Lily had kept her eyes squeezed shut ever since the fox man took her away.
She knew that whatever happened to her would not be pretty, considering that she was technically being offered as payment for a blood debt.
Yet, she had still taken the risk because she did not want Marigold to become a liability for Gareth.
She thought the fox man would eventually throw her down once they reached the forest, perhaps after taking her somewhere far enough from the barn that no one could hear her scream.
Yet, Lily had waited for a long time, and he still carried her in his arms.
The fox man did not say anything either.
He continued walking through the air, as if there were invisible steps beneath his feet, carrying her farther and farther away from the barn.
Thus, out of curiosity, Lily finally opened her eyes slowly, and the first thing she saw was the fox man’s profile from below.
She had not gotten a good look at him before because she had been far too focused on her own survival.
But now that she was this close to him, she realized that his appearance was truly breathtaking.
The fox man had long, platinum-white hair and ruby-like eyes.
He also had red lips that seemed to hold a permanent smirk, as if he always had something devious planned in his mind.
He was not the type of handsome, rugged man like Gareth, who looked like he could make any girl swoon just by looking at her…
except Marigold.
That girl only loved money.
But calling him beautiful did not feel quite right either, because Lily would not mistake him for a woman even at first glance, despite his rather feminine features.
Thus, to put it bluntly, this fox man was…
ethereal.
That was the only word Lily could come up with to describe him.
Unlike Gareth, whose natural scent was musky and made her feel both danger and curiosity at once, this man had a strange scent of many herbs mixed together.
It smelled good, warm, and comforting, as if the scent itself was soothing her nose.
She was entranced by the fox man at first, but then her gaze shifted, and now she found herself captivated by the nine white fox tails behind him, each with a blue flame burning at the tip like a candle.
They looked so fluffy and soft, a big contrast to the fox man whose eyes looked like they could kill.
“Done looking?” the fox man finally opened his lips, and Lily’s heart chilled instantly.
She had forgotten that she had been staring at him for quite a long time.
Thus, she quickly shut her eyes again.
“I’m not looking, I swear!” “It’s fine, little woman.
You can open your eyes.
Not many have the privilege of being this close to me,” the fox man said with a smile, yet the smile did not reach his eyes.
It felt as if one wrong answer could actually get her killed right now.
“Fret not, I’m not going to kill you.
You are more useful alive than dead,” the fox man said.
“After all, you are Gareth’s woman.
I can keep you as leverage.” “I know no Gareth!” Lily opened her eyes and denied immediately.
“Still trying to protect your lover?
A faithful woman, but a terrible liar,” the fox man laughed mirthlessly.
“It’s fine.
He will come to find me anyway.
A naive kid like him won’t think about strategizing to take you back.
He’ll just storm into my camp like the idiot he is.” The way this fox man framed it made it sound as though he had already set a trap for Gareth, and Gareth would simply walk straight into it without thinking twice.
It scared her because she truly did not want Gareth to get hurt.
She still remembered how horrible his wounds had been when she found him, and she did not want that to happen again.
Thus, Lily began to think of a way to prevent Gareth from coming here.
“S-sir…
uhm…
master…
I-I mean, Boss…” “People call me Lord Ren,” he corrected.
“Yes, yes, Lord Ren.
Can you drop me now?” Lily asked.
“Hm?
Why?” “You’ve been carrying me for a long time.
Your hands must be sore,” Lily said.
“I-I can walk on my own.
Don’t worry, I’m used to traversing the forest.
I won’t slow you down.” Ren stared at her for a while, and Lily stared back at him, trying her best to make him trust her.
Thus, the Fox Lord descended until his feet hovered only an inch above the ground before he finally let go of her.
“Aw!” Lily grimaced as she was dropped the way Gareth would drop a sack of potatoes.
She immediately clenched her hands against the dirt, picking some of it up inside her fist.
“You said that you wouldn’t slow me down,” Ren reminded her.
“I-I will not, my lord,” Lily said.
She got up slowly, and just as she was about to stand properly, she suddenly turned around and threw the dirt in her hand straight at Ren’s face before dashing away from him.
The dirt did not touch Ren’s face at all.
It simply hovered right before it could reach his skin, then fell harmlessly to the ground.
“Tch, what an idiot,” he muttered as he slowly walked in the direction Lily had run.
He paced lightly, as if he were merely walking across a field of grass, while Lily kept stumbling over branches and rocks along the way.
After all, it was completely dark at night, and the tall trees blocked most of the moonlight, making it feel as though she were simply probing her way through the forest with no idea where she was going.
Lily knew the chance of escaping that fox demon was low, but she still had to try.
She had to get away before Ren could use her to threaten Gareth.
She had known that Gareth was not a regular human from the very beginning.
She just never expected him to somehow be acquainted with such a scary, magical fox man!
Lily continued running until she saw a light in the distance.
Despite falling repeatedly, she decided to chase after it.
She had to escape no matter what!
The path beneath her feet began to have fewer and fewer rocks and branches as she drew closer to the light.
Thus, she made one last sprint toward it, and the moment she reached it, the solid ground beneath her suddenly disappeared.
It was a cliff.