The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 8

“I’ll order my subordinate to stop me,” Islay suddenly raised his voice toward the door. “Mikel! If I tear the princess’s dress, cut my wrist without hesitation.”

“Yes, Captain!” came the loud reply from outside. Islay’s eyebrows arched slightly.

“Did you hear that? Mikel will subdue me and take you back to Largo.”

Stella couldn’t speak for a moment, suspicious that he might have prearranged this with his subordinate. But looking at the man’s serious face, it didn’t seem like a lie.

“And if you drink the poison…?” she asked.

“My throat will rot and decay,” Islay answered indifferently, his face showing no concern for the horrific possibility.

Stella took a deep breath, looking determined. “No matter what happens, promise me you’ll let my maid go safely.”

“I promise,” Islay nodded lightly. Stella, still staring at him, shifted her gaze to the glass bottles laid out neatly.

Out of the seven bottles, only one contained water. The probability of missing Islay’s expectation was 6 out of 7, which was in her favor. As a result, the man would have to drink either poison or Lobid.

‘…I don’t want that either. I don’t want to see someone die in front of me.’

She also didn’t want to see a man who could overpower her like a child driven by lust. Nor did she want to witness the brutal scene of him losing an arm by his subordinate. But she also didn’t want to be taken away by him.

Every possible outcome seemed to lead to a dead end. Stella bit her lip, realizing she had no other choice. She feared the gaze that seemed to penetrate through her.

Stop thinking and just pick any. Getting out of here is the priority.

A heavy silence fell. Stella, frowning deeply, stared at the seven bottles for a long time.

“You’re taking too long,” Islay glanced at the clock on the wall, hinting at his impatience. Stella looked up with a face on the verge of tears.

“I really don’t know…”

“It’s getting tedious. I’d like to see you stop dawdling.”

“Ugh…”

Stella closed her eyes tightly and then opened them. With trembling hands, she pointed to the bottle on the far left. Islay raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure?”

Stella couldn’t answer. How could she be sure? She had chosen it simply because it was the first bottle she noticed when his subordinate had placed them in a row.

The thought that it might contain water struck her immediately upon seeing it. The liquid inside looked just like water!

“All right then,” Islay said, picking up the bottle with his veined hand, removing the cork, and bringing it to his lips without hesitation. He tilted the bottle and drank.

“……!”

Before Stella could react, he had already swallowed the unknown liquid.

He drank at least ten sips, his prominent Adam’s apple bobbing continuously. Stella could only watch in shock.

Finally, Islay set the empty bottle down with a clink and wiped his wet lips with the back of his hand.

“Hmm.”

Stella’s heart pounded wildly. He tilted his head slightly, rubbing his veined neck.

“I don’t feel my insides burning.”

“……”

“Nor do I have any desire to assault you.”

Islay smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth. “It seems I drank the water.”

“No way…”

“It’s true. See? I’m perfectly fine.”

He showed his empty hands and smiled broadly. Stella shook her head from side to side, her face pale. “It’s a coincidence. It must be a coincidence.”

“Perhaps,” Islay murmured with a hint of laughter in his voice, slowly blinking his eyelashes. “But I’m the kind of pathetic bastard who clings to coincidences.”

“……!”

“Mikel.”

At Islay’s call, the door opened immediately, and a burly man walked in. The man with a scar on his eyebrow was the one who had brought Stella here.

“Escort the princess to the carriage.”

Stella’s spine stiffened. Islay pronounced his sentence in a heavy voice.

“We’re returning to Calis.”

“No…!”

Stella sprang up from her chair with a high-pitched scream. With nowhere to run, she backed away frantically, only to be quickly caught by Mikel, who hoisted her over his shoulder. Despite her screams and struggles, Mikel carried her out swiftly.

In front of the building were several large carriages lined up, ready to depart. They seemed to be prepared for departure.

Stella felt a dizzying sensation as if staring into an abyss.

She was leaving the central continent and heading to the unknown northern territories. She felt an overwhelming sense that this journey would lead to irreversible consequences.

02. The Cursed Man

The carriages raced northward without rest.

As the temperature gradually dropped, Stella, caught between denial and resignation, wiped the foggy window with her sleeve and peered outside.

Beyond the plains, an endless forest of coniferous trees stretched out. The mist-covered forest looked like a painting by a genius artist who had spent several sleepless nights.

Looking at the northern landscape filled with tall, slender trees, Stella let out a despairing sigh.

It really is Calis. She had arrived in the vast, desolate, lawless land she had only read about in books.

“Oh my,” Dora, who had quietly peeked her head next to Stella, exclaimed. “I’ve never seen trees that tall in my life, Your Highness.”

“…Yes, indeed,” Stella replied, looking at Dora, who couldn’t take her eyes off the window, with pity. Every time she saw her maid’s face during their journey to Calis, her eyes stung with tears.

Dora had stayed with her because she had pleaded with Islay to take her along, fearing Stella would be left alone.

He had agreed to her request, saying with a smirk that a pampered princess would indeed need a maid. Despite her grand title, Stella was treated with little respect.

A swirl of gratitude and guilt for the young maid filled Stella’s heart. She found it hard to shake off the guilt that Dora had to come to Calis simply because she was kind to a burdensome princess.

“It’s amazing. This forest looks like it could be home to packs of gray wolves,” Dora said in a bright voice, pretending to be cheerful to ease Stella’s distress.

“Dora,” Stella whispered, holding her maid’s hand. “We must escape from here. I’ll find a way.”

Dora held her breath. Stella glanced out the window.

“That man wants something from me. He seems to think I have some sort of ability.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Even though I don’t know what it is, it’s probably a misconception.”

Islay just needed an excuse to kidnap Stella. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have demanded a test to pick out the bottle of water.

“Then, if he realizes he has the wrong person, will he let us go?”

Stella couldn’t bring herself to say yes. She closed her eyes tightly and then opened them. She remembered the man’s words about clinging to coincidences. He wasn’t the type to give up easily.

“I don’t know… We must look for any chance to escape. Do you know how to ride a horse?”

Dora nodded, her face filled with fear, as if Stella had suggested sneaking out of a den of wolves.

Stella was equally scared, but she couldn’t show her anxiety in front of her younger maid.

“And you, Your Highness? Do you know how to ride a horse?”

“Yes. It’s been a long time, but I hope my body remembers.”

As a child, Stella had spent her early years in a quiet monastery at the king’s command. One of the things she learned from the silent priests was how to ride a horse.

Stella, touching her rounded forehead, looked at her maid. “Even at their residence, stay vigilant and look for any opportunity to escape. Always watch for a chance…”

Stella suddenly stopped speaking.

In the distance, she heard a sound resembling the howl of a beast.