Sticking out his tongue tingling with bitterness, the fox backed away.
The fox looked up at Adrian with eyes as if he’d suffered some terrible betrayal.
“Kking kking…”
I trusted you. To feed me something like this! Grief welled up until his eyes seemed to grow moist.
Adrian clicked his tongue briefly. At his feet lay the meat piece, mixed with saliva and disgracefully ruined. This was exactly why he’d mixed medicine into the food, yet the fox had somehow detected it like a ghost and spat it out.
He bent down and picked up the meat that had fallen on the floor again.
“Here, this is the meat you like. Don’t you want to eat it?”
As if he’d done nothing at all, he held the meat out to the fox’s nose again, trying to feed him. However, the fox turned his head away sharply in disgust. It was a firm refusal—he never wanted to put that terrible thing in his mouth again.
At that defiance, a faint wrinkle formed between Adrian’s brows.
“Don’t be stubborn and eat it. It’s medicine that’s good for your body.”
His voice had dropped a tone lower than usual. He thought that if he spoke commandingly, mixing in his dignity as Emperor, even this small beast would understand. But the fox snorted and completely ignored his hand.
“Hmph!”
Don’t want to. Absolutely won’t eat it.
Adrian’s patience was beginning to wear thin.
He slowly rose from his chair. Moving carefully to avoid making the fox feel threatened in case he tried to run away. But the perceptive fox saw through his intentions and shrank back, retreating.
Then Adrian reached out in an instant and lightly grabbed the scruff of the fleeing fox. At a speed incomparably faster than when they’d played hide-and-seek in the bedroom earlier. Suddenly dangling in midair, the fox flailed in confusion.
“This will only take a moment.”
He knelt on one knee, firmly securing the fox’s body with one hand while trying to forcibly open his mouth with the other. Then he pushed the medicine-laced meat piece deep into his mouth.
The fox twisted his small body, resisting desperately. The moment the terrible-tasting meat piece was shoved between his forcibly opened jaws, his reflexes kicked in.
“Ptui!”
The meat piece, spat out with small but strong force, flew in an arc. With a smack, it hit Adrian’s cheek precisely.
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence flowed.
The saliva-soaked meat piece stuck to Adrian’s cheek, unable to overcome gravity, slowly, very slowly slid down along his jawline.
Thud.
The sound of the meat piece falling onto the floor broke the silence. An unsightly stain remained on the expensive carpet.
At the sudden event, the strength left Adrian’s arms. Not missing that moment, the clever fox quickly slipped from his embrace. Then like lightning, he crossed the room and pushed his body into the darkest, narrowest gap under the desk.
Adrian still stood in place like a statue. The warm, moist sensation remaining on his cheek was vivid. Only that made him realize this entire situation wasn’t a dream.
Of all the things to happen in life… what an experience.
Though he’d been doused with cold water his father threw and had his forehead hit by a glass bottle his mother hurled, this was the first time he’d been hit with half-chewed, spat-out meat.
He slowly raised his hand and wiped away the unpleasant traces on his cheek. His gaze moved between the meat piece on the floor and the darkness under the desk.
No expression appeared on his face, but one corner of his tightly closed lips was twitching almost imperceptibly. He took a deep breath and calmed his mind. Because he knew getting angry at that palm-sized fur ball would only be his loss.
First, administering the medicine was the priority.
He picked up the fallen meat again and stood up. In the darkness under the desk, two blue eyes full of resentment and wariness glared at him. A threatening growl seeping from his throat could be heard faintly.
Adrian set down the bowl containing the meat in front of him.
“Come now, be good.”
He coaxed in the gentlest voice he could manage.
“Just eat this and I’ll give you delicious meat.”
After a brief silence, a black head cautiously peeked out from under the desk. Blue eyes looked back and forth between Adrian and the meat he’d set down.
The fox hesitated for a long while. His face clearly showed thoughts fiercely conflicting between instinctive aversion to the medicine and temptation toward the delicious-looking meat.
