gentle beast

68

“You dare mention those words again, and I’ll let Winter slaughter the stupid deer and his tribe.”

“. . .”

After Ryan finished speaking, he led Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu forward.

But his pace was too big and Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s was too small to keep up. She accidentally stepped on a rock that stuck out on the road and she tripped, reeling.

The rope tugged at her wrists and she sharply hissed.

The rugged rope was tightly wrapped around her wrists and it didn’t have even the slightest gap. After such a long time, her hands were sore.

Additionally, her skin was delicate and she couldn’t handle such rough treatment. Two red rings soon appeared on her wrists and were in sharp contrast with her soft flesh.

Ryan heard her voice and paused slightly.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu steadied herself and silently looked at his back.

She knew that he was angry with her so she didn’t utter a complaint.

Three years ago she should have left him.

Now that she thought about it, there was probably a better solution, but they had chosen the most extreme one.

These past three years, she had thought a lot. She had thoroughly thought through her feelings for Ryan.

——She liked him.

Liked his calm mouth that said, “No.”

Liked him frowning, so clumsily trying to make fish soup for her.

Liked him sticking out his tongue to lick her cheek.

Liked him kissing her.

Liked him holding her in his arms and saying, “This is my spouse.”

. . .

She liked him a lot, much more than her whole could hope to hide.

Since she had first returned to her world, she closed her eyes every night and he would there.

At the time, she thought it was guilt that slowly as time went on, his figure didn’t become unclear, rather even clearer and clearer.

Even though he had several shortcomings, he was brutal and savage, cruel and unreasonable, she still didn’t hesitate to like him.

So when she learned she might be able to freely pass between the two worlds, she had prepared for a reunion.

Knowing how unreasonable and crazy this world was, she was back here.

Because he was here.

But after she really came back, she was too afraid to see him again.

This feeling was probably nostalgic timidness.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu had thought of many scenes where they met again, but not one saw her tied with ropes and treated as “prey.”