The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 24

“Show me your leg, I’m going to apply some ointment.”

Stella hesitated but eventually extended one of her knees, which she had been hugging to her chest. The timid and slow movement barely exposed the wound.

Islay, dissatisfied, moved closer and grabbed her calf. His rough hands pushed up the tunic, making Stella jump slightly while still seated.

“You said you were fine, but what’s this then?” He clicked his tongue in disapproval and poured water over the wound from a flask. Then, he took out a container of ointment and began applying it to the gash on her knee.

Stella flinched at his touch, but Islay ignored her distress and examined the injury. Her knee, protruding slightly, was a bloody mess.

“Ah…!”

“It’ll sting a bit.”

“A warning before you do that would be nice…,” Stella murmured, her voice trailing off as she let out a pained sigh. Islay glanced at her briefly, then continued tending to the wound with a somewhat gentler touch.

It was fortunate he had brought the ointment. It was something he carried for his younger subordinates, who did not heal as quickly, during the recent monster extermination missions.

“Seems like having dinner together tonight is out of the question,” Islay spoke softly, attempting to distract her from the pain.

Stella, frowning as she watched him work, let out a weak chuckle. “Why are you so obsessed with having dinner? You said there wasn’t any significant reason.”

“I don’t want to miss a rare opportunity.”

“Having dinner with me is a rare opportunity?”

“A commoner like me doesn’t often get the chance to sit and talk with a princess.”

“If that’s the case, we don’t need to arrange a grand dinner. I mean… it’s just the two of us here.”

Islay silently met her gaze. The cave was filled with the sound of dripping water, emphasizing the heavy silence.

“Ah, I didn’t mean it like that…” Caught off guard by her own words, Stella couldn’t continue. Though the effects of the rovid hadn’t kicked in yet, her round forehead was already flushed red.

Islay blinked slowly, keeping his gaze downcast. He knew she didn’t mean anything by it. The timid girl, who jumped at every little thing, wouldn’t dare to speak so casually. Especially not in a secluded cave, wearing an oversized tunic that barely covered her thighs.

Maybe she simply didn’t like the idea of having a formal dinner with him.

Yet, despite knowing this, he felt a heavy heat pooling in his lower abdomen. His body, unlike his rational mind, was responding earnestly to her words—words that implied it was just the two of them.

“…I understand you’re not thinking clearly, but don’t say things that could be misunderstood.”

Stella obediently closed her mouth. After forcing his eyes away from her, Islay finished treating the wound. He then grabbed the hem of the tunic she was wearing and tore off a piece. He planned to use the relatively clean fabric as a makeshift bandage.

Ignoring Stella’s startled reaction, he wrapped the gray fabric around her knee. The makeshift dressing looked quite effective. After tidying up the ointment container and the scattered flask, Islay started to stand up.

“Wait here for a moment.”

“Where are you going?” Stella reached out and grabbed his arm desperately. Islay, held back by her weak grip, knelt down again.

“We need something to eat. You need to eat.”

“It’s okay, I can skip dinner. Please don’t go.”

“……”

“Stay with me. I… I’m scared to be alone…”

She preferred starving with him by her side over being left alone in the dark, fearing another attack. Her pleading eyes made Islay sit back down beside her. Their shadows flickered unevenly against the stone wall opposite them.

“Move closer. You’ll be cold until the medicine kicks in.”

Stella moved closer to him. As her soft body pressed against his bare skin, Islay regretted his words slightly. The desire he had suppressed began to resurface.

He wanted to crush this unwelcome sensation. Not only was the physical reaction unfamiliar, but he also had no idea how to calm and subdue it.

He knew the source of his base desires. The cursed bloodline. The filthy blood that wove through his veins like a spider’s web.

The urge to pin the trembling woman to the ground like an animal was a result of Peruno’s curse, not his own will. Convincing himself of this, Islay stared silently into the void.

A tense silence settled over them until a soft clicking sound broke it. Stella was fidgeting with the pendant around her neck.

The platinum necklace, now well-worn, had a small locket attached. Noticing the picture inside the locket, Islay asked, “What’s that?”

“…Oh.”

Stella stopped her movements. Realizing her habit of touching the necklace when anxious had been noticed, she looked embarrassed.

“It’s a locket necklace.”

“I can see it’s a necklace. Why do you carry a portrait in it?”

“It brings me comfort.”

“Comfort?” Islay narrowed his eyes, puzzled.

“Is it your portrait?”

“…My goodness, of course not. It’s a family portrait,” Stella replied, shaking her head.

This answer still made little sense to him. His eyes fixated on the necklace, prompting Stella to pull up the tunic and cover the locket out of embarrassment.

“It didn’t look like this at first. It used to be a beautiful hexagon,” she explained.

Now, the pendant was worn down to a crinkled, almost circular shape. It was clear she had fiddled with it countless times, although it was unclear how long she had been wearing it.

Islay stared at the empty spot where the jewelry had disappeared and asked with genuine curiosity, “How does carrying a family portrait in your jewelry bring you comfort?”

Stella, adjusting her clothing, looked up at him with a peculiar expression, as if questioning why he would ask such a thing.

“When you’re going through hard times, how do you cope?” she asked.

“I just endure it. I’ve never relied on people or necklaces.”

“Even when you’re so sad you can’t move, or when you feel like you’re trapped in an unsolvable maze, or when you feel utterly alone in this world?”

“Even then.”

Stella rested her chin on her arms, which were wrapped around her knees. For a while, the crackling of the campfire was the only sound filling the silence. She was the one to speak next.

“I have a question. It might be rude, but…”

“It’s okay, ask.”

“What was your family like for you?”

“I don’t remember the woman who gave birth to me, so she wasn’t much of anything. My father was always someone I had to find and kill.”

As he answered without hesitation, Stella’s face shot up. Her wide eyes showed shock, and the steady beat of her heart echoed through the silence.

Islay continued in a calm, detached tone, “Our family members voluntarily go into a cell just before they turn into monsters. There, they end their lives by getting shot with crossbow bolts from their subordinates until they die. My father rejected this and fled.”

“The one who escaped from the Ice Castle… that was him?”

“Yeah, my father. Naturally, he turned into Peruno, and thanks to him, the number of monsters increased exponentially.”

“……”

“It took five years to find and kill him. We had to wait until I was strong enough because the strength of the Calisians alone wasn’t enough.”

“You killed your own father?”

“He was a monster host. If left alone, he would endlessly create more monsters, so he had to be killed.”

“How old were you then?”

“Fifteen.”

Stella tightened her grip around herself. Looking down at the ground, she spoke in a shaky voice that barely concealed her turmoil. “If you can’t break the curse, then you too…”

“Next winter, I’ll enter the cell. And I’ll hope that Mikel’s arrow pierces my heart on the first shot.”