How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 58

Everyone in this world had secrets. Louisa was no exception.

Born into the royal family, she had received an education beyond the reach of commoners without ever leaving the palace. The theological atmosphere of sacred Saint Regin had nurtured in her a serene, peaceful temperament. As first in the line of succession, she had inherited the throne without incident and remained close to her only sister throughout her life.

To most people, the one trouble in Louisa’s otherwise blessed existence was her extraordinary beauty—a concern so extravagant as to border on arrogance. Because her looks drew so much attention, her parents had feared they would invite disaster. They had done everything in their power to prevent her from leaving the castle and had never promised her hand in marriage.

Louisa remained unmarried to this day. Her current heir was her younger sister’s eldest daughter, a girl who had been raised very well.

…But after her parents died, Louisa alone knew that none of that was the truth.

Beauty could not overturn the world so easily. Besides, Louisa was growing older now and was no longer the young girl she had once been. There were plenty of young and beautiful women in the world. The student of Eric Green whom she had met that day, Tina Killott’s daughter, was a striking beauty herself.

Louisa narrowed her eyes.

She did not know what the world looked like to other people. At this moment, however, what she saw standing on the balcony of the room she had assigned to Eric’s young student was a tall, stern-faced young man. Beast ears rose from his hair, and there might have been a tail behind him. His expression revealed little, but inwardly, he had already begun to panic.

Eyes that pierced the truth.

It was an extraordinarily useful and extraordinarily dangerous form of innate magic. And whenever God gave something to a person, He took away something equally important in return.

Louisa’s natural eyesight was abysmal. Without magic, she saw nothing but indistinct patches of color and could not even move about safely. The amount of magic she had determined how long her sight could last. While her sight lasted, nothing could escape her gaze—not a person’s identity, emotions, true thoughts, nor anything else they desperately wished to hide. When it failed, she could see nothing at all and had to pass the long, tedious hours relying upon hearing and smell.

That was the true reason she could not leave Saint Regin and rarely ventured beyond the palace.

As everyone knew, gifted mages found it extremely difficult to increase either their magical power or their command of magic. Louisa’s ability also invited fear and exploitation, while her fragile eyesight left her unable to defend herself. Her parents had never dared reveal that she was a gifted mage. Even her magical education had been arranged vaguely and cautiously, for fear that any one teacher might spend too long with her.

Her progress had therefore been slow. Even now, Louisa could use her eyes for no more than four or five hours a day. She generally reserved that time for state affairs and audiences. During the remaining hours… she presented herself as a queen fond of quiet and solitude, whose only pleasures were music and listening while servants read aloud. She lived a remarkably simple life.

Her ability to see into human hearts ensured that the ministers and servants around her were loyal and upright. It also allowed her to gain an advantage in political negotiations with ease. Over the years, she had acquired a reputation as a wise queen. Apart from the regrettable absence of an heir of her own, she was considered a nearly perfect monarch.

Naturally, as her command of innate magic improved, Louisa had learned to conserve her power and devote every minute of sight to what mattered most. Even though it was now deep into the night, she had saved a little magic to observe the situation before her.

Two… enviable young people were staying in this guest room.

From what she had seen in the reception room that afternoon, they were an exceedingly awkward pair in the midst of falling in love. On the young man’s side, the feeling had already blossomed into a magnificent flower, one that quietly and cautiously longed for the day it might see sunlight. On the young woman’s side, a tender shoot had emerged and was growing at an encouraging speed. With just a little more help, it too might soon bloom.

There was no reason these two could not be together. They suited each other so rarely well, and their affection was mutual. If they ended the way that she and… that other person had, it would be far too great a shame.

Louisa smiled knowingly at the beastfolk man on the second-floor balcony, every muscle in his body drawn taut with vigilance.

Courting someone by living beside her in beast form—such a clumsy approach. Then again, what else should she have expected from a child raised by… that person? They were exactly alike. In a certain sense, they even shared the same obtuseness and stubborn devotion.

Louisa’s smile deepened.

With the sight sustained by her magic, she could naturally tell that the beastfolk major general before her was an exceptionally honorable soldier. Still…

Someone would have to give him a push.

