Chapter 175
Edenber had grown into a man handsome enough to make almost any woman look back more than once. His impression was sharp, exuding an atmosphere that made him difficult to approach.
Unlike his blonde hair, which held a noble light, his low-settled violet eyes created a feeling as if they were piercing through the opponent.
The Duke of Starafit wore a bewildered face.
“Is this perhaps an instruction from Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess?”
“It has nothing to do with Her Highness.”
“Then why go so far as to…….”
The Duke swallowed the words, ‘Have you lost your mind because you saw too much blood on the battlefield?’
Since he did not know that Asil was a shifter, it was a natural reaction.
Edenber spoke calmly.
“It is a personal matter. I promise that no harm will ever come to the Duke.”
“Well, first of all, it is unknown whether Fear will accept it—”
“Talks with Fear are already finished.”
He was easily swayed once enticed with food.
The Duke, roughly guessing this, gnashed his teeth.
That damn firebird-like fellow.
Anyway, he was the type to follow someone even to hell if they gave him something to eat.
The Duke of Starafit inwardly cursed his divine beast, in whom not a speck of loyalty could be found.
However, he continued the conversation with a smile on the outside.
“If you are caught by the shifters, it could become a great danger to the Empire—”
“I have already sought understanding from the King of Shifters through Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess.”
……So, it was a situation where the discussion was all finished, excluding only him.
The Duke of Starafit felt a surge of irritation once more.
However, because the opponent’s prestige was higher than his, he could not get angry openly and protested indirectly.
“Fear’s attendant is a very difficult and exhausting position. One must provide at least five meals a day as a basic, serve him according to his moods, and also—”
“Are you saying no?”
“It, it is possible!”
But at Edenber’s single word, he surrendered just like that.
As if to prove he had been a precocious fellow since childhood, his gaze looked as if it could easily seize a person.
‘Well, the bloodline of Ikart wouldn’t have gone anywhere.’
It was the best policy not to touch someone you couldn’t win against.
Thus, Edenber hid his identity as Fear’s attendant and came to accompany the Empire’s delegation.
* * *
The day the Empire’s delegation arrived at the Forest of Shifters.
Asil was hiding in a tree with her younger siblings, watching the delegation.
It wasn’t intentional, but the forest was almost in a festival atmosphere.
“Kwaaaaang!” (It’s a hooman!)
“Nyaaaong!” (Human!)
“Krrr!” (Hooman!)
This was because young shifters, brimming with curiosity at the appearance of a different race they had never seen in their lives, flocked together all at once.
Thanks to the adults restraining them, they watched while circling from a distance, but the feeling of the entire forest buzzing could not be hidden as many gathered at once.
While Ari and Arin were lost in the spectacle, Asil looked closely at each and every member of the delegation.
‘It’s not this human……. It’s not that human either…….’
Although she had confirmed that Edenber was not on the list, it was just in case.
However, there were no anomalies.
The only familiar faces were the Duke of Starafit and Fear.
Just as a dejected Asil was about to return to the castle with her siblings tucked under each arm.
She happened to make eye contact with Fear’s attendant.
It was a distance quite far, difficult for a human to even perceive, but Asil felt that the attendant was looking exactly at her.
Asil narrowed her eyes.
‘What is it?’
With brown hair, he was a man with an impression that seemed common enough to be seen anywhere.
But why does it feel like I’ve seen him somewhere?
The attendant did not turn his eyes away easily. He stared intently at Asil as if he had something he wanted to say.
‘Is it a human I know?’
Asil also did not turn her head and looked straight back at him.
While she kept racking her brain to figure out who on earth it was.
Ari, who was next to her, pulled her arm repeatedly and pointed at the Duke of Starafit.
“Pyaa-pyaa?” (Is that hooman unnie’s boyfriend?)
The long-lasting confrontation ended.
Asil, taking her eyes off the attendant, looked at Ari and replied.
“No, unnie’s boyfriend didn’t come today.”
If only she had a few more pages of the notebook, she would have asked how he was doing.
Since she hadn’t been able to contact him for several years, she missed Edenber very much.
While Asil was feeling dejected again, Ari retracted the claws she had secretly taken out without her sister’s knowledge.
