“Come here.”
Adrian pulled the fox tightly into his embrace as if to warm it with his body heat.
Whether it was because its energy had hit rock bottom or because it was shocked by the cold water baptism, this time the orb was docile too. It seemed not even the strength to absorb the curse remained. The fox let out a sigh of relief in Adrian’s arms.
I’m alive.
The fox vowed never to do this again. If it got greedy and ate too much at once, it might truly become a monster and Adrian might kill it.
The broken bathroom door came into the fox’s view. The hinges brutally torn off and the crushed doorknob. To break that with bare hands.
‘He’s strong…’
The fox swallowed its dry saliva. If strangled with that strength, there wouldn’t even be bones to collect. Absolutely, absolutely must not let its identity be discovered.
“There, there.”
Adrian covered the fox’s eyes with his palm. As if he even liked the fishy smell of water from the fox’s wet fur, he kissed the crown of its head and closed his eyes. Only then could the fox also relax and fall asleep.
***
The next morning.
The rumor that the Emperor’s bathroom door had been smashed spread instantly among the attendants. Kael clicked his tongue looking at the wretched door. Adrian offered no explanation. He simply summed up the situation with a single statement that the fox had been trapped and he’d rescued it.
The fox sat obediently on the bed watching the scene. Its body was unusually heavy. It was a natural result of having caused a commotion yesterday and sleeping all night pressed against Adrian’s body. It had forgotten that the fox orb craved energy on its own even if the fox didn’t eat separately.
At least the fortunate thing was the fact that it didn’t absorb excessively like when the fox directly consumed something, but only sucked in an amount of curse that its body could endure.
‘I’m hungry.’
Its stomach was completely empty. But it didn’t plan to eat mindlessly like yesterday.
When mealtime came, Adrian prepared soft oatmeal porridge and finely chopped meat. It wasn’t a mountain-sized amount like yesterday, but it was just right for the fox.
“Eat slowly. Don’t get indigestion again.”
The fox obediently lapped up the porridge.
“A-achoo!”
Just then, a sudden cough burst out. Its throat felt ticklish, then soon a rough sound that made its chest ache followed.
“Cough, hack, *cough*…”
The fox’s body shook violently back and forth. The porridge it had been eating didn’t go down the esophagus but seemed to have irritated its windpipe. No, it wasn’t simple choking. Whether because it had been doused in cold water yesterday or because it had forcibly burned energy all night, its body came trembling with chills.
Adrian’s hand immediately stopped. He set down the spoon he was holding and patted the fox’s back.
“Are you alright?”
His rough touch went down along the spine, stroking its stiff back. The fox had no energy to answer and lay prostrate on the floor coughing. A bit of snot dripped out and the area around its eyes became dampened.
When the coughing finally subsided, the fox weakly lifted its head. Inside its throat felt scratchy. It stung as if it had swallowed sand. It tried to wag its tail to reassure Adrian, but even that was too much effort and only weakly brushed the floor.
Adrian’s brow furrowed. He placed the back of his hand against the fox’s forehead.
“You have a fever. You got doused in cold water yesterday and ended up getting sick after all.”
His voice was dry, but the concern contained within couldn’t be hidden. He was about to call for a physician but paused for a moment. Rather than an ordinary physician, someone who had found the fox and knew this creature’s condition well would be better.
“Kael, summon Priest Theodor.”
***
Theodor arrived not long after that.
“You called for me, Your Majesty.”
Adrian sat keeping watch by the bedside. His gaze lingered on Theodor briefly before immediately returning to the small life form panting inside the blankets.
“Its condition is not good.”
Theodor approached close to the bed. On the bed lay the fox, limp from fever. The glossy black fur had become matted with sweat and cold sweat, split unattractively, and its nose was completely dry. Wheezing breaths irregularly made its chest ache.
“Excuse me.”
Theodor placed his hand on the fox’s body. The heat felt beneath his palm was unusual.
It wasn’t simple indigestion. Inside the fox’s small body, miscellaneous energies were tangled and clamoring. Among them, what he felt most clearly was the remnant of that heavy, sticky curse the Emperor possessed.
And an extremely vast amount of it.
Theodor’s eyes sank coldly.
‘How presumptuous.’
He had definitely warned it. Not to absorb the curse when he wasn’t there. To sleep apart at night. He had told it repeatedly, yet this foolish beast hadn’t listened to a word.
