The cabin was simple but elegant.
Ila seated us at a neat table and offered us tea with a strange fragrance.
However, there wasn’t even time or leisure to leisurely enjoy the tea.
-My mother is a princess of Lohiten? That can’t be true. The Lohiten royal family is long gone.
“My mother was a servant working beside the third princess of Lohiten. She was greatly favored by the third princess, and thanks to that, I was also treated kindly.”
Of course, I wasn’t surprised by Ila’s words.
Because her past had been somewhat revealed in the original story.
Ila was a gumiho, a fox-human hybrid, from a noble family.
She was incredibly beautiful and possessed powerful divine blessings.
Yet, she was thoroughly conquered by Gharam’s ‘Black Snake,’ and only young Ila survived alone.
She hated Serpens, who annihilated her family, and naturally became an ally of the prince.
-The first princess was very close to the third princess. So, when she secretly left the palace, she only told the third princess about her secret outings. I overheard that from my mother.
-Your mother secretly left the palace? Why?
“Because she fell in love with the late Duke of Laikan.”
Indeed.
The Kingdom of Lohiten revered pure bloodlines without impurities, so they were opposed to falling in love with foreigners.
And if the princess fell in love with a duke from another country, especially one wielding a loyal sword, of course, they’d oppose it.
-Did your father also know about this?
“The Duke Laikan said that Lady Grecia thought he was just a human.”
-Huh, but still, there are many things I don’t quite understand.
For example, pheromones. The white fox-human has a different pheromone.
That’s why they could easily identify and persecute the people of Lohiten. If my mother was truly a white fox-human, wouldn’t she have been captured?
“Ah, Lady Grecia had a ‘scentless’ pheromone, which was really unique. It was easy to deceive others. Well… perhaps the duke she lived with knew about it.”
-Then what about me? I don’t have a scentless pheromone.
“Miss, your pheromone is so weak that it was barely perceptible.”
An awkward voice from behind made me realize.
“Moreover, the young masters always carried around Laikan pheromones persistently. So… probably…”
I was alert at the vague ending in Anna’s words.
-So, my brother knew? Alek too?
“I don’t think so,”
Ila immediately denied.
“If he had known, he would have recognized the danger and either sent the princess far away from the imperial palace or done everything to stop the persecution of white fox-humans.”
-…Still!
I still wanted to deny it.
No, seriously, writer, this is impossible.
Ishel was just an extra, one of those unremarkable side characters.
The only thing special about him was perhaps making Alex’s sword master’s aura shine.
But what?
A white fox-human.
“Woof, woof, woof…”
Anna kept talking, looking foolish with her nose twitching in disappointment.
By the way, why can’t I turn human?
‘Is this going to be forever with Ban?’
I tilted my head.
If I had mixed my pheromones with skin contact, he must have realized my scent was different from others.
“Woo… woof…”
Then why didn’t he tell me?
Curiosity surged.
‘…No, I know Ban is busy, but maybe I should go see him once.’
I asked Faren, and he said Ban was staying briefly at the Swan family’s villa in the Laikan territory.
Before becoming crown prince, he had to go through several procedures to become the adopted son of Count Swan, so he couldn’t go straight to the Swan estate.
So I set my destination there and took a carriage.
“Woof… woof, woof…”
By the way, why can’t I turn into a human?
‘Am I going to have to live with Ban forever?’
Even if it was revealed that Ban was a prince, I frowned at the absurd idea.
Ishel was just a minor extra, nothing special.
The only thing somewhat notable was perhaps shining up Alex’s sword master’s aura.
But what?
A white fox-human.
“Woof, woof, woof…”
Anna continued talking, and I, foolishly, twitched my nose.
Then, why do I keep failing to become human?
‘Is this going to be forever with Ban?’
I wondered if I’d have to live with him for the rest of my life.
If it turned out Ban was a prince, I’d really be in trouble.
I frowned at such a ridiculous thought.
“Princess, we’ve arrived.”
“Woof, woof.”
I got out of the carriage, nestled in Anna’s arms.
The mansion looked elegant, reminiscent of the Second Princess. Unfamiliar flowers blooming everywhere added a sweet fragrance to the air.
But I couldn’t enjoy the scent. As we approached the mansion where Ban was waiting, I grew increasingly anxious.
“What’s going on here?”
Ban was waiting for me.
-Ban? You were here?
“I heard you were coming.”
His response was so natural that I cleared my throat and changed the subject.
-Um, what about the Second Princess?
“She’s out for a while. Go to the reception room.”
He hesitated as he turned back toward the mansion.
-Wait, are you unable to turn human again?
“Mm… hmm.”
I nodded gloomily.
He let out a light laugh and gently flicked my forehead with his finger.
“Why do you look like that? I’m here anyway.”
“Woof.”
“Actually, I think it’s good. It means I’m needed again.”
What did you just say?
“Woof-”
Just as I pricked up my ears in frustration, his crimson eyes sparkled.
A gentle aura emanated around me, and after a moment, I found myself transformed back into a human, right in Anna’s arms.
“Oh my gosh!”
Startled, Anna quickly released me, and with a natural motion, I staggered forward.
“Whoa!”
“Ugh!”
Of course, Ban caught me before I fell.
Being in his arms, I naturally glanced away.
“Ban! Please tell me when you’re going to turn me human!”
“It’s like an event, isn’t it? Pretty fun?”
“Don’t call it an event! Seriously. Look at your hair—it’s all messy. And your clothes are all tattered…”
Oh right, I was holding onto him.
Startled, I pushed Ban away and stepped back from him.
It wasn’t just because I was surprised to be in the arms of a handsome, unmarried nobleman.
In most beast-kin stories, when a beast-kin turns human, they revert to a completely naked human form! But in this novel, it was different.
When they turn human, they go back to their human form just before transforming into a beast-kin.
So, the form I had now was what I looked like after meeting Ila.
‘I’ve already done the transformation, so it’s not bad… but it’s dirty and probably smells terrible!’
Until now, I hadn’t thought about it at all, but now it suddenly started bothering me.
He, who was about a meter away, frowned with his handsome brows.
“Why do that? Come closer.”
“I, I’m worried I’ll smell… I didn’t bring any perfume.”
I always carried a magic perfume designed to remove scents for such occasions, but I hadn’t brought it today.
My face, flushed red, barely managed to respond, and Ban lightly smiled.
“You’ve gone to all this trouble, and now you want to hide it?”
“What? ‘All this trouble,’ you say? If someone hears that, it’d be a disaster!”
But he ignored my nagging and pulled me close again.
“And you don’t need to worry about smells. I like dog smells. Or… how about saying ‘fresh scent’?”
“…Pfft! What’s ‘fresh scent’?”
He said such a serious face with words that didn’t suit him at all.
I was about to get angry and call him out for calling a dog’s smell, but I ended up laughing.
Despite coming to the villa with a heavy heart, my mood lightened considerably after that conversation.
As soon as we arrived at the reception room, Ban spoke.
“Now, shall we have an honest talk?”
His crimson eyes, which had been playful, now carried weight.
“What’s going on?”
“Well…”
“Not being able to turn human is a big problem, but I don’t think that’s the main reason I came here.”
He was perceptive. There’s no point in hiding.
Still, I hesitated to ask.
‘Well, you know…’
How could I say that I think I might be a white fox-human when I wasn’t even sure myself?
All I could do was bite my lip and finally say:
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released on November, 17.
See you then!!
