“I just wanted to hang out with you. Why are you being so cold? You weren’t like this before.”

“I have a lot to do. Let go.”

When Aila smacked away the arm holding her and pulled free, even the faint fishy smile on Fin’s face disappeared. His visibly stiffened facial muscles revealed exactly what kind of person Fin really was.

Aila tensed at his menacing expression. His black eyes glinted truly dangerously today.

The atmosphere suggested something could happen at any moment. Her instinctive senses sent signals ringing through her head.

“Why? You stick to that guy just fine. But you don’t even want to talk to me?”

“I told you I’m busy.”

He was really annoying. It seemed hard to send him away with ordinary words, which made it more troublesome.

Why was he so obsessed with her? 

The two had known each other since childhood, but they’d only exchanged a few conversations in the village and weren’t even close.

Whether he needed a friend or needed a woman, he should find someone in the village.

Fin was the most persistent among the men who hit on Aila. Perhaps his pride was hurt by her rejection, but he couldn’t accept it as it was and kept trying to cross the line.

“I told you I could make you my wife.”

“I have absolutely no desire to become your wife.”

Where did this arrogance come from, thinking Aila would be happy if he said he’d make her his wife? Did he think she’d be unconditionally pleased if he offered to take an orphan living in the forest to the village?

Fin’s way of thinking gave her chills.

Aila wouldn’t go anywhere even if offered all the gold and treasures in the world unless it was by Valentin’s side. It was clear who she wanted to spend her life with.

“You prefer beasts over humans? Tell me what’s so good about it. I’m curious.”

Fin had some kind of inferiority complex about Valentin and latched onto him every time they talked. He treated him like an inferior life form and looked down on him because he was a beastman.

“Did you like the beast’s c*ck?”

Aila’s eyes, which had been growing increasingly angry, shook greatly. How did Fin know they’d become a much more intimate pair?

“They say beastmen have bigger d*cks than humans.”

Fin came right up to her face. They were close enough to touch if she leaned forward just a little.

“Is it true?”

Disgust and fear rushed in simultaneously because of the suddenly pressed body. She tried to push his chest and escape his grip, but he didn’t budge.

“How would I know that?”

“Why wouldn’t you know? You know it well.”

She couldn’t overcome a man’s stubborn strength. Her firmly gripped wrist hurt. Fin applied force to the wrist he held like venting his anger. Aila frowned deeply and glared at Fin.

“I saw you bathing with that b*stard at the lake. Looked like you’d already gotten thoroughly stuck together.”

Aila flinched in surprise. She’d felt a strange gaze and looked around, but hadn’t discovered anything at the time. She’d passed it off thinking it was a strange sense of déjà vu, but Fin had been there.

Was he trying to blackmail her with that? It wasn’t like she and Valentin had done anything wrong.

She only now realized why Valentin’s expression had been bad that day. Also why he’d wrapped Aila tightly in the blanket to protect her.

“Living with a beast, did you give up being human?”

“…”

“Do you know how beastmen came to exist?”

“…”

“L*stful women who weren’t satisfied with humans matched their lower parts with animals and gave birth to those abnormal mongrels. That’s how it started.”

“So what?”

Unable to listen anymore, Aila ended up shouting. To Aila, Valentin was her only friend, her only family, and now her only male.

She couldn’t bear their pure hearts that truly cherished and loved each other being dirtied by such words.

“It means they’re a filthy race from their roots. Born with vile blood. If you mate with that b*stard, you’ll give birth to beast offspring too. Can’t you understand even when I explain it like this?”

“That’s not true!”

“Hah. You’re not innocent, you’re stupid and lewd. So how was it?”

“Let go.”

“Tell me. How did the beast’s c*ck taste?”

“It hurts! I said let go!”

“Are human men not enough for you too? Is that it?”

“Let go! You b*stard!”

Unable to endure the filthy insults any longer, Aila kicked Fin’s shin. Having built up leg muscles going back and forth through the mountains, quite a bit of force went into the kick.

“Ugh!”

Seeing Fin clutch his leg and scream, thinking this was her chance, Aila turned and ran away. But she was soon caught by Fin’s longer stride.

Falling with her ankle grabbed, Aila was dragged by Fin’s strength to a deserted place.

Fallen leaves and dirt from the ground dirtied her clothes, and her body bumped here and there on the uneven ground. Her slender limbs flailed in the air.

“Let go!”

“Be quiet.”

Fin dragged Aila forcibly. The place they arrived at was a secluded cave. Fin, who went inside, threw Aila down on the ground.

Unable to catch her balance and falling, her palms and face got injured. Aila glared fiercely at Fin.

“What are you doing!”

She rarely showed hostility toward others, but Fin was utterly rude. Her blue eyes were full of contempt.

“I was going to f*ck you nicely, but I guess that won’t work.”

Without batting an eye, Fin climbed on top of the fallen Aila. A nauseating smell came from Fin as he approached with heavy weight.

When intuition struck that he was trying to r*pe her, Aila swung her fists with everything she had. But instead, her wrists were caught and bound. Aila was too powerless before the man’s brutish strength.

