SAFBIAN Ch 109

Chapter 109

‘Ugh… I feel so stifled.’

Dori tossed and turned.

It felt like being trapped in a cramped space, barely able to breathe. Maybe someone had pulled the blanket up to the top of his head again, saying he might catch a cold in his lower body.

Honestly, he couldn’t understand what kind of twisted mindset this was. Every time he was sleeping soundly, it happened again. Half-asleep and dazed, Dori tried to kick off the blanket by stretching out his legs.

‘Huh?!’

But in that instant, it was as if something had tied him up—rather than stretching out his legs, the force made his body roll over.

‘…What, what is this?’

He instantly jolted wide awake. Though his eyes were open, he couldn’t comprehend what was happening, leaving Dori bewildered.

Once he came to his senses and looked around, he found that something was blocking his view as if a blanket had been draped over him. On closer inspection, it looked more like a large sack than a blanket.

To make matters worse, all four of his legs were bound, and something was clamped over his mouth.

‘…!’

Could he still be dreaming?

No matter how mischievous Haban could be, even he wouldn’t go this far. But for it to be a dream, the feeling of the gag in his mouth and the restraints around his legs felt far too vivid.

‘Is this… actually real?’

Dori twitched his sensitive ears furiously. He flapped them hard enough to shake them violently, but he couldn’t sense Qing or Hong, who should have been nearby—nor could he detect any other court attendants.

Instead, he heard the loud and rough wind blowing—something he’d heard before in the Red Fox Village.

Just what in the world is happening?

‘Wh-where is everyone?’

Dori anxiously twitched his black nose. Since he couldn’t move his body at all, he tried to determine whether he was still in the royal palace by sniffing around.

What faintly filtered through the sack was the scent of old dust.

This isn’t the palace.

‘No… don’t tell me…’

…Is this the force of the original story asserting itself?

His head filled with all sorts of thoughts. Dori went completely blank, unable to even twitch for a moment.

He’d been kidnapped, right? For real? That meant he was outside the palace? No way—how could someone be abducted in their sleep like this?

His fur bristled from the crown of his head to the tip of his tail, and his back went rigid. No matter how he pieced things together, there was only one conclusion: he’d been kidnapped.

‘S-stay calm.’

First, he had to figure out why he was taken. If the goal was to kill him, they wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of taking him out of the palace.

Huff, huff.

Dori raised his head and twisted his body to examine the situation. The sack was too tight, making it hard to move at all. With his mouth gagged, he could only breathe through his nose. He let out a weak whimper and lowered his head again.

Wasn’t there any way to escape this?

‘Haban’s going to be mad…’

By now, Haban would have realized Dori was missing, and his quarters would be in chaos.

They had just fought about this very thing, and now he was worried Haban might think Dori had run away. But more than that, the real problem was that he had no idea how to escape.

“Whimper.”

As soon as he regained a bit of energy, Dori started wriggling again. But it wasn’t easy. Crawling across the floor exhausted him quickly, and he collapsed. If he had been tied up in human form, he could’ve transformed into a fox to slip out of the restraints—but now, tied up as a fox, he had no such option.

While groaning and twisting his body to turn over, he suddenly heard a scratching sound under his claws.

‘Huh?’

This… is this fabric or leather?

A thought suddenly came to Dori. He twisted his body so that his paw pads faced downward and extended his sharp claws, starting to scratch and dig away.

It seemed like it would take an eternity to make a hole big enough to escape, but he couldn’t just give up without trying.

Rip! After a long effort, he managed to poke one claw through.

“Mmgh!”

Overjoyed, he tried to force the hole open—but in doing so, he pulled a muscle in his leg. A groaning whimper escaped from his gagged mouth. Dori trembled, waiting for the cramp to subside.

But despite all his struggling, no one came to check on him. Just where was this place?

‘I mean, in other transmigration novels, the protagonists manage to avoid situations like this just fine…’

Why does this absurd story only stick to the original plot when it’s least convenient?

…Ugh.

He had thrashed around too much, and the sack felt even more suffocating. With such limited space, his erratic movements only made it harder to breathe.

‘…Haban.’

You idiot! Don’t just obsess—protect me properly!

Before anything even happened, he was already afraid he might suffocate and die inside the sack. Tears welled up in Dori’s eyes as he struggled to stay brave.

And then it happened.

Creak—he heard the sound he had been waiting for.

‘Someone’s here!’

Dori perked up his long ears. He had been too frantic earlier and the rain outside had been too noisy, so he hadn’t heard properly before…

‘Could it be… Haban, coming to rescue me?’

