How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 22

“I need to wait for my parents to return. I’m sorry.”

Aisha smiled apologetically at Tom.

…

Unaware that he had briefly stood in considerable danger, Tom did not give up easily. Aisha had to spend some time persuading him to leave. More than half an hour passed. Only when his retreating figure, still plainly reluctant, vanished into the crowd did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“…Why didn’t you dance with him?” Elizabeth asked curiously. She looked rather wistful at the thought of receiving such an invitation. “Dancing is just ordinary socializing. You don’t know many people in Vitas yet, so isn’t it good that someone came to speak to you? That man was… quite handsome too.”

Aisha smiled in embarrassment. “Actually… I don’t know how to dance.”

“What?”

“Well… I can’t say I don’t know at all, but I’m not very good.” She paused and looked toward the dance floor. “Besides… the dancing here seems different from Philray’s.”

It was perfectly natural that Aisha had never learned properly. Tina could not appear because of her identity and duties. Hock returned too rarely, while her grandmother’s legs were weak. No one had ever taught her.

Dancing was important in Philray as well, required at the Harvest Festival and many similar occasions. Aisha had picked up a little while playing with other children and from kind neighbors. But Philray’s dances were simple and lively, mostly linking arms and turning in circles. They had a distinct local character. In a small town, the rules were free, and mistakes did not matter.

Vitas was different.

Aisha knew this was not an occasion where she could afford to embarrass herself. She was not especially skilled at standard international ballroom dancing, so she chose not to dance at all.

A more lively, outgoing person might not have cared about a small mistake. But Aisha was… somewhat shy. She feared that her words or actions might fail to suit the daughter of a countess and disappoint her parents.

Elizabeth stared for a moment, then nodded in understanding.

“I see… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked when I didn’t understand.”

“It’s all right.” Aisha smiled. She did not mind the question. Honestly, she did not understand why Elizabeth, despite being a princess, treated her with such care. “What did you want to tell me before?”

Elizabeth had clearly come to find her for a reason, but before she could speak, the young man arrived to ask Aisha to dance.

“Oh, that. I wanted…” Caught off guard by the question, Elizabeth became flustered and spoke faster. “I wanted to apologize. I’m sorry… I didn’t stay beside you until the end in Dimska. I was the only person left with you then…”

Remembering that terrible moment, Elizabeth’s eyes reddened with guilt.

Aisha hurried to reassure her. “It really doesn’t matter. If you’d stayed, you might have made things harder for me. The… soldier who rescued me may not have been able to carry both of us out.”

“But… what if no one had come? What if General Killott hadn’t happened to reach you?”

“Then we probably couldn’t all have escaped—but I wouldn’t have been the only one left behind, would I? And you’re a princess. It was more important for you to get out.”

Aisha still did not reveal that a wolf, not a soldier, had rescued her. Everything else she said was sincere. The giant wolf had struggled to carry Aisha while fighting wave after wave of darkfolk soldiers. If he had also needed to carry Elizabeth, who could not fight, none of the three might have escaped.

Besides, Aisha had opened the cage she shared with Elizabeth first. Elizabeth could have left with the earliest group, once the rope was ready. Instead, she remained beside Aisha and departed only at the end. Aisha was already deeply grateful.

But her words did not dispel Elizabeth’s guilt. The princess lowered her head and clasped her right wrist with her left hand.

“…If my hand hadn’t been injured, perhaps I could have helped everyone.”

“Ah…”

Aisha looked at Elizabeth’s hands. They were pale and delicate, the hands of a noble girl never troubled by labor. To the naked eye, no trace of injury remained.

But Prince Brandon had broken Elizabeth’s wrist and used magic to seal her power. Aisha asked in concern, “Has your hand still not recovered?”

The question seemed difficult to answer. Elizabeth’s lashes trembled. After some thought, she said, “The physical injury healed long ago. But the magic sealing my power… has never been undone. Father has found many mages for me, and none could help.”

Magic that sealed…

Power?

Aisha considered, then asked carefully, “May I… examine it?”

She tried not to sound arrogant. If a princess said many mages had failed, then the king must have made a tremendous effort. Some who treated Elizabeth were probably renowned advanced mages. Aisha had never studied magic formally and could not compare herself with them.

The idea came only from what she experienced in Dimska. Gifted mages sometimes achieved things ordinary mages could not, and Aisha’s innate gift was healing. She did not know whether sealing magic counted as an injury or illness, but perhaps she could help.

