The Fluffy Baby Fox Only Bites the Crazy Villain - Chapter 75
I almost burst into tears, feeling Yudis’s heart that willingly accepted me as family.
In my previous life, my family was scattered, and I had to wander like duckweed just to survive.
Now I have so many people who protect and cherish me. Almost too many for what I deserve.
“Thank you for saying that, Yudis.”
“Ah, Shuvelia. How can you be just as adorable when you’re human as when you were a baby fox?”
Yudis sighed happily, then wrapped her arm around my shoulder and held me tight.
She had a fragrant rose scent that made me feel comfortable just being in her embrace. It was a different kind of warmth than Karden’s.
Just then, the carriage door flung open and Karden glared at Yudis with fierce eyes.
“Yudis, don’t embrace Shuvelia so carelessly.”
Yudis crossed her arms and looked at Karden with a dissatisfied expression.
“My brother. Opening a ladies’ carriage door without knocking. Where are your manners?”
“Have you forgotten how unladylike it was when you barged into my chambers?”
Ah, here they go again. These siblings are desperate to tear each other apart whenever they make eye contact.
They’re like large wolves glaring at each other and growling.
“Your Grace, are we departing now?”
I quickly changed the subject while forcing a bright smile.
Karden, who had been glaring at Yudis, closed his mouth and looked at me.
His eyes trembled briefly in surprise, then soon regained their usual composure.
“It suits you well. That dress.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Your Grace.”
Suddenly, Karden climbed into the carriage and reached out his hand.
When his large frame entered the carriage, it felt completely filled. I stared blankly at him as he took my hand.
His lips pressed deeply against the back of my hand, covered in lace gloves.
I could feel the heat of his lips and his breath, causing my face to instantly flush.
The kiss from the knights’ banquet that I had tried so hard to suppress came flooding back.
I must have been crazy. Remembering how I had pulled Karden’s neck and kissed him frantically, I couldn’t lift my face from embarrassment and shame.
“Shuvelia, what’s wrong? Are you sick? Do you have a fever?”
Yudis panicked, placing her hand on my forehead and touching my flushed cheeks.
“Ah, I’m fine, Lady Yudis. Really.”
“Brother, please leave now. The cold air will give our Shushu a cold.”
“Alright.”
Karden’s hand habitually moved to pat my head, but stopped midair.
“It will be a long carriage journey. Let me know if it becomes too difficult.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
I could barely bow my head in response.
Only after Karden left the carriage and the door closed did my tension finally ease.
Strange. When I was a fox, being petted by Karden just felt good, but after transforming into a human, whenever his body touches mine, my whole body heats up like fire and my heart races.
Could it be a side effect of humanization? Maybe I have arrhythmia.
While I was seriously contemplating with my chin resting on my hand, Yudis offered me dried fruit pieces.
“Shushu, would you like to try this?”
“Ah, I’ll enjoy it.”
It was dried apple slices lightly simmered in sugar. When I put it in my mouth, the soft, chewy texture along with the sweet taste was delicious.
“For a long journey, you should eat sweet things to prevent carriage sickness. The carriage will shake quite a bit. But we’ll rest overnight at a villa on the way, so just endure for half a day.”
“Thank you for taking care of me, Lady Yudis.”
When I expressed my gratitude, Yudis shook her head.
“No. I should be the one thanking you.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s thanks to you stabilizing his magic that my brother can go to the capital. This would have been unimaginable before. Due to the risk of magic power going berserk, my brother couldn’t visit the capital for years.”
“Ah… I see.”
“My brother strongly refused, too. He hasn’t visited grandmother all this time because he was worried his magic power would negatively affect her health. Thanks to Shushu, our whole family can gather together. Thank you for becoming my brother’s healer.”
“It’s nothing. It was my duty.”
I forced a smile. I couldn’t bring myself to reveal the anxiety in my heart.
I was afraid of seeing the change in Yudis’s eyes that trusted me so much.
