The fox curled its body even more deeply. All that stabbed its nose was only the smell of mud and wet leaves. The subtle fragrance from Adrian’s room, the familiar warm scent that had enveloped him—neither could be felt at all.
It had lost him.
Nng… A small, pitiful sound leaked from its throat but was buried in the sound of rain.
Even when fleeing from the guards holding spears, the fox had believed it could find Adrian. But the palace was far wider and more maze-like than the fox had thought. The paths it had learned while heading to the garden were only an extremely small portion.
The corridors stretched endlessly, and one corridor connected complexly to another corridor, and buildings were linked to buildings by passageways, so if it looked away even for a moment, it would be in an unfamiliar building.
Eventually, the fox gave up finding Adrian and tried to retrace its steps. However, while fleeing to avoid humans who appeared unexpectedly, it ended up in an unfamiliar garden it had never been to before.
Originally, it had planned to catch its breath here briefly and move again. However, as if representing the fox’s feelings, the rain that suddenly poured down tied its feet.
Of course, wandering around on rainy days was familiar to the fox that had no home. But now it judged it was better to stay in one place. Because Adrian might be wandering around looking for it. Rather than futilely passing each other or being discovered by others, it was wiser to wait until he came looking for it.
But no matter how long it waited, Adrian didn’t come.
Just when would he come? Could it be that he couldn’t find it well because its fur was too black? Should it go out now and search for him? Worry began to set in as his figure wasn’t visible.
‘Cold.’
Moreover, it was cold. Though it was still summer, sitting on the cold dirt floor with its wet body for a long time, cold set in. It couldn’t endure anymore. It was contemplating whether to wait for him a bit longer here, or go out to find him or return to the study.
A faint sound came from far away. People’s voices and the sound of armor came through the thick sound of rain.
Its ears stood up sharply and its entire body hardened like stone. Light flickered in the deep darkness. One, two, three… The lights gradually increased and were wandering thoroughly through the rain-soaked garden, searching for something.
“Search this area!”
“We must find it!”
Under the torches, metal wet with rain glistened. Long spears and swords hanging at waists. The moment it saw those weapons, the terrible nightmare vividly came back to life. The fishy smell of blood. Rising flames. Ear-splitting screams. And the blade cruelly swung at its mother.
The fox’s breathing became roughly ragged.
They’re looking for me. They’ve come to catch me.
Extreme terror seemed to bind the movement of its entire body. I can’t get caught. If caught, it would surely be driven out. No, perhaps… it might die. Like the woman in the dream, like those who tried to kill its mother, these people too would harm it. That shocking terror was deeply etched in its mind.
The encirclement narrowed closer and closer. The fox curled its body again. Please, please don’t come this way. Just leave, please. Its body trembled. Not because body heat was stolen by the cold rain. A terror greater than that made the fox’s entire body tremble.
“This area seems clear.”
“Look carefully! You have to check everything, even inside the bushes!”
One guard mercilessly poked the adjacent flower bed with the long spear in his hand. With swoosh, swoosh! sounds, wet leaves and twigs broke and flew right to the fox’s nose. The fox reflexively squeezed its eyes shut. This is really the end now. But the spear merely poked a few bushes then soon withdrew.
“I told you there’s nothing. Stop wasting time and move to another place.”
“Damn it! What kind of suffering is this on a rainy day? What’s so important about that damn fox?”
“Stop complaining and just move. If we can’t find it by today, His Majesty might take our heads.”
The grumbling voices and heavy footsteps gradually faded away. Only then did the fox let out the breath it had been holding, thin and long. Its heart was beating as if about to burst.
However, relief was only momentary. There was no guarantee they wouldn’t come back. Then it really might be discovered. It couldn’t keep hiding in this cold, damp bush. To survive, it had to move.
But where should it go?
Where was Adrian? How should it find him? Perhaps, wasn’t he waiting for it in the study? As the fox recalled the way back to the study while using its small head as much as possible, it hesitated at a thought that suddenly arose.