The plan had been disrupted.
The picture Theodor had drawn was perfect. The fox would absorb the curse bit by bit and he would periodically visit to purify it. The Emperor would come to believe his improving condition was thanks to Theodor’s divine power, and based on that trust, Theodor would solidify his position within the church, and furthermore, his power within the imperial palace.
The fox was merely a tool for that process. A component that shouldn’t operate without the owner’s touch. But that component had moved on its own and become overloaded.
At this rate, the Emperor’s curse would disappear much faster than expected. If he was completely cured before enough credit could be built up? If the Emperor no longer needed him? No, if the fox died before the Emperor’s insomnia was even cured?
Irritation surged.
“Theodor. Is it serious?”
Adrian’s voice was heard. Anxiety was evident. Theodor composed his expression. He suppressed the rising displeasure and put back on the priest’s mask.
“It’s not simple indigestion. Its energy is completely blocked.”
“Blocked?”
“Yes. It seems to have swallowed something too difficult to digest. If I don’t forcibly clear it, its organs could be damaged.”
“Is treatment possible?”
“It’s possible. However, concentration is needed. The creature’s energy is so feeble that if I carelessly touch it wrong, it could go into shock. Very delicate divine power control is necessary, so could you step away for a moment?”
Adrian hesitated briefly. He seemed unwilling to leave the fox’s side even for a moment. But the fox’s labored breathing urged his decision.
“Understood. I’ll be outside, so if anything happens, call me immediately.”
Adrian left the room with heavy footsteps. As soon as the sound of the door closing was heard, the air in the room changed completely.
The warmth evaporated from Theodor’s face. He no longer stroked the fox gently. Strength entered his grip on the fox’s scruff. At the tightly squeezing force, the fox let out a dry cough with a hack.
“Have you gone mad? My words must have seemed amusing. Unless you’re dying to die, there’s no way you could do this.”
The fox opened its eyes with difficulty. Its vision spun round and round. The silver-haired man before its eyes was making a frightening expression, but the fox had no mental capacity to read that expression. It only felt stifled by the hand choking its neck.
“Whine…”
“Answer me. Why did you do something you weren’t told to do?”
Theodor poked the fox’s solar plexus with his finger. He sharpened his divine power like an awl and stabbed it in. It was to clear the blocked energy channels, but simultaneously an action to punish.
“Kyaang!”
The fox screamed. A sharp pain seemed to gouge out its insides. It tried to twist its body to escape, but Theodor’s hand pressed the fox down onto the bed.
“It hurts, doesn’t it? Of course it does. You’re learning with your body what happens when you act on your own.”
The divine power flowing from his fingertips strongly pressured the fox’s orb. The rampaging dark energy was forcibly suppressed and scattered. It was treatment, but in a manner close to violence.
The fox panted and looked up at Theodor. Tears welled up in its blue eyes.
‘Adrian was… in pain… I wanted to make him better quickly…’
The words didn’t come out, but its eyes said so.
Theodor swallowed a hollow laugh.
“Don’t you know you almost died because of that worthless loyalty? Even stupidity has limits.”
They were harsh words. At the words that stabbed like daggers, the fox’s ears flattened. It was scared and hurt. But at the same time, it felt its body becoming comfortable. Each time Theodor pressed, it seemed the stone lumps that had been filling its stomach crumbled down. The organs that had heated up cooled down and the blocked airway opened.
It hurt, but ultimately made it better.
The fox’s simple thought process couldn’t filter out Theodor’s complex malice. It only inputted the result.
This person saved me even while being angry.
The fox stuck out its trembling tongue. And licked Theodor’s wrist that was gripping its jaw.
Lick.
Theodor’s movements hesitated. A damp, warm sensation brushed past the soft flesh on the inside of his wrist. The fox licked his hand once more, devotedly. As if grateful. As if sorry. And as if trusting him.
‘Thank you. Good person.’
Even though he had just threatened to kill it and choked it, this beast looked at him with eyes without a trace of resentment.
Theodor’s eyes twitched subtly. He knew this gaze. When he crawled through the bottom of life, that blind gaze that clung to the hand that shared rotting bread scraps. That memory he hated most in the world yet ultimately couldn’t abandon, which made him put on priest’s robes.
This beast was mistaking him for a savior. To think it was rolling over and wagging its tail before a human trying to exploit it.
“…Ha.”
