Mama Fox

<Zuri>

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Staring at the dilapidated house, Zuri furrowed his brows. He hadn’t expected much, yet the sight still managed to disappoint. The small cottage leaned amid a tangle of overgrown weeds; its wooden walls weathered to a dull grey with moss hiding in the crevices. Where windows should have been, two crooked shutters hung in their place, giving the home a rather depressing atmosphere. Even the roof seemed to share in the gloom, sagging slightly as if burdened by the weight of its own despair.

‘Ha…’

There was no way it was going to last the night.

“Welcome home!”

Standing proudly before the cottage was a fool.

A fool wearing a goofy grin.

Cleodora Lionshare.

The human hero responsible for defeating the demon lord. With her fiery red hair, sky blue eyes, and muscular body that peeked out of her sorry excuse for clothes, there was no mistaking her for anyone else. She was the one responsible for leading the Salvation Army to victory. She was the one responsible for the ultimate victory. She was the one who, when given the choice to have any earthly desire fulfilled… chose Zuri’s hand in marriage!

“…Is this a joke?” (Z)

“Nope! Not at all!” (C)

Zuri immediately retreated back into the luxurious carriage.

The sight of that “home” was just painful.

“What’s wrong, dear?” (C)

Cleodora followed after him.

“Don’t you dare enter my carriage!” (Z)

‘What’s wrong!? Everything is wrong!!’

Despite knowing this clown since she was a kid, Zuri genuinely couldn’t tell whether or not she was joking.

‘I always knew there was something wrong with that kid…!’

Her clinginess wasn’t something he should’ve taken lightly.

“Hey! What did I just say!? Get out!” (Z)

“Dear, I—” (C)

“And don’t call me, dear.” (Z)

If there was one humiliation in this life Zuri refused to accept, it was being married off.

And as someone’s wife to boot!

The thought alone made his heart burn. His own family’s willingness and support of this marriage was an absurdity he still couldn’t comprehend. It served as the biggest betrayal he’d experienced, counting both lifetimes. The fact that they tried to throw a celebration was the salt in his wound. Spouting nonsense that the Iron-Mouth Princess was finally getting married.

‘Screw them!’

Zuri felt his anger simmer to a boil, but right before it was about to explode, a cool sensation touched his face.

Specifically, his lips.

He froze.

Turning up to look at the offender, he met the gaze of Cleodora.

Cleodora smiled then licked her lips.

“I always knew you’d be tasty!” (C)

Without much ceremony, she scooped Zuri out of the chair, pushed the carriage door and departed to the cottage.

“Thank you for the ride!” (C)

“Anytime, Lady Hero!”

In a daze, Zuri blankly watched his ticket to freedom drive off.

‘…How did she get so close?’

Of the terrible things he had to endure because of her, this was the worst!

It was so uncultured, so uncouth and so—

‘Disgusting!!!’

Pretty or ugly, man or woman, family or friend; it didn’t matter to Zuri.

He has never cared for and will never care for such crude acts of affection!

“H-How dare you…!” (Z)

Zuri set himself ablaze.

Like, literally, he set himself on fire. Activating an ability exclusive to his new race. Foxfire, the ability, along with illusions were the core powers his race possessed. A deadly comb that led them to be wildly considered one of the most powerful races. Zuri, being of pure royal bloodline, had an even more potent version of those basic abilities. His royal flames were equal to, if not greater than, that of the terror of dragons.

Pure white in colour, they were capable of burning anything to ash.

“Hehe, stop that. It tickles.” (C)

…Or would’ve been if Zuri ever spent time training them.

Being the Third Princess Zuri was never expected to see any combat at all. He was a spare of a spare. The First and Second Princesses were the only ones expected to see combat. Resulting in: the most Zuri used his flames nowadays was lighting his way to the bathroom at night.

Cleodora shrugged his flames off with a laugh before blowing them out with a deep breath.

“Let me give you the grand tour!” (C)

Heroes were so broken.

Don’t judge a book by its cover.

That was a lesson Zuri was taught from a young age in his last life.

It was a nonsense lesson, honestly.

If something wasn’t capable of at least presenting itself well, what good could it really be?

Zuri’s judgement was spot on most of the time, but there were rare instances where he was wrong.

This counted as one of them.

The inside of the house was large. Far larger than what should be logically possible. With five big bedrooms, two huge sitting rooms, three full bathrooms, and a spacious kitchen, there was something inherently wrong with the layout. Not to mention, unlike the deplorable outside, the house was beautiful and well preserved. In fact, Zuri might be inclined to state its tasteful decorations were on par with the palace back at the capital.

“What do you think of my little present?” (C)

A not-so-innocent smile was sent Zuri’s way.

“…I haven’t forgotten what you did.” (Z)

Walking over to the sitting room, Zuri inspected each room they passed.

“I knew you’d love it!” (C)

“How did you even create this?” (Z)

The last time he checked, she wasn’t exactly an architect.

“Balin built it for me, but of course Morwen worked the magic.” (C)

“And they are?” (Z)

“Friends.” (C)

Zuri paused.

That didn’t sound like the cry-baby loser he knew.

…But, then again. They hadn’t seen each other in almost a decade after Cleodora joined the war effort.

Zuri turned and faced Cleodora.

He studied her hard.

She still looked, acted and was a loser despite being the hero.

“…You are so pretty.” (C)

Zuri turned away and continued walking.

Cheap words wouldn’t work on him—especially from someone like her.

A rich man who looked at his own beautiful mansion every day won’t be swayed by another.

“Why are there so many damn rooms, anyway? It’s supposed to be the two of us, no?” (Z)

“Well, I mean….” (C)

They kept walking, but Cleodora didn’t attempt to continue her words.

“You mean?” (Z)

“…We’ll discuss it later.” (C)

Zuri paused once again.

“We’ll discuss it now.” (Z)

He gave Cleodora an intimidating stare. Well, at least he tried to. Compared to her 182 cm height and muscular form, Zuri’s 160 cm height and compact body weren’t exactly the picture of intimidating. It was one of the many prices he had to pay in order to enjoy this new glamorous life.

“Cleodora.” (Z)

Seeing her take her time, Zuri felt his water start to simmer again.

“You drag me out here in the middle of nowhere, refuse to tell me why, and now you have the gall to not speak to me?” (Z)

Perhaps because of his tone of voice, Cleodora folded quickly and answered somewhat embarrassed.

“It’s for the kids.” (Z)

‘Ugh’

Zuri softened his voice.

It was probably some hero calling, savour thing.

A lot of children had been rendered orphans due to war casualties.

“What kids? I didn’t sign to run an orphanage.” (Z)

But, still. Zuri wasn’t cut out to help.

He just wasn’t a nurturing type.

As he was about to continue talking, a determined look flashed in Cleodora's eyes.

In a moment, she pulled him into a tight hug and, before Zuri could protest, spoke—

“It’s for our kids.” (C)

His entire body froze.

“I’m going to make you pregnant.” (C)

Colour seemed to drain out of the world.