Adrian calmed his mind and waited patiently. There was something he’d realized after spending the past few days with this small guest. This fox had an extremely sensitive personality—if you approached hastily or forced him, he’d only shrink back further.
So Adrian didn’t rush. He sat quietly in place, giving the fox time to decide for himself.
After a long silence, the fox cautiously stuck his head out. Examining Adrian’s expression with large eyes, he slowly moved forward one step at a time. As if confirming whether it was really okay this time, he stopped several times to alternately observe Adrian and the meat.
When the fox finally came out completely and approached near Adrian’s feet, he concealed his smile.
‘Good. Just as expected.’
Adrian was satisfied inwardly.
A beast was a beast after all. Creatures living led by instinct—no matter how sulky they got, they ultimately couldn’t resist in front of food. This fox couldn’t escape that law either.
“Here you go.”
He pushed the bowl toward the fox.
But right then, the small body changed direction in an instant. The target wasn’t Adrian. It was the dining table.
The fox used the chair as a stepping stone and leaped onto the dining table in one bound. Thump! The sound of soft paw pads landing on the table echoed in the room.
Success! The small victor who’d conquered the table stood proudly with his tail straight up, seeming pleased with himself. His gaze clearly conveyed a message.
‘I can hunt and eat perfectly fine on my own without your help.’
Recognizing the meaning in those eyes, Adrian was momentarily at a loss for words. He was dumbfounded.
“Get down.”
Even at Adrian’s command, the fox didn’t even pretend to listen. Rather, even more shamelessly, he grabbed a piece of steak in his mouth and quickly ran to a corner. Soon only the loud sound of meat being deliciously chewed echoed from the corner.
Exhaling a deep sigh, Adrian judged it was time to use the final method. He could no longer overlook this small creature’s challenge. He grabbed his uniform jacket that had been casually hung on the back of the chair.
At the sudden movement, the fox watched him carefully while chewing meat. Why is he holding that outfit? Is he giving up and leaving? Or is he going to hit me with it?
Adrian slowly unfolded the clothes as if savoring the fox’s tension. Like a matador in a bullring fluttering a red cape. And the very next moment, the large garment flew toward the fox like a net.
“Keut!”
The fox screamed in panic as his vision suddenly went dark. He struggled trapped under the thick fabric, but lost his sense of direction in the heavy weight and darkness. The outline of his flailing body showed through the clothes.
Adrian reached out precisely following that movement and grabbed the fox whole through the clothes. Caught without escape, the fox made a strange sound from inside the clothes: “Kkueek.”
Adrian tucked the fox rolled up in his uniform under one arm and picked up the medicine-laced meat from the floor with his other hand. Then he opened the immobilized prisoner’s mouth, quickly shoved the meat piece deep into his throat, and gripped his muzzle tight so he couldn’t spit it out.
Gulp, he felt the small throat convulse as it swallowed something.
Mission accomplished.
This battle ended in the Emperor’s victory. Adrian raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction and unwrapped the uniform binding the fox.
“Ptui, ptooey!”
The fox, regaining his freedom, shook his head upon landing, trying to regurgitate the bitter meat. However, most of it had already gone down his throat. He rubbed his mouth with his front paws to get rid of the remaining harsh taste, but it was futile.
Tear-filled blue eyes fixed on Adrian. Then a throat-tearing wail burst out.
“Kyaaaaaong—!”
I hate you—!
There was no longer any playful light in the fox’s eyes. Glaring at him with a gaze mixed with more anger and betrayal than ever before, the fox fled to the next room without even a second of hesitation.
Everything became quiet as if the commotion that had occurred until just moments ago was a lie. The Emperor’s crumpled uniform lay strewn on the floor, and on the messy table remained food growing cold.
More than anything, what bewildered him was the unfamiliar emotion pressing on his chest. The last sight of that small life form that had turned its back on him and hidden away. Those eyes that had been filled with anger and betrayal kept hovering before his vision.
Adrian let out a deep sigh and pushed open the door to the next room. He looked around the room here and there, but the fox’s form wasn’t visible between the sofa cushions or in the pile of blankets on the bed.
