The fox was flustered. It had clearly eaten until its belly was ready to burst, so why had it appeared again? Hadn’t it eaten everything?
The fox tapped Adrian’s chest with its front paw. Here, there’s more here. This is bad stuff. As the fox’s paw touched him, the black smoke temporarily subsided. But the fox knew. That it hadn’t completely disappeared.
Adrian seemed to take the fox’s behavior as mere affection and chuckled, squeezing and releasing the fox’s paw pad.
“I’d like to play with you too, but I have to work today. I haven’t been able to work for a while because of you. Still, I’ll have time in the afternoon, so you need to be good.”
He headed to the dressing room while holding the fox. Then he put the fox down on a chair and began changing clothes. The fox sat obediently and watched the process.
More precisely, it glared at the black haze above those splendid garments. The bad smoke rose faintly even as Adrian fastened his buttons. It was like weeds. Stubborn weeds that left roots behind and grew back no matter how many times you pulled them.
‘Once wasn’t enough.’
Yesterday it had eaten until its belly burst, yet overnight everything had returned to its original state. A sense of futility washed over it. Thinking that it had to eat that again, already it felt like it could taste iron in its mouth and its tongue root ached.
How much more would its belly have to hurt? It didn’t like pain. But it couldn’t just ignore it. Because if that was there, Adrian would be in pain. He wouldn’t be able to sleep, would lose weight, and the area under his eyes would turn black as he wasted away.
‘I have to eat it.’
Theodor had told it to eat the curse only when he came, but it couldn’t just wait blindly for him to come. If it couldn’t see it, that would be one thing. But how could it just sit still and do nothing when it was so clearly visible? It had to take the initiative.
That’s when what Theodor had said flashed through its mind.
‘What do you think will happen if you keep taking in the Emperor’s massive curse with that small body? You’ll burst. Pop, just like that.’
‘So I need to visit you periodically and clear out the curse residue accumulated inside you before it fills up completely. Otherwise, it will overflow.’
Burst.
The fox recalled the fear that word gave. Just imagining its body swelling up like a balloon and then popping made its knees go weak. Once before, just once, it had seen a raccoon that had been hit by a carriage and had its insides burst. It didn’t want to become like that. The pain of bones being crushed and flesh being torn was horrifying enough to make its tail curl just thinking about it.
But. The fox glared again at the black haze rising from behind Adrian’s back. Not much time had passed since it had absorbed a large amount of curse, so it didn’t seem to be a major threat right now. However, there was no telling when that unpleasant smoke might strangle Adrian’s throat, block his windpipe, and make him wither.
If it didn’t eat it, Adrian would have to keep suffering. He wouldn’t be able to sleep, and with the area under his eyes sunken, he would walk around like a zombie. That was worse than dying.
‘I just need to eat a little.’
Honey too causes a stomachache if you eat it all at once, but if you eat it one spoonful at a time, it becomes a pleasant snack. So the curse too—if it ate just a tiny bit at a time, nibbling away inconspicuously, it would be fine. It just needed to stop right before bursting.
The fox solidified its resolve as it followed Adrian.
***
The air in the office was heavy. Only the scratching sound of the pen nib and the sound of paper turning regularly filled the room.
Adrian sat at his desk processing documents piled up like a mountain. The fox lay sprawled in one corner of the desk, in a spot where the sunlight shone well. It rested its chin on its front paws and observed Adrian. The fingers holding the pen were long and straight. Blue veins stood out on the back of his hand. And black smoke rose above them.
Unlike when Adrian was sleeping, it was very faint. So faint that if you didn’t look very carefully, you would miss it. Part of it was because not much time had passed since the fox had absorbed a lot, but the curse seemed to become stronger when he was asleep. So now, when Adrian wasn’t sleeping, was the right time.
‘It looks unappetizing.’
The fox licked its lips. Its stomach still felt queasy from the memory of swallowing everything all at once yesterday. But it had to do it.
The fox got up from its spot and stealthily approached Adrian’s arm, pretending to stretch. Without taking his eyes off the documents, he habitually lifted his arm slightly to make space for the fox to enter.
The fox slipped into that gap. The black energy was most densely clustered on the inside of Adrian’s wrist, where his pulse beat.
Lick.
It cautiously put its tongue to it.
A sharp metallic taste struck the tip of its tongue. It was a fishy taste like having an old coin in its mouth. The fox furrowed its brow but didn’t stop. It pressed down on his wrist with its tongue and licked as if scraping away the black energy.
“That tickles.”
Adrian spoke quietly. Though it was a restraining remark, he didn’t pull his hand away. Rather, he put down his pen for a moment and tilted his wrist more toward the fox. He seemed to think the fox was being affectionate.
The fox worked its tongue diligently. Every time the bitter taste went down its throat, the orb vibrated subtly. Little by little, very little by little—gnawing at it this way, its belly didn’t hurt like yesterday. However, it couldn’t help that its mouth became chalky.
