The White Stoat Princess - Chapter 30

However, there was no way the butler could immediately relay the message to Hadel who had gone to take a bath. I was still held in Saedel’s grasp. Saedel narrowed his eyes and examined me carefully.

“Suspicious.”

“Kyu.”

What’s suspicious, you fool.

‘It’s always the most suspicious-looking guys who call others suspicious.’

The handsome man before me looked like a villain with ill intentions. I glared at Saedel.

‘Could it be this pretty-faced but black-hearted guy who drove Hadel to the North?’

Just because someone has a fire attribute doesn’t mean they should be automatically avoided.

But if it seemed uncontrollable and dangerous from childhood, people around would have become afraid.

And manipulating such a situation is far too easy. When young, Hadel probably couldn’t tell if his flames were overflowing or not, and just people around crying out that it was hot would have easily made him lose control.

‘If they made a fuss about his sibling getting burned a few times, both Hadel and those around him would have misunderstood.’

That Hadel was intentionally harming people.

Having thought that far, I soon shook my head. Hadel’s childhood meant this man was young too. Could he really have been that cunning?

‘This is my chance too.’

A chance to find out what kind of person Saedel really is. Thinking that, I felt calm even in this sudden kidnapping situation.

Saedel was still holding his chin, lost in thought.

“I definitely felt the flames, but I can’t feel them now. That could mean he can’t absorb it. …Or maybe he just didn’t have a chance to absorb today?”

– Gulp.

But Saedel too easily deduced why he couldn’t feel the flame mana from me. It hit me so suddenly before I could mentally prepare, that I involuntarily flinched.

‘He’s like a fortune teller. How did he guess the reason right away?’

It wasn’t just mana he was sensitive to. Though I only flinched slightly, Saedel’s gaze changed. He muttered while looking straight into my eyes.

“Could it be that you understand human speech?”

It was a test.

“Kyu?”

My heart was pounding, but I tilted my head with an innocent expression. It had already been several months since I started staying in this grand duchy.

‘What nonsense. I’m a stupid ferret. I don’t know anything.’

I had become exceptionally good at acting clueless and pretending not to understand speech. After all, I couldn’t eavesdrop on the maids’ conversations without such acting skills.

My act seemed to work on Saedel too, as he scratched his head and stepped back from me.

“What am I saying. That’s impossible.”

Yes, that’s impossible.

‘Keep falling for it. I’m a harmless ferret.’

You’re doing well. You’re doing well.

As Saedel’s pressuring aura moved away, I quickly curled up again and rolled my eyes looking for a place to escape. Just then, Saedel pressed his palm on my head again and said.

“I definitely absorbed mana. It’s strange.”

‘Oh, why is he so stubborn.’

If you thought I was just a ferret, let me go. Why are you going back and forth like this?

I was shrinking up, not knowing when cold energy might pour over my head. It was at that moment that the subordinate who had been standing silently opened his mouth.

“What is that creature, Your Highness?”

Instead of answering, Saedel said this.

“Call Yulnisia.”

‘Yulnisia?’

My ears perked up at his words. Yulnisia, a familiar and nostalgic name.

‘My friend Yul?’

It was the name of the magic tool user who had been closest to me on the battlefield until I died.

At Saedel’s order, the subordinate showed reluctance.

“She probably won’t want to enter the castle. Didn’t she suffer more the closer she got to the North?”

“She’ll come if I call.”

Saedel looked down at me with a sly smile.

“Once Yulnisia takes a look, we’ll know for sure what you are.”

I buried my face on the ground to hide my trembling eyes. My heart, which was already beating fast, now pounded as if being chased.

Yulnisia. Ever since I heard that nostalgic name.

‘It must be someone who just shares the same name. My friend Yul is dead. She’s not from this era.’

I tried to calm myself rationally.

‘But what can I do about being curious if it’s not Yul.’

This Yulnisia probably isn’t the Yulnisia I know. I had already succeeded in finding my friend Yulnisia’s name in history books in Hadel’s study.

Still, my heart kept fluttering.

‘Our last moments, because they were our last.’

I was caught up in Espen’s rampage to stop it. In the process, I couldn’t even confirm if Yulnisia had escaped properly.

‘It would be nice if I could really meet my friend Yul…’

I don’t know if he was contacting the magic tool I didn’t know about, but the subordinate left his post for just a moment. And he immediately bowed to Saedel and reported.

