Knock knock.
A familiar knocking sound was heard.
"It's Julie. Are you inside?"
“Come in.”
The door opened at my consent. As expected, the person who entered was Julie. She came inside pushing a cart loaded with food.
"I have prepared a meal. Something Lady Eve likes..."
She paused as she continued speaking. I awkwardly sat up, still wrapped tightly in the blanket.
If you were perceptive, you would have realized what it meant to be wrapped up in a blanket like this, with only your face peeking out.
The bed and the blankets. Even the messy hair.
It was the perfect excuse to cover the tail and ears.
"Sorry. This is a bit embarrassing."
"Please don't worry about me. I'm used to it."
However, at her next words, I couldn't help but look at Julie.
To think it's familiar. I have never once shown this side of myself.
Unlike me, whose mind was in turmoil, Julie placed food in front of me with the same smile as usual.
"The Chief needs to be in good stamina. You must have had a hard time."
"Uh-huh. Well. Right."
At my agreement, Julie poured tea into my cup as if she had expected it.
"This is a warming tea. I brought it because I thought it would be nice to have it with you. And here are some snacks to go with it..."
Julie's explanation continued.
I gazed at her intently and slowly opened my mouth.
"This. It's not the tea you brought before."
"Yes?"
Julie paused at the words I said.
I deliberately blinked and gestured for the teacup Julie had brought.
"That tea. It's not the one I used to drink."
"..."
"I always drank that tea after spending the night with my husband..."
"..."
"Julie, why didn't you bring that? You don't know, do you?"
Julie, who had been hesitating at the question thrown with a smile, parted her lips.
"...I'm sorry. We ran out of those tea leaves. I brought this instead today."
"Yes?"
I pouted as if I were disappointed.
"But without that tea, my fatigue won't go away... You know it, too. You know how strong the dragon's power is."
When I patted her on the shoulder, Julie bowed her head as if she were ashamed.
"I will make sure to prepare in advance so that this does not happen again."
"Yeah, it's fine. What can I do? My husband is strong."
"Get out." I smiled and ordered Julie to leave.
Julie bowed her head repeatedly as if apologizing and went outside.
It's different. The door closed. I wiped the smile off my face as if nothing had happened.
'That isn't Julie.'
I had never once spent the night with Noelier. Therefore, there was no way I would have a favorite tea, either.
Then that means someone disguised themselves as Julie...
I racked my brain hard.
Just then, I saw something that had fallen by the door. I quickly walked over and picked it up.
"This is..."
It was a leaf. A faded leaf.
As I looked at it, something suddenly struck me.
The original fairy tale. In *Little Red Riding Hood*, a hunter appears and helps Little Red Riding Hood, who has been eaten by a wolf.
Even in this bleak fairy tale, there was a being like that 'woodcutter'.
It was a fox beast.
The fox was a species that belonged to neither the human world nor the beast world.
Because he could change his appearance, he freely crossed between the beast world and the human world.
When the enraged Rachel swept through the North, the human King, fearing that she might start another war, sent his loyal fox.
The fox, acting on the King's orders, transforms into a dragon and infiltrates the South.
There, the fox meets the wounded Zion and, feeling a glimmer of pity, suggests that they escape the place together, offering to share its transformation magic.
However, Zion, who has already given his whole heart to Rachel, refuses it.
'And the fox returns to the human world just as it is and reports that nothing happened.'
Since then, no fox beastmen have appeared. The same was true for the human King.
If the owner of this leaf is really a fox, and if that fox is disguised as Julie.
'He's after me.'
Since Julie was my personal lady-in-waiting, there would be no one more suitable than Julie to stay by my side.
'Why is the human King looking for me?'
All I knew about the human King was that he knew how to wield several types of magic and that he hated beastmen.
'Surely he isn't planning to use me as a weakness, is he?'
Since I had revealed my identity in the East as well, the human King might have heard the news about me as well.
Just as I was deep in thought, I heard the sound of a window opening.
