Chapter 78
We remained entangled for a while.
The top carelessly undone.
Through the wide-open front of the shirt, only miserable traces were present.
A heavy silence flowed.
"......"
The fox looked down at me.
A body thoroughly covered in scars.
It was difficult to find a normal part.
The marks of being cut, burned, torn, and stitched still shimmered as if proving a terrible past.
I parted my lips that had been pressed together.
"...So you saw after all."
A briefly uttered question.
The girl quietly nodded her head.
"Yes... I discovered it while changing your wet clothes."
"It was a precious secret."
"So this was it. The reason you always insist on stuffy formal wear even in summer. Because you can cover all the scars on your body."
"I've been found out."
I admitted it readily.
As I let out a bitter smile, suddenly Irene's moving hand touched my chest.
The lukewarm body temperature caressed the scars as they were.
Black pupils faintly trembling.
The girl asked without taking her eyes off my body.
"Just... what happened?"
"......"
"Is this a secret too?"
"......"
I didn't open my mouth.
I just remained lying down while keeping silent.
We faced off for a moment.
A distance close enough for our breaths to intertwine.
Perhaps because my top was half removed, our bare skin pressed together and was dyed with a soft sensation.
We were lying in stickily mixing body heat.
After staying like that for a few minutes.
The one who retreated first was Irene.
"...Sorry. I didn't mean to reproach you."
A faintly ringing voice.
The girl slowly detached her body that had been pressed close.
With drooping animal ears behind her, she poured out her own complicated inner feelings.
"Just. I feel a bit frustrated."
"......"
"You know a lot about me. To the extent of grasping things I've never talked about. But it seems like I don't properly know anything about you."
Her expression was complex in many ways.
"It feels like I'm being unreasonable. Forget it."
Irene muttering to herself.
She seemed to toss and turn between the blankets, then laid her head on my arm that happened to be placed beside her.
The distance narrowing once again.
A sweet body scent touched.
The girl spoke while leaning her body on me.
"Come to think of it... I've never properly told you my story either. Would you like to hear it, if you're interested?"
"What kind of story do you mean?"
"The things from my past that I've hidden."
"I already know most of it, but."
"Hearing directly from the person involved is different. Both in content and meaning."
"I suppose that's true. I'll listen gladly."
I quietly lent my ear.
You might think what use is it when I already know, but a story heard directly from the person involved contains much deeper meaning.
The inner wounds she had been hiding until now.
It meant she trusted me enough to reveal such flaws.
The girl seemed to be gradually opening her heart.
"It probably won't be an interesting story, but."
Eyes reminiscing about past days.
The girl who had been silent for a moment carefully parted her lips.
"The village where I lived when I was young was a quiet countryside. Since our kind easily becomes targets for humans, we often lived in hiding in quiet places."
The content didn't deviate much from what I knew.
A humble but happy village.
People overflowing with affection.
A girl who grew up upright among them.
Daily life seemed to flow peacefully, but misfortune always comes at unexpected moments.
It was when the fox was about 3 years younger than now.
-Nice to meet you all.
-I'm a person doing small business in the capital.
A man visited the village.
He held out many gifts and greeted everyone saying he looked forward to their favor.
-I came near the village for work, but since it's like this, I'd like to get close.
-I want to become your friend.
The simple village people.
At first the atmosphere was wary, but they eventually fell for the continued kindness that lasted for months.
Before they knew it, the man had melted in as a member of the village.
From that moment.
All tragedy began.
-Capture them all! Don't let a single one escape!
-Erase all traces of this place! Drag out the hidden ones, and burn everything that remains!
They should have known.
Humans were.
A cunning kind.
The smile they had laughed together disappeared, and only greed glittered in their hazy pupils.
The crafty malice devoured the foxes without leaving any.
It was truly an unsightly ending.
The village burned, the adults died, and the children were captured as slaves.
The girl stood amidst all those scenes.
The corners of her mouth spreading pain curved into a bitter arc.
"...Master remained alone in the burning village. He wanted me to escape with my siblings."
A calmly dead voice.
The girl didn't tremble.
She just unraveled it with calm eyes.
"But I failed. We were caught by the hunting dogs not long after escaping."
Was it the most painful memory?
Her fine brow furrowed.
Perhaps the fox was recalling the moment she was pathetically forced to kneel before her sobbing siblings.
Irene who had been biting her lip for a moment finished the story.
"After that it was life in iron bars. Then I met you at the auction house."
"I see."
"Was I too long-winded?"
"Not at all. I'm just worried. Are you alright, Miss Irene?"
"There's no reason I shouldn't be."
A low answer returned.
"But sometimes I do fall into such thoughts."
"What kind of thoughts?"
"Thoughts of what if I had been different. If I had been cunning enough not to trust humans, strong enough not to be helplessly victimized, could I have protected my precious people?"
"......"
The girl was alone.
Bearing full responsibility for that day, she was suffering from terrible guilt.
