The Fluffy Baby Fox Only Bites the Crazy Villain - Chapter 46
“That won’t do.”
Karden spoke firmly and carried me out of the banquet hall.
I didn’t even have time to resist. I could see the bewildered expressions of the people left in the banquet hall.
Karden strode unhesitatingly through the corridor lined with stone pillars. Dazzling sunlight poured through the spaces between the pillars.
“Wait, I want to go alone. Put me down.”
I said in a sulky voice. It’s just going to the castle gate – he’s being way too overprotective.
“Shushu is like a child left by the water’s edge.”
“Tch. At this rate, you’ll end up locking me away.”
It was a thoughtless comment I threw out, but Karden stopped in his tracks. Then he stared down at me intently.
“That’s a good idea.”
“Kaaung?”
He stared at me fiercely from a distance close enough to feel his breath.
“I’m barely holding myself back from wanting to keep you where you can’t go anywhere, can’t meet anyone, and stay only by my side.”
An obsessive possessiveness was boiling in Karden’s blue eyes. Thump thump thump, my heart raced without me realizing.
His thumb gently cupped my cheek. It was warm and ticklish. Enough to reach deep into my heart.
When did Karden’s gaze change like this?
Before, it was like doting on a cute pet. After I turned human, his attitude seemed to have changed.
This is dangerous. I need to suppress Karden’s emotional outburst.
I frowned, twitched my white whiskers, and glared at him.
“Kaang, a possessive man is unsightly.”
The sharp retort hit its mark.
Karden’s eyes grew hazy and he blanked out for a moment, then burst into laughter. It was the first time I’d seen him laugh so freely. I found myself staring at him blankly.
After finally stopping his laughter, Karden patted my head.
“I really can’t handle you, Shushu.”
Ah, the original Karden is back.
Finally feeling relieved, I smiled brightly.
Karden carried me across the corridor again. When we reached the end of the corridor, he put me down.
“Be careful out there.”
Is he letting me go so easily? Given Karden’s personality, I thought he’d follow me all the way to the gate.
I stared up at Karden in disbelief. Karden wore a faint smile.
“I’ll wait here until you return.”
He really trusts me. My heart swelled. I smiled brightly at Karden while wagging my tail.
“I’ll be back. I’ll come back quickly, so let’s have dinner together.”
I said goodbye and quickly ran toward the castle gate.
***
When I arrived at the castle gate, the soldiers, seemingly notified in advance, opened the gate for me. By now, I had become friendly with the gate guards who would welcome me whenever they saw me.
As the massive gate opened and I crossed the drawbridge, a huge silver fox was waiting for me. When Franz saw me, he raised the corners of his mouth with a triumphant expression.
“I knew you’d come, Shushu.”
“What do you want to say? Tell me quickly.”
I snapped back curtly. Franz glanced at the soldiers guarding the gate.
“Let’s go to the forest first. There are too many eyes here.”
Franz approached me and lowered his head.
“Get on my back. Your short legs won’t be able to keep up.”
“Are you picking a fight right now?”
“I’m just stating facts.”
Though Franz’s snarky response annoyed me, I had wanted to try riding on a fox’s back at least once.
I hopped onto Franz’s back. His white fur was so fluffy it felt like riding on a cloud.
“Hold on tight. You might fall.”
I gripped his nape firmly with my small front paws. When Franz leaped up powerfully with his hind legs, my body soared into the air for a moment. It was an amazing jump.
“Kaang?”
Franz ran across the vast plains like the wind at an incredible speed. The wind brushed past my ears and my fur fluttered.
I shouted like a child in excitement.
“Wow! Amazing. It’s like flying in the sky!”
“Such a child.”
Franz snickered and increased his speed even more.
Though the distance from the northern castle to the birch forest was quite far, we arrived in less than 30 minutes.
Only after entering deep into the white birch forest did Franz let me down.
As soon as I landed on the snow with a hop, unable to contain my curiosity, I asked.
“Will you tell me now?”
