SAFBIAN Ch 22

Chapter 22

Haban was not a benevolent emperor. Rather, he was closer to a cruel monarch. You could tell just by the fact that he executed all those who opposed him as soon as he ascended the throne.

“Prime Minister? How could I take on such an important position! I can’t do it.”

“Do it. You always said you wanted to be involved in proper state affairs.”

“Your Majesty!”

“There won’t be anyone making a fuss.”

If I had known that meant he would silence them all by killing them, I would never have accepted this position.

Geumhu let out a bitter smile and held the edge of the note over a candle flame.

As the edges of the paper slowly caught fire, he placed it on the inkstone and waited until it turned to ash, then poured water over it. After grinding some ink over it a few times, the ashes quickly disintegrated.

Now, it was time to report the matter to Haban.

“Might as well ask for some confirmation while I’m at it.”

Geumhu swiftly sorted the scrolls piled haphazardly on his desk into those he had seen and those he needed to review.

“The report from the Shadow (殺) could’ve been received directly. Why bother sending it to me? How annoying.”

The Emperor’s power was divided into two main figures.

Prime Minister Geumhu and Commander Jipyeong.

The head of Haban’s shadowy force, the Shadow (殺), was Jipyeong. Unfortunately, since he often accompanied the emperor to the hunting grounds, he was rarely in the palace.

So naturally, instead of the frequently moving commander, it fell to Geumhu, who could sit still for hours on end, to receive such reports.

“Lately, he’s been staying in the palace constantly… Come to think of it, why?”

Suspicious.

Recalling that Haban had been staying in the palace for a while, Geumhu stood up with an uneasy look.

“Whose head are you planning to take now?”

It should be about time he tried persuasion instead.

He was born into a family of civil officials and had only ever held a brush his whole life. He had never held a sword, and no matter how many times he experienced it, he never got used to the screams of torture and the strong smell of blood.

Geumhu slung on the outer robe he had hung up and left the room.

“Nice weather.”

Sunlight streamed in long beams through the windows. Standing still for a moment to take in the outside air, it felt refreshingly incomparable to the stuffy office.

Then, despite having received an urgent message, he walked slowly.

“Haah. This is so nice.”

Dori’s back was sizzling. It felt like lying drowsily on the floor of a heated room or a jjimjilbang.

Dori twitched his ears, which peeked through his white fur, and thumped his tail.

“My whole body’s melting.”

The warmth of the spot beneath him was incredible. If he had a boiled egg and iced coffee right now, it would be perfect.

“Seaweed soup would be good too. Mix some white rice into that milky broth and have a bowl with kimchi.”

Though he looked like a fox on the outside, Dori was, at heart, a Korean. He licked his lips and made a satisfied purring sound. It had been a pleasant nap.

“So, so hot…!”

The fox, who had been dozing contentedly for quite some time, wrinkled his black nose.

The warmth that had been pleasant at first gradually became hot, and the spot under his back started heating up endlessly like a cheap electric blanket someone forgot to turn off.

“Ugh, enough already…”

To make matters worse, something soft and light had started piling up on top of his body, one after another. Once the layers stacked up, the pressure became quite heavy.

The heat from below and the suffocating weight from above pressed down on his chest.

“Gehk!”

Dori rolled sideways to push off the weight on his back and opened his eyes. But instead of a ceiling, he saw a tall pile of thick blankets and a fluffy fur cover on top of his chest.

“What is all this?”

Sprawled out on his back, the fox flipped over and quickly scurried out as if shedding a skin.

“What happened?”

Dori scratched his nose bridge with his front paw.

It was morning. Since Haban had likely returned last night, he should’ve been locked back in his cage, sleeping on the cushion. But why was he still on the bed? And without his collar or muzzle.

Puzzled, Dori tilted his head as he tried to figure it out.

“Why is all this stacked so high?”

Sitting on the pillow, Dori stared at the hole burrowed like a fox den. There was no way he had pulled all that over himself in his sleep. It felt more like someone had deliberately covered him.

Poke, poke.

He pressed down with his front paw, and the large stack wobbled. As he absentmindedly leaned his head into it, the blankets and furs collapsed with a crash.

“U-Uaah!”

Dori panicked and flailed. Startled by the pile pouring over his head, he kicked wildly with his hind legs.

It wasn’t hard to escape the pile of blankets and furs, but being in a fox’s body reminded him how even small dangers needed to be approached cautiously. His heart pounded like crazy.

