Chapter 112
The place Karden took me to was his office.
The heavy sound of the door closing behind me echoed.
Reflexively, my shoulders stiffened, but I felt a familiar scent enveloping me from behind. And then strong, warm arms wrapped around me.
Karden’s hair fell on my nape as he embraced me from behind.
“Shuvelia. Do you want to leave my side?”
His sorrowful voice overlapped, making me feel breathless.
Karden’s hands firmly wrapped around my waist, and his unstable breath touched my nape.
I thought he would be angry about me leaving, but I didn’t expect this reaction.
This person… he’s feeling insecure.
How can I reassure him?
I gently placed my hand on his arm.
“Your Grace. It’s only for a while. I’m not going far away. Trust me.”
“I feel anxious when you’re not in my sight.”
He buried his face in my shoulder. His rough breathing scattered across my skin.
Leaning on my shoulder, he looked small like a wounded boy.
“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
Carefully, I patted his broad back. Pat, pat. Like soothing an anxious child.
Karden let out a low chuckle in my arms.
T/N: Apparently, Shuvelia works as Elastigirl, somehow patting his back while he’s bear-hugging her from behind. My spatial reasoning has left the chat. I’m just picturing her with extendable noodle arms reaching around like she’s auditioning for Fantastic Four! Don’t look at me for explanations – physics took a coffee break during this scene! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
I was pulled in and trapped in his embrace. His warm lips gently touched my forehead.
His lips slowly moved down to my temple and cheek.
A sweet kiss where our lips just touched, feeling and accepting each other.
Gentle kisses like a baby bird pecking repeated. Our breaths spreads through our lips.
The sweet sensation spread from my lips throughout my body, making me dizzy as if I had vertigo.
Karden kissed me preciously and carefully as if worried I might disappear.
“I’ll be waiting. Shuvelia.”
***
The next morning, I arrived at my uncle’s house with Karden seeing me off.
My uncle’s place had a structure where the clinic and mansion were together.
There was a second-floor clinic with a small garden and a small brick house in the back.
“Welcome. Thank you for coming here. Ruel.”
Uncle James welcomed me with open arms, but his gaze toward the Grand Duke was still not friendly.
He didn’t even extend the customary invitation to come in for a cup of tea.
Only my uncle would treat the Helleide Grand Duke, the kingdom’s guardian sword, so poorly.
But Karden didn’t show any displeasure and treated my uncle with respect.
“Please take good care of Shuvelia, Sir James. I’ve brought soldiers to guard the clinic and necessary supplies. I would be pleased if you could use them well.”
I tried to dissuade him, but before departing, Karden and Yudis had joined forces to prepare all sorts of items for the clinic.
Three carriages worth of medical supplies, food, clothing, and a chest full of gold coins for the clinic.
Uncle James frowned at the considerable amount of goods Karden had brought.
“I appreciate Your Grace’s sincerity. But I’m simply happy to have my niece stay with me; I don’t want such excessive gifts. It’s rather burdensome.”
“It’s just a small token of appreciation from our family. Lady Shuvelia is our family’s benefactor who treated me.”
“Well, if you keep doing this, it’s troublesome…”
I smiled watching the conversation between Uncle James and Karden. The two had a more amicable relationship than before.
Karden had to return urgently due to an audience with the Crown Prince.
Yudis was also busy with merchant guild matters, so often there wasn’t time for everyone to eat together, and sometimes we wouldn’t see each other all day.
Perhaps feeling sorry and concerned about me being alone at the villa, Karden understood my going to my uncle’s house.
Since coming to the capital, Karden had been given many official duties, and Crown Prince William trusted the Grand Duke and sought various advice from him.
Moreover, he had gained respect and support from the new nobility, so his political position within the noble council had become quite solid.
Although he didn’t attend social gatherings like balls or tea times, Karden attended official meetings of nobles and discussions of political bills to exert his influence.
