How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 24

Les had run through the night to reach Aisha.

No—in truth, before running through that final night to Vitas, he had already spent over ten days and nights on the road with scarcely any rest.

Given Les’s height and weight, no eagle could carry him from Beast to Helman, whether he took human or beast form. Unlike Carter III, he could not cross from the western shore of the Divine Sea to the eastern in a single night on an eagle’s back.

Ships, however, were far too slow for Les’s needs. From the instant he decided to return and see her, he had not wanted to waste another second.

Fortunately, as a direwolf, Les possessed tremendous running speed. On the ground, he could keep pace with flying darkfolk and eagles.

He left the direwolf domain and ran first to the northernmost reaches of the Ring Continent. After crossing the island chains by boat, he traversed the entire darkfolk kingdom, crossed the border forest, and finally arrived here.

Moving through densely populated regions as a direwolf was difficult, so Les traveled by night whenever he passed a large city. He entered Vitas the same way, slipping inside under cover of darkness and following Aisha’s scent to the Killott estate.

Then…

He was deeply grateful that Aisha’s room had a fairly large balcony. In human form, he climbed the outer wall. When he saw her sleeping peacefully through the glass, an extraordinary calm settled over him. His long-held yearning and desire were fulfilled in an instant. At last, his restless heart grew peaceful.

Still…

Entering another person’s home without permission was hardly courteous.

Les had intended only to look at her once and leave at dawn.

But Aisha woke earlier than he expected.

The moment their eyes met, Les froze. He had not thought she would wake so soon. The sky had only begun to lighten, and he was preparing to go…

To his surprise, while Les stood there awkward and uneasy, Aisha leaped out of bed. Before he could react, the warmth of the house and the girl’s sweet fragrance rushed into his embrace.

“I missed you.”

Aisha sounded overjoyed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed her cheek against his fur.

Les’s face immediately burned.

He knew her meaning differed entirely from his own longing. But the words were not the only reason he blushed. Perhaps because the fires in the countess’s house burned so warmly, Aisha’s nightgown was exceptionally thin. In her excitement, she had jumped from bed barefoot, her clothes slightly askew…

A wolf’s nose was exceedingly sharp. The delicate fragrance lingering from Aisha’s bath the previous night came through with startling clarity. Les barely managed to suppress the urge to lower his head and kiss her.

At the same time, he scarcely dared look.

Aisha was truly delighted. Only yesterday, she had wondered whether she and the giant wolf had parted forever; she never imagined she would see him again today. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming. But the soft fur beneath her hands and the warm body against hers were too real, without any of a dream’s haze.

“Did you come to find me? Where did you come from? The north?”

Aisha noticed crusted snowflakes clinging to the fur along the wolf’s back. It had not snowed in Vitas. He must have run through the night from some distant, snowy place.

Only then did Aisha realize how cold it was outside. She quickly opened both balcony doors and invited the giant wolf into the warm room.

“Come to think of it… how did you get up here?”

She stared in amazement at the wolf who had somehow reached her second-floor room.

Naturally, she received no answer. Wolves could not speak.

Aisha imagined that talking to herself must look very foolish and blushed. After gathering herself, she continued anyway.

“There’s something else… I’ve always wanted to thank you. Thank you for saving me in Dimska.”

The gray wolf watched her silently with blue-gray eyes.

His gaze always seemed so tender and intelligent that Aisha could almost imagine she was loved by a wolf. Her eyes crinkled with her smile.

The smile dazed Les.

By the time he recovered, his nose was already pressed to Aisha’s neck as he gently breathed in her scent.

Les stopped abruptly. Horrified by his own discourtesy, he began to draw away.

But Aisha had already interpreted the behavior as an animal’s expression of affection. She naturally wrapped her arms around his neck again, rubbed against him, then swiftly kissed his mouth.

Les: …

Aisha had no idea that the face beneath the gray fur she embraced was burning hot. Her heart was filled entirely with the joy of reunion.

Of course she did not truly believe Fred’s claim that the wolf had understood his words and gone to Dimska to rescue her. Given everything the wolf had done, Aisha preferred to think he had grown close to her because she treated his wounds and earned his trust.

