SAFBIAN Ch 28

Chapter 28

 

Smack! Dori buried his face into the red hem of Haban’s robe as the door suddenly swung open.

‘…I’m doomed.’

He couldn’t bear to lift his face. He could already picture the expression Haban must be wearing as he looked down at him. He was probably extremely angry.

“Y-Your Majesty! Are you alright?!”

“Step aside.”

“But, sire…”

“I said step aside. Do you think I would be harmed by a mere fox? Stop bothering me and get out. If you keep getting in the way, I’ll have the physician look at you first.”

As expected, irritation seeped from every word. Dori’s frightened shoulders shriveled miserably.

“Tsk.”

The cowering fox flattened himself against the floor and tucked in his legs, resembling a large pillow. Haban nearly kicked him and clicked his tongue again in annoyance.

“What are you even proud of, staying put like that?”

A firm arm reached under his belly. Lifting Dori with ease, Haban strode forward with long steps.

‘No way, he’s not going to throw me, is he?’

Dori darted his eyes nervously and curled up as tightly as he could to avoid falling.

But contrary to his fears, Haban sat on the edge of the bed, placed the fox on his lap, and gripped both of his legs with one hand, setting them upright to face him.

Perched on the firm thigh, Dori stood on tiptoes. He wobbled a few times, and he could feel Haban’s gaze settle on him. It felt just like being punished.

“They said you don’t cover yourself, yet you seem to eat plenty. Just look at how round your belly is.”

…Why does he keep rudely commenting on my stomach!

A large hand slowly swept from his chest downward. The fox was more sensitive on his chest and belly than on his back. Though his body was covered in fur, he could still feel the touch clearly.

Moreover, Haban was originally human. Being touched like this by another male, even of the same gender, felt strangely uncomfortable.

Perhaps tense, Dori flicked his black nose with his tongue.

Even so, the hand stroking the curved belly began to move lower.

“Your limbs are still thin, yet how did only this part get so round? It’s not like a male would be pregnant.”

The hand stayed between his legs. There was no special intention behind it, but Dori’s lips trembled slightly.

Whether he knew or not, Haban’s gaze trailed down the white belly before he set the fox down.

“They said you scratched the door again in the middle of the night.”

Thud.

Feeling guilty, Dori feigned ignorance.

Had he lived as a fox too long? When not paying attention, he found himself acting purely on instinct—digging at blankets as if making a den, scratching the wall and the like.

‘Well, I mean… I am a fox. It’s natural to scratch doors and wallpaper sometimes…’

But to go snitching to Haban over that—how petty.

“Do you know how many people are inconvenienced because of you? You make such a racket that the palace staff got frightened.”

…That’s not because of me, but because you’re scary.

‘Anyway.’

Watching quietly from atop the thigh, Dori squirmed uncomfortably. The solid muscle underneath was difficult to sit on.

‘What is that?’

Adjusting his position here and there, Dori suddenly froze and opened his eyes wide.

There was a spot that wasn’t as densely muscular—something more elastic. Pushing his rear against it without thinking, Dori naturally recalled the male anatomy.

Right. That is located between the thighs.

‘Still… is this really possible?’

Horrified, he looked up with widened eyes, only for Haban to glance down with a puzzled frown as if annoyed.

Dori quickly ducked his head.

‘N-No way. That can’t be right.’

Just how large and thick must it be to be felt even through clothing?

At first, he thought, No way, it can’t be. He had seen naked male bodies in saunas and bathhouses, but never had he come into contact with one this closely.

And being a man himself, he knew.

Even more terrifying was the fact that this wasn’t even fully aroused yet.

‘Seriously, how is that even supposed to fit? That kind of weapon…?’

It felt like his stomach might be pierced.

His heart pounded with shock, and even then, he was afraid the vibrations might reach Haban through his small back, causing his fur to stand on end.

As Dori tried to slowly pull away, Haban yanked him closer as if to say, Where do you think you’re going?

‘…I-It’s touching! It’s touching!!’

Dori shuddered involuntarily.

Melted like a puddle, his entire body slid off Haban’s knee, but he didn’t go far—he simply stretched his four legs out beside him and lay flat.

