“How about this one?”
A blue flower with a strange shape.
Fenrex’s ears twitched as he observed the toxic flower, Toros, which any animal would avoid.
‘Rose’s taste in flowers is.…’
Because her uncle was ill, Rose wanted to gift him a flower. So, they came to the mountain near the townhouse.
However, every flower Rose chose turned out to be poisonous.
And each one had a bizarre appearance.
“I don’t think that one’s a good idea.”
Rose widened her eyes and tilted her head in confusion.
“Why? Isn’t it pretty?”
“…It’s pretty, but it’s not to the Duke’s taste.”
“This one, too?”
Fenrex nodded.
Looking disappointed, Rose gazed at the flower before placing it on the ground. She then glanced around, searching for another flower.
Fenrex subtly tossed the Toros flower far away and watched Rose.
‘She’s adorable.’
With her lips pursed in concentration as she searched for a flower, Rose looked incredibly cute.
A smile naturally crept across his face, but then he noticed Rose’s hand reaching out for something else.
Of all things, it was yet another poisonous flower…
‘Why are there so many poisonous flowers in this mountain?’
Blaming himself for choosing the wrong mountain, Fenrex quickly plucked a flower nearby.
“Uh, Rose? How about this one?”
Rose hurried over to examine the flower closely.
It was a cute wildflower with multiple yellow petals.
“It looks like you, Rose.”
“This does?”
Fenrex chuckled as Rose tilted her head.
“You’re both cute.”
“Hm. Isn’t the other flower prettier?”
Seeing her body language as if searching for the Toros flower, Fenrex quickly grabbed Rose’s hand.
“No, this one is prettier. And we need to go back now. The Duke will be looking for you.”
“Already?”
“Yes. Let’s go back now and come again another time.”
“Okay.”
As Rose nodded, Fenrex handed her the wildflower, then knelt down with his back toward her.
“Climb on again.”
“Let’s just walk.”
Fennex looked back at her.
“Don’t you want a piggyback?”
“No, I’d rather hold hands and walk.”
After a moment’s thought, Fenrex stood up.
“Alright.”
Every time he held Rose’s tiny hand, his face would grow warm, and his heart would beat faster.
As they walked, hand in hand, with his face flushed, Rose started humming.
“What song is that?”
“It’s the song Uncle sings when he puts me to sleep.”
“Your uncle sings you to sleep?”
Rose nodded enthusiastically.
“He sings so I can sleep well.”
A smile of contentment blossomed on Rose’s face, a look of a child who knows she’s loved.
“Look, Fenrex, there’s a rabbit.”
“Well, it is a forest.”
Every time Rose giggled at the sight of rabbits darting away from them or squirrels scurrying through the trees, Fenrex felt a sense of happiness.
The king of the beast tribe, Fenrex’s father, was saddened by the fact that Fenrex had imprinted on someone. He was far too young and, moreover, was now tied to a human, not even one of their own race.
But Fenrex felt differently.
The happiness of having an imprinted partner versus not was like night and day.
For the first time, he felt he understood what adults meant by life and happiness.
Even without eating, he felt full, and even with his eyes closed, he couldn’t help but smile.
As long as Rose was by his side, Fenrex felt he could die happy.
“Rose. Should I catch a rabbit for you?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Why?”
“Rabbits have their own homes, too. And Er doesn’t like rabbits.”
At the mention of a name he didn’t want to hear, Fenrex’s lips twitched.
“So, just because that cat-like spirit dislikes them, does that mean Rose can’t keep a rabbit?”
Rose hesitated, thinking, then opened her mouth.
“Yeah. When we brought Er home, I promised Uncle I’d take good care of her. So, I can’t do anything Er dislikes, or Uncle would be disappointed.”
‘That Duke…’
Fenrex disliked the Duke more than Er, the spirit.
The Duke always interrupted his time with Rose and would often carry her away, keeping Fenrex from even holding her hand.
If he could, he’d separate them, but he couldn’t, because Rose liked him.
“Do you have to obey the Duke? If you come with me to the beast tribe Kingdom, you could do anything you want! You could eat anything you desire.”
Rose blinked her eyes.
“But I already do whatever I want and eat whatever I want here.”
“No, I mean…”
“Uncle says he’s happy because I’m with him. And I like being with Uncle, too! He loves me the most!”
“No! I love you the most in the whole world!”
“Thank you.”
Seeing Rose’s shy smile made Fenrex’s heart ache.
‘I adore her so much. Rose is just too precious!’
Unable to contain his emotions, Fenrex leaned in, intending to kiss Rose on the cheek.
“Stop right there.”
***
Back at the capital townhouse, an alarm was raised.
Following the Duke’s orders, all the servants and maids began searching for the young lady.
