Kyaaaaa!

A sharp scream echoed loudly enough to wake the beasts of the forest.

Diana was waiting for only one beast.

‘Raoul.’

A wolf who uselessly chewed on loneliness while cramming his large body into a snake’s burrow.

As Diana expected, Raoul immediately responded to her scream.

He was someone who always kept his promises, no matter when or where.

‘The promise to protect me… Is it still valid…?’

Fast and urgent footsteps crossing the forest could be heard.

Whether running on two legs or four was unclear, but the sound of footsteps carried by the wind was remarkably clear.

Diana quickly crouched down in the flower bed and pretended to shiver, listening to the sound of soil, twigs, and leaves being stepped on.

The bite mark left by the cute snake on Diana’s ankle was small and dainty, just like a buttonhole.

It was an accomplice introduced by the nymphs for Diana, who lacked acting skills.

The snake had already fled far away to avoid Raoul, and Diana was suffering from being bitten by a non-venomous snake.

As soon as Raoul entered the flower bed, the sound of nymphs murmuring could be heard.

“He really came…!”

“Uh, how should we sprinkle the flower pollen now?”

“Wait a little longer!”

The flower stems bent on their own as he passed, opening a path.

As if he had been waiting, Raoul ran straight down the flower path leading to Diana without a hint of doubt.

Diana was inwardly shedding tears of emotion.

‘Look at this. If you’re going to run straight here like this, why are you being so stubborn…?’

It might be an arrogant thought, but she felt a little proud.

Anyway, what mattered now was his reaction.

Diana turned over and lay down, groaning miserably. Raoul’s silhouette entering her field of vision was blurry but clearly human in form.

“Ughh…”

“…”

Raoul approached Diana’s side and covered her eyes with a torn piece of cloth before she could open them.

‘How thorough!’

Diana continued to groan, allowing Raoul to examine her wound.

Hot, thick fingers wrapped around Diana’s ankle.

Raoul was silent. And soon, a hot and squishy sensation touched her ankle.

‘What are you doing? It tickles!’

Diana flailed her legs in horror.

“W-wait a moment!”

“There might be venom.”

“Ugh, just a second! It’s dirty…!”

Caught in her own trap, Diana covered her face with her palms, unable to do anything.

The sensation on the inside of her ankle was so vivid that she wanted to throw herself into the water right away.

Diana kept squirming and begging him to stop, but Raoul didn’t stop until he was satisfied with sucking it out.

After repeatedly sucking and spitting out blood, Raoul removed his lips from Diana’s ankle and asked.

“Do you remember the shape of its head?”

“Head…?”

“Most vipers have pointed heads. If it had a blunt head and short body, it’s likely not venomous. Originally… ha… most snakes aren’t venomous anyway.”

“It was blunt… I think…”

“You’ll be fine. Still, go straight to the castle for treatment when you get there.”

Diana nodded faintly and tried to get up. However, Raoul’s restraint forced her to lie back down.

“I’ll keep my eyes closed.”

“Get up after I leave.”

“You’re going to leave me here?”

“…I came to find the holy sword, so I’ll take it.”

Raoul placed a shining dagger beside Diana.

“But you can’t walk properly!”

“It’s not a wound that prevents walking.”

“Look closely!”

“I only see small, cute feet.”

Raoul’s voice was much more comfortable than when he was in the cave. Diana mustered up courage and reached out to Raoul.

“Hold my hand.”

“…Why the hand?”

“If I touch it, I might know whether I’ll be scared of you or think of you as a cute puppy.”

“…Even if you touch it now, it’ll be the same as usual. I haven’t completely changed yet.”

“Then there’s no need to cover my eyes, right?”

“I don’t know when I’ll change. I can’t show you such a hideous appearance.”

“What’s wrong with being a little surprised? You must have been very surprised when you first saw me too. We’ll get used to it.”

“What are you talking about? How can you compare yourself to me?”

At that moment, Raoul’s words suddenly stopped.

“Raoul?”

Diana, who had been lying down, jolted up in surprise at the sound of rough breathing.

The blindfold that Raoul had carefully placed slid down his flat features.

“Are you okay?”

