, you there, wolf.”

It happened right then.

Whether he felt Micheal’s gaze or not, Eren spoke in a slightly annoyed tone.

“How long are you going to stand there like that? You’re not planning on staying in that state until Cece returns, are you?”

“…”

In response to Eren’s remark, Micheal glanced downward briefly.

Only then did he notice the foamy residues clinging to his body.

“Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue lightly and then slipped out of the bathhouse.

After shaking his body as if showing off, he dispersed the foam that had been stuck to him.

“Sigh…”

In an instant, looking at the once-again chaotic surroundings of the bathhouse, Eren let out a bitter laugh.

It seemed like they probably wouldn’t be able to finish cleaning today.

* * *

“…So, after giving you time to clean, you couldn’t resist and got into another fight?”

I looked at Micheal and Eren, both kneeling in front of me, with a perplexed expression.

Just like before, they were soaked from head to toe, resembling wet rats.

“That’s… Cece.”

“If you’re planning on making excuses, forget it. I have no intention of listening.”

When I cut in with a firm tone, Eren slumped his shoulders with a defeated look.

If he had ears and a tail, he’d probably be wagging his tail by now.

“People do tend to repeat the same mistakes… I’m the fool for trusting them again.”

I sighed deeply, rubbing my forehead with one hand.

As I turned my head to the side, I noticed the servants busy tidying up the bathhouse here and there.

I had separately called them because I realized it would be endless if I left it to those two.

Suppressing my frustration, I looked back at Micheal and Eren.

Even though they knew they were in the wrong, both of them were hanging their heads like guilty parties.

“…Eren.”

“Yeah, Cece.”

When I called his name, Eren looked at me expectantly.

I met his green eyes squarely and spoke in a cold tone.

“Since the treatment is over, I would appreciate it if you could leave my house now.”

“…!”

I hadn’t expected him to be under the assumption that I was about to evict him, and his expression momentarily turned vacant.

Right at that moment,

“Phew.”

Hearing something resembling a laugh, both Eren and I turned our heads in unison.

And there was Micheal, who had a slightly amused expression on his face.

“…What? Did he just laugh?”

I looked at Micheal with a bewildered expression.

‘He caused a problem and now he’s laughing in this situation. That’s what this is.’

There was something oddly suspicious about it.

“Seems like our little puppy could use some etiquette training.”

“…Huh?”

Micheal turned his head with a start upon hearing my words. His expression seemed to ask if he had heard correctly.

“Why? Does it hurt your pride to be called a ‘puppy’?”

I smiled playfully and locked eyes with Mikael.

Regardless of the protagonist or anything else, I thought that maybe my irritable feelings would ease a bit if I could see that human struggling a little too.

“Even if it hurts your pride to be called a ‘puppy,’ there’s nothing you can do. I’ve decided to call you that from today on. Got it, pup?”

“Phew.”

Emphasizing the term ‘puppy’ a few times, I heard Eren stifling his laughter from the side.

Anyway, I continued without paying much attention.

“Now then, in celebration of your newly bestowed name, shall we start with some sitting training?”

“…!”