The person who came in was Noelier.
He, who had stepped aside for a moment at my request, returned to the room just in time.
“Has Julie gone?”
“Yes. But..."
"So there was something deeper to it?"
I showed the leaves I had picked up from the ground and told him what I had guessed.
Noelier's face stiffened noticeably.
"Certainly, this leaf clearly belongs to the fox beastmen."
"You might say I'm worrying for nothing, but it's possible. I even confirmed it through conversation. Julie isn't Julie."
Noelier frowned as if to say there was some truth to it and slowly stroked his chin.
"Are they targeting me? Otherwise, there would be no reason to disguise themselves as Julie."
Noelier paused at my words. He seemed to hesitate. After parting his lips for a while, he finally spoke.
"I think the King is right to target Eve."
"Ah..."
What on earth do they intend to do to me after catching me?
"He already holds the key to the restraints, so just how much more does he intend to make Noel suffer?"
Seeing me in anger, Noelier shook his head with a sad face.
"I don't think it's simply that kind of problem."
"What? But otherwise, there would be no reason to target me."
“...I have something to tell you.”
He gently held my hand. I flinched at the rush of body heat.
"What happened in the East? Do you remember? That time when Mentira attacked Eve."
“Yes. I remember.”
Recalling that moment, I clenched my fist tightly. The penetrating heat grew even more intense.
"I resisted with all my might. Since we were underwater, I tried to use at least a little of my ice magic... and the blue light that bloomed from within my body seeped into Mentira."
"Eve."
I raised my head at his call. A serious expression was clearly visible on his beautiful face.
"He told me a story about my father."
"Yes."
When I lightly nodded, he kissed my hand as if to tell me not to be surprised.
"...When I heard that story, I went to find the human King."
"Huh? Why? Why did you go look for that person?"
Seeing me surprised, Noelier pulled his lips away again.
"Have you ever seen the magic of a human King?"
I shook my head lightly. He continued speaking.
"The King's magic is blue. It is a blue that resembles Eve."
"Yes?"
I couldn't help but be surprised. To think it was a shade of blue similar to me.
Is that why Mentira brought up the word 'betrayal'?
Is it because it has the same magical color as the human king?
Suddenly, Dad's face, the one who used to show me magic, flickered before my eyes. The magic Dad showed me, too.
'It was the same blue as me.'
What could this mean? My head was spinning. I tried to calm my confused mind.
The human King wanted me and even sent a fox to infiltrate.
'Then.'
I looked up at Noelier. Seeing the restraints still tightly locked, I slowly opened my mouth.
"...Noel, can you help me?"
***
Rachel moved her hands diligently while humming a tune she rarely did.
She was making a gift for her older sister.
'It will suit you well, right?'
Rachel, her cheeks flushed, looked up at the familiar sensation.
Lu, the phoenix of Noelier, was soaring into the blue sky.
'He looks like he's in a good mood, too.'
It was then that she was smiling with satisfaction.
Edgar, who had been buried in the flower petals, suddenly lifted his head and started running somewhere.
“Ed?”
Zion called out to Ed, but Ed did not turn around.
Eventually, he left the garden and tried to enter the castle.
"Ed, you can't go inside!"
"Hey, Ed!"
That's the room of a newlywed couple who just reunited!
The beastmen were startled. They hurriedly followed Zion to catch Ed.
However, it was difficult to catch up with Ed, the four-legged wolf.
“Stand there!”
"You are doing something great right now!"
Cruelly, Ed ran as fast as he could to the hallway where the two people's bedroom was and slipped right through the slightly open door.
The beastmen swallowed hard.
They couldn't even properly guard the wolves. They didn't know what kind of punishment the furious leader would give them.
"Maybe it would be better to die like this." It was just as the beastmen were trembling and thinking of their last words.
King!
The sound of a dog barking was heard from somewhere.
It was obvious it was Ed.
King king!
However, another sound was heard shortly after. So, there wasn't just one dog barking sound.
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