The Beast That Licks Me - Chapter 1.8
With each word from Sarhen, Benedict’s massive body seemed to shrink. Rosette looked at Evan with concern. Evan, remembering something else, clapped his hands and said.
“And Sarhen likes to act.”
“…Act?”
Rosette looked at Sarhen in disbelief. Sarhen, who had been confidently criticizing her husband with folded arms, turned deathly pale.
“Sometimes when I visit her room, she’s acting passionately with a book. ‘Oh, Countess! Why are you a countess?’, ‘Before you, I am not a countess! I’m just a woman…’ mmph!”
Sarhen rushed over at lightning speed and covered Evan’s mouth. It was a rather inelegant gesture for a countess.
“Mmph!”
“Be quiet.”
Evan, his mouth covered again, looked displeased. However, Sarhen’s face was so terrifying that he cowered and watched her cautiously.
“I never did that.”
“But…”
“I said I never did that.”
“Okay…”
Rosette sighed as she watched the scene unfold like a play.
“Now everyone understands that he’s Evan, right?”
“No matter what, how could a dog become a human…!”
“I’m just as shocked as you are. But if I had really brought in a man, I wouldn’t have called my parents—I would have pushed Evan off that balcony while the door was closed.”
Evan shuddered at Rosette’s terrifying words, which she delivered without blinking an eye.
“If you don’t believe I’m Evan, I could tell a few more things…”
“No!”
“Stop it.”
“Don’t!”
At the three’s vehement opposition, Evan quietly closed his mouth again. Rosette looked at the dejected Evan. He was still childlike despite his size. No, dog-like.
“And Evan isn’t just any dog. He’s a divine beast. Perhaps this transformation into a human is also God’s will?”
“That could be true.”
“Why on earth did he turn into a human…?”
Sarhen muttered ominously.
“For now, it would be best to keep Evan’s existence hidden. If rumors spread that Evan has become human, people from the temple might come again.”
“That’s a good idea. They might demand we return him.”
Sarhen agreed with Rosette’s suggestion. Since Evan was a divine beast who appeared with God’s power, the temple had always been eager to take him back. In reality, they were more interested in the large donations the count’s family made each time they asked for Evan’s return, rather than actually getting him back.
If Evan’s saliva could heal people other than just Rosette, he would have been taken by the temple long ago. Still, occasional visits to the temple were unavoidable, and Evan hated going there because he had to undergo all sorts of examinations each time.
“Then where should we keep him? His appearance is too eye-catching.”
People often say that handsome individuals have statue-like appearances. Evan was exactly like that. Evan’s appearance resembled a statue cast in gold. With honey blonde hair that looked like melted gold and eyes the color of pure sapphire. If dropped in a plaza, Evan would undoubtedly be the most eye-catching among everyone. The three of them fell into deep contemplation regarding Evan, who was wearing lace pajamas.
“We can’t suddenly claim he’s an adopted son.”
“We can’t make him a servant either. Being this handsome…”
“That’s true.”
“How about saying he’s a cousin from far away? That he came to celebrate my birthday yesterday and is staying at the mansion for a few days.”
“That would be best.”
It was fortunate that yesterday had been Rosette’s birthday.
“What should we name him?”
“Evan Taylor would be good. My maiden name.”
“Yes, Evan Taylor.”
“Am I Evan Taylor now?”
“Yes. You’re Evan Taylor.”
“I like any name you give me.”
Evan’s bright smile while saying that was truly harmful to the heart. Judging by Sarhen’s similar reaction, it seemed it wasn’t harmful only to Rosette’s heart.
“As for etiquette and such…”
“Let’s say he grew up in the countryside without proper distinctions.”
“That would be good.”
“By the way, seeing that you only dressed him in those clothes, I assume he was naked?”
“Yes… that’s right.”
Sarhen massaged her temples as though she had a headache. Rosette blushed, feeling unnecessarily embarrassed.
“Has anyone else seen Evan?”
“Judy. She saw him when she came to wake me up.”
“Must have been quite a shocking sight.”
Sarhen said, looking down at the tapestry soaked with water that had overflowed from the basin. Left speechless, Rosette smiled awkwardly.
“I’ll make sure that girl keeps quiet. We need to start preparing for your wedding soon, and we can’t have problems arising from this situation.”
Wedding preparations. At Sarhen’s words, Rosette felt like she’d suddenly returned to reality. Right. She had accepted the proposal. What happened this morning was so overwhelming that yesterday’s events felt like a dream.
“Yes, please do.”
Sarhen and Benedict were too preoccupied to notice Rosette’s visibly gloomy expression from the moment they mentioned it. Approaching Evan, Sarhen said firmly.
“First, we need to bathe him. He smells like a dog.”
***
Rosette rested her chin on her hand, watching the cake disappear rapidly before her. And across from her, a picture-perfect man was stuffing cake into his mouth.
When he heard the word “bath,” he looked disgusted and ready to run away, so Rosette persuaded him with cake. Since she hadn’t given him much when he was a dog for health reasons, that persuasion fortunately worked. And fortunately, the human version of bathing didn’t seem too bad. Evan grinned happily as he put the large chocolate cake into his mouth.
“Evan.”
“Yes, Rosette.”
“You look happy despite having taken a bath.”
“Yeah. When I was a dog, I hated baths because my fur would stay damp afterward. But now, when I dry off with a towel, I become fluffy right away. I think I might start liking baths.”
“That’s good.”
“If I can eat cake like this after bathing.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
After devouring a slice of chocolate cake, Evan put down his fork and stretched, but suddenly made an uncomfortable face.
“But it’s a bit uncomfortable. Do I really have to wear clothes all the time?”
“Yes. People all wear clothes, don’t they? You’re human now, so you need to wear them too. That’s what civilized people do.”
“Sarhen and Benedict sometimes don’t wear clothes in the bedroom. They also make strange noises. Oh, do you only take off clothes when making strange noises?”
“Evan, shut up. Don’t say anything more.”
“Okay.”
Unintentionally learning about her parents’ marital relationship, Rosette silenced Evan with harsh words. Evan held the fork in his mouth and watched Rosette’s reaction.
“If I keep quiet, can I have another piece of cake?”
“…You can have it all.”
Saying that, Rosette pushed her Earl Grey cake toward Evan. Evan happily stabbed his fork into the cake.
Knock knock.
Rosette turned her head at the sound of knocking. It was Becky.
“Miss, Mr. Stefan requests to see you.”
“Why?”
“He says he has something urgent to discuss. Shall I guide him to your room?”
Rosette looked at Evan and hurriedly stood up. Evan was in no state to meet anyone, lacking any manners. If it were the perceptive Stefan, he would immediately notice this fact. She couldn’t let Stefan meet Evan in this state.
“No, I’ll go to him. Guide him to the drawing room for now.”
“Understood.”
Becky’s voice faded away. Rosette looked at Evan, who was eating with cake smeared around his mouth, and said.
“Evan, I’m going out for a bit. Can you stay here by yourself?”
“Yes, no problem. Have a safe trip.”
Evan, probably in a good mood from eating cake, smiled and waved his arms to see Rosette off. How could she feel so uneasy leaving him? With anxiety, Rosette headed to the drawing room.