For a moment, hope swelled within him—but the instant he sensed the presence stopping at the doorway, it turned into a chilling tension.

It wasn’t Haban.

Dori let out a menacing growl, using his throat in place of his gagged snout.

Step, step—the footsteps finally moved forward.

Who was it?

As the sound of steps grew closer, Dori’s fur began to prickle.

Who are you?!

The fact that the intruder hadn’t said a single word made it even more frightening. At last, the figure crouched down right beside Dori.

Hoo—an exhaled breath. Somehow, it felt familiar.

“…Hooong!”

‘…You!’

His limp tail puffed up with fear, going taut and bristling.

After returning to the Fox Merchants Guild, Wonwoo hadn’t moved from his room for hours.

He wanted nothing more than to go see Dori right away, but the red foxes—worried after he had disappeared for several days—kept visiting his room, asking what had happened.

“I went to the village for a bit.”

“Our village?”

“Yes, I was concerned about the elder, and I also stopped by to see Hori, which delayed me.”

“Ahh! Well, that makes sense. It must be hard being away from your mate like this.”

The red foxes nodded in understanding. He had made the right decision visiting the Red Fox Village in advance.

Before sneaking into the royal palace, Wonwoo had gone to the village to fabricate a reasonable excuse.

Though he only stayed for a day, the red foxes assumed that his absence was because he and his mate were enjoying some private time together after being reunited.

Hori had thrown a fit, demanding why she had to go along with this. But when Wonwoo threatened to reveal to the villagers that she hadn’t imprinted on her mate yet, Hori’s face twisted in displeasure.

Initially, they had left the village under the pretense of searching for a sacred relic, but as time went on, being away from Dori had driven Wonwoo to the brink of madness. He had no time for rational thought.

Hori, on the other hand, had stayed in the village and, conscious of the red foxes’ attention, couldn’t act recklessly. In the end, her pride forced her to stay shut in her room.

Thanks to that, Wonwoo could claim he had stayed for a few days and had left at dawn to avoid unnecessary suspicion. The excuse was airtight.

The red foxes asked with concerned faces.

“How’s the elder doing?”

“He’s much better now.”

The elder had collapsed—officially from the shock of the sacred relic’s disappearance, but in truth, it was due to the poison Wonwoo had given him. He had never fully recovered his strength. His hair had turned whiter, and deep wrinkles had formed on his face.

Wonwoo felt no pity at the elder’s frailty.

Even after Dori—his own son—had left the Red Fox Village, he hadn’t worried about how or where Dori was living. All he had asked about was the relic’s whereabouts.

Remembering the elder’s disappointed face when he told him Dori hadn’t been found, Wonwoo sneered. Still, there was no need to let the other red foxes see his true feelings, so he quickly schooled his expression.

“Well, that’s a relief. Sigh… all because of that damned man.”

“We’re counting on you. Take care.”

After the foxes patted his shoulder and left the room, Wonwoo began to feel increasingly anxious. What if, while he was wasting time here, someone else found Dori first?

“…Ugh.”

Wonwoo clutched his chest and lowered his head.

Being even farther away from Dori than he had been at the palace, a sudden wave of pain surged through him. The pain felt worse after having relaxed for a while.

Thanks to the bit of Dori’s blood he had drunk earlier, it had mixed into him and alleviated the pain slightly. Wonwoo exhaled deeply. He stood up and picked out a dark outfit that would help him blend into the shadows.

‘It’s time to get ready.’

Finally, it was time to go see Dori.

Tap, tap!

A large red fox dashed swiftly up the mountain. Though the steep rocks and mud made the terrain dangerously slippery in the rain, the fox moved quickly and with ease.

“Huff, huff.”

Finally reaching the destination, the fox panted heavily, tongue hanging out. A small, shabby house stood before him.

Dori was inside.

Wonwoo cautiously scanned his surroundings before opening the door with his forepaw. As he stepped in and shut the door behind him, the sight that met him made him frown.

In one corner were discarded tools—an axe, kitchen knives, and other clearly threatening objects. Around them were countless dark stains, dried remnants of blood.

‘It couldn’t be helped, but still… why here, of all places.’

Wonwoo covered his nose. The stench of blood was so foul it made his head spin.

‘I need to get him out of here quickly.’

Some of that blood might have come from foxes. He didn’t want to remain in this filthy, reeking place any longer.

As he slowly approached the sack lying on the ground, the shape inside began to squirm.

Wonwoo let out a slow sigh.