SAFBIAN Ch 78

Chapter 78

‘How strange. Why doesn’t this room have plumbing?’

Seizing the moment while Haban was out, Dori hurriedly wiped the water from his body after a quick splashy wash.

In the original work, Haban’s bathhouse had water flowing in abundance and even a large bathtub. So why was he now sitting in a small tub, scooping water over his head with a ladle?

Of course, compared to the time when he had to conserve even a single bucket of water while pretending to be a fox, the current situation was much better.

Dori dressed himself first. Just then, Haban returned. It had been a couple of hours since he left to tend to state affairs.

‘Is it really okay for an emperor to be like this?’

If not for the briefly seen, shadowed face of Geumhu through the closing door, he might have believed Haban’s words that everything was over.

“I meant to return early, but I was slightly delayed.”

“No, I’m fine, but…”

“First, there’s no time. Hurry and transform into your fox form.”

‘What? So suddenly?’

Momentarily flustered, Dori quickly turned into his fox form. Then he slipped out of the clothes he was wearing and gave his fur a vigorous shake.

Despite the damp fur scattering droplets everywhere, Haban didn’t seem to mind and called someone from outside.

Clatter.

The door slid open carefully, revealing the face of a court lady who looked both pleased and awkward. Behind her stood another unfamiliar face.

…What is going on here?

Anxiously, Dori hid behind Haban. Instinctively, he sought the one he felt more emotionally connected to. His round golden eyes glanced once at those kneeling before him, then turned back to Haban.

“These are the ones who will be attending to your chambers from today.”

These people? What about Haewon?

“The royal physician must’ve been quite busy alone, hasn’t he? I’ve merely added more staff. The physician will still visit daily, so there’s no need to worry.”

As if reading Dori’s mind through his eyes alone, Haban answered while gently patting his head.

When the hand left his head, Dori quietly sat down beside Haban’s leg. He still didn’t feel entirely at ease with the court lady, even though they’d encountered once or twice before.

‘It’s a relief that Haewon will still come, but then what about my appearance?’

Even though Haban already knew his identity, must he still continue living as a fox? Constantly?

Just then, one of the court ladies approached him on her knees.

“Lord Fox.”

Aaagh! Lord Fox?!

Startled by the awkward and embarrassing title, Dori flapped his ears and wildly wagged his tail.

“I’m Cheong, assigned to serve Lord Fox.”

“I’m Hong.”

Having introduced themselves, the two court ladies bowed flat to the ground.

‘…Ah!’

The names jogged his memory—these were the two palace maids from the original story!

Naturally, in the original story, ‘Dori’ had no personal chambers. He spent his days confined in a cage somewhere within the emperor’s palace.

Hong and Cheong were newly assigned to the imperial palace. However, being the youngest among the court ladies, they were often tasked with jobs the senior ones avoided.

For instance, attending to a creepy human with animal ears and a tail. Still, for ‘Dori’, this was fortunate. Thanks to them, he was occasionally able to eat decent food.

Seeing Dori’s scrawny figure, they must have felt sympathy and couldn’t bring themselves to serve him rotting food. They would either set aside a portion or secretly bring something else. Eventually, they were caught and punished under the accusation of stealing palace food.

Although Haewon was the only one in the palace who had been kind to ‘Dori’, it was thanks to these two that he didn’t starve to death.

‘How fascinating. So this is how it all ties together.’

Dori was surprised to realize that the meat pancakes he had eaten without much thought were naturally linked to the flow of the original story.

Could there be other things he had done carelessly that were connected to the original plot?

‘I wandered freely around the palace and even met Yungak, didn’t I?’

Suddenly, he became conscious of every action he had taken.

While Dori was deep in thought, Haban ordered for the dinner tray to be brought. Cheong and Hong stood up and left the room.

Looking closely, Dori noticed Cheong was limping. That day, when she was caught giving food to the fox, not only did the head court lady dismiss her explanation, but she also accused her of being the culprit behind all the missing food. As a result, she was severely caned.

Had Haban not received the report and intervened, her leg might have been permanently damaged.

As night deepened, Dori began to sneak glances at Haban. He had expected Haban to leave soon, especially since guards had been posted outside, but now the emperor had even changed into sleepwear.

This situation was just…

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing serious, just… I was wondering. Didn’t you sleep here yesterday too, Haban?”

“I did.”

With all the court ladies dismissed, Haban calmly answered as he personally turned off the lights.

“Then, am I supposed to sleep on the floor?”

“Would I ever allow such a thing?”

“Then…?”

