How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 76

Tina had clearly asked the kitchen to time dinner for Hock’s return. She had been waiting alone at the entrance to the dining room, growing anxious when no one appeared. The moment Hock and Aisha approached together, her face lit up.

First, she ruffled Aisha’s hair. Then she took Hock by the arm, lifted her face, and kissed him with easy familiarity. They exchanged a smile. Tina slipped her arm through his with practiced ease, and only then did they sit down at the table together.

Aisha took a seat beside them. The casual intimacy between her parents filled her with warmth as well.

…

Ten minutes later…

“Aisha… Aisha?”

“Huh?”

Only when she heard her mother calling did Aisha abruptly return to herself. Looking up, she found Tina and Hock watching her with worried faces.

“Aisha, are you all right?”

Tina relaxed a little when Aisha finally responded, but the concern in her eyes did not fade.

“What’s wrong? Are you tired after traveling for half the day? You seemed so energetic just now… Is dinner not to your liking?”

Her voice was full of uncertainty. Hock, too, studied Aisha with concern in his dark eyes, as though afraid she had fallen ill. Aisha stared, then noticed that she had been holding her fork without lifting a bite to her mouth for quite some time. The moment she realized why she had been distracted, heat flooded her cheeks.

She had been thinking about Major General Wolf.

They had only just become lovers, and she had hidden him in her bedroom upstairs. Naturally, she had spent dinner wishing she could hurry back to him. Without noticing, she had drifted so far into her thoughts that both her parents were staring.

Aisha hurriedly shook her head and smiled. “No, dinner is delicious. I may just be… tired and a little unused to this.”

In truth, because everyone had known she would return today, the meal was more lavish than usual and prepared according to her preferences. Aisha had no complaints. If anything felt unfamiliar, it was probably that dinner seemed too formal, making her unconsciously tense.

She had rarely attended formal occasions in the past. At Wold, she lived in the Tower of Magic, and life with Eric resembled life with an elderly grandmother: every day followed an extremely regular routine, though the pace of magical study was rather intense. Like the other mages and apprentices in the upper section of the Tower of Magic, Aisha cooked for herself. Usually, she only needed to prepare her own meals.

She had seen Thorne prepare Eric’s food, however. Beyond that, he was also responsible for the Tower of Magic’s daily maintenance, and he appeared exceptionally practiced at all of it.

The thought that those tasks might fall to her—the only student remaining—after Thorne graduated made Aisha nervous.

From her answer and the way she still could not relax over her meal, Tina clearly reached the same conclusion. Smiling, she patted her daughter’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. You know we don’t eat like this every day. Everything will return to normal tomorrow. You’re at home, so there’s no need to be so restrained. Still, you may have to dine at the royal palace one day. You should gradually learn to feel comfortable at occasions even more solemn than this one.”

Aisha smiled sheepishly to show she understood.

“Speaking of which…”

Hock considered for a moment, set down his utensils, and turned his deep black eyes toward Aisha. He still looked concerned.

“How have things been in Wold? When you came home this time… did your teacher have any objections?”

Aisha paused. It was much the same question Tina had asked that afternoon. Her parents were both worried about how she lived so far from home.

Hock’s voice was as steady and level as ever, with the weight of a mature man. Yet Aisha could hear the care beneath his somewhat awkward words. Smiling, she nodded and repeated what she had told Tina about her life that afternoon, omitting only the conversation about Les.

She noticed her mother give her a teasing smile when Tina caught the omission, which made Aisha’s cheeks redden. If her mother knew the man in question was already hiding in Aisha’s room, she would surely be angry no matter how things were explained.

Once she finished, Aisha pressed her lips together and tried to steady herself after the dreamy distraction of newly discovered love. She looked at her parents with focused curiosity.

“What about the two of you? How… have you been recently?”

Aisha had exchanged letters with Tina and Hock all this time, but letters were delayed, and there was only so much one could write or convey in them. Nothing was as easy as speaking face-to-face.

Aisha was not yet skilled enough to cast long-distance communication magic. She was very close, however. Perhaps after the holiday ended and she had studied a little longer, she would be able to communicate with her parents much more conveniently.

Tina looked delighted that Aisha wanted to hear about their lives.

“It’s still Federation meetings and the like. Sometimes we go to the royal palace, and occasionally we have to travel for work. Honestly, working with certain people is terribly irritating. It isn’t very interesting. Oh, and isn’t the Federation considering opening the border with the beastfolk of Beast? We need to conduct military evaluations as well. Hock and I generally take turns going, though of course sometimes we both have to attend. Your father only returned just now, as you saw… Mm, fortunately I haven’t forgotten everything we studied about this in school.”

