The Grand Duke’s Fox Princess

Episode 34: One Step Forward (I)

Heinricion’s eyes were striking. He lowered his face carefully, so that the fox wouldn’t feel his presence. Then he quietly brought his body up.

Heinricion headed to his office and ordered Rowen.

“Bring the magic stones that I talked about last time.”

“You mean, all of them?”

Rowen was so startled that his voice went out of pitch.

“Yes. All.”

Regardless, Heinricion commanded firmly.

*******

‘Is there a hole in the sky? Or did the floor break due to a wrong kick while sleeping?’

Eristella’s eyes shifted repeatedly and wandered. She just couldn’t seem to keep her composure.

‘How do I pretend to be okay with all this in front of me right now?’

Without a doubt, there was a huge amount of magic stones piled up in front of Eristella.

‘How did this happen?’

‘Whoa, someone, pinch my cheeks!’

Eristella’s round eyes turned to Heinricion.

‘Are you giving it all to me?’

Eristella’s eyes trembled. She must have been like that due to the circumstances, but she couldn’t believe it even when she saw it.

Well, Eristella needed a magic stone. She was gauging the time to request one from Heinricion, but before she did, these ones appeared before her eyes…!

She stared at the stones piercingly as she waited for Heinricion’s sweet lips to part.

She was squeezing her toes with the momentum to rush over at any moment. Then at last, his mouth slowly opened.

“It’s all yours.”

‘As expected!’

Lights seemed to flash in front of her.

“Are you wondering if this will increase your magic power?”

Heinricion already knew what Eristella was thinking. He seemed proud, judging by the smoothly raised corners of his lips.

“I’ll help you.”

‘Why is Heinricion so active?’

‘Are you going to become weirder?’ Eristella, who was so happy that she was dizzy, paused and stared with her eyes narrowed.

Today, Heinricion’s smile seemed to be glowing.

‘I think he has a different intention, but…’

The fox’s body flew and hugged the magic stones tightly.

‘It’s something I need. I’ll take it with thanks. Eheheheh.’

Eristella’s eyes curved.

‘I will never give it back!’

Eristella shouted, completely blocking the possibility of giving or having them taken away by any chance.

“What do you want to use it for?”

Of course, Rowen suffered unspeakably in the process of getting these magic stones.

“How much is all that… My hands are shaking.”

Rowen was seen shedding tears behind Heinricion, but Eristella took no note and cherished the magic stones even more.

*******

Eristella stayed in Heinricion’s bedroom all day.

Only after he left for his office and she was left alone did she then begin to move quietly.

Until now, the amount of magical power recovered naturally was nothing more than a grain of dust even when accumulated over a long period of time.

It took a lot of concentration to properly absorb the more noticeable amounts.

‘Let’s focus. Concentrate!’

Holding the magic stone tightly, she closed her eyes, and felt the vibrating magic within the magic stone.

Slowly, very slowly… so that the magical energy would envelope the fox’s body like air and be absorbed.

Eristella tried to concentrate like that for several hours on her own.

The corners of her eyes trembled.

She looked down at her trembling hands and feet.

And she slowly brought a hand to her heart.

‘…It’s, it’s a success.’

It was clear. Absolutely no mistake.

‘Now in my body… Magic has been created.’

It was firmly established in a way that was incomparable to the amount before.

This would allow her to talk with her voice for longer. She wouldn’t get tired easily and she wouldn’t faint.

It worked!

A ray of hope gleamed on Eristella’s face.

At this rate, she would probably be able to find a clue soon to return to her original form in the future.

‘I have to go back.’

In the end, as the existence of dark magic was brought up to the surface by Count Azurdi and his wife, it became difficult to predict how the dark wizards who were hiding their identities would come out.

If she was still a fox when they were seriously on the move…

‘It’ll be trouble.’

It was not the time to be relaxed here. She needed to figure out something.

After that, Eristella continued experimenting with magic stones in earnest.

Again, it was not possible to use the magic stone indefinitely. She found that there were some limitations.

She couldn’t absorb a lot of magic at once.

Only one magic stone could be taken in by the fox’s body.  The amount of magical power was enough to be able to talk for about 30 minutes.

But in terms of efficiency…

‘It’s the worst.’

Only 30 minutes with that expensive magic stone?

It was a net loss in the long term. But for Eristella, even that was a valuable result. So…  

‘I should save them.’

‘I should use them only when I really need them.’ Eristella kept the precious magic stones, meticulously hiding them.

To Heinricion and the grand duchy’s employees, she looked like a squirrel hiding a bunch of acorns in its mouth in a secret place, but she moved diligently without knowing anything.

‘I’ve secured some magical power  using the stone, but this isn’t enough.’

In order for her to make her next move as a fox, she needed someone to be her hands and feet.

But Heinricion was currently the only one aware of who the fox really was.

The employees of the grand duchy were favorable to the fox, but she could not tell them the truth. They would never easily accept Eristella.

However, she could not ask Heinricion to do everything.

Because he was the master of the Grand Duchy of Adelasia.

What Eristella needed was someone to act as her limbs.

‘I need someone I can trust; can I find that someone?’

After this, she knew for sure.

‘I am alone. It’s lonely but a reality that I have to accept.’

‘I’m stuck again.’

Eristella let out a sigh helplessly.

“Is there a problem?”

Heinricion, who had already entered the room, approached and asked. He looked at Eristella’s troubled face, and slowly spoke.

“Tell me if you need more magic stones. I will bring it to you.”

He offered his own kind of support. Then Eristella’s head swung around.

[Really? Really?]

Eristella’s eyes shone as intensely as the sun.They were strong enough to burn Heinricion’s face.

“Isn’t it very difficult now?”

Heinricion asked in response to Eristella’s voice, which sounded clearer and more natural than the last time.

[Thanks to you, I have a certain amount of magical power, so I can use my voice whenever I want.]

“But be careful not to speak in front of others.”

[Of course. by the way…]

Eristella looked at Heinricion with narrowed eyes and continued her words.

[I didn’t know… You’re a surprisingly good person?]

“What?”

[Please take good care of me in the future.]

At that moment, Heinricion got goosebumps.

“I think you made a slip of the tongue…?”

Heinrichion unwittingly backed away from Eristella’s enthusiastic response and tried to retract his earlier offer.

[No! You can’t swallow what you’ve already spit out! You’re giving me more magic stones!]

“…….”

Heinricion’s eyes slowly contemplated into the distance. Apparently, he really did make a mistake with his words.

However, thanks to that, Eristella felt reassured, apart from her other troubles.

Eristella smiled broadly; that smile filled her entire face.

It was then. Rowen came in, knocking with a vague face, and reported to Heinricion.

“Your Excellency. An unscheduled guest came and said that she would like to see you.”

“Tell her to go through the proper procedures before visiting.”

“I was going to do the same, but it’s a bit of a pain. She’s related to the imperial princess.”

“Who is that?”

‘I want to know too. Who the hell is it?’

Eristella wondered, tilting her head when she heard that the person was related to her.

‘I don’t know who it could be.’

*******

The guest who came alone to the Grand Duchy of Adelasia, where no one could easily visit without a prior appointment, was now sitting alone with Heinricion in the living room.

Of course, the fox was with him.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Sonia. I worked in the Imperial Palace.”

Heinricion glanced at Eristella, who was seated on his shoulder.

It was a gaze that asked if that person was really someone she knew. But Eristella already had her gaze fixed on Sonia.

With her neatly braided brown hair and unshakable, serene black eyes, Eristella recognized her from the moment she entered the drawing room.