Pretending to sleep, he even shut his eyes.

A soft snort of laughter sounded.

“Right. Eat, sleep—that’s the instinct of a beast.”

Yet, as if surrendering to inevitability, Haban lightly slapped the plump bottom under the flicking tail that betrayed its master’s will.

“Nggh.”

The fox whipped his tail in protest.

Haban pressed the black nose and lifted the fox’s head. He placed a cushion under the snowy cheek, and his thigh—too high—remained right beneath it.

Dori peeked through a slit in his eyes and quickly shut them again.

This must be what they call a dangerous storage area.

That thing rested alarmingly close to the fox’s long snout.

Haban gazed quietly down at the imperial palace.

To the north were steep mountains, and to the east, a smaller range extending from a long chain. The south had a great river, and to the west, the sea. The imperial palace itself was a fortress.

Even if someone other than him took the throne, the empire would remain strong.

But why? Despite deciding to give it all up, something felt strange whenever he looked at the fox.

Truthfully, Haban had been seeing such snowy-white beasts for a very long time.

But no one knew this.

The more obsessed he became, the worse things got, and eventually, the emperor killed everyone who saw or heard of it. Even Haban, the then crown prince, was confined to his quarters for years.

Back when he was smaller, weaker.

Haban’s lips hardened into a cold line.

The land of abundance and gold, an empire that resembled a great tiger—Haban, the 23rd emperor, was the only one among the heirs born of the empress’s blood and noble from birth.

He learned to read early, wielded a sword, and even mastered archery. Haban excelled in every field and was undoubtedly the next in line for the empire.

Everyone thought so. No one doubted it. The empire’s laws also dictated that only a son of the empress could inherit the throne, so from birth, it was his rightful seat.

However, the path to becoming emperor was unexpectedly difficult.

The former emperor had five concubines and seven sons aside from the empress, and he especially favored two—Consort Jeok and Lady Mun.

Consort Jeok, daughter of a humble family, was satisfied with just one son. Lady Mun, however, was different. A noble-born beauty, and very young, she bore two healthy sons and could not accept being stuck at the rank of gwi-bi (noble consort).

‘Why not my son? He’s just as much the emperor’s child! What makes them different?’

The emperor adored her more. Her sons received more affection. He even personally wrote a message to her son for his birthday—a favor not extended to others.

‘I’ll never accept it! I won’t just sit by and watch. If only Haban didn’t exist…!’

Her ambition naturally aimed for the empress’s throne.

With a dazzling smile, Lady Mun blinded the emperor. With sweet whispers, she plugged his ears. Behind the scenes, she relentlessly targeted the empress’s palace with poison. One day, a dead rat was found. The next, the empress’s beloved bird was discovered lifeless.

It didn’t take long for animals to become humans. Soon, court ladies and eunuchs began coughing up blood and dying.

The political tides also split, as ministers chose sides, each backing a different prince and speaking honeyed words to the emperor.

The fierce competition shifted when Haban turned nine.

He finally collapsed.

Feigning concern, Lady Mun brought expensive herbs to the empress’s palace and was turned away at the door, to which she chuckled behind a covered mouth.

‘So even the lofty empress can’t maintain her grace now? Well, unlike her, I have two sons. She only has one chance, and if he’s gone, that’s it.’

The empress’s palace walls grew taller, and physicians visited day and night. Lady Mun sent a ring as a gift to one of the palace maids.

Around that time, word spread secretly that Haban, after teetering between life and death for days, had begun rambling nonsense.

‘It’s finally happening!’

At last, Haban was dethroned as crown prince.

‘Next will be my son.’

Although the emperor delayed appointing a new heir, Lady Mun’s hopes grew with each day. The once-brilliant Haban was now supposedly a fool, claiming to see ghosts—clearly, he had gone mad.

‘I name Haban the crown prince.’

But the reemerged Haban was different from the rumors.

The empress had won, and the concubine lost. Lady Mun, who tried to make her son the crown prince, and the ministers who supported her, all died cursing.

But no one knew—the empress had wielded the sharp blade, but the one drenched in blood was Haban.

Only he knew how cruelly he was educated within the empress’s palace.