When Haban climbed onto the bed after drawing the curtain, Dori, who was already huddled close to the wall, shrank back even further.

While sleeping as a fox, no matter how much he rolled around, he never had to worry about falling off the large bed. But at this moment, the bed felt uncomfortably small. Dori waved his hand over his head as if to drive away the memories of the original story that kept surfacing.

“You plan to spend the night over there, do you? Come here already.”

Lying on his side with the blanket pulled up, Haban patted the space next to him.

“Earlier, Kim the chamberlain was outside looking for you…”

“Just call him Chamberlain Kim.”

“No, that feels a bit…”

“You’re funny, hesitating like this. And yet you call me Haban.”

“…”

Dori rolled his eyes in silence instead of replying.

Now that he thought about it, the way he addressed them felt backward, but there was no helping it. As someone who grew up in modern-day South Korea, Dori couldn’t bring himself to speak informally to Chamberlain Kim, whose hair was completely white, even if he was just a character in a novel.

“That aside… I can’t run away anymore, can I?”

“Surely, you didn’t seriously consider it again, did you?”

A gentle smile formed at the corners of Haban’s lips. Dori gathered a little more courage.

“Honestly, I have nowhere to go.”

“…”

Haban smiled as before, but something about it felt subtly different. A chill crept up Dori’s spine, and he swallowed dryly.

“…Why?”

“Just last night, you tried to run from me—wearing the clothes I gave you, adorned with the ornaments I bestowed. If it were you, would you believe such words after seeing that?”

“…Huh?”

Haban quietly looked at Dori, then covered his eyes with one hand. A moment later, rubbing his eyes slowly, he looked utterly weary.

“I will believe you. So for now, let’s sleep.”

Had he shouted or dragged him forcibly, Dori might have resisted. But being treated so gently only made things harder…

Dori slipped just his toes under the blanket, hesitated, and then—poof—transformed into his fox form.

‘Right, this form should be fine.’

Tap tap. Dori softly stepped onto the blanket and curled up beside Haban’s arm.

At that very moment—

A dark figure walking through the shadows stopped abruptly and concealed a pair of pointed ears. It was a reflexive act, spurred by barely restrained fury.

Dori.

That cursed and ominous white fox.

‘Did you really think I’d just sit back and watch?’

While I, a red fox, suffer daily trauma from the horrific things that happened to me, this mere white fox gets to enjoy everything just because he belongs to the emperor? It made her blood boil.

It all began with the innocent wish to live among humans, like other foxes who had integrated into their society.

When she had just come down from the mountains, things seemed to go smoothly. Since beastfolk were more beautiful than humans, every human she met had been drawn to her.

‘Humans are so easy.’

One day, a wealthy old man believed her lie about being an orphan and offered to make her his adopted daughter.

She accepted without much thought, figuring she could always escape by transforming into a fox if things went south.

The precious ornaments. The fine silk.

She became enamored with the luxuries she suddenly gained. When the man said he’d send her somewhere even better, she eagerly nodded.

The problem came afterward.

She found out that everything—including her entry into the imperial palace—had been part of the old man’s scheme.

He had wanted to offer his precious daughter to the emperor as a concubine but was too afraid of the emperor himself, so he tested the waters by sending her instead.

When Yungak, whom she had believed was smitten with her, cut out her tongue—it was so painful she wished she could die.

How could she tell her family, or the other foxes, what had happened? She didn’t even want to show herself in such a state.

She couldn’t return to the village like this.

So she had no choice but to remain in the palace, spending her days in quiet misery. Then she heard the news—Dori had been brought to the palace before her.

At first, she had felt gleeful.

Of all people, he had been captured by the notoriously cruel emperor and was supposedly starving to death. She felt like her situation wasn’t so bad after all.

But then, one day, she happened to see Dori walking with the emperor.

She would rather have died on the spot.

Had she died back then, she wouldn’t have had to endure this crushing sense of defeat!

When Yungak showed interest in Dori, she thought it was perfect. She even worked hard to gather information from Yungak’s court and passed it along to him.

She wanted Dori to suffer just as much—no, more—than she had.

Later, when the Fox Guild visited the palace, she even forgot to lay low to avoid Yungak’s attention and snuck out to take a look. Thankfully, she ran into Wonwoo just as she was about to be discovered by Chamberlain Kim and Chief Court Lady Jang while hiding near the carts.

‘To think he even stole the village’s sacred relic.’

That despicable fox!

Knock knock.

Just then, the door was lightly tapped.

“…You’re here.”

Creak.

A hand reached out from the open door and seized her sleeve in one swift motion.