I Raised the Beast Well

Belinda was trying to figure out what to do, but soon gave up.
Didn’t everyone already know who they were anyways? It was just a pretend blindfold.

“Anyway, good job.
You controlled yourself well, Aymon.
My cat’s grown up well.” 

She looked up at the tall young man and praised him as if he was a child.
Well, this was something he deserved praise for. 

When Aymon was young, he would have made a fuss.
A “frivolous beast”? The marquis would have been left with at least a missing leg.
However, today, he endured it very maturely.

Belinda was proud to have raised the hot-tempered baby cat so well.

When he heard the compliments, Aymon laughed and dragged her along by her hand.
They soon settled into the crowd. 

Feeling Aymon’s hand between her fingers, Belinda looked up at him. 

“You want to dance?”

“Yes.
I’m going to hold your hand and use what I learned.” 

Aymon gently pulled her in.
Wasn’t his practice with Lart all for the sake of this moment?

Belinda was also reminded of their awkward dancing, making her chuckle.

The two began to move to the minuet in the subtle afternoon light, a soft breeze brushing against them as they stepped on the fresh grass.

Belinda kept getting nervous for some reason.
Aymon’s warm hands were against her waist.

Why… Why do I feel so… 

 

Aymon’s constant gaze felt very burdensome, so she looked down. 

The people around them had been giving them sideways glances since they noticed Aymon’s eyes, now that he had taken his mask off. 

His dark black hair flowed down over his forehead, elegant like fine china. 

Although they had all seen a black leopard while at the hunting grounds, it was their first time seeing his human form, making all the nobles gulp. 

He was beautiful enough to attract looks, but it was his aura that really drew attention to him.
There was pride engraved in his eyes, an overwhelming quality that made his position as the chief of the forest clear. 

Belinda and Aymon were lost in their own world, not even noticing the stares.
Aymon led naturally.

“I’d mistake you for a human now.” 

Belinda laughed lightly.

“For you, I can pretend to be a human a hundred times.
A thousand times.”

He held Belinda’s hand, leading the small body smoothly.
Passing by a human who was secretly stealing glances, they brushed a rosebush.

By the time Belinda came to her senses, they were next to a marble statue of an angel, far from the rest of the dancers.

Aymon lifted Belinda and put her down onto the base of a tall statue, causing her to stomp her feet like a child. 

“Aymon! Put me down!”

People were staring.
She really did feel like a little kid.

Even sitting up high, her eye level was still lower than Aymon’s.
She looked up at him.
Standing against the sun, he somehow felt stronger and more reliable today.

 

A dark shadow came over her.
Facing him, Belinda asked in a cheerful voice. 

“Why did you put me up here all of sudden?”

However, she was soon cut off.
The shadow covering her swallowed her up. 

Aymon lowered his head and kissed her slowly.

Surprised, Belinda stiffened up.
The sudden kiss made her heart skip a beat. 

She couldn’t think of anything.
She just grabbed Aymon’s collar.

The nobles around them gasped and stopped talking.

Their view was covered by Aymon’s back, but they noticed the overlapping bodies.
Unable to respond, they just pretended not to notice.

The Princess? That Shinsu? Those two?!

Whether or not he noticed the humans’ embarrassment, Aymon only licked Belinda’s lips.
Unable to react, she accepted him.

He lowered his body more and drew her in, slowly stroking her back as if he was soothing her.
Belinda sighed without realizing.

Aymon didn’t miss the opportunity to dig his tongue in.

“Mmmm…” 

Belinda’s grip loosened.
Their bodies melted into each other. 

The slow kiss, unlike Aymon, made her heart beat faster.

The minuet quietly subsided.
The soft afternoon sun seemed to embrace them.

Belinda, trapped in Aymon’s arms, curled her toes.
Heat rose from their entangled flesh. 

Another enchanting kiss followed.
Belinda accepted him, struggling to breathe, forgetting where she was.

