SAFBIAN Ch 67

Chapter 67

By the time the fox began exploring the palace, Haban had already returned to attend to remaining state affairs. Urgent news had arrived at the imperial palace.

Although eunuchs and court ladies had been assigned to manage the palace, the fox’s wariness of strangers meant he startled and darted away to hide whenever they moved about. In the end, only the fox and Haewon remained in the room.

Dori scrunched up his nose.

It was a deep, dark blue fabric, reminiscent of the night sky. Threads of silver and gold woven throughout gave it a subtle shimmer.

It looked just like the Milky Way he’d seen on a clear summer night when he had fled to the mountains to escape the orphanage director’s violence. Or like the sea of stars he had gazed up at while sitting beside Haban on a rock, on the road to the altar near Dongcheon.

…W-Wow!

“So there are fabrics this beautiful!”

Dori’s mouth parted slightly. Haewon, equally awed, ran his hand over the cloth.

“Amazing! This must be the silk from Yeonggang—said to be more precious than gold!”

‘I want to touch it too…!’

But for some reason, the table, which had been adjusted to a lower height to accommodate the fox before, had now been set much higher. As a result, Dori, who normally could jump up with ease, found himself struggling to reach. Eager to feel the fabric for himself, he began hopping in place.

“Actually, all of this arrived just before you came. I didn’t have time to check everything while organizing the palace, so I placed it here for now.”

“…Kkukkku.”

“You might not know, but His Majesty personally escorted you to this palace, you know? Even though he’s terribly busy. He even gave orders to decorate your quarters and sent all this along.”

“…Kaang?”

“That’s why there are even rumors going around the imperial palace calling you the fox consort.”

“Kang! Kang!”

‘Enough already! Just lift me up!’

Dori began furiously scratching at Haewon’s shoes as he tried to neatly organize the fabric. Then he pressed his front paws against the table and stretched his neck upward.

Wanting a closer look, he braced his hind legs and clawed at the table with a whimper, prompting Haewon to shout in alarm.

“This table is brand new! What if you scratch it already! I’ll lift you up in a second, just hold on.”

Haewon hurriedly moved into action.

He placed the remaining fabrics that hadn’t been unfolded onto a chair, worried that the fox might cause trouble in the meantime.

“Phew, there! From now on, you can use this to get up.”

Haewon straightened up after placing something under the table.

It was a sturdy three-step staircase made of strong wood, with solid railings on both sides to prevent accidents while going up or down.

Feeling like a squirrel climbing a tree, Dori darted up the stairs and immediately rolled his body across the fabric.

It was a habit foxes showed when they were in a good mood—rolling around on the ground.

At first, it brought on a wave of self-loathing when he came back to his senses, but after spending months in a fox’s body, he no longer minded.

No one’s watching, so who cares!

“W-Wait! If you do that, your fur’s going to get all over the fabric!”

As the fox gave a shake, white fur scattered into the air like dandelions. But no matter how much Haewon tried to stop him, the fox, lost in his own bliss, didn’t seem to hear a thing.

“…Fine, do as you please. I guess it’s going to be your blanket anyway—rolling around now or at night makes no difference.”

At least it was fortunate that the white fabric matched the fox’s fur color.

Eventually, while Dori continued to tumble and poke at the silk with his nose, Haewon gave up and focused on sorting the rest.

Then he discovered something at the very bottom that made him tilt his head.

“What’s this? Clothes…?”

Just then, Dori, who had flopped onto his side with his legs stretched out in exhaustion, perked up.

‘…Clothes?’

Haban sent clothes?

To me? Why? What’s that supposed to mean?

A flood of questions rushed through his head, and his mouth suddenly felt dry. Dori flicked his tongue, his wide pupils trembling anxiously.

“Surely the emperor didn’t send human clothes to a fox… maybe it was a mistake?”

Unaware of the inner turmoil, Haewon muttered to himself in thought, as if something had just clicked.

As he began to unfold the garments, they turned out to be the kind of formalwear suited to the son of a high-ranking noble.

The inner layer was made of delicate, fluttery fabric that cost a fortune, while the outer robe used silk exclusive to a particular region and was adorned with embroidered trim at the collar and sleeves.

“No matter how you look at it, it can’t be yours, right? It probably got bundled in by mistake when they sent your bedding. I’ve also received clothes of the wrong size or court lady garments from time to time.”

…As if.

A decree from the emperor wouldn’t be executed so carelessly. Dori, frustrated, curled his tail and let out a series of cries.

“Grr…”

The tension crept up to his throat.

“I’ll set it aside for now and send it back.”

What nonsense! Once you receive something, it’s yours! Who says you can just send it back?

