I Raised a Nine Tailed Fox Wrongly - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The forgotten problem of the curse resurfaced, souring her mood.

Using excessive holy power worsened the pain.

But she also did not want to leave the depressed Ran alone like this.

Rubbing between her brows, Silia shook her head.

“It’s nothing.”

“You really can afford to use more holy power?”

“Yes. I have plenty left.”

Schula narrowed her eyes as she carefully studied Silia’s face before asking again.

“Really?”

“Is there something you want to ask me?”

Seeing the firmness in Silia’s expression, Schula stepped back.

“No.”

The secret of the curse absolutely had to remain hidden.

In the Holy Kingdom, heresy was considered a grave sin.

After nodding once, Silia immediately began working that very night.

Worried because Ran was refusing to consume spiritual energy, she even sacrificed sleep to hurry the task along.

A barrier was created by surrounding an area with stones infused with holy power and blessings, and filling those stones entirely with holy power demanded tremendous effort.

Though overusing her holy power nearly triggered one of the seizures that had plagued her for years, Silia refused to stop.

She felt sorry for Ran.

‘Even though I know how painful it is to live trapped away. And yet I, of all people, failed to realize how much Ran was suffering.’

The more Silia thought about it, the more guilty and heartbroken she became.

So she ignored the throbbing warning signs of the curse and completed the work in only three days.

“Ran. I need to tell you something. Come here.”

In just those few days, Ran had weakened so much that moving around was difficult.

A cub was far more fragile than an adult and depended heavily on outside sources of energy.

After starving for three entire days, it was only natural he lacked the strength to do anything but lie around all day.

Filled with regret, Silia walked over personally and crouched beside him.

She slowly extended a finger and poked the soft jelly-like pads of his paw.

Ran’s nose twitched.

“Are you still very angry?”

Ran, who had not even lifted his head, slowly looked up.

One side of his fur had been flattened terribly from lying down too long, leaving his face lopsided and squashed.

The sight almost made Silia burst out laughing despite the mood, and she had to bite her tongue to hold it in.

“Will you listen to me?”

She kneaded his paw gently as she spoke.

It was strangely addictive—soft and squishy, yet firm at the same time.

Desperately trying to appear sincere, she said:

“I’m sorry, Ran.”

Ran’s ears twitched.

“Hm?”

She grabbed him around the middle and rocked him back and forth dramatically.

Swinging like a cradle, Ran snorted through his nose and began gnawing lazily on her wrist.

The motion clearly carried resentment, but it did not hurt.

“Look at me. Hmm?”

This time Silia touched Ran’s large ears.

As she carefully scratched the fluffy fur and the pink inner surface, Ran flicked his ears irritably from the ticklish sensation.

Fwap. Fwap-fwap!

Even after repeatedly shaking them, she stubbornly kept touching them until Ran finally made a sound.

“Ppua!”

“Look at me.”

Pshhh.

Sighing deeply, Ran looked up at her with eyes that clearly said he found her unbearably bothersome.

With genuine sincerity written across her face, Silia continued:

“I think I failed to understand how hard it must be for you to stay trapped inside and eat the same things every day.”

“……”

“The food probably tastes terrible to you, but I wander through forests for a long time trying to find the very best prey for you.”

Ran, who had not moved at all until now, finally rose to his feet.

It had been a long time since they sat facing each other like this, looking directly into one another’s eyes.

With an aching heart, Silia continued:

“I want us to make up.”

The fox blinked while staring at her before slowly walking closer.

Ran rubbed his face against her knees and collarbone as she crouched there.

Feeling the gentle apology in his actions, Silia smiled.

“Thank you.”

Still smiling, Silia pulled the fox into her arms.

She could feel the fresh scent unique to beasts and Ran’s sleek fur.

“As an apology, I prepared a gift for you.”

Ran tilted his head curiously.

Holding him in her arms, she opened the back door of the residence.

Since he had always been searching for chances to escape, she expected him to bolt the moment the door opened, yet strangely enough, Ran remained calm in her embrace.

“From now on, you can come and go here freely.”

Ran blankly stared out at the vast forest.

‘Why does he look like he has no attachment to it?’

Silia examined him curiously.

The fox truly looked calm, without the slightest hint of excitement.

‘Did he assume I’d put measures in place to stop him from escaping?’

Silia forced herself to accept that explanation.

‘Right. He grew up running around forests. There’s no way he wouldn’t like it.’

“It’s not enormous, but it should be enough land for you to take walks and hunt small animals.”

“Uung.”

“Oh, and since you haven’t consumed spiritual energy for a while…”

Still carrying Ran, Silia stepped into the forest.

Ran looked around busily, unable to contain his curiosity. He resembled a child visiting a city for the first time after growing up in the countryside.

Tilting her head slightly, Silia stopped beside an enormous structure.

It was a metal cage covered with cloth.

Pulling the fabric aside proudly, she declared:

“I prepared a bear.”

“……”

“Eat as much as you want.”