Arin also slunk back and hid the grass stalk he had pulled out to use as a weapon.
Meanwhile, in front of the castle gate, Brianna’s second husband and snow leopard shifter, Winter, was welcoming the delegation in his original form.
Soon, the delegation entered the castle.
Only then did Asil tuck her siblings under each arm.
“Let’s go down now.”
Then she leaped down from the tree.
Aeon, who happened to be watching the delegation with his younger sibling from the tree next door, also landed.
When Ari saw Rai and hid behind Asil, Arin slunk out the grass stalk he had pulled out in advance.
At this, Aeon, who hurriedly hid Rai,
shouted.
“Wait a minute, 3 against 2 is not fair!”
“I’ll let it slide today since you didn’t call me bald.”
Asil snorted and tried to return to the castle.
However, Aeon, who ran over quickly, caught Asil.
“Wait, wait! I heard the King is going to throw a party for the delegation, is that right?”
“Yes.”
The rumors are really fast. I heard it yesterday. Thinking that, Asil replied, and Aeon shouted vigorously.
“Then, will you dance with me at the party…….”
Suddenly, a chill was felt from the side.
When Aeon rolled only his eyes to check, he saw Snowa, who always followed and found out like a ghost whenever he wagged his tail at Asil, glaring with bloodshot eyes from one side.
On top of that, Ari took out her claws from behind Asil, and Arin stared at him while holding a grass stalk.
Aeon, feeling a threat to his life, quickly changed his words.
“……Do you want to dance with me and my sibling at the party? Ari, Arin, and Snowa hyung, all together.”
He had intended for the two of them to dance cozily, but somehow it ended up with everyone together.
Asil, who only noticed Snowa—the one with the strongest presence among the three murderous siblings—nodded her head.
“Okay. But Oppa, why are you opening your eyes like that over there? If you’re here, you should come forward.”
At those words, Snowa, who was hidden in the shadows, strode out and stood between Asil and Aeon.
Due to Brianna’s genes, he had a smaller build than a typical snow leopard, but Aeon unconsciously swallowed hard.
Snowa, with his eyes narrowed sharply, stared at Aeon’s tail that was wagging loosely.
‘I told you not to wag your tail at my sister.’
‘Yes, hyung!’
Aeon, intimidated by the gaze alone, prostrated flat on the ground and hid his tail.
Snowa, looking down sharply at such an Aeon, took the three black dragon siblings on his back and walked away with long strides.
Aeon looked dejectedly at the receding Asil.
* * *
After finishing dinner, Ari pestered her, saying she wanted to see the humans.
“Pyaa! Pyaa-pyaa!” (Unnie! Let’s go see the hoomans together!)
On the other hand, Arin, whose desire for sleep was stronger than curiosity, held onto Asil tightly, asking her to sing a lullaby in bed.
“Ppiiii-ik!”
Asil took Arin’s side.
“I’ll put Arin to sleep first and then come. Ari, play by yourself for a little bit.”
“Pya!” (Ung!)
Ari, who answered bravely, headed to the toy room by herself.
Asil flew to the bedroom with Arin, covered him with a blanket, and sang a lullaby.
After doing so, more time had passed than she thought.
‘Ari must have waited a long time.’
Asil quickly headed to the toy room.
Carrying four strawberries on her back as a reward for waiting so nicely for a long time.
However, Ari, who should have been in the toy room, was not there.
“Where did she go?”
Asil tried to catch the scent in the air to find her sister.
However, perhaps because she had gone out a long time ago, there were no traces left.
Having no choice, she began to search for the places where Ari might be, one by one.
“Ari-!”
Hmm, she’s not in this room either?
“Ari, are you here?”
She’s not in that room either.
“Ari-ya!”
Where on earth is she?
While she was wandering for a long while,
she saw Snowa coming from the opposite side.
Asil flew over quickly and asked Snowa.
“Oppa, have you seen Ari?”
“No. Why? Isn’t she sleeping with Arin?”
“No, she said let’s go see the humans together, but where on earth did she go…….”
Asil, who trailed off, suddenly paused.
Snowa, who had the same thought, also faltered.
The two siblings looked at each other at the same time.
“Could it be?”
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