The Beast Who Has Returned Obsesses Over Me - Chapter 4

He had done so many strange things since his return that this barely fazed her; it didn’t come as a surprise or a shock.

He slowly opened his mouth in her direction.  Unsure of what he meant, she simply stared back blankly. 

“Ah.”

Realizing belatedly, she couldn’t help but let out a gasp of surprise, despite telling herself not to be surprised.  Did he… Did he want her to feed him?  One of his hands was fine, so why?

He had been spouting such strange nonsense, and now he was resorting to bossing her around as a new form of torment?

His gaze followed her as she sat back down, piercing through her.  Couldn’t he look somewhere else…?

The spoon trembled in her hand as she lifted it toward him.  Naturally, the spoon shook along with her hand.  She barely managed to get the spoon into his mouth without spilling.  It was going to be torture to feed him this whole bowl if it was already this difficult. 

Even as he ate each bite, Leon’s gaze remained fixed on her, as if she would disappear if he looked away for even a second.  She felt like she would be the one to disappear, crumbling under his intense gaze.

Afraid to meet his eyes, she kept her gaze fixed on his chin.  His chest rose and fell with increasingly heavy breaths.  She hoped it was just the pain from his injuries, but it didn’t seem like it.  The atmosphere grew stranger and stranger.  Even she, oblivious as she was, couldn’t help but notice.

Uncomfortable, her breathing grew ragged as well.  Her breath caught in her throat, as if the air itself was thinning.  She had never experienced this with Leon before.  What more could he possibly want from her to be acting like this?  He had plenty of women he could see if he went outside.  She knew it all.

Yet, Leon continued to steer the mood in a strange and unsettling direction.  The air grew thick with tension.  Her wavering eyes finally locked onto his. 

It was as if he couldn’t help himself, trapped with the only woman in sight. 

He must have been starved for female company after spending over a year on the battlefield.  But even so, how could he look at her like that in his current state?  She couldn’t misunderstand the meaning behind his gaze.

Even if he hadn’t been with a woman in a while, why me, all of a sudden? Please, don’t do this. A different kind of fear washed over her than she had ever felt before.

Never, ever had she experienced this kind of tension with Leon.  He was the one who had said, 

[What man would ever be interested in you?  If it weren’t for me, you’d probably die an old maid.]

So why was he looking at her like that now…?

Her pale lips trembled.

Oh, no.

Her hand shook so violently that the soup sloshed over the edge of the spoon and onto the bandage covering his chest.  Her eyes widened in horror.

He hated even a speck of dust on his clothes.  He was so particular about such things that he would often brush off his shoulders, even when there was nothing there.

[Throw it away.]

Once, when she had accidentally made a tiny stain on his handkerchief, he had immediately tossed it at her and ordered her to throw it away.

But now…  A long streak of soup stained his bandage.

What… What should she do?

She froze, spoon in hand, at a complete loss for what to do.

“I’m… I’m so sorry… Let me wipe it…”

“It’s fine.”

What?

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

“I can change the bandage later.  Don’t worry about it.”

Her breath hitched.  Was this really Leon speaking?  If this were the past, he would have thrown the entire bowl of soup at her by now.  He was so different from his usual self that she didn’t know how to react. 

“There’s not a single piece of meat in this.”

He finally voiced his complaint.  He needed to eat well to recover quickly, so of course, he would say something about this watery soup.  But the fact that he had eaten it all without a word until now was even stranger.

Was he more bothered by the watery soup than the stain on his bandage?  Was that it?  If this were the Leon she remembered, the order of his priorities would be reversed…

It seemed like his recovery came first now.

“That’s why you’re so thin, eating food like this.”

What? Yvonne cautiously looked at him again.  He had said another strange thing.  He wasn’t unhappy about eating such meager food… he was worried about her.

She hadn’t misheard him.  Even his gaze said the same thing.  Disapproval dripped from his eyes as they swept from the top of her head to her toes.  But it wasn’t a look of reproach or disgust, but genuine concern that she looked so pitiful.  No, it was more like he was the one hurting.

This was Leon, who wouldn’t bat an eye at whipping her back bloody.

“Bring me some paper and a pen.”

She didn’t wonder what he was planning.  When he gave an order, she moved automatically.  She hurried to the window.  A worn-out desk sat beneath the window, its broken glass panes replaced with wooden boards.  She opened a drawer, grabbed what he needed, and returned to him.

Leon used his uninjured hand to scribble something down.

“Send this to the Duke’s mansion.”

He handed her the folded piece of paper and gave her the order.  No, it wasn’t an order.  He was simply conveying his wishes.  His voice wasn’t forceful or sharp like it used to be.  Perhaps his injuries were so severe that he didn’t even have the energy to raise his voice after eating such a paltry meal.

“Tell them to prepare a decent meal with the money they give you.”

So this note was a request for money from the Duke’s mansion.  Leon was the second son, so he was entitled to some allowance.  She knew that much.  He had lived quite comfortably on that money until now.  He must have found the food he just ate so unpalatable that he wanted her to prepare something better for his next meal.  He was sending her on this errand because he didn’t want to eat such food ever again.  Of course, none of this would be necessary if they were at the Duke’s mansion.

“Don’t get your hopes up.”

He looked genuinely excited, like someone who hadn’t had a decent meal in ages.  He couldn’t have eaten that badly on the battlefield, could he?

“Hurry up.”

At his words, Yvonne snapped out of her thoughts and turned around.  The skirt of her dress fluttered behind her as she hurried away.  Leon’s gaze, deep in thought, followed her until she disappeared from sight.

***

After sending the servants, Jack and Nora, to the Duke’s mansion, Yvonne turned back.  The Duke’s and Count’s mansions were located on opposite sides of the same mountain, so it wouldn’t take them long to get there.

As she stepped inside the mansion, the few remaining servants glanced at her with anxious eyes.  She could only offer them a weak smile.  To them, she was an incompetent master.

Her despairing gaze fell upon the hideous chandelier hanging from the hall ceiling.  She had always seen it, but today it looked even more dreadful.  The dust-covered, broken, and chipped chandelier seemed to reflect her own pathetic state.  The broken windows, the drab curtains, the worn-out and creaking floors and stairs… everything she saw deepened her despair.  This was where Leon was.  She had to live with him here, in this condition, for who knew how long.  The thought filled her with dread, especially now that he was acting so strangely.  There was no telling what he might do next.

With vacant eyes, she glanced around her surroundings before turning with heavy steps.

Yvonne hesitated outside her father’s bedroom door, unable to bring herself to enter.  Couldn’t she just… not go in…?  Nothing good could come from entering that room.  She was already trembling enough as it was.

She stood there, hands clasped tightly together, unable to bring herself to reach for the doorknob.

But the room was eerily silent.  Even after all this time, she hadn’t heard Leon’s voice calling for her.  It wasn’t like him to be so patient.

Before he could unleash his fury upon her, she gathered her courage and quietly opened the door, slipping inside.  The only sound in the quiet room was the steady rhythm of his breathing.

Treading softly, she crept closer to him.

Ah.  He’s asleep. 

A sigh of relief escaped her lips.  Leon’s sleeping face looked utterly exhausted.  It was as if he was finally allowing himself to rest, slipping into a light slumber.  He looked truly at peace, as if he had finally found solace in this place.

She quietly slipped out of the room again, holding her breath so as not to wake him. She was lucky. That he fell asleep.

Whew….

Only after she came outside, she could finally let out a long sigh of relief. She had been holding her breath for so long that she had to take a deep breath. Her small, delicate body sagged. She felt like she needed to sit down somewhere.