Ran stared upward at the bear with parted lips.

The beast was alive, though unconscious from anesthesia.

Truly, this woman had absolutely no sense of moderation.

Seeing the exhausted look in Ran’s eyes, Silia mistakenly assumed he was simply eager to hurry off and play.

“Eat well and come back home before it gets too late. It’s dangerous.”

“Kyuu.”

“There’s a barrier made of holy power. Don’t go near it.”

After setting Ran down, Silia turned around without hesitation and walked away.

She had just entered the living room and poured herself a glass of water when she heard scratching at the back door.

Thinking she had imagined it, she ignored it, but then she heard a cry.

“Kyaang!”

It was Ran’s voice. Puzzled, she opened the door.

The fox sat there pitifully.

“Why are you here? Don’t you want to play today?”

“Grrrung.”

Ran slipped between her legs and walked inside before curling up in the soft pet bed.

‘He must want to rest.’

At first, that was how Silia interpreted it.

But after watching him for several days, she realized that was not the reason.

The baby fox was unfamiliar with the forest.

The moment Silia realized that, her heart hurt so badly she had to bite down hard on her lower lip.

“I’ll stay right here. Don’t worry and go play.”

Ran trotted away before suddenly turning back.

He was checking whether Silia was still there.

To make it obvious, she leaned against a tree trunk, sat down completely, and pulled out a book.

Only then did Ran finally dash off into the forest.

‘He must have been trapped by humans his entire nineteen years.’

Silia stared coldly at the book before pressing a hand to her forehead when she realized she could not read a single word.

‘Then what about Ran’s mother? What exactly happened to the Heavenly Fox? Didn’t she give birth in the forest?’

“What kind of life has he lived until now?”

She had suspected abuse before.

When they first met, Ran thrashed violently and even foamed at the mouth whenever Silia tried to touch him.

Even now, if she touched certain parts of his body, he reacted with extreme sensitivity.

He especially hated having anything placed around his neck.

Silia discovered that while trying to take him for a walk.

She attempted to put a leash on him because she thought he might enjoy a larger forest, only for him to bite her wrist.

Ran apologized afterward by licking the wound, but instead Silia only felt like apologizing more herself.

‘Could that also be connected to why he refuses to transform into a human?’

Silia fell into thought before suddenly looking up.

Far away beneath the dark shadows of the trees, a sparkling bundle of silver fur was running toward her with all its might.

Panting heavily, Ran carried a limp squirrel in his mouth.

His round candy-like eyes shone brightly with happiness, and without realizing it, Silia smiled.

‘Right. Ran looks this happy. That’s enough.’

Ran could transform into a human whenever he felt emotionally ready.

So for now, it was enough for him simply to be happy. As long as he was happy.

Silia thought at least five hundred times a day that giving Ran a backyard had been an excellent decision, but there was a side effect.

Whether because she had expanded the barrier or for some other reason, signs of her seizures slowly began appearing again.

And eventually, the problem erupted.

Silia was sitting in the commander’s office, suffering headaches over the rapidly increasing monster incidents.

While reviewing documents, she suddenly felt a burning pain in her left shoulder.

Confused at first, she quickly realized what the pain was.

“Hhk…….”

Silia normally never showed weakness from pain, but this time the stone-like mask cracked.

It had been a very long time since she last suffered a seizure.

The agony was so intense it felt lethal, forcing her to curl her body tightly inward.

At least she was alone inside the commander’s office.

If someone else had witnessed her reaction, they might have thought she had been struck by a poisoned arrow.

“Ugh, ngh…….”

Time crawled unbearably slowly.

She clenched her molars so hard her jaw ached as she waited for the pain to pass.

Usually, it faded after a minute or two, but today it lasted strangely long.

‘Die! Just die, you monster!’

Whenever the pain came, Silia was struck again by the cruel words she had heard in childhood.

Her eyes burned hot as tears blurred her vision.

She wanted to live.

Desperately. So desperately…….

Had about five minutes passed?

Once the pain finally disappeared, Silia felt utterly drained, like someone who had barely crawled back out from the brink of death.

She pressed her forehead against the desk and spent a long time just trying to steady her breathing.

A dull ache pulsed regularly in time with her heartbeat from her left shoulder.

She remained motionless until the aftereffects completely subsided.

When she finally lifted her head, the desk in the commander’s office was drenched with her cold sweat.

“Hah… haaah…….”

After catching her breath, Silia irritably rose and walked toward the full-length mirror in the corner.

Undoing the buttons of her shirt, she loosened her clothes and twisted her upper body to examine her shoulder blade.

The skin near her shoulder blade had shriveled black, as though freshly burned by fire.

It was a scar she had carried her entire life.

No one had ever discovered what it truly was or why it caused such pain. Silia simply endured it.

Frowning deeply, she leaned closer to inspect the scar more carefully when suddenly someone knocked on the door.

She quickly dressed and buttoned her shirt back up.

“Come in.”

The door burst open, and Eric stumbled hurriedly inside as though he might trip.