Chapter 103

“Aymon. Aymon….”

How nice would it be if my torn heart and deep longing flowed away like a river and withered like a flower petal? Days by days, the seasons passed and only the longing became clearer. 

Several times a day, the chill seeped in my body. 

What if it just ends like this?

What if we can’t ever meet again? 

I wanted to die because I couldn’t stop resenting this bitter reality. 

Can we really meet again?

Whether he was alive or dead, I couldn’t give up on waiting because of the faint hope that we could ever meet again someday. There was an overwhelming desire to see Aymon again, at least once. 

That was the only reason.

Belinda clenched her fists and let go. Her divinity lightens up only to be shattered a moment later. If only she could properly build her divinity up, she may be able to find him. 

Far from feeling Aymon’s energy, she had a hard time controlling that power.

Belinda closed her eyes with a bitter smile. Hot drops of water fell and left a mark on the soil. 

After dropping those tears that marked her prolonged and painful longing, she got up. Amid the chilly winter, she wrapped the shawl over her neck and continued walking toward the mansion.

She continued walking down the road of endless waiting.

***

The beast opened his eyes slowly. It just woke up from a nap. The beast got up from its spot, stretched its body, then leapt out.

As it wandered through the forest, it came across a field at one point. The field where the breeze was blowing was turning golden. 

Is the season starting to change already? 

The black leopard crouched and stared vacantly at the grass. The cool wind shook the grass leaves and made a cacophonous noise.

It felt like he had been reminded of something. 

He always feels an unknown fever inside him. He felt anxiety and longing for no reason.  

Such complex emotions didn’t fit a beast whose main jobs were to eat, sleep, and hunt. 

The beast was engulfed in unknown emotions from the moment he woke up until he fell asleep. He was reminded of something every night, but he couldn’t think of anything, so he just closed his eyes quietly.

Swaaaa-

The grass shook in the wind. His life was peaceful and quiet, but he felt like he lost something precious.

But he had no idea what he lost, so the leopard just crouched down and rested his chin on his front feet.

Grrrr…

A miserable groan echoed low before diminishing. It was just as weak as his forgotten longing.

***

The black leopard couldn’t resist his rising anger, so he ran wildly across the forest. He didn’t even know the source of that anger. Unable to resolve the exploding emotions, he ran through the forest with a rough breath. 

The cold morning breeze brushed against his ears, and the cold air pressured him as if piercing his lungs. The leopard, who had been running aimlessly for a long time, finally slowed down when he began to gasp for air. 

He looked around carefully, catching his breath. The grass and flowers were shining candidly as the sunlight poured over them. He definitely had never been to his place, yet he was filled with strange feelings. 

An unfamiliar tree. It was his first time seeing it.

And the smell that he smelled for the first time. The fragrance rushed into his senses like an old memory.

The leopard stopped moving as the fur on his back perked up. He moved as if possessed and came across a small meadow in the forest. 

There was a building standing tall in the middle of it, and beautiful flowers and bushes encircled it like a fortress. It stood there elegantly like a temple. 

The white marble reflecting the morning sun. The smell that messed up his senses gradually deepened. 

The leopard, who roamed around the mansion anxiously, decided to look around the window after a long time. 

A familiar yet unfamiliar scent permeated through the window gap. It strangely prickled his senses. 

「…….」

The leopard stopped breathing for a second.

A warm sun showered down on a woman who was asleep in bed.

Her white shoulders were lightened up by the pouring sunlight sparkling through the window. Long eyelashes and naturally disheveled blonde hair. The subtle line along her collarbone was seen between her cluttered hair. 

He caught a glimpse of her figure through his blurry gaze.

His heart ached as if it was shredding. As if it was dragged across a road full of broken glass. No matter how many thorns stuck into his paws, he never felt this miserable. 

No hunting ever churned his blood this much. He didn’t know anything about the woman in front of him, but his instinct to own her was strong. It was a different kind of obsession he had with his prey. Instead of biting her nape, he wanted to hug her.

The black leopard couldn’t take his eyes off of her as if bewitched. When the human body tossed and turned, he got surprised and stepped back.

And then he turned around and ran away.

Thump, thump.

He concluded that his erratic heartbeat was due to wariness, and ended up escaping out of fear, far away.

But, the leopard started to visit the place every day. In a place that was already filled with flower scents, there was a creature more fragrant than any flower odor there.

Strangely enough, it piqued his curiosity. He felt chills down his spine each time he caught sight of that blonde hair. Afraid of this unknown feeling, he ran away for hours, only to come back there later on.