‘Ptui.’
The fox briefly turned its head and stuck out its tongue and shook it. Disgusting. Really disgusting.
“Are you thirsty?”
Adrian lifted a teacup and held it to the fox’s mouth. It was lukewarm water with nothing added to it. The fox drank a few sips of water to rinse its mouth, then charged back at Adrian’s wrist.
“What. Are you bored?”
Adrian smiled and lifted the fox onto his lap. Instead of answering, the fox stretched out its head. Then it licked the smoke clustered under his chin. Thinking the fox was licking his chin, Adrian chuckled and stroked the fox’s head with one hand.
“That tickles.”
No, I’m cleaning.
The fox smacked its lips while enjoying Adrian’s touch. The taste was bad, but Adrian’s touch was the reward.
This tedious and unappetizing meal continued throughout the afternoon. The fox sucked in the energy pooled on Adrian’s wrist, fingers, and sometimes boldly pushed its head between his shirt buttons and into his chest.
Each time, Adrian’s hand paused, but he only thought the fox was acting spoiled and burrowing into his embrace. Even while busy turning documents, he gently stroked along the curve of the fox’s back or patted its bottom. That touch was the only comfort.
Just a little more. There’s a little left over there.
The fox squeezed its eyes shut and stuck out its tongue toward the last remaining black residue. It was just as it stretched its body to lick deep into Adrian’s nape.
“Kuk.”
Adrian flinched, unable to endure the ticklishness. With that recoil, the fox’s front paw slipped. Its body, having lost balance, swayed, then ended up smacking the teacup placed on the desk.
Clatter. Crash!
The explosive sound split the silence. Clear water spilled, wetting the floor.
“……!”
The fox’s body stiffened. It felt like its heart had dropped all the way to its paws. The memory of the day the honey jar shattered flashed through its mind.
The spear that smelled of iron. The guards with frightening faces. The fox reflexively flattened itself. It pressed its ears flat against its head and squeezed its eyes shut. It trembled like a beast waiting for a beating.
But what it heard wasn’t a shout.
“It’s okay.”
Along with a quiet voice, a large hand covered the fox’s back. Adrian checked on the fox first without even caring about the broken teacup.
“You must have been startled.”
He took out a handkerchief to wipe away the spilled tea. The fox stealthily opened its eyes. There was no sign of anger on Adrian’s face at all. Rather, his touch was slow and gentle, as if trying to calm the startled fox.
“It’s just water. It’ll be fine once I wipe it up.”
Adrian casually pushed the dampened paper to one side. The fox blankly watched him.
‘He’s really not angry.’
As relief washed over it, the tension released completely. The fox hesitantly rubbed its nose against the back of Adrian’s hand. It was an apology.
“Anyone can make mistakes. Why are you so frightened? Don’t tell me you thought I would scold you?”
Adrian tapped the fox’s nose bridge with his index finger. The fox tucked its tail between its legs. Adrian chuckled as if finding such a fox cute and lifted it up to sit on his lap.
“You’re quite timid.”
He picked up his pen again. The fox calmed its breathing while nestled in Adrian’s embrace. As its startled heart settled, embarrassment rushed in before relief.
Adrian said it was okay, but it couldn’t help but be concerned. He saved it, let it sleep, and even tolerated all its bad habits, yet it had broken his things again. Wasn’t it just getting in the way rather than helping, fussing around nearby claiming to get rid of the curse?
‘Let’s not bother him while he’s working.’
The fox drew its tongue back into its mouth. The curse was weak during the day anyway. Even if it licked, it only tasted bitter and didn’t fill its belly much. It was so minimal that it didn’t seem to have any effect on Adrian either. It couldn’t interrupt Adrian’s work just to eat that little bit while wagging its tail.
The fox carefully, very carefully climbed down from Adrian’s arm.
“Where are you going?”
Adrian’s pen stopped. As the fox retreated to the edge of the desk, his gaze followed. Instead of jumping down below the desk, the fox climbed onto a cushion placed by the window and settled in. Then it rested its chin on its front paws and lay down obediently.
‘I’ll be here. Quietly.’
The fox blinked and stared intently at Adrian. It meant it wouldn’t be a bother. Adrian gazed at the fox for a moment, then only after confirming that the creature had no intention of leaving the windowsill did he make a bewildered expression.
“You’re really going to stay there?”
The fox swished its tail. That meant yes. And it curled its tail in a circle and covered its nose. It was better to just sleep during the day. It was much more efficient to conserve energy and eat everything all at once at night. Because the curse that came out at night was thicker and there was more of it.
This was similar to hunting. When catching rabbits, you had to wait as if dead in front of the burrow. If you rashly lunged at them, the rabbit would run away and you’d only exhaust yourself. The prey called curse must be the same.
The fox narrowed its eyes and glared at the faint black smoke rising behind Adrian’s back.
‘Wait. I’ll eat it all at night.’
