The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 114

At the same time.

Lying in bed, Stella was lightly submerged in the darkness that had enveloped her.

Breathing was slightly difficult. Her fingertips were cold, and cold sweat ran from her temples where a headache pulsed.

In her childhood, she had often suffered from such light sleep. It was common for her to awaken struggling within a hazy consciousness. The court had always constricted her breath, never a place to rest her body comfortably.

Even though Alexio, in consideration of her, had moved her bed to a room other than the one she had used as a child, it was the same.

As Stella tossed about without even a twitch, someone quietly opened the bedroom door.

A massive shadow crept soundlessly through the darkness and completely enveloped her body. And yet, she didn’t feel afraid or the urge to flee.

He slowly extended his hand and gently brushed her forehead with gnarled fingers. A careful touch, barely grazing her skin. It held an achingly tender, longing warmth…

At that moment, Stella pushed up her heavy eyelids. The warmth that had trailed down her blushing cheek like a feather vanished all at once.

Through the dim blur of her vision, she saw a pair of crimson eyes. Stella desperately blinked her blurred eyes, trying to imprint his presence on her retinas.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He was only a step away, but his low murmur sounded faint and distant. Instead of replying, Stella lifted her body like wet cotton, collapsing as she tried to rise. She wanted to see him clearly up close.

Seeing her struggle to sit upright, Islay could no longer just stand there. He approached and sat on the edge of the bed, grasped her wrist, and wrapped his other arm around her slender back.

Their embrace came so naturally.

As Stella straightened her waist, she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her deep into his embrace.

From their pressed chests came the pounding heartbeat of someone—whose, she couldn’t tell. It was so dear to her that tears welled up on their own. She really hadn’t wanted to cry like a child…

“I thought I was dreaming.”

Stella mumbled into Islay’s shoulder, her voice trembling. She burrowed deeper into him, desperate never to be separated again.

“Lately, I’ve been having strange dreams. So vivid it feels like I lived them, and I can’t tell if they’re real or not.”

As if to confirm that the one holding her wasn’t an illusion, she rubbed her cheek against him.

“I thought of you every single day. I missed you so much…”

Islay didn’t respond right away. A man who knew his destined end, he wasn’t quick to express his emotions.

“I missed you too.”

So when that quiet reply came, Stella’s eyes widened slightly. Islay didn’t stop there—he kissed her eyelids, her temples, her cheeks, over and over. As always, his affection poured from every touch. It was so reverent she didn’t know what to do.

Receiving his kisses quietly, Stella then lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. She quickly wiped the tears gathered at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand and looked at Islay with clearer eyes.

“I’m sorry. For trying to say goodbye on my own terms…”

“……”

“But you were cruel too, sending me away without a word. Of course, through that, I realized what your heart must have felt, and I also learned we mustn’t part like that again…”

It was a confession that in trying to protect each other, they had only left wounds. Islay, who had listened silently, finally smiled.

“Yeah… I’m the one who should apologize.”

“……”

“I’m sorry.”

Stella parted her lips again, then fell silent. She wanted to smile along with him, but she couldn’t. Because she knew their cruel fate wouldn’t end with a simple apology.

“I’m sorry, Estella.”

His repeated apologies sank into the weight of his subdued voice. Stella could tell what Islay was remembering—he was thinking of the last night they spent in Calis, the night when she had to endure him utterly consumed by instinct.

“Let’s stop with the apologies. You’ve never once hurt me.”

Stella gently ran her hand over his smooth hair. As if discovering him anew, she traced his dark brows, the straight bridge of his nose, and his smooth cheeks.

“I’m only filled with gratitude. You came to save me. Thanks to you, everyone is safe. Me, my brother, and the people I care about…”

The arm wrapped around her back tightened. Stella, after caressing Islay for a while, burrowed into his chest as if seeking warmth. She rubbed her nose against his wide shoulder and pressed her lips along his neck.

She could sense him momentarily stiffen, but since he didn’t push her away, she immersed herself in the embrace she had finally regained.

“I missed you.”

The more she knew this moment was but a fleeting peace, the more tenderly her emotions surged.

How could she not love him? Stella understood Theia perfectly now, who had visited Peruno night after night. She, too, could no longer leave her rising love untouched, nor overcome her desire to embrace him. She felt the same.

As Islay silently shared his warmth, he gently lifted Stella’s wrist. Just as the back of her hand was about to reach his lips—

A soft cough came from outside the door. Stella, who had been staring at him as if entranced, turned her gaze.

As if prompted by the subtle interruption, she blinked. Islay, who had been about to kiss her, also stopped.

After a moment of silence, he let out a quiet sigh.

“Estella.”

“…Yes.”

“I have to go.”

Stella looked up at him in alarm.

“Go? Where?”

“I promised your brother I’d return to my quarters after checking on your sleeping face. I didn’t expect you to wake.”

Just earlier, the one and only thing Islay had requested from Alexio in return was this—to look at her peacefully sleeping face, if only for a moment.

How stunned the Largo officials had been upon hearing that request in the council chamber.

They had expected him to ask for a portion of Largo’s territory in exchange for such powerful reinforcements, but instead, he had simply asked to see her briefly. It was only natural they were astonished.

Even now, Islay hadn’t forgotten what should take priority in a situation like this. Since he had brought an army all the way down to Largo, he had no intention of dragging things out. If they had to march to Pantege today, he would do so without hesitation.

That was why lying in bed with her, laughing softly, was both the thing he most wished for and the thing he had least wished for.

“At dawn, both sides will convene to plan military operations. The fact that Pantege has sent five thousand troops means they’re ready for war. We need to act quickly too.”

Stella turned her head and gazed out the window. The faint glow of dawn was beginning to spread. It meant there were only a few hours left until daybreak.

“If I hadn’t woken, you wouldn’t have even said goodbye?”

She asked in disbelief, grabbing his wrist. Though his wrist was broad and strong enough to easily brush her off, he remained still.

“Don’t go. We only just reunited… Stay with me until morning.”

“Estella.”

“Please, just until morning…”

Her heartfelt plea stirred the desire he had been struggling to suppress. Islay, who had been helplessly swept along by her will for some time now, rubbed his face with one hand as if trying to cool himself down.

“If I break my promise twice, what will your brother think of me? That I’m a man who speaks with two tongues, untrustworthy—and worse, someone who dares to touch his sister…”

His composed tone suddenly halted. Stella, now kneeling on the bed, had thrown her arms around him and pressed her lips to his.