The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 63

At last, they were alone. Stella looked at Islay with complicated emotions.

Just until dawn today, they had been naked in each other’s arms, sharing a bed.

From last night, Islay had kissed and caressed places on her body she hadn’t even known existed. Throughout it all, she couldn’t grasp what was in his heart. And now, the flood of events that left them no room for conversation felt endlessly frustrating.

“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

His voice, as he opened the conversation, was calm.

“It’s best to fill your stomach first. You had quite a rough night.”

“…No, I’ll look at the gems first.” Stella reluctantly bit her dry lips and shook her head.

Islay paused briefly before nodding and gently suggesting, “Come, sit here.”

He pulled out a chair for her, and Stella quietly went over to sit. Islay stood behind her and reached for the box of gems.

For a moment, she felt trapped within his heavy warmth. The scent of the previous night. She couldn’t help but recall the face of the man who had kissed her while his eyes glowed the color of blooming roses.

“Take a look.”

Click, the lid opened, revealing the dazzling radiance of colorful gems. They were so brilliantly bright that they almost hurt her eyes.

“Apparently, not long ago, the priests of Nortelli discovered the wreckage of a ship on an abandoned island. It seems the ship was carrying priests heading to the New World. They found quite a few sacred relics among the remains.”

As he said, golden light shimmered through the natural brilliance of the gems. It was holy power.

“I can definitely see the holy power.”

“Do you see the ‘trace’?”

Instead of answering, Stella cautiously rummaged through the box. There were gems crafted into the shape of crosses, large rings, and lockets adorned with pearls—all sorts of different items.

The holy power manifested in different forms too. Some encircled the gems like a shield, while others rose like extinguished smoke. Even the saturation of the power varied slightly.

Perhaps it was due to differences in the strength of the power or the age of the gems. The lingering holy power that resembled tea stains at the bottom of a cup might have been due to that as well.

The problem was…

“……”

It was certain. The ancient gem was not among them. Once again, they had come up empty-handed. Stella felt the same helplessness she had faced almost daily at Largo’s palace and in the underground chamber.

When the gem box opened, she had secretly hoped. But even after coming all the way to the south, they had found nothing. It felt like they were running in meaningless circles.

Why had God given her the sixth sense? What could she truly achieve with this ability?

Stella blinked, feeling dejected as if she’d hit a solid wall again.

Whatever Islay was hiding, her desire to help him hadn’t changed. That conviction had never wavered. Because…

A large hand came into her view and closed the lid of the box. Startled, Stella, lost in her dark thoughts, flinched.

She looked up at Islay. His expression was calm as the night sea—he had clearly sensed her unease long ago.

“I’ll send it back.”

“No… I…”

Before she could suggest taking another look just in case, Islay called his subordinate to take the box away. There was no radiant distraction left. Once again, they were alone.

“Why don’t you eat first?”

Speaking casually, Islay once again prioritized her well-being. Stella shook her head.

“I’m fine.”

“Your expression says otherwise.”

“…Really, I’m fine.”

“Even without my sixth sense, I can tell you’re not being honest. I’ll have them bring the food, so at least eat a little.”

“My hunger isn’t the issue right now…!”

It was the first time she’d raised her voice. She couldn’t believe that, with everything being so urgent, he was worried about her eating. Islay looked at Stella calmly, entirely unaffected.

“Isn’t there some other way I can help you besides examining the gems?”

The question burst out before she even realized it, unrefined. She had wanted to ask more calmly, but her anxious heart got ahead of her.

But how could she not?

She remembered that rainy night, when he had come to her room to ask her to join him on this journey, the shadow on his face shifting with emotion.

If he had to hide something from her, surely it must be for an unavoidable reason. Stella firmly believed that.

“Estella.”

The silence didn’t last long. Islay didn’t allow the uncomfortable atmosphere to linger.

“Why are you acting like you’d do anything for me?”

“Why shouldn’t I? I… I want to help you no matter what.”

“Even if it means you’ll get hurt?”

Stella started to respond right away but abruptly closed her mouth. It wasn’t hesitation at his question—it was because the hope that Hendrick had been spouting nonsense was shattered like glass.

Seeing her remain silent, Islay let out a chuckle like wind scattering leaves. Stella didn’t avert her gaze from his self-mocking expression.

“The final prophecy has been interpreted, right?”

“Yes.”

“Can you… tell me what it says?”

His face turned to stone, silent. He didn’t want to tell her.

“Since we’re heading back north, you’ll stay with me in Calis for a while,” Islay spoke in a low voice that seemed to come from deep within him.

He continued, “I still want you to stay there as my guest without any discomfort. That’s why I intended to secretly assign guards to you—so you wouldn’t feel threatened while staying at the castle.”

“……”

“That’s all you need to know. Anything more is meaningless.”

“I don’t think it’s meaningless.” Stella took a step toward him. “Tell me everything. I want to know.”

Islay looked directly at her, standing within arm’s reach. There was no other choice for him as he faced those clear eyes filled with golden light.

“You mentioned that you felt Padro was hiding something, right? You were right. The priests didn’t deliver the interpretation because there were disagreements about it.”

“So… what was the prophecy that was passed on?”

“When the starlight is at its brightest, extinguish the light within the eye to break free from the chains.”

Her heart pounded as if it were shouting. Stella tried to stay composed, but she couldn’t keep her face from turning pale.

“Islay, does ‘extinguish the light’ mean…”

“Yes. Either you lose your sixth sense, or perhaps the one who possesses it must be sacrificed. It’s one or the other.”

Surprisingly, what Hendrick Regan had said about sacrifices and offerings was true. How on earth had the prince known that?

Despite her ragged breathing, Stella tried to piece together the fragments of the prophecy.

Retrieve the lost light.

It had been the reason Islay’s ancestors obsessively gathered minerals of all kinds.

But despite the heaps of brilliance filling the underground chamber, they never obtained anything of real value. Because, just like now, they lacked the “eyes” to recognize the ancient gem.

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.

Starlight and the sixth sense. It was clear they referred to her.

It made sense why Islay had to bring her to the north.

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

It was bewildering. In the end, was the answer to sacrifice her, the one with the sixth sense?

Was that the only way to break the curse tied to his lineage?

If that were true, then all his ancestors’ efforts to gather gems over the centuries had been in vain.

…No, in a way, it wasn’t all in vain, since it ultimately led to finding her.

“Islay. What are you going to do?”

Her voice trembled foolishly.

He was the man who had received not one but two revelations from God—a man who desperately wanted to escape his torment. Asking what he would choose when there was only one answer seemed foolish.

“Nothing changes.”

The immediate response made Stella look up, startled.

“You’re going to repeat this pointless cycle?”

“You chose your words quite bluntly. Considering I was the one who went to Nortelli to retrieve the gems.”

Islay spoke with a calmness that seemed almost indifferent, as if amused by a tasteless joke. On the contrary, it was Stella who was filled with urgency and couldn’t understand.

“You can end it all here. Unlike your ancestors, who repeated this futile effort for a thousand years, you finally…”

“So.”

His voice, heavy with finality, cut her off without hesitation.

“Do you want me to gouge out your eyes with my own hands? If nothing changes, I have to slit your throat. Are you insisting that I should?”