“Lily!
Lily, look what I just got!” Marigold called as she ran toward Lily.
Her golden locks swayed as a gust of wind swept through the barn, making her look like a cheerful young lass proudly showing off her first successful hunt, yet Lily felt nothing but dread right now.
Marigold was sixteen, three years younger than Lily.
Though they were not related, Marigold had always treated her like an older sister, even though Lily slept in the barn while Marigold lived in a cozy home with her father.
Nevertheless, Lily had long grown accustomed to caring for her.
And now, her eyes were fixed on the white fox in Marigold’s hand.
The white fox couldn’t have been more dead.
Its beautiful fur was stained with blood, and a bolt had pierced through its stomach, remaining lodged deep inside its body.
“Where did you get this fox, Mari?” Lily asked, her voice tinged with worry.
“Near the river!
I saw it limping while trying to drink some water, so I aimed at it, and shot!” Marigold reported cheerfully.
“Look, Lily.
Its fur is as white as snow!
I’ve never seen one before.” “That’s because it’s not from here!” Lily almost shouted, her body beginning to tremble as a sense of foreboding washed over her.
Although she sometimes rolled her eyes at Gareth and his strange rules, she believed there had to be a reason behind them.
Now, she finally understood what he meant.
Lily had never seen a white fox before, despite walking in and out of the Great Forest ever since she had been brought from the orphanage to work at the barn ten years ago.
She did not know what would happen next, but the image of Gareth’s deep blue eyes staring at her so seriously, as if it were a matter of life and death, alarmed her.
“W-we need to bury it immediately, Mari.
Give that fox to me,” Lily said, reaching for the fox’s corpse.
But Marigold quickly stepped back and pouted.
“What’s wrong with you, Lily?
You should be happy!
This is my first hunt with the crossbow Daddy gave me!” “Mari, it’s dangerous.
Gareth told me not to take anything from the forest when he’s not around!” “Hmph!
Gareth is just a barn worker.
I don’t have to listen to him!” Marigold retorted.
“Are you listening to him because you like him?
Geez, Lily, I know he’s, like…
very handsome, but Daddy always told me to find a rich man instead!
I’ll bring you to town later so we can find a match for you!” “It’s not about that, Mari.
Give it to me now!” “No!
I’ll make a shawl out of this fox’s fur.
My friends in town will be so jealous of me!” “Marigold!” “What’s with the commotion?” Lily and Marigold turned their heads at the same time.
The moment Lily saw her boss, her stomach churned.
Her boss was a bald man with a thick mustache.
He looked kind whenever he smiled, but Lily had been punished more than once whenever she made a mistake.
And one of those mistakes was stopping Marigold from doing whatever she wanted.
After all, Marigold was the apple of his eye.
“Daddy!” Marigold ran to her father and proudly showed him the white fox.
“Look what I got, Daddy!
It’s amazing, right?” “Ohh!
I’ve never seen a white fox before.
I thought they were just creatures from fairy tales!” Jack said as he observed the fox’s corpse on his daughter’s hand, greed flashing in his eyes.
“Well done, Mari.
We can sell it to the governor!
It’ll fetch us a high price!” “But I want to make a shawl out of it…” Marigold pouted.
“This white fox could earn us twenty gold coins.
You could buy a hundred shawls and still have plenty of money left!” Jack persuaded.
That persuasion was enough for Marigold, who was already imagining all the things she could buy with twenty gold coins.
“Then let’s sell it to the governor, Daddy!” “Sir, we…
we have to bury that white fox.
Gareth warned me about it…” Lily said weakly.
In front of her boss, she did not dare raise her voice, afraid of being punished again.
Marigold and her father turned toward Lily at the same time.
“Daddy, she wasn’t happy when I showed her my hunt!
She even tried to steal it from me!” “I-I didn’t…” “You did!” Marigold insisted.
“Tsk, tsk.
That’s because she already knows how much that white fox fur could sell for.
She’s trying to fleece you,” Jack accused lightly, as though his words were already set in stone.
Marigold gasped.
“Lily, how could you be so cruel to me?
I treated you like my sister!” …
Lily could only lower her head in defeat, especially after Jack declared her punishment.
“No food for you until tomorrow night, Lily.
Since you wanted to swindle Marigold out of her hunt, go hunt in the Great Forest for your own food.” …
“Understood, Sir.” — “Lord Ren, my lord!” A man with brown fox ears and a tail stormed into the beautifully decorated tent, too panicked to ask permission before barging in.
He was ready to accept punishment later — this mattered more than his lord’s anger.
“Can you not pollute my ears so early in the morning?
I barely got any proper sleep last night,” answered the man lying on the bed inside the tent.
He opened his eyes, revealing hypnotizing ruby-like irises that seemed capable of enchanting anyone who looked into them.
He had a regal, elegant appearance, albeit with a hint of arrogance, especially with the thin smirk on his lips right now.
His long, platinum hair fell like a waterfall, scattered across the bed as he sat up.
Beneath him were his nine fluffy tails, white with blue tips, like nine brushes dipped in blue ink.
Ren looked down at his servant with displeasure despite the smirk on his lips.
“We have yet to arrive at the Court of Moonlight, no?” “N-not yet, my lord.
But it’s about Miss Hana!” “Hm?
What is it this time?” Ren asked.
“All she has to do is accompany me to the court.
I didn’t even want to touch her.
Is she throwing a tantrum again?” “My lord, Miss Hana ran away sometime last night!” the servant reported.
A long silence followed.
Worried he’d said something wrong, the servant slowly lifted his head, only to find his lord’s smirk had deepened, ruby eyes gone cold enough to kill.
“Still as ungrateful as ever,” Ren scoffed.
“Fine.
I’ll bring her back myself.” “B-but, my lord, we’re in the West Wolf Territory — their Alpha’s missing, but they’re still dangerous!” the servant hurriedly said.
“L-let me prepare a few soldiers to guard you.” “I don’t need protection.
Just guard the camp so those dirty wolves won’t dare to raid my things,” Ren said.
He rose, his nine tails bristling as if stretching after a long rest.
“Besides, I want to see what’s inside his territory.” His smirk deepened.
“Perhaps I’ll find something worth sinking my teeth into.” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Apup Oh no, who is this ominous nine-tailed fox?