Creus raked his hand through his hair in frustration, pacing with fury.
The guards said that she was accompanied by a lethal green snake but there was no sign resistance at all even when he had approached her this close despite having no prior relationship that would make him get recognized by her natal spirit. Normally, her natal beast would have struck him to protect her from strangers but there wasn't even a shadow of that thing coming forward to lunge at him.
"No wonder there was no defensive surge from your natal beast. It was missing!"
Damn it all! Creus felt so betrayed despite not being bonded. But how could he not? This woman is promised to him yet some clueless shit just waltz in and claimed his woman without thinking of the possible aftermath.
"You bonded with a premature spirit! Are you fucking dunce?" Creus was enraged but mostly due to her negligence as well as her glaring ignorance.
"I-I don't understand what you're talking about—"
"Oh, you will understand," he snapped. "You've been locked in here, untouched and protected, because if a feral beastman even breathed too close, he might've claimed you—and killed you in the process!"
Asha's heart pounded and rocked harshly against her chest. Protect? All her life her clan treated her as a prisoner, devoid of freedom!
After selling her to these beasts like a loose woman, she was akin to breeding sow waiting to be devoured!
Why is he trying to twist facts in front of her face? Protect? It was clearly them whom she needed protection from!
He didn't know what she felt all this time while growing up bound inside the suffocating walls of her room. How scary and agonizing it was to be all alone.
And besides...
"What do you mean by feral beastmen?"
Aren't all beasts feral just the same? What kind of nonsense is he trying to feed her now?
She had no knowledge of what a feral beast is but for this man to be this agitated and glaring… Asha could see that there was nothing good about it.
After all, it wasn't called a beastman for nothing. Is that creature really worse than a normal beastman?
Asha heart became more unsettled.
Seeing her foolish face getting increasingly nervous and fearful, Creus cluck his tongue in annoyance and exhaled exasperatedly.
"Ferals are vile beastmen. The same as the criminals in your world who targets females the most to do the unthinkable. Why do you think no one touched you even after knowing you were betrothed? You think we're celibate monks? That we've been waiting patiently out of courtesy?"
"You were supposed to be guarded! Preserved until your natal beast matures and ready to fulfill your duties to carry an Enigma's cub in your womb—aish, fuck! Why am I the one telling you this?" He groaned sharply.
Asha flinched and her frail heart sunk a little while being yelled at but she didn't try to butt in or stop the man from talking. She held her tears back while nibbling her then swollen lips and endured the man's fierceness.
"Did your fucking ancestors not tell you anything before sending you all the way to Genos? It's a common knowledge yet you don't seem to know anything other than looking frail, white and beautiful. So useless!"
"No one bothered to educate me about you all aside from the servants talking about your race so how would I—huh?"
Surprised, Asha blinked rapidly like a typhoon and before she knew it, the girl felt her cheeks burn like she was hyperventilating.
D-did he just called her white and beautiful?!
'He's... he's crazy!' Asha tried to cover her blushing face and look away.
One moment he was chiding and now he's suddenly complimenting her? If the man wasn't insane, then he's probably tough nut to crack!
But even then, although he was certainly looking very pissed off, Asha's face unconsciously flushed with a deep crimson shade and couldn't help but hiccup when he said she was beautiful with a straight face. It was the first some told her she was beautiful. That, well, in a brutally honest way tho.
So, truth to be told, she was quite unsure how to feel about his remarks.
Sigh, nevermind.
Meanwhile, unaware of the young woman's thoughts, Creus continued to gush in revilement.
"Those damn mortals who knows nothing but money in their useless heads! They're so needlessly smart when taking profits but so pathetic when it comes to educating their descendants!"
Creus felt a rush of anger with the urge to break someone's neck. He took a deep breath and stared at the woman with a blade-like questioning gaze.
"Listen here, when was the last time you saw your beast?"
Asha lowered her head, and voiced hesitantly, "Umh... Last month?"
"Last month?!"
Creus echoed and his jaws tightened in displeasure. "And yet you don't even sound certain? What the hell?"
A flash of annoyance crossed his eyes. Suddenly, he didn't feel optimistic in mating with a foolish woman but Creus was someone who stays firm in his beliefs of pursuing one woman in his lifetime.
In any case, he might've known this would be the case with her natal beast but he still had to confirm.
How troublesome indeed!
The man muttered a curse under his breath.
"So you let your natal beast wander around all by itself. How stupid. I'm guessing it wasn't the first time you let her off."
It wasn't even a question.
Asha shrunk little by little in her place. Creus was spot on.
It was because she felt sorry for herself and felt guiltier for her companion beast for being lock away so she started letting her sneak out on its own and leave freely but who would have thought it would go out just to flirt and get smashed instead of getting some fresh air?
'Little Green! You troublesome girl! Just where on earth are you? You have so much explaining to do when you return!'
Oh gods, why is that little snake not coming back anyway? Could it be that this man is really saying the truth? Is it really dying somewhere out there?!
Although she wanted to locate it right then and there to give it an earful, and punish it for probably causing something irreversible just like the man claimed, the problem was, she couldn't.
The two of them haven't completed assimilating with one another. There's just no way she could verify things unless the green snake returns to her side so they could connect their consciousness.
"How can you be so careless? You're not even aware what was happening with your other half! You don't even realize that it bonded with a beastman. It was too early for that—and what's more? Now your natal spirit is missing and you don't know where it was!"
His glaring eyes darkened.
"Seeing how it couldn't return on your side in time, it was probably in a dire state for mating prematurely and for the very first time. Do you want to die so bad?!"
Overwhelmed by his terrifying aura, Asha unconsciously staggered back.
"I-I didn't… I really didn't know—!"
No one told her about anything at all!
And besides...
"I made a mistake but why do you keep on shouting at me? If you're my future husband, why are you being so mean to me? Instead of shouting so cruelly why couldn't you just remind me the things I wasn't aware of with a calmer voice? I-I'm not stupid, how can you be so quick to judge and unreasonable?!"
Asha felt so aggrieved but mostly frightened.
And just why would she die? This is just so unfair!
With eyes glowing wildly, Creus stalked toward her. From her point of view, it was akin to a hungry beast slowly approaching with ill intent. It felt so terrifying that her knees trembled on their own.
The man's sheer presence was terrorizing! And ultimately, this made Asha whimper pitifully likened to a cornered kitten in front of a big predator.