The White Stoat Princess - Chapter 24

After that, Hadel came down with a fever that night.

Saedel’s entourage, who particularly despised Hadel’s flame, made it so that even though Hadel was sick, he had to suffer alone without being able to say he was ill. If they heard he had a fever, they would surely find fault, saying he couldn’t even control his flame.

“Kyuu.”

In the end, I was the only one who could be by the sick Hadel’s side. I climbed onto his warm forehead like a wet cloth and let out a deep sigh.

‘I wish you weren’t sick.’

Usually, when I made contact like this, Hadel’s condition would improve, but today the fever wasn’t going down easily.

‘It must be because he’s angry.’

Hadel has a serious personality and doesn’t easily show his emotions, so he may seem docile, but how could he not be resentful?

‘Seriously, what the hell is with that guy!’

Thinking of the Saedel prince who disregarded me, I puffed out my cheeks.

‘Because of that jerk, Hadel is bedridden like this. In fact, it hasn’t been long since he recovered from the mana rampage.’

I hope he trips while walking and breaks his nose!

I grumbled while sincerely wishing that ridiculous curse. Meanwhile, Hadel’s body grew hotter and hotter. I looked down at Hadel with worried eyes.

“Kyu kyu.”

Even when I cried out loudly, Hadel’s tightly closed eyes did not open. He seemed to have fallen asleep.

‘It would be fortunate if he can at least sleep…’

But maybe he lost consciousness because the fever was too high. The fever seemed unusually severe.

‘What should I do? Should I bring a cold compress?’

But I would be better than a wet cloth. Since the fever is caused by the flame created by the heart, it can’t be cooled with water. I deliberately lay on Hadel’s forehead, thinking it would be more helpful for me to absorb the mana and lower the fever.

However, just lying on his forehead doesn’t seem to be enough. After pondering for a moment, I lifted my head and stared at Hadel’s pretty lips.

‘Wouldn’t it be okay if I took some of the mana?’

I already know a way to consume much more mana than just making contact like this.

It’s just that the method is embarrassing!

‘But now’s not the time to be picky, right?’

Hadel is suffering from the fever. If the fever doesn’t subside by tomorrow, it will be difficult to hide the fact that he has one. In the worst case, he may have to face criticism from Saedel’s prince in this condition.

‘I can’t bear to see him being ridiculed by that nasty guy again.’

The contemptuous gaze that looked down on me earlier naturally came to mind. Anger surged and courage naturally welled up with it. I moved closer to Hadel’s lips.

‘This is a rescue operation, Hadel! Please understand!’

-Smooch.

I closed my eyes tightly and kissed Hadel’s lips.

‘Eek, so embarrassing.’

I felt like a thief stealing a kiss, and my hands clenched. But apart from that, a scorching hot energy like lava instantly rushed in through my mouth and ravaged my body.

“Ungh.”

My whole body trembled slightly at the familiar flame mana. I definitely knew the feeling, but it felt like a strange pleasure, perhaps because the empty vessel was being filled to the brim with mana.

I closed my eyes as if suppressing the sting after removing my lips. And when I opened my eyes again, lush pink hair was fluttering before me.

I had become human again.

‘Ah, I feel like I might get addicted to this too.’

The heat that filled my whole body, that sense of fullness.

Now it could only be filled by the man in front of my eyes.

‘Ugh, I also feel tremendously guilty.’

Because I’m the only one who knows this feeling.

“So don’t get sick, I’m telling you.”

I pouted my lips slightly and glanced at Hadel. Hadel was still suffering from the fever.

‘Yeah, this much is far from enough.’

It can’t be helped.

I brushed my long, cascading hair behind my ears. Then I slowly closed my eyes.

-Smooch.

-Smooch.

I didn’t have the courage to engage in a deep kiss that even mixed our breaths, so I just brought my lips to his. Again and again, over and over.

A sweet scent brushed the tip of his nose. It was a refreshing yet heart-fluttering scent, like one flowing from freshly bloomed yellow spring flowers.

Hadel, who had been groaning and suffering from the fever, came to his senses as if drawn by that scent.

‘This scent… I know it.’

Although it only brushed past once, it was an unforgettable scent. In a situation where a mana rampage was about to occur, the raging flames subsided. It was a magical miracle.

‘I thought it was just my imagination.’

He felt that scent again. He didn’t know whose scent it was, but he felt a desperate desire not to let it go.

However, there was no way he could open his eyes when he didn’t even have the strength to move a finger.

‘I need to get up.’

And open his eyes, and grab hold of whoever it was.

At that very moment, as if reading his desperation, something soft touched his lips with a light smooch.

