beast chapter 17

“Pain is relative. Its weight differs depending on whose shoulders bear it. Even if identical burdens existed, could we judge someone weak simply because they feel the ache more deeply?”

Ariette couldn’t answer.

“Anyone can break. Anyone can run. Anyone can choose death. If we dismiss those choices as weak and pathetic, there wouldn’t be a single strong person left in the world.” His voice was gentle yet firm.

“And what’s so wrong with being pathetic and weak anyway?”

“.…”

“None of us are perfect. Sometimes we shatter, sometimes we crumble, as if everything has ended.” His voice deepened, warming further.

“But that’s also proof that we’re alive. The truly important thing is to rise again. Even if it takes years, as long as you rise again, you will eventually see the light. Just like me, who once believed I would meet a lonely death here, but now I’ve met a kind young lady.”

Ariette’s eyes trembled slightly. The shame, the self-reproach, the loneliness buried deep within her heart, and the defensive walls she had built over a long time seemed to be crumbling bit by bit.

“Even if someone can’t rise again, even if they ultimately let go of life…” His gaze drifted momentarily to the distant sky. Beelzebub’s eyes met Ariette’s again, his expression unusually devoid of humor. “Who are we to call them weak and pathetic? Unless we’ve walked in their shoes, we can never know the depths of their suffering. Who are we to judge?”

A flicker of something like mourning crossed his crimson eyes. It resembled the compassion of one well-acquainted with the world’s cruelty.

“Ah, of course, I won’t let you make such a choice.” A gentle smile touched his lips.

“Whenever you struggle, I will hold you fast, like this tree, no, even more firmly than this tree. I wouldn’t simply stand by and watch my savior choose such a sorrowful end…” Beelzebub trailed off, his eyes blinking slowly. He seemed less like he had deliberately paused and more like he was momentarily speechless from some great shock. But the moment was so fleeting that Ariette didn’t notice the subtle shift.

“…It’s not in my nature.”

His words sounded to her like a promise to protect her, no matter what. A gentle breeze brushed against her damp cheeks.

“…Thank you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

Warm sunlight bathed the faces of the two as they smiled at each other. Ariette slowly closed her eyes, savoring a tranquility she hadn’t felt in a long time. She thought Beelzebub was also enjoying the peaceful quiet. Until he asked a strange question.

“But… are you sure about this?”

“Yes…?”

“To release your fluids, you’ll have to be bitten by me, or… we’ll have to be intimate. You said you didn’t want to be bitten. That leaves the more… indecent option.”

Ariette’s eyes, which had been as calm as a still lake, now trembled like the earth during an earthquake.

“The problem is, I’m an old man, three times seventy years old. Are you truly alright with that kind of intimacy with an old geezer like me?”

The warmth that had been blossoming in her chest shattered like shards of glass at his words. She frowned slightly, her gaze narrowing at Beelzebub, a mixture of bewilderment, disbelief, and embarrassment swirling within.

“I, I don’t know…. But did you really have to say that now?”

“Isn’t it best to discuss important matters at the most opportune moment? Of course, you could just pretend you didn’t hear and move on, but this is a matter of survival for me.”

“Well, it’s an important topic for me too! A-anyway, since I’m the one who has to release them, we need to discuss how…” Ariette stopped mid-sentence, clamping her mouth shut. The words coming out of her mouth all seemed to carry embarrassing, suggestive nuances, and she couldn’t continue.