The Beast Who Has Returned Obsesses Over Me - Chapter 13

“Why are you so late?”

As expected. Leon’s voice was rough and fierce.

“I came…… right away.”

Once again, her voice was full of fear.

That’s when she noticed it. Blood had soaked through the bandage across his chest. The bandage had definitely been clean just moments ago. How much must he have moved around and shouted harsh words for it to get to this state? His temper remained the same. He still rushed in without thinking things through, even though it would only bring him disadvantage. It was clear he would only suffer harm if he got on Luke’s bad side, who held all the real power, but this hadn’t changed.

But what more did Luke have to say? He wasn’t someone she wanted to deal with.

“We need to change your bandage.”

There was no choice. She turned to get new bandages from the shelf.

“It’s fine.”

He seemed to mutter something about how seeing the wound would make her more afraid, but she ignored his words. How could it be fine when the bandage needed to be changed quickly? She opened the box and took out the bandages.

She began to unwrap the bandage with careful movements. As Leon watched her doing this, his eyes gradually grew darker.

Leon let out a deep sigh. Now that he had returned alive, he realized Yvonne feared him more than he had thought. It wasn’t the kind of reaction he had expected. But what mattered was that he could have what he wanted. What he had desired so much.

He needed to devise a strategy for dealing with Luke. First priority was focusing on recovery. To avoid being defeated like this again. That’s why Yvonne was suffering now.

“Is the wound not terrible?”

He turned his gaze to Yvonne who was diligently wrapping the bandage.

“It’s fine.”

The wound was terrible. Her hands trembled slightly as she wrapped the bandage, but Leon didn’t seem to notice. There were stitches here and there, and some places were torn open. But it wasn’t as terrible as Leon getting angry.

“That’s good.”

His tense shoulders relaxed. He genuinely seemed relieved by her answer. Was he that concerned about it? Was that why he didn’t want to change the bandage? Muttering about how seeing the wound would make her more afraid? Why would he care about such things?

“Yvonne.”

After she finished wrapping the new bandage, he met her eyes. His pupils had sunken infinitely deep.

“You are my fiancée.”

Yvonne just stayed still. She didn’t understand why he was declaring this known fact so seriously. She just slowly nodded. His satisfied expression that followed was even more puzzling.

“You should rest.”

His face looked very tired. She could see the fatigue around his eyes. He must have spent a lot of energy in his conversation with Luke, as he didn’t object to her words.

After leaving his room again, Yvonne headed outside to check on the garden. But something felt very awkward and uncomfortable inside.

Leon wasn’t getting angry. There had been at least several situations where he could have gotten angry, but he just let them all pass. Even now. She wondered how he managed to contain his boiling anger. No, why he was containing it was the bigger question. Had Leon always been capable of controlling his anger this well?

She didn’t know how long it would last, but recently he hadn’t been getting angry with her. Except for when he misunderstood about there being another man.

Rather, he seemed more concerned about her being afraid of him. She had always been afraid, so why was he caring about it now?

She could only keep tilting her head in confusion.

***

Leon barely ate anything.

The maid came out carrying the tray that was almost untouched, even though he had said he would have dinner in his bedroom because he wasn’t feeling well.

Yvonne quietly entered his room.

Leon, sitting on the bed and quietly looking out the window, appeared extremely tired.

Yet his gaze, when he turned to her, began to show signs of life again. This too was still unfamiliar.

“Should I call for a doctor?”

She was worried. He had never eaten so poorly before. Was something else hurting……

Leon just shook his head without answering. Something was definitely strange. He would have no energy since he hadn’t eaten anything.

“I’ll feel better after some rest.”

He lay down on the bed, looking exhausted.

Would he be alright after sleeping? Yvonne felt uneasy about leaving the room right away, as she had never seen Leon so dejected before.

She quietly sat down in the chair beside the bed and observed him for a moment.

Leon didn’t take his eyes off her. Then he slowly reached out and cradled her face. As his hand slowly and gently caressed her cheek, she felt awkward again but remained still. There was nothing threatening about it.

His touch even carried a hint of tenderness. His eyes trembled slightly. Was he anxious, or was this because of something else she didn’t know about? If he was anxious, what could he possibly have to be anxious about? She couldn’t understand.

This time, his hand gently stroked around her eyes.

“Your eyes.”

His deep, low voice wrapped around her subtly.

“They’re like jewels.”

Flustered, she began to wander, not knowing where to fix her gaze. She truly hadn’t expected him to say such things. Suddenly, she became more acutely aware of his touch. Her breathing began to tremble unsteadily.

But suddenly, she remembered something from the past.

[Your eyes are beautiful like jewels.]

When she was very young, while visiting the Duke’s mansion and spending time with the twin brothers, Luke, the older twin, had complimented her purple eyes like that.

She remembered her face turning red from embarrassment. Though the mischievous Leon had teased her right after.

As soon as his brother said that, Leon came running over and sneered with a mocking gaze.

[What jewels? They just look like creepy bugs, nothing but strange.]

She remembered crying because he teased her so much. Leon had tormented her since childhood. Bullying and teasing her. Of course, they had little interaction after that until they met again after she matured. After becoming adults, Leon had changed and frequently came asking to be engaged to her.

But now she heard the same words from Leon. It was a statement that made her face strangely flush.

As though he wanted to fluster her more, his touch continued for a while longer. Then, seemingly satisfied, he withdrew his hand.

Only then could she finally leave the room.

Even while climbing the stairs, she kept looking back at the bedroom door. As she often did, her head kept tilting in confusion.

***

Knock knock knock.

“Miss. Miss.”

Yvonne had just fallen asleep when she opened her eyes at the voice calling her. Hearing Nora’s urgent voice, she quickly got up and put on a robe over her nightgown.

When she opened the door, Nora was standing there anxiously.

“Lord Leon…… is groaning in pain right now.”

While explaining that she had been checking the hall before bed when she heard strange sounds from the bedroom and rushed over in surprise, Yvonne hurried down the stairs. He had looked strange, and now something had indeed happened.

When she rushed into his bedroom, he was writhing in bed. Groans escaped through his clenched teeth. He seemed to be having a nightmare.

As she got closer, she saw his face was drenched in cold sweat. When she quickly placed her hand on his forehead, it was burning hot.

“Leon. Leon.”

She tried to wake him by shaking his shoulders. She needed to check if he had lost consciousness. But only suppressed moans escaped from his lips.

Yvonne decided she had no choice but to shake him harder.

Ugh.

This time, a cry of pain burst from her lips. Leon, who suddenly woke up, gripped her wrist with killing force. It was brutally strong, unbelievably so for someone in his condition. It felt like her wrist would break. A painful scream escaped from Yvonne’s lips.

“Y……vonne?”

As if he finally came to his senses, the merciless pain on her wrist suddenly decreased.

She barely escaped from his brutal grip. Yvonne rubbed her wrist that was still throbbing. Looking down at Leon who was breathing heavily with labored breaths, she could clearly see the confusion and anxiety filling his eyes.

She quickly ordered Nora, who had followed her, to bring cold water and towels.

When she approached again, Leon flinched and became highly alert at her sudden appearance. Though he seemed to relax once he recognized it was her.

Even with his eyes wide open like that, he seemed confused about whether he was still in the Count’s mansion or on the battlefield. The war trauma seemed worse than expected.

Nora quietly left after placing the items she brought beside them. She quickly approached him with a towel soaked in cold water.