Am I really a healer? I merely consumed Karden’s magic power following my desires and greed.
Guilt and regret gradually burned my insides black.
Just then, Betty hurriedly ran up to the carriage window. She handed a basket through the window.
“I quickly made some sandwiches. Please eat them when you get hungry, Lady Shushu.”
“Betty. Thank you.”
Betty looked up at me with reddened eyes.
“Please return safely. I’ll be waiting.”
When I said I was going to the capital, Betty insisted on coming along.
But as the head maid of the Grand Duke’s residence, responsible for managing the servants, Betty couldn’t follow me.
Yudis persuaded her by promising to assign a dedicated maid in the capital, and Betty finally relented.
Still, she seemed worried and carefully prepared my travel bag until the day of departure, giving me various precautions.
Most were warnings a mother would give to a child, like “don’t follow strangers” or “be careful not to get lost.”
I reached my hand out the window and firmly grasped Betty’s hand.
“Thank you for everything, Betty. Stay healthy.”
Betty held my hand tightly with tears in her eyes.
“Why are you saying that? As if you’re not coming back. You will return, won’t you? I’ll prepare lots of dishes and desserts that Lady Shushu likes.”
I held back the tears that were welling up. I forced a bright smile so Betty wouldn’t worry.
“Of course. Don’t worry.”
We departed, receiving farewells from the knights and the territory’s people who had come to see us off at the castle gate.
The simple soldiers and the mischievous village children all waved their hands at me.
I waved back through the window, responding to the people of the territory.
I was grateful to the people of the northern castle who accepted me just as I was, even though I was a fox shapeshifter.
I had an intense desire to stay here with these people for a long time.
But was that allowed? I wasn’t sure if I deserved such excessive happiness.
I must go to the capital to confirm the danger of my power.
I need to meet the Ulpes tribe and ask them in detail. Why am I said to bring destruction? Can that destruction be prevented?
I shouldn’t return to the northern castle until I’m certain my power is safe.
I cannot harm these innocent and kind people.
The carriage was shaking roughly as it sped forward. I closed my eyes while leaning against the seat.
Suppressing the dark red desire that occasionally stirred deep within me.
***
The scenery outside the carriage changed rapidly. We left the cold northern region, crossed high mountains, and passed frozen lakes.
The journey that began early in the morning was a forced march that continued without stopping except for brief rests to eat or give water and grass to the horses.
“Shushu, are you very tired? Please bear with it a little longer. We need to reach the villa in the middle before nightfall.”
During the break, Ron came to cast recovery magic on me. This was because I couldn’t use recovery magic when I was in human form.
Ron also cast recovery magic on knights tired from the carriage journey and on the horses pulling the carriages.
“You’ll collapse if you keep using magic like that, Ron.”
“It’s fine. I can still manage.”
“When we reach the villa, I’ll cast recovery magic on you.”
“It’s reassuring to have you, Shushu. Thanks.”
Ron smiled broadly like a child and returned to his carriage.
There were also people with monstrous strength who didn’t need recovery magic at all. Namely, Karden and Yudis.
True to being descendants of the Helleide family with inherited powerful strength, Karden showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
Yudis also didn’t seem tired, perhaps due to her naturally strong constitution.
“Aren’t you tired, Lady Yudis? We’ve been in the carriage for so long, but you don’t get motion sickness. I envy your stamina.”
“I’m used to carriage rides. Having traveled across the continent for guild business, this distance is nothing for me.”
Yudis shrugged and smiled refreshingly.
Suddenly, I wondered if Yudis also had magic power.
“Um, Lady Yudis, may I ask you something?”
“Ask anything comfortably.”
“Does Lady Yudis truly have no magic power?”
“That’s right. I have no magic power. In the Helleide family, only men inherit magic power. It’s a curse and punishment passed down only to the men of the family.”
Deep pain and sadness could be felt in Yudis’s expression as she murmured the last words.
