TBSW 05

Chapter 5

When the physician finally left, one of the maids hesitantly spoke up.

“My lord, what should we do with the squirrel?”

The Duke only frowned and looked down at Ibi in silence.

He said nothing for so long that the maid, unable to bear it anymore, tried to ask again—

“Give it a room.”

“A r-room, sir?”

“Yes. A room for this little one. It’ll only be for a short while.”

With that, the Duke turned on his heel and strode away.

As soon as his back disappeared from sight, the maids all exchanged wide-eyed looks.

“Wait… that room? Could he mean that room?”

“Ah! You thought the same thing?”

“Yeah, you too?”

“Of course! There’s only one room where that baby flying squirrel could possibly stay.”

All eyes turned at once to little Ibi.

Yaaaawn—

Ibi stretched with a long, blissful sigh.

How long had it been since she’d slept so well?

The bed was so soft and warm she felt she could happily roll around in it for hours.

‘Wait. Soft? Warm?’

There was no way she should be sleeping somewhere like this!

Suddenly wide awake, Ibi looked around in a panic.

‘Wow! What a beautiful room! It looks way more expensive than the rooms in Count Rusten’s estate!’

The room was decorated in warm pastel tones. The furniture, from the fireplace to the trinkets on the mantel, looked cozy and delicate—like it belonged to a child’s nursery.

It was so charming she almost forgot she was inside the fearsome Black Wolf Duke’s castle.

‘Oh no, no, no!’

This was no time to be admiring the decor.

‘The last thing I heard before fainting was something about gloves, interrogation, and washing me off!’

She hurriedly checked herself—and sure enough, someone had already cleaned her. She was all soft and fluffy.

Like how ingredients were washed before being cooked…

‘Oh no! Does that mean they’re going to interrogate me now?!’

Heart pounding, Ibi spun in circles on the bed, then spotted a window beside it.

She wiggled her bottom, gauging the distance, ready to make a break for it—

Just then, the door burst open, and a huge shadow loomed toward her with heavy steps.

“Ah, you’re finally awake! Thank goodness.”

The owner of the shadow was a burly knight.

Ibi remembered him—he was the Duke’s adjutant, wasn’t he? Baird, that was his name.

“You’ve been unconscious for two whole days. We were getting worried.”

“Chyu?”

Two days?!

No wonder she felt so refreshed—

Growl.

Her stomach rumbled loudly.

“Chyu…”

Clutching her belly with both paws, Ibi’s ears drooped in embarrassment.

Behind Baird came two female knights who gasped softly.

They covered their mouths, eyes wide as if in shock.

‘Ugh, great. They probably hate the sound of my stomach too.’

The kitchen maids at the Count’s mansion used to glare at her every time her belly rumbled—then set up mouse traps the next morning.

Face burning, Ibi pressed both paws against her stomach to silence it.

Naturally, it growled even louder in rebellion.

‘Oh, traitor stomach… how could you betray me like this?’

While she flailed in mortification, Baird and the knights were doing their best not to laugh.

In fact, the two female knights looked absolutely enchanted.

After years of serving the cold, grim Duke and his sharp-tongued sons, their hearts had long since gone numb to anything “cute.”

And then, out of nowhere, came this.

Big round black eyes, a tiny pink nose, a mouth so small you could kiss it by accident, and a fluffy little body that made you want to squeeze it.

Even her soft fur and squeaky little noises—!

The long-lost feeling of protectiveness bloomed back to life in their hearts.

Baird smirked at the sight and whispered,

“Well? Do you believe me now?”

The knights snapped back to their senses and tried to school their faces.

The slimmer one lifted her chin with an air of dignity.

“It’s… a tiny bit cute, I suppose.”

The plumper one added quickly,

“But don’t let it get to your head, Sir Baird. We only came to say hello because you insisted.”

Baird nodded with mock seriousness, then ignored the slim knight completely and grinned at the rounder one.

“Of course, Lisa. But don’t leave just yet—you’ll want to see this.”

He pulled something from his coat and approached Ibi.

“You must be starving after two days without food.”

“Chyu…”

Ibi nodded. Baird held out a small glass bottle of syrup.

“Here. It’s easy to digest, made especially for an empty stomach.”

To Ibi, the bottle was basically the size of a giant baby bottle.

‘Ugh, I want to eat, but drinking from a bottle like that in front of everyone…’

She sneaked a glance at the knights—and froze.

