SAFBIAN Ch 77

Chapter 77

 

Of course, if he hadn’t known anything about the original story, he might have been swayed by the handsome face before him. Dori wasn’t entirely naïve—he simply lacked experience.

However, the original story had content that made your face pale and the sky look yellow, regardless of one’s experience.

Even so, he couldn’t directly say such things to Haban. If anything, it was also the original Haban’s fault.

So Dori desperately searched for an answer.

That is to say…

“B-because I was scared?”

Damn.

That was all he could come up with, but in truth, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

While he had been off guard, an arrow had suddenly flown at him from somewhere. He’d hidden himself in the bushes in a hurry, and of all things, he had overheard a conversation between Jipyeong and Haban…

When Haban, whom he hadn’t expected to encounter, appeared just like in the original story, the fur all over his body had stood on end. Even now, he was proud of himself for fleeing on the spot instead of passing out in fear.

As if he were listening seriously, Haban gave a gentle smile.

“Was I frightening to you?”

“Of course you were!”

…Oops.

Because he had gotten into the habit of grumbling freely when he was in fox form—thinking no one could understand him—the words had slipped out without thinking.

Embarrassed, Dori muttered the rest of his excuse in a small voice.

“Y-you fired an arrow at me out of nowhere back then…!”

“You mean, I fired an arrow?”

Haban echoed his words as if urging him to continue.

“And you kept saying you were going to skin me…”

As he spoke, the humiliation of that day came back to him.

The situation where he had fled the red fox village empty-handed only to be chased immediately by Haban. If the arrow had hit in the wrong spot, he could have died.

“You said you were going to skin me?”

Before he realized it, Haban had come to sit beside him. The way he gently tucked Dori’s loose strands of hair behind his ear was tender.

He had meant to voice his injustice, yet it ended up sounding like a child’s petty complaint. Dori flushed with embarrassment.

“Of course I was scared!”

“You suddenly bolted in front of me, so I shot. If you had changed into a human like now, I wouldn’t have done so.”

“T-that’s…!”

“That’s?”

As Haban teasingly repeated his words again, Dori’s guard was gradually lowered, and he began to ramble on with whatever excuse popped into his head.

“Clothes! I didn’t have anything to wear! Think about it. I didn’t know who might show up—how could I be wandering around naked?”

It was a bit of an unfair excuse toward the Dori from the original story, who had run into Haban while stark naked.

“Don’t tell me… you didn’t carry any clothes with you.”

Haban slightly furrowed his brows. It wasn’t anger—more like dissatisfaction.

“No, I did bring them at first, but I lost them rolling around in the mountains.”

“I see. And then?”

“I was near the area, looking for them frantically, and then an arrow came flying, so I couldn’t keep searching.”

Mid-sentence, Dori faltered.

‘Why am I making all these excuses?’

Thinking it over, he felt like he was being unfair to “Dori” from the original story again.

Once his possession ended and the original Dori returned to his body, he might miss the red fox village. Yet Dori had lost all the items he’d taken care to gather for that moment.

Drip.

Haban poured tea. Seeing Dori unconsciously stick out his tongue to moisten his lips, he assumed the boy was thirsty.

The weather had gotten hotter lately, so the fox had been panting more often. That was why the teapot always contained cold tea.

Even before Haban could finish placing the teacup in front of him, Dori eagerly grabbed it and took a sip. The sweetness suited his taste, and he let out a soft “hoh” in admiration.

“This tastes pretty good. Want to try some?”

Haban used the moment to inch even closer.

When he placed some neatly peeled fruit flesh on a plate without Dori noticing, the boy’s sparkling eyes quickly shifted toward it.

“I’m full…”

Despite his words, Dori greedily stuffed it into his mouth. One of his cheeks puffed up as he chewed, unaware that Haban was toying with the ends of his hair.

The reason Haban had kept the fox by his side throughout the journey, not letting him stray for even a moment, had been for this very moment.

Then, Dori, without thinking, held out his cup again, asking for more. His guard, soft and vulnerable like peeled fruit flesh, had relaxed.

‘That’s enough for today.’

Filling Dori’s cup to the brim, Haban also poured himself some tea and lifted the cup to hide his smile.

“No one will enter the room for now. Whether you stay in your human or fox form, be at ease. I’ll return once I’m done.”

Click.

As soon as Haban left and the door closed, Dori leaped onto the bed. Knowing the wall would hurt, he instead headbutted the nearest pillow a few times, then rubbed his forehead into it.

He felt pathetic.

He wasn’t a goldfish, yet the moment Haban was kind to him, he had completely forgotten what kind of person he was and let his guard down.

‘But still…’

The Haban that Dori had seen and experienced thus far was vastly different from the one in the original story.