He hid in the shadows and peeked at her secretly. Sometimes that sweet creature moves or drinks something. She kept walking quietly without getting tired.

Is it because that creature is dense? Or is it because the leopard was really good at hiding? He was able to watch her undetected for a month. 

It was the same that day. The black leopard hid in the distant bushes and observed the creature, only swinging his tail. It was much more fun than climbing trees or taking a nap.

A sweet but gloomy expression. He fixed his gaze on her cloudy face. Strangely enough, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

She definitely wasn’t a prey.

But his secret observation soon came to an abrupt end.

“Ah.”

The woman, who was touching flower petals all by herself, stepped back in surprise. There was a small drop of blood at the tip of her finger.

Startled by the smell of blood, the black leopard popped out of the bushes. A moment later he was stunned by his own act, frozen there like a statue. 

He didn’t know why he jumped out, so he brood over his behavior and wrinkled his nose, but then he sensed some movement. 

The black leopard raised his head without lowering his guard. And soon, he was shocked and stepped back.

“Aymon? Is that you?”

This is because that unknown creature approached him. Her eyes were burning red as if about to cry.

The black leopard stumbled as he stepped back. His fur pricked up along with his heightened anxiety.

“Aymon, Aymon…..”

Her trembling voice soon turned into a sob.

The sight of the female human crying silently took his breath away. It felt like his emotion was thrown into a burning flame. This unfamiliar feeling was similar to fear.

He wanted to run right away, but he hesitated because he couldn’t find a reason for it.

Eventually, the leopard turned around and left.

“Aymon, don’t go!”

He heard the sound that was chasing him. He kept running away from it. His eyes sting everytime the wind brushes past him.

“Aymon. Please….!”

The desperate cry grew farther and farther away. Even the sound of human footsteps stopped.

The black beast continued to run away aimlessly, enduring his erratic and painful heartache. He also crumpled his face as if he was about to cry.

***

The beast hid himself in the bushes. He cleverly hid his footsteps and watched the opponent’s movements. As the bluish light shone at dawn, his blue eyes also shone sharply.

However, his sharp gaze flinched in surprise upon hearing a faint sound from the mansion.

「…….」

The leopard, who had been holding his breath for a long time, carefully raised his head again. As he hid himself in the bushes, his slightly protruding ears flinched. Nervousness came over him just like that.

Now the beast wasn’t hunting. He observed the mansion, waiting for the blonde creature that he had left behind yesterday.

Not even a day had passed, and the beast had returned to that place again. Yesterday, he ran away from her because of fear, but his instinct kicked in again. 

I have to go back.

He couldn’t erase the last image of that human from his mind. 

A face wet with tears and a voice that called out to him desperately. 

The leopard sighed and rubbed his face with his forefoot. It felt like he was hit by a wave of emotion just thinking about it.

He only scratched the ground with his toenails and looked at the mansion.

How long has it been?

When the leaves wetted by the dew at dawn became dry again, the door finally opened. 

The black leopard was surprised and hid himself again.

The sound of human footsteps resounded quietly. It seemed like she took a walk. He pricked his ears and followed the sound for a long time.  

After a while, he mustered his courage to look over the grass and saw a human sitting in a small chair reading a book, perhaps the walk was over. 

That day, the leopard watched the human all day long. As if that’s all he needed to do.

A dark night came again, and a new morning came. Another day had passed. The leopard found the bushes again. Today was a little closer to her than yesterday.

The human was no different from yesterday. She got up late and wandered around the mansion for a long time.

“Aymon….Aymon…?”

She muttered strange words for a long time.

***

“Will you come back if I keep waiting?”

She muttered to herself with a tearful face, sitting in a chair as if losing motivation in living. And after thinking for a while, she picked up a book on the table.

“You will come. Yeah, I’m sure you’ll come back.”

She murmured as if chanting the vow that she made to herself, and forcing the letters into her head with much difficulty. She sat down to read the book and finally got up at lunch.

“Are you being mean because I told you not to come often before we got married?  Since when did you really listen to me so well…?”

She muttered low with a smile, but her voice gradually became watery.  After staring blankly over the forest for a while, she soon entered her mansion.

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That day also ended like that.  The leopard hid himself as he watched the mansion and the human, then returned.

Even though he didn’t do anything, he was strangely satisfied.  When he saw her face, he felt full even if he didn’t hunt.

***

The next day, the beast visited the mansion again. This time, he decided to be brave.

After hiding his presence, he crept closer to the human reading the book in the same posture as yesterday. Very carefully, as if approaching a relaxed prey.