It had been almost a week since Diana had been supplying raw meat and taking care of Raoul.
During that time, Diana had to reduce her volunteer hours at the convent and made sure not to extend her work time with Paisar past the afternoon.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t been feeling well lately.”
“No, not at all…! I’m just sorry for always making unreasonable requests!”
“What unreasonable requests? By the way, Paisar, is something going on with you lately? Are you having a hard time because of work…?”
“What? Why do you ask?”
“Your face looks really pale. Are you very tired? Don’t tell me you’re working in your accommodation too?”
“…I am tired. But I’m so happy just to have the opportunity to paint. It’s not that…”
“Then what else is going on?”
“I guess it’s because a bug got into my room yesterday and I couldn’t sleep properly. Haha.”
“A bug? And here I thought being on the third floor would be safe…”
“It’s alright! Then I will take my leave now. Have a good night!”
He quickly left his seat like someone hiding something.
‘I hope nothing is really wrong…?’
As Diana watched Paisar’s back figure hurriedly climbing into the carriage, she recalled the confession from a few days ago.
‘He really doesn’t seem affected at all after saying something so shocking.’
Like an innocent child with no shyness, he showered Diana with praises.
Hearing such an embarrassing confession for the first time left her feeling unsettled for days.
The only person who had ever complimented Diana’s appearance in her life was Angela.
It was her first experience of her looks, which were always the subject of gossip or caused displeasure, being received in a good way.
Of course, Paisar had only designated Diana as a source of inspiration, not asked to be her lover, but it still felt strange.
She imagined a lover who would adore her someday as she pushed open the door to the small room.
Raoul, who had been leaning against the wall and panting roughly, felt Diana’s presence and lifted his closed eyelids.
His blue eyes, resembling moonlight, were filled with a murky fever as they turned towards Diana.
As she approached with a bucket in one hand, his pointed ears twitched in time with her footsteps.
“You’ve grown again already. The growing pains might end faster than I thought.”
Raoul’s fluffy tail swayed gently, following Diana’s voice.
She smiled brightly and bent her knees. She had to refill the handcuffs so they wouldn’t cut into Raoul’s wrists.
As Diana leaned in, suddenly his pointed snout dug into the nape of her neck.
Before she could avoid it, his damp nose rummaged through her hair and reached deep into her neck.
Sniff, sniff.
Raoul inhaled the scent of Diana’s hair and body, emitting a low crying sound.
It was a fierce sound, as if he would sink his teeth into her neck at any moment.
Diana was flustered, not understanding why. She could only fumble with her hands on the handcuffs, unable to even turn the key.
Why is he excited? Do I smell like something?
At that moment, Raoul moved his arm and the key stuck in the handcuffs turned on its own.
Click. The moment his hands were freed, Diana’s body was sucked into his huge embrace.
“Raoul…?”
His body, which had grown unbelievably large in a few days, was so huge that it completely enveloped Diana.
As his arms, hard as rocks but hot, wrapped around her waist, she felt a heat as if she were lying on a sandy beach in midsummer.
Her whole body felt stiff, but it wasn’t uncomfortable because of his fur.
‘It’s not a matter of comfort or discomfort. Why is he suddenly doing this?’
With Diana in his arms, Raoul kept rubbing his cheek against her shoulder.
His long whiskers kept attacking her eyes. The action, whose meaning was completely incomprehensible, was repeated for a long time.
Feeling awkward and embarrassed, Diana grabbed his cheeks with both hands and pulled his face in front of her.
“Stop… Why are you suddenly doing this…?”
Raoul stared at Diana intently, then stuck out his long tongue and licked her face.
‘Ugh…!’
Feeling like he was coating delicious prey with saliva, Diana glared at Raoul as soon as she escaped his grasp.
“There’s food separately. I told you how many times…”
Diana mumbled timidly and locked Raoul’s extended hand back in the restraint.
Fortunately, he did not resist and obediently offered his arm as Diana wanted.
“Let’s eat quickly.”
Today, too, he chewed the raw meat Diana gave him with a dissatisfied expression.
In fact, what he was interested in was not the fishy meat entering his mouth, but the living prey in front of his eyes.
