Tamed Monster - Chapter 123

Only a few days after the woman’s letter had been passed to the head steward, another letter arrived—this time addressed to Kuinan.

The sender was unknown. Fortunately, the head steward hadn’t bothered to carefully sift through the dozens of letters stacked together, which allowed Kuinan to read—without incident and with a bored expression—the scrap of paper that several monsters had apparently put their heads together to send him.

[Two nights from now, at midnight, on the moonless night. Come between the two rocky peaks by the Golden River.]

It was just as well the head steward hadn’t read it. Even a glance made it obvious the sender was no ordinary party. A ‘moonless night’ meant a night when the moon did not rise at all. Kuinan could easily guess what they wanted to say to him on such a damp, lightless night where even moonlight failed to reach.

“So now they’re picking a fight by letter, huh….”

It was only natural to respond to provocation with provocation. Kuinan was thoroughly displeased that fellow monsters would summon him to some distant place when he was already busy courting a woman without a moment to spare.

He had long since forgotten what mission he was supposed to be on. All that mattered now was stealing her heart.

“Wait. What was it I was supposed to steal again…?”

He had been so absorbed in Sylvia that he had even managed to forget about the poison, if only briefly. Eventually, he remembered. With a deep sigh, he concluded that he had no choice but to go to the meeting place.

If he didn’t, not only he but Sylvia as well would surely become a target of the enraged monsters.

“Is there another hopeless romantic like me? And she doesn’t even appreciate it….”

Muttering resentfully, he tore the letter to shreds and tossed it into the fireplace, then stared up at the ceiling. The Grand Duke’s office and study lay directly beneath the couple’s bedroom. It was about time for her to wake up. Perhaps because he hadn’t let her sleep until deep into the night, she still seemed to be sleeping soundly.

‘So what if I took care of myself a bit? If she was going to sleep anyway, what was the point of staying awake together all night?’

He had told her several times he wouldn’t touch her, yet she hadn’t believed him. It had been an unpleasant night all around. He’d thought his mood might improve in the morning, but the unexpected letter from those idiot monsters sent it sinking even lower than the night before.

Exposing the secret of the poison, identifying its source, destroying every last bit of it. It was an undeniably important mission. And yet, for some reason, he no longer felt any drive to see it through.

He remained in this house out of sheer inertia, but truthfully, the only thing he wanted to do was drag the woman back to his own lair.

Thump.

Crash—.

“Oh. Looks like she’s awake.”

The gloom clouding his handsome face vanished as a grin spread across it. He’d played a little prank before leaving the bedroom, and it seemed his wife had been thoroughly startled.

After all, he’d wrapped her up tightly in the blankets so she couldn’t see or move. She must have struggled, thinking she’d been kidnapped, and fallen out of bed.

“I wonder if she’s hurt.”

He didn’t want her injured, but judging by the loud noise, she might have bruised herself somewhere. If she had, he could use that as an excuse to stay close to her. Then maybe indulge in a little skinship while he was at it. It wouldn’t be because he was a pervert, of course. He’d be touching her purely to help her heal.

“Well, I should go check…”

He hesitated for about ten seconds, not wanting to rush in and scare her, then finally moved. By his standards, he’d shown remarkable restraint. If he’d charged in the moment she woke up, she might have fainted from shock. He even counted to a hundred in his head before going in—albeit belatedly.

That meant he’d counted ten per second. He was that impatient.

Despite all that hesitation, the moment he appeared, Sylvia startled as if she’d seen a monster and promptly rolled off the bed again. After scrambling back up, she landed hard once more, groaning as she glanced up at him cautiously.

Like someone caught in the act of trying to run away.

Tilting his head slightly for the first time in a while, he dismissed it as his imagination and greeted her lightly. The woman, clad in nothing but a thin nightgown, nodded awkwardly. He tilted his head the other way.

‘Must be my imagination. I’ve been treating her this well—unless she wants to break a leg….’

He forcibly suppressed the destructive instincts stirring in his dark, monstrous heart and put on a deliberately cheerful smile.

If she truly attempted to escape, he would not let it slide. Love or no love, he would break her.

With that cold resolve, the leader monster of the western swamp made up his mind.