Hock gave her a helpless look, though the corners of his mouth curved faintly. “Yes, indeed. Once the border opens, the beastfolk will send officials to visit as well.”

“I-is that so…”

“Yes, your father is right… Hm? Aisha, why is your face red again?”

“Oh, i-it’s nothing. Perhaps the dining room is too warm.”

Under her mother’s searching gaze, Aisha hastily touched her cheek with the cooler back of her hand. She could hardly admit that her parents’ conversation had made her think yet again of the boyfriend hidden in her room—or of the intimate things they had just done there.

To be safe, she could not reveal that she already knew Les’s identity, either. She could only stumble through a clumsy excuse.

Tina gave her a suspicious look, but fortunately did not dwell on it.

“Oh, that reminds me,” she said suddenly, apparently remembering something. “I met Princess Elizabeth a few days ago. She seemed very interested in when you would return and said she wanted to speak with you in person. If you’re willing, Aisha, you should visit her soon.”

Aisha stared, then quickly understood and nodded.

She knew what Tina meant. During the past few months, she had corresponded with Elizabeth alongside her letters to her parents. They wrote only about small matters between girls, or simply shared their worries and everyday lives, but the two had grown quite close.

Despite being a princess, Elizabeth was unexpectedly free of arrogance and an excellent listener, exactly as Aisha remembered her from Duke. At present, Elizabeth could be called Aisha’s only friend in Vitas. Aisha had therefore written to her before returning, and Elizabeth seemed to have been eagerly awaiting their meeting.

In that case, Aisha truly should visit as soon as possible. She would be resting in Vitas for quite a long time and had more than enough days to spare.

After deciding when she would see Elizabeth, Aisha continued chatting intermittently with her parents about everyday matters. But because her thoughts remained on Major General Wolf upstairs, she was still somewhat distracted and ate faster than usual.

…

“Um… do you need to take a bath?”

“…It’s all right. I can wash at the river.”

“But the river will be freezing. It’s winter…”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. It will be harder for anyone to discover me that way.”

After nightfall, Aisha sat on her bed with a pillow clutched to her chest, nervously watching Major General Wolf. To make their time alone more natural and convenient, Les had taken human form. He now sat on the floor as Major General Wolf, looking up at Aisha on the bed.

His gaze was so direct and intense that it made her terribly shy. Everything about their current situation felt strange.

There was not much time between dinner and Aisha’s usual bedtime. She had bathed at the normal hour, dried her hair, changed into her most conservative nightgown, and sat down on the bed. Night draped the new lovers in an additional layer of hazy intimacy. Aisha scarcely knew what to do with herself. Merely sitting beneath Les’s gaze made her skin feel hot enough to redden.

“Then… when are you going to sleep? Do you need to change?” she asked, although even she knew she was searching for something to say.

“I still need to contact the Beast Emperor after you fall asleep. I won’t change my clothes. I’ll sleep in beast form, so I’ll have fur.”

Les answered each question with complete honesty.

Most of his clothes remained in Wold with Pal. After arriving in Micks, however, he had purchased several additional sets, some of which had returned with them in Aisha’s luggage. The clothes and possessions carried by beastfolk in human form could transform with them when they assumed beast form. Naturally, there was a limit to how much they could carry, or the transformation might fail. Not even the beastfolk themselves knew where those things went while they were transformed.

In any case, Les had several changes of clothing in addition to what he wore and was in no danger of running out.

“Oh… I see.” Aisha tried to sound ordinary. “Then I’ll… go to sleep?”

“All right. Good night, Aisha.”

“Good night.”

Aisha slipped beneath the covers, turned her back to Les, and wrapped herself tightly in the thick winter quilt. A little while later, she sensed him extinguish the light for her.

After hesitating, she turned her head after all. The dim room gave her a little courage.

“Um… Mr. Wolf, are you sure you’re all right sleeping on the floor?”

The last time Les had stayed in Vitas, he had slept outside rather than in the house. For some reason, however, Tina had not suggested sending him to the forest this time. Knowing her mother, Aisha suspected she had simply forgotten.

In any event, unlike the Tower of Magic, Aisha’s bedroom had no designated place for Les to sleep. Of course, that place had been intended for a wolf, and even if it existed here, Aisha was not sure she could calmly ask Major General Wolf to use it now.

Les therefore intended to sleep on the floor beside her bed, where a small patch of clean, long-pile carpet offered enough room for a person. Aisha had given him one of her two pillows, but when she tried to offer him a quilt as well, he refused.

“I’ll sleep in beast form. I have fur, so I won’t be cold.”

