My Pet Fox Is Actually A Demon Prince-Chapter 43: New Master

The air in the hall suddenly shifted, as though a sudden chill had passed through it, and the entire congregation fell into silence.

Kyva felt it before she understood it.

Though she could not see the speaker, the weight of the unseen presence sent a shiver down her spine. Still kneeling, her gaze remained lowered in careful respect— but it was the stillness of everyone that unsettled her most.

Who—

Her stomach tightened.

Who has come now?

Was it the Grand Arbiter?

A worse thought followed, cold and unwelcome.

Have I drawn more trouble upon myself?

Her lip caught between her teeth as her fingers curled into the fold of her dress. The others had passed through their presentation with ease. But when it came to her, something always went amiss. This entire predicament was far worse than being cursed. At least, if she was cursed, it would have given her a reason as to why she was always so unlucky.

Her quiet lamenting came to a sudden halt when she heard footsteps behind her.

She froze when the owner of those footsteps came to stand beside her, and her gaze fell upon a pair of black boots— polished to a mirror sheen, the leather so fine it spoke of quiet, effortless wealth. The sort no one displayed, yet everyone recognized.

Who...?

"Master Caelion," the Masters rose at once, inclining their heads in measured respect. "We had not been informed of your arrival. The honor is truly ours."

"It is," the man replied, his emotionless voice striking and stripped of any warmth. "I was detained with the Grand Arbiter, hence my lateness. Now that I’m here, I will be taking the human into my tutelage."

A ripple passed through the hall.

The newly accepted disciples all gasped sharply, staring in open shock, while the senior adepts, and gathered masters exchanged glances."

"But..." the Master from the Aquiline Quarter stepped forward, "Master Caelion, you have only just arrived. At the very least, allow us to present the initiates’ records. You should be... satisfied with your selection before anything is decided."

The man before them did not respond immediately.

While the conversation went on, Kyva slowly turned her head slightly, opening an eye to risk a glance at the imposing figure standing so close to her.

When she said her heart dropped.

That was a blatant lie.

It plunged.

She had tried to fool herself into believing that the Master Caelion the Master of the Aquiline Quarter was referring to was someone else. But she should have known better.

The man standing beside her was the same one she had seen in the trial, just before everything went dark.

The one she had called Snowpuff.

He still wore the mask she had seen during the trial, an elegant fox visage carved from pale ivory, traced with fine strokes of crimson and gold. It concealed most of his face, yet somehow only made him more dangerously striking.

And she knew.

Even without seeing him fully, she knew he was beautiful, devastatingly so.

Silver-white hair framed his lean, sculpted frame, catching the light in the hall like frost at dawn. His robes, white as fresh-fallen snow, were threaded with intricate patterns of gold that seemed to shift with each subtle movement,as though woven from something more than mere silk.

From his hair rose a pair of fox ears, pristine and alert, lending him an otherworldly air. And behind him, a single, full fox tail moved in a slow, languid sweep, unhurried and assured. A quiet display of power.

"It’s him!" She heard someone whisper, though it was loud enough to be heard due to their inability to contain themselves. "Master Caelion..."

The murmurs spread, hush but fervent.

It was not merely admiration.

But something closer to reverence.

It seemed almost everyone was hypnotized by his appearance despite wearing a mask.

To stand in his presence felt... perilous, despite how he looked. It felt as though his beauty were not a gift, but a weapon that needed to be honed with quiet precision. It was the kind that could draw a person in without resistance... and ruin them before they ever thought to look away.

Such beauty was bound to be feared.

Though half-shadowed beneath the mask, his eyes burned a deep golden-amber as he regarded everyone in the hall. Those eyes were warm in color, yet utterly without softness.

He spoke again.

"I will be accepting a single disciple, and I have made my choice. I see no need to review the others."

A flicker of tension passed through the gathered ranks.

"But... Master Caelion, she is just a slave," one of the senior adepts said, unable to hold his tongue.

In his own crafted ideology, he did not believe someone with such superiority would take a slave into their care.

"And I could turn you to a slave," the silver-haired man replied, his menacing tone cutting clean through the hall as he silenced the senior adept on the spot.

He regarded him with a measured, condescending look. "How utterly bold. To foolishly address someone of my standing, and question my judgment. Learn your place. I was not speaking to you."

That was more than enough to silence any further protest from everyone. The chill in his voice lingered, pressing against the chamber until even the boldest among them shrank in silence. The fox master just got here, and he was not even trying to be polite to anyone. Not even to the elders.

The arrogance of a fox was not merely pride. It was dominance.

And where Kyva knelt, head still bowed, it felt as though the very air had thickened around her. His presence bore down on her until each breath felt suffocating.

What sort of aura is this...?

As if noticing her silent struggle, the oppressive aura ceased at once, like a heavy weight had been lifted from the air. Kyva drew in a sharp breath, her lungs aching as they filled at last.

She looked up just in time to see those blazing eyes staring down at her. But... the hostility she had feared wasn’t there.

"Get up," he said.

The command was simple and unadorned.

Kyva didn’t hesitate before obeying, forcing her trembling legs to strengthen beneath her. She rose unsteadily, her thoughts tangling over one another.

Up close, the fox master was even more imposing, tall enough that she had to tilt her head to meet his gaze. His presence alone was enough to unnerve her, and Kyva wondered if the strange familiarity she felt in her chest was because she saw him that night in the jungle.

Honestly, she hoped he did not recognize her.

The fox master finally turned from her, addressing the hall as though nothing of note had occurred.

"My disciple and I will be residing in the Astral Quarter."

There was no room for argument in his tone. The elders present barely even uttered a word since the beginning of the ceremony. But the Masters from all six circle appeared visibly displeased with his decision.

Noticing how everyone’s gaze lingered on her like she had done something wrong, it took her a moment too long before everything registered in Kyva’s tangled brain, and she froze on instinct.

Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait--!

His disciple?

Wait...

He was going to be her new master?

Him??

No way.

There has to be a mistake somewhere.

Why did he choose her?

She was barely of average talent.

He ought to have chosen someone like Cassian, or Selene, even Liora.

He wasn’t even interested in reviewing any other initiates, which she found strange, and that left an unsettling feeling in Kyva’s chest.

She had a bad feeling about this.