Chapter 91
Olivia’s voice was hard to hear, buried in the noise of the bustling market.
“Pardon?”
“Though you’re a shapeshifter, you seem to understand and view humans more warmly than humans themselves.”
“Ah, do I?”
Feeling awkward at Olivia’s compliment, I shrugged my shoulders.
Olivia began eating her sandwich again quietly.
Her gaze, watching the market scene, suddenly changed to a melancholic light.
“So… you have the power to warm that person’s heart, too.”
That person? Could she possibly mean Karden?
Just as I was about to ask Olivia who she meant, interrupting my sandwich, a small voice came from behind me.
“Excuse me…”
When I turned around, a skinny boy was looking up at me with his hands clasped together.
He was a thin boy in ragged clothes wearing a large adult cap pulled down low.
The child had a terrified and tense expression.
“Ah, s-sorry.”
The frightened child’s ashen eyes were trembling slightly.
Ah, I could tell at a glance. This scent belongs to a rabbit shapeshifter.
Gray ears hidden under the adult cap were slightly visible.
I had no idea so many shapeshifters were living throughout the capital.
Moreover, seeing the young rabbit shapeshifter wandering the market in ragged clothes made my heart ache.
I crouched down to meet the child’s eye level.
I asked as gently as possible so the child wouldn’t be frightened.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. What’s wrong? Do you have something to tell me?”
The child’s dry lips quivered. Did he have something he wanted to say?
Olivia examined the child with a puzzled expression.
“Miss Shushu, who is this child? Why is he alone in the market?”
“Well, this child is…”
As I was about to explain, the child spoke urgently.
“Please help me. My mother is very sick.”
The child spoke desperately with his hands still clasped together. I gently patted the rabbit shapeshifter’s cap.
“Don’t worry. Where is your home? I’ll heal your mother.”
“It’s a house behind the alley. Will you come with me? P-please.”
The rabbit shapeshifter’s hand, which gripped my dress like a lifeline, had wounds and bloodstains intermingled on its back.
I felt my blood boiling with anger.
Who dared to hit this young rabbit shapeshifter?
Suppressing my intense emotions, I firmly held the rabbit shapeshifter’s hand.
“I’m a shapeshifter, too. I’ll help you. Don’t worry.”
“Ah, I know. I recognized you at first sight.”
The child whispered, looking up at me blankly.
For a moment, a light of admiration flickered in the frightened child’s eyes.
“You’re a beautiful and dazzling silver fox, aren’t you?”
I smiled kindly and stroked the child’s cheek.
“My name is Shushu. What’s your name?”
“Rudy.”
“Alright, Rudy. Let’s go to your house. Your mother must be waiting.”
As I took Rudy’s hand and was about to leave, Olivia blocked our way.
“Miss Shushu, are you really going? The back alleys are dangerous. Shouldn’t we take knight escorts with us?”
“It’s fine, Lady Olivia. This child is a shapeshifter. I’m a shapeshifter too, so we should help each other.”
“But…”
Olivia bit her beautiful lip, still looking worried.
“I want to go see and help personally. Please wait here, Lady Olivia. I’ll be back soon.”
I approached Olivia and whispered in her ear.
“It might be a trap, so if there’s a dangerous situation, please request help. The coachman will be waiting for me near the market.”
“Ah…!”
Olivia’s expression turned pale instantly.
I maintained a gentle expression as I lightly held Olivia’s hand and whispered.
“Don’t show it. They might be watching us.”
Olivia gave a slight nod.
“Then take care, Miss Shushu. I’ll slowly look around the market.”
“Yes. I’ll be back soon.”
Olivia’s eyes were filled with worry.
I smiled casually, wanting to reassure her.
“F-follow me.”
The rabbit shapeshifter, Rudy, led the way while trembling.
His steps were unsteady and heavy. Like a cow being led to slaughter.
My animal instinct was whispering to me.
That this was a trap.
A young rabbit shapeshifter wandering in the back alleys of the market, with fresh wounds as if just beaten.
Moreover, from the terrified appearance of the shapeshifter, I felt like someone had ordered him to lure me.
I sighed inwardly.
So my premonition was right.
Rudy headed toward the alley with his head bowed low. The small hand holding mine was trembling violently.
Finally, we entered the dark entrance to the alley.
The alley, packed with high walls and brick houses, was deserted and dark where sunlight couldn’t reach.
“Over there, enter the alley and on the right… that’s our house.”
Rudy indicated the direction in a weak voice.
The child’s eyes were trembling with guilt and fear. It looked like he would burst into tears at any moment.
I placed a money pouch in the child’s hand. It was the silver coin pouch I had brought to the market.
Rudy shook his head in surprise.
“I-I can’t take money.”
“Use it to treat your mother and buy food. If you need help, come to Grand Duke Helleide’s mansion anytime.”
Large tears fell from Rudy’s eyes.
“I’m a bad child. I’m sorry, really sorry.”
I stroked Rudy’s head and whispered softly.
“It’s okay, Rudy. Don’t worry. Go home quickly. Don’t look back.”
“Hic, hic, be careful!”
Rudy burst into tears and quickly ran away in the opposite direction from the alley.
Being a rabbit shapeshifter, he ran at a speed incomparable to ordinary human children.
I was relieved that he didn’t seem likely to be caught easily by the bad guys.
Only then did I raise my head and look back.
Since entering the alley, there had been a terrible stench.
It was the nauseating scent of those targeting me.
“Stop hiding like rats and come out.”
As soon as I spoke, three men with grim appearances wearing gray hoods appeared from the gloomy alley.
They had their hoods pulled down to cover even their noses.
Their eyes were glowing with a yellow light.
It was strange. Those eyes were like wild animals eyeing prey, but I couldn’t sense any shapeshifter scent from them.
“You noticed quickly.”
“Because your stench is terrible.”
I glared at them with a sneer.
If necessary, I could transform into a fox and freeze them all or escape.
But first I needed to understand why they were trying to lure me using a young rabbit shapeshifter.
My fearless response seemed unexpected, as their eyes showed surprise.
“You’re not surprised at all seeing us. We thought you’d transform into a fox cub and run away.”
“I wanted to see the faces of the cowards who threatened and used violence against a young rabbit shapeshifter.”
I snorted and deliberately spoke provocatively to them. But my mind was racing.
These guys know I’m a fox shapeshifter. They probably know who I am, too.
How long have they been following me? I hadn’t noticed anything suspicious before.
The only ones who know my identity are the black mask group from the slave auction.
These were all faces I’d never seen before. But they could be subordinates of the black mask.
If I captured them and interrogated them, could I uncover the identity or base of the black mask?
“Let’s see how long you can remain so relaxed.”
One of the thugs with a scar above his eye stepped forward with a vile smile.
He was holding a horsewhip in his hand.
As the thug swung the horsewhip toward me, I quickly stepped back.
The stone floor where I had been standing cracked, and dust scattered.
Though transformed into a human, I still retained some of the reflexes and athletic abilities of my fox form.
While avoiding the horsewhip aimed at me, I missed another thug targeting me from behind.
Whoosh!
A silver wire net fell over my head.
I tried to quickly transform into a fox before being trapped in the net.
But when the net touched my body, I couldn’t return to fox form.
“What is this?”
I struggled to escape from the net, but I only became more entangled and couldn’t move at all.
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