Franz’s silver eyes gazed at me intently. Meeting that gaze felt like I could be drawn in.
“Will you consider following me?”
The words he threw out were cold and angry.
“What do you mean?”
“No. You probably never even thought about it. You’ve completely adapted to this place.”
I shook my head.
“I have no memories of the fox tribe. So I have no reason to follow.”
“Is that true?”
A cold sneer crept onto Franz’s lips.
“It’s not because of that Grand Duke, is it?”
Franz slowly circled around me, sniffing. His eyes gleamed dangerously, like a hungry predator stalking its prey.
“You haven’t just consumed that human’s magic. His scent is all over your body. As if he’s marked his territory on you. His disgusting smell is overwhelming. Don’t tell me you’ve imprinted on him?”
I instinctively felt uneasy and stepped backward. Only my footsteps could be heard on the quiet snow.
“Franz, what’s wrong with you?”
“Do you know why I’ve been holding back?”
Franz revealed his sharp fangs and let out a threatening growl.
“Because you haven’t imprinted yet.”
“What?”
Imprinting was a term I’d never heard before. I wanted to ask what it meant, but Franz’s piercing gaze was too intense.
A suffocating tension filled the air.
I reflexively sensed danger and tried to avoid him. Nothing good would come from talking to him anymore.
As I carefully stepped backward trying to escape, in the blink of an eye, his paw snatched my body.
“Kaang?”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
My body was lifted into the air and then forcefully thrown to the ground. I felt the heavy weight of the fox pressing down on me.
I have to escape!
But I couldn’t move at all because of the strong force pinning me down. I became breathless as I struggled.
Breathing heavily, I shouted sharply.
“Let go right now! Franz!”
“I can’t. After luring you all the way here, how could I let you go?”
Franz whispered with a low sneer. Those words felt like a blow to the back of my head.
“You deceived me? Just to get me outside the castle?”
My voice trembled. I couldn’t believe it, but I had trusted him…
Even though we bickered and fought, I still trusted you. I thought of Franz as a fellow tribesman and friend. Was that just my own delusion?
“Now you get it. Still as slow as ever.”
“You bastard!”
I tried to whip up a snowstorm with my tail, but Franz was faster.
“Kaang!”
Franz forcefully pinned my body down, preventing any movement. Pain shot through my sensitive tail, and I couldn’t move a muscle.
Franz growled low near my ear.
“When Ulpes transform into humans, they bite their lifelong mate’s nape. That’s what imprinting is.”
“Imprinting?”
“You haven’t awakened to that instinct yet. Which means you don’t see him as a man.”
I couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Franz’s gaze grew darker. He was slowly letting out rough breaths. I could sense terrible thirst and urgent hunger in his eyes.
“What would happen if I imprint on you right here, right now.”
“S-stop! Get off!”
Franz’s sharp fangs glinted in the sunlight. He pressed down on my body with his powerful front paws and tried to bite my nape.
Fear and anger surged up simultaneously. I bit his front paw with all my might.
“Ugh!”
His grip pinning me down loosened. Just as I tried to quickly escape in that moment.
“You absolutely cannot leave.”
In the blink of an eye, Franz’s front paw pressed down on my tail. It hurt, but escaping was the priority.
I desperately clawed at the ground with my nails, trying to break free from him.
“Kaang! Let go!”
“I absolutely cannot let you go to him. I am your fiancé!”
Franz exploded in anger and restrained my body.
No matter how much I resisted, it was useless. He continued to pin me down as I tried to retreat and escape.
“Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to imprint on me?”
Tears fell heavily. I had believed we were friends who shared our hearts. When I realized I had been betrayed, indignation welled up.
Just as fierce hostility toward him was about to boil over.
“I know. That you hate me.”
It was a low voice suppressing pain. I looked up at Franz with tear-filled eyes.
The silver fox’s expression was trembling as if wounded. His eyes were filled with tears.
I wanted to demand why he was the one in pain.
His tongue slowly licked away my tears. As he wiped my tear-stained eyes, he whispered softly.
“But you… are mine.”
