The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 49

The golden eyes, which were initially frightened, fortunately put a halt to things.

Her panicked gaze, startled by the heat rising from their joined lower bodies, was still vivid in his mind. It was a moment that perfectly proved her earlier confession that she had no experience with men, shown through her eyes alone.

In any case, Islay had enough rationality to safely escort her back to her bedroom. He didn’t want anyone, not even his closest aides, to come within a mile of a woman who had been so intimately affected between her legs.

The problem came afterward. After returning to the tower and isolating himself as usual, he, for the first time, felt the true utility of the thick door, the locks beyond it, and the guards stationed outside.

The blood coursing through his body surged, and for hours, his grotesquely swollen body refused to calm down. At any moment, he wanted to break out of the tower and take the woman into his arms.

He wanted to rip apart that flimsy dress, grab her flowing hair, and recklessly thrust into that pure, untouched body, something that no one should ever defile.

It wasn’t just because of the frustrating desire awakened by their brief contact…

“I wanted to kiss you.”

Her unwavering voice echoed in his mind, like a persistent reverberation.

She had said she wanted to kiss him.

Did that mean she desired him as much as he desired her?

“It was a shadow, like the beautiful color of a rose quartz. What was it?”

Her smooth voice continuously shook him.

The part of his heart that the woman had touched—the part she described as being tinged with a red rose hue—was not unfamiliar to Islay.

The moment he realized it, a flame-like desire surged within him, burning to its very limit. He felt as though he would suffocate if he didn’t find relief by his own hand. It was the first time in his life.

He didn’t dwell on the feeling of her chest, which he had held and sucked through her clothing. Instead, he focused solely on the sound of her voice as he indulged in self-release.

He released his filthy lust countless times, so many that it became meaningless to count. The thick, whitish liquid splattered everywhere, overflowing and soaking the floor beneath him. Islay’s muscular body, which had never tired no matter what he did, eventually grew stiff, and his forearms ached from the tension.

That night, his bedroom was filled with a pungent, fishy odor. When he finally reflected on what he had done, nausea welled up, making him want to vomit. The dirty remnants of his release, which he had expelled so mindlessly, were, in truth, meant to be left inside the woman’s body.

The amount of fluid he had released was so much that it pooled on the floor and streamed down in rivulets. And yet, the thought that he wanted to pour every single drop into that pure woman’s body…

Using her words, she was a woman who had likely never had a single wicked thought in her life. And yet, he had imagined planting a seed inside her—a seed that would grow into a black beast, a hideous creature that would ultimately become more grotesque than anything in this world.

Islay had never entertained such a revolting thought in his life. The realization struck him like a wake-up call, shaking the lust-drenched thoughts from his mind.

But even that was useless. Since bringing Stella to the Ice Castle, Islay had been taking near-lethal doses of his medicine regularly.

As a result, he was frighteningly rational at the moment. His heartbeat was mechanically precise, yet it pulsed slowly, as if it belonged to someone who was already fated to die. He was in a state where nothing before his eyes could disturb him.

“Before my heart stops, these stubborn veins will somehow keep me alive.”

Islay’s low voice carried a hint of self-deprecation as he muttered to himself.

Anyone who inherited the blood of Peruno inevitably became a monster in their twenty-eighth year. During this period, when the transformation into a beast was most active, a body like his wouldn’t die from a little medicine. Right now, Islay is almost immortal.

Soon, he reached the chapel and pushed open the door. The creaking sound of worn hinges pierced through the rain, echoing in the space.

Padro, the High Priest, who had been waiting for them, bowed deeply in greeting.

“King of Calis, and Sir Mikel.”

“Is the oracle prepared?” Islay asked as he slicked back his rain-soaked hair.

“Yes, everything has been deciphered.”

Padro answered calmly, his expression cold. The warm and kind demeanor he usually carried was nowhere to be seen, replaced by the look of someone who had made a great decision.

“There were many differing opinions among us, but we have finally produced the final translation.”

“You are quite early in delivering the completed interpretation that was said to take longer.”

Mikel pointed out sharply, and Padro bowed his head politely.

“As I mentioned before, we couldn’t risk any room for mistranslation… I apologize.”

The priest’s eyes glimmered behind his glasses.

