The guard swiftly pursued, raising his sword once more. Bal took advantage of his small, light body to dash away, but the tip of the blade notched his colored glasses, knocking them off his face. He glared at the guard, his golden eyes glinting with wrath. In that moment, the small boy looked like a fearless king.
The guard gasped, then sneered.
“I knew it! There’s light in you.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t let you live!”
The man swung his sword again, and Bal quickly retreated. Pretending to be running blindly, he leaped into an animal trail. The guard chased after him, but his foot snagged on the undergrowth—or rather, the trap we’d made last night by tying the grass together. As soon as he hit the ground, small forest animals darted out of the woods and clambered on top of him. Even leeches and ticks crept onto his skin—all the creatures were following Lord Reineke’s orders.
The guard leaped to his feet furiously and tried to shake off the animals, his bloodshot eyes still fixated on Bal. But as he tried to follow the boy, he was caught in the snare trap. He lost hold of his sword, and Bal kicked it away.
“Woo-hoo!” Bal cheered, turning around and lifting his arms up in celebration.
“Bal! Watch out!” Liam exclaimed.
The guard blew into a small flute which had been hanging around his neck.
A sharp, screeching sound pierced the air, and all the birds and forest animals scattered away. I pressed my ears down, my tail drooping. Something trampled through the forest, and a moment later, a group of burly men emerged from the woods. These were the merchants and transporters Hodr had hired for the journey.
So some of them were secretly assassins, blending in as the attendants.
The men surrounded Bal, whose breath hitched in distress. The assassins smirked as they slowly stepped closer and closer to the boy armed only with a hoe.
He was cornered against a tree, in the very spot where we had first met. Around the tree was the metal band that had once been around his ankle.
“Kill him!” the hat-wearing guard ordered.
All the men sprung at Bal as one.
“Please, Lord Reineke!” I screamed.
The fox spirit bolted forward, growing in size. He stepped in front of Bal and slammed his paw down onto the ground. The soil beneath the men gave way, and they all fell into the massive pit. Lord Reineke picked up Bal and leaped aside before they could be swallowed up too.
“Now!” Liam and I shouted in unison.
A large net fell down from the treetops, covering the hole. A flag raised high above the trees, signifying that the trap had been successful.
The small animals rushed back in to kick dirt and leaves into the hole. I then released a dam which we had built over a tributary from the nearest stream, and water started pouring into the pit. That said, the stream wasn’t very powerful, so the hole wouldn’t flood completely. This would only make the men inside uncomfortable.
“Damn it! I have dirt in my eyes!”
“Ugh! The water feels awful!”
“I can’t move because of this net!”
“Stop moving around so much! You’re bumping into me!”
“Then you get away from me!”
The large men were making a commotion like a bunch of children.
Lord Reineke, still giant in size, nestled against me, asking for praise. I hugged his muzzle.
The citizens of the domain soon gathered, having seen the raised flag. When they spotted the men stuck in the pit, they all smirked and rolled up their sleeves.
“How dare you come into our land and act as you please? And now you’ve damaged Lord Reineke’s forest!” one of the commoners shouted.
The people no longer had a reason to hide their dismay. Together, they tied up the terrified assassins and the guard in a hat.
“Don’t think you’ll get away with this!” he yelled. “I am His Highness’s guard!”
The man was glaring at us while tumbling around on the ground, but the leeches and ticks had sucked all the life force out of him. He didn’t look intimidating in the slightest.
Sounds like something a small fry would say.
Bal was grinning. “That’s the desperate cry of a loser!”
Lord Reineke and the citizens roared with laughter. Liam smiled wryly too.
“Well, I am the heir of House Renard,” he told the guard.
The man scoffed. “Ha! You are just the son of a marquis. The difference between you and the future king is plain as day, don’t you think?”
“That may be true for His Highness, but you are merely a subordinate,” Bal pointed out.
The guard’s face flushed. “Just you wait and see... Laugh while you can!” he spat out with disdain.
The shrubs parted and knights of the Renard domain stepped out. Behind them were the crown prince, his chamberlain, and Marquis Renard. When Lord Reineke spotted Hodr, he walked up to me and held me close with his front paw. I snuggled into his warm, fluffy chest, feeling comfortable and reassured.
“Your Highness!” The hat-wearing guard’s face relaxed at the sight of the prince. Gaining confidence, his voice became louder. “Please punish these people! These commoners have assaulted a royal guard!”
Hodr exchanged a conflicted glance with his chamberlain.
“Why don’t we find out what happened first?” my father proposed.
“R-Right. Yes, that’s a good idea. Why did this happen?” His Highness asked the guard.
“I went into the woods to help the people dig up vegetables. Then out of nowhere, this boy attacked me!” the man claimed, glaring at Bal.
Bal pouted. “You pointed your sword at me first, old man.”
“Which one of us will you believe, Your Highness? That kid, or me?”
“Obviously, y—”
Before Hodr could finish, the marquis clapped his hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“You shouldn’t just take them for their word, Your Highness. Check things yourself. Those who sit on the throne mustn’t let their emotions cloud their judgment.”
The prince’s back straightened after hearing my father’s warning. He’d mentioned the throne to remind the boy that not even a crown prince could ascend to take it without the approval of the royal family’s loyal retainer.
“Right. Of course,” he replied, glancing between the guard and Bal. However, Hodr already found Bal disagreeable—there was no way he’d give a fair judgment. “No matter how you look at it, that brat’s at fault.”
As soon as he said that, the guard grinned smugly at Bal.
Oh no! If this keeps up, Bal will be accused of committing a crime! What can I do? There must be something... Oh, I know!
Still snuggled against Lord Reineke, I stared at His Highness. With the fox spirit by my side, I wasn’t afraid. When Hodr noticed my gaze, his face turned bright red.
I knew it! My coaxing’s just as effective on him as in my past life!
“But if this was simply an attack on your guard, why are all these merchants from the capital here?” I asked, tilting my head. “Isn’t that strange?”
“W-Wait, you’re right! That is weird! Hey, you guys? Why are you here?” the prince demanded.
The assassins who’d been posing as merchants all looked away at his question.
“They came to assist me!” the guard explained frantically.
“Without any tools?” Liam asked, causing the man to bite his lip.
“And it looks like this guard’s scabbard is empty. Why did you draw your sword?” Father’s stern gaze was fixated on the man, whose face paled.
Liam handed Bal’s hoe to the prince.
“There’s a mark here, left by the blade.”
When Hodr saw the chip in the wooden handle, his brows furrowed.
“Bal is the same age as me. An adult pointed his sword at a small child... That’s horrible!” I clung to Lord Reineke, looking up at His Highness pitifully to entice his empathy.
“You make quite the vixen,” Lord Reineke remarked with a smirk.
The prince stumbled back. “Yeah. It’s horrible. This man is horrible! You can’t raise your sword against a kid, no matter what! Yep! This guy must be at fault! Off with his head!!!” he commanded, pointing at the guard.
Another instant judgment, and an extreme one at that!
The guard looked astonished. “What?! You’re abandoning me?! You’re the one who told me to punish that boy, Your Highness! I’m only following—”
“You’re trying to blame me? I may have told you to punish him, but not to kill him. You violated my orders.”
The guard ground his teeth. “But this boy is the child of His Majesty’s mistress! If we don’t dispose of him now, he’ll bring nothing but trouble!”