TVCWB Chapter 06

Chapter 6 

Do predator beastmen normally like floral scents…?

Perea tilted her head in curiosity.
Herbivore beastmen loving the smell of grass or flowers made sense — but predators too? That was new to her.

She decided to make a note of it later in her journal. It might be a useful discovery someday.

Her eyes sparkled with curiosity. Theo noticed her look and glanced around before asking softly,

“Where’s Ray?”

“Sir Ray is preparing breakfast. Shall we go see him in the kitchen?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Theo nodded, his round ears flapping adorably each time. Perea smiled sweetly, unable to resist staring at those cute twitching ears.

After she wiped his face clean, they went to the kitchen.
There, Ray sat neatly at the table — everything already prepared.

The table, usually empty, was now covered with beautifully arranged dishes that looked delicious just by sight.
Perea was amazed. She didn’t even know her kitchen had plates that nice.

When the two entered leisurely, Ray twitched an ear in irritation.

“You’re late.”

“Not Perea’s fault! Theo washed up all pretty!”

When Ray glared at Perea, the little prince hopped in place and defended her.

For someone born a royal prince — one even the Emperor himself had trouble handling — it was rare for Theo to speak up for someone else.
It was also impressive that he had washed up quietly at all.

“You washed, Theo?”

“Uh-huh!”

Ray’s eyes widened slightly. The boy answered with a bright, proud voice.

Beside him, Perea smiled warmly and gently stroked Theo’s soft, fair cheek.

This human really is fearless, Ray thought.

Even if the child was young, he was still a prince — and she was treating him like some neighbor’s kid.

But from the way Theo’s ears relaxed and his tail swayed, the boy clearly liked the attention.

Ray shook his head, half exasperated. They had somehow become best friends overnight.

He knew Theo hated water — so much so that even washing his face exhausted his attendants.
Ray, who had watched him since birth, knew that better than anyone.

And yet here Theo was, grinning about how nice washing felt.
It was adorable — and a bit of an act.

Completely unaware of beastmen mannerisms, Perea was fooled by Theo’s innocent smile and gentle voice. She treated him as she would a kitten spirit rather than a tiger cub.

Ray didn’t correct her. He knew Theo’s moods changed easily, and before long, he’d grow bored of life in the village anyway.
As long as the boy behaved for now, that was enough.

Breakfast was wonderful — the best meal Perea had eaten in ages. Better even than during the last festival!

Completely charmed by Ray’s unexpected cooking talent, she couldn’t stop praising him the entire meal.
Ray silently wondered if this human woman thought she was part cat, with how much she purred over food.

When breakfast finally ended, it was time to disinfect his wounds.
Perea laid out her medical tools in the clinic and called him over.

“Sir Ray! Please sit here.”

Without a word, Ray walked over and sat. His long legs and solid muscles filled the chair.
Even with his injuries, he looked intimidating — strong, sharp, and effortlessly elegant.

His pale skin, silver hair, and faint scars only made him more striking.
For a moment, Perea couldn’t help but admire his physique — the kind of body anatomy textbooks would envy.

She quickly shook off the thought and started unwrapping the bandages.
Thankfully, the wounds hadn’t reopened overnight, and her stitches held perfectly.

Proud of her handiwork, she hummed softly as she poured disinfectant on the scars.

“Can you not hum?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Who else? Who hums while looking at someone’s wounds — what kind of weirdo does that?”

Even when he insulted her, his tone was so dry it almost sounded impressive.
Perea puffed her cheeks and shut her mouth.

Relieved that the annoying humming had stopped, Ray closed his eyes and let her work — until her clear, birdlike voice chimed again.

“So, how did such a big accident happen anyway? Was it… magic? Or maybe someone was after the prince?”

Her voice dropped to a whisper near the end, since Theo was playing in the yard.

But all Ray said was one short word.

“Just.”

“Just…?”

“Just an accident.”

Perea blinked, confused — then frowned.

Does he think I’m an idiot? How does a sturdy royal carriage just ‘get destroyed’ in an accident? And what about that deep shoulder wound?

If he were human — or even a mild-tempered cat beastman — she would’ve blown up on the spot.

But this man was a predator — and a rare one at that: a snow leopard beastman.
Arguing with him could very well be her last act on earth.

Even Perea, who knew little about predator beastmen, could feel how dangerous he was.

“I… see. So, there won’t be any more accidents, right? Especially not in the village?”

Ray didn’t answer. He simply shrugged, the muscles of his shoulder flexing — and the stitched wound twitched painfully.

For a moment, Perea considered disinfecting the area extra hard just to get back at him, but she sighed instead.
He was still a patient. She couldn’t mix revenge with treatment.

Her touch softened again as she gently spread the antiseptic — then suddenly pulled the stitched skin sideways with both hands.

“Urgh!”

It was the first time he’d made a sound of pain.

Startled by his reaction but secretly satisfied, Perea explained calmly,

“Oh, that was on purpose.”

“What?”

“I have to check if the wound holds under pressure. If it tears easily, it’ll reopen later. This is part of the process.”

It was a basic step in external treatment — something any proper healer would do.

Ignoring his icy glare, Perea moved to the next wound and pulled again.
Each time she did, Ray let out a low, restrained groan.

For some reason, hearing that made Perea feel oddly relieved.

Meanwhile, peaceful little Timi Village was no longer quiet.

Word had spread that there’d been a carriage accident in the forest the night before — and that the accident victims were now staying in the village.

In decades, no outsider had ever visited, so this news had the entire town buzzing louder than festival day.

From early morning, curious rabbit beastmen’s long ears perked up nonstop.
Children, especially, were bursting with excitement at meeting someone their own age from another race.

Dozens of little rabbit kids hopped their way to Perea’s clinic until the yard was practically full of them.

“What’s your name?”
“Wow! Your tail’s so long!”
“Where did you come from?”
“I picked this carrot! Want to eat it?”
“Your ears are round! Can you even hear well with those?”
“Dummy! Perea said the ear shape doesn’t matter! It’s the inside that hears!”

The kids chattered endlessly around Theo.

At first, he sat quietly, listening with curiosity.
But after a while, surrounded by so many twitching rabbit ears and unfamiliar voices, his mood suddenly shifted.

He jumped to his feet and bolted straight into the clinic — losing his appetite entirely just from looking at the crowd of little herbivores.