It was a light but thrilling kiss.

After giving one kiss, as if something was wrong, she brought her lips to his repeatedly.

It was a truly strange thing. Clearly, she was kissing him without his permission right now, but far from being unpleasant, his body itched to get even closer to her.

‘Who are you?’

Hadel opened his eyes with all his might. Even that, he couldn’t fully open them. A blurry afterimage was captured in his narrowly opened eyes.

What he saw was a face as white as snow, eyes as clear as the sky after rain, and dark pink hair that fell like flower petals.

She was a beauty who seemed to have walked out of a legend. He couldn’t possibly forget seeing such a stunning woman, so she must not really exist. Could she be a fairy or something?

But strangely, upon seeing her, Hadel was reminded of a completely different being that didn’t resemble her at all.

‘…Could it be, Kyukyu?’

It was the white ferret he was raising.

Thanks to my diligent kissing, Hadel’s fever went down.

I desperately wanted to just fall asleep next to Hadel out of exhaustion, but I escaped through the window again to Hadel’s study.

There was only one reason.

‘If Hadel wakes up, he’ll be startled.’

How shocked would he be to find a mysterious young woman occupying his bed? The thought of telling him that I’m actually the ferret he’s raising was so mortifying.

‘He’d definitely think I’m a monster. If our positions were reversed, I’d think the same.’

A beast that absorbs mana and turns into a human. It’s absolutely suspicious.

‘Hadel is already exhausted enough.’

Let’s not burden Hadel any further.

Therefore, I intended to hide the fact that I’m a ferret who can transform into a human from Hadel forever.

Fortunately, Hadel’s study wasn’t far from his room, and it wasn’t difficult to climb over the window frame since I had done it before. No one comes to Hadel’s study, but just in case I might startle someone, I curled up under Hadel’s desk and fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes again, the morning sun had risen, and I was a ferret once more.

“Kyu.”

I opened my mouth to see if I might make a human sound, but I nodded at the familiar cry. At first, I was quite disappointed to find myself as an animal when I woke up, but now I didn’t mind at all.

‘Living as a ferret isn’t bad either. I’m not even embarrassed to wander around naked like this anymore.’

If you have fur, it’s no different from wearing clothes.

I wasn’t that well-behaved in my past life either, but now my way of thinking wasn’t much different from that of a primitive human. If my dear friend, Yulnisia, saw me, wouldn’t she shed tears?

‘Well, whatever. Nagging is a privilege of the living, after all.’

I dismissed my thoughts about the past with a somewhat cold attitude.

‘Ah, is it because I absorbed mana yesterday that I feel sluggish all day?’

The shirt I was wearing when I fled from Hadel’s room had now become a fluffy cushion. I lay there, curled up, unable to get up easily.

My body was warm and drowsy, and it was dark under the desk.

‘Should I sleep some more?’

If I go back after sleeping to my heart’s content, Hadel will have set aside a separate meal for me. I closed my eyes again.

‘Hadel, really. At first, he said he was raising me to make a scarf, but he’s diligently taking care of me.’

In the end, it must be because Hadel is a kind person.

As I was thinking about Hadel, I couldn’t contain my anger and abruptly raised my head.

‘And yet, he’s being mistreated by that guy! Just who the hell is he?’

It was because Saedel’s prince came to mind.

Anger surged, naturally waking me up and filling my body with strength. I trembled, recalling how he had kicked me away with the tip of his shoe yesterday.

‘I don’t know how such a kind man like Hadel has a younger brother who’s such a jerk. Is it because he was spoiled growing up?’

If he kicks me again next time, I won’t let it slide then. I’ll pounce and bite his calf or something.

Grumbling, I slowly crawled out from under the desk in the study. Since I was awake, there was no reason to stay here any longer.

‘Let’s go back through the window too.’

I don’t want to go outside because it’s cold, but it’s difficult for me to open the tightly closed study door with my strength. It’s also a place where, unlike other doors, no matter how much I scratch, no one opens it from the outside.

‘I hope Hadel left the cheese ciabatta sandwich he couldn’t eat yesterday as it is.’

With that thought, I came out through the study window. And I walked stealthily on the window frame. It wasn’t difficult at all since I had gone back and forth many times already.

But today, there was something a little different from usual.

‘That room’s window is open.’

The north is cold, and most people don’t open their windows often. But today, there was a room with its window wide open.

‘Should I take a peek and see who it is?’

I walked in that direction. And as I poked my head inside the window, I deeply regretted it.

‘Gasp! Saedel’s prince!’

It was none other than the guest room where Saedel’s prince was staying.