Hadel stared blankly at Marian lying on the bed. He had followed Marian because he knew she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep easily.
‘She looked very troubled.’
Even during meals, she often dropped food before it reached her mouth. Usually, she loved food so much.
‘To think Marian is from 100 years ago.’
The truth Marian had painfully revealed was on a larger scale than he had vaguely imagined. But Hadel wasn’t too surprised. Rather, he felt greater joy in learning more about her.
‘So she really was a princess. The “Ferret Princess” wasn’t just a nickname.’
As he stroked her hair, her cotton candy-soft pink hair tangled around his fingers. Her drowsy, flickering eyes were as clear blue as the sky after rain.
‘She’s beautiful.’
Does Marian know? How much he likes her. Once he touched her, he couldn’t let go.
Though he hadn’t deliberately tried to put her to sleep by patting her, perhaps thanks to Hadel’s constant touching at her side, Marian started nodding off.
‘She’s like a cat.’
They say cats fall asleep when you stroke between their eyebrows too. Reflexively closing their eyes at the close gesture and drifting off to sleep.
As Hadel held his breath and examined every detail of her face, Marian mumbled in a sleepy voice:
“Hadel, talk about anything. I like hearing your voice. It’s low and heavy.”
“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that.”
“Everyone else must be deaf. Not recognizing such a nice voice.”
Hadel chuckled.
‘You’re the special one. Everyone else doesn’t care about me.’
Even trying to recall memories of his parents from childhood, nothing particular came to mind. His parents were always cold.
Marian was very upset when she heard that Hadel’s parents had never contacted him, but to Hadel, it was natural. They probably wouldn’t even remember his face.
So in the end, only this tiny woman was the one person who looked at Hadel properly. Hadel kissed Marian’s forehead with affection.
“Sleep well, Marian. When you wake up, your heart will feel much lighter.”
Marian, who had been complaining about not being able to sleep, reluctantly closed her eyes. After tossing and turning for a moment, she soon fell into a deep sleep with steady breathing.
Hadel reached out and brushed back Marian’s disheveled bangs. Marian’s forehead was so round that he wanted to keep touching it.
Hadel’s fingers brushed from her round forehead to her tiny ears, then gently tapped her soft cheeks.
[I know. That I’m not normal.]Marian had barely managed to speak, sniffling heavily. How lovely her expression was, cautiously checking his reaction in case he might hate her. It was difficult enough to suppress the urge to kiss her.
[They say all your misfortunes are actually because of me.]The emotion felt at hearing those words was a bittersweet joy. The joy that she could never leave me.
Though she had asked him to talk, Marian had already dozed off. Hadel caressed her slightly flushed cheeks and whispered:
“We were destined from the start, you and I.”
[This is the timeline separator]After meeting Yulnisia, I remained in ferret form for a while without changing back to human. I didn’t want to show that face to many people when it was difficult to smile brightly.
‘But I can’t stay like this forever.’
There was too much I had learned this time to remain sunk in sorrow.
‘To think Espen is alive.’
Once I knew that fact, I couldn’t just stay still. Because even in these moments while I was in despair, he might be plotting something.
‘That ice monster that appeared last time is suspicious.’
It had a form that could only be seen as artificial. Even the fact that its attribute was ice bothered me.
‘Perhaps even a monster that originally had no particular attribute suddenly took on an ice attribute…’
The one who had been transplanting pieces of my broken heart wouldn’t have hesitated to transplant his own heart.
To confirm this, I need to explore the area where the ice monster appeared. I explained this to Hadel and asked for his understanding that I would be leaving for exploration.
No, to be precise.
I left an unfriendly note and dashed out of the castle.
‘But if I told Hadel, he would obviously object.’
He would surely say it’s dangerous and try to come along. But I couldn’t go with Hadel.
‘If there’s a group raising or hiding ice monsters inside the castle, they’ll be operating very secretly. If Hadel makes an official visit, they won’t show their tails.’
At times like this, a ferret is indeed the best. I boldly stepped out of the castle.
‘Wait, Hadel! I’ll come back with definite clues.’
[This is the timeline separator]About an hour after departing like that.
I was deeply regretting having left alone.
‘Huff, huff, but the area outside the castle is really too vast to roam with just a ferret’s feet. Maybe I should have just asked Hadel to take me to where the monster appeared.’
Still, if you’ve drawn a sword, you should at least cut some grass. I gritted my chattering teeth against the cold and diligently moved my feet. But despite this hardship, there was no particular gain.
‘Nothing suspicious in sight.’
It was just an ordinary rural village.
‘But it’s certainly quiet. Seems to lack vitality compared to Neris.’
Having just seen the festival in Neris a few days ago, I couldn’t help but compare.
‘But the Grand Duchy has a much smaller population.’
Increasing the population is indeed the most important issue in developing this territory.
Still, the city looked stable.
‘Everyone’s expressions aren’t dark. It means there’s enough food.’
It was also evidence that Hadel was working hard.
I sat down on the road for a moment to watch the passersby.
‘Is it because it’s winter? Everyone looks grimy. Well, even I wouldn’t bathe in cold water in this season and would just live with bugs.’
Ugh, just thinking about getting into cold water now made my body shiver.
‘I only realized what cold is after becoming a ferret. Until now, just by soaking in water, it would naturally become warm… Ah.’
Recalling my days as a human, I remembered the lake water that would become warm just by me entering it.
‘Right, even now we use magic tools to heat water. Couldn’t we install facilities for hot water in the village too?’
It was an impulsive thought, but quite good.
‘Like we made Hinari coal, we could use magic stones to make hot water gush out 365 days a year. Hadel’s firepower is sufficient. If we make a hot spring like that…’
Imagining everyone warming up together in a steaming hot spring, I couldn’t be more satisfied.
‘Good, good. When I get back to the castle, I should discuss this with Hadel first.’
Wouldn’t that help not only improve residents’ lives but also increase the population?
As I was thinking excitedly like that, the biggest obstacle to increasing the Grand Duchy’s population came to mind. It was the monsters.
‘The shape of the monsters appearing in the Grand Duchy is very different from the ones I used to defeat. They just looked like ordinary animals frozen solid. Like Yulnisia…’
I paused.
‘…Wait, Yulnisia?’
I realized the prejudice I had been holding.
‘Yul was forcibly kept alive for over 100 years with her heart frozen. Could those monsters be like that too?’
All this time I thought it was suspicious that ice monsters appeared inside the castle, yet I only thought they were hiding. They could have been created by people.
‘Right. They said they fed pieces of my heart to animals too. There’s a high possibility they experimented with Espen’s heart the same way.’
What if they discovered the process of transforming into ice monsters?
‘Then they might be raising many animals normally, and when they want ice monsters to appear, they feed them the heart.’
It felt like I had finally found a clue. I got up.
‘For now, let’s go where there are many animals.’
If there had been snow piled up, I really wouldn’t have dared, but fortunately it wasn’t that cold. I vigorously pawed at the ground with all four feet.
How long had I run like that? Suddenly, children surrounded me.
“Ah, a ferret!”
“Kyu.”
Thinking I might get some clue, I stopped. As I tilted my head and widened my eyes, a girl approached with a small scream.
“So cute.”
As if petting a puppy, her small hand stroked my head. Any other ferret would have bitten hard, but I stayed still, pretending to be cute. Then the other children cautiously approached me too.
“Other ferrets are fierce, but this one is so tame. I wonder who’s raising it?”
“Dummy, who raises ferrets? Do you know how expensive the fur would be if you sold it?”
“It’s so tiny, how much could you get for selling it?”
“Hey, even that small, it could buy a few bags of those candies you said were delicious last time.”
‘No way, that expensive?’
It’s one thing for adults in the castle to discuss my fur value, but even such small children are after my fur!
‘Su-surely they’re not trying to trade me for candy?’
“Kyu kyu.”
I cried out, meaning absolutely do not sell me. Then the girl hugged me tightly.
“Aw, so cute. I don’t care! I won’t eat candy, I’ll raise the ferret!”
“Kyuu.”
That’s right, that’s right. You thought well.
‘This kid knows how to appreciate ferrets. When I return to the castle later, I’ll tell them to send her candy.’
______
In This Life, I Won’t Be Foolish To Lose You Again (Female-dominant)
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
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