I Raised the Beast Well

Translator/editor: ruby

“Aymon threatened Daisy with his claws out! To choose between “Almond”, “Chandelier”, “Croissant” and “Daisy”! I heard it all!”

Belinda turned around to scold Aymon.

“Aymon. Why did you just pick a random name?”

Daisy was a pretty name, but could you really choose just any pretty name? Naming a horse like this Daisy…

If she decided to just start calling Aymon “Rose”, he’d probably respond with scratches.

He grumbled, pawing at the grass.

「I didn’t.」

“How did you choose this one, then?”

「It was just what came to mind.」

So she was right. Belinda stroked Daisy’s mane, smiling at the ridiculous situation.

“You can just live your life without knowing what it means.”

Whatever the name, the beautiful wild horse in front of her was grateful to pick her up. Aymon had brought him that morning, along with a shiny saddle to ride on.

Belinda hated carriages, but they couldn’t walk all the way to her village, so they had to think of something else.

“Aymon… I don’t know how to ride a horse, though.”

That was the only problem.

Princess Adelai rode horses often, but Belinda lived in a separate palace spending her days with Aymon.

「It’s okay. Just sit down.」

Aymon leaped onto the horse and walked to their neck.

「If you drop Breedee, you’re going to die. I’ll make sure of it.」

He whispered the concise threat. Daisy pretentiously neighed in response, but his legs were shaking a little.

Mazetto started to shout, flying over their head.

“A Shinsu is threatening me! A Shinsu, who should be protecting animals, bites sparrows and threatens horses!”

「That son of a bitch bird!」

Aymon jumped after him, but Mazetto had already settled on a tall branch. The fact was, he could easily climb up and catch the bird, but he never did.

Knowing this, Belinda took the small leopard into her arms and whispered to him affectionately.

“Good job holding it in. You’re really sweet.”

Aymon waved his tail slowly, happy to be praised.

***

Fortunately, Aymon’s threat worked. Daisy was trying his hardest to keep Belinda in the saddle. Belinda was the one that felt uncomfortable as this was a new experience and all, not the horse. Daisy was more scared than uncomfortable – if he dropped the human woman, the leopard would turn him into horse sausages.

「You’re good at this, Breedee. You look cool.」

Aymon followed the flattering statement with a satisfied chuckle.

The sharp-witted horse, quickly understanding the intentions of his words, was itching to throw the little beast off, but had no choice except to keep going. Wasn’t it obvious how he would react?

Daisy was born a wonderful white horse in a field with nothing scary in it – well, that was, until he got tangled up with a certain little leopard.

Daisy resolved to move to another area as soon as the trip was over, and went back to trotting ahead diligently.

***

Birdsong drifted over from the trees, accompanied by a fickle wind that tickled the tip of Belinda’s nose. She happily hummed as the breeze swept through her hair.

Aymon, Daisy and Belinda were traveling through a lush forest. Mazetto refused their offer to join them, saying he couldn’t spend that much time apart from his girlfriend.

“Smile, Aymon. It looks good on you. What’s wrong?”

「…….」

Contrary to what his aggressive mood would suggest, he was submissively tucked away in Belinda’s arms.

He didn’t have a very substantial reason to be upset – the cute wool hat tied under his chin with a ribbon was the culprit. Even though he now wore it every day, it still annoyed him. It couldn’t be helped though as he couldn’t pass for a pet cat with the spirit stone on his forehead showing.

「I’m already eighteen too, you know.」

He groaned.

Belinda scratched his chin as consolation, then put her hands back on the reins.

“I know, but you’re still this cute. The hat looks good on you.”

Now that he’d had his ceremony, he’d grow soon. Belinda was a little disappointed. She couldn’t believe she’d never see him this cute again.

“Aymon, did you say you’d grow up in three months?”

「Well, maybe.」

He quickly blurted out the vague answer, as he usually did when he didn’t want to explain something.

What else is there bothering him?

Belinda continued with a smile.

“I’m a little sad that soon I won’t be able to see this cuteness.”

「You will.」

“How?”

「If someone bears my child.」(Note: I know this sounds strange af but it needs to be phrased in a way that can be put into her next thought…)

“Huh?”

Aymon stared up at her.

「They’d look like me, obviously.」

Belinda blinked.

What do you mean, a child?

“If someone bears my child”… So to put it, her heart dropped as she heard the words. She didn’t think he was referring to her bearing his child but still didn’t expect to hear that from the cute little beast in her lap.

The breeze disappeared. Belinda smiled awkwardly.

“Yeah, I can look at your child…”

Aymon lowered his head again, and Belinda tightened her grip on the reins even more. The sound of Daisy’s hooves striking the dirt road filled the silence.

Belinda’s expression turned serious. Why had they touched on something so unexpected all of a sudden?

Well, it was already Aymon’s time to grow up. He’d be a big adult leopard. Surely they mated and had children like other animals. That was nature’s order.

Then why do I feel so horrible?

Uneasiness settled in.

Aymon was still a child in her eyes. It felt immensely odd to imagine him pairing up with someone, having babies, living happily in that magnificent house in the forest.

She soon snapped out of the thought.

What kind of thoughts are you having about this little meow?

He was even coming with her to her village. What could such a thoughtful and kind…

She attempted to strike up another conversation.

“If you really hate the hat so much, why don’t you just turn human?”

Aymon looked up, still nervously nibbling on the ribbon strap.

“Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be much more natural to see a woman traveling with her younger brother than with a cat.”

「Younger brother!?」

He must’ve been offended again. He nervously hit the back of her hand, which she ignored.

“I’m an adult, and you’re still a 12-year old boy.”

「No.」

“Why not?”

Aymon’s eyes trailed off in thought for a second.

「Then Daisy would have to carry two people.」

It was an unexpected answer. Belinda yanked the ribbon from his mouth.

Since when did Daisy interest you that much? You just told him in the field that he was going too fast.

“Isn’t there supposed to be two people on a horse? I’ve seen the royal twins do it.”

「It must have been a very strong horse. Daisy is actually very weak. It may not look like it, but with two people, he might fall in less than a day.」

As soon as Aymon finished the sentence, Daisy stopped and turned around with a death glare. He was furious at the remarks. Why would the little leopard say that he’s weak? He was a wonderful, strong, athletic horse.

Belinda sensed a strange wittiness in that expression. She’d seen it before when she annoyed Aymon.

「Hey, go on.」

Daisy didn’t budge.

「You really want to be weak after all, huh?」

This, in turn, garnered a strong reaction. Daisy continued to walk up the path. If Aymon was just any leopard, he’d have thrown him off a thousand times.

But he was a Shinsu, so Daisy was doomed. Thank god he wasn’t born a human, or he wouldn’t have survived with that personality.

He must’ve had many enemies – he was lucky the emperor didn’t find out about him snooping around.

Belinda looked down at the leopard in her arms. He seemed to be trying to sleep.

“You’re so pretty… You almost look like a gangster.”