A body larger than a bear, an incomparable destructive force, an almost God-like species.
The leopard Shinsu had been a king ruling over people since he was born. He was not raised to confront petty, weak humans.
Such a great species.
The boy crossed his arms.
“You’re more afraid of that useless speck of a human being than this noble body?”
“Yes. First off, he was gigantic, not a speck.”
“Why? Looks are deceiving. I could tear his heart out with a swipe of a paw, you know.”
“Lord Rohadi is just really big, you can see that too. It’s just scary.”
He looks like the innkeeper that used to beat me.
She couldn’t say that, obviously.
He gave her a questioning look after the evasive remark. The answer didn’t seem to please him.
Belinda hurriedly changed the subject.
“Let’s go to my room. You need to heal.”
When she looked down, there was a little black beast before her eyes.
He hit the floor with his tail.
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「Take me in your arms. My ankle hurts」
“…….”
Belinda lowered herself without a word and held out her hands.
The face of the cat, sorry, leopard, looking up at her sulkily was irresistibly cute.
But she couldn’t say that either, could she…
He scampered onto her arm. Belinda gently smoothed out the soft hair on his back as she walked inside.
You said you could take out the knight with a single swipe, and now you want to snuggle up against me because your ankle hurts.
Belinda snickered at the thought.
“What’s your name?”
「Aymon. Aymon Arkin.”」
“I’m Belinda. You heard it earlier, right? You can call me Birdy, though. That’s what my mom used to call me.”
“All right, Birdy.”
Aymon looked up at her.
「A humble human should not dare to make eye contact with me.」
“Then won’t you be friends with me, a humble human?”
「 That’s not what I meant.」
Aymon sighed defeatedly. He just couldn’t make sense of the girl.
He tapped her arm and almost recoiled at the feel of her skin. It was much softer than he’d assumed. He pricked his ears and started playing around with it.
Belinda grinned.
“It tickles. But you’re so cute. The soles of your feet are soft.”
「…….」
Aymon snatched his paw away and looked at the floor.
As soon as they arrived to the palace, Belinda asked the maid for ointment and bandages.
She carefully washed the blood off the leopard’s legs with clean water..
There was no serious injury. Only a slight cut remained.
“It’s not a big wound. That’s a relief.”
Belinda smiled to herself as she applied ointment to Aymon’s hind legs and bandaged them.
I can’t believe you asked me to hug you because of such a slight wound. Isn’t that the cutest thing ever?
She didn’t know the whole truth, though.
When they first saw each other, Aymon was badly hurt from having fallen off the cliff and torn open his leg on a branch – that’s why he couldn’t move for a while and was in pain.
However, Shinsu’s healing powers were excellent
By the time they came across the knight Rohadi, only a slight throbbing pain remained.
Still, he didn’t mind Belinda’s careful touch, sohe just remained silent.
“There. You’re good. The sun’s already set… Can you go back in the dark?”
It was a cloudy day. Outside, even with the slivers of moonlight that shone through, everything was enveloped in a dreary darkness. Only the sound of the wind could be heard coming from the desolate forest.
Aymon answered in a flat tone.
「What are you talking about? My attack abilities are superior. I’m Shinsu, for crying out loud. The night is my time.」
“Oh, really? Have a safe trip home, then.”
Belinda started putting away all the ointments and bandages.
Aymon glanced at her with a sharp look before leaning on a soft cushion.
His black tail moved gently.
「I’ll just sleep here.」
“Yeah. Okay. Of course.”
Belinda nodded absentmindedly. It was Aymon who was embarrassed by her repeated affirmation.
「What do you know about me to let me stay here just like that?」
“You? Just that you’re a cute cat.”
「…….」
He didn’t even bother to correct her again. He flapped his tail around rather nervously, which was rather strange for someone that could usually fall asleep anywhere.
「You’ve treated me very kindly, so I’m sleeping here. It’s the first time I’ll sleep in a human habitat.」
“How come?”
「Because we’re not friendly with human beings.」
“And why would that be?”
「We don’t like humans.”」
“Why don’t you like them?”