Elizabeth plainly had the same hope. She nodded and offered her wrist.

Aisha took it and closed her eyes.

One or two minutes passed. Then Aisha opened her eyes and lowered them.

“I’m sorry. I…”

The sensation differed from everything she had encountered before. When Aisha sent her golden threads inward, she felt something within Elizabeth’s wrist obstructing them. But she could not dismantle it.

Her threads could only connect.

“…It’s all right. I’ve grown accustomed to it. I’m happy that you cared enough to try.”

Elizabeth smiled shyly. Rather than disappointed, she seemed to open up under Aisha’s concern.

“Um… You may not believe it, but I used to be… quite strong. My power didn’t seem to suit my body, so I was always ill. Now that it’s sealed, my health has actually improved. I was even allowed to attend a ball like this as an exception… Mm, although no one seems to recognize me…”

Elizabeth looked toward the lively dance floor with pleasure. Several seconds passed before she turned to Aisha again.

“You’re planning to study magic on Wold, aren’t you? Everyone goes there for higher education, no matter their country… My health has been good this year, and I escaped safely from Dimska. Perhaps Father will make an exception and allow me to sit the examination again. Mm… though if I still can’t use my power…”

Elizabeth paused.

“…It doesn’t matter.” She smiled. “If you discover a way to undo sealing magic while you’re there, will you come back and help me?”

Aisha blinked, then nodded eagerly.

She was indeed preparing to travel in March to Wold, the Heart of the World. Her mother had vaguely mentioned an unusual mage there who could teach students with innate gifts, though some special complication appeared to be involved. Their constant travel had left Tina no opportunity to explain in detail.

For now, one fact was certain: the examination took place in mid-March. It was already the end of December.

Aisha had little time to prepare.

…

Several hours later, across the Divine Sea in distant Beast.

The giant gray wolf swept into his castle once more like a whirlwind. This time, the great hall held none of his frightened vassals. The most exalted white cat in the empire sat there instead.

Carter III occupied a cushioned chair, swishing his tail lazily.

“Finished inspecting your territory?”

Les stood panting heavily. Sweat ran from his fur, leaving him thoroughly disheveled.

When Aisha rejected the human man, Les had to admit he felt relief. At the same time, his chest felt hollow.

No one in the world understood better than he how gentle and wonderful Aisha was. She was in the first bloom of youth, beautiful and kind, like a rosebud on the verge of opening. Sooner or later, suitors would appear. If not that man today, then someone else.

The thought alone agitated Les beyond endurance.

He almost never inspected his domain twice in one day, but earlier, he had used it as an excuse to leave the castle and get some air.

The cold air of his run seemed to clear his mind. Yet the pale moonlight set his blood boiling once more. Les did not know whether his decision was right or wrong.

But he had understood certain things.

Les shifted into human form and approached Carter III.

“Your Majesty… I want to see her.”

“Do you?”

The feline emperor’s voice was mild.

He could hear that this time, Les was not describing a feeling.

He was announcing a decision.

“You know, you are not the first person to try defying the rules.” Carter III spoke calmly, but nostalgia touched his voice. “What I once did was probably… even more serious than what you intend.”

Les paused in surprise. Carter III did not seem prepared to continue the story. After a moment, the emperor fixed his gaze upon the young man.

“Since you have decided, I will not stop you. But you know that even after the treaty opening the borders between us and the humans is signed, an officer cannot cross as he pleases. The fact that the girl you love is a general’s daughter complicates matters further…

“Until she genuinely trusts you—until you know she will not panic even after learning you are beastfolk—you must not reveal your identity. Can you do that?”

Les stood straight-backed and nodded.

His Majesty’s demand was reasonable. Even without the warning, Les would have done the same.

But…

Confusion appeared upon his habitually stern face.

“What must I do… to make her trust me?”

How could he earn her trust as a beast?

Or…

How could he make her love a beast?

“…Don’t look at me like that. I don’t know.” The feline emperor sighed. “If I knew, you would have a human adoptive mother by now, and the empire would possess a true empress. But…”

Carter III paused.

“Your circumstances should not be as bad as mine were. The girl… is a gifted mage who just completed basic education, yes? I investigated the matter you asked about. You will not need to remain in Helman for long. She will certainly travel to Wold soon, because in this entire world, only one person is widely acknowledged as capable of teaching gifted mages—”