SAFBIAN Ch 69

Chapter 69

 

For a moment, Haban even forgot to breathe.

 

Leaning his upper body against the window ledge, a head peeked out. The moonlight made the fair skin look almost bluish, and those lovely golden eyes shone.

 

The tension on that face as it scanned the surroundings was palpable. It was fortunate that the spot where Haban stood was cloaked in the building’s shadow.

 

Unable to see far, the figure only checked the area around the window before quickly hiding again and shutting it tight.

 

Tap.

 

…Ah.

 

A sigh of regret welled up in Haban’s throat. As the figure he longed for vanished from the window, he unconsciously took a step forward.

 

Had he perhaps let his guard down a little?

 

To see the one who had so stubbornly stayed in the form of a fox now moving around in human form…

 

He wondered about the clothes he’d sent—why were they not worn, and why was he wrapped in blankets instead? But no matter what he wore, he looked lovely and beautiful all the same.

 

Haban slowly closed his eyes.

 

Everything was going according to plan.

 

He still vividly remembered how the fox had bundled up a pile of ornaments and bolted toward the sanctuary.

 

‘So you truly mean to flee from me.’

 

Realizing that left a chilling void in his heart. After much thought, he had the guards of the new palace hide themselves and had Haewon’s examinations canceled to leave the area vacant.

 

He had told the palace staff not to approach the sleeping quarters at night, and thus, unaware of all this, the fox had finally shown himself in human form.

 

‘…Dori.’

 

There, inside that room, was the one he had long waited for and searched for. Knowing that made him yearn all the more, and the sight of him vanishing stirred tender sorrow.

 

However, it was not yet time.

 

Haban observed everything the fox did as he wandered around the imperial palace whenever he found an opportunity. Every detail, no matter how small, was reported back to him by those he had stationed throughout the grounds.

 

‘It’s not as if he even has memories.’

 

Was it simply that having a smaller body made escape easier? The fox seemed to be searching for the very holes he had used to escape in his past life, as if he remembered something.

 

But Haban had no intention of standing by and letting him run away.

 

The fox was timid and constantly wary. His movements were quick enough that he’d transform into a fox again even before Haban could open the door and step inside.

 

So Haban needed a moment in which he could not possibly make an excuse or escape—a moment he would absolutely not let slip.

 

He sent heavier ornaments to weigh him down, and while he provided clothing—since escaping the palace would naturally require something to wear—he purposely did not send shoes, hoping to slow his steps even a little.

 

Thus, the trap Haban had set was laid open, waiting with bated breath for the timid fox to take one step, then another, inside.

 

Haban could not bring himself to enter the room and instead stood outside in the deep, dark shadows, gazing endlessly at the window.

 

After standing there for quite some time, the cat from earlier reappeared.

 

The cat paced in front of the window as if contemplating something, then expertly slipped its claws into the gap below the window and opened it.

 

‘…Ha!’

 

To think a place the Emperor himself dared not approach lightly would be so easily accessed, how brazen.

 

As he watched the cat’s tail disappear through the gap, Haban felt a surge of complex emotions.

 

In the end, Haban stepped forward, his long shadow stretching out as he neared the building. That’s when he heard hushed voices from within.

 

“Where did you come from?”

 

A clear voice, as if speaking to the cat. Hearing Dori’s voice, Haban clenched his fist without realizing.

 

How could he forget—

 

That voice.

 

‘…Haban.’

 

Dori’s warmth had been the only one in the cold imperial palace, where no one dared utter his name.

 

‘This won’t do.’

 

Suppressing the desire to watch a little longer, Haban turned away.

 

Lest Dori look out the window and see even the back of him, Haban deliberately chose the darkest path to walk down.

 

Yet as if drawn by something, he turned his head.

 

There stood Dori, wearing the clothes Haban had sent, with the hair ornament Haban had given, standing at the window of the chamber Haban had assigned him.

 

Just like in those distant, remembered days.

 

—

 

Dori twitched his nose in irritation. As expected, he had gotten a scolding from Haewon, who came to his room in the morning.

 

“You broke it right after moving into the new palace? And it was this precious porcelain, too?”

 

“Hunng, huuung!”

 

“If you weren’t the Emperor’s fox, you’d be in real trouble. You know that?”

 

That sure sounded like saying his hide would’ve been flayed.

 

‘But I didn’t even break it! They don’t know anything!’

 

Just as he’d feared, Dori had taken the blame for the trouble caused by the cat. He snorted indignantly, feeling wronged.

 

Of course, he could have cleaned it up before going to bed last night, but he had been so tired that he barely managed to undo his transformation.

 

This damn palace—if only he could find an escape hole!

 

After calling in a palace servant to clean up the broken porcelain and feeding the fox breakfast, Haewon left to finish his studies. Dori, having let go of his cuddled tail, was now outside searching for an escape hole again.

 

‘Ugh, seriously! What are they playing at?!’

 

And of all times, he ran into Yungak.

 

“I’m telling you, this stuff is really good.”

 

Perched on a wall, Yungak lowered a string like a fishing line and wiggled the bait. A chewy dried persimmon—Dori’s favorite snack—was tied to the end.

