Chapter 2
Chapter 2
‘What kind of crazy development is this? Besides, I’m not even human right now!’
When Aslan is in his beast form, he loses all reason as a human. He is, quite literally, a wild beast without a leash.
The only one who could control Aslan in this state was the original heroine, with whom he was bonded.
‘And I’m just a passing extra A!’
The moment I open that cage, I’m dead. Definitely dead.
But if I ignore him and run away, Aslan is in danger of crossing the River Styx this time.
His condition was terrible at a glance. He must have been hit by spears and arrows, as his wounds were wide open. A pool of dark red blood had gathered at his feet.
Even though I knew that the true identity of the Black Lion was Aslan, seeing a speechless beast being abused so badly made it hard to ignore.
Vivian, who was just messing up her hair in confusion, decided to try to talk like an intellectual first.
“If I, if I let you out, you won’t eat me, right?”
“Krrr.”
“Q, quickly say yes!”
“Krrr…!”
Vivian despaired. It wasn’t that she expected a beast to have human-level intelligence and emotions.
Even so, she was his fiancée, but the way Aslan looked at her was as if he were looking at a top-grade, dry-aged sirloin steak.
‘Damn it, what’s going on? I’m your fiancée!’
The top-grade sirloin steak wailed sadly. Of course, that didn’t change the current situation.
I don’t know how Aslan ended up in this cage, but the more he struggled, the more terrible his wounds became.
The amount of bleeding on the floor was a clear indication that he didn’t have much time left.
‘He’s really going to die like this. Isn’t there anything I can do?’
Vivian approached the cage first. Then, the Black Lion, who had been howling sharply and baring his fangs, looked up at her.
The bright yellow eyes scrutinized her every move. Even with the huge cage blocking the way, a terrifying pressure weighed down on her shoulders.
‘I can’t just pass by. I’m too weak for animals.’
If she turned away and left now, Aslan would die.
This was a deep mountain with few people. The only human who could save him was herself.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility and save you.”
Even though she knew that the male lead in his beast form had no reason, Vivian couldn’t help but say it.
“So, please save me too. Okay?”
She got an ax from nearby and started hacking at the thick lock.
As Vivian showed signs of breaking the cage, the Black Lion was startled and rose up to stare at her.
He bared his teeth as if he would bite her to death if necessary, but a corner of his bright yellow eyes showed a hint of bewilderment.
“Cough, cough!”
Vivian, who had been concentrating on breaking the lock, suddenly stiffened her shoulders.
A lump of hot blood surged up her throat. It was a Consumption attack.
“Huff, cough, cough!”
Her windpipe was so tight that she couldn’t get her mind right.
Thanks to being plagued by Consumption since right after the possession, she knew that she wouldn’t die from this, but it still hurt like hell.
Vivian gritted her teeth and struck the ax one last time. The lock, which had been rattling precariously, broke in two with a sharp cracking sound.
With a sense of accomplishment that she had finally done it, the tension was released. Vivian collapsed weakly from exhaustion at the same time as the cage opened.
The Black Lion’s eerie growl echoed close by. It seemed he had no intention of saving her.
‘Am I going to die now? I hope at least my corpse will be left intact.’
She couldn’t get her mind right because she couldn’t breathe. It was already too late to run away.
“Krrr!”
A huge shadow loomed over the fallen Vivian.
This was the last sight she recognized before she fainted.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Ugh…”
Vivian blinked blankly as she came to her senses. She was lying in a very dark cave with not a single ray of light.
Why did she suddenly wake up in a place like this? She tried to rationally deduce how she had come to be in this situation.
‘This gloomy atmosphere must be the afterlife.’
She wasn’t sure if her death was due to a Consumption attack, or if she had become the male lead’s food while she was unconscious.
However, Aslan at that time was wounded and had been starving for a long time, so he must have been very hungry.
A feast of colorful mosaics flashed through Vivian’s mind. It was all bright red.
‘Hmm, I’m so glad I don’t remember.’
What’s going to happen to me now?
Vivian sighed softly and was about to get up when she heard footsteps from outside the cave. Bright yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness.
The huge Black Lion was staring intently at Vivian.
“Krrr…”
Feeling that her premonitions weren’t good, Vivian slowly backed away on her butt. But Aslan was even faster to pounce on her.
Thud-
A huge paw heavily pressed down on her chest. Vivian was already lying on the floor. Aslan, who had climbed on top of her as if hunting, glared at her fiercely.
Vivian stared intently into Aslan’s golden eyes and thought.
‘Could he possibly have reason?’
Vivian had never met Aslan since she possessed the novel. That was because she had already been diagnosed with Consumption at that point.
But even though she had never actually met him, Vivian felt the emotion of confusion in his eyes.
He seemed more embarrassed than anyone else right now. It was as if he didn’t understand why he was doing this.
‘Eh, no way.’
Vivian, who had been suspicious, calmly shook her head.
If Aslan had any reason left, he wouldn’t have screwed people over like this.
‘It really hurts!’
She fell and hit the back of her head straight on the stone floor because of the heavy paw. The sound of the watermelon breaking was so clear and bright.
But look at Aslan’s shameless face.
No matter how annoying the other person is, if you make that kind of sound from their head, you’d flinch, but why is he glaring at me like that as if he did a good job?
“What’s wrong with your conscience?”
“Krrr.”
“…Is it?”
She quickly added honorifics to Aslan’s cold growl.
Vivian in the novel didn’t know that Aslan was afflicted with The Curse of Astaroth. That was a top secret known only to a few in the Imperial Family.
Therefore, it was natural to speak informally to him in his beast form.
But no matter what, looking at those terrifying eyes, she couldn’t speak as comfortably as if she were dealing with an ordinary beast.
As Vivian was hesitating, something came into her view.
“Oh my god, the wound!”
Aslan’s left flank was severely torn. Not only that, but he had terrible lacerations all over his body, not just in one or two places.
It was true that Aslan’s claws were scary and she was worried that he would kill her, but seeing those terrible wounds, she couldn’t just ignore them.
“Get your paw off.”
“…”
“I said move it. I’m not going to run away!”
Was it because her sincerity got through, or was it because she was overwhelmed by Vivian’s charisma? Anyway, Aslan hesitated and took his paw off.
She quickly got up and examined Aslan’s flank more closely. Blood was constantly seeping out between the wounds.
He seemed to need treatment right away, but there was no way she could get medicine and bandages in this unknown cave.
Besides, the carriage had overturned because of the bandits, and she had lost all her belongings.
“What should I do…”
For a moment, pity took precedence over fear.
In the original story, Aslan’s childhood, when he was unfairly cursed and relentlessly abused by his father, the Emperor, flashed through her mind.
Locked in a cold bedroom, he had to bandage his wounds himself without anyone’s help, and he had to grit his teeth and swallow the pain while fully conscious…
“He’s in this condition and doesn’t even show it. How much pain must he be in?”
As expected, the most serious condition was the laceration on his left flank. He had suffered such a large wound that his intestines would have been severed if it had been a little deeper.
If his body had been the size of a normal lion, he would have certainly died in one blow.
“I need to stop the bleeding first.”
“Krrr!”
Aslan, who had been breathing roughly as if enduring her touch, finally bared his fangs fiercely.
But Vivian didn’t care and untied her dress straps. Leaving only a white, thin petticoat, she took off all the layers of her skirt that could be used as bandages.
Tear, rip-
The dress, which was lavishly decorated with gold lace and jewels and cost more than a townhouse, was torn like paper in her hands.
It was a dress that cost more than a townhouse, but Vivian’s expression was nonchalant.
After completing the bandage, she grabbed the resisting Black Lion and tied it around the wound. Aslan, who was now embraced by Vivian, couldn’t stand it and struggled again.
“Kwwaaaang!”
“I’m going to save you even if you don’t like it. You have to live first! I don’t even know who made you like this, aren’t you upset that you’re going to die like this?!”
Aslan, who had been twisting his body like crazy, suddenly stopped. He blinked and stared at Vivian silently.
In the meantime, she quickly bandaged him and stopped the bleeding, then stepped back and took a deep breath.
“It’s done now.”
“…”
“It must have hurt, you endured it well.”
Vivian smiled weakly with a tired look on her face. Maybe it was because she had been tense all day, but she felt a slight dizziness.
As Aslan watched her, he hesitated and tried to bring his head closer to her. Suddenly, Vivian, who had been staggering, collapsed to the floor.
“Cough, cough!”
The attack, which she thought had subsided, started again. The reason was that she had taken off all her clothes, leaving only a thin petticoat, in a cave where cold winds were blowing.
“Ugh! Cough, cough!”
Her chest was burning and painfully constricted. Blood flowed back into her throat, tightening her windpipe.
Her vision flickered darkly as she gasped for breath.
It was blackout.
