The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 99

Mikel unhesitatingly struck at the part Islay least wanted to be touched. As someone who placed Stella’s safety above all else, there was no way he could be fine with this.

Hendrick Regan, of all people. Just imagining that greasy face smirking beside her made his blood boil. That bastard was originally a piece of trash who had tried to drug Stella and violate her.

Islay’s grip on the hilt of his sword tightened as if to steady his tumultuous emotions.

He had deliberated enough. He had only decided to let her go after confirming that her brother was by her side. From what he had heard, Alexio was currently leading an army and plotting his reinstatement, but upon learning that his younger sister was in danger, he had immediately changed course and infiltrated the North.

Alexio was family, someone who would risk his life to protect Stella. Unlike Islay, he was someone who would not wound her.

“Captain, forget the promise made with the princess’s brother. We should also head south—”

Kieeek!

At that moment, a beast burst out of the bushes, tongue lolling as it charged toward them. Its eyes rolled back, and thick saliva dribbled from its mouth—it was completely consumed by madness.

Having ascended the snowy mountains from the Ice Castle, the subjugation force had decided to eradicate the monster nest entirely. They had scattered potions made from wolfsbane and rue throughout the area. The scent, which black beasts detested most, drove them into a frenzy.

Adjusting his grip on the sword, Islay swung his blade at the creature as it lunged. With a single stroke, the monster’s body split in two and tumbled to the ground. However, the angle had been slightly off—its waist was barely holding together.

Tilting his head slightly, Islay strode toward the corpse.

That was when the meaningless slashing began. The already mangled body was struck again and again by the relentless force of the blade. Blood sprayed in all directions, and the sound of flesh being torn apart echoed without pause.

The subordinates who had been waiting nearby emerged to see what was happening. Hardened Northerners who had endured all manner of hardships exchanged glances, taken aback. They were unsettled by the sight of Islay turning an already-dead monster into pulp.

With each merciless swing of his sword, the muscles in his shoulders and arms swelled as if they would burst through his armor. His emotionless face, in stark contrast to his frenzied movements, created a truly gruesome scene.

Even Mikel, who was closest to him, swallowed dryly. It seemed the wolfsbane and rue, meant to lure out the black beasts, had affected Islay as well.

Islay was, in essence, no different from a monster’s origin. He had suffered the effects of monstrosity earlier than his ancestors, so in a way, this was an inevitable outcome.

Only after a long while did he finally sheath his sword. Then, calmly wiping the blood from his face with his palm, he lowered his gaze to the back of his own hand.

Dark, ominous veins stood out as if lines had been drawn upon it. The same grotesque transformation had likely spread to his covered forearms and nape as well.

A hollow laugh escaped him. In his current state, he was better suited to destruction than to protecting anyone.

At least when Stella was by his side, his destructive urges seemed to manifest as lust instead. Thinking back on the incident that had occurred in such a state, that, too, was nothing short of devastating.

“What would I even do, returning south in this condition?”

Muttering under his breath, Islay poured distilled spirits over the monster’s nest and set it ablaze. Watching the crimson flames for a moment, he then turned away.

“We move out.”

“……”

Mikel inhaled as if he had something to say but ultimately remained silent.

As Islay walked past his subordinate, his expression was as frozen as a sheet of ice.

***

Stella, who had fallen asleep without even dreaming, opened her eyes only after leaving Calis. In a half-asleep daze, she forced her heavy eyelids open and looked around the unfamiliar bedroom.

It was an inn. The interior decor resembled the inn room in Nortelli where she and Islay had first confirmed their feelings for each other.

At that moment, the face that completely occupied her mind made her chest crumble.

‘Islay…’

She couldn’t believe the reality of having left him. She had long since sensed this separation, but not like this—never like this.

“Stella.”

A deep, soft voice called her name, as if from a dream. Stella turned her gaze and bit her lip hard when she saw the man right next to her. The moment she met his green eyes, tears burst forth.

The older brother she had parted with at barely ten years old was standing right before her.

Blinking back her tears, Stella carefully examined Alexio’s face.

Her brother was a full-grown adult. He was no longer the young boy in her hazy, fog-painted memories.

Yet she was certain—he was undoubtedly her one and only brother. The golden hair and pale face that mirrored her own, the verdant eyes like the green of spring—he was unmistakably Alexio.

Stella slowly reached out both arms. Alexio approached her without hesitation and embraced her, his warm hand gently stroking her head.

“…This is unbelievable. Are you really Alexio?”

“Yes, Stella.”

Breathing in his unfamiliar scent, Stella let out a shallow breath. It felt like a dream.

“I can’t believe it… I lived my whole life thinking you were dead.”

“I’m sorry for not even sending a single letter.”

“Do you know how long I cried in front of your gravestone? Later on, I wasn’t even allowed to do that…”

“…Don’t cry. I’m back alive, aren’t I?”

The weight of layered longing and sorrow was too heavy for her to even start asking where he had been and how he had lived. Still sniffling, Stella raised her head and met her brother’s eyes. His eyes, nestled in a soft gaze, shone with an unclouded light.

A sigh escaped her involuntarily. They were the same eyes she had seen on the day of their father’s funeral, eyes brimming with determination.

Back then, Alexio had sat beside Stella under the roof of the chapel connected to the mausoleum, sheltering from the rain. Fingering the necklace their late king had given them each, he had promised to protect her from then on.

Looking at his ten-year-old sister with eyes free of falsehood, Alexio had disappeared without a trace after the funeral.

She had later heard that he had been sent away for training under their uncle’s orders. But to vanish so suddenly without even a farewell? As a child, she had only felt hurt and abandoned. Then came the grim news of his disappearance, and she had wept for him in front of the gravestone deeply embedded in the underground mausoleum.

And now, here he was. The family she had only been able to see in dreams had appeared before her as if in a lie. And it was right after she had left the Ice Castle.

It was only then that the rational part of her mind, tangled with sorrow, seemed to return. Lowering her gaze, Stella gripped the blanket tightly and took a deep breath.

So much had overwhelmed her in such a short time that she was bewildered, but she had a feeling that all of it was connected.

“So you kept it, after all.”

Alexio’s cautious gaze lowered toward Stella’s collarbone. More precisely, to the worn platinum necklace dangling there.

“…Ah, yes. I’ve never taken it off, not even once.”

Stella clicked open the locket and showed him the photograph inside.

“Whenever I was scared or struggling, it gave me the courage to keep going. Look at this. I’ve touched it so often that your face in the portrait has almost disappeared.”

Hearing her speak so calmly, Alexio couldn’t bring himself to ask any more questions. Instead, he gave a faint, bitter smile.

Stella, who had been staring down at the blurred portrait barely recognizable anymore, lifted her head again. That was when she realized Alexio wasn’t wearing his pendant.

Over the yearning that had always weighed on her heart, a faint doubt and thoughts of someone else overlapped in layers.

“What about you? Did you lose your necklace?”

“…No. I wore it until recently.”

“Then?”

“……”

“Did Islay take it?”

For the first time, Alexio’s ever-present smile stiffened slightly. To him, it was startling to hear his younger sister call Islay’s name so familiarly.

“So he did take it. I had a feeling. A knight named Roderick Elgin told me. He said Islay never returned my portrait locket.”

“……”

“You met with him and spoke behind my back, didn’t you?”