How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 20

A ball was customary in the Kingdom of Ryan after a victorious campaign.

Every noble, officer, and minister in the kingdom appeared on the guest list, as did every soldier who had distinguished themselves in the war. A figure like Tina Killott could not possibly be absent. Hock, as deputy commander, and their daughter Aisha naturally received invitations as well.

Tina must have known for some time, but this was the first Aisha had heard that she too would attend. The news startled her. Yet after enduring the unpleasant conversation at Federation Headquarters, where she could scarcely get a word in, and returning home with her parents, Aisha discovered that among everything her mother had prepared for her was a formal gown.

A gown made specially for tonight’s ball.

“Do you like it?”

Once the maids finished dressing her, Tina eagerly pushed Aisha before a mirror.

“I had Mrs. Maxon send the designs to Dimska, and I chose it for you myself. I thought it would suit you.”

Aisha stared at her reflection.

This was the first opportunity she had ever had to wear such formal clothing—clothing she could not even put on without assistance. The maids had also helped her put on makeup for the first time. The sensation was unfamiliar, but…

Fresh and new.

Her mother was plainly delighted, nodding again and again.

“You’re prettier than I was at your age. It must be the part of you that resembles Hock. Come to think of it… several of the other designs they sent were lovely too. Perhaps I should have Mrs. Maxon order all of them another day. You’ll need gowns for palace balls, noble gatherings, school Christmas dances, graduation balls, and tea parties. Now that peace has come, we’ll host events ourselves. The ballroom has gone unused so long it’s nearly become a storeroom… Ah, in that case, perhaps I should ask Mrs. Maxon to bring in a jeweler and purchase several sets of jewelry for you…”

Mrs. Maxon was the household steward at the countess’s residence. She had managed its affairs for many years and handled communications while Tina and Hock were away, making her extremely important. Yet Aisha had met her for the first time only that day.

She was a stern, proper middle-aged woman who did not appear easy to approach. Not a hair escaped her immaculate arrangement, and her dark clothes fell in lines as straight as if drawn beneath a ruler. Because she always wore a severe expression, the maids fell silent whenever she appeared. Tina trusted her, however, and placed every matter, great or small, in her hands.

Now Tina continued listing things they might order with shining enthusiasm. Clearly, the ideas were not a passing impulse. She must have considered them often and merely lacked an opportunity to act. Aisha’s arrival had released all that pent-up excitement at once.

During the brief time Aisha spent staring into space, Tina worked her way from the top of her head all the way down to shoes.

Aisha laughed helplessly and reminded her, “Mama, I don’t need so many things. And I still have to prepare for the magic examination… Um, shouldn’t we be leaving soon?”

Only then did Tina check the clock. With a cry, she hurried away to complete the remaining preparations.

Aisha smiled as she watched her mother rush off.

In her eyes, Tina was the truly beautiful one. Aisha could never imitate that mature confidence. Her mother believed in her ability to achieve what she desired and would risk everything in the effort. That was why she had become a genuine hero.

Now that the war with the darkfolk had ended, Tina Killott’s name would unquestionably appear in every history book.

The palace ball was probably the first step toward making Tina’s family life public. The thought made Aisha nervous.

…

“Countess Tina Killott, Colonel Hock Byrd, and Miss Aisha Killott have arrived!”

After their carriage reached the palace, Aisha followed her parents carefully into the ballroom. She had taken only a few steps when the palace steward’s resonant announcement echoed through the entire hall and made her jump.

Realizing that *Aisha Killott* meant her, Aisha immediately blushed.

The Kingdom of Ryan used a dual-surname system. Both Aisha Byrd and Aisha Killott were therefore her legal names and could be used interchangeably. In formal settings, people generally chose the older, higher-ranking family name. If a title required an heir, the surname attached to that title took precedence.

By either standard, Aisha should follow her mother’s surname. She had used her father’s only to conceal her identity.

All of this was normal. But after more than a decade as Aisha Byrd, hearing another name still felt strange.

And…

That surname seemed certain to draw attention.

Sure enough, the instant the steward finished, many guests turned in astonishment and curiosity.

Aisha lowered her head and instinctively hid behind her parents as they entered the glittering crowd.

…

At the same moment, in Beast.

The Divine Sea separated the two shores of the Ring Continent, placing Beast and the Helman Federation four time zones apart. While Vitas blazed with lights until the city resembled a field of stars upon the earth, it was still afternoon in the beastfolk empire—the best part of the working day.

Les was running across the grasslands.

Several months earlier, when His Majesty asked whether he wished to return home and rest, Les had answered yes. Once the war ended and he lost his purpose for remaining near Aisha, he had nowhere to go but his own country.

Yet he stayed in Carter III’s palace only briefly. He had grown up there, but he was now an adult direwolf. The splendid chambers built for cats were no longer his home.

He now lived two hundred kilometers (about 124 miles) from Baika, on the lands of the wolf clan. This was the inheritance left by his biological parents.

His real home.

Endless plains. Open grasslands.

A comfortable temperate climate, and the birthplace of the ancient direwolves.

