Peeking out, I was startled to find myself face to face with Prince Sae’s striking blue eyes.

‘Ah, bad luck. Of all places to peek into.’

Curiosity catches the ferret.

If only I hadn’t made eye contact, I could have pretended nothing happened and quickly fled. But, our gazes locked unavoidably.

Prince Sae’s face scrunched up in disgust upon seeing me.

“This ferret…….”

What! Why!

‘Is he going to kick me again?’

Back then, I was too small and cute to retaliate! But now, I could pounce on Sae and bite his cheek.

‘I am the one-punch, three-strike ferret. Want to taste my fiery punch?’

I waved my paws threateningly, making a shushing sound. However, I froze like ice when Sae spoke.

“I feel a flame from you.”

Oh no.

‘Why is he so sensitive?’

It’s natural to feel the flame mana from me. I clung to Hadel like a mosquito, sipping his mana.

But sensing that energy is another story!

‘Even Hadel didn’t seem to notice!’

I instinctively thought of fleeing. I scurried across the windowsill, but shockingly, Sae chased after me.

“Stop right there!”

“Prince?”

“Prince Sae!”

Screams erupted from inside the room as Prince Sae leaped out the window. I glanced back, pale with shock at seeing him follow me.

‘What’s with this insane impulsiveness?’

He pretends to be aloof and uninterested, but reacts explosively to certain things like a flame.

“Kyu kyu!”

Frightened, I ran faster. But today seemed to be a day of mishaps, as Hadel’s window was firmly closed.

‘No way!’

Usually, he leaves it open for me, but why is it so tightly shut today? As I tapped Hadel’s window with my tiny hands:

“Kyu!”

A large hand suddenly gripped me, sending a cold sensation through my body.

It was ice mana.

‘He has ice attributes!’

Not only does he look like Espen, but he also shares the same attribute. I felt queasy.

‘It’s cold.’

In the past, I could emit a lot of flame mana from my heart, so Espen’s cold didn’t affect me. But now, it’s different. I felt my teeth clatter the moment the chilling mana wrapped around me.

I hate this. It’s painful.

But Sae, unable to understand my cries, didn’t release me. Instead, he examined me closely, muttering.

“Why does an animal have a flame? Can it generate mana? That should be impossible.”

Right, I can’t. It’s not my mana. Let me go.

“Kyu, kyu.”

“Pink…”

Sae’s eyebrows furrowed as he examined my weak cries.

“What are you?”

He asked in a low voice. I could only twitch my nose. What else? A cute and adorable white ferret.

Unable to expect a human response from me, Sae seemed to decide on another approach.

“Well, we’ll see.”

Let me go first. It’s scary and cold out here…

“Kyu?!”

I widened my eyes and screamed. It was due to the icy chill seeping into my veins.

‘What, what is this!’

I’m not of ice attribute, so I can’t absorb his mana. I just freeze stiff.

‘I’m dying! I’m going to die!’

Despite my resistance, the ice mana invaded violently, as if it would freeze me into an ice sculpture.

“Kyu!”

I screamed in utter terror, and just then, the window we were at flung open, and a large hand scooped me up.

“Kyu?”
Although I could have resisted, I perked up my ears in relief. The familiar warmth of flames approached from where the skin was touched, driving away the unpleasant cold that had enveloped my body.

‘Hadel.’

It was indeed Hadel.

‘I was so scared.’

Realizing the person who rescued me from Sae was Hadel, I immediately clung to his hand. Perhaps being a small animal had made my heart softer, as tears streamed down my face.

‘It was so sad. So sad.’

Kicked around as a little creature, chased across the windowsill, and then almost frozen!

Whimpering and crying, Hadel firmly held me in his hands, enveloping me in a protective embrace. He then glared at Sae and asked:

“What are you doing here?”

“Brother.”

So, Hadel knows he’s the brother. Damn him.

I glared at Sae through my tears, even more angry knowing he had ignored Hadel despite being aware of their relationship.

Then, as if discovering an interesting toy, Sae stared at me, entranced. Startled, I buried my head into Hadel’s palm.

“What is that?”

Blink, will you? It’s totally scary!

‘Why is he looking at me like that?’

I couldn’t shake the feeling of being caught by a madman. Terrified, I shivered, unable to forget the sensation of chilling mana creeping towards my heart, threatening to freeze me.

‘What if he keeps chasing me to death? What if Hadel hands me over to him?’

Our bond isn’t that superficial. He won’t hand me over, right? He’ll protect me, right?

‘If he does, I’ll curse him even as a ghost!’

Trembling, I tried to communicate my will through my eyes to Hadel.

Just then, as if understanding me, Hadel wrapped another hand around me, enveloping me in warmth. I opened my eyes wide and looked up at Hadel.

‘Hadel?’

Hadel spoke firmly, his voice calm:

“This one’s mine. Don’t touch.”

For the first time, Hadel expressed his opinion clearly against Sae’s passive treatment.