The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 124

There was no need to ask who the visitor was. Stella hurriedly climbed out of bed and rushed toward the bedroom door.

Clack. As she flung the door open, color bloomed across her face like a splash of paint. Stella couldn’t hold back the sob that escaped before she realized it.

“Islay…!”

The joy that surged over her at the sight of him was so overwhelming, it was closer to laughter than weeping. As she flung herself into his arms and buried her face in his chest, the unidentified sound vanished into him.

Islay wrapped both arms around her, holding her tightly. He cradled the back of her head in his large hand and pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head. His familiar scent and warmth enveloped her completely. That alone filled her chest, and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Once again, Islay had come to her bedroom in the middle of the night.

“I figured you wouldn’t be sleeping.”

“How did you know?”

“You’ve had a lot on your mind lately. I didn’t want to leave you alone, not even for a night. I was also worried those awful nightmares might come back to torment you…”

A man about to leave for the battlefield in just two days was worrying about her wandering thoughts and troubling dreams. Strangely enough, just seeing him had calmed the turbulence in her heart. Stella, who had pressed her cheek to his broad chest, lifted her head.

His face filled her vision, then blurred at once. The emotions that surged up soaked her all at once.

I don’t want to part. I want to stay with him like this. I don’t want to send him off to war. Even when winter passes, I don’t want to say goodbye…

“Estella.”

Sensing something was off, Islay whispered gently, as if to soothe her. Stella quickly shook off her tears and forced a smile. She couldn’t show him a face like a crying child again. She mustn’t crumble over a parting that would only last a moment.

“More importantly, how did you get here? I’m sure my brother hated catching us kissing in the library… Didn’t he say anything this time?”

Alexio may have understood their deep feelings, but he still preferred that Islay refrain from visiting the princess’s bedroom.

Of course, he hadn’t forgotten that Islay had saved Stella in a critical moment, nor that he was now helping lead the charge against Pantege. For that, Alexio was grateful.

Still, in his eyes, Islay was a man who couldn’t take full responsibility for his sister due to fixed circumstances. It wasn’t good for him to keep visiting her room while staying in Largo’s court.

“He didn’t say much. I didn’t exactly ask for your brother’s permission, after all.”

“Oh no, don’t tell me you snuck in?”

“Snuck in… You make us sound like doomed lovers meeting in secret.”

Islay let out a soft laugh and kissed her between the eyebrows.

“I did come quietly. I’m leaving for battle soon, so I couldn’t go without saying a proper goodbye.”

I’m too greedy to let even this small thing go. His whispered breath scattered lightly across her skin.

The guards were stationed not outside Stella’s bedroom door, but at the archway leading to her quarters.

To avoid their eyes, he would’ve had to climb through a window along the corridor or use another entrance on the opposite side, which connected to the high walls where the patrol roamed. That wasn’t an easy route either.

Either way, Stella chose not to ask how he had come. Her innocent eyes sparkled.

“Then no one knows you’re here?”

Even at the simple question, Islay felt the pull of tangled desires stirring inside. He gently caressed the curve of her back.

As usual, his affectionate hand lingered near the dip of her waist, briefly warming with heat before halting as if restraining himself. He instead toyed softly with her hair.

“No one knows. So I’ll have to slip out like a thief before dawn.”

“Wow… You’re really staying until morning? But if a sound leaks out, it could be bad. What if someone knocks on the door?”

“What kind of noises are you expecting to worry about something leaking into the corridor? If it comes to that, just hide me in the wardrobe.”

“Look at your size… As if you’d even fit in a wardrobe.”

Hmph. Stella gave a short huff, then her face lit up as if an idea had struck.

“I’ve got a good idea. Come with me.”

Her small hand tugged his. Once outside the bedroom, they glanced at the guards standing afar and headed in the opposite direction down the corridor.

***

Stella opened the side door that led toward the ramparts and stepped outside.

They waited for a patrol guard on the wall to pass before crouching and moving along. But it was a pointless effort—Islay’s large frame made subtlety laughable.

Luckily, they avoided detection and entered a passage through another door in the wall. Eventually, they reached a secluded balcony. It was a quiet space, rarely visited.

“What do you think?”

Stella’s expression was hopeful, like she wanted to boast about her secret spot. Islay shifted his gaze from the breeze sweeping her hair, to the night sky.

Before his eyes, a sky teeming with stars spread out. With streaking meteors and a full moon high above, it was a breathtaking view—every corner twinkled with light.

Even Islay, who rarely reacted to anything besides Stella, was momentarily awestruck. His crimson eyes, soaked in starlight, took on an otherworldly hue.

“When I had the chance, I’d sometimes come here alone. Not as often as I wanted, but still…”

Though her profile darkened with a hint of sorrow, Stella quickly smiled, brushing aside the past.

“It’s a view I always wanted to see once with someone I loved.”

“Feels like I’m being proposed to, Estella.”

He said it with quiet seriousness. She laughed aloud like a child. Islay scooped her up. She didn’t resist, and the warmth of her body seeped deeply into him.

A long lounge chair sat on the balcony. It was old and narrow, unused for a long time, but sturdy enough for the weight of two. Still holding her tightly, Islay leaned back against it.

On this early summer night with stars scattered overhead, their secret rendezvous began.

Lying chest to chest, they whispered the most whimsical nonsense.

They filled their time with nothing but pure love, pretending not to see the future ahead, pretending not to know their precarious fate that flickered like candlelight.

“Islay, do you remember?”

Snuggling closer, Stella giggled mischievously.

“Back when we went to the misty forest, you asked if I’d ever let a man into my bed.”

“Ah… I did. What a shameless question from a fool who didn’t know his place.”

As he kissed her wrist, Islay spoke as if scolding his past self.

“Do you remember how I answered?”

“You said you’d never do something so improper. That you had no intention of doing so.”

“But I’ve changed my mind.”

Islay, who had been kissing the back of her hand, paused and looked at her. Now she was saying she would let a man into her bed. What did she mean?

Stella smiled. “If it’s you, I’ll gladly be seduced and let you into my room.”

“……”

To a man like Islay, who only had a sliver of life remaining, it first sounded like she meant to be with someone else—his heart dropped. But then he realized she meant him and let out a soft chuckle.

“What kind of nonsense is that…”

He laughed and rested his forehead against her collarbone. His shoulders shook as if he truly couldn’t stop laughing.

“Listen. When you asked me that, I was so shocked. Letting a man into my room before marriage? I thought no force on earth could make me do that. But now, I’ve completely changed.”

Stella was utterly serious. That night they had spent in her royal bedchamber had left a strong impression on her.

Stella, who now invited him into her room? It wasn’t hard to imagine himself falling for it each and every time.

“Sounds a little wild, but since the man is me, I should be grateful.”

“Not at all.”

Accepting his thanks without hesitation, Stella flicked her eyes downward.

“Actually, if we didn’t have to worry about others watching, I’d love for you to be able to step over that threshold whenever you wanted.”

It was a mutter soaked in frustration at reality. Then her eyes suddenly sparkled.

“What if we were married?”

“……”

“I mean formally, with everyone’s blessing. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if sharing the same space was only natural?”

Islay dropped his smile and pressed a kiss into her palm. What had been a cute topic now crossed a line. Whenever they wished for an ordinary love, their twisted fate always loomed.

“Right now, it’s like the whole world is desperately trying to tear us apart. And I really don’t like it.”

Stella frowned as she imagined an impossible future. A stubborn glint sparked in her round eyes.