The two of them stayed nestled together for a while. In her daze, Yiweite’s movements came to a stop.
Because she tasted salt.
Tears streamed from the corners of Yelena’s eyes, slipping into the seam between their pressed-together lips. She made no sound and stopped struggling. Yiweite had pinned all ten of her fingers, leaving her unable to muster any strength.
Yiweite pushed herself up and looked down at her.
The night-light was dim, but Yelena’s eyes were bright, filled with glistening tears.
“Why are you crying? I’m not going to apologize for what I did earlier.”
Yiweite’s voice was still cold, but her grip on Yelena’s hands loosened a little.
Yelena sniffled, but didn’t answer right away.
‘I can’t exactly say I’m reflecting on what a scummy fox I am…’
Yiweite stared at her for a long time, so long that Yelena thought she was going to continue.
“You’d rather grant her wishes over and over than tell me about your past.”
She said it softly, without the anger she’d shown before.
Yelena’s heart tightened, and she opened her mouth. “It’s not that I won’t… I’m sorry. From now on, I’ll tell you everything.”
“That’s more like it.”
Yiweite didn’t press her further, and her mood improved along with her tone.
She rolled over and lay down beside Yelena, then scooped her up and pinned her whole body against her chest, resting her chin on the top of Yelena’s head.
“What do you think?” Yiweite tilted her head and smiled as she watched the somewhat frightened Fox Tribe girl before her.
Yelena lay stiff and motionless. “J-just like this?”
“What else would you want? Unless you mean—Hmm~ I think this is fine. Let’s go back to sleep.”
“No, no! Sleeping is good. It’s healthy!”
Yelena immediately closed her eyes. She didn’t know if she’d actually fall asleep soon, but she could at least pretend for now.
A very faint cough came from behind the Folding Screen.
“The Family Head was even more restrained than I expected. Please rest assured, Lady Yelianna.”
“Feihong, be quiet,” Yelena said, pretending to scold her.
“Yes.” Feihong had only said enough to make her point. Giving Yelena a timely hint was also for the sake of their relationship.
Buried in Yiweite’s arms, Yelena’s eyelids fluttered twice, and her fox ears flapped like little fans.
‘So the two of you had this all planned out, and I’m the only one acting in a horror movie? I’m the only one getting the short end of the stick, huh?’
Yiweite rested a hand on her back and patted her again and again. Her pats were forceful and the rhythm was erratic. It was clear she’d never comforted anyone before.
Yelena had been tense all over, but as Yiweite kept patting her, tears came again. This time, she wasn’t crying from fear.
She rubbed her face against Yiweite’s collar and whispered, “I’m sorry. I need to say a few more things. I admit I was wrong… It’s normal to have mood swings at a time like this.”
“Judging by the date, my period’s coming soon, so my brain’s a little scrambled. That’s why my emotions are all over the place and I haven’t been thinking straight…”
‘That’s right! When women can’t explain something, they can just blame it on this… Haha.’
The hand patting her back stopped for half a second, then resumed.
“All right, all right. I understand.” Yiweite was quite pleased to see Yelena rambling like this. “How should I put it? I like you better like this than when you were stubbornly refusing to admit anything~”
“…Mm, huh?!” The Little Fox hissed. Although Yiweite was teasing her and talking slickly, she gently stroked Yelena’s head until her feelings settled, and then Yelena gradually fell asleep.
The room grew quiet. The sound of water from the bamboo fountain came through the shoji door.
Drip, drip.
Just as Yelena was about to fall asleep, her tailbone suddenly grew scorching hot.
The heat shot up from the base of her tail, raced along her spine, and surged into the back of her head. She jerked her eyes open, but all she saw was darkness.
[Detected intense emotional fluctuations in host]
[Second layer of bloodline seal loosening]
[Fox ancestor inheritance: Stage Two activated]
[Skill acquired: Divination Deduction (inactive)]
[Warning: Inheritance Space forcibly opening. Contact will be pulled in as well]
‘Contact? Wait, someone’s holding me right now! Why didn’t this happen when I fell asleep earlier tonight?!’
Before Yelena could even curse, her body dropped as if someone had lifted her off the bed and let go.
Cold. So cold.
The first thing Yelena felt was the chill beneath her feet.
She looked down. There was water beneath her feet, its surface as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the entire star-filled sky above.
She tentatively tried standing on the water. To her surprise, she didn’t sink.
“Yelena.”
Someone called to her from beside her.
Yiweite stood at her side, wearing a nightgown and barefoot. A sword had appeared from who knew where, and the flames along its blade burned in response to its wielder’s emotions. Her left hand was still holding Yelena’s.
“Where are we?” Yiweite’s gaze swept across their surroundings, and she kept her voice low. “Could this be one of your new abilities?”
“I-I don’t know either…”
Yelena was telling the truth.
She looked down at her reflection in the water. It was her own face, with black hair and pomegranate-red eyes.
But behind her reflection, nine tails swayed.
Yelena instinctively turned to look behind herself.
But only one tail was visible right now.
Just one, and it had puffed up like a dandelion from nerves. She wanted to find a chance to smooth its fur later. It looked awful.
‘The reflection has eight more tails than the real thing. What kind of knockoff filter is this? Or does it only show how things originally looked?’
Yiweite had also seen the reflection in the water. She tightened her grip on her sword and pulled Yelena half a step behind her.
“Someone’s coming. Friend or foe?”
A layer of mist quietly formed over the distant water. As it parted, a woman stood there.
She wore an elaborate gown, its hem trailing across the surface of the water without getting wet. Nine tails the color of multicolored glass swayed slowly behind her. With each swish, the stars overhead flickered.
Her appearance was overwhelmingly familiar to Yelena. She was someone Yelena knew well, coming to meet her once again, only this time she had brought Yiweite along.
Yiweite raised the tip of her sword. Facing the Fox Tribe woman she barely knew, she became wary, her Battle Instinct rising.
The woman, who looked almost exactly like Yelena, didn’t even glance at Yiweite’s sword. She simply smiled at Yelena, who was hiding behind Yiweite with only half her head peeking out.
“Little Yelena, according to our agreement, you did a wonderful job completing the task I gave you. I’m also quite fond of the young lady from the Astreia Family.”
She spoke in a voice that was ethereal, impossible to locate, yet as clear as if she were whispering right beside them.
“How does your new ability feel? If there’s time later, I’ll explain it to you.”
Yelena recognized that voice, of course. It was the warmest voice she had heard since coming to this world.
Beneath the nine-tailed stone statue at the Inari Shrine of the Moon-Tail Clan, she had heard it in her dreams more than once.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.