How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 81

The yearning on Elizabeth’s face stirred something in Aisha. Ideas gradually began to form in her mind, though she could not arrange them into any definite plan.

They continued circling her thoughts even after the ball ended, leaving her distracted in the carriage. Tina and Hock assumed she was simply tired and gave her space to remain quiet.

“You worked hard tonight, and you carried yourself very well in front of everyone. Wash up and go to bed early, Aisha.”

After they returned to the warmth of home, Tina kissed her cheek and spoke gently.

Aisha came back to herself and smiled. She kissed Tina’s cheek in return, then kissed her father.

“Good night, Mother. Good night, Father.”

“Good night, darling.”

Aisha returned to her room on quiet feet. A maid helped remove her makeup, but when the woman offered to undress her from the gown there in the bedroom, Aisha blushed unnaturally and declined. She said she could manage the rest herself and encouraged the maid to retire.

The maid was tired too. She accepted the suggestion gratefully and left with a yawn, closing the door carefully behind her.

The instant Aisha turned the lock, before she could even rise and go to the washroom to change, the light around her dimmed. She looked back to find that Les, who had been lying on the floor with his eyes closed, had somehow reached her side and transformed into a man.

“I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” Aisha asked apologetically.

The maid had lit a dim lamp to remove her makeup, and it was impossible to complete the task without making any sound at all.

“No… I was awake the whole time,” Les answered in his usual stiff voice.

He could never settle when Aisha had not returned. They had not been together long. He was not the charming, humorous sort of man women liked, and he was not human. Not long ago, he had angered Aisha by secretly remaining beside her in wolf form without telling her the truth.

Les could not help worrying that she might eventually discover that compared with him, the human soldiers who spoke more gracefully and behaved more honestly were better after all.

He wanted desperately to change, but in matters like these, he was too clumsy even to know where to begin.

And sooner or later, their different races would create conflicts of their own. The present situation was one example. The last time Aisha attended a ball, he had been far away on his fief in Beast, able only to watch and worry. This time, although he finally possessed the legal right to enter the country, he had still been forced to watch Aisha leave in all her beauty—while human men of her own race stood on the same platform, close enough to reach her with ease.

Truthfully, he was not accustomed to noisy social occasions like balls, nor did he enjoy or excel at dancing. Even so, when Aisha smiled most brightly on the dance floor, he wanted his hand to be the one holding hers.

At his answer, Aisha blushed and asked with shy expectation, “Were you waiting for me?”

“Yes.”

“Oh… thank you. Give me a moment to clean up, and then I’ll come to bed.”

Aisha smiled. She began taking down her hair as she moved toward the washroom, but Les caught her wrist.

“How… was the ball tonight?” he asked. “Did you enjoy… dancing?”

Les tried to phrase the question as indirectly as possible. His possessiveness was not so extreme that Aisha could never dance with anyone else, but he cared intensely about how she regarded human men—especially the soldiers she had admitted she found attractive.

“Hm? Oh, the ball was pleasant enough. The food was especially good. Everything tasted delicious.”

Aisha answered with a smile.

“But I didn’t dance. You know I’m not very good at formal ballroom dances. And I was worried about Elizabeth today, so I stayed with her the whole time. Oh, speaking of that, do you know ballroom dancing?”

Les stared. When he did not respond, Aisha explained shyly, “I actually thought I should learn last year, but I was still adjusting to everything then. After that, I went to Wold to study magic, and my parents never thought these lessons were essential. I had planned to ask Father to dance with me, or learn from Mother, but…”

Remembering what she had witnessed that evening, she smiled helplessly.

Unexpectedly yet somehow inevitably, Hock could not dance very well. Tina had pulled him around the floor all evening. Fortunately, he had looked rather happy to be dragged along, so the sight had not seemed too strange.

Her mother danced very well. She was a noblewoman by birth, after all. Although Tina was usually busy, she would probably make time to teach Aisha if asked.

But Aisha also wanted to find an opportunity to grow more intimate with Major General Wolf.

She looked at Les with a smile and asked tentatively, “…You do know how, don’t you?”

Les’s chest tightened. An indescribable emotion nearly surged out of him all at once. He nodded, paused, and said, “I do, but… I’m not especially skilled.”

Aisha could not keep the corners of her mouth from rising. “Then… will you teach me?”

“…Yes.”

“Really? Thank you! We can do it after we return to Wold. It’s still inconvenient while you need to hide your identity…”

As he watched her lips move in small, quick motions while she calculated when they could practice, Les’s chest burned. He had never known that such intense happiness and delight could come to him so easily.

