The Fluffy Baby Fox Only Bites the Crazy Villain - Chapter 49
I was furious at Franz’s unreasonable attitude. Who are you to rebel, you precious thing?
“Kaang! I came to help you and you’re getting angry?”
I raised my tail threateningly and snarled at him.
Franz whipped his head around and stared at me.
Those silver eyes were trembling as if they might shatter at any moment.
“What do you mean help? You’re putting yourself in danger because of me!”
Franz’s angry voice was shaking with fear. Seeing the fox desperately trying to hide his fear made my heart heavy.
He’s truly scared. Afraid that something bad might happen to me because of him.
I tapped his cheek with my tiny front paw and grinned.
“Don’t worry, Franz. I won’t do anything dangerous. Trust me.”
“You…!”
Franz started to speak in surprise but then clamped his mouth shut.
Despite appearances, I’m a mature and sensible adult in spirit. I’m your elder, you brat.
“Right now we need to think about how to escape. Where are the slave traders taking us?”
Franz glared at the small window of the carriage. The sky had already grown dark as night fell.
“They’ll take us to a shapeshifter auction house.”
“You mean they buy and sell shapeshifters? Isn’t that illegal in the kingdom?”
“Yes. There are slave traders who secretly kidnap shapeshifters and sell them as slaves.”
“How could they do something so cruel…”
I couldn’t believe it. What wrong had shapeshifters done to be enslaved just because they were a different race?
My voice trembled with simultaneous anger and sadness.
Franz spoke calmly as if telling someone else’s story.
“Shapeshifters’ special abilities and rarity make them valuable commodities to humans. That’s why we desperately try to maintain our human form to avoid being caught by humans. To hide that we’re shapeshifters.”
“Ah…”
“After becoming human, we don’t return to fox form unless absolutely necessary. We blend in completely with human society. That’s how we avoid being discovered by humans and becoming slaves.”
“How could this be…”
The Ulpes tribe’s transformation into humans wasn’t out of admiration for humans, but a survival strategy.
Unable to live peacefully as foxes in the forest, they had to become human to survive from humans who would hunt and enslave them.
My heart ached at the tragic fate of the fox shapeshifters.
Franz let out a low groan, baring his sharp fangs. Silver tears welled up in his eyes, mixed with rage and resentment.
“Shushu, pretend to be a normal fox. The slave traders only sell shapeshifters who can transform into humans. I’ll try to draw their attention somehow, so use that chance to escape.”
I shook my head. Tears suddenly poured out.
“No. I’ll escape together with you.”
“Don’t be stubborn like a child. They already know I’m a shapeshifter. Once caught by slave traders, there’s no escape.”
Franz shouted angrily. I quickly called out to calm him down.
“Wait! I have a tracking spell on me. His Grace will definitely come to save me.”
“That human put a tracking spell on you? Typical of his suspicious nature. But how far do you think that magic can track you?”
Franz scoffed, but I remained unshaken.
“I believe in His Grace. He will definitely come to save me.”
“Are you some princess waiting for a prince on a white horse? You’re just a tiny fox.”
Franz tapped my head with his front paw as if pitying me.
“Is this the time to mock others? Look who got caught by slave traders despite acting so smart. Serves you right!”
When I stuck out my tongue to tease Franz, he jumped up.
Just then, the carriage shook violently. Franz quickly wrapped me in his tail and held me close.
From beyond the carriage door came the sound of horses neighing and people murmuring. Hidden in his tail, I whispered.
“Have we arrived?”
“Be quiet. No matter what happens, don’t come out from my tail.”
The carriage door opened. Franz quickly pretended to be unconscious.
Bright light suddenly flooded into the dark carriage. It was the light from the slave trader’s lamp.
Hidden in Franz’s tail, I watched their movements.
Behind them stood an eerie mansion. The carriage had stopped in front of an old manor.
There was barely any light inside the mansion, making it look abandoned.
However, what caught my eye were the dozen or so luxurious carriages parked in front. They were all expensive carriages used by upper-class nobles.
A mansion where upper-class nobles gather secretly. Could this be an illegal auction house?
The slave trader prodded Franz’s leg with his ornately decorated iron staff.
“Tsk. Still unconscious? How weak. Are you sure this is a fox shapeshifter?”
The slave trader clicked his tongue and asked his subordinate standing beside him.
“Yes, sir. We clearly saw him transform into a human in the birch forest.”
The slave trader stroked the beard under his chin and gave a vile smile.
“Well, no matter. We’ll know when we force him to transform. Get him ready for the auction quickly with the forced transformation! We don’t have time!”
“Yes, sir!”
Forced transformation – how is that even possible artificially? I couldn’t understand what the slave trader meant.
The burly, menacing subordinates approached to grab Franz.
Just as they reached for the iron chains around Franz’s neck, he shot forward like an arrow.
It happened in the blink of an eye. I clung desperately to his tail to avoid falling off.
“Kaang!”
Franz accurately bit into the neck of the man in front of him.
Along with the metallic smell of blood, the man’s agonized scream rang out.
Franz stepped on the man’s head and leaped high into the air. About ten slave trader subordinates armed with ropes and clubs rushed to catch us.
“Catch that beast!”
“Don’t let him escape!”
Just as he was about to land and flee-
Whoosh, crack!
A whip cut through the air and struck Franz’s body.
“Kugh!”
Franz staggered in pain.
Before Franz could dodge, the whip coiled in the air and struck again.
“How dare a beast try to escape?”
The enraged slave trader wielded the whip, tearing Franz’s flesh and staining his white fur with red blood.
“Kaaak!”
‘Oh no!’
As I tried to jump out to block the whipping, Franz’s tail wrapped around me even tighter.
Despite the intense pain, he refused to loosen his grip on me as he tried to protect me until the end.
Franz’s pain-filled eyes desperately told me not to come out.
Tears burst forth. Franz swallowed his screams of pain as deep whip marks were carved into his back.
How much it must hurt. I felt guilty and desperate that I couldn’t treat Franz’s wounds.
I glared murderously at the slave trader visible beyond Franz’s tail.
I will definitely… make you pay for this.
Unable to contain his anger, the slave trader breathed heavily and threw the whip to the ground.
“Lock this beast in the warehouse immediately. Give him the transformation potion right away! The auction starts soon, so don’t dawdle!”
Following the slave trader’s orders, the subordinates dragged the collapsed Franz through the mansion’s back door.
They went through the back door, across a dimly lit corridor with only faint lamps, and threw Franz into a musty warehouse.
“Franz, are you alright?”
I shook the unconscious Franz.
Just then, I heard movement beyond the door. Looking around, I spotted an old wooden box.
I quickly hid behind the box.
Moments later, an old man in wizard’s robes entered.
The wizard clicked his tongue when he saw the vivid whip marks on Franz’s back.
“Even with healing magic, these scars won’t fade easily. How troublesome.”
As the wizard waved his wrinkled, mole-covered hand in the air, a magic circle formed and seeped into Franz’s back.
The bloodstains disappeared instantly and the torn flesh mended. Franz let out a faint groan and breathed heavily.
The old wizard took out a vial of purple liquid from his worn bag. I had an ominous feeling.
What is that suspicious vial?
The wizard removed the cork stopper from the vial and forced Franz to swallow its contents.
“Kaang!”
Franz twisted his whole body in agony. A chilling sound of fox bones twisting and expanding could be heard.
Thud thud thud!
The thick white fur gradually changed into human silver hair, and the fur-covered body transformed into smooth skin.
Before I knew it, Franz had transformed into a young man.
I couldn’t believe my eyes even though I was watching it happen.
How is it possible to transform someone without their will, just using a potion?