Panicking, Dori quickly got up and shifted positions.

If Haban was suspicious of him, then he needed those clothes all the more. He’d been worried about not having anything to wear when the time came to escape…

“This won’t do!”

Haewon tried to prevent fox fur from getting on the clothes meant to be returned, but the fox had already plopped down on them.

Feigning ignorance, the fox licked his paw and tilted his head as if he didn’t understand anything. Then he firmly pressed a paw down on the clothes again.

“Please… Anything else? How about this one? You liked this earlier.”

Haewon waved the fancy dark blue fabric in front of him, but the fox remained indifferent.

As if his paws were glued to the spot, the fox didn’t budge. When Haewon reached out, he unsheathed his claws, only to tuck them away when the hand withdrew.

How was he supposed to retrieve it? He couldn’t just forcefully pry it away from the emperor’s precious fox…

Haewon tried tugging a few times, then gave up. Once the fox took an interest in something, he didn’t give it up easily.

Thankfully, he at least wasn’t chewing it or scratching at it with his claws—only guarding it.

“Fine. I’m sure His Majesty will understand if it was you. He’s granted you even more than this.”

Muttering to himself, Haewon began gathering the remaining items. He needed to get back to finish his studies—there wasn’t much time left before the retest.

To make up for his earlier failing grade, Haewon was even cutting into his sleep. It was a relief that others would soon be assigned to live in the fox’s quarters and help care for him.

The answers had been perfect. Why did I fail? Haewon wondered as he turned to leave the room. The fox, still sitting on the clothes, had his back turned.

“So rude. Not even a goodbye?”

Only the long, chubby tail gave a slight wave in reply—the fox otherwise remained completely unmoved.

Moonlight gently streamed in.

Rustle… Clink!

Dori, who had managed to drag the clothes onto the bed and fallen asleep with them by his pillow, opened his eyes at the sound of something breaking.

Then silence.

A moment later, a small shadow moved again atop the cabinet near the window.

Rustle.

Something that hadn’t yet noticed the fox’s presence was wandering around, rustling softly. In the dark, Dori’s slit pupils gleamed.

“Meow, meeeow!”

Only then did the intruding cat, startled to find the fox, scramble back out through the cracked-open window.

‘What the— scared me!’

Dori, now fully awake, sat up groggily. He was baffled by the stray cat that had entered someone else’s room and caused trouble before leaving.

‘Is Haewon going to think it was my fault when he sees this tomorrow?’

Stretching out his legs, Dori let out a yawn to shake off the remnants of sleep.

Then he noticed the moonlight streaming in through the open window, shining on the clothes that had half-slid off the bed.

‘…Oh!’

The soft shaft of moonlight illuminated the fabric. Dori gently pulled it up with his mouth, and the delicate silk rustled as it slid up.

He pressed it down with his hind paw and carefully brushed it with his front paws. The texture beneath his pads was incredibly smooth.

‘Come to think of it, Wonwoo and Hori’s wedding clothes were beautiful too…’

That memory came back to him unbidden. He recalled how shabby he looked in his ragged top and trousers by comparison.

‘Maybe… I could just try it on once?’

Hesitantly, Dori touched the clothes again.

He had never worn such well-made garments before. It was better to try them on now in case he needed them when fleeing. He’d be in trouble later if he didn’t know how to put them on.

Having made up his mind, Dori glanced around.

Though several attendants had been assigned to the new palace, he was alone in the bedchamber. Still, to be safe, he jumped down from the bed and approached the door, pressing his ear against it.

His long ears perked up and twitched attentively. Fortunately, he didn’t hear any signs of people nearby. The area seemed empty.

‘Okay, good.’

At that moment, Dori poofed into his human form.

Eunuch Kim quietly approached, cleared the cooled teacup, and placed a new one down.

Haban sipped lightly and checked the time.

Darkness had fallen outside. Tonight was the first night “his” fox was spending in the new palace. A faint smile played at Haban’s lips.

Was the fox asleep by now? Had he adjusted well to the new quarters? Was he frightened by how vast the space was?

If not for his mountain of tasks, he would have stayed by the fox’s side and watched over him.

Most of the memorials piling up had already been sorted by the Empress, yet there were still so many. There were complaints about him delegating too much after returning from the altar, and preparations to make for the delegation arriving soon from the Empire.

“Tsk.”

After some time trying to focus again, Haban finally set down his brush and rubbed between his eyes.

‘I can’t concentrate like this.’

He was too anxious to think straight. That timid creature might be struggling to sleep alone in that large palace, and the thought was bothering him. It would be better to go and see him sleep with his own eyes.

Having made up his mind, Haban left the office and headed straight for the fox’s quarters.