In the dim light, the gentle lines of Aisha’s face appeared especially soft and lovely. Les bent down and wrapped his arms around her.

The sudden embrace startled Aisha, but she quickly understood and raised her arms around his neck. Les buried his face against her shoulder and tentatively kissed her neck, then her chin. Their bodies pressed together. He searched for her lips and found them in a sweet kiss.

After receiving several kisses, Aisha closed her eyes and returned several of her own. The heat of new love warmed them both.

White moonlight spread a romantic glow through the room.

Aisha opened her eyes and met Les’s gaze through a faint haze. Then they kissed more deeply. When her eyes opened again, she had to look aside in embarrassment. She smoothed a loose strand of hair from her cheek and smiled shyly.

“It’s late. I’m going to wash… You should sleep early too. Good night.”

“…Good night.”

Les nodded. But he knew he would wait for her to finish bathing and return, wait for her to lie down carrying the fragrance of clean skin, and wait for her to hug the quilt, lean toward him, and wish him good night once more before placing a gentle kiss at the corner of his mouth.

His gaze steadied. Holding her shoulder, he bent and kissed that same corner of her lips.

“Good night,” he repeated.

…

Aisha’s holiday lasted only two months. Although it was easy and happy, it felt terribly short. Once the ball ended, only a little time remained, and she had to begin considering her return to Micks.

Beyond the luggage she needed to pack, she remained deeply worried about Elizabeth.

Elizabeth seemed reluctant to let her leave. Whenever both of them had time, Aisha entered the palace to visit. Yet the king’s lessons for the prospective bride were apparently intense, so Aisha could still see her only once or twice a week. Each time, Elizabeth looked exhausted, with a shadow of sorrow curled beneath her eyes.

When she learned Aisha would depart soon, she became terribly dejected. She repeatedly begged Aisha to continue writing and asked that once Aisha mastered communication magic, she contact her without hesitation.

Elizabeth was plainly lonely. Aisha could not stop worrying when she remembered how poorly Elizabeth and her future husband had matched at the ball, and the words “I’m very afraid.”

And then there was what she had said about wanting to see the world at least once before marriage.

Aisha wanted to help, but she did not know where to begin. After considering the problem again and again, she finally went to trouble her mother before departing.

“…Take Princess Elizabeth to Wold?”

After hearing Aisha’s request, Tina looked at her and repeated it.

Aisha nodded and regarded her mother pleadingly. “But the places she is allowed to go seem very limited, and now she has lessons every day, so…”

“Yes, I know. I want to help Princess Elizabeth too. Her health has remained strong enough for ordinary activity these past few years, but her engagement is already scheduled for this autumn. Unless something unexpected happens, she will marry within a year or two. There isn’t much time.

“If I ask, the king probably won’t refuse outright, but we still need a sufficiently convincing reason…”

Tina frowned in frustration. The knuckle of her index finger tapped irritably against the tabletop. The problem plainly looked difficult.

Aisha knew her request had probably created trouble for her mother. She swallowed nervously and watched.

“That’s it!”

Tina’s eyes suddenly brightened with delight.

“This is an even-numbered year, and… the Tower of Magic’s mage ranking examinations are about to begin, aren’t they?”

Aisha blinked, then nodded.

The Tower of Magic examinations were, in effect, the world-famous ranking tournament and the competition for seats in the upper section. The battle over the upper-section positions in particular represented the highest level of magical ability in the world, and tickets for combat examinations could sell for astonishing prices.

Naturally, not every mage specialized in combat. The Tower of Magic’s competitive rules and examination categories were therefore varied and complex. After a thousand years of development, they could be called fair by almost every comprehensive standard. Combat events, however, were always the most direct and exciting. They required little specialist knowledge to understand and were therefore the most popular with ordinary spectators.

The Tower of Magic examinations were generally scheduled alongside admissions. The entrance examination was held at the end of March, while the ranking tournament and seat challenges began in early March. Many prospective students deliberately arrived a month early to watch.

Last year, however, Aisha had wanted to treasure the rare time she could spend with her parents and delayed her departure. By the time she reached Wold, the Tower of Magic examinations had just ended.

By that calculation, after Aisha returned to Micks, she probably would not remain in the Federation much longer. If Eric did not want to lose his ranking, he would have to return to Wold in time for the evaluations. Frey, the mage on the eighth floor of the upper section, had always hated Eric and coveted the ninth-floor position. Every year, he fought desperately to reclaim the higher chamber he had once occupