âWeâre married, itâs natural to sleep together. Thatâs not something to be embarrassed about.â
âButâŠ.â
Blake shivered and buried his face in the pillow.
âIâm still embarrassedâŠ.â
ââŠâŠ.â
Where did the fierce Blake in the original story go? Instead of a ferocious guy, a lovable child is sitting in front of me. Are you sure that in 10 years that little rabbit will turn into such a man? Human growth is truly mysterious.
âCome here!â
I couldnât leave him like this. I took the pillow he was holding and held Blakeâs hands tightly.
âAs a newlywed couple, I suggest we sleep together from now on .â
âE-EverydayâŠ.? â
âIs there a problem? Do you perhaps not like the idea?â
âN-No⊠but are you comfortable with this arrangement?â
âPardon?â
âAre you fine with us sleeping together?â
âOf course, Iâm fine. Iâm fond of you.â
Blake opened his already huge eyes wider and couldnât speak as his whole face reddened. I clasped both of his hands
âHow is it? Do you feel comfortable?â
It said that the pain of the curse seems to go away just by holding hands with Diana, the heroine, butâŠ
My power didnât seem to work very well.
Now that Iâve been transmigrated to this novel, I wanted to help Blake, whoâs going to live in pain until he met Diana, but I didnât have the power to do so.
I let go of his hand and flung it under the quilt. But suddenly, Blake hugged me from behind.
âDonât let go!â
ââŠâŠWhat?â
âYour hand. Anciaâs hands are warm, so donât let go.â
I couldnât see his face because he hugged me from behind, but I could see that his voice is mixed with sobbing.
Such a crybaby.
â Iâm not going anywhere.â
âReally?â
âYes, I just came down to get my pillowâŠ.â
Then Blakeâs face glowed red, as he quickly climbed back onto the bed.
âDonât you want to sleep with me?â
âThatâs not it⊠Well, are you sure youâre okay? To sleep with a monster like me..â
âYour Highness! Donât say that. Youâre not a monster.â
âButâŠâ
âI told you before, didnât I?â
I took his hand and looked straight at his crimson eyes.
âDonât worry. Your curse is going to be lifted eventually.â
âMy curse?â
âYes⊠On your 18th birthday, when you reach adulthood, your curse will eventually be lifted. Eventually the day wonât be so dreadful. So donât be too discouraged, you donât need to mind what other people say. Those are just their mindless chatters.â
ââŠ18.â
A weary voice came from his small lips. Just as there is a âsuccessor of light,â there is a âsuccessor of the curseâ in the imperial family as well.
Emperor Philip, the founder of the empire, was in a romantic relationship with the goddess of light. The goddess of light shared her power with her beloved, and he founded the empire with that power. But Philip, who became emperor, betrayed the goddess of light and fell in love with another woman.
The angry goddess of light is said to have cursed Philipâs descendants.The heir to the curse is inscribed with black sentences on his face, and when it covers his whole body, it eventually leads to death. All of them died before they became adults. Blake is also driven to the brink of death on the night he turns 18.
I held Blakeâs hand in despair and hung my little finger.
âI promise you will be cured. I promise you my lifeâŠâ
âNo!â
He pulled back his hands roughly and screamed.
â What?â
âDonât promise me that! You canât die! Even if I die, you have to live!â
I brought his hand back and hung my pinky finger on his.
âIâm not going to die. Neither you nor I will. So donât worry.â
âAncia..â
âOh noâŠwhy is my husband is such a crybaby? â
I wiped away the tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.
â IâmâŠnot a crybaby!â
â Youâre crying right now.â
â No!â
Blake held back his tears by squeezing his lips and holding his snot. However, he started to cry freely as if he was overwhelmed by the emotion. I wrap my arms around him, feeling him calm down instantly at my touch.
His tears had stopped, leaving only wet tracks down his face. Then his eyelids eventually became heavy and drooped. She cuddled him until they fell asleep in the same bed.
***
Upon waking, Acia burrowed herself into the warm, soft sheets. She rubbed the remainders of sleep from her eyes and carefully rolled onto her side and looked at him.
His little face glowed from the sunlight, making gentle snuffling noises as he breathed. I was trying to touch his plump cheeks, but Blake clasped my right hand with both hands.
You said you were embarrassed, but youâre holding my hand until morning?
A smile came naturally around my lips. I stroked his hair with my left hand, soon his long eyelashes trembled as Blake opened his eyes.
âIâm sorry. Did I wake you up?â
â NoâŠ.â
Blake shook his head and smiled
âWhy are you smiling?â
â I like it a lot.â
â Hm?â
â Ancia is here with me all night.â
As Blake attempted to hide his face behind his fingers, his blush seared through his cheeks and for a minute or so.
Being transmigrated to a R-19 novel, I never thought that I would have a husband who is as cute as a rabbit. The moment I saw his smile, I vowed to make this cute husband happy.
***
I wanted to save Blake. But I couldnât lift the curse. I can only protect him until he met Diana.
Since âThe Beast and Ladyâ is a R-19 novel, the story is told from the time the main characters become adults, and details about their childhood are not revealed.
Still, the author often infers to situations and conversations from the past. The author also gives a brief explanation of the characters.
Blake has three great tragedies as a child. The first tragedy was to become the heir to the curse. And the second was the suicide of Ancia. The last, was the death of his father, Emperor Tenstheon.
When Emperor Tenstheon dies, Duke Cassil, Blakeâs uncle and Richardâs father, becomes the new emperor. Duke Cassil kicked Blake out of the crown princeâs seat, and the helpless boy spent a miserable childhood in a southern island.
Right now, Blake has already become the heir to the curse. It happened before I transmigrated. But the death of his father, Emperor Tenstheon, is a future that had not yet arrived.
Itâll be three years from now. But to prevent the death of Emperor Tenstheon, Iâd have to look at him and talk to him first. As soon as the Crown Princeâs wedding ceremony was over, the emperor left and will take at least a month to come back.
I slept with Blake every day. I ate in his room and spent every day chatting while reading books. But I realized something unusual.
âAgainâŠ.â
I gazed at the breakfasts on the table.
Only green, green, greens every single day.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, the greens keep coming out. Besides, the menu was almost the same. Spinach soup, tomato salad, and grilled mushrooms. The soup has the same taste as yesterday, so I guess they reheated it again.
I wasnât a picky eater. I can eat the same thing all week long, and itâs okay with just vegetables. So there was no complaint about the food itself.
But isnât just food for young boys and girls, but a meal for the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. In the empire, the feast of those who had the second-highest status after the emperor was feeble. I canât believe this.
ââŠYour Highness.â
âYes?â
âWhat kind of food do you like?â
âWell. Everythingâs fine.â
âDo you like meat and fish?â
âYes!â
Blake nodded brightly and put a tomato salad into his mouth. Blake is not a vegetarian. There was no particular food to be careful about because of the curse. However, there was only one reason this happened.
âYouâre ignoring him as a cursed Crown Prince.â
The Crown Princeâs Palace was located in a remote location long away from the palace where the emperor lived. The eight-year-old prince, who is stuck in a separate manor, is neither visited by the emperor nor his relatives. Moreover, his marriage partner is Ancia, a daughter of a mere count.
Ancia is older than Blake, only by two years. The Crown Prince and his wife are young and powerless; of course, they are openly ignored, but this canât continue on.