Chapter 52
As Keivrand’s face approached, Iris closed her eyes tightly.
“Don’t close your eyes.”
His voice was very close to her ears.
“Look over there.”
‘Look over there?’
Something’s not right, she thought.
Something different from what she had imagined seemed to be happening, so she opened her eyes slightly.
Keivrand wasn’t facing her. With their cheeks glued to one another, he was looking somewhere over the bushes.
She also turned slowly and stared at where he was looking.
There was a vast open space beyond the bushes, and in the middle,
“A deer…?”
A deer was hopping as if it was dancing.
The deer, with its long, splendid horns, jumped around the open space joyfully with its long, slender legs, as if something very good had happened today.
Iris opened her eyes wide and captured the scene.
“So?”
Asked Keivrand.
“What…?”
“Isn’t it cute?”
“It’s cute, but…”
The reason why her face was so hot is because she was ashamed of her strange delusion just now.
‘What’s wrong with me?’
It was an act that she wanted to avoid because it’s scary and she hated it. So the first time she was petrified, and she even heard that she was like a stone.
She knew it would be the same for the rest of her life. Even if she slept with Keivrand one day, she knew it would be because it’s her duty and not because she wanted to. And it would remain such an act.
‘But what’s this? This guy doesn’t even think about it, and I’m the only one…’
Come to think of it, there’s no reason to go into the forest and do such a thing.
And yet she had been blushing with anxiety, and in her own delusion…
How silly did she look?
‘I’m glad Kei can’t read my mind.’
She was very glad. If she had been caught, it would have been hard to see Keivrand’s face for a while.
“Irie? Why is your face so red?”
Keivrand asked in a small voice. Iris clenched her lips and shook her head. Keivrand’s eyes narrowed as if he found it interesting. Her heart sank.
“Did you think we were going to do something here, Irie?”
“N-no.”
She stuttered.
Keivrand’s eyes got bigger and thinner again.
“I’ve never seen you stutter before. I think my guess is right.”
“No, Kei.”
She tried to push his chest down by pretending to be stern, but Keivrand tightened his hand around her waist. The tip of his fingers penetrated through her waist like the wind.
“Ack!”
While trying to suppress the sensation, she had forgotten to keep her voice down. The strange sound echoed through the dark, quiet forest.
The jumping deer stopped and looked their way.
“Oops. We’ve been caught.”
Keivrand muttered as he lifted himself and Iris up.
The deer perked up one ear and walked toward Keivrand. The deer, who was walking in a happy way, widened its eyes when it saw Iris getting up next to Keivrand.
The deer, which had been frozen for a while, swerved around and ran away through the trees.
“Ah, he ran away.”
“Why did he run away?”
“I don’t know. Afraid of you?”
“But Wallace knows I can’t hurt him.”
Keivrand chuckled.
“Wallace is embarrassed that he’s a deer. He wants to hide the fact that he’s such a cute deer.”
“But he has such nice horns.”
“That’s right. He’ll love it if you tell him that later.”
As soon as his words fell, Keivrand turned into a wolf.
“We beastmen, our blood stirs at night on a full moon. So, twice a month, every time the full moon rises, it becomes unbearable and we transform.”
It was a fact that Iris didn’t know.
Until now, she couldn’t understand how a beastman who never turns into a beast for the rest of its life could be caught.
Now she knows why.
“Can’t you endure it? Do you feel like you’re going to die?”
When asked by Iris, Keivrand let out a growl.
He was laughing.
“No, I don’t think I’m going to die…How do I put it…”
Keivrand glanced at Iris and suddenly put his front feet on her shoulders.
Iris’ knees bent under the heavy weight.
Keivrand, who supported himself on Iris and staring at her, licked her cheek.
“It’s like wanting to eat something that’s in front of me but I know I can’t, Irie.”
“An appetite?”
Keivrand snarled and laughed again.
“No, Irie. That thing that filled your head a little while ago and dyed your face red. It’s like that.”
Iris squinted and stared at Keivrand.
“It’s not like that.”
“Not like what?”
She didn’t know what to say when Keivrand asked. If she says sexual desire, it’ll be the same as admitting that her head was full of such thoughts.
Keivrand squinted his eyes and grinned. Even though he was a wolf, Iris could clearly feel that he was teasing her.
Iris pressed her forehead against Keivrand’s big nose.
“Don’t make fun of me, Kei. I’m going to smack your ass if you act like a spoiled puppy.”
“Oooh, I’m scared.”
Keivrand lowered his front feet and sat with his back facing Iris.
“What, you want me to beat you?”
“If that’s your taste, well, you can hit me a few times.”
“I don’t have that kind of taste.”
“Then get on.”
“Huh?”
“Back, Irie.”
“On your back?”
“Yes, on my back.”
Keivrand laid down. Iris stared down the back of the black wolf, which was perfect for riding. She had never even thought of riding a wolf.
“What if I break your back…”
The wolf laughed while on his stomach.
