If You’re Being Held Hostage, Wiggle the Carrot! - Chapter 9 - A Carrot Dropped in Sorrow

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“…Are you referring to the Duke?”

Liam only saw Ivan and Ruby, feeling frustrated, raised her voice slightly.

“No! Not the owner here, but the servant standing behind him! He’s been staring at me for a while now, and it’s getting a bit too much.”

Ivan, caught off guard, almost spat out his tea, leaping instinctively towards Ruby as if his tail were on fire.

“…S**t!”

At his reaction, Ruby narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the creature giggling mischievously in front of her.

Moments ago, it had looked like an ordinary human, but now, it had unsheathed sharp claws and started to appear threatening.

Gradually, pointed black ears emerged atop its head, and a black furry tail appeared, swaying back and forth.

Ruby’s eyes widened. “Black Wolf Tribe.”

She exclaimed the name of the tribe her grandmother had mentioned, then glanced back and forth between Ivan and Liam standing beside her.

While she knew they were carnivorous beings, she hadn’t guessed their true identities. They had intentionally concealed their ears and tails, so how could she have known?

Feeling reassured that the guardian spirit of the ash tree had guided her correctly, she timidly asked the two of them, her voice trembling, “May I ask about your tribes?”

Ivan, slightly raising his eyebrow at her markedly polite tone, realized the validity of her question a bit late.

“Forgive me, my name is Ivan de Negro, leader of the Black Wolf Tribe and head of the Black lineage.”

“Ah…”

She had truly found the right place.

Tears welled up in Ruby’s round eyes, catching Ivan and Liam off guard by her sudden display of emotion.

But wait, what was she saying earlier?

Liam, still looking at what appeared to be nothing, questioned her, maintaining his serious tone. “Miss, the servant you mentioned earlier, where might they be? Could it be a mistake? This is the Duke’s private chamber. It’s not a place anyone can just enter.”

Wiping away her tears with a napkin, Ruby finally dislodged the piece of grass stuck to the corner of her mouth. She continued to point at the giggling presence that neither of them could see while addressing them.

“No wonder you two can’t see it. I was confused too, but now I know for sure. That’s a spirit.”

As she finished speaking, Ivan found himself instinctively gripping Ruby’s shoulder. It was the first time someone had validated what he’d been feeling for so long.

But that didn’t mean he could take her word for it.

“How can I believe what you’re saying is true?”

The suspicion in his voice caught Ruby off guard. Never in her entire life did she ever have to prove that she could see spirits. That was, until now.