I Raised the Beast Well

Translator/editor: ruby

「You smell good, though. Delicious.」

“……”

Belinda quickly turned pale.

A leopard circling her was enough to be nerve-racking, but a leopard who thought she smelled delicious?

She’d been friends with Aymon for long enough to trust him, but that didn’t apply to Shanti. That Shinsu was obviously a meat-eating beast.

Belinda pulled Mazetto to her face, whispering so that Shanti wouldn’t hear her question.

“Mazetto, have you ever seen a Shinsu eat a human?”

“I don’t know! I heard they hated the smell of humans!”

Despite Belinda’s best efforts, Shanti interrupted, understanding the conversation.

「I’ve never tried, but maybe I should now that I have the opportunity?」

“…..”

Belinda could only gape in bewilderment. Shanti erupted in laughter.

「I’m kidding! What do you need Aymon for, anyway?」

Some could laugh so flippantly while another’s life was at stake.

Belinda pulled away her arms, full of goosebumps.

“Shanti, can you take me to see Aymon by any chance?”

「That won’t be difficult, but Aymon always starts acting weird when he gets back from Sam. Um, will that be okay?」

“Will that be okay?”

For a moment, worry passed through Shanti’s childlike, playful eyes, but he soon slammed down on the ground with his front paw.

「Good! Screw it, let’s have a little fun! You get on too, sparrow!」

Shanti bent down with an excited expression, seemingly inviting them to get on his back. After a brief hesitation, Belinda got on.

“My name is Mazetto! Belinda named me that!”

Mazetto flew onto Belinda’s shoulder, screaming in protest.

The leopard set off into the forest. A twig scratched Belinda’s calf every time they passed under a tree. She clasped onto Shanti’s fur to keep herself from falling off.

As he ran through the trees, Shanti didn’t stop talking.

「Are all humans this light?」

“Maybe? They’re smaller than Shinsu, after all.”

Belinda replied, squinting her eyes in the face of the cold wind.

Aymon weighed so much, even just taking his front paws… In the eyes of a Shinsu like that, she would probably seem very light.

「When did you meet Aymon? It didn’t seem like you first saw each other at the ceremony.」

“We just happened to grow close as kids.”

Belinda gave an insincere answer. All her energy focused on hanging on to Shanti.

However, he didn’t stop talking. He was surely born talkative.

「Is this as big as you’re going to get? Has Aymon not imprinted you yet because you’re this small?」

I’m not that small. And all grown up, too. It’s you Shinsu that are ignorant.

“What’s imprinting?”

Belinda asked back.

「What?! You don’t even know what imprinting is yet? I see there’s a reason Aymon still hasn’t done it!」

“………”

The leopard sped up even more. Belinda grabbed on tighter, so shaken that she couldn’t even remember the conversation.

This never happened when Aymon was giving her a ride. At that moment, she realized just how considerate he was of her.

“Aigoo! Aigooooo! The sparrow is dying!”

Mazetto shouted, tightly clutching onto Belinda’s hair with his feet.

Eventually, he flew away, unable to withstand the shaking.

“Mazetto is leaving! See you later, Belinda!”

….Good on you.

Belinda looked at him enviously and readjusted her grip.

It was good to have a fast and safe means of transport, but it was very uncomfortable.

After some more shaking on Shanti’s back, they arrived before she knew it.

「We’re here, human! Ah, what did you say your name was?」

Shanti asked, bending down. He must have forgotten already.

“Belinda Ryn Athez. Aymon calls me Breedee.”

Belinda murmured, covering her mouth as she nauseously got off his back.

「Got it, Breedee!」

Belinda took a breath and rearranged her crumpled dress, brushing off bits of leaves and Shanti’s fur.

As she stared at the brown leopard, someone swooped over him.

He fell to the ground with a thump, Aymon tightly pinning him down. Shanti grunted.

“Ack!”

Belinda clung to the nearest tree in surprise.

Suddenly, the difference in size between the intertwined leopards became clear. Shanti uttered out a greeting from under the giant black animal.

「What’s up, Chief?」

Because of Aymon’s tight grip, his voice cracked. Aymon kept his cold gaze on him as if he was being stripped apart.

However, Shanti – who faced such an attack – somehow didn’t seem too scared. It was as if he had anticipated the reaction.

「What’s with the sudden anger! It’s not like I was hunting down that Breedee human!」

Shanti cried, wagging his tail.

「……」

「She came to see you, so I kindly guided her here!」

Only then did Aymon slightly relax his grip. As much as Shanti tried to push him away, he didn’t budge.

「Who do you think you are?」

Aymon roared.

「Huh?」

「Who do you think you are to call her that?」

His hold tightened again. Shanti struggled to get himself out as Aymon pressed down on him harder.

