The Beast of the Albard Mansion - Chapter 26
“Why are you sitting on the floor?”
“It’s comfortable here.”
“It’s hard though. You shouldn’t sit on the floor. Usually, people sit on chairs.”
“That’s what humans do.”
“You’re just like humans too, Desi. You don’t need to wear a collar or be chained up. You don’t have to follow orders either.”
“…Anyway, I can’t sleep in the same bed as you. That’s a different matter.”
Desi was stubborn.
I grabbed Desi’s arm and struggled with him for a while. I wanted him to get on the bed and sleep together, but Desi insisted that he couldn’t. We argued without either of us backing down, but eventually, I lost. My argument that no one sleeps on the floor was more reasonable, but I couldn’t physically pull Desi up.
No matter how hard I pulled, Desi wouldn’t budge. It felt like fighting with a pillar fixed to the ground. Exhausted, I collapsed on the bed.
“Desi, you’re so stubborn.”
“…”
Desi glanced at me from under the bed with a look that seemed to say, “You’re just the same.”
Giving up on sharing the bed, I gave Desi a blanket from the room. It was small and could only cover his upper body, but I didn’t have a bigger one.
“I’ll get another blanket tomorrow.”
“No need.”
“Are you going to sleep without covering up?”
“I always did. And the floor isn’t cold here.”
“Then cover yourself with this. If you don’t, get on the bed and share the blanket with me.”
“…I’ll just use this.”
Desi covered himself with the blanket I gave him. His legs were sticking out, but it made me feel a bit better. Desi looked tired and closed his eyes tightly. He seemed very confused.
I lay down and watched Desi under the bed. Just knowing he was so close in my room made my heart flutter.
No matter how long I looked at Desi, I never got tired of him. Even the most beautiful flowers eventually become dull when you stare at them for too long, but not Desi.
While I was staring at Desi instead of sleeping, I heard shouts and screams outside the window, and people were running around. Everyone had realized Desi was gone.
People were terrified by the hunter’s words that Desi would bring other werewolves. The commotion didn’t die down as time passed.
Father yelled that they had to find Desi before he got too far, and many people went outside to search the village and the forest.
While chaos reigned outside, my room was quiet and peaceful. People were steeped in confusion and fear, but Desi and I felt calm and serene.
I wasn’t afraid of the noise outside. The moonlight softly lit the room, making it feel safe. Desi just perked his ears but kept his eyes closed quietly. No one would think Desi was in my room.
They must be searching in the wrong places. Thinking that made me chuckle softly. I had tricked everyone, and it seemed like the good child inside me had completely disappeared.
I lay down and pulled the blanket over me. It felt strange. It was as if I had entered a different world. The world that I thought could never change had transformed just by my own will. The strict rules were broken, the lines blurred, and the walls crumbled. There was nothing I couldn’t do now. Only what I wanted to do.
“Sleep well, Desi.”
“You too.”
“If you get cold while sleeping, you can come up to the bed.”
“No thanks.”
I thought it would be better to sleep beside Desi. I hugged the blanket instead of him.
The hunter would stay in the mansion. Father wouldn’t let him go, worried about what the lost beast might do. The hunter would pretend to search for Desi but wouldn’t find him.
He wouldn’t come into my room. No hunter would dare search a noble lady’s room.
If I kept Desi hidden here, the hunter wouldn’t find him even if he stayed for a long time. Tomorrow, Father would still be furious, and the mansion would remain on edge, but I didn’t care. I was confident I could feign ignorance. I was good at keeping quiet.
I had stolen something from Father. He wanted to kill Desi, but I acted first and saved him. I smiled with satisfaction at that thought.
I thought I couldn’t defy Father, unlike my older sister. She fought with Father to go to the academy and even staged a s**cide attempt to get her way.
Maybe the same blood flows through us after all. In the end, I rebelled too.
I finally realized I had always wanted to defy Father. Now, I had rebelled and gotten what I wanted.
The approaching sleep was sweet. Despite the noisy sounds from outside, I fell asleep peacefully.
