Tamed Monster - Chapter 58

Now, this insignificant woman was acting up under her husband’s overprotection.

“You’ve finally lost your mind.”

Speaking plainly, Rossa stepped forward, but Sylvia lowered the hand clutching her gown’s front and stared her down.

It was surprising that she didn’t look away. Has she ever shown such resolve before? The atmosphere was like a mouse cornered by a lion, overwhelmed by a predator.

Rossa hesitated and took a step back unintentionally.

“What’s the matter? You stopped talking midway.”

“…Huh? Wait, what am I—”

Crushed by the simple look in Sylvia’s eyes, she made a clumsy mistake without thinking.

Her face turned red with embarrassment for a moment, but soon that shame turned into anger. As always, she was about to shout to intimidate her daughter-in-law.

Just as Rossa took a deep breath, ready to explode, her eyes caught sight of the opening in Sylvia’s gown. Her eyes widened in shock and her breath froze.

“…”

Huh?

“I’m tired, so may I lie down now?”

Sylvia’s weary voice was met with half-deaf ears with Rossa. Half of it seeped in; half bounced off. She understood the “tired” part but missed what came next.

Thanks to this, Rossa didn’t get any angrier and could focus her attention on what she’d just seen.

It was the mark of a monster.

Though there was no clear sign between Sylvia’s pale b*****s, Rossa’s eyes widened as she realized the detestable girl had been tainted by a monster.

She suspected that Lancart’s unusual tenderness toward Sylvia lately might be the result of this influence.

“…I see.”

Exhaling deeply, she clenched her fists, wiping the sweat under her nails with the other hand.

Rossa was a former foreign dancer. Unlike Sylvia, her homeland had not yet fallen but had suffered many monster invasions. She knew more than she let on about monsters’ traits and biology.

Monsters were the vilest, strongest creatures on earth, living with a relentless destructive hatred for all life except themselves.

That much was common knowledge. More detailed traits, however, were known only to a few.

Surprisingly, Rossa knew as much about monsters as the empire’s lower-level monster researchers. Or rather, she “remembered”.

She’d once encountered a female monster—tall and grotesque, with a long neck and slitted eyes—through a child’s eyes. The impression was simple yet terrifying. The monster never killed her but tried to, leaving a mark on her in the process.

Around the heart, the air shimmered and twisted like a heat haze.

Later, Rossa accidentally overheard a researcher at the palace explaining this was caused by the monster’s demonic energy.

Humans couldn’t cause such eerie phenomena. Especially a frail girl like Sylvia. Normally, simply arguing with her would exhaust her, but this girl had subdued her without effort—proving something was very wrong.

‘Where could she have been contaminated?’

Sylvia had been locked away in the mansion the whole time, and no one knew when she came into contact with a monster. But now was the time to stay calm and retreat.

Rossa harbored a deep hostility toward Sylvia.

Until now, she’d only looked down on her as a worthless girl who took her precious son away. But now, she saw her as a threat to her son’s life.

She silently planned to poison Sylvia. This vulgar, disgusting girl could no longer be near her son for even a moment.

Unaware of Rossa’s plotting, Sylvia turned and walked back to the bed. She sighed deeply, and without a word, Rossa quietly left the room. Surprisingly, she had conceded—something Sylvia greatly admired since it had never happened before.

‘Today, the sun must have risen in the west.’

Like a carefree monster, Sylvia closed her eyes without a second thought and fell into a deep, uninterrupted sleep until her husband returned home around noon.