Belinda continued to prod away like a nosy child.
Aymon scratched away at the pillow nervously as if he was expecting it to give him an answer.
「Human beings smell cunning and foolish.」
“Do I smell like that too?”, Belinda asked, concernedly sniffing her wrist. All she could smell was expensive perfume. She wasn’t a girl living on the streets anymore, she was a princess.
「You’re fine.」
Aymon answered lazily, his chin rested on a cushion.
“Ah, that’s a relief. What is that smell like, though?”
「It’s a thing, it really is. You’re just a human kid, you don’t need to know.」
He wasn’t talking about an actual scent. It was just the easiest comparison to, well, simply human nature, which any animal like him could feel by instinct. Most of the people he’d met before Belinda were high-ranking nobles and royals, cunning and arrogant.
To a beast like him, it was easier understood as a stench that surrounded them wherever they went.
However, Belinda couldn’t wrap her head around his words.
She went into her dressing room and changed into a silk chemise.
Instinctive smell?
She, a human, couldn’t know.
She came back into the room, turning on the soft lights before laying down on a rug on the floor. The feeling was familiar to her – so much so that it was way more comfortable than the bed. She shuffled a bit to get closer to Aymon. He frowned when he felt a hand stroking his nose and moved his long whiskers slightly.
Even that is cute about him.
He was so tiny and cute as a kitten. Great Leopard Shinsu….. in Belinda’s eyes he was just an adorable black kitten.
“Aymon.”
「What.」
Belinda couldn’t help but giggle a bit about his lazy voice, answering even while he was half-asleep.
“How old are you? I’m eleven.”
「Nine.」
“I’m your noona, then?”
「Noona?」
Aymon laughed. She certainly spoke like a noona.
“Wouldn’t you be an adult already, if you’re nine? Since you’re an animal. But you’re still…….”
「We’re not like ordinary leopards. We grow all at once, when we are about eighteen or nineteen. That’s when we have our coming-of-age ceremony.」
“I see.”
So you’re going to stay this cute for another 10 years?
Belinda rubbed Aymon’s forehead, suddenly in a good mood. Her fingertips brushed slightly against the purple stone on his forehead.
He slapped her hand away, barely remembering to retract his claws.
「Hey, don’t touch me.」
“Huh? Are you in a bad mood? I’m sorry……”
「”It feels a little… … Anyways, don’t touch it.」
He was relieved he was in cat form – if he were human his ears would have been burning red.
Belinda nodded understandingly.
“Can I touch anything else?”
「……What are you saying?」
Aymon sighed again.
“By the way, Aymon. How did you get here? Didn’t you say you don’t go near humans?”
「You saw them. Those kids with the spotted fur」
“Yeah.”
「Well, this is where I ended up after they chased me.」
“But why did you fall off the cliff?”
「I didn’t see it behind me. It was a stupid mistake.」
Belinda looked at the pretty beast, taking her hand off Aymon’s forehead.
“Why don’t you get along with those cats, if they’re just like you? Did you fight?”
Aymon didn’t answer.
The problem was that he was born a black leopard. It wasn’t his fault that the colour of his fur was so dark, but most leopards still avoided him. He was born from a bloodline of ruthlessness, and they were afraid that Aymon would kill them just as the black leopard did 500 years ago.
Although he had the title of Shinsu, he was still just nine years old.
He approached the cats because he was lonely and wanted a friend. They couldn’t be friends, so they ended up fighting instead.
That was it.
Better to stay lonely and fight than have a fake friend. It was just his personality.
「…Just because.」
Aymon yawned and turned around. It seemed to mean “Don’t talk to me, I’m going to sleep.”
Belinda gently swept down the fur on the back of his head.
The cat sighed, as if he were annoyed. However, he didn’t resist her.
He smiled.
That’s so cute.
A little rough around the edges, but…… she had a friend that was a cute little leopard and a breathtaking boy.
That alone made Belinda happy
After that day, Aymon went in and out of Belinda’s palace like it was his own home.
He always excused himself with something along the lines of only coming for food, but they were already friends. More or less.