Tamed Monster - Chapter 118

Hector briefly considered grabbing that bastard by the head and cracking his skull too—but barely managed to rein in the impulse. The problem was, the advice had been right. He couldn’t even lash out in childish anger.

“F**k… you think the kind of female I’d get hard for is just gonna drop out of the sky like magic?”

Ironically, before long, something exactly like that would happen—bringing about a major upheaval in his personal life.

For now, though, Hector spent the entire night venting his frustration by beating up small fry monsters who ran their mouths too freely.

* * *

Once she had fully recovered, the monster husband loosened the ropes binding her—without her even asking.

Sylvia did her utmost not to show her relief. At last, the first condition for escape had been met.

The ground beneath her feet, which she hadn’t stood on in a long time, felt firmer than she remembered. Her legs, however, refused to obey her properly; she wobbled and nearly lost her balance.

Watching her toddle awkwardly like a child learning to walk, the monster let out a soft laugh.

“Cute.”

For someone who called her cute, what he did to her every night was obscenely far from it. She had more than enough retorts ready, but Sylvia kept her mouth shut. Moments like this almost made it seem as if they’d returned to how things used to be—but neither Kuinan nor Sylvia trusted each other the way they once had.

At the very least, Sylvia still believed he wouldn’t truly harm her. Kuinan believed the same. With that fundamental trust shattered, they maintained their marriage like walking on thin ice. Sylvia was going mad with the desire to divorce this fake husband.

“Can I… go out now?”

The moment she was freed, she asked the question—and only succeeded in sharpening his wariness.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Then…”

“You don’t get to demand anything from me. You just take whatever I give you, little by little—like a baby bird being fed.”

It was hard to tell whether the point was obedience or the mockery about being fed like a chick. Sylvia suspected the latter, and her mood soured instantly. She snapped her gaze up, hostile.

“…!”

She got startled hard when she realized how close his face suddenly was—she hadn’t heard him move at all.

She immediately regretted staring him down without thinking.

Just because the ropes were gone didn’t mean she was free. She was still a captive—and instead of placating him, she’d made her hostility obvious. Watching her expression shift so clearly, the monster let out a quiet scoff.

“Thought so.”

“…”

“You’d been acting all meek these past few days. Guess it was all an act, huh?”

His tone wasn’t accusatory. It was calm, as if he’d seen through her from the start. Sylvia had countless things she wanted to say, but none of them left her lips. Anything she said would only provoke him.

“…Hah.”

“Why the sigh? You hate me that much?”

It was the same question he’d asked the day she stabbed him—and again today. Why did she hate him so much? She had a hundred reasons ready, yet kept swallowing them back. Not because she feared for her life—but because she didn’t want to see his face twist any further.

“Hm? Why aren’t you answering?”

Strange. It almost felt as if he were clinging to her.

Did monsters really feel emotions the way humans did? Sylvia was certain they didn’t. Monsters understood rage, lust, jealousy—dirty emotions like that. Especially him. As far as she’d seen, he was jealousy incarnate, as if he knew no other feeling.

“Sylvia.”

It was a familiar word—her name—yet when he spoke it, it felt utterly foreign, as though she were hearing it for the first time in her life.

Unable to bear that sense of wrongness, Sylvia scowled sharply. In spite of her resolve, she’d once again shown him her dislike. The monster’s face fell. He looked briefly dejected—only for a heartbeat—before turning his expression into something cold and inhuman.

“…Fine. I don’t think there’s any need to figure you out anymore. Don’t glare at me like that again. If you do… even you, I’ll kill.”

The monster spoke without thinking. It was a lie. He said it only to unsettle the woman who’d hurt him. But it sounded convincing enough that stark fear spread across her pale face. The moment Kuinan read that expression, his mood plummeted.

‘F**k.’

At that very moment, when silent signals were reaching him from the swamp monsters who’d been strangely quiet, he was wasting precious time, distracted by lovemaking and watching Sylvia’s reactions.

As he turned away in a sulk, Sylvia’s gaze lingered on his neck, then fell. Though he’d healed, the grotesque scar she’d left was branded there like a mark. A wound that would never fade. The dagger coated in poison had left an ugly scar even on a monster’s hardened flesh.

“……”

No one spoke. Heavy silence settled between them. And just before the steward was due to arrive at the bedroom, Sylvia’s mouth was once again forcibly covered by his strong hand.