NOVEL NEXT The Fox Tames the Villainous Grand Duke
Chapter 3
This was the biggest realization in my fox’s life.
It’s as if I saw the top of the ship sinking below the horizon and realized the earth was round. Just as people discovered gravity by looking at a falling apple. Once I had the realization, the logic immediately flowed in, which resulted in a flood of joy. ‘What kind of luck is this!’ I shook my tail from side to side with uncontrollable excitement. “Is it delicious? Would you like more?” Like this good human! Yeah! Give me more! When I tapped my nose on the man’s hand, he stroked my nose carefully. I flinched for a moment. I wasn’t asking him to touch it. I was asking for more beef jerky. Perhaps the man read my mind, he handed me another piece of jerky with his other hand. The man said, ‘get a quick bite for a delicious smell.’ “You must be hungry.” Now that I hear it, this man’s voice is quite sweet. “Are you having a hard time living because you’re special?” The man’s soft, warm touch went from my nose to my forehead and then from my head to my back. It was the first time someone petted me as a fox. Although it was the first time I had felt such a touch in my life, I didn’t find it particularly uncomfortable. Rather, the longer his touch grew, the more I felt like I was floating on the clouds. The tongue was pleasant, the belly full, the eyes ecstatic, the ears sweet, the whole body languid. Ah. Is this relaxing? As I was tasting heaven for a while, the man behind him said. “Let’s stop playing now, shall we?” Good man, are you leaving already? As I finished the jerky, I raised my head in regret. “Yes, let’s do that.” I don’t know if I’m mistaken. The man also stood up with a look of regret. I wagged my tail to say goodbye. ‘Goodbye, I almost got caught. People who saved my lives without knowing what a nine-tailed fox was.’ I took a deep breath and let it out as I watched the backs of the two men get farther away. ‘Phew. I almost had to practice again in a place where I didn’t even know where the energy flowed.’ When I was caught being a nine-tailed fox for the last time and the third time, it was so hard to train again. Was that already 300 years ago? After two failures, I fully prepared and entered a village where forsythia blooms in every house in spring. Fortunately, the people of the village were very generous, so they accepted me well as an outsider. We became close to each other to the point that we told each other, “How is this man, how is that man?” Then one day, there was a big fire in the village that covered the sky. All the villagers gathered together to get water and tried to put out the fire, but the dry autumn weather prevented the fire from being extinguished. Watching the houses of my precious friends burn down, I even used fox beads to repay the kindness I had received. At the time, I just thought it was something I had to do. However, the result was very different from what I expected. I thought everyone would be grateful to me for saving the village from the flames, but instead, people avoided me, saying that it was ‘ominous’. In the end, it was only natural that they found out I was a nine-tailed fox. ‘Tsk. How long does it take to gather all the power back into the fox bead?’ When I failed the first time and the second time, I tried my best to gather the power again somehow. However, when I failed the third time, it was hard for me to concentrate on the practice. It was because when I closed my eyes, I could still remember how those people’s eyes were looking at me. ‘Well, anyway, in this place where they don’t even know what a nine-tailed fox is, I don’t have to worry about getting caught.’ It was fortunate. This novel also has magic, so if I use my powers, no one will think I’m weird, right? Besides, since it’s a novel, there seem to be many unrealistically handsome and kind people. ‘Look. All the settings make it easy for me to become a human.’ I was in a good mood, so I lowered my tail, which had been wagging for a while. But why? I’m sure everything’s going well, but what is this feeling of being empty on one side of the chest? I think I forgot something. I felt like I had forgotten something very important. But what is it? In a matter of seconds, all the hairs on my body stood up and gave me goosebumps. ‘Ah, right! My fox beads!!!’ There is no Heavenly God, but I can hear the voice of it nagging me. ‘Isn’t this why it took a thousand years!’ It seems that I have been in the corner of the mountain for too long. I forgot my instinct. I forgot about it. How can I forget this? ‘Ugh. I’m a stupid fox.’ I whipped myself and quickly ran in the direction the man was going. ***** Fortunately, I was able to catch up with the man quickly. Well. Are humans faster than foxes? ‘Now I have to get the fox bead… How do I get it?’ It would be faster to kill him, but I decided not to. Humanity can only develop if such a handsome person is kept alive. ‘Can I seduce you?’ Even if I don’t get caught as a nine-tailed fox, I can’t blindly kiss a man. Besides, it seemed impossible now that another man was still following him. ‘Let’s take a look at the opportunity first.’ I didn’t even know the women’s clothing here, so I carefully followed him as a fox. ‘The back is also very handsome.’ Even the way he walks seems to be graceful. Very neat and upright. I don’t know if it’s because of the flashy uniform, but the atmosphere full of dignity was attractive. As if throwing money at every step of the way, the so-called ‘sleek’ seemed to overflow. (T/n: like rich and stylish.) ‘That guy must be popular here, right?’ Not only did he look good, but he also seemed to be a good guy with speed. He’s kind to foxes, too. As I went through everything in the world, I realized that few people were kind to animals, and many were cruel to them. Then, as I looked at the man’s back, I suddenly thought of that. I have to seduce that man to bring the fox bead anyway. ‘What if I make a hundred-year contract with that man?’ Come to think of it, it seems pretty good. Anyway, the criteria for choosing a man to make a 100-year contract was simple. The first was the appearance, the second was the character, and the third was wealth. However, it was difficult to find a man with these three simple things in real life. There is no reason for me to refuse to see a man in these conditions, right? But how long did he walk? The magnificent city hidden by a large tree was revealed to me when I arrived at the mountain’s bottom. I stopped on my feet and stared blankly at the magnificent city. ‘Wow…It’s kind of cool.’ It was very exotic. There are no thatched houses or tiled roofs. There was no stuffy building forest that I have seen a lot these days. Above the high walls surrounding the city, the clock tower taller than that, and the tall castle behind it, felt overwhelming. After a moment of staring with my mouth open, I shook my head hard and followed the man as he tried to get into what seemed to be the city’s entrance. ‘I need to calm down. Am I here for sightseeing?’ As I ran after him, I could hear what they were saying very clearly. “Your Highness Effer. May the blessings of Elysia rest upon Your Highness!” “Are you going to say that long greeting every time you see me?” “I, it’s not like that.” I paused for a moment at the guard’s salute over the man. ‘This man is the Grand Duke of Epher?’ The man who gave me beef jerky a moment ago. That ‘Crazy trash?’ 『Passionate Memories with Him』 This novel, which has a pretty embarrassing title, is about how the main character, Roselia, runs away from love and joins up with the male protagonist. And the Grand Duke of Epher Elysia was the heroine Roselia’s arranged marriage partner. He was a madman who accused the heroine of running away before her wedding with the crime of ‘insulting the imperial family’ and ransacking the Empire. He’s quite a cold man who hard to figure out what’s on his mind, a scumbag of a human who, despite his innocent face, is sneaky and heartless. There was no such villain among the villains. A shameless, unrepentant, arrogant man. He was a dark, immoral, and selfish man. I hated it so much that I would leave a comment saying [The damn Epher dies quickly]. ‘Ah… I don’t want to get involved with a guy like that.’ Epher stepped forward as the gate opened while I remained uncertain. ‘My fox beads!’ Whether it’s a villain or not, it’s more than that. Since the fox bead is important, I hurriedly followed Epher. But. A guard blocked me by slamming a long spear in front of me. When I raised my head in surprise, the guard also opened his eyes in surprise and looked at me. “Y…Your Highness. D, does this fox belong to Your Highness, too?” The Grand Duke turned around with an expressionless face at the sudden call. “Fox?” A look of bewilderment was evident on the Grand Duke’s face as he looked down at me. “Your Highness. You cannot bring wild animals into the city….” When the guard looked like he was in trouble, the Grand Duke also looked at a loss. “Oh… this guy…” Wait. Are you discriminating against me for being a fox? If I step back from here, will I be able to pass this wall as a human being? ‘No. He’s a Grand Duke, but will I be able to meet you again?’ No matter how much I thought about it, I thought it was right to follow the Grand Duke right now. I looked up at him with sparkling eyes. ‘If you leave me behind, you’ll get sick in less than 10 miles!’ Give me my fox beads right now! If you can’t, take me with you! But the Grand Duke moved his lips slightly, which didn’t feel right. ‘…It seems like he can’t.’ Do I have no choice but to use the secret skills I’ve trained for this kind of situation? I slowly approached the Grand Duke. Then I bumped my head into his leg. Rubbing. My tail waggled very vigorously, doing mind control. ‘A human who gave a beef jerky. Good, good.’ The so-called butler selection technique. It was a skill of cats that I saw a lot on YouTube. Once or twice, the Grand Duke seemed to be looking at me in a daze. “Oh… Hmm… This fox…” Seeing as he can’t speak easily, I guess I need to insist strongly. I don’t want to go this far, but! Saying things that are so cute you haven’t seen them in a thousand years. “Kiyang!” I lay down on the floor and showed my stomach. ‘Ha. I’m embarrassed.’ Then I got back up and started circling the Grand Duke’s legs while wagging my tail. “Kiyang!” Take me with you, damn Epher! “You have plenty of fur. If we sell it, we’ll earn a lot of pocket money.” I pushed my head harder into the Grand Duke’s leg at the guard’s words. He’s going to sell me! Take me with you! And the words I wanted finally fell from the Grand Duke’s lips. “…It’s a pet.” As expected, I was good at using the skills of cats. Having ruled the world with cuteness, it’s a strategy worth trusting and using.
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