“I’ll scream!”

“Go ahead. No one comes here. The hunters already finished hunting and went down to the village, and the only ones living in this forest are you and that beast b*stard, but that beast isn’t here right now.”

Aila’s eyes trembled finely. Fin had deliberately targeted the gap when Valentin was absent. Was this the plan behind why he kept saying he’d come visit the cabin?

Thick, rough hands lifted Aila’s skirt and fondled her thighs. They were completely different rough hands from Valentin’s beautiful, soft hands.

Filthy lustful touches that felt nothing like consideration, nothing like affection. Touches that wouldn’t hesitate at vile acts if it meant satisfying his own desires.

A creepy sensation like bugs crawling wrapped around her whole body. She wanted to kick him away hard, but her lower body was pressed down by heavy weight and it wasn’t feasible.

“Don’t touch me! You filthy b*stard!”

“Stay still. You’ll feel good soon too.”

“No! Get away!”

“If you don’t want to get hit, don’t be annoying.”

When Aila resisted fiercely, Fin scowled angrily. But Aila didn’t yield. Having someone other than Valentin touch her body was truly horrifying.

“They say women who get a taste for beast c*ck become filthy bitches. I didn’t know you were that kind of woman.”

Revealing his true colors, Fin roughly lifted her skirt and tore her clothes. His touch on Aila’s chest was rough. Pain arose from her tender flesh being kneaded haphazardly.

Her stomach churned at the filthy movements to satisfy l*st, but Aila didn’t give up resisting. She struggled desperately to escape somehow.

“Ah! Get off! Get off, I said!”

One fortunate thing was that he released her wrists to tear her clothes, allowing her to move her arms freely. Aila groped the ground and threw whatever she could grab.

Gravel and dirt mixed together flew at Fin’s face. Fin, who had been stupidly satisfying his greed absorbed in Aila’s beautiful chest, was attacked defenseless.

Whether dirt got in his eyes, he screamed and spat out rough curses.

“You d*mn b*tch!”

Without stopping, Aila groped around looking for something that could be a weapon. Whether her desperation worked, a fairly large rock came into her hand. Without hesitation, Aila hit Fin’s head with it.

“Ugh!”

One blow wasn’t nearly enough to bring Fin down. Aila swung her arm without rest. Aila got hit a few times in between, but Fin had bare fists while Aila held a rock.

Screaming in pain, Fin was the first to fall to the side. When the weight pressing down on her body disappeared, Aila hurriedly got up and ran toward the cave exit without time to fix her clothes.

Though he’d fallen bleeding, he hadn’t passed out, so he could chase after her again at any time. Aila really ran for her life.

She didn’t notice her shoes coming off. She didn’t notice scratches forming on her feet and legs. She ran like crazy, repeating only the words that she had to escape.

She hoped Valentin had returned. That he’d return and hold her tight.

Aila recalled his warm embrace, his strong arms, his affectionate gaze.

If Valentin comforted her saying it was okay now, the insult she’d just suffered would become nothing, and all the filthy traces left on her body would be washed away.

She ran thinking only of him. Grass roots, branches, and bushes scratched Aila’s white legs.

When she struggled back to the cabin, Valentin was really standing there.

As soon as Aila saw Valentin, she jumped into his arms. When she rubbed her face against his large, firm chest, the tears she’d been holding back poured out. His clean clothes became a mess with tears.

“Why do you look like this?”

Valentin’s face and voice sank coldly. Torn clothes everywhere, disheveled hair, scratched skin, tear-stained cheeks.

She looked exactly like a woman who’d been through something terrible.

“Tell me.”

His voice dropped frighteningly low.

“Aila! Who did this?”

“Ngh, hngh, mmh, ngh…”

Aila burrowed into his embrace again. Right now she just wanted to cry. She wanted to be held in Valentin’s broad embrace, soothe her startled heart, and hear him say it was all okay, that it was okay so don’t cry. She felt like he would understand everything.

But Valentin separated Aila’s body again and lifted her face. His large hand gently cupping her wiped away her tears. Her nose stung at the familiar body temperature touching her cheek.

“Look at me.”

Aila looked up at Valentin with tear-filled eyes. The coldest, most deeply angry face she’d ever seen filled her vision. His expressionless appearance suppressing his anger was unfamiliar.

“Who did this?”

Valentin asked again. His voice had dropped another level.

“Ngh, F-Fin… mmh, came to the cabin, hngh, ngh.”

“Which direction?”

“Mmh, the cave, in the south, ngh.”

“Got it.”

Valentin pressed a kiss firmly to Aila’s forehead, calmly stroked her back, and sat her on the bed. He wrapped her body in a blanket and tidied her tangled hair too.

“Wait. I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t go, ngh, hngh.”

Aila didn’t want to be alone and grabbed him. But Valentin gathered Aila’s hands attached to his arm, lightly kissed them, and placed them neatly on her lap.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be right back. Just count to 100 and I’ll be here.”