#34

Hiscleif glanced at Rudy, who seemed oblivious to the contents of the box, and kept silent.

“Thanks,” I said, holding the box close and smiling softly. At that moment, a hand lightly scratched my face.

“Ow.”

It didn’t hurt, but it startled me. I turned to see Zerakiel smiling beautifully. Why did his smile always send chills down my spine?

Handing the box to Ivan, he kept his gaze locked on Hiscleif and ordered, “Throw it away.”

“What are you doing?” Hiscleif’s expression hardened as he questioned Zerakiel, who tilted his head slightly.

“Why do you keep crossing the line?”

“I was just…”

“Since when were you so interested in Jabisi’s business? Stop doing useless things.”

“…”

“Taking care of her is my job. You don’t need to interfere.”

Zerakiel’s cold declaration made Hiscleif clamp his mouth shut. Rudy, unable to hold back, scrunched his face in frustration and protested.

“Aren’t you being too harsh?”

“Oh, come on. Our young master is allowed to be harsh.”

Ivan quickly stepped between Rudy and Zerakiel, smiling kindly. He may have been a habitual troublemaker, but he knew when to stand up. However, his reaction only fueled Rudy’s anger.

“What is this…!”

“Enough, Rudy. I shouldn’t have meddled.”

“But…!”

“Let’s go.”

Hiscleif gently pushed Rudy’s back and turned to look at me one last time.

‘Be careful.’

Reading his lips, I awkwardly smiled. I still couldn’t understand why Hiscleif was so concerned about me. We had only met a few times.

Moreover, his public appearance at the banquet seemed intended to provoke Zerakiel.

‘What’s wrong with these two?’

It seemed the bad blood between their families extended to the heirs as well.

“Playboy,” Zerakiel muttered, propping his chin on his hand. I looked at him, bewildered, as he grumbled.

“No response to my proposal, yet you smile at another guy.”

His sullen eyes glinted with melancholy and chill, making it easy for anyone to misinterpret the situation and think I had done something terribly wrong.

“That’s…”

I started to protest, feeling wronged, but Ivan chimed in, backing Zerakiel.

“Indeed, it’s troubling. Of all people, falling for a hyena. Our young master is having a hard time.”

“It’s my fate, I suppose.”

“Lady Chichi, remember, our young master should be your first priority. That one over there is just a concubine, while this one…”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Unable to take it any longer, I stood up and fumed. Zerakiel and Ivan snickered in unison.

I felt like I might die young because of these two crazy lions who only seemed to be in perfect sync when teasing me.

As I angrily tried to leave, Zerakiel grabbed my hand.

“Where are you going?”

“To the bathroom!”

“Ah.”

Only then did Zerakiel let go of my hand, waving it lazily. Ivan added cheekily,

“Have a nice trip, Lady Chichi.”

“Please shut up, Ivan.”

“Tough as always.”

Ivan’s reaction was unaffected, but I felt utterly defeated as I trudged out of the banquet hall. Being around those guys made me feel like I was the one going crazy.

As I was coming out of the restroom after calming down, someone called out to me.

“Hey…”

It was Bianco. He was standing a short distance away, fidgeting nervously. I had worried that Ivan might have done something to him with his menacing demeanor, but fortunately, Bianco seemed physically unscathed.

“Why call me over if you’re not going to say anything?”

“…Are you Whitey?”

Bianco called me by the nickname he used to give me, his face filled with uncertainty as he fidgeted with his fingers.

Whitey was the name he used for me. Since I was a nameless, abandoned ferret, he had given me that temporary name for convenience.

When I didn’t respond, he added, “I heard from a servant that you got caught while raiding the Jabisi family’s warehouse…”

It seemed he already knew a lot. Crossing my arms, I spoke.

“So, are you here to apologize now?”

My blunt response made Bianco’s pupils quiver slightly.

“So it’s true…”

He quickly approached and grabbed my hand. His reaction was entirely different from before.

“I’m glad you’re alive. After that, I couldn’t find you in the forest and kept searching.”

“And who abandoned me in the first place?”

It was laughable. In hindsight, it was clear that Bianco had lured me in to use me as bait from the beginning.

He had been kind to a stray ferret, but that was all. When the critical moment came, I was the most convenient bait to be discarded first.

Even so, I had let Bianco go because, in the end, his actions had helped me survive. I figured he wouldn’t recognize me, and I wouldn’t see him again anyway.

But for him to dig into my past and show up in front of me again was unwelcome. Bianco spoke.

“…I regret that. I didn’t mean to involve you that day.”

“Those words are just excuses. You thought I couldn’t humanize, so you treated me carelessly.”

“…”

He lowered his head without any further excuses, acknowledging my words. My voice trembled.

“You should have just pretended not to know me.”

“Whitey.”

“I’m not Whitey anymore.”

“…”

“I let you live out of past kindness, so don’t ever appear in front of me again.”

Betrayal was something I was used to. I had never expected more from Bianco, so I wasn’t hurt. It was all just absurd. Smiling bitterly, I said.

“Remember the one who attacked you back then? He doesn’t usually show mercy. You’re alive because I intervened.”

“I know. He’s the young master of Jabisi.”

“You knew?”

“…There’s only one place with that kind of pheromone.”

Since Bianco had experienced Zerakiel’s pheromones firsthand, he must have recognized it immediately. Upon hearing Zerakiel’s name, Bianco fired off questions.

“I heard you’re being raised by the young master of Jabisi. How did that happen? The young master doesn’t usually let anyone close…”

“So that’s why you came looking for me.”

I took a step back from Bianco and spoke.

“Since we’re already talking, let me ask you something too. What happened in the warehouse that day? Was your original goal not just food?”

If Bianco had only taken food as promised, I wouldn’t have been caught by Zerakiel. But he disappeared without a word, delaying everything.

I hadn’t thought it worth asking before, but seeing him now made me reconsider. Maybe his goal hadn’t been the food warehouse after all.

It was just a hunch, but there was no harm in confirming it. If he tried to hide it, I’d know my hunch was right.

After hesitating, Bianco lowered his head.

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Fine. I didn’t expect much.”

I hadn’t expected him to tell a mere bait about such things anyway.

“Then I won’t tell you anything either.”

I sneered and turned away. There was nothing more to discuss.

At that moment, Bianco grabbed my arm.

“Wait, let’s just talk for a bit…!”

Bianco was persistent. I looked at him with obvious annoyance.

“Let go.”

His grip was quite strong. I could have yanked my hand away, but that would cause a scene. Understanding this as a cue to talk, Bianco began to speak.

“Please, just listen. I didn’t intend for things to go this way. After you disappeared, I felt terrible. I kept searching for you in the forest, worried about what might have happened. When I found out you were caught by the Jabisi family, I…”

“Stop,” I interrupted. “I don’t want to hear it. Whatever reasons you had, it doesn’t change what you did.”

I pulled my hand free and started to walk away, leaving Bianco standing there with a pained expression on his face.