Then…

He waited for her beside the river every day. He traveled from Philray to Dimska to rescue her. Now he had come from somewhere unknown to stand upon her balcony at dawn.

Aisha did not understand why he had vanished for several months. But these facts were enough for her to reach one conclusion.

The wolf had come all this way just to find her.

He had accepted her as his companion.

Aisha rubbed his fur, deeply moved.

“How did you find me? I want to stay with you too, but this is different from Philray… I don’t know whether there’s a forest nearby where you could live. Would you stay in our garden? Or my room? Mm… but I don’t know whether Mama will agree…”

Tina had said only the previous day that Aisha could keep a pet, and that when she went to Wold, she could bring an animal with her. But the examples Tina offered clearly did not include a creature this large. Aisha could not be certain her mother would allow the giant wolf to remain.

And another thing…

Aisha suddenly realized how little she knew about his habits. She had never seen his life outside their meetings. Even if he stayed, she did not know how to care for him.

Besides…

She could not be certain whether he had come only to visit or intended to live with her.

Fortunately, there were other ways to read an animal’s feelings.

Aisha looked at the tail that had wagged continuously since she embraced him, so at odds with his stern appearance.

She made her decision.

“Wait here for me.”

Aisha opened her wardrobe, took several garments, and hurried behind the changing screen.

Les went rigid again. He knew he should not imagine anything, but the mere rustling made his ears burn. The damned screen was not entirely opaque. He could faintly see the girl’s silhouette moving behind it.

Every muscle in Les’s body drew tight.

Aisha did not take long. She emerged neatly dressed, her hair braided and pinned behind her head. She had even tied a ribbon into it.

“I’ll be right back.”

She kissed Les reassuringly on the forehead, then hurried out.

Left alone in the room, Les was confused. Five or six minutes later, a jumble of footsteps sounded in the corridor, and the situation became clear.

Two people approached.

Their scents revealed their identities.

Les straightened his back.

Tina and Aisha entered.

Les had seen the woman general once in the forest outside Dimska, but this was the first time she had seen him.

Tina Killott was rumored to be braver and more formidable than many men. At present, however, the identity that made Les most uneasy was *Aisha’s mother*.

Les was on edge.

Tina frowned, her expression impossible to read. She plainly paused at the wolf’s size, but showed no fear and strode toward him.

Les noticed the spear in her hand. Her steps were wary. She clearly had not lowered her guard.

“This is the wolf you mentioned?” Tina raised one eyebrow at Aisha. “He—”

Les’s heart rose into his throat.

His beast form was extremely distinctive. Unlike Carter III, whose animal shape remained a closely guarded secret, Les had always led charges at the front. Though he had served only five years, many people knew the beastfolk had a young major general descended from the ancient direwolves.

Les would not arrogantly assume that Tina Killott, who had become famous at least a decade before him, followed his career closely enough to know exactly what his beast form looked like. Even so, he feared she might make the connection. Soldiers paid close attention to officers in neighboring nations.

Tina finished her sentence.

“He is rather handsome.”

Les: …

Aisha had been worried too. Hearing her mother offer praise and sensing that Tina did not dislike the creature, she finally relaxed.

That was Mama for you.

Aisha remembered her own first sight of the giant wolf. His size exerted overwhelming pressure. Covered in blood and mud, he had looked savage and terrifying. Fear had left no room for any other impression.

She no longer feared him. Once that terror disappeared, she could appreciate his towering body, powerful muscles, thick smooth fur, and resolute blue-gray eyes.

Seen in that light, he truly was a beautiful creature.

“However…”

Tina frowned deeply and examined Les with new scrutiny.

“I don’t believe an animal like this is suitable for a garden, Aisha.”

She paused for several seconds.

“I have never seen a wolf so large or heard of such a breed. But as far as I know, there is one noble wolf clan among the beastfolk whose beast forms can reach this size. That clan has declined severely and now possesses only one surviving heir… Mm, I believe his name is Les Wolf. A very young major general.”