Just for the reason of having survived.
"There are times when it all feels like my fault."
"......"
It was a foolish thought.
However, I understood.
Even knowing it's not your fault, people end up blaming themselves and crumbling in the end.
I understood the girl's guilt.
Because I had experienced it myself.
In my past life, until a few years ago, no, perhaps even now...
-Big brother! Play with me!
A hallucination from the past brushing my ears.
I shook off unnecessary thoughts.
When I turned my head to the side, I saw black pupils staring at me.
We were lying facing each other.
I quietly raised my hand and caressed the snow-white cheek sunk in darkness.
"Miss Irene."
A nightmare that had long tormented her life.
Though I couldn't heal you, there was one thing I wanted to convey.
"It's not your fault."
There was no one to say such words to me.
Because I was alone in my past life.
Therefore.
I thought all the tragedies that occurred at that time were because of me.
Only as time passed did I gradually realize.
"You may grieve for misfortune, but you shouldn't twist it into hating yourself."
What such a suffering person needed so much was.
Not a pile of medicine packets, but a warm word conveying comfort.
"Because you can't live on otherwise."
"......"
Irene had a blank expression.
Shaking black pupils.
She seemed to be contemplating how to react, then soon smiled faintly.
Her body that had gently drawn closer entered my embrace.
"...You're attentive in strange areas."
"Was it unnecessary meddling?"
"No... I'm just surprised. You're the first person to tell me it's not my fault."
"More precisely, there was no one to tell you."
"That's true too."
We remained still like that.
Time seemed to have stopped.
Our lips were close.
As if they would overlap at any moment.
Through the precarious gap, our breaths that couldn't be swallowed intertwined.
Only my figure was reflected in her transparent pupils.
The fox spoke breaking the silence.
"I've been thinking."
"Hmm?"
"I want to join your organization too."
"By organization... do you mean Astro?"
"Yes."
What wind had suddenly blown?
Though she usually acted uninterested, Irene was suddenly expressing her intention to join.
She added an explanation.
"Until now I've stayed by your side in the role of a servant. If I'm going to assist you in the future too, I think it would be better to have a more official position."
"It seems your loyalty has suddenly sprung up."
"I suppose you could say that."
"It's not a bad proposal. We'll be together for 3 years anyway, whether we like it or not. I was thinking of suggesting it sometime."
"You mean you'll accept me?"
"Gladly."
I answered with a grin.
I held out my pinky finger.
Given the unsuitable space, I was thinking of proceeding with a simplified joining for now.
The fox linked her little finger without hesitation.
Right after.
Mana sparkled.
A long strand of thread. It shone blue and wove our fingers together.
Along with the softly spreading color, I spoke.
"Many things will change from now on."
Taming means forming a relationship.
It means the process of becoming special to each other.
From now on, you will become the only one in this world for me, and I will become the only one in the world for you.
I recited as if defining the future.
"The only one for each other."
The intertwining thread of mana soon formed a clear knot.
I lowered my head as it was.
The fox slightly below.
Our foreheads pressed together.
Feeling the warmth transmitted, I smiled with my eyes.
"I look forward to continuing to work with you."
"Yes."
Irene answering quietly.
Mana of a soft color.
A scene shining enchantingly even in the dark dawn.
Like that, waiting for night to pass, we fell asleep with our fingers linked.
It was a quiet day.
***
Meanwhile.
In the underworld of the Empire.
"......"
Unknown was bowing his head.
The young man kneeling on one knee and paying respects towards the pitch-black throne.
It was a space with a thick smell of blood.
As he was silently keeping quiet, suddenly a voice was heard.
"So... you're saying you broke the alliance and returned?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Unknown answered towards the throne.
The shadow sitting on it soon let out a thick nasal sound and spoke.
"This alliance was quite important... Our relationship with the Businessman will be greatly strained from now on."
"For the crime of taking your command lightly, I will accept any punishment you give."
"Even if that punishment is death?"
"If that is Your Majesty's will, gladly."
Unknown answering without a trace of hesitation.
The watching shadow burst into laughter as if satisfied.
"I was just saying. Don't mind it."
"I will humbly receive your grace."
"I can't abandon such a loyal subject. We didn't need to rely on that alliance in the first place anyway."
The shadow stroked its chin.
"By the way, I didn't expect the snake to move. His whereabouts had been unclear for the past year."
"He was still overwhelming."
"Of course. He's a being who brought down a kingdom, after all. It would be disappointing if he had regressed in just 1 year."
"The contract that wove the heart... Because of that, I missed the chance to deal with him."
"It was probably calculated from the moment you boarded the ship. He used the fact that you couldn't attack. Truly a cunning villain."
"What do you plan to do from now on?"
"Well."
Unknown's question.
The corner of the mouth hidden in darkness smiled vilely.
"Yes... I'd like to see his face after a long time."
The shadow muttered ominously.
In the thickly falling shadows, only an ominous atmosphere was surging.