 

‘Does he really think I’m just some fox?’

 

He had already been sneaking around the palace avoiding the eyes of the palace staff for several days.

 

The very day he’d sworn to find that escape hole once and for all, he ran into Yungak, who was being a nuisance again, and his temper flared.

 

“Kaang!”

 

As Dori growled fiercely and swiped with his paw, the string shot upward.

 

“That’s strange. I heard foxes like this stuff. Maybe I should’ve brought yukjeon instead?”

 

Whatever he brought, I’m not reacting!

 

Dori turned his head sharply. Then Yungak lowered the string again and began tapping Dori’s back with it.

 

“Kaang! Kaa… ang?”

 

Ready to tear the string apart, Dori whipped his head around—and his eyes widened in disbelief.

 

‘He’s insane, seriously!’

 

Even if he was the Emperor’s brother and had all the wealth in the world, using something like that to tempt a fox?! It wasn’t something a normal fox would even respond to!

 

That dazzling blue gleam.

 

Tied to the end of the string was a jewel about the size of a child’s fist—maybe a little exaggerated. As the jewel swayed slowly before his eyes, Dori’s head involuntarily bobbed up and down following its motion.

 

“So you do like jewels.”

 

Yungak smiled in satisfaction.

 

…Ah!

 

Snapping out of it, Dori quickly sniffed the ground as if uninterested. Of course, all the while, his full attention was on the jewel dangling above his head.

 

“Is that not it?”

 

When the fox seemed to lose interest again, Yungak tapped its back with the jewel.

 

Kaang.

 

The fox shook his ears in irritation, clearly annoyed, and then hugged his fluffy tail and bit it repeatedly.

 

“Hm. You should show more of a reaction. If not, I might do something rash out of disappointment after all the effort I put in. And for the sake of those who gave me this useless information.”

 

Cutting out their lying tongues would suffice, of course. Just as Yungak’s eyes gleamed—

 

Snap.

 

In a flash, the fox snatched the jewel like a hunter and leapt onto the rock. His huge tail rose high into the air, swaying rapidly.

 

“Oh ho.”

 

Yungak smiled in approval.

 

Meanwhile, Dori’s heart was pounding wildly in his chest.

 

It was probably okay, right? Since he wanted me to bite it and tied it there? Still… should I return it later?

 

“Good job. That’s your reward.”

 

Yungak didn’t seem to value the jewel at all, so Dori cautiously placed it on the ground, pressed a paw protectively on it, and barked softly, “Kang.”

 

You… you’re a good person, huh?

 

He was annoying, sure, but he had tried to help before. And other than a slightly altered appearance and a more playful personality, he seemed just as kindhearted as he had in the original story. Today, his pink hair swaying in the breeze looked especially gentle.

 

‘I should get down now.’

 

Dori picked the jewel back up in his mouth and looked down. But without realizing it, he had leapt onto a rather tall rock.

 

“Can foxes not get down from high places?”

 

Thinking Dori was too scared to come down, Yungak jumped down from the wall and approached the rock with open arms.

 

“Come on, jump. I’ll catch you.”

 

The rock was about this high in front of Yungak.

 

‘…Wait, this high?’

 

Dori twisted his body to the side.

 

Then he saw another rock of the same height right in front of his nose. And between them stood a tall tree, perfectly bridging the gap.

 

‘This place… could it be…?!’

 

“If you’re worried about the hole being discovered, you don’t have to be.”

 

Dori was startled by Yungak’s words.

 

“You dug that, didn’t you? I thought it was just a rabbit hole, but you actually made a real escape hole.”

 

Since the fox always seemed to follow along the walls and only chose deserted paths, Yungak had used the palace staff to scout the area in advance.

 

He could’ve used Moran for speed and ease, but that fox wasn’t worth the risk.

 

Then he received a report that there was a hole along one of the walls just big enough for a fox to pass through—and his interest in the fox grew.

 

The Emperor’s beloved fox trying to escape from him by digging a hole? It was so amusing he could hardly contain himself.

 

‘What a strange creature.’

 

In any case, watching the fox sneakily check for onlookers and then flinch with its ears flattened and eyes darting wildly was adorable.

 

‘…Adorable, huh.’

 

He couldn’t even remember the last time he felt something like that. Even with snow-white fur, a fox was still just a beast. What made this one so different?

 

Yungak carefully observed the trembling fox hiding its tail between its legs. Of course, he had yet to realize that the fox had acted as though it understood human speech.

 

‘So this was your little secret!’

 

Still grumbling lightly toward Haewon, Dori cautiously stepped down the rocks one paw at a time. Yungak pulled his hands back with a hint of disappointment—but that didn’t matter.

 

Dori, having finally found the escape hole—or rather, realizing it had been easier than expected—dashed back to his quarters, jewel in mouth.

 

…Huff, huff!

 

Tumbling inside, Dori collapsed belly-up from exhaustion, startling Haewon.

 

“Wh-what is it?! What happened? Did someone hurt you?!”

 

…Huff, huff.

 

Dori, panting from the mad dash, lay sprawled out—but he was absolutely thrilled at his success.