Karden, who was also involved in the palace security, patrolling the capital on horseback with the Northern Knights, was very popular among the people.
Especially among boys, Grand Duke Karden was called a hero who defeated monsters.
I felt proud and my shoulders straightened seeing his changed image.
In the original story, he was called the Cold-Blooded Demon of the North, an object of fear among nobles, and treated as a mad border dog by the royal family, but now he’s recognized as a kingdom hero.
I tried to hold back the laughter that kept trying to escape as I saw Karden off.
“Shuvelia, take care of yourself and contact me anytime if anything happens. I’ll visit every other day.”
Karden met my gaze as he kissed the back of my hand.
His hand holding mine firmly seemed reluctant to let me go.
“It’s okay. Your Grace is busy with official duties. Don’t worry about me.”
Karden looked back several times, clearly troubled about leaving me behind.
In the end, I had to forcibly push his back before he finally mounted his horse.
Watching Karden’s back gradually disappear, I felt a belated emptiness wash over me.
Since being taken to the northern castle by him, this was the first time we’d been apart.
It felt like I was a baby fox learning to stand alone for the first time.
***
“Shushu, could you freeze these herbs for me?”
“Kyang, leave it to me.”
Doctor James’s clinic was busy from early morning. My uncle handed me a pile of well-dried herbs.
As I swished my fluffy tail, a small snow wind blew, and the green herbs instantly froze solid.
It was a method to preserve herbs for a long time by freezing them.
“Thank you. But, Shushu, is it okay for you to stay in fox form?”
My uncle asked while handing me some jerky. I nodded while deliciously nibbling on the jerky.
“This form is more comfortable. And I can also help treat patients.”
When I was at Karden’s villa, I had to maintain human form because servants and outsiders came and went.
But at my uncle’s clinic, I didn’t need to be in human form.
Shapeshifters frequently visited, and patients didn’t seem to mind my appearance much.
When I was human, it was annoying to get ready every morning, but in fox form, I only needed to groom my fur, so it was very convenient.
My uncle laughed indulgently and patted my head.
“Stay comfortable however you want.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“Later, a rabbit shapeshifter patient with knee arthritis will visit. Could you help with the knee treatment then?”
“Kyang. I will.”
After finishing simple patient consultations in the morning, my uncle went back to the pharmacy to focus on medicine research.
He was researching an antidote that could alleviate the side effects of Turba medicine.
As someone completely ignorant about medicine, I felt frustrated that I couldn’t help with my uncle’s research.
“Uncle, where does the Turba flower come from?”
Uncle James explained with a gentle smile.
“I’ve been trying to find the flower’s origin, but it’s not easy. Plants with unique effects often have plants with opposite functions growing naturally around them. It’s similar to how antidote herbs grow alongside poisonous plants.”
“Ah… if we knew the Turba flower’s natural habitat, we could also find plants with antidote properties nearby?”
“It can be considered nature’s balance to prevent poisonous plants from proliferating.”
My uncle focused on herb research again.
I left the pharmacy with a heavy heart.
“Miss Shushu, would you like a cup of warm milk?”
Nurse Mary approached with a smile.
In her early 40s, Nurse Mary was kind and gentle, caring for shapeshifters more than anyone and treating them devotedly.
“The doctor has been smiling a lot since Miss Shushu came to the clinic.”
Mary smiled and glanced toward the pharmacy.
“Kyang? What was my uncle like before?”
“Well, he was always stern and never smiled. I never knew he could smile so well. Patients are also surprised by the doctor’s changed appearance.”
“I see.”
“I hope Miss Shushu will stay by the doctor’s side for a long time. The doctor has been living alone without family for many years.”
I heard that my uncle was adopted by a viscount and inherited the clinic instead.
After that, I heard he didn’t interact with nobles or participate in social activities, but dedicated his life to treating patients.
If I can’t find a way to suppress my power, perhaps I could just quietly live beside my uncle, helping with the clinic.
Without harming anyone, and without craving Karden’s magical power.
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