beast chapter 11

“My lady, are you a fairy?”

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s alright. You can be honest with me. I’ll forgive you. You’re cute.”

“Excuse me? What are you talking about…?”

“Just as I said. Are you a fairy?”

Ariette blinked her wide eyes. She’d been told she looked like a fairy countless times, but Beelzebub’s question didn’t sound like a simple compliment. She briefly recalled their first encounter. He’d asked her the same question then, too. Had he truly wondered if she was a fairy, rather than simply implying she was pretty?

His narrowed pupils seemed to pierce her, cutting off her train of thought. Ariette involuntarily shrank back, slowly shaking her head. Her abundant sky-blue hair swayed gently with the movement.

“I, I’m just an ordinary human.”

“Hmm, a human.” Beelzebub murmured, his eyes slowly closing and then opening again. The smile that had played on his lips gradually faded, replaced by a look of deep contemplation.

“My lady, you know this labyrinth was originally a fairy forest, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, what do you think is the identity of the one who did this to me?”

Before Ariette could respond, he answered his own question.

“A fairy, of course.”

Beelzebub’s gaze fell on the numbers floating in the air, just as they changed from 23:46:00 to 23:45:59.

“I believe a fairy created that mission, too.”

Ariette tilted her head, her brow furrowing slightly.

“But… the fairy forest is a thing of the past. Now it’s a cursed labyrinth, and I understand fairies no longer live here.”

“My lady, look at me.”

“I, I am…”

“How do I appear? Do I look like I’ve been trapped in this labyrinth for a long time, or do I look like I just stepped out of the bath?”

Her gaze drifted involuntarily to his physique. Sharply sculpted muscles gleamed smoothly under the golden sunlight. His face was as fresh as if he’d just washed it, and his hair had a healthy sheen. His pristine appearance was something she’d found puzzling from the moment they met.

“You look like you just stepped out of the bath… Do beastmen perhaps self-purify?”

He chuckled softly. “You must have heard the stories. In the fairies’ realm, one remains perpetually clean without washing, never feels hunger without eating, and even loses the need for… other bodily functions.”

Ariette’s eyes widened. Now that he mentioned it, she hadn’t relieved herself since arriving. She hadn’t felt the urge. She’d eaten only out of habit, not from hunger.

“Actually, I haven’t felt hungry or needed to… use the facilities since entering this place. As you can see, I haven’t bathed, yet my body and face remain clean. Judging by your expression, I assume it’s the same for you.”

“So, in this forest…”

“Yes, the fairies still live here.” Beelzebub’s gaze shifted to the sky. “Perhaps they’re hiding somewhere right now, watching us.”

Ariette followed his gaze. The sky was clear, as if under a fairy’s blessing. Sunlight filtering through the leaves seemed to sparkle like tiny fairies scattering light as they danced.