It was nearly the perfect environment for a direwolf. The cool wind moving through the long fur at Les’s neck as he ran could make him shudder with pleasure.

But whenever he opened his eyes amid that comfort and found no living creature with whom he could speak, a terrible loneliness closed around him.

Wolves lived in family groups.

And he was the last of the Ancient Direwolf Clan.

The last member of his family.

Les ran to the far edge of the grassland, stopping at a small, isolated castle beside a river. He shifted into human form and entered. The vassals waiting inside for a meeting looked at him in fear. A hall full of conversation fell so silent it might have contained no living thing.

Without looking aside, Les went directly upstairs.

Behind him came many quiet sighs of relief.

Most inhabitants of the direwolf domain belonged to other wolf clans or smaller and medium-sized peoples such as foxes, raccoons, and owls. Les’s immense size and his status as their lord placed enormous pressure upon them. Combined with his personality…

He knew he frightened them.

He had returned hoping to rest and bury certain feelings deep within himself. Yet home was less comfortable than an army camp. At least lions like Salman did not treat him so strangely. And Shalina, the serpent aide, cheerfully joked with officers despite possessing two venomous fangs that had “accidentally” killed four husbands.

Les’s heart sank further. He continued upstairs, walked straight to his room, and pushed open the door.

“Les.”

A great white cat sat upon the windowsill, mismatched eyes fixed quietly upon him. Beside the cat stood a red fox. At Les’s entrance, the fox inclined his head with elegance.

Les stopped in surprise. “Your Majesty…”

“Good afternoon, Les.” Carter III sprang lightly from the windowsill and walked toward him one unhurried step at a time. “I came to see you. You have been home for two months. Do you feel any better?”

“I…”

Les did not know how to answer.

If he were honest, then the answer was…

Not at all.

He had disappointed His Majesty. Time had neither healed the pain nor taught him to bear the loneliness. The more Les suppressed his feelings, the more often certain memories returned. Even now, merely hearing His Majesty ask after him brought Aisha’s face to mind.

The human girl beside the river, smiling with a basket in her arms, had been gentle and bright as sunlight. She had seemed to offer him a golden future.

And made his chest ache.

He wanted to see her.

He wanted to find her, remain beside her, press close to her warmth, and…

Create a future with her.

The thought alone made his chest swell until it seemed ready to split apart.

“I… still want to see her.”

In the end, he could not lie to His Majesty.

Les met the Beast Emperor’s eyes and spoke with blunt honesty.

“…I see. Should I say that is just what I would expect of my child…?”

The Beast Emperor sighed.

Before Les could react, Carter III shifted forms. Soft white light enveloped the emperor, spreading and gathering into the shape of a man. When the glow faded, a silver-haired man remained.

Carter III looked no different than he had more than a decade earlier. There was no trace of middle age upon him; at most, he appeared a mature adult. This, it was said, was another natural gift of cats.

His noble imperial blood made him as elegant and handsome as every emperor before him. Carter III was large for a cat, and his human form was consequently tall—though still not the equal of Les, who came from an enormous species.

He walked to a sofa beside the bed, arranged his red cloak edged in white fur, and sat with composure. Lounging to one side, he rested his head against the back of one hand and allowed his waterfall of silver hair to spill freely.

His eyes remained upon Les.

“I brought you a gift. It seems… I chose correctly.”

“What… is it?”

“Do you remember that, several months ago, I told you I had ordered the mages to find a way for me to see you? You are no longer in Helman, but those slow creatures have finally devised the magic. It can show you the surroundings of a person you wish to see, provided you know their name and approximate location. Unfortunately, the image and sound work in only one direction. You cannot communicate through it…”

With every word Carter III spoke, the shock inside Les grew. His face showed little, but the feline emperor who raised him could not miss those subtle changes.

There was the answer.

Carter III paused and looked toward the fox who accompanied him.

“Fawkes, if you please. Aisha Killott. She should be in Vitas, capital of the Kingdom of Ryan.”

The fox nodded quickly, closed his eyes, and rose onto his hind legs. His forepaws formed several gestures incomprehensible to an outsider. Before long, a vast magical array appeared before Les. Its markings faded, and another scene gradually sharpened within the circle…

Les clenched his fists without realizing it and stared at the magical image with unwavering focus.

The instant Aisha appeared, his heart began to pound.

He had never seen her dressed so splendidly. She appeared to be at a grand ball. Her hair had been pinned neatly behind her head, revealing a pale neck. A silver necklace adorned her delicate collarbones. Her off-the-shoulder gown bared smooth, fair shoulders and traced her slender young figure.

She looked shy and uncomfortable in such surroundings. Another young woman stood beside her, and the two had apparently been speaking. Now both seemed to have noticed something and looked surprised.

Les frowned.

Fawkes made several gestures, widening the scene. A strange man entered the image. He wore a well-cut black tailcoat. His gleaming hair was arranged without a strand out of place. A practiced smile rested upon his face, while his eyes shone with certainty of success.

He spoke slowly.

“Then… Miss Killott, may I have the honor of the next dance?”