Lily felt her entire body plunging toward the bottom of the seemingly bottomless cliff.
She looked up at the moon she had been chasing the whole time, and as she fell faster and faster, a single tear escaped from the corner of her eye, followed by another and another until her tears were blown away by the wind.
She was scared, of course.
But at the same time, she also felt relieved.
At last, with her death, Ren would not be able to use her to threaten Gareth, and that was good enough for her.
Besides, she had never had a family for as long as she could remember.
She grew up in an orphanage, fighting for food and warmth, then worked like an animal in the barn, enduring countless nights of cold and hunger.
Gareth was the first person to ever treat her like a human, and the kindness he had shown her was more than enough for her to give her life in return.
At least, Gareth wouldn’t get hurt…
Lily slowly closed her eyes, waiting for the impact, wishing that it would not hurt too much before she died.
Yet, that never came.
A pair of warm hands caught her in midair and carried her just as he had before.
The familiar scent of warm herbs instantly comforted her mind, followed by a mellow yet seemingly heartless voice complaining to her.
“Must you bother me like this?” Lily slowly opened her eyes, staring at Ren, who had caught her right before she hit the ground.
His ruby-like eyes were gorgeous, yet they always gave her a chill.
And now, those ruby eyes were looking at her coldly.
Usually, Ren had a smirk pasted on his lips almost permanently.
But that smirk was gone.
His lips were thinned into a straight line, just as his patience was wearing thin.
He gripped Lily’s body tighter than before, making sure to hold her firmly in place so she would not dare to run away from him ever again.
“I thought you’d be honest and stupid, just like Gareth.
But you’re quite crafty, huh?
Using a dirty trick before running away,” Ren sneered.
“You just blew your only chance of gaining my trust, little woman.
I will not let you go anymore.” Lily said nothing after that.
Since her escape had failed, to the point that she had almost died, she thought it would be better to obey him for now and find another way to escape later.
The Fox Lord suddenly flew upward at such a fast speed that Lily squeaked and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.
Now that she was no longer in immediate danger, her entire body began trembling in his arms, still remembering the horrible sensation of falling to her death.
Ren continued walking through the air just like before, heading toward the camp where his fox kin had been waiting for him.
By the time the camp finally came into view, dawn had already arrived.
Lily had kept her eyes squeezed shut almost the entire time.
Sometimes, she nearly drifted to sleep because the warmth coming from Ren’s scent was overwhelmingly comforting, but she quickly shook her head whenever she caught herself dozing off.
She thought it would be far too disrespectful to fall asleep in her enemy’s arms.
Why did she think of Ren as her enemy?
Well, obviously, because he was Gareth’s enemy!
As they reached the camp, the two soldiers who had been guarding the gate immediately kneeled, followed by the other fox beastfolk: soldiers, servants, and counselors who came forward to greet him.
“My lord, you’ve returned!” “Mm,” Ren responded calmly.
He looked down at the woman in his arms before saying, “Open your eyes.
We’ve arrived.” Lily slowly opened her eyes and looked around, trying to get a gist of her current situation.
Then, she realized that there were dozens of men and women with fox ears and tails kneeling before them, just like Ren.
However, none of them had the same platinum-white hair, white fox ears, or nine white tails as him, as if those traits were exclusive to Ren alone.
“W-where are we?” Lily asked.
“My camp, obviously,” Ren replied.
He grinned proudly before adding, “We’re on our way to the Lake of Fate.
That’s why you have to come with me.” “My lord, who is this girl?” one counselor asked out of curiosity.
He assessed Lily for a moment, his gaze lingering on her unfamiliar appearance before he added, “Is she a human?” “She’s the one who killed Hana.
So she’ll replace her as my spouse throughout the Court of Moonlight,” Ren replied.
Seeing the bewilderment on his kin’s faces, Ren scoffed.
Of course, he knew exactly what they were thinking.
They must have thought it was strange for the Fox Lord to take a human, a lowly species they often looked down upon, as his spouse during the Court of Moonlight.
Wouldn’t that invite mockery from the other kings?
Lily had been called a lesser species a few times as they traveled through the forest until dawn.
Ren had also mentioned how she was Gareth’s woman because she had Gareth’s scent clinging to her body.
So, she assumed that either Ren or his kin would immediately know about her connection with Gareth.
Yet, another counselor suddenly commented, “My lord, she has your scent all over her.” “Wha…” Lily was shocked, since Ren had never said anything like that to her.
She looked up at Ren, and he simply chuckled when he saw her reaction.
“What?
Didn’t I tell you that you are my spouse now?
Which means you will have my scent all over you,” Ren claimed.
“B-but…
Ga…” Before Lily could finish her sentence, her lips were suddenly sealed shut by his magic.
“I’ll be resting in my room with her.
We will continue our journey to the Lake of Fate tomorrow.” “Yes, my lord!” Lily stared at him in disbelief.
Then, as they entered the biggest and most lavish red tent, Ren suddenly threw her onto his bed.