How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 77

Aisha had never forgotten the magical seal on Princess Elizabeth’s wrist. She knew that when Elizabeth had told her, “If you ever find a way to undo it, come back and help me,” the princess had only been trying to lighten the mood and spare Aisha embarrassment. Even so, Aisha still wanted to help her if she could.

Naturally, she understood how small the chance of success was. Even renowned advanced mages had failed to solve the problem. For a mere apprentice mage, doing so would be extraordinarily difficult.

When Aisha produced her wand and made the earnest offer, Elizabeth stared for a moment. She apparently had not expected Aisha to remember all this time. Touched, she quickly smiled, raised her right wrist, and held it out.

“Yes, thank you. Then… please go ahead.”

Aisha drew a deep breath, lifted her wand, and began trying the healing spells she had recently learned.

After nearly a year of study, her magical power, concentration, technical skill, and repertoire had all improved dramatically. Combined with her experience treating injuries at Wold’s Free Arena and the new knowledge she had just acquired in the Kingdom of Micks, her command of healing magic now rivaled that of an ordinary graduate.

Of course, Aisha studied in the Tower of Magic, one of the world’s foremost magical institutions, and her teacher was Eric Green. Graduation there was far from easy. But judged on healing alone, she had already reached a respectable level.

White, pale blue, light green, and golden light appeared in turn at the tip of Aisha’s wand and over Elizabeth’s wrist, only to fade away again. Aisha bit her lip. A fine sheen of sweat had formed on her forehead, but the strange “knot” blocking the flow of magic through the center of Elizabeth’s wrist remained as solid as Aisha remembered. Nothing she tried could loosen it.

After a long while, Aisha finally expelled the breath she had been holding. Her grip slackened, the magical light vanished from the tip of her wand, and she panted for air.

Using this much magic no longer exhausted her completely. Casting many spells in rapid succession was still tiring, however, like sprinting several hundred meters (roughly 1,000–1,600 feet) without stopping.

At the sight of her, Elizabeth hurried forward to support her.

“I’m sorry. This is all because of me… You really don’t need to push yourself so hard. I’m used to it. Perhaps there isn’t anything so terrible about remaining this way.”

“I’m sorry. It seems I still can’t undo it.” Aisha looked up and forced an apologetic smile. “The healing spells I learned before, and my innate magic… all of them failed.”

“Oh…”

Elizabeth could not quite name what she felt. She had never expected success, but another failure inevitably left her discouraged.

“It’s all right. Advanced mages and professional healers have examined me before. They all said they had never seen this kind of magic. Perhaps it was… invented by the darkfolk, which would make it very difficult to break.”

“I see,” Aisha said after a pause.

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Judging by Elizabeth’s expression, Aisha suspected the same person had entered both their minds.

Brandon, the darkfolk prince.

Three years ago, the frail and sickly Elizabeth had received a precious opportunity to sit an entrance examination in Wold. The Advanced Warrior Academy she applied to did not use the forest examination of the Wold Warrior School. Instead, candidates apparently fought one another to determine their rankings.

During the examination, magic concealed each student’s identity and appearance, preventing either opponent from recognizing the other. This stopped candidates from arranging matches in advance and also prevented biased judgments from referees or examiners, thereby preserving fairness.

It was during that examination that Elizabeth encountered Brandon. He crushed her wrist, then placed a spell upon it that sealed her power.

Because of the examination’s rules, neither of them knew the other’s identity at the time. Yet judging by the darkfolk’s behavior in Dimska, Brandon must have broken the rules and privately investigated Elizabeth after the examination, discovering that she was a princess of Ryan, the strongest kingdom in the Helman Federation.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, had apparently never learned Brandon’s identity. Looking back now, Aisha realized that Elizabeth only discovered the man responsible for her suffering was the enemy prince when they were dragged before the so-called darkfolk prince and he inspected the girls’ wrists one by one. The shock she must have felt was easy to imagine. Yet because Elizabeth could not reveal her own identity then, she had been forced to offer Aisha a frightened explanation.

Still, many aspects of the entire affair were strange. If Brandon did not know whom he was fighting, why had he sealed Elizabeth’s wrist for no reason and then investigated her afterward? His attempt to find Elizabeth in Dimska might be explained as an effort to capture an enemy royal during wartime and use her as leverage. His original behavior, however, could only be attributed to the darkfolk’s innate brutality.