These guards who were searching the entire palace looking for it—whose orders were they moving under?
The people who could move guards in this palace were limited. The person who could give the order to find that beast that wrecked the study was—
‘His Majesty might take our heads.’
Your Majesty. The Emperor. Adrian.
He was the only one.
The fox’s heart sank.
If he sent them… if he ordered them to catch it, perhaps, to get rid of it. So that’s why he isn’t coming to look for it.
One corner of its chest grew chillingly cold. It would be a lie to say it didn’t feel betrayed. But at the same time, the fox understood his feelings all too well.
What had it done?
It had shattered the honey jar to pieces, torn precious books to shreds, and even broken a statue. It had completely turned Adrian’s study into a shambles. It was on a different dimension from past trivial accidents that had prevented him from viewing documents.
‘This time he’s really very angry.’
Bothersome, uncontrollable, endlessly causing trouble, a greedy glutton of a headache. Not just once or twice but a disaster repeated countless times. Even a person with deep patience has limits.
Sniff. The fox sniffled its nose wet with cold rainwater. Sadness surged like waves. Its throat choked up.
Adrian’s eyes came to mind. Those eyes, grown cold. The fear that the gaze that had always enveloped it with warm light might look at it differently this time pressed down on its chest. It didn’t want to face him. It had no courage to endure his face hardened with disappointment, those eyes where only coldness remained in a place that once held warmth.
The fox staggered and dragged its body out of the bushes. It barely pulled together its body that had grown heavy from rainwater soaking deep into its fur, then began to run. There was no direction, no destination. It just ran into the darkness where light didn’t reach and voices couldn’t be heard.
Until the palace lights completely disappeared from view, the fox didn’t stop running even once.
***
“Your Majesty! It’s raining heavily! Your Majesty!”
Ignoring Kael’s voice ringing out from behind, Adrian stepped into the garden soaked with rain. When the search slowed, he dismissed the guards and attendants and began searching alone.
The garden was completely flooded from the suddenly falling rain. The clean boots were covered in dirty muddy water, and the wet uniform clung heavily to his body. However, Adrian didn’t care and searched for the black ball of fur in the darkness.
“Fox.”
Adrian called the fox in as calm and gentle a voice as possible. The fox was timid and easily startled. Shouts and swinging torches had surely driven it into terror. He thoroughly searched even inside bushes and places that weren’t easily visible to find the fox hiding in fear.
But the fox was nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, the weather was worsening further.
The wind howled, shaking trees madly, and the rain poured ceaselessly, turning the solid ground completely into a muddy mess.
Though it was summer, a cool chill brushed his skin. However, this chill wasn’t because of the weather. It was anxiety and guilt that made his insides feel hollow.
It was all his fault.
He knew better than anyone how desperate a craving that small creature had for food. Yet he had left that fox unattended for a long time without giving it honey. He should have anticipated that the fox would cause a commotion trying to covet honey. Furthermore, he should have predicted in advance that guards would burst in upon hearing that commotion. He had been too complacent.
Adrian swallowed a curse inwardly and moved his feet to another place. The study that had become a shambles was already not even on his mind. He only desperately hoped the fox was safe.
Soon the place where the fox had recently played excitedly came into view. He rummaged through the bushes and thoroughly searched inside, but traces of the fox weren’t left anywhere.
If it’s not here, then where on earth is it? He quickened his steps again. His movements became increasingly urgent and his breathing scattered roughly. When he swept his wet hair back, rainwater flowed down his forehead along his cheeks.
This wasn’t just a passing shower. It seemed like the precursor to a typhoon. As time passed, the rain and wind would become fiercer, yet where had this small thing hidden its body to make people worry? He anxiously swept around in all directions.
Then, something wriggled near the outer wall. Hope stirred. Adrian kicked off the muddy ground and ran toward it.