Their eyes were shining way too much, and their lips were trembling as if barely containing themselves.

‘As expected of the Black Wolf Duke’s people! Way scarier than the Count’s!’

“Chyu-chut!”

Alright! I’ll drink, I’ll drink right now!

Ibi snatched the bottle and began to suck furiously.

‘Ugh, this tastes weird. Not spoiled… but is this, like, raw meat puree?!’

Still, hunger made everything go down easily.

Suck, slurp, suck.

As Ibi drank with gusto, Baird’s nostrils flared. He swallowed hard and unconsciously lifted the bottle away—pulling Ibi forward with it.

When the bottle tilted left, Ibi’s upper body leaned left.

When it went right, she swayed right.

When he lifted it higher, she stood on tiptoe.

“…Hup.”

The knights made strange noises, but Ibi’s eyes were peacefully closed as she kept drinking.

Suck, slurp, suck.

Their eyes grew wider and wider.

How can anything be this small and adorable?!

It’s too much. My heart actually hurts.

Baird’s eyes went wide too—right before another nosebleed burst forth.

The slim knight, Olga, frowned in disgust.

“Ugh, again?”

She kicked him aside, snatched the bottle, and smiled sweetly at Ibi, who blinked in surprise.

“Hello there. I’m Olga, knight of the Silver Aspen Order. And this is my colleague, Lisa.”

The plump knight waved her finger playfully.

Ibi tried to mimic her, wiggling her tiny paw.

“Chyu-pit.”

“Khh—!”

Baird’s nose exploded again.

Expression hardening, Olga kicked him out of the way.

“Go stand over there. We’ll handle the introductions.”

Even with tissues stuffed up his nostrils, Baird stubbornly stayed put.

Ignoring him, Ibi reached out for the bottle again and resumed sucking.

All three watched, completely transfixed.

Each time the faint “suck, slurp” sound echoed, their hearts melted a little more.

None of them could look away until she finally finished.

“Chyuuuuu…”

Ahh, full at last.

Satisfied, Ibi relaxed—and, out of habit, began to wash her face.

She scrubbed her cheeks and muzzle with her little paws, just as she always did.

All three knights covered their mouths at once.

“T-this is the legendary ‘scrub-scrub’?!”

People who kept rodents as pets used to call grooming that.

The Duke’s knights had never understood why anyone would find it cute—after all, wolves grooming themselves were anything but adorable.

But now they understood perfectly.

That soft, fuzzy little creature busily patting its face with tiny paws—!

So this is scrub-scrub!

Ibi even reached up to clean her ears, moving so diligently it was almost mesmerizing.

Then she noticed something sticky in her tail fur.

Apparently she’d gotten a bit of syrup on it.

“Chyu?”

She tried flicking her tail to shake it off, but it just clung tighter.

So she spun around, trying to grab it—

Only for her tail to swish out of reach.

Once, twice, again and again—

“Chyut!”

Round and round she went in dizzying circles.

“Ghhhk—!”

That was the breaking point.

The female knights’ composure shattered completely.

They clutched their chests, gasping for breath.

How had they lived their whole lives without seeing something this cute? Was this even a creature of this world?

Meanwhile, Ibi decided she’d have to ask for help cleaning her tail.

‘They might get annoyed, but staying dirty would be worse.’

She would have to be polite.

“…Chyu.”

“Hmm?”

“Chyuchut.”

Ibi shuffled forward shyly, bowed her head, and extended her round, fluffy backside and flattened tail toward them.

“Chyu-chut? (Could you clean this for me?)”

“—!”

Both knights inhaled sharply, reaching out at once.

“I’ll do it—”

“No, I will—”

They froze, glaring at each other. Sparks practically flew.

“Lisa, you must be tired. Let me.”

“Oh, don’t trouble yourself, Olga.”

“I insist.”

“Not necessary.”

Tap, stomp, tap!

They started a silent, vicious battle of foot-stomps.

When Baird tried to cut in, they both kicked him simultaneously.

Ibi turned her head at the commotion, blinking.

“Chyu?”

“Just a little noise, that’s all! Everything’s fine now,” Olga said sweetly, victoriously wiping Ibi’s tail with a soft cloth.

Ibi tilted her head, noticing Lisa crouched on the floor clutching her foot, and Baird lying sprawled behind her.

What on earth had just happened?