Chapter 14

"I'm sorry for troubling you, Mr. Cooper. It's late, so I'll stop disturbing you. I'll come over tomorrow morning to make a proper apology." Shannon decided to clean Marshmallow up that night. Tomorrow, Benjamin would see a sparkling, clean fox. Benjamin's expression remained aloof at her words. He nodded and told his butler, "Send her home." The butler nodded and politely led Shannon out of the manor. Even though Benjamin and Shannon lived in the same neighborhood, the butler still considerately arranged for a security guard to drop Shannon and Marshmallow off at the Jensen residence. Thomas was baffled when he saw her. He'd had no idea that Shannon had even left! And was she carrying a fox in her arms? "Ms. Shannon, this is…" He looked at Shannon and Marshmallow after seeing Benjamin's butler off. For a second, he didn't know where to start asking questions. When he saw that Shannon only wore a jacket over her pajamas, he hurriedly ushered her into the manor. As soon as she entered, she saw Hector standing by the staircase, evidently waiting for her. Meanwhile, Scott poked his head out from around the corner. He looked excited to see how things would unfold. When he saw Marshmallow, he couldn't help asking her in a hushed voice, "W-What's that in your arms? We're not allowed to have furry pets in the house!" Shannon glanced at him and said matter-of-factly, "If that's the case, how did you get in here?" He faltered, looking at her dazedly. Hector chuckled at her words. Scott's face turned red when he realized what Shannon meant and spluttered, "Y-You—" "It's late. Grandpa and the others should already be asleep," Shannon cut him off. Her words immediately extinguished the flames of his anger. He was rash, but he'd always known when he could and couldn't do anything stupid. One of the Jensen family's house rules was that no one could cause a ruckus at night. George was getting on in years and usually went to bed quite early. It'd be bad for his health to be rudely awakened. And so, even if Scott's blood was boiling because of Shannon's words, he had no choice but to suppress his anger and huffily tiptoe up the stairs. Shannon watched him leave before turning to Hector. Her attitude was completely different from how she'd been with Scott. She tightened her hold on Marshmallow and said, "This is my pet fox. It came to look for me because it knew that I'd moved out of the Gray residence." She paused, then continued, "I've rented a place for it elsewhere, so it'll only spend one night here. I'll send it back tomorrow morning." In other words, she wouldn't cause trouble for the Jensens. Hector couldn't help stop his heart from aching for her when he heard this. Shannon had evidently had Marshmallow for quite some time now, yet she hadn't kept it by her side—it had to be because the Gray family hadn't allowed it. Now that she was back in her own home, she hadn't even considered having Marshmallow by her side. Her caution made Hector's heart twist painfully. At the same time, his detest for the Gray family grew. Shannon was a daughter of the Jensen family and his sister—she should've grown up being doted on, yet the Gray family had mistreated her to the point that she didn't even dare to ask whether she could keep a pet by her side! Hector suppressed his dislike of the Gray family and stepped forward with a gentle smile. His tone was firm and affectionate as he said, "This is your home. You can keep your pet with you here as long as you want to." Shannon was taken aback. "But didn't Scott say that furry pets weren't allowed in the—" "You yourself said that he was allowed in the house, didn't you? I don't see why your fox can't be allowed in here," Hector interrupted her, using her rebuttal of Scott to answer her. At the same time, he tapped Marshmallow's head fondly and elegantly. When he saw Shannon staring dazedly at him, he smiled at her and said, "Don't worry about a thing. I'm here for you." His words warmed her. A subtle familiarity washed over her. She parted her lips, wanting to thank him. Then, she remembered him saying that she didn't need to thank him for anything. And so, she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and nodded obediently. "Okay." Shannon returned to her room with Marshmallow. It was only as she shut the door that she realized there was a faint smile curving her lips. She looked down at Marshmallow to see it looking curiously at her. She immediately dropped her smile and put on a stern look. She said, "Didn't we agree that you weren't allowed to run around on your own and that you would stay there? You almost became a barbecued fox tonight, you know?" Marshmallow seemed to be able to understand her. It jumped onto the floor and turned a circle innocently. Then, it gestured for her to check its pet knapsack. It seemed to be saying, "You've moved house, so I've come to join you. There's nothing wrong with it." Shannon snorted and crouched to undo the knapsack on its back. She smiled when she saw the things inside. Aside from a tin can of Marshmallow's food, the rest were the tools she needed for her work—talismans, cinnabar, and others. She'd been stuck in the hospital for three days because of the accident. Even though she'd gotten someone to go care for Marshmallow during that time, it had evidently been worried that she would run out of necessities. She rubbed Marshmallow's head approvingly before putting the things away. Since starting to learn mystic arts from Thalia, Shannon had rented a small apartment elsewhere. On one hand, she didn't want the Gray family to know she was learning these things. On the other hand, it was also more convenient for her to store her things there. That was why she hadn't taken anything from the Gray family after being kicked out—none of the things that mattered to her were at the Gray residence. Her plan had been to check on Marshmallow after settling down at the Jensen residence. She hadn't expected it to come searching for her… even if it had ended up going to the wrong place. It was already late at night, but Shannon still took Marshmallow to the bathroom to give it a good bath. Once she was done, she got into bed with Marshmallow in her arms and fell asleep. Perhaps it was because she'd stayed up late, but she woke up a little later than usual the following morning. When she opened her eyes and looked around the princess room, she was dazed. It took her a while to remember that she was in her new bedroom. As she tried to get used to the pink room, she heard someone scream downstairs. "It's a fox! Thomas, help!" Another voice rang out. "Where'd this wild fox come from? Hurry up and catch it!" Shannon became alert almost immediately. She shot up in bed and looked around but found it empty save for herself. Her expression changed as she listened to the screams and shouts downstairs. It was Marshmallow!