The voice was distant. It came not from right outside the door but from the direction of the bed.
The fox held its mouth shut and stopped breathing. The beast’s hearing vividly conveyed the situation outside, penetrating through the closed door and tiled walls.
The rustling sound of blankets. The dull vibration of bare feet stepping on carpet. Adrian had gotten up.
“Where did you go?”
A mumble mixed with drowsiness not yet fully gone and slight irritation could be heard.
‘Please go back to sleep.’
It prayed inwardly. It hoped he would think it was just hiding somewhere for a moment and fall back asleep. But Adrian’s footsteps circled around the bed and gradually moved farther away. Soon the sound of a window opening came.
“Not on the balcony either.”
A deflating sigh. Adrian was anxious. The memory of when the fox had disappeared must have made him sensitive. The footsteps came back into the room. The sound of opening the wardrobe, the sound of lifting cushions to check under the sofa followed.
“Come out. I’m not in the mood for hide-and-seek.”
The voice came much closer. Now Adrian was pacing near the wall close to the bathroom.
The monster crouched inside the bathroom trembled. Its hideous form rippled like a shadow on the smooth surface of the floor tiles. Unevenly bulging muscles and dark red skin.
‘I have to go back. Quickly.’
The fox squeezed its eyes shut and focused on the orb in its belly. Please calm down. Stop releasing energy. But the orb had long since gone beyond the range of control. Forcibly twisted bone joints creaked. Its mouth opened automatically from the pain.
“Grrr…”
The fox bit its lips to block the groan trying to escape. Sharp fangs pierced its lips, producing a fishy taste of blood.
That’s when it happened. Its elbow touched a metal basin placed under the sink.
Clang.
A clear sound rang out in the quiet room. Outside the bathroom, the pacing footsteps stopped abruptly.
“……”
Silence. A heart-bursting silence flowed.
“Are you in there?”
Adrian’s voice came from right in front of the bathroom door. But the fox couldn’t answer. Because the only sound that would come from its throat now was the cry a beast would make when mortally ill.
Step, step.
Footsteps approached. Adrian’s shadow fell through the door gap. Then a cold metallic sound was heard.
Click.
The doorknob turned. But the door didn’t open, caught by the lock.
“It’s locked.”
Adrian’s low voice carried bewilderment. The fox didn’t know how to lock doors. There was no reason a servant would have come in and locked the bathroom door. Yet the door was locked?
“Who’s inside?”
The temperature of his voice dropped instantly. Worry and anxiety disappeared, and the Emperor’s cold威pressure警戒 an intruder penetrated through the door.
“Where is my fox?”
The fox trembled with only a door between them. I’m the fox. I’m the fox you were looking for. But I can’t say it’s me looking like this. The doorknob turned roughly once more. Bang, bang. Adrian pounded on the door.
“Open it.”
It was a command. The fox stepped backward. Its back touched the cold tile wall. There was nowhere to escape. The bathroom without even a window was a perfect sealed room.
“Come out before I call the soldiers. I don’t know who the rat bastard hiding in my room is, but you won’t die pleasantly.”
Killing intent. Adrian truly intended to kill his opponent. The fact that the fox had disappeared and that someone of unknown identity was hiding in the bathroom enraged him.
No. I don’t want to die. But being discovered is even worse.
The fox looked around in panic. A towel? Could I hide if I threw that over me? Or should I hide in the bathtub? But it was woefully insufficient to hide the enlarged body.
Just then, the sound of Adrian looking for something came from outside the door. The sound of opening drawers, metal clashing against metal. He was looking for a key. The fox looked down at its arms in despair. Disgusting fur, dark red spots. It might be better to die than show him this appearance.
‘I have to get smaller. Please.’
The fox buried its head on the floor and curled up. It prayed to the orb. Please help me just this once. It’s fine if I burst and die later, so please, just now.
The jingling metal sound from outside stopped. At the same time, the sound of Adrian cursing could also be heard. He seemed unable to find the key. But it wasn’t reassuring. He would definitely open this door and come in. Somehow.
The fox dragged its body to the edge of the bathtub. Its belly boiled like lava. Hot. At this rate, its body would burst before the door opened.