“I have fur” seemed to be a universal explanation. Aisha had no idea whether possessing fur meant beastfolk could endure absolutely anything, but once again, that was Major General Wolf’s reason for refusing.

Whatever the case, Aisha could not help feeling guilty about sleeping in a soft bed while Major General Wolf lay on the floor.

At her question, Les paused. Even in the darkness, the moonlight spilling through the window allowed him to see her expression: the held breath, the nervous concern, and the trace of embarrassment as she gathered the courage to ask. His heart softened, and he felt profoundly grateful for her kindness.

“Yes, it’s fine,” he answered. After a pause, he added, “Conditions in the army are far harsher. If you still feel guilty…”

Les stopped moving. Before Aisha could react, he bent down, brushed a light kiss over her lips, and said, “Then let me kiss you once. We were interrupted this afternoon.”

The entire bundle of Aisha beneath the quilt went rigid.

Leaving aside the question of whether Les should sleep on the floor…

You already kissed me!

Being kissed in bed felt far more intimate than being kissed anywhere else. It had only been a light touch, yet Les had presented her with a choice and answered it himself without offering her any options at all. Aisha’s whole body locked beneath the quilt as she stared at him blankly.

Her gaze embarrassed Les. He did not know whether he had done something wrong. This was his first romance too, and he had no experience. Nor was he a mage who could contact someone at any moment to ask for advice on such matters. Even if he could, bothering other people all day long would be intolerable.

“…I’m sorry,” he finally managed.

“…Forget it.”

Aisha buried half her face in the quilt. She did not know why, but she always seemed shyer around Major General Wolf than she was at other times.

When she considered the problem seriously, she had no better solution to offer.

Was she supposed to… invite him into the bed with her? That would be far too fast, no matter how she looked at it.

Her cheeks grew hotter the longer she thought. She hurriedly wished him good night, burrowed into the quilt again, rolled over, and devoted all her strength to falling asleep.

Through the thick winter covers, she heard Major General Wolf speak softly outside.

“Good night, Aisha.”

…

For some reason, those words filled Aisha with peace, and she drifted to sleep without noticing. As a result, she did not hear Les’s conversation with the mysterious “Beast Emperor” that night. When she opened her eyes again, morning had already come.

Major General Wolf lay sleeping peacefully beside her bed in wolf form, his body curled into a ball with his head resting against his tail. His eyes remained closed, and his body rose and fell in a slow, even rhythm. He was plainly still asleep.

Perhaps because she knew Les could not see her, Aisha felt none of the nervousness that came when they faced each other awake. Propping her cheek on one hand against the pillow, she watched him with a faint smile as an inexplicable happiness welled inside her.

Looking at his beast form, she could almost picture the stern soldier asleep with his brow still furrowed.

“…Good morning,” Aisha whispered.

…

Her time in Vitas was a true holiday. Aisha had no classes and therefore very little to do. Hock and Tina both had work, and at least one of them came home late each day, so Aisha spent most of her time with Les.

They had only just become lovers and wanted nothing more than to remain together every moment. Les’s sensitive identity still had to be hidden from Mrs. Maxon and the servants coming and going through the house, but Aisha could claim she was reading and stay in her room for hours. Sometimes she and Les went for walks in the forest as well. The days passed pleasantly.

After several days of rest, Aisha gradually grew accustomed to life with a lover. Even walking beside the river while holding hands no longer embarrassed them as much as it had at first.

At the same time, Tina finally brought word that Aisha could visit Elizabeth the next day.

Elizabeth had wanted to see Aisha all along, but the king had recently hired an exceptionally strict private tutor who demanded that she study hard every day. Her schedule had become difficult to arrange, leaving Aisha to wait at home. When news finally arrived that Elizabeth had a day free, Aisha released a breath of relief.

Early the next morning, she rose, prepared herself with care, changed into particularly proper clothing, and went alone to the royal palace.

This was not Aisha’s first visit to the king’s palace. Yet no matter how many times she came, a place that embodied such nobility still left her feeling out of place, pressured, and uneasy.

She held her breath all the way through its halls. Only when a maid led her into Princess Elizabeth’s presence did she finally release it in a long exhale.

“Elizabeth!”

Delighted to see the princess again after so long, Aisha approached with a smile.

“Aisha!”

Elizabeth’s eyes immediately brightened at the sight of her. Her face flushed with excitement as she hurried forward.

They met halfway, embraced, and kissed each other on the cheek. Once the necessary greetings and pleasantries were complete, Aisha thought for a moment, drew her wand from her pocket, and said, “I’ve learned several new healing spells recently. If you don’t mind, may I try again to break the sealing magic on your wrist?”