「That hurts! Ow! I said it hurts!」

「It’s ‘Belinda’.」

There was a bluish twinkle in Aymon’s eyes as if he was about to bite down on his neck.

「What?」

「I said it’s ‘Belinda’.」

Only then did Shanti realize what he meant.

「What the heck? Was it just that? Okay, okay, I won’t use your pet name!」

After that answer, Aymon finally relaxed.

Shanti pulled himself out as soon as Aymon’s grip loosened and distanced himself from him, finally taking a breath. He might not have been able to outfight him, but he could at least outrun him at this distance.

「Thug!」

「……」

「You jerk of a thug!」

He shouted with resentment, but to no reaction. Shanti shouted at him again, with somewhat less angry eyes.

「What is it? Huh?」

「…..」

Aymon was still silent. Shanti backed away, scratching the ground with his front paw as if Aymon had beat him down with his gaze.

「I came in the first place because I wanted to see something like that… But aren’t you going overboard? Either way, Chief, it’s only Belinda or whatever the human’s name is that’s going to end up dead because of your possessiveness. 」

Angrily groaning to himself, Shanti disappeared over the grass, followed by his complaints that no one would hear.

Are you avoiding me because you’re scared? Because you’re the chief. What a…

The murmurs grew farther away.

An awkward silence settled in among just the two of them, standing among the bushes in front of Aymon’s mansion.

It was always Aymon who ran over and rubbed against her, calling her name, first. The leopard, standing as tall as a mountain, felt like the most unfamiliar creature in the world.

Why did she feel this overwhelming pressure all over her body? Belinda walked towards him, step by step.

The afternoon sun hung over the bushes as she approached the beast, beautifully basking in the light.

“Aymon, am I not supposed to come here?”

「…..」

As Aymon stared at her, not giving an answer, she licked her lips tensely. His eyes followed the tip of her tongue before it disappeared.

“I came here, but you didn’t even say hi…”

Belinda carefully reached out and rubbed his cheek. She hesitated with the thought of being an uninvited guest, but Aymon always liked to be petted.

Aymon let out a breath and rubbed against her palm. The childlike Shanti would have, no doubt, gaped at the sight.

「It’s not that…. It’s dangerous.」

He closed his eyes and kept rubbing against her. The heat of her body was too nice to endure.

Aymon breathed out again. It looked like he was letting go of all his flaring emotions. The heat in his eyes rose every time she brushed by.

“What’s dangerous?”

「I am. To you.」

Aymon answered, closing his eyes.

The black fur under Belinda’s hand disappeared, and with a fragrant breeze, a beautiful young man with broad shoulders took the beast’s place.

Belinda fell back, squeezed against his body. He let out a long breath, looking down at her.

“It’s hard to control.”

Aymon’s face was scarily devoid of emotion, scanning Belinda. Only then did she see the uneasiness in his eyes.

Aymon pulled away her hand and buried his face in it.

“Don’t stain your body with the smell of another beast, Breedee.”

In contrast to his soft voice, Aymon had a sly atmosphere to him.

Those eyes were probably the reason her whole body was shaking. He stared down at her like he was about to eat her up.

“The wait will be very hard if you act like this.”

Aymon continued, slightly biting her hand.

Belinda awkwardly froze. In his animal form, he was easy to approach, but like this, she was careful in just moving a finger.

“What are you waiting for?”

Belinda had no choice but to ask about his vague words, as he’d been saying these mysterious things since earlier.

“To leave an imprint on your body.”

Aymon smiled, grabbing her wrist.

There was a bright red sunset burning in his eyes. Strangely, the soft voice sent a shiver up her spine.

Aymon hovered over her, casting a dim shadow. Under the hazy light, he was smiling.

Their eyes met as he lowered himself. Belinda, blinking with tension, forced out a thin voice.

“What’s an imprint….?”

“Are you curious about that?”

He said in a quiet tone, like a calm lake.

Perhaps because of the distance between them, Belinda’s heart started to beat harder.

Aymon’s smile grew broader. He put his finger against hers and tightly squeezed it. He slowly lowered his face, looking into her eyes.

“An imprint is putting two bodies together like this.”

His steady gaze touched her lips, his body hot against hers.

“While sharing the bodies’ heat.”

His arms wrapped around her waist. Their bodies got closer, and a heated breath passed through the small space as their lips slightly touched.

“Let’s spend the night together.”

“….”

For a moment, Belinda forgot how to breathe.

Aymon slowly rubbed his hot palm against her lower abdomen.

“You imprint me in here.”

His quiet voice slowly wrapped around her.

“Do you know what that means?”

Belinda shivered as she felt his breath against her.

Aymon’s sweet laugh sounded briefly.

“Are you ready for me to imprint you, Breedee?”

His eyes stopped on her as he lowered his face, a soft smile contrasting with his intense gaze.