Raoul was clutching his neck and gasping for breath.

As soon as she crawled on her knees and placed her hand on his arm, Diana felt the veins pulsing as if they would burst through Raoul’s body.

His body was gradually swelling.

He stretched his head towards the sky, seemingly having difficulty breathing, and completely tore off his already shredded tunic top, twisting it as if to throw it away.

Looking up at the sky, the clouds covering the moon were fading, and an eerily bright blue light was once again illuminating the earth.

“Don’t… look…”

By this point, Diana felt sorry for Raoul.

‘Should I have just left him alone? He looks so ashamed…’

Raoul looked agonized. The cloth covering his arms and legs began to tear as his muscles expanded.

His snout became pointed, his teeth sharpened, and gray fur grew all over his body.

Despite her earlier bravado about not being scared, Diana’s neck stiffened.

‘No! I can’t be afraid!’

Transformed into a lycan, Raoul howled at the sky.

Diana swallowed hard as she saw his wide-open muzzle.

It seemed like if she put her head in there, it could go straight down to his stomach.

This wasn’t distrust of Raoul, but an instinctive fear felt when confronting a beast.

Raoul, who had been looking up at the moon for a while, lowered his head due to the sound of Diana’s hiccups.

“Hic… No… No… Raoul! I’m fine… hic… Ah! Much… hic! Cuter… hic! Than I thought?”

Raoul looked down at his arms and legs with a shocked expression.

After disbelievingly turning his hands back and forth for a while, he abruptly stood up and turned his back on Diana.

‘Wait a moment! I’m really not scared, I tell you!’

Just as the mountain-like body was about to leave the flower bed as swift as the wind.

“Now’s the time! Hic!”

The waiting nymphs jumped onto the flowers, and in an instant, the flower bed was dyed in colorful hues.

Raoul looked around in confusion.

As the nymphs surrounding him used wind magic, the gentle spring breeze began to rush towards Raoul.

“You shameless brute! Go back to the castle!”

“Yeah! Where do you think you’re crawling off to! If you’re going to go mad, do it properly!”

“Eeeek! Look at those teeth! Can’t you put them away?”

Raoul staggered, intoxicated by the flower pollen, and then lost consciousness and collapsed.

It was due to inhaling too much of the mind-altering flower scent.

Diana ran to Raoul’s side and examined his fallen body.

“…Ugh… That guy messed up our home again!”

“Why did he collapse like that! Did we fail to control the dosage?”

Diana tried to turn Raoul’s body, which was planted face-down on the ground.

She pulled on his thick arm covered in fluffy fur, but it didn’t budge.

She tried pushing with her body and feet, but to no avail.

All Diana could lift was just one of Raoul’s arms.

Even that looked more like she was flattened under his arm in a prone position.

Only after receiving help from the swarm of nymphs to finally turn him face-up could Diana exhale heavily and sit down.

“Eek!”

As Raoul’s face was revealed, the nymphs scattered sporadically.

‘If I had seen this without knowing, I would have been surprised too.’

Even to Diana, Raoul’s appearance and stature were truly terrifying.

Even when still, the fangs slightly protruding from his muzzle looked so sharp that if bitten, one might die on the spot without even being able to struggle.

“But… when he’s not moving… he seems… kind of cute in his own way…”

“…This… is cute?”

“Could it be love?”

The nymphs gathered around Diana’s face again.

‘Is it really love-blindness… I’m already starting to adapt.’

Diana had already found one cute point on Raoul’s frightening face.

‘His nose is shiny.’

Diana gently stroked his nose, which had turned black at some point.

The round, moist nose exhaling steady breaths was pretty. Upon closer inspection, the fur pattern was also interesting.

The short, soft fur extending from between his eyebrows to his forehead grew neatly in a fan shape.

‘Hmm, but Raoul still has long eyelashes even as a lycan? That’s fascinating.’

From that moment on, Diana began to observe Raoul without even realizing it.

As she examined him piece by piece, he wasn’t scary at all, but rather like a large puppy.

“There’s even fur inside his ears?”

Before she knew it, Diana was leaning on Raoul’s chest, tilting her body near his ear.

“What’s this. He’s just cute after all.”