“She says she can’t come in because the flame energy is too strong.”

“Useless.”

Saedel clicked his tongue. I perked up my ears. I found two strange things in their conversation.

One was that while talking to Prince Saedel, the subordinate was speaking respectfully about this person called Yulnisia.

The second was.

‘She can’t come in because of the flame energy? Why?’

This person called Yulnisia can’t enter the northern castle. Probably because of the flame mana Hadel is emitting.

But that was an excuse I couldn’t understand at all.

‘Even if they’re opposite attributes, it should just be uncomfortable, not impossible to approach. It’s not like Hadel is spewing flames to envelop this entire castle.’

The same name as my friend Yulnisia, and a situation where she has to avoid flames to the point of staying away, both felt ominous.

‘Just what kind of being is this Yulnisia?’

Judging by how respectfully they address her, she seems to be someone higher than Prince Saedel. How many people in this kingdom are higher than a prince?

I wanted to dig for more information, but there was no time. Saedel grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and handed me to his subordinate.

The subordinate hurriedly grasped me with both hands. I could feel him tremble as his fingers touched my fur.

‘He must dislike animals!’

No matter how cute and adorable I am, not everyone in this world can love me. I didn’t have much interest in animals either, so that fact didn’t give me any particular feeling.

But it looked like a chance for escape.

‘Since he dislikes animals, there will be an opening.’

So I deliberately stayed still in the subordinate’s hands. Seeing that I wasn’t resisting, Saedel gestured indifferently with his chin.

“Send this one to Yulnisia.”

“What? This ferret?”

“Yes. There’s some secret. Tell Yulnisia to examine it carefully.”

“Understood.”

Saedel’s order must have been quite important, as the subordinate didn’t question it and immediately carried me outside.

But his physiological aversion flowed out as soon as we were out of Saedel’s sight. The subordinate dangled me to be at eye level with him and muttered.

“What secret could this filthy wild animal have? It’s even too small to make into a scarf or gloves.”

Both that guy and this guy think of making me into a scarf as soon as they see me.

The subordinate shuddered and passed me off to another subordinate.

“We’re to send this to Lady Yulnisia.”

“What? This creature?”

“It’s His Highness’s order.”

“Ugh, I hate animals too.”

Coincidentally, the other subordinate also disliked animals. He looked at me and said with a grimace.

“Wow, what is this. It looks like a baby rat.”

‘What did you say? You have no eye for beauty.’

A baby rat! These guys are worse than the butler who wanted to put a leash on me.

‘But this is my chance!’

When the two guys who hated touching me tried to pass me from one hand to another.

Of course, they’d try to touch me minimally when passing me over since they dislike me. At that very moment, I didn’t miss the chance and thrashed about with all four limbs.

“Kyu!”

“Ah! This bastard!”

By biting with my teeth and scratching with my claws, I could easily escape from their grasp.

‘Heh, this is nothing.’

I may have been living quietly since meeting Hadel, but I’m actually a very wild ferret. Originally, I was on the battlefield for years until just before I died.

‘I’m leaving, you fools.’

They couldn’t let me go easily either, so they chased after me with all their might. I ran as fast as I could to avoid being caught by them.

‘Huff huff, but why are they so fast?’

I was running on four legs while they were on two, yet I felt like I was about to be caught. I was sweating profusely as I dodged their reaching hands.

‘If I get caught now, it’s going to be painful!’

Even I wouldn’t go easy on a ferret that ran away teasingly if I caught it again.

‘Hadel’s room is just around that corner.’

Just as I was determined to dash into Hadel’s room, I turned the corner. I pushed off the ground with all my might, but my paws didn’t touch the ground. One of the subordinates chasing me had caught me by the scruff of my neck.

“You little!”

“Kyu!”

Ah, Hadel’s room is right there!

Just as I was flailing all four legs desperately towards Hadel’s room.

“Kyu kyu, it’s over there!”

“We found it!”

Familiar voices rang out behind us. When I looked back, the servants at the end of the corridor were all pointing at me, held in the guy’s hand.

And in front of them was the face I had been desperately hoping to see.

“That ferret is the one I’m raising.”

Hadel, looking furious, glared at Saedel’s subordinate with cold eyes and asked.

“Do you have anything to say?”

There was no way they could have any complaints.