However, she questioned whether another animal of the beast’s species existed in this forest. As she had been surprised when first seeing him, Olivia had never encountered a beast like him in her life, either in reality or in books. The beast was such an unrealistic existence that he felt more like a divine beast from legends than an ordinary animal. His size, appearance, the intimidating aura he exuded, and abilities like suddenly disappearing into shadow—all of it.

“So is the beast going to look for a mate? Or is another beast coming here?”

— The beast is alone in the world. There are no other beasts.

“Hmm? But you just mentioned mating season… Then how does he handle the mating season?”

— He just endures it. If he bears through that period and passes it, it becomes calm again.

“I’m human, so I don’t know much about mating seasons, but isn’t it painful to just endure alone?”

— That’s why during this period, sometimes the mansion shakes or loud noises occur, but there’s nothing to be done. It’s an unsolvable, ah, no. Just that.

As if unable to say more, the cat deliberately yawned and buried its face in its neatly folded front paws. While stroking the back of the cat that was throwing a sleepy tantrum, Olivia felt somewhat sorry for the beast. Though she wasn’t in a position to feel that way, still.

— It would be best if you didn’t encounter him, especially during this period.

At that moment, a bird that seemed ready to return home, fluttering its wings and arranging its feathers, quietly added a comment. Though she was trapped inside the bars and couldn’t avoid the beast at will—in fact, the prison might be safer—the bird was still worried that something might happen to the kind human. Since this was the first time a human had been within reach of the beast during his mating season in the mansion, nothing could be easily predicted.

— But he’ll handle it himself.

The bird, muttering something with its small beak, finished its flight preparations and flew into the sky with flapping wings. Following the bird’s departure, other animals also began preparing to leave one by one. Everyone’s leaving early today. Olivia affectionately waved to the departing animals and only then found herself alone again in the quiet prison.

Leaning against the window with a feeling of loneliness, gazing at the sky, Olivia anxiously glanced at the stairs as another roar continued. She had a premonition that reality might be different from what the animals had casually described, and it sent a cold shiver down her spine.

* * *

Thump thump. Grrrrrr. After a strong vibration that shook the entire mansion, a noisy sound followed, like rough bricks being ground away.

Though she had decorated it in her own way, when darkness fell at night, Olivia’s room was somehow filled with a desolate atmosphere. As the beast’s mating season built up day by day, the visiting animals had hidden themselves somewhere, leaving only a stark, lonely emptiness rolling around the prison.

As the saying goes, “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone,” Olivia felt so bored and helpless lately that she would be genuinely happy if not only the animals but even the beast who hated her came to visit.

“Come to think of it, it’s been a really long time since I saw his face.”

The beast was already difficult to see normally, but lately, she couldn’t see him at all except for the roaring sounds, to the point where she wouldn’t know they were in the same mansion. This morning, she had even caught herself grumbling inwardly, “He imprisoned me but doesn’t come to check?” and was surprised at herself.

“I didn’t know mating season could cause such major phenomena, but I guess it’s different because he’s a beast rather than a regular animal?”

Muttering to herself without anyone to talk to, Olivia rummaged through her bag. She had already done this countless times. Fingering the few remaining ingredients, Olivia recalled herbs that could somewhat calm the sensitive senses of animals in heat. If she could meet him and examine his condition in detail, she might be able to make a helpful medicine… She kept worrying, knowing how sensitive and distressed ordinary animals became during mating season.

“But I can’t leave here, so how can I…!”

Suddenly, with a shake far greater than before, Olivia collapsed to the floor. The massive tremor, enough to make her feel nauseated, lasted quite a while. She curled up tightly in the corner of the prison.

From somewhere, a loud sound—whether a shout or a scream—began to echo and reverberate. The thunderous noise, like the eerie howling wind said to be heard when storms blow through narrow caves, foretold an ominous future like a funeral dirge. She buried her head in her knees as much as possible and covered her head with both hands. The bars shook as if about to break, and stone dust scattered down from the ceiling. Though imprisoned in the Duke’s mansion, the grim thought that her cause of death might be building collapse made her gnaw her lower lip anxiously as she squeezed her eyes shut.

‘It suddenly got quiet.’

The noise that had deafened her ears, more violent than thunder and lightning, vanished without a trace in an instant. In the artificial silence where she could feel her own heartbeat, she cautiously surveyed her surroundings. Though the floor was a mess from stone dust that had fallen as the entire tower shook, the ceiling hadn’t collapsed anywhere yet. Except for the slightly twisted box tower, was everything thankfully still intact? Olivia’s eyes froze, staring at one spot.

“I can get out……”

Muttering blankly, Olivia crawled across the floor toward where the bars “had been.” The prison had definitely been designed with bars that moved up and down without any door, but the bars that had confined her had disappeared. They hadn’t broken in one place—they had vanished completely. The only trace of where the bars had been was a faint, long scratch-like line on the floor. As she crossed that line without any hindrance, Olivia couldn’t hide her bewilderment.

‘I thought only the beast could make the bars disappear like this, but could it be……’

The unusually violent phenomenon and the suddenly vanished prison bars… Moving sluggishly, Olivia roughly grabbed her bag and began quickly descending the stairs. Having been confined inside for so long, even this much movement felt awkward, and her feet kept getting tangled. Barely escaping the staircase leading from the tower, Olivia exhaled her rough breathing and looked around the empty corridor.

“Beast?”

Though she quietly called for the beast, no answer came. Walking down the carpeted corridor without making a sound, one step at a time, Olivia searched for the beast by opening doors one by one, just as she had when looking for Kale. As she tried to call his name to find him, she suddenly realized that she had only ever called him “beast” and had never even exchanged names with him.

‘I really don’t know anything at all.’

She had boldly stayed in this mansion to pay the debt in Kale’s place, but she knew nothing proper about the Duke, the beast, or this mansion, except for a few bits of information the animals had told her. She only knew a bunch of rumors that might not even be true.

First, I need to find the beast and check if he’s okay, then look for ways I can help. Though she had run down the stairs as if escaping, Olivia was making completely opposite plans as she searched for the beast.

She had never intended to run away from the moment she promised to stay here in Kale’s place to pay the debt. She had rushed down in alarm because the suddenly vanished bars made her worry that the beast, the guardian of the prison, might be in danger.

After searching rooms throughout the mansion, which was too large to fully explore, Olivia stopped in front of a large, ornate door that was difficult to approach casually. The curtain covering the door fluttered in the wind coming through the open corridor window. Grasping the doorknob visible between the swaying fabric, Olivia took a deep breath and carefully pushed the door with her whole body.

“Excuse me.”

As soon as she entered through the narrow gap she had created, the door closed with a heavy thud. Though it was just a loud noise caused by the wind, a fear of being cut off from the world suddenly welled up inside her. Olivia pressed herself against the closed door, momentarily calming her anxiously pounding heart.

“Beast?”

The interior, several times larger than any room she had examined so far, had all its windows blocked with thick blackout curtains, preventing even the faint moonlight from entering. The pitch-black darkness completely blocked Olivia’s vision, making her doubt whether her eyes were open or closed. She groped through the air, moving inward step by step. Though she couldn’t see anything, she didn’t immediately turn back because of the hot air she felt in the room.

“You are here, aren’t you?”