Wait, hot? Wouldn’t it be okay if I cooled down what’s hot?
The fox’s gaze fixed on the faucet. Something cold. It needed something very cold. The fox stretched out its hand that had swollen like a lump of iron. Its fingers were so numb it couldn’t grasp the faucet. It made a fist and struck down the lever with a bang.
Swoooosh!
An ice-cold stream of water gushed out from the showerhead. Without hesitation, it thrust its head under the stream of water.
Tsssss.
White steam rose from its body like heated iron being plunged into water. The cold touching its skin was painfully frigid, but as the cold water touched it, the orb that had been raging wildly flinched.
‘I have to cool down.’
The fox tremblingly soaked its entire body in the stream of water. Then the muscles that had expanded at will began to contract. The sound of bones crackling as they found their place was buried in the sound of water. The horrifically sprouted dark red fur fell out and soft black fur rose again in its place.
Right at that moment.
CRASH!
With a roar, the bathroom door crumpled inward. Hinges were torn out, the lock was smashed, and wooden fragments flew in all directions.
Through the broken door gap, Adrian burst in. Blood dripped from his hand. He had smashed the doorknob with his bare hand. Eyes brimming with killing intent rapidly scanned the bathroom interior.
But what greeted him was only the sound of pouring water. There was no enemy. No smell of blood, no trace of an assassin.
Adrian’s gaze turned to the bathtub. Under the pouring stream of water, a small black lump was trembling like a drowned mouse.
“……”
The strength left Adrian’s hand. He blankly looked into the bathtub. It wasn’t an intruder, but the fox he had been searching for so desperately was there. It was crouched in a corner, getting drenched by the pouring cold water as if it had accidentally touched the faucet.
“You…”
Adrian hastily shut off the lever. When the water sound stopped, only the sound of the fox’s teeth chattering filled the silence. The fox couldn’t even open its eyes and stayed crouched. In case Adrian had seen its terrible appearance. It was afraid he would be angry. Because he who had broken down the door had such a frightening face.
But what reached it wasn’t a cold blade.
Adrian knelt on the soaking wet floor. He carefully lifted the fox dripping with water.
“What were you doing here? And how did you lock the door?”
Instead of answering, the fox sneezed. Achoo. The heat inside its body had subsided, but this time real cold rushed in.
Adrian let out a sigh. He wrapped the wet fox in his pajama top. The expensive silk instantly absorbed moisture and became damp, but he didn’t care.
“You have a talent for scaring people to death.”
Adrian roughly rubbed the fox’s back to wipe away the moisture. His heart was still beating rapidly. The fear of almost losing the fox and the anger toward an intruder turned into futility, completely draining him.
He returned to the bedroom holding the fox. The broken bathroom door hung grotesquely, but that wasn’t important right now. Adrian brought a towel and rolled the fox up in it. His touch wiping the fur meticulously was rough yet delicate.
The fox watched Adrian’s reaction through gaps in the towel.
He didn’t find out.
He clearly hadn’t seen the monster-like appearance. Adrian seemed to think the fox had just gotten trapped in the bathroom and accidentally locked the door. Thank goodness. It was truly fortunate.
“To get drenched in cold water instead of warm water. What were you going to do if you caught a cold?”
Adrian wiped away the water droplet on the fox’s nose bridge.
“Your belly?”
He suddenly asked.
The fox flinched. Belly?
“You ate so much earlier. Did you go to the bathroom because you had a stomachache?”
Ah.
The fox quickly nodded. It tapped its tail in affirmation. Right. I went because my belly hurt. Because I ate too much.
Adrian chuckled.
“Foolish creature. I told you to eat in moderation.”
He felt the fox’s belly. The belly that had been tautly swollen had already gone down. It was natural since it had poured out all its energy making that ruckus. Because it had burned up all that black energy and food.
“You’ve gotten slim. Looks like you digested it all.”
The fox burrowed into Adrian’s chest. It missed body warmth. Its body was chilly from getting drenched in cold water. Adrian removed the wet towel and brought the fox into the blankets.
