[BotB] Chapter 19

Gazing out at the kitchen, Sohwa's attention was caught by the birdcage carelessly placed in the main hall of her inner quarters, impossible to ignore. Upon closer inspection, she realized it wasn't made of bamboo. The cold, hard, slippery texture was... 

"This is something I got from a merchant from the West. It's made of iron melted down and drawn into thin lines. It's heavier than it looks," Dohwi explained, his fingers caressing the cage as if it were a precious treasure. 

"It’s meant for a sharp and beautiful bird... so it can't escape." 

Sohwa's breath hitched. Dohwi was too close. She could feel the solid strength of his thighs pressing against her from behind. 

Unaware of Sohwa's tension, Dohwi leaned in, his lips brushing against her ear. 

"Do you want to have a look?" 

He lifted the cage with one finger, offering it to Sohwa. But she was frozen, unable to move a single finger, her perception of Dohwi's scent transformed into the undeniable aroma of a predator. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she breathed shallowly, and Dohwi eventually set the cage down. 

"If you don't like it, never mind." 

After patting her shoulder, he casually walked back to the kitchen, leaving Sohwa to collapse as if she had narrowly escaped being devoured by a giant tiger, her legs trembling unsteadily. She felt like prey toyed with by a sated beast. 

'I won't survive this. I'll lose my life over this!' 

Sohwa picked up the red silk ribbon from inside the cage. It was a leash. He mentioned keeping a bird, but the leash was small enough for a puppy, a perfect fit for her neck. 

Shivering with dread, she was lost in troubling thoughts. 

'Surely not... surely... No, it can't be.' 

Fiddling with the leash like a string of prayer beads, she suddenly heard Dohwi returning with the meal. Startled and intending to take the meal in the main room, perhaps to enjoy the breeze as well, she put down what she was holding and gestured hurriedly. 

"Dohwi, let’s eat here. We can enjoy the breeze too..." 

But the sight of the detestable cherry tree blurred before her eyes, and her appetite vanished. Dohwi laid the lavishly prepared meal before her, clicking his tongue. 

"I lost one again. How did that happen?" 

His remark followed the sight of a single flower-shaped sweet lying forlornly on the floor.

Confused, Sohwa was still not in her right mind. Dohwi, who had been fixedly staring at the datura flowers, calmly met her gaze and asked her, "Did you go outside?"

His voice, deep as if echoing from a cavern, was remarkably tender and quiet. However, his cold gaze was persistent, as if it would strip her to the bone. 

Immediately looking down, Sohwa gripped her chopsticks and nodded. Then, a stern voice dropped like a rebuke, "Alone?" 

It was a condensed way of saying, 'Didn't I warn you repeatedly not to wander off by yourself?' 

Finally losing her appetite, Sohwa put down her spoon and struggled to open her lips that had been trying to speak. "Dohwi, actually, I got lost in the mountains earlier and met a red fox named Miho." 

"You met a friend, I see," Dohwi said dryly, with a slight jerk of his chin, indicating for her to continue. He didn't seem particularly surprised. 

"But can you believe it? The fox asked me why I was carrying a poisonous plant that could dull one’s sense of smell. What was it again, ah, a datura flower?" 

Dohwi, pretending to be unfazed and looking elsewhere, kept his gaze on Sohwa without blinking as she spoke. 

"Is that so?" he responded, his unconcerned and brazen demeanor scaring Sohwa even more. 

"Could it be... the sachet you gave me..." she began, but couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. Dohwi sighed softly and placed a hearty chicken leg in front of her. 

She would have salivated over the succulent white flesh in normal circumstances, but now she just waited for Dohwi to speak. "Yes, it was a toxic plant that dulls the sense of smell," he admitted calmly. 

So why had he given her such a dangerous thing? Sohwa had no words left, stunned by his brazen attitude, her lips quivering silently. 

"Why... why?" 

"The foxes coming here isn't new, Sohwa. You might not have known," Dohwi explained. Contrary to Sohwa's belief, the area wasn't geographically ideal for other foxes to live. There were no other predators, but the presence of a human village at the base of the mountain was a significant flaw. 

For a fox, hunters were more of a threat than predators like tigers. 

Yet, there was a reason why the foxes ventured to this location.

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