He had even revealed his human form, yet instead of becoming cruel, Haban had only become more gentle. Just like he had said—that he would remain the same no matter what Dori looked like.

His mind was a mess.

‘Ugh. I don’t understand anything.’

Dori shoved his head under the pillow and pressed both sides down with his hands.

In any case, the escape had failed, and his human form had been exposed. Dori now harbored a small wish: that Haban’s kindness wasn’t a lie.

Geumhu stood askew, glaring at Jipyeong.

“Ease up on that glare. It’s not like I can just walk in there and escort His Majesty out.”

It was Haban himself who had summoned them so urgently, yet he didn’t emerge from the fox’s bedchamber until long after they had arrived.

Click.

Haban quickly shut the door to prevent any glimpse inside, only to then notice Geumhu’s sullen expression.

“Why the sulky face? I told you to enjoy yourself.”

“…”

Enjoy himself? His stomach had been in knots the entire time.

Following Haban down the corridor, they entered a room not far from the fox’s quarters. It already contained a desk and furniture—when had this setup appeared?

So he truly had no intention of leaving the fox’s palace.

Geumhu signaled to Jipyeong. That solid wall of a man hesitated before placing a silver tray on the desk after being poked in the side.

Ignoring the pile of scrolls, Haban first summoned Court Lady Jang.

“Go and prepare those children.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

While Dori roamed freely through the palace, Haban had continued receiving reports.

The most bothersome issue was Yungak, who kept hovering around the fox. Haban had observed him, wondering if he knew something, but it seemed to be mere curiosity.

‘If not Yungak… then who could it have been?’

From his past life, Haban knew Dori had attempted to escape more than once. During the second attempt, with Haewon’s help, he had successfully fled and was lost for good.

But during the first attempt, someone had aided Dori. Although Dori had been caught before leaving the palace, that accomplice had vanished.

Haban was still searching for that unknown helper.

The night of Dori’s first escape, there had been a eunuch walking with his head low. The figure had looked familiar, and when Haban called out, the startled reaction was suspicious.

Jipyeong kicked the back of the eunuch’s knees, forcing him to kneel, then grabbed the hair and yanked the head back.

The revealed face—trembling and tear-soaked—was Dori’s.

‘You dared to think you could run from me.’

That day, Haban had twisted the ankle of the Dori who tried to escape dressed in eunuch’s robes. He had thrown the terrified boy into a cell and, gripping that ankle that had barely healed from the arrow wound, forcibly bent it.

Dori, unable to even scream loudly, shed silent tears with his mouth covered. Strangely, Haban grew even angrier seeing him like that.

That pitiful look—it must also be a lie meant to deceive him.

He had said Haban was all he had.

He had claimed he had nowhere to go, and that his only place was at Haban’s side. But it had all been a ruse to escape him.

Back then, blinded by rage, Haban had lashed out at Dori. By the time he thought to find the accomplice, the person had already disappeared.

‘I should have caught that one first.’

That’s why Haban had watched Yungak circling the fox for several days, wondering if he was the accomplice.

Each time a report came in, he told them to leave Yungak alone, but it was only because he was restraining his own rising irritation. Had Dori not discovered the secret tunnel first, Haban might have acted.

In the end, Yungak wasn’t the helper. Which meant someone else had seen Dori’s human form and given him the eunuch’s uniform. But who in the palace could it have been?

With no way to find them right now, Haban set the matter aside and considered who to newly assign to Dori’s quarters. The first to come to mind were the two girls who had brought food to the fox.

‘They were Hong and Cheong, right.’

Dori was timid and shy with strangers. Better to assign familiar faces. Also, something about their names felt oddly familiar to Haban, which helped him make the decision.

Court Lady Jang backed away. Only then did Haban pull the silver tray he had ignored until now toward him.

On the top was a scroll wrapped in multicolored thread. Geumhu stepped closer as he opened it.

“The iron recently produced by Jin-guk is of excellent quality, and the amount they promised is considerable.”

He was concerned that the Emperor might reject the proposal outright, seeing through the obvious ploy of trying to keep the princess here.

“…”

“Outwardly, it’s being framed as a study abroad exchange, so we’re not taking any losses publicly or privately.”

Seeing no response, Geumhu added more.

From the empire’s perspective, this was beneficial in many ways. If the princess from Jin-guk were to become even a consort, if not the empress, it would be a powerful card for Haban’s future.

That’s why Geumhu hoped Haban would show some interest in her.

“I see.”

Only after a long pause did Haban give a vague reply. Just as Geumhu was about to speak again, thinking Haban would reject it, the man lightly waved his hand.

“Understood. Send a reply.”

Contrary to Geumhu’s worries, permission was granted instantly.

“…Pardon? Yes, Your Majesty.”

Geumhu responded blankly, still caught off guard.