The Beast of the Albard Mansion - Chapter 16
Desi did not choose freedom. It seemed he decided to stay in the mansion’s dungeon, instead releasing his greedy urges every night.
With continuous disturbances inside and outside the mansion, Father became busy solving the issues. He sought advice from around and tracked the bloodstains.
Initially, he suspected a large beast from the nearby mountains was coming down to the village to eat the livestock. However, there were no bloodstains found outside the village. All evidence and traces were within the village. It was a chilling message that a terrifying beast was living among them in town.
Father forgot what kind of beast he had brought home and how it had grown. He was looking for reasons in the wrong places. He was troubled every day because he had forgotten that the beast he bought from a slave trader as a mere diversion was still breathing in the mansion’s dungeon.
Was it a beast from the mountains? A beast hiding in the village? Or perhaps a demon pretending to be human? He wondered.
Desi did not arouse any suspicion. It was because, every morning, Desi washed himself clean and remained chained. The key was hidden somewhere that could not be seen. During the day, he ate only the white porridge brought by the maids and acted submissively towards people. He erased his instincts and desires completely, behaving like a fully domesticated dog.
So, no one suspected Desi. They noticed he was growing and getting bigger day by day but assumed it was natural for his kind. Only I knew that Desi’s eyes gleamed with a lust for bloodshed.
I couldn’t erase the memory of Desi, his mouth open inside the body of a horse with blood spraying like a fountain against his bright yellow eyes.
Fearful of this memory, I distanced myself from Desi. I stopped visiting the dungeon, which I had frequented several times a day not long ago. Every time I heard about the disappearance of livestock at night, my heart sank, and I unconsciously looked down at my feet.
The dungeon where Desi would be sleeping.
About a month after the first incident, Desi, who had been quietly living in the dungeon, began to howl every midnight. The howling was so loud and sorrowful that it disturbed the sleep of everyone in the mansion.
Desi’s howls sounded like a wolf’s, but also like a ripping scream. It was as if he was opening his mouth wide and trying to vomit everything from his stomach. It was a desperate howl that seemed to come from someone in unbearable pain, crying out to the gods.
What could be so painful? What could be so distressing? He could now roam freely. He must have filled his stomach as much as he wanted. Why was he crying so sorrowfully?
The people in the mansion, already troubled by the unknown beast, became furious as their sleep was disturbed. Father, unable to contain his anger, eventually stormed out in his nightwear, heading to the dungeon with a thick leather whip in his hand.
He must have beaten Desi fervently because Father emerged from the dungeon drenched in sweat. His pajamas were splattered with blood, and red blood dripped from the whip.
Even after such a beating, Desi howled again the next night. Father’s anger exploded at Desi’s continued strange behavior for several days. He was so furious that he regretted buying Desi.
“I shouldn’t have brought such a beast here. I’ll definitely kill him tomorrow.”
Father said this while looking at the sharp sword hanging in the first-floor hall.
“They said he’d be useful for hunting if raised well. All lies. I shouldn’t have trusted that damn slave trader.”
My heart shriveled with fear when Father said he would kill Desi. I realized that, despite being scared of Desi, I still considered him a precious friend. The thought of Desi being killed made my heart feel like it was being torn apart.
It was wrong of Desi to kill livestock owned by others. But I thought it might be his nature, something unavoidable.
I couldn’t understand everything about Desi, but I thought I could understand a little. I couldn’t kill and watch the livestock as they’re slaughtered, but I eat meat too.
I worried all day. What if Desi was really killed? What if Father killed Desi? The weight on my chest made me cry even when I was doing nothing. Ellie comforted me, worried about my darkened mood, but she couldn’t understand my feelings. This heavy concern was a burden only I knew and experienced.
Because I gave Desi raw meat, because I gave Desi the key. And because I liked Desi so much. If anything happened to Desi, I felt I would experience greater guilt and pain. All of this was happening because of my actions. A slight flap of a butterfly’s wings had become a storm that’s come crashing down.
This was all a worry and guilt I had to bear alone.