But after searching through the entire interior and even the gardens, there was no sign of her.
They questioned the gatekeepers in case she had left, but even they hadn’t seen her.
‘Did she vanish into thin air? Where on earth could the young lady be?’
Everyone’s faces turned pale, and the butler anxiously reported the disappearance of the young lady.
“So, you’re saying both of them are missing?”
The butler wiped cold sweat from his brow and answered.
“Yes.”
If it had only been Rose, they might have suspected a kidnapping by a dark mage. But with Fenrex gone as well, that seemed unlikely.
‘That reckless wolf! Does he even understand the gravity of the situation?’
Grinding his teeth, Ian activated a tracking spell.
“Ugh.”
With a sharp pain in his chest and the taste of blood in his mouth, he resisted the urge to stop casting the spell.
His golden mana flared up, successfully completing the tracking spell.
“Prepare my horse.”
“Yes!”
As soon as a servant brought the horse, Ian mounted swiftly.
He left the townhouse at high speed, heading toward a nearby hill.
“Why here?”
Frowning, Ian urged the horse up the hill.
The path was well-trodden, given it was a mountain near the capital, so the ride was easy.
But as the mana trace led off the path and into the forest, Ian dismounted, tying his horse’s reins to a tree.
He strode into the forest.
After some distance, he finally spotted her.
Rose was holding Fenrex’s hand, smiling brightly. She didn’t look like she was in any danger.
Ian sighed in relief and was about to call out to her.
Just then, he saw Fenrex leaning toward Rose’s cheek.
“Stop right there.”
Ian quickly ran over and scooped Rose up, glaring at Fenrex.
“Uncle?”
Ian held Rose tightly, his gaze fixed sharply on Fenrex.
“Taking a child outside without permission?”
Fenrex flinched under Ian’s intense stare.
At that moment, Rose held out a wildflower to Ian.
“We came to get this. Uncle is sick, so I wanted to bring you a get-well gift.”
The harshness in Ian’s eyes softened instantly as he looked at Rose.
“Oh, I see. Thank you.”
Ian gave Rose a gentle kiss on the cheek.
“But, you shouldn’t come outside without telling me. I was very worried.”
“It was just for a little while.”
“Still, you need to tell me. Everyone was worried because you suddenly disappeared.”
“Um… I’m sorry.”
Ian patted Rose’s head as she looked down apologetically.
“Don’t do this again. If you want to go outside, you must tell Uncle. Promise?”
Ian held out his pinky finger, and Rose wrapped her tiny pinky around his.
“Promise.”
“Good girl, Rose.”
After another kiss on her cheek, Ian shot a glare at Fenrex before turning away.
“Let’s go home. I brought a horse. Shall we go for a ride?”
“Wow! A horse! I want to try riding it!”
“Yes, let’s ride together.”
Ignoring Fenrex trailing behind, Ian mounted the horse.
“Rose, want to hold onto this?”
“Yes. But, Uncle…”
“Hmm?”
“Aren’t we taking Fenrex with us?”
Ian smiled brightly and replied.
“Fenrex is a wolf. He can run.”
“But…”
“There’s only spot for two on the horse, so we can’t bring Fenrex.”
Rose looked downcast, clearly feeling bad about leaving Fenrex behind.
Ian clucked his tongue internally but then thought of something and smiled.
“You’re right. It’d be hard for him to run all the way, so I’ll send a carriage to pick him up.”
‘Since it turned out this way, I’ll send him to a townhouse that’s currently rent in for beast tribe kingdom.’
Sensing the ominous intent, Fenrex shook his head rapidly.
“No, that won’t be necessary. I can manage to run this distance.”
“Don’t refuse. Rose is worried. Just wait a little while for the carriage-”
“No! I wanted to run anyway, so this works out! I’ll run. Rose, watch me, okay?”
Rose thought for a moment and then nodded.
“Okay. I’ll watch you!”
‘Tch, using Rose against me.’
With a sigh at the missed chance, Ian tugged the reins.
***
Unlike his swift ride up the mountain, Ian now rode slowly to let the child enjoy the journey.
“This is fun!”
Ian held Rose close as she laughed joyfully, ignoring the wolf trailing them, and rode back to the townhouse.
“Duke!”
The butler hurried over.
Relieved, he sighed upon seeing Rose in Ian’s arms.
“Young lady, you scared us.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.”
After dismounting, Ian set Rose down on the ground.
“What should you do when you come back from outside?”
“Wash my hands!”
“Exactly. So, give Uncle the flower and go wash up.”
“I’ll go with you!”
Out of breath, Fenrex finally arrived and took Rose’s hand.
“Okay!”
Seeing them holding hands, Ian wanted to say something but bit his lip, holding back the words.
“Duke?”