Aymon gently pulled her chin up and deepened the kiss.
Their wet tongues entwined.
Their faces overlapped and separated as they slowly moved their heads. 

It was like a dream, but the moment that the music changed, Belinda finally came to her senses.

What the hell am I doing? 

She brightened up.
Her heart was beating fast for another reason now.
She was revealing a secret to everyone and embarrassing herself.

Aymon, you really are crazy!

Belinda pulled away from him.
However, Aymon soon pulled her back into the kiss.

Belinda shook her head, pushing him away.

“Mhmph-!”

Even her attempt to stop him was swallowed.
Amused by her reaction, Aymon smiled.

Soon, he calmly separated from her.
A short breath escaped from Belinda’s lips.
Her cheeks were just as red as her lips, swollen after Aymon’s biting and sucking.

Belinda shouted at him in a whisper. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Letting everyone know you’re mine.”

“What?”

Aymon’s answer as he rubbed her lips with his thumb sounded easygoing, but Belinda was dumbfounded.

“I had no choice – these humans needed to know that you’re mine.: 

“Still, this is a little..” 

“I don’t like how the nobles steal glances at you.
If I had my way…”

Aymon stopped talking. 

He wasn’t the only one who noticed Belinda’s beauty.
He was a beast and Belinda was a human, so he couldn’t stand the other humans’ gazes.

But he couldn’t tell her how he felt, so he had no choice but to keep on struggling alone.

Aymon lowered his face again, this time to whisper into her ear.

“Are you ashamed of me, Breedee?”

“No, I just…”

Belinda slurred the end of her sentence, unable to answer properly. 

Of course, she wasn’t ashamed of him.
How could she be ashamed of this tall, dark and handsome young man? The shameful thing was what he’d done, not him. 

She couldn’t understand why he’d kiss her for so long in front of everyone. 

“You didn’t like it?” 

Aymon whispered back. 

Belinda, dumbfounded, burst into laughter.
His face against hers was soothing.

Aymon had been acting strange for a day or two.

She really should have been used to it now, considering that making no sense was Aymon’s specialty, but it was also nice to be surprised every moment.

Aish, I don’t even know. 

Belinda closed her eyes and carefully hugged him, reaching out to the light that filled her world.

His palm was hard against her back.
She could hear his quiet laughter.
She wondered if she should be doing this, but what else could she do? He’d already kissed her.

It would be impossible to get to know Aymon well enough to not be surprised by these things.
She had already adapted to him as much as she could.

If His Majesty scolds me for this, I can just go to Aymon’s house. 

Belinda laughed.

What did it matter? They could just leave if he told them to. 

His reliable figure seemed ever more reliable.
His face against hers was warm.
All she wanted to do was lean onto his chest.

A while later, when they sat down to eat, everyone took off their masks.

When the nobles noticed where Belinda was sitting, silent questions shot everywhere.

This meal was much more than just that – everyone’s power and status was revealed through the seating arrangements.
Each and every seat was meaningful.

What am I doing here?

Belinda squirmed under the table and took a sip of water.
She seemed calm, but was very embarrassed.

She was sitting with the Shinsu instead of the imperial family.
Right next to Aymon, too.

The nobles exchanged knowing looks. 

Their little incident from earlier was already flying around.
No one directly saw them, but it wasn’t too difficult to infer what they were doing.

Right after they left, everyone started to gossip. 

“Did you see that, Count?”

“I saw it, madame!”

“Does that mean what I think it does?” 

“Probably.” 

“Oh, my.”

The flushed lady soon leapt up from her seat and ran to a friend nearby.
Soon, the gasps of shock had spread all around the garden.

It had been revealed.

Seeing that the Emperor didn’t look surprised, it was clear that the imperial family already knew of the relationship.

A joining of the Shinsu and the royal family was unprecedented, a huge event that penetrated the community.

For that reason, the nobles were observing the situation at the dinner table with great interest.

The Emperor raised his glass to toast.
Everyone looked over at him with anticipation, hoping to hear about the topic that everyone had been talking about today.