And there was another question.

How had he crushed Elizabeth’s wrist in the first place? Human wrists were not as fragile as they appeared. Even if the darkfolk naturally possessed greater muscle and strength than other races, the difference should not have been that extreme.

Elizabeth clearly retained a painful knot in her heart over the incident. Her face went pale, and she pressed her lips together in distress. But she soon shook her head and forced a bright smile for Aisha.

“Let’s not talk about this. You’ve finally come home, and once the holiday ends, we may not see each other again for a long time. We should discuss something happier.”

Elizabeth tried to behave as though nothing was wrong. She enthusiastically pulled Aisha down beside her, and the eyes that were astonishingly beautiful compared with her otherwise ordinary features shone with interest.

“Actually… there is something I wanted to tell you. I’m sorry I never mentioned it in my letters. I was afraid someone else might read them, and I worried that I wouldn’t explain myself clearly in writing, so I could never bring myself to tell you that way.”

Aisha readily cooperated when Elizabeth wanted to change the subject. Yet after hearing this introduction, she could not help staring. They had corresponded for a long time and, in Aisha’s opinion, discussed almost everything. She had not imagined Elizabeth still possessed a secret she could not bring herself to write down.

The princess looked so nervous and solemn that Aisha grew serious as well. Tilting her head, she asked, “…What is it?”

Elizabeth did not answer at once. She gazed silently at Aisha, and for some reason, her cheeks slowly reddened. Only after a long pause did she ask with great care, “Before I tell you, can you answer one question for me?”

Elizabeth’s voice was always soft. Now it was scarcely louder than a mosquito. She looked exceedingly nervous.

Aisha nodded in confusion.

The princess pressed a hand to her chest and took a breath. After checking that no one else was nearby, she looked timidly at Aisha and asked, “Aisha… is there anyone… you like?”

Thump!

Aisha jerked backward in alarm and struck her head against the wall behind her. The pain made her clutch her head as tears sprang into her eyes.

There was! Of course there was…

In an instant, the image of someone who could make her blush nearly to the point of explosion filled her mind: wild silver-gray hair, finely sculpted features, and a calm, stern gaze.

Only a few hours ago, when she was about to leave, that man had held her, bent down, and kissed her lips. He had murmured that he loved her beside her ear. His arms were always gentle, as though he were protecting some priceless treasure, yet still carried a soldier’s discipline and restraint. The gaze that had once frightened her could now make her melt. Merely remembering it was almost more than her heart could bear.

Constantly recalling such things truly was bad for one’s heart.

Aisha sat rigid in her chair, unable to move. Her cheeks felt hot enough to fry an egg. If someone happened to place one on her face, it might genuinely cook.

“Huh? There really is someone?” Elizabeth clearly had not expected such a violent reaction. She blinked in surprise. “Someone you met in Wold?”

No. She had met him in the forest of her hometown, Philray.

Although at the time, she had not known he belonged to a sapient race.

Thinking back on it was rather humiliating.

Fortunately, he was her boyfriend now.

All these truthful thoughts flashed through Aisha’s mind, but she could not voice any of them. Considering that her boyfriend’s entry into Ryan remained less than entirely legal, she nodded instead.

In any event, their relationship could not be made public yet. Major General Wolf was not currently supposed to be in Ryan. If she wanted to accept his confession openly, she would have to wait until they both returned to the Kingdom of Micks—or, to be safer, until they had both returned to Wold.

When she thought about it, Aisha sometimes felt rather guilty toward Les.

“Oh…”

Elizabeth did not react immediately to Aisha’s nod. Then she gave her a shy, happy smile.

“Then we’re the same.”

“Huh?”

Aisha stared.

Elizabeth gave a small, bashful nod. A blush appeared on skin made pale by years without sunlight. Yet for some reason, something felt wrong to Aisha. The princess did indeed look like a maiden in love, but there was an inexpressible sorrow in her face. Calling it genuine delight seemed far too great a stretch.

The princess spoke slowly.

“Yes… though my situation is probably a little different from yours.”

Elizabeth paused before continuing.

“It is someone I’ve met only a few times, but… I’m going to be engaged.”