My Will Did Not Mean This

When Vivian, who had collapsed, opened her eyes, quite some time had passed. It was still dark inside the cave, and it was noisy outside and heavy rain was pouring down. As she tried to raise her body, she fell down again. It seemed like he had a mild fever. Her limbs were limp like wet cotton.

 

‘That pattern on the ceiling…’

 

Vivian, who was lying blankly and blinking, realized the exact location of this place. The Cave of Imprints from the novel <The Curse of Astaroth>. It was the place where the male lead, who had been transformed into a beast due to a sudden curse, accidentally encountered the female lead, who was coming up to the capital to look for her biological father, Duke Eleonora. The two, trapped in a cave due to heavy rain, shared a passionate relationship non-stop, and Aslan fell in love with this female lead, who accepted his hideous appearance, and became ‘imprinted’ on her. Even though he had Vivian, his fiancee chosen by the imperial family, Aslan cherished the stamps engraved on his and his mistress’s bodies more than anything else. A demon imprinted on a companion can maintain its human self even in its animal state. This was a historical event that served as an opportunity for Aslan, who had been struggling with his own identity between humans and demons, to finally accept himself. Vivian knew well how saved Aslan felt at that time.

 

‘Wait a minute, it’s raining heavily and we’re alone in a cave? That’s right now for me and Aslan…’

 

Vivian’s shoulders stiffened as she recalled the original plot. She didn’t know it because she was helpless before she collapsed, but she was spending the night in the same room as the male lead, Aslan. Even though she knew nothing had happened, she couldn’t help but feel conscious.

 

Vivian, who had been looking for Aslan’s face, flinched again. The position where she was lying was none other than on the waist of the sleeping Aslan. She was using a lion the size of a house as a cushion.

 

‘Why? You really want to share your body heat with me…?’

 

For some reason, even though it was raining heavily, it wasn’t that cold. Her back against him was warm as if supported by an ondol floor, and the rich mane that tickled the back of her neck was surprisingly soft. It was a moment when Vivian, who was moved, smiled without even realizing it. The cushion she was sleeping on flinched loudly.

 

‘Ah.’

 

When she opened her eyes, Aslan was watching her. He glanced at the mane that Vivian was stroking and furrowed his brows. Then he stood up from her seat as if to shake her off.

 

Puck-

 

“…”

 

After all, there was no way the male lead would be kind to her. The clear and brilliant sound of a watermelon breaking rang out. The back of her head hit the stone floor and it felt like it was really broken this time. She was afraid to touch and check. However, it was more urgent for him to appease Aslan, who seemed angry. He had slept well until just now, and now, belatedly, he was baring his teeth. She had no way of knowing what he was dissatisfied with.

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

“Krrr.”

 

Even though she didn’t know how to speak Lion, it definitely seemed like a positive sign. 

Aslan’s eyes scanned Vivian’s body reflected under the thin petticoat, as if gauging how delicious she would be. The two-horned steak ending was approaching reality. Vivian, who became desperate, quickly knelt down and shed tears as pitifully as possible.

 

“You know, I have no taste.”

 

“…”

 

“Why, why are you opening your eyes like that?”

 

The moment Vivian showed her bony arms under her slip to appeal to her lack of taste, Aslan bulged out his gold eyes as if in shock. It was her long-awaited daily bread, but she thought it must have been very disappointing because the thickness of her forearm was the same as that of his tail.

 

Vivian gathered momentum and rubbed both of her hands together. She was desperate.

 

“It’s not long until you die, but you think it’s your last mercy…”

 

“Krrrrr.”

 

“Um, shall we close?”

 

She felt very sad seeing herself showing respect to an animal that could not communicate with her. But it rained too much to be kicked out like this. In addition, she could hear a rumbling sound, as if there was a landslide somewhere in the mountains. It seemed like it wasn’t that far from here.

 

‘The cave walls are shaking. What if it collapses to this point?’

 

Now Aslan was a beast without ego. Moreover, he was seriously injured. Therefore, the only one who could rationally analyze and judge the situation and solve it was her. While Vivian slowly backstepped and investigated various parts of the cave, Aslan sat with his body near the entrance and watched her every move.

 

‘I feel like I’m dying from the burden!’

 

Let her reiterate, her family, Eleonora, was a prestigious warrior family handed down from generation to generation in the empire. Vivian’s memories before her possession were completely gone, as if she had amnesia, but she was able to use her honed sword skills as naturally as if they had been hers from the beginning. Thus, Vivian, whose senses had been trained to the limit, was currently feeling Aslan’s penetrating gaze with her whole body. Could it be a warning that if she runs away, she will chew it up and swallow it right away? It was so burdensome that I didn’t know what to do.