Even during the meal, his gaze on Diana was so sharp that she had to be startled several times.
“Ahem, ahem, then I’ll get going. Have a good night. Raoul.”
Diana got up from her seat faster than usual. Somehow, she became afraid that the gaze staring at her back would swallow even her shadow.
Diana grabbed the doorknob and awkwardly waved her hand, feeling an unfamiliar murderous energy that she had never felt before.
Raoul, sitting far away against the wall, scratched his neck as if he would rush to Diana right away if only his hands were free.
For some reason, that sight seemed a little unfamiliar.
[This is the timeline separator]Staring at the spot where Diana had disappeared, Raoul let out an agonized groan and stretched out his arm.
The cells in his whole body were abnormally active and rampant.
His bones thickened and his flesh tore, and his body was swelling up grotesquely day by day.
At this rate, the growth would soon stop and he would take on the form of a fully mature adult.
Fortunately, thanks to Diana taking care of him by his side, his physical condition was returning to normal trajectory much faster.
The presence of a loved one was that important to a lycan undergoing adult awakening.
Raoul wanted Diana to stay by his side, but he didn’t want her to see his hideous appearance.
This was not so much his will as it was the trauma of his ancestors remembered by his cells.
‘If Diana fears me, I can no longer…’
Raoul wanted to remain a beautiful sight in her memory.
He wanted to be the boy who led her in dance, and the man who gifted her cherry blossom branches every spring.
The Raoul that Diana loved had the appearance of a human with gray hair, a pale face, and blue eyes.
He didn’t want to let her know that the appearance she had shyly praised over and over again was actually just a shell.
However, judging from Diana’s words, even that boy was not perfect. A lycan who made his fiancée give up on love was a disgrace to the clan.
At some point, Raoul had fallen into the arrogant delusion that even if he didn’t say it, Diana would sufficiently feel his heart.
‘I never even properly confessed…! Why was I so sure of Diana’s feelings?’
Come to think of it, Diana had never once reached out to him first or embraced him.
She always acted timid as if trying to keep her distance, and when Raoul occasionally approached her first, she would blush like a peach and act flustered.
Each time, Raoul thought Diana’s shyness was cute and that he had to endure, but he crossed lines as he pleased.
The reason that was possible was because Diana always gave him assurance.
However, Raoul had never given Diana any assurance.
She must have resigned and given up on her own without hearing a proper answer from him, and then decided to at least remain friends.
〈Thank you. But these days, I like roses more than dandelions. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to live as a glamorous and fragrant flower for once.〉
Diana’s words pierced his heart like a dagger. This, too, was a thought she wouldn’t have had if he had given her enough love.
No matter what people said, to Raoul, Diana was the most precious and pretty bride-to-be in the world.
Yet Diana acted unconfident as if she had no worth to be loved.
‘You cherished me like the most precious jewel in the world, but I… I couldn’t even properly care for your one heart.’
Why did he keep his mouth shut as if he had a lock on it when it came to saying “you’re pretty”?
Raoul regretted it. Diana was the girl with the kindest and prettiest heart in the world.
The voice calling his name was as gentle as the early sunlight heralding the morning, and her eyes curving whenever she smiled held love that seemed to overflow.
‘How pretty you are. I’m the lacking one, so why do you dislike yourself?’
It was all his fault for not expressing his love enough.
Despite that, he still wanted Diana’s love.
He couldn’t bear the thought of her heart moving to another guy even a little.
It wasn’t enough to spend all day with Diana, it wasn’t enough to gaze at her to his heart’s content, he couldn’t forgive the bastard who dared to say he had fallen for her.
He wanted to run over right now and tear that bastard’s mouth apart. But he couldn’t. Because Diana would be sad.
‘You see? Someone coveting you has already appeared.’
Feeling his body returning to human form, Raoul sensed the end of his growing pains approaching.
He removed the loosened handcuffs and placed his arm over his eyes.
Along with his hot breath, the name he had wanted to call so badly slipped out.
“Diana…”
Now it was really time to confess properly. He couldn’t delay it any longer.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”