The Beast That Licks Me - Chapter 2.4

Well, he has every right to be tired.

Rosette watched outside until the harbor appeared as just a dot, then got up from her seat. Evan had completely entered dreamland. With a sigh, Rosette turned off the oil lamp and lay down on the bed. The bed smelled faintly of disinfectant and salt.

Thanks to Rosette’s love for roses, her bed at home always carried the scent of roses. In winter, Becky would even warm her bed with a bed warmer. Compared to that bed, this one was hard, and the quality of the fabric touching her skin was poor. But she had no complaints. Rather, she felt excited.

The reason she wasn’t anxious despite the unfamiliar sleeping place, unfamiliar smells, and unfamiliar objects all around was probably because Evan was by her side.

Rosette held onto Evan’s shirt as she closed her eyes, afraid someone might take him away during the night. Evan’s scent reassured her. Rosette whispered in a voice barely audible.

“Good night, Evan…”

***

“You still haven’t found her?”

Stefan glared at the man with bloodshot eyes. The man in worn clothes carefully nodded with frightened eyes.

“Well… we almost caught them, but they escaped… ugh!”

Stefan grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him close. Since Stefan was much taller than the man, the man’s feet dangled in the air. The man looked at Stefan with terrified eyes, unable to breathe and turning blue.

“What do I hate most?”

“He-hearing about the process.”

“Right, the process isn’t important. The result is what matters. You’ve made me angry twice now.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Stefan threw the man aside with disinterested eyes. Crash! The man’s body was flung into a corner. The man prostrated himself before Stefan. Stefan tapped the man’s head with the toe of his shoe, tap, tap.

“Let’s do better. Hmm? How can I let some dog take what’s mine? What does that make me?”

“I’ll… do my best.”

“This isn’t working.”

Stefan stomped on the man’s shoulder with his shoe. Though the man’s face turned deathly pale, he couldn’t even properly scream.

“I believe I just said that the process isn’t important. Are you forgetting that again? Birdbrain?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

After repeatedly stomping on the man’s hand with his heel, Stefan looked down at him with eyes as if he were regarding an insect.

“Find them. Without fail. Your best effort isn’t important. Finding them is what matters.”

“Y-yes, I understand. I will definitely find them. Even if it costs me my life…”

Only after hearing the man’s firm answer did Stefan’s kicking stop. The man’s hands were terribly crushed and mangled. The man rose from his place, holding that hand with his other one. As he opened the door to leave, Stefan stopped him.

“If you find them, shoot the man with her on the spot.”

“…Understood.”

Thud. The door closed after the man left. Crunch, Stefan stared intently into space while biting his fingernails.

***

When Rosette opened her eyes, she discovered Evan sleeping half-naked beside her. Since it was midday, Rosette could clearly see every part of Evan’s body. His thick, long neck and seemingly solid shoulders. Rosette tried to quietly slip out of bed, even holding her breath, but couldn’t because Evan was completely wrapped around her.

“What’s wrong, Rosette?”

Evan seemed to have awakened and was looking at Rosette with sleepy eyes. Rosette startled and turned her gaze away.

“Let me go, Evan.”

“I don’t want to.”

Evan pressed down on Rosette’s body even more firmly. Rosette looked at Evan in surprise. Evan was looking at her with a playful smile.

“I said, let me go!”

“Can I kiss you?”

“…What?”

“No?”

Evan’s voice calling to her was incredibly seductive. Like someone enchanted by a siren, Rosette found herself nodding without realizing it.

“Go… go ahead.”

At Rosette’s words, Evan’s eyes curved as he gently embraced her. Lightly biting her lower lip, Evan delved into Rosette’s mouth, which was slightly open in a daze. The kiss was gentle. Each time their tongues entwined wetly, the inside of her thighs tightened.

“Mmm…”

Rosette was a little sad about how good it felt. She thought she might become addicted to this kiss. Just then, someone burst through the door. There stood Sarhen, Benedict, Stefan, and Becky, looking at her with angry eyes. Both Rosette and even Evan stared back at them with shocked expressions.

“You fox-like bastard! How dare you do this to my daughter…!”

“To think my daughter would get involved with the dog she raised…”

“Rosette, are you crazy?”

“Miss…”

Sarhen approached and grabbed Evan by the hair. Evan, who hadn’t budged at Rosette’s touch, was dragged away like a harvest-time sweet potato.

“You crazy fellow! You crazy fellow!”

“S-Sarhen! I’m sorry!”

Rosette, who had been frozen watching the scene, suddenly came to her senses. She hurriedly began to stop Sarhen.

“M-Mom! Don’t do this! I wanted it too!”

Sarhen didn’t even pretend to hear Rosette’s words and continued repeating, “You crazy fellow! You crazy fellow!” Rosette stood in front of Evan with her arms spread wide and shouted loudly.

“Oh, I did it because I wanted to!”

With those words, Rosette opened her eyes. Dust falling from the wooden ceiling sparkled as it caught the sunlight. Rosette slowly turned her head to the side. Evan was looking at her with his upper body undressed, exactly like in her dream.

What is this? Was it a prophetic dream?

The only difference was that Evan was looking at her with slightly sleepy eyes, as if he had just woken up.

“Good morning… Rosette.”

It seems his habit of oversleeping was the same whether he was human or a divine beast. Rosette patted Evan’s head and back as she always had, then, startled, quickly withdrew her hand. This is why habits are frightening.

“Why, why are you undressed?”

“It’s hot. And I feel a bit dizzy.”

At the mention of dizziness, Rosette tilted her head. Evan’s complexion alternated between turning blue and pale white. Evan whimpered like a sick puppy and burrowed into Rosette’s embrace. It was behavior typical of mammals when they feel anxious.

“Dizzy? What do you mean diz…”

Before finishing her sentence, Rosette felt her head spinning like the morning after drinking too much.

“…Ah. I’m dizzy too.”

“Rosette too…?”

“Yes… Must be seasickness.”

When she read about it in books, she thought even seasickness would be somewhat romantic, but experiencing it firsthand, this was reality itself, far from romance. If she moved just a little too vigorously, she felt she might throw up everything she had eaten the day before. Rosette tried to get up but slumped back down.

“Ah.”

It felt exactly like dying.

Rosette had felt this way before. Long ago, seeking romance, she had tried riding in a hired carriage with poor suspension. The carriage seat had been saturated with tobacco smell, and to mask it, someone had heavily sprayed cheap perfume, making it twice as difficult. In the end, Rosette got out in less than 3 minutes and returned home in her family’s carriage that had been following.

Even those 3 minutes had been hellish, and now she had to endure this state for days. Just then, the ship rocked heavily as if hitting a large wave. Though brief, it was enough to worsen Rosette’s condition. Rosette finally rushed to the bathroom.

Only after throwing up everything she had eaten yesterday did Rosette stagger to her feet. In the mirror, a woman with wildly sticking-out hair and withered-looking skin stared back at her with a pale face. Rosette’s condition was so severe it was hard to believe she had been a well-cared-for noble young lady until yesterday. Well, at least there’s little chance of being recognized, Rosette thought as she roughly dabbed some cold water on her head and came out.

“Evan, wash up. Washing my face made me feel a bit better…”

Evan staggered to his feet at Rosette’s words. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Rosette was overcome with anxiety. What if it was the Count couple and Stefan, like in her recent dream? Fear filled Rosette’s mind like black ink.

“Evan, keep your clothes on.”

“But it’s hot.”

“Quickly.”

Evan grumbled but put on his clothes. Rosette pulled her shawl close and carefully approached the door.

“Who is it?”