My Pet Fox Is Actually A Demon Prince-Chapter 31: We Don’t Work with Slaves

Back in the jungle, Kyva slowly roused from her slumber, her eyes fluttering open as though reluctant to forsake their rest. In that very instant, she remembered she had only a day left to find the orb, and all drowsiness fled from her eyes.

Surely, she must have been grievously tired to have slept that long.

Yet when she tried to rise, she found her hands would not obey her, as though suddenly stuck together. A frown of pure confusion crossed her brows, and she lifted her hands into view, only to see that they had indeed been bound tight.

What the–?!

A jolt of alarm shot through her.

Who did this?

Shocked and wholly at loss as to what was going on, Kyva forced her body upright, ignoring the stiffness in her limbs.

Then she froze.

A blade gleamed inches from her face, its edge steady, deliberate and unmistakably lethal.

Slowly, she raised her eyes and found herself staring into the hardened gaze of Vera.

"You–"

"Don’t move, slave."

Vera’s words echoed in her head, and it hit her like a slap to the face.

Slave.

Did she... just call her a slave?

A cold dread crept up her spine as the full weight of her situation settled in.

Oh no.

Did they–?!

"It would have been a lot better if you slept through the whole thing," Finn’s voice came from around the corner, sharp and mocking.

He stepped into view, looking steadier than last night. Some color had returned to his face, though a trace of strain still lingered beneath it.

"Did you really think we were going to work with you?" Finn muttered, catching her subtle but burning glare. "Hate to break it to you, but we don’t associate with slaves. And here we thought we were settling for a mere peasant."

"What gave you the right to touch me?!" Kyva demanded, fury breaking through the confusion. "You two searched me while I was asleep?"

"What rights are you talking about?" Vera lifted the blade to her chin, using it to force her head up. "Slaves like you have no rights. You have a wonderful print on the back of your shoulder, and it’s as clear as day. So how did a slave even make it into the trial in the first place? Did you perhaps run away from your master or something?"

The sibling chuckled, and Kyva felt so humiliated all at once.

Finn stepped forward and began to explain. "The truth is, we searched you because we thought you had something on you, something you’ve been using to repel these dangerous monsters. Because... let’s be honest, you have no combat skill. You’re not supposed to even make it this far."

He moved closer, coming to stand beside Vera. "Our sole intention was to find it and use it ourselves, and then abandon you here, because why not? But we could not find anything. Instead, we discovered the slave brand on your back."

"The only reason I’m sparing you," Vera added coldly, "is because you saved my brother. Otherwise, I would have ended you where you stand. We’ll let you go once you give us whatever you’re using to repel the monsters. Where is it?"

Kyva forced the words out. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Don’t play dumb," Finn crossed his arms. "When it was just me and Vera, we had to avoid at least three beasts, the skull one making it the fourth. But after you came along, we didn’t encounter a single one. It’s too much of a coincidence."

"You two are going to regret this," Kyva promised. But the siblings only exchanged a look, then laughed.

"Well since you insist on doing this the hard way," Vera said, grabbing the rope and yanking it hard to haul Kyva to her feet, "you’re coming with us. This time, you’ll trail behind like the worthless slave that you are."

Kyva’s eyes flashed.

When Vera pulled, Kyva yanked back harder. Caught off guard by her retaliation, Vera stumbled forward with a sharp gasp. But Kyva stopped the moment Finn raised his blade, its edge catching the light.

"Don’t make this any more difficult for yourself," he warned. "Move."

Vera had already recovered from her stumble, her expression darkening. This time, when she jerked the rope forward, it was with spite.

Kyva lost her footing and lurched forward, only for Vera to release the rope without warning.

She crashed hard onto the ground.

"What are you doing?" Finn snapped, turning sharply toward his sister. Even he couldn’t help but react upon seeing Kyva fall.

Vera frowned, clearly confused by his reaction. "What do you mean what am I doing? You saw what she did. She tried to trip me first."

"We’re not going to hurt her," Finn practically made that clear. "Do you hear me? We’re only using her to avoid the monsters and nothing more. Be more careful next time... And you, get up. We need to start moving. We don’t have enough time as it is."

As if unsettled by his own reaction, Finn turned and stormed out of the cave.

Vera rolled her eyes and yanked Kyva to her feet anyway, but her grip stayed rough.

"Move."

This time, Kyva didn’t resist.

She simply followed.

The journey to find the orbs continued, and Kyva was forced to trudge along behind them.

She hated hearing that word, hated being referred to as a slave.

She was not a slave. Not anymore.

Her name was Kyva.

She was far from the rotten establishment, far from everything that had once sought to define her.

But if others learned of the mark... what would become of her?

Most of the disciples came from noble backgrounds. Even the senior adepts looked down on humans. So how would they treat one who had once been enslaved?

Her jaw tightened.

She should have carved the mark away when she had the chance. If she hadn’t hesitated back in the forest, she’d be free of the mark by now. Being viewed as nothing but a peasant was far better than being stared at like she was something used and discarded.

Like her worth had been payable.

But now they know.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

But she should worry about that later.

First, she needed to find a way to free herself from these two.

It was only a matter of time.

She just needed to be patient.

"Brother Finn," Vera said, glancing around the urgency of a skilled trainer, "how are we supposed to find the orb?"

"I don’t know," he replied, his frustration already mounting. "Why do I feel like the senior adepts are intentionally giving us a wrong lead here? They said we have to find the orb that resonates with our affinities, but we haven’t even seen one."

Vera thought about it for a while, turning his words over in her mind.

"Brother Finn... if you think about it, they never really said the orbs were hidden. They only said we needed to find them. So what if they’re not hidden at all?"

Finn frowned at her theory. "What do you mean by that? If... they’re not hidden, then where else could they be?"

Kyva lingered behind, feeling the ropes bite into her wrist. She winced at the tightness, but forced herself to focus on the hushed conversation ahead. Even she too had thought about it.

The senior adept had also said there were many orbs lying about.

Was it all just a lie?

This was rather confusing.

As they pressed on, cutting through dense undergrowth with their blades and clearing a path, the air grew more heavier, and the silence thicker.

Kyva was starting to get tired until she noticed something strange.

Pressed between the earth and winding its way up were massive imprints.

" Footprints," she murmured under her breath.

But that wasn’t what unsettled her.

It was the size.

Her own foot would barely fill half of one, and a cold chill crept up her spine.

What kind of creature leaves tracks like this?

Something... wasn’t right. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

They shouldn’t be going anywhere forward.

"I think we should turn around," she said.

"I say we keep going," Vera replied without hesitation, giving the rope a sharp tug that forced Kyva toward her. "Footprints like this are common in the beast realm"

Her tone hardened.

"But understand this– if we run into something..." she pulled harder. "You’ll be the bait. Creatures run away from you, so we have nothing to worry about."