“Causing trouble the moment you wake up, are you.”

Twitch.

The fox folded and unfolded one of his ears.

“…Haban?”

Although three sides of the bed were draped with curtains, Dori easily pinpointed the direction of the voice.

Hesitantly, he gathered his courage and stepped back.

“He said he wouldn’t kill me. For now.”

He slipped his nose under the curtain and cautiously lifted it. Not far away, he saw Haban.

Unlike yesterday, when he had been impeccably dressed, today he wore a simple, comfortable outfit in blue tones. His hair was half tied up, with the rest flowing freely.

Though not flashy, he looked neat and natural. The only ornament was the pin holding up his hair. Still, that uniquely arrogant aura was unmistakable.

“He really is good-looking. Must be the main character? If only he didn’t have such a bad personality, he’d be perfect.”

A butler who’s also the emperor—if that’s how things turned out, wouldn’t he be a lottery win in a fox’s life? Rich, powerful, and handsome to boot.

Just as Dori leaned in for a closer look—

“What a sight. You look awful after sleeping.”

Still reading, Haban spoke without even glancing up.

“What?”

Dori bristled, raising his tail.

His eyes must’ve been puffy, his fur messy, and his tail all grimy—but whose fault was that?

He had cried himself to sleep. If Haban had seen the real Dori in that state, he’d have been filled with pity and compassion. But instead, the air was icy cold!

“Wow! He really has no heart!”

Dori growled silently.

Even though he didn’t say it aloud, somehow Haban noticed. As he flipped a page, his dark eyes briefly glanced over with disinterest. When those black pupils met his, the fox froze on the spot.

“W-whoa, that scared me.”

Dori ducked back under the curtain, then cautiously peeked out again. Thankfully, Haban was focused on his book once more.

Still, why was Haban here? In the novel, hadn’t he slept with “Dori” and discarded him after just one day?

“Something’s going wrong again, isn’t it?”

Dori’s ears and tail drooped in gloom.

But only for a moment. He crouched low, belly nearly touching the bed, and crept toward the edge.

In his fox form, it was especially hard to suppress his instincts. Foxes were naturally curious and active. With a hop, he leapt off the bed.

Tap! The sound of his small paws hitting the floor was louder than expected.

“…!”

Dori froze in place after landing and rolled his eyes toward Haban. Still leaning back in his chair, Haban was glaring silently at the fox.

In a flash, Dori scrambled back onto the bed behind the curtain.

“My poor heart…”

Just being in the same room was terrifying. How was he supposed to survive this?

Thud!

At that moment, Haban closed his book with a sharp smack. The weight of the book thumped against the table, and the curtain rustled. As his footsteps approached, Dori’s heartbeat quickened.

“W-what do I do?”

Dori panicked in place until one side of the curtain was suddenly yanked open.

“Why can’t you sit still for even a moment?”

At Haban’s thoroughly annoyed tone, Dori instinctively folded his hind legs neatly and propped his front paws upright like a well-behaved dog. His head bowed naturally.

“It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose…”

His snout mouthed silent excuses.

Whimper, whine.

Haban’s gaze, looking down at the whining fox, softened slightly for a brief moment. But when Dori looked up, the gaze was cold once again.

“Instead of constantly causing trouble, just sleep. If you act up one more time, I’ll tie you up.”

It was a final warning. Haban wasn’t one to make empty threats.

Dori nodded quickly to show he understood. But worried that reacting too fast might seem strange, he tilted his head side to side once, then nodded up and down.

“….”

Even so, he felt oddly like he was being looked down on with pity. Dori couldn’t avoid the gaze and stiffened like a fox before a predator.

“Your Majesty, it’s Geumhu.”

Just then, thankfully, someone called from outside.

“….”

“Your Majesty, it’s Geumhu.”

Getting no reply, the voice repeated the name.

Dori perked his ears.

The voice was somewhat sensitive and irritable, and comparatively high for an adult man. The familiar name especially caught his interest.

As the fox stretched his neck toward the door, a heavy hand pressed down on his head.

“It’s Geumhu.”

“….”

“It’s Geumhu.”

“….”

“It’s Geumhu.”

Haban still said nothing.

Outside, Geumhu kept calling his name repeatedly. At this point, either one of them should respond or give up—but both were unbearably stubborn.