I Raised the Beast Well

Translator/editor: ruby

“Aymon.”

“Hm?”

“Can I touch just a little?”

Belinda asked after much thought.

The corners of Aymon’s eyes crinkled up, shining like jewels. The beautiful pupils that were now clearly revealed belonged to a beast.

“You don’t need to ask unnecessary questions, Breedee.”

He answered slowly. No wonder his voice was raspy.

Belinda carefully reached out and touched his face, starting with his eyelashes and eyes. His smooth skin stuck to her fingertips.

Aymon, in a good mood, relaxed himself, slowly blinking and not taking his eyes off Belinda. Although the chilling gaze seemed to pierce through her, she couldn’t stop herself from touching the pretty face.

She smoothed down his eyebrows, ran down his nose, and lightly brushed his cheek. His moonlit skin was as fine as marble.

Aymon held his breath for a while, finally breathing out when her fingertips touched his chin. He rubbed against her palm as if he was a baby leopard again.

Belinda smiled when she felt the warmth against her palm. It was just like they used to do.

My pretty and cute cat.

She smiled to herself for a little while but soon hardened up.

It was because of a sloppy sound. Aymon was slowly planting kisses onto her hands. Every time his lips gently touched her, she felt like there was a ball of fire tearing into her heart.

It’s just a habit. A habit Aymon has.

Just a habit. The only thing that had changed was his appearance. She couldn’t believe that just that would make her feel like this. How stupid.

Wasn’t it just like this when he was a leopard? He bit her fingers, licked her, and poked around.

Belinda tried to collect her dazed mind.

“That tickles, Aymon.”

“You’re always ticklish.”

Just a little more. Good girl.

Aymon mumbled.

He grabbed her hand and took a breath, following the scent.

Belinda’s soft, thin fingers interlocked with Aymon’s large, rough hand. He traced his fingers up her arm. Belinda felt his breath on the back of her neck as he slowly raised his head.

“I want to touch too.”

“Ah….Oh….Ummm….”

Belinda, speechless, wasn’t sure whether that was an answer.

She was the one who’d asked first, so why was it so strange for him to do the same?

As soon as she nodded, after some agonizing, Aymon reached out.

Belinda closed her eyes. Just looking at his face made her feel like her body and paralyzed her mind. Any more, and she would melt.

She could feel Aymon’s warmth over her cheeks before he touched her and squeezed her lips shut.

The fingers against her skin were playful rather than stealthy. An index finger poked her cheek and pitched the other one.

The tension Belinda felt was greatly relieved.

I had no reason to be nervous.

She smiled and tried to open her eyes, closing them again in surprise when Aymon covered them.

Sitting on her knees, Aymon swept over her cheeks with his palms and fumbled with her earlobes.

Belinda endured it with a stiff body, unable to find the right time to open her eyes. Every time his palm passed by her cheek, she felt like there was flowing electricity between them.

“Ack–”

Without realizing it, she made a sound when he slid his thumb under her eyes. At the same time, her body was thrown back, and before she knew it, she was laying down on the bed.

He hovered over her, obscuring her vision. Aymon’s blazing gaze hit her.

The strange tension in the air made it hard to breathe. Instinctively, Belinda withdrew, but Aymon moved right with her.

He swept over her cheek, whispering in a sweet voice.

“I’ve been holding back a long time, wanting to touch you in this form.”

“….”

“I was afraid to face it.”

That maybe you’d be scared of me.

His low-pitched voice brushed against her skin.

Belinda pressed down on her chest with her pale hands. Since earlier, her heart had been pounding like it was about to break. She tried to keep it down, hoping and praying that Aymon wouldn’t hear anything.

It’s just like a kitten. Just like when he was a kitten!

Still, she couldn’t calm herself as he kept touching her, and she began to blush. It felt like she was getting a fever. Whenever he touched her, her shoulders trembled with chills.

Why did she feel like this at just a touch?

Slowly, a shadow covered her face as Aymon came closer.

Ah….!

Belinda clasped at the bedsheet. Aymon’s elegant eyelashes were right in front of her wide-open eyes.

As he got even closer, their lips seemed to overlap.

“Breedee, can I lick a little?”

He asked with an innocent face, like a child about to be given candy.

Belinda panicked, opened her mouth, and gulped before slightly nodding.

Taking it as permission, Aymon smiled and slightly bit her cheek. The playful touch of his lips was soft and hot.

Belinda’s heart was burning up, too.

“Ah, it’s a bit, i-itchy.”

She tried to gather herself, but her voice was trembling.

As different as humans and beasts were, this….

I’m nervous. This is so nice.

Should I just stay still and pretend not to know?

Aymon didn’t seem to know what this kind of contact meant to humans… He did the same thing, licking around, as a young leopard.

So, maybe if she pretended to be oblivious, they could have deeper contact.

For a moment, she wanted to take advantage of Aymon’s innocence, but it wasn’t right. Tempting the innocent leopard would weigh on her conscience too much.

Meanwhile, Aymon kept licking her as if she was sugar.

Torn between her instincts and her conscience, Belinda gently pushed him away from her.

“Get out of the way for a bit, Aymon. I feel weird…”

Aymon, who’d been nibbling on her cheek, fell off.

She could feel his warm body under the cloth, along with his heartbeat, and lowered her hand.

Aymon looked up at Belinda and asked her pitifully, like a child who had their candy taken away.

“What was that for?”

“Hm?”

“Can’t I do more?”

For some reason, Aymon’s face now reminded her of Mazetto. Just like the sparrow asking her to let his mistakes slide earlier, Aymon’s pretty face tugged at her sense of compassion.

Just as she let Mazetto win at chess, she felt like giving in to Aymon’s beauty.

Belinda pulled herself together and shook her head firmly.

“You can’t. Stop.”

Aymon obviously didn’t know. It was clear that he had no idea that doing any more would be a strange act for a human. He really didn’t know that he shouldn’t do the things he did as a baby leopard.

Belinda continued, stuttering with a serious face.

“Aymon. Later. Later.”

She meant to explain what these actions meant, but Aymon understood it differently.

“Can I do more later?”

“Huh?”

“How much? How much more? Hm?”

He smiled beautifully and buried his face in Belinda’s neck, with the excited expression of a child about to receive an award.

His forehead felt hot against her neck.

Belinda took a breath and tried to piece together a sentence.

“That… How far…. Well, at that time, um…. Later, bit by bit….”

Aymon laughed.

You’re too soft with me. So nice and naive.

His quiet muttering didn’t reach Belinda.

“Breedee, I’m going to sleep in bed with you today since I’m human.”

“Uh, sure….”

Was the bedsheet clumped up? The hard lump against her thigh had been there for a while.

“That means I’ll hold you, and you’ll sleep in my arms.”

Aymon added.

“Well, yes….”

Belinda replied, trembling.

They used to sleep together all the time. Of course, back then, it was a baby leopard, and not this person, with her.

As she nodded, Aymon lifted himself and looked down at her. He deeply stared into the innocent human eyes and sighed.

Aymon grabbed her waist and put her down. The two that had been touching were now getting farther away from each other.

Aymon, lying on his back with his head propped up, whispered.

“I see you’re still a child.”

“…..”

He carefully swept aside her hair with a gentle, affectionate touch. Belinda trembled every time she felt him brushing up against her skin.

Playfully twisting around her hair, Aymon softly smiled.

“So I’ll let you off for now.”