Chapter 18: Ruined Wedding

I hurriedly flew back to the tribe even in the state of a mess because I wasn't able to fully remove the dust on my body due to the irritating male beastman who was teasing me without showing himself. I felt quite annoyed while huffing in the sky—like a kindergarten student teased by a playful classmate.

I sneakily flew over the high fence at the back of the tribal territory to prevent anyone from noticing my arrival. However, upon landing on the ground, a figure of a muscular being appeared beyond my eyes.

His huge silhouette covered the sunset behind his back as his shadow covered me like the huge clouds in the sky. I was surprised and lost my balance as I stepped back and stumbled to the ground. I was so terrified and felt quite guilty knowing I made a huge mistake while thinking of a proper excuse for my behavior.

I was frightened to be scolded, but my mouth slipped and asked due to his silence, “F-Father, w-what brings you here?”

I stuttered due to trembling as I remained on the ground without moving.

He took a deep breath and seemed to be trying to calm himself before responding in a scolding yet worried tone, “Where have you been? Do you know how worried I was looking for you all over the territory? I also pushed back my tasks and almost stopped the ongoing ritual just to get the tribe to find you. Look at yourself! You looked like a beastman working on a stone made wall.”

He helped me to stand up and tried to wipe the dust on my face using his rough hands. It hurts a little, but it felt warm, knowing he really cared for me despite being such a mischievous child.

I hugged my father while smiling sweetly as I asked for forgiveness, “Sorry, Father. Everyone was so busy with their task, and I was not assigned to any of them since Lindie will be one of the participants and you all know she has a grudge against me for some reasons, so I decided to briefly enjoy the spring in the mountains that I discovered recently. I'll bring you next time when you are no longer busy, okay?”

“You took a bath in the spring? Then, why do you look... Hahaha! Never mind, you do have the scent of the flower essences you usually use when taking a bath,” he said while laughing at my messy appearance and gently stroking my slightly wet hair.

“Oh! You can only enter the spring by the small hole beneath the rock formation covering it or even by climbing up the huge trees. I stupidly tried exiting to the huge dog hole, so I got dirty and looked like a mess,” I answered him while clinging to him like a child.

He chuckled and smiled warmly as he lifted me in his arms like a child and walked towards the elder healer’s abode. I felt quite embarrassed knowing I was already old enough for such treatment, though my body was quite small compared to my peers.

“Okay, but you have to inform me next time you leave the territory no matter how busy I am. You are my only cub, and you are the most precious thing to me. You are always and will always be my top priority.”

“Ahaha! Father, I am no longer a cub. I have already turned fifteen since the beginning of the spring,” I mumbled while laughing despite the awkwardness.

He suddenly got taken aback as he stopped walking and stared at me looking guilty and shocked.

He blurted out suddenly, “Is it true?!”

It was natural to forget one's age since celebrating birthdays was not common in our tribe—so I already saw this reaction from him. It didn’t even matter to me whether he forgot my age or not as long as I knew how much he cared for me like a precious treasure.

“Yes, Father. I was already fifteen after last winter,” I rephrased to make it clearer for him.

“Damn it! Why did it slip from my mind? Wait... Does it mean... No! It's utterly impossible! He said the female youngling might have been from another tribe, so he asked for permission to look for that unique female. I must ask him exactly about the female youngling he was talking about to be sure before granting his wish,” he cursed and murmured continuously to himself, causing me to be confused by his words.

I couldn’t understand what he was talking about, so I asked in confusion, “Who are you talking about, Father? The one who was looking for a female youngling from a different tribe? I didn’t understand what you said. Why do you look quite nervous?”

“It was Dillon, you know him, right? The one who was supposed to be partnered with your sister. He refused to participate in the courtship ritual because he said he wanted to look for the unique female youngling he saw recently. He said she might have been from another tribe so he asked for permission to leave the tribe and search for her, but when we asked about the appearance of the youngling, he didn't answer specifically as if he was hiding something and only said that her beauty was on par with the goddess so the other males were also curious and there was quite a commotion during the opening of the courtship ritual,” he explained.

“Anyway, go back first to your room and wait for the elder healer. I'll go to fetch her now,” he instructed.

I went back home—removed my cloak and gloves, then waited for the elder healer to arrive.

She was running hurriedly to my room with a worried and guilty face, then she started checking for early signs of estrous as soon as she saw me sitting on my bed. I asked her to calm down while reassuring her with a smile—she smiled back and caressed my face in return.

“*sigh* Good thing you are still not showing any early signs of estrus, but just to make sure, you still have to drink a suppressant. Wait here, I will get the suppressant first,” she sighed with relief upon learning that I won't undergo estrous yet.

After feeding me the medicine, she then asked me to take a rest, but despite the delay on my estrous I can no longer accompany my father with his task during winters.

She explained to me what I was supposed to do on that day onwards, then we heard a loud scream from outside the treehouse.

Lindie screamed furiously from the foot of the treehouse.

“ARI!!! SHOW YOUR FACE!!! YOU WH*RE!!!”

I wore my mask, gloves, and cloak without putting on the hood, then hid my ears, wings, and tail before heading out to face Lindie. The elder healer accompanied me downstairs to check why Lindie was so furious.

When we opened the door, we saw Dillon on the side trying to calm her down begging not to make things complicated.

He suddenly looked stunned as his gaze landed on me as if he didn’t recognize me for a moment—his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he stared at me.

Lindie saw him staring at me and started to lash out at him, “Is it her?! The youngling you are talking about?!”

She looked extremely furious while pointing at me with her left hand and hitting Dillon continuously with the other one.

“N-No, It's not her. I t-think she's from another tribe who visited us for fabric production this morning and lost her way... I... I don't think it is Ari. I even thought that Ari was a male if you didn't tell me just today,” he mumbled while trembling with nervousness.

I stared at him seriously trying to read his thoughts, but he flinched and looked away while blushing as if he was thinking of something embarrassing.

“No! You are obviously lying. It is her! It's really her! I am sure of it,” she insisted.

“You can both solve your issues on your own. Don't involve Ari in any of your misunderstandings since she cannot be involved with any male. She is allergic to males, so she had to cover her whole body ever since she was young. It's Dillon's discretion whoever he wants to choose to marry. Lindie, you should respect his decision and he is not the only candidate for you to wed this year, so you should calm yourself and go back to your residence. You both are being rude in front of an elder,” Grandma Lony scolded them trying to keep her temper.

Lindie rolled her eyes and walked away rudely like a spoiled brat.

“I sincerely apologize. Please forgive our rudeness,” Dillon bowed down to us asking for forgiveness.

“It's ok as long as you know your faults,” the elder healer responded.

“Ari—”

Dillon called as he tried to grab my arm when we were about to go back inside. Luckily, the elder healer caught his hand.

“I already told you that she is allergic to males so you should refrain from approaching her arbitrarily if you don't want to anger the alpha,” she grunted and looked at him sharply.

He flinched like a surprised cat when the elder healer mentioned my father.

“I'm sorry,” he apologized in a haste, then ran away in fright.