“However, thanks to that, we were able to deliver a complete version of the translation, one that none of the priests skilled in ancient languages could dispute.”

Islay stared blankly at Padro’s face.

Not long ago, Stella had said she had seen dark shadows in the priest’s expression. Though he had responded to her dispassionately to avoid alarming her, Islay had soon confirmed that Padro had indeed concealed something after interpreting the prophecy.

It was Padro’s opinion that, because the prophecy involved the “sacrifice of the Mind’s Eye,” he had wanted to be cautious in delivering it.

The sacrifice of the Mind’s Eye. To be honest, Islay had a bad feeling about it.

“You’ll understand once you see for yourself.”

“Show me.”

“Follow me, this way.”

Padro’s white robe fluttered as he turned to lead them. Islay followed silently, his expression cold and stern.

When they entered a quiet antechamber, three or four priests were already seated around a round table. Islay bypassed their greetings and sat at the head of the table. While the priests exchanged uneasy glances, Padro’s solemn voice broke the silence.

“There’s something I need to ask first, Your Highness.”

“Speak.”

“Are you certain that Princess Largo possesses the Mind’s Eye?”

“There is no doubt.”

“I believe so as well. The oracle confirmed it, and I also verified it with my own eyes.”

Pulling out a piece of parchment, Padro continued, “However, the princess’s ability is still highly unstable. There is no clear instruction on how to properly use the Mind’s Eye, is there? Unfortunately, that is why we’ve had difficulty locating the ancient gem.”

There was clearly a reason he was dragging out his explanation without getting to the point. Islay, his finger resting on his chin, didn’t bother to hide his irritation but waited patiently for the priest to continue.

“But that wasn’t the most important issue. What we needed wasn’t to use the princess’s power to find the gem.”

Padro unfurled the parchment and laid it on the table. Islay’s eyes moved down to the text.

“What we needed was the princess herself, the one who possesses the ability.”

Retrieve the lost light.

Only the star that shines alone in the fading darkness will stop the disaster.

The star is the one and only gem hidden by wisdom and greed, and the eye that can see through the essence.

Therefore, at the moment when the starlight is at its brightest, extinguish the light within the eye to break free from the chains.

After reading the final sentence, Islay’s face froze.

Oracles always left room for various interpretations. However, this prophecy was clear to anyone who read it.

“At first, there were many opinions on the part about extinguishing the ‘light within the eye.’ Was it merely referring to the ability of the Mind’s Eye? Or did it mean the life of the princess who possesses the Mind’s Eye? We struggled to reach a consensus.”

The priest’s voice was as steady as ever.

“But now it’s clear. To calm the chaos engulfing Calis, the princess must sacrifice her Mind’s Eye. And if that doesn’t work, she must be sacrificed herself. That is the only way to lift the curse from Peruno and save Calis.”

Padro was saying that if plucking out Stella’s eyes wasn’t the answer, they would have to take her life to break the curse.

Mikel inhaled sharply at the priest’s uncharacteristically cruel words.

“So, we’ll try both methods?”

“That’s correct, Your Highness.”

A faint vein bulged on Islay’s temple as he remained silent.

“I don’t believe the search for the ancient gem was in vain. After all, it was during that process that we found the Mind’s Eye, wasn’t it? And it was none other than Your Highness who discovered it.”

Padro firmly asserted that it was Islay who had brought Stella here in the first place.

“Once the curse is lifted, not only will Your Highness return to being fully human, but all the black beasts that plague the land of Calis will disappear.”

If it meant washing away the misfortune running through his veins, Islay could do anything. Though he didn’t show it outwardly, he despised the curse that had entangled his bloodline more than anything.

Moreover, because of his biological father, who had escaped the Ice Castle with the sole intent of becoming a monster rather than facing death, Islay’s hatred for his cursed lineage had grown even deeper.

Monsters enslaved by their primal instincts indiscriminately planted their seed into any woman they encountered. How many had suffered as a result? The black beasts that roamed all across Calis were the consequence of innocent women being forced to shed blood.

As Padro said, breaking this curse not only meant Islay could live as a human again but also promised peace for the land of Calis, which had long suffered from the existence of these black beasts.

For that reason, Islay knew he could do anything—absolutely anything—to break this curse.

He had believed that, up until reading this oracle.