The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 137

Alexio let out a small laugh as he stepped into the inn. Nearby, Mikel gave a hearty grin and lightly slapped Roderick on the shoulder as he followed him in. Roderick swatted Mikel’s arm away, but the mischievous smile curling at his lips said it all—they were old friends.

The inn, now filled to the brim with Northerners and Southerners, buzzed like a tavern. Just as they had once stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the battlefield, all ranks and origins were now united in camaraderie.

Alexio felt anew that this, too, was a miracle brought about by his little sister. He cast his gaze toward Stella and Islay, seated side by side.

***

As the mood reached its peak, Stella quietly bid farewell to the others and retired to her room. It was understandable—after all she’d been through and having only recently regained consciousness, she was bound to be tired.

Walking off with Dora, perhaps to bathe, Stella glanced back at Islay. Just as he was about to lift a glass to his lips, he paused and met her gaze. Oddly, his throat felt dry.

After a short while, Islay pushed back his chair and headed for the stairs, entirely ignoring Alexio’s persistent glare from behind.

He returned to his room, pulled out a pocketknife, and as was his habit, passed time carving wood. As expected, it wasn’t long before a knock came at the door.

“Islay, are you asleep?”

“Come in.”

As he granted entry, a strange excitement stirred within him. Every time Stella’s gentle voice reached his ears, he felt like a dog responding to the dinner bell—it was hopeless.

Her cheeks were flushed as she stepped cautiously inside. After everything they’d done together, it was funny how she still blushed just from being alone at night, like they really were the ordinary lovers they once thought they’d never be.

“I had something to say before bed, so I stopped by.”

As she closed the door behind her, Islay silently reached out his hand. When she took a few steps forward, he tugged her in and gently pulled her into his lap.

“Go ahead, I’m listening.”

“It’s nothing really, just… Ah, that tickles.”

Giggling like a child, Stella pinched the hand brushing her waist. Islay lowered his head and buried his lips in the space between her collarbone and chest. His fingertips trembled slightly as he resisted the urge to grab her soft flesh in his palm and squeeze.

“Would it be okay if we stopped by Largo before heading home? It’s nothing important, I just want to pick up a few things I’ve had since I was a child. My diary, some keepsakes.”

Her voice, calling the Ice Castle ‘home’ so naturally, was unbearably endearing.

“Also, Alexio’s returning in triumph, and Calis played a crucial role in that. People will line the roads to the palace, scattering flowers and singing as we pass, so I thought it’d be nice if you were there too.”

She wanted the man who had protected her country to be celebrated and blessed by all. It was rather sweet.

“Dora rushed up here too, so she hasn’t even had a chance to say goodbye to her friends. So I wanted to ask if we could stop by for a bit.”

“There’s no need to ask like it’s some great favor. If you said we were going to hell, I’d go with you.”

Islay whispered as he nibbled her earlobe.

“Though someone like you, so pure and good, is bound for paradise. And you’d drag along a bastard like me, too.”

“What do you mean? You’re the most wonderful person I’ve ever known.”

“Hearing that’s got me all riled up, Estella.”

“…That makes you sound like a puppy.”

“Not like a dog?”

“That sounds more like an insult.”

They laughed, nose to nose. Stella cupped Islay’s face and leaned in to plant a kiss. Her soft lips, still curled in laughter, pressed briefly to his before parting.

Islay’s expression quickly turned serious. With a deep breath, he felt himself harden below from that single touch.

As Stella leaned in for another kiss, she paused—she’d felt the growing pressure from where their bodies met. Her lashes trembled as her gaze dropped to his lips. Clearly, he wasn’t the only one aroused.

“Islay, I want to show you something.”

She whispered quietly and let the robe she wore slip from her shoulders. Then she rolled up the long sleeves of her thin nightgown.

Islay simply watched the woman on his lap. Soon, his pupils widened significantly.

Stella’s pale wrist was no longer wrapped in bandages. The deep wound she had carved into herself to bleed had vanished completely, as if it had never existed at all.

“It disappeared without a trace, didn’t it? Dora and I just checked it a little while ago and were totally surprised.”

“Any other injuries?”

As he asked, Islay urgently pulled down the neckline of her dress. He was checking the spot on her shoulder where the arrow had grazed.

But the wound from the arrow remained, with bandages still wrapped and ointment applied. The wound on her ankle was the same.

“That didn’t disappear…”

Stella casually dismissed it and quietly grabbed Islay’s wrist.

“It was just a scratch, so I’m fine. What matters is that the wound on my wrist is completely gone.”

“……”

“I’m not sure, but maybe it disappeared when the Mind’s Eye left and everything returned to its place.”

Without answering, Islay pressed his lips to her shoulder, which was now half-bared under her nightgown. The fact that the wound that had put her life in danger had vanished was undoubtedly a miracle, and above all, a relief. But the lingering scars left by that sharp arrowhead remained, and his heart churned with frustration.

“Islay, are you listening?”

“…I’m listening.”

“I mean I’m really fine. I’m healing fast, and it doesn’t even hurt.”

Of course she was fine. She had to be. Now that he could embrace her freely without being tangled in the cruelty of fate, clinging to the past was meaningless, especially with her right beside him.

“I’m glad, Estella. Nothing mattered to me more than you being free of pain.”

Finally steadying himself, he kissed her round shoulder and the nape of her neck.

Reading his anger at her remaining injuries, Stella cheerfully added, “Tomorrow I’ll let you apply the medicine and rewrap the bandages yourself. You’ll see with your own eyes that it doesn’t sting at all.”

That made him chuckle. “I’d be honored. Then let me be the one to care for you until you’re completely healed.”

“Okay.”

She reached up and gently stroked his dark hair. Her touch lingered in an oddly affectionate way.

“I really am okay now… so, um, what do you think?”

Islay lifted his gaze sharply. Her cheeks, as she bit her lip, turned red once again.

“There’s no one else here but us….”

It was a temptation sweeter than any before. Stella’s freshly bathed scent was brighter and more intoxicating than ever, bewitching him in an instant. His hands, caressing her curves like a thirsting man, grew increasingly impatient.

But he didn’t lift her skirt or slip his hand under her clothes.

“Not here. There are people all around outside. Even your brother’s here.”

As he’d followed Stella back up to the room, he suddenly recalled the piercing glare Alexio had given him. Still, that wasn’t the only reason he wouldn’t lay with her now.

“But we did it here before, remember?”

“Of course I remember. But even then, we didn’t go all the way.”

Even if his body burned with desire, he didn’t want to lose himself and take her recklessly, regardless of time or place. Though his foolish body was still ruled by instinct, Islay now had the strength to control it.

…No, maybe not entirely. If they were somewhere truly private, with no interruptions, things would certainly turn indecent.

All the more because it would be their “first time,” Islay wanted to be careful.

Their first time together had been far from pleasant. He couldn’t remember it at all, and it had only left Stella with pain. So he had to be cautious. Even if passion blazed inside him now, he didn’t want to be swept away.

He understood how much Stella wanted to affirm their love through this. Truthfully, he wanted it even more than she did. If she ever caught even a glimpse of the filthy fantasies running through his rotted brain, she might bolt out the door.

“I want to hold you somewhere no one can knock on the door, and take my time with you.”

“Then… do we have to wait until we go home?”

“Yes.”

His long fingers brushed her plump lips.

“Starting from here.”

His firm fingertips trailed down from her delicate chin to her graceful neck, then to her full breasts, her smooth stomach, and even down to the mound between her legs, clearly felt through the thin fabric, pressing down firmly.

“Ah.”

“I want to taste every last bit of you, deep inside, and lick you until your scent is all that clings to my body.”