After a brief pause, Louisa smiled with regal composure and spoke.

“Please do not be so tense, Major General Les Wolf. Rest assured, I mean no offense, nor do I intend any harm to you or the young girl in the room behind you. It is only…”

“You—”

Les’s brows drew sharply together, and the word escaped him in alarm.

“You find it strange?”

As though she had anticipated his reaction, Louisa remained perfectly composed. She closed her eyes and began her explanation in a tranquil voice.

She had prepared an excuse before coming and had no reason to panic.

“This is Micks, the kingdom on the border between the Helman Federation and the Beast Empire. Laws have long been in place to close the border and forbid residents from crossing. In practice, however, people’s movements are difficult to control—and love is even less predictable. As a result, many people of mixed heritage have still been born both here in Micks and in the southern cities of the Beast Empire. I imagine you are aware of that, Major General. Once one has spent enough time around them, there are ways to tell.”

*That was how?*

Les hesitated, his frown deepening.

Both the human and beast forms of the beastfolk were “perfect.” Outwardly, at least, neither form differed in essence from an ordinary human or animal. Of course, both bodies ultimately belonged to the same person, and subtle similarities appeared in countless tiny details, such as scent and appearance. But unless one knew a beastfolk intimately, such traces should never make their identity easy to discern.

Les had always taken particular care in that regard. Since entering Micks, he had never once changed into human form, so no one could possibly have witnessed the transformation. No matter how he considered it, Queen Louisa, who had never seen him as a man, should have had no reason to recognize him as beastfolk.

And yet…

Les’s brow furrowed.

Perhaps he had imagined it, but before the queen closed her eyes, the gaze she directed at him—or rather, at him and the entire room behind him—had seemed almost… loving.

Still…

Les had been born among the beastfolk of northern Beast and had rarely encountered anyone of mixed human and beastfolk heritage. He knew little about them and could not judge the truth of Louisa’s claim. After turning the matter over repeatedly, he remained wary, but gradually came to believe at least part of what she had said.

“Then, Queen Louisa…”

After a moment’s hesitation, Les transformed on the balcony. A pale shimmer passed over him, and a young man in his customary military uniform stood straight-backed in the wolf’s place, his face as stern as ever.

His identity had already been exposed, so there was no point in hiding it. Besides, it was more courteous to take human form when speaking with another person.

Les swallowed before saying, “I do not know why you have come, but Aisha knows nothing about my circumstances. She is only here to study with her professor, so…”

“Rest assured. As I have already said, I have no intention of harming either of you.” Louisa spoke slowly. “But Major General Wolf, if you will forgive my impertinence… you like that girl, do you not? And this is how you have been… courting her?”

Les went rigid. Heat flooded his cheeks beyond his control.

There could only ever be one answer to that question. His entire body taut, Les waited several seconds before giving the slightest nod.

Louisa had known the truth without needing an answer. Even so, she opened her eyes and spent a little magic to see his expression, then could not help smiling. After another brief pause, she continued.

“In fact, I merely wished to offer a small piece of advice, Major General Wolf. I am sure you understand that an ordinary human girl will not fall in love with a wild beast, no matter how closely they live together. Since you now have an officially approved identity that allows you to remain here—and, as I understand it, your visit will be both lengthy and extensive—I recommend that you spend more time with her as a beastfolk man.

“And… forgive me for speaking plainly, but it is not entirely appropriate for a general of the beastfolk to share a room with a young human woman. Naturally, we trust your character, Major General. Even so, allowing such an arrangement to continue would reflect poorly on us as hosts…”

Before Les could properly begin to feel mortified and ashamed by words that were somehow both tactful and painfully direct, Louisa rested for several seconds, pressed her lips together, and slowly continued.

“You are the first important visitor to arrive since the Federation and the Beast Empire passed their new legislation. We prepared a room for you long ago, and you may move into it whenever you wish. In addition, if Mr. Wolf is worried that leaving this room might create difficulties he cannot readily resolve, then as your host, I would be willing to offer whatever assistance lies within my power…”