“Are you afraid I won’t be able to hug you at night?”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
The wolf’s tail wagged like a dog’s tail.
“Get on, Irie. I have a stronger waist than you think.”
Iris gently climbed on Keivrand’s back with anxiety. There was a bend in the middle of the waist, so it was surprisingly comfortable.
When she settled down, he slowly rose up.
“Kyak!”
Iris let out a gasp and grabbed Keivrand’s neck fur hard.
“Hold on, Irie.”
Keivrand walked slowly. Trying to find her balance, Iris hugged him by the scruff of his neck.
Then, Keivrand’s steps began to accelerate.
“Hey, Kei.”
“I’ll run, Irie.”
Before she could say anything, the giant black wolf cut through the wind.
It felt completely different from riding a horse.
Keivrand’s strong back muscles which were against her butt moved rhythmically.
Between the dense trees in the forest, Keivrand maneuvered his body with dexterity.
Iris screamed several times because she thought they would bump into a tree every time they approached one. But after some time, she came to believe that it was impossible for Keivrand to hit a tree.
With her trust in him and hugging his neck tightly, she was able to capture the fast flowing scenery.
It was fantastic.
She felt like she was having a wonderful dream.
A long time later, the two were back where they had started. Iris got off Keivrand and stood facing him.
Even though he ran like that, Keivrand didn’t seem tired at all.
She stroked the black wolf’s face. The wolf closed his eyes with a pleased look and accepted her touch.
“That was great, Kei.”
“As much as you want in the future.”
His reply, which seemed natural, was very warm.
She thought she could have a good dream tonight without the Sleep Stone.
* * *
At the time when Keivrand was running through the forest with Iris on his back.
A deer stood in front of a giant lion with a gloomy look on its face.
The giant lion, which could eat the deer in one bite, laid on its front paws and yawned as if it was bored.
“It’s not the time to be yawning, Nathan!”
“Wallace, I don’t care if sister-in-law laughs at you.”
“It’s easy for you to say that because you’re a lion. A lion is cool even if you’re caught.”
“Is it more important to you that sister-in-law find out you’re a deer, or that we’re beastmen?”
“That we’re beastmen, of course. No wonder sister-in-law already found out that the boss is a wolf. She’s smart. Oh, come on. Stop yawning.”
“I’m sleepy.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
Wallace envied Nathan, who could turn into a lion, the king of the animal kingdom.
He was like a little girl when he was human, yet he can transform into a lion.
Wallace poked the lion in the ribs trying to fall asleep with his long, splendid horns.
“Agh! It hurts!”
The lion sprang up and opened its mouth.
The big, terrifying fangs were revealed, but the deer slapped the ground with its front feet, showing no signs of fear.
“She doesn’t think the deer from earlier was me, does she?”
“How many times have you asked that? It has nothing to do with me whether she thinks it’s you or not. Get out of here before I bite that thin, fragile neck!”
The lion growled as if it was about to bite at any moment, but the deer mumbled gloomily, digging the ground with its horns.
“Sigh. Sister-in-law shouldn’t have noticed that I’m the deer…”
“Ha, a real persistent deer fawn.”
* * *
The Crown Prince didn’t attend the second wedding rehearsal.
While the ladies were still busy whispering about the unbelievable fact that the Crown Prince had asked Iris for a dance yesterday.
Britney broke from the group because they all seemed to be laughing at her.
‘It doesn’t make sense. Iris must have used some kind of trick.’
Perhaps she had given the Crown Prince a lot of money and asked him to dance with her.
Of course the upright Crown Prince wouldn’t do such a thing, but Britney was distraught.
She had asked him for a dance, but was rejected. It was also unusual for a lady to ask for a dance first, so this will be a topic of conversation for a long time now that it has happened to her.
She couldn’t raise her face because of the sense of shame, but she was afraid everyone would talk more if she didn’t attend the party. Wearing a dress that was fancier than yesterday, she tried to act more confidently.
But just because she was trying, doesn’t mean that yesterday’s events didn’t happen.
“Look at Miss Britney. She’s trying to pretend not to care, but I feel sorry for her.”
“She asked the Crown Prince for a dance first, but got rejected…Did you see the look on her face?”
“Oh, I would have died on the spot. I can’t believe she’s shameless enough to attend the party again.”
“I’m sorry for Countess Green too. She’ll be treated the same way because of her sister. How embarrassing would that be?”
Actually, such rumors were unlikely, but it was clear that similar rumors would come and go.
‘This is all because of Iris. She’s been playing tricks on me…’
Britney glared at Iris. Iris was sitting next to Keivrand in another elegant dress.
Their eyes met. A smile spread across Iris’ lips.
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‘She’s mocking me!’
Yesterday’s shock made her head a mess, so she couldn’t think properly. She thought she would have to rip that girl’s head off to calm down.
Britney pulled up her nails and rushed toward Iris.
== Translator’s Note ==
1. Please report any typos, grammatical/spelling errors, sentences you find weird, and other etc…in the comment section .