Chapter 3
Chapter 3
A considerable amount of time had passed when Vivian, who had collapsed, opened her eyes.
The cave was still dark, and the outside was noisy, with heavy rain pouring down.
She tried to sit up, but fell back down weakly. She seemed to have a slight fever. Her limbs felt heavy, like waterlogged cotton.
'That pattern on the ceiling…'
Lying blankly and blinking, Vivian realized exactly where she was.
The cave of engraving from the novel The Curse of Astaroth.
It was the place where the male lead, who had turned into a beast due to the sudden manifestation of The Curse of Astaroth, accidentally encountered the female lead, who was heading to the capital to find her biological father, Duke Eleonora.
Trapped in the cave due to the heavy rain, the two shared a series of passionate encounters, and Aslan fell in love with the female lead, who accepted his monstrous appearance, and became 'engraved' to her.
Despite having Vivian, a fiancée chosen by the Imperial Family, Aslan cherished the mark of engraving on his and the female lead's bodies above all else.
A Demon Hand engraved to a partner could maintain its human ego even in beast form.
This was a historical event that allowed Aslan, tormented by his identity as a being between human and demon, to finally accept himself.
Vivian knew well how redeemed Aslan must have felt at that time.
'Wait, heavy rain and only the two of us in a cave? That means Aslan and I are also…'
Vivian's shoulders stiffened as she recalled the original plot.
She hadn't realized it before collapsing, but she was spending the night in the same space as Aslan, the male lead.
Even knowing that nothing had happened, she couldn't help but be conscious of it.
Hesitantly looking for Aslan, Vivian froze again.
The spot where she was lying was none other than on top of Aslan's waist as he slept. She had been using a lion as big as a house as a cushion.
'Why? Could it be that he was trying to share his body heat with me…?'
Come to think of it, she hadn't felt that cold despite the heavy rain.
The back pressed against him was as warm as if she were lying on a heated floor, and the thick mane tickling her neck was surprisingly soft.
Just as Vivian smiled without realizing it, feeling touched, the cushion (?) she was lying on twitched greatly.
'Ah.'
Aslan, who had opened his eyes at some point, had been watching her the whole time.
He glanced at the mane Vivian was stroking and frowned deeply. Then, he got up as if shaking her off.
Thud-
"…"
As expected, there was no way the male lead would be kind to me.
The clear and bright sound of a watermelon breaking echoed.
The back of her head, hitting the stone floor, felt like it had finally broken this time. She was afraid to touch it to check.
But more urgent than that was appeasing Aslan, who seemed angry.
He had been sleeping soundly until just now, but now he was belatedly baring his teeth. She had no idea what he was unhappy about.
"Are you, are you hungry?"
"Krrr."
Although she didn't know how to speak lion, that definitely seemed like a sign of affirmation.
Aslan scanned her body under the thin slip, as if gauging how delicious Vivian would be.
The Two-Plus Steak ending was rapidly approaching reality. Growing desperate, Vivian quickly knelt down and teared up as pitifully as possible.
"Sir, I don't taste good."
"…"
"Why, why are you looking at me like that?"
The moment Vivian showed her skinny arms under the slip to emphasize how unappetizing she was, Aslan widened his golden eyes in shock.
It seemed he was greatly disappointed that her arm thickness was no different from the thickness of his tail, despite her being a rare source of food.
Vivian seized the momentum and rubbed her hands together. She was desperate.
"I don't have much time left to live, so please consider this my last act of mercy…"
"Krrr."
"Um, should I be quiet?"
She felt pathetic, using honorifics to a beast that couldn't even understand her. But she couldn't afford to be kicked out in this heavy rain.
Besides, she could hear a rumbling sound, as if a landslide was occurring somewhere in the mountains. It seemed to be not far from here.
'The cave walls are shaking. What if this collapses?'
Right now, Aslan was a beast without ego. Moreover, he was badly injured.
Therefore, she was the only one who could rationally analyze the situation, make judgments, and find a solution.
While Vivian slowly backstepped and poked around, investigating the cave, Aslan sat near the entrance, curled up, watching her every move.
'I feel like I'm going to die from the pressure!'
To reiterate, her family, the Eleonora, was a prestigious military family that had been passed down through the empire for generations.
Vivian's memories from before the possession had disappeared as cleanly as if she had amnesia, but she could use the swordsmanship she had honed as naturally as if it had been hers from the beginning.
Thus, Vivian, whose senses had been trained to the extreme, was currently feeling Aslan's piercing gaze all over her body.
Was it a warning that he would chew her up and swallow her whole if she ran away? She was so overwhelmed that she didn't know what to do.
"Cough, cough."
Vivian stopped moving.
She had overexerted herself a little, and signs of a seizure were already showing. A rough, metallic sound mixed with her shallow coughs.
Vivian was in trouble. There was no medicine or warm tea to soothe her cough, not even a blanket to cover her chilly shoulders.
Thud-
Just then, something heavy was placed on the top of Vivian's head.
Aslan, who had approached at some point, lowered his head and nudged her head with his nose.
When he stood on all fours, his height was equal to Vivian's, and considering that the height of a normal lion was around 130 centimeters, Aslan's physique was truly enormous.
Vivian, who had been purely admiring him, narrowed her eyes for a moment.
Between Aslan's front legs, on his chest, she saw something faintly glowing like a magic circle. It was small in size, but it stood out because his fur was all black.
'An inverted Pentagram? It's quite noticeable, but was there such a description in the original?'
Vivian reached out her hand without realizing it, but Aslan pushed her away faster.
No matter how much she came from a prestigious military family, she couldn't stop the strength of a huge beast.
Vivian went into the corner of the cave as Aslan pushed her.
Just as she was about to sit on a suitable rock, Aslan lay down first, as if stealing her spot. Vivian muttered to herself without realizing it.
"How strange. It looks like he's telling me to lean on him?"
Aslan's tail, hidden in the cave's shadow, slowly moved from side to side. Vivian shook her head.
"There's no way."
The speed at which his tail wagged slowed down noticeably.
"Ah, maybe he's telling me to get out because the cave is his?"
The movement of his tail stopped.
Aslan's gaze as he looked up at Vivian became indescribably strange. But Vivian didn't notice it, as she was staring at the outside of the cave, where heavy rain was pouring down.
The outside of the cave was not visible due to the heavy rain.
She was certain that if she was kicked out there, she would either be swept away and die, or freeze to death.
'I have to stick around no matter what.'
While Aslan turned his head, she slowly lowered her body.
Vivian's original goal was to crouch in a corner away from Aslan, but she tripped over a rock.
The place where she fell was on Aslan's fluffy chest.
'Now that I'm lying here, it's actually quite comfortable.'
She felt a sense of comfort as if she were lying on a scorching hot floor.
Vivian, who was pretending to get up, couldn't bear it and just lay down.
'Am I going to get my head torn off in a surprise attack?'
It was comfortable, but she couldn't help but worry about the safety of her head. Vivian glanced at Aslan.
For some reason, he was stiff and staring intently at somewhere on the cave wall. It was strange, but he didn't seem like a beast about to attack right away.
If she had turned her head to the other side, she would have been able to find the tail that had started moving vigorously again, but unfortunately, that didn't happen.
"Cough, cough."
How long is it going to rain? I hope it's not too long.
Vivian occasionally coughed dryly and soon fell into a drowsy state.
＊ ＊ ＊
She woke up to a loud noise. Heavy rain was still pouring outside the cave, but it was different from the usual sound of rain.
The clanging of metal. The sound of people talking. Subdued footsteps.
Startled, Vivian instinctively tried to get up, but Aslan pressed her down with his front paw.
"What…"
He was guarding the outside while holding Vivian in his arms.
He kept his body close to the ground, taking a posture just before leaping. The clearly bulging muscles revealed the tension he was feeling.
Vivian carefully raised her head and then collapsed again.
'I'm dizzy.'
She had felt unwell even before falling asleep, and it seemed she had finally fallen ill. She had a burning fever, and a hot cough welled up.
"Ugh…!"
Vivian covered her mouth to avoid making a sound. But there was no way she could stop the bursting coughs and spitting up blood.
Immediately, a bitter sensation washed over her.
Aslan's eyes widened as if they would burst as he watched her cough up blood, and the voices from outside stopped.
"I think I heard something just now."
"Where?"
They were discovered.
Vivian quickly turned her gaze. Among the belongings she had taken off with her dress were two narrow daggers. Fortunately, they were standing upright where she had first placed them.
Step by step, the footsteps grew closer.
"Krrr."
Aslan's growl was low and menacing. He seemed to recognize the people outside as enemies.
And that was something Vivian agreed with. Ordinary people wouldn't dare to set foot in the mountains in such heavy rain.
'Thinking about it the other way, that means they have a desperate reason.'
For example, if an enemy who was usually difficult to touch was injured and weakened alone, and they couldn't miss this opportunity no matter what.
'It's an assassin sent by the Crown Prince.'
She realized.