 

“Coff, coff.”

 

Vivian stopped moving. She overexerted herself a little, and as expected, she showed signs of having a seizure. She was coughing and her breathing was a harsh hissing sound. Vivian was embarrassed. There was no medicine or warm tea to soothe her cough, not even a blanket to cover her chilly shoulders.

 

Tuk-

 

At that time, something heavy was placed near the top of Vivian’s head. When she approached, Aslan lowered his head and nudged her head with the bridge of his nose. 

When he stood on all fours, his height was the same as Vivian’s, and considering that a typical lion was about 130 centimeters tall, Aslan’s physique was truly enormous. Vivian’s eyes, which had been purely admiring, narrowed for an instant. Between Aslan’s front legs, on her chest, she saw something dimly glowing, like a magic circle. Although he was small, his fur was all black so he was easily noticeable.

 

‘Reverse pentagram? It’s quite noticeable, but was there a description like this in the original?’

 

Vivian reached out her hand without realizing it, but Aslan was faster than her by pushing her. Even though she came from a prestigious warrior family, she still couldn’t stop the power of the huge beast. Vivian entered the corner of the cave as Aslan pushed her. She happened to see a suitable rock and was about to sit on it, but Aslan fell down first, as if taking her place. Vivian muttered to herself without realizing it.

 

“It’s amazing. Does it look like you’re relying on me?”

 

Aslan’s tail, hidden in the shadows of the cave, moved slowly from side to side. Vivian shook her head.

 

“That can’t be possible.”

 

The speed of tail shaking has noticeably slowed down.

 

“Ah, are you saying to get out of the cave because it’s yours?”

 

Her tail stopped moving. Aslan’s eyes looking up at Vivian became indescribably mysterious. But Vivian didn’t notice because she was staring out of the cave where the rain was pouring down. Because of the rain pouring down like a pole, it was impossible to see an inch outside the cave. She was sure that if she was kicked out there, she would definitely die, whether she would be swept away or frozen to death.

 

‘I have to stick together no matter what.’

 

She slowly lowered her body while Aslan turned his head. Vivian’s original goal was to crouch down in a corner a little away from Aslan, but her foot got caught on a rock. The place where she fell was Aslan’s soft chest.

 

‘When I actually lie down, I find this comfortable.’

 

She felt the comfort of lying down on a heated ondol. Vivian, who was pretending to get up, couldn’t bear it anymore and just lay down.

 

‘Aren’t you going to get your head ripped off by surprise like this?’

 

Although she was comfortable, she couldn’t help but worry about the safety of the area above her neck. Vivian glanced at Aslan. For some reason, he was stiff and staring somewhere on the cave wall. It was strange, but it didn’t look like an animal that was going to attack right away. If she had turned her head to the other side she would have noticed her tail starting to move vigorously again, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.

 

“Coff, coff.”

 

How long would it rain? She hoped it wasn’t too long. Vivian coughed dryly from time to time and soon fell into the crowd of water horses.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

Her eyes opened to a loud noise. It was still raining outside the cave, but it was different from the normal sound of rain. A clanging metal sound. The sound of human conversation. The sound of muffled footsteps. Just as Vivian, startled, instinctively tried to get up, Aslan gently pushed her down with his front paw.

 

“What…”

 

He was keeping a watchful eye outside with Vivian in his arms. He places his body close to the floor and assumes a posture just before jumping. The clearly protruding muscles clearly revealed the tension he was feeling. Vivian carefully raised his head and then lowered it again.

 

‘I feel dizzy.’

 

Even before she fell asleep, she felt unwell and it seemed like she was getting sick. The fever broke out and a hot cough broke out.

 

“Ugh…!”

 

Vivian covered her mouth to prevent herself from making a sound. But there was no way she could stop the coughing and hemoptysis. Immediately afterwards, a fishy sensation struck her. At the moment Aslan’s eyes widened as if they were going to explode as he saw her vomiting blood, the sound of her talking outside of him stopped.

 

“I think I just heard something.”

 

“Where?”

 

She got caught. Vivian quickly looked away. Among her belongings, which she took off with her dress, were two narrow daggers. Fortunately, it stayed where she first placed it. The sound of her footsteps, step by step, got closer little by little.

 

“Krrrrr.”

 

Aslan’s throat growled low. He seemed to perceive the people outside as enemies. And that was something Vivian agreed with. An ordinary person would not even dare to set foot in the mountains where it is pouring down with heavy rain.

 

‘If you think the other way around, it means there is a more desperate reason.’

 

For example, if an enemy that you normally find difficult to touch was wounded and weakened, and you couldn’t miss this opportunity at any cost.

 

‘You are an assassin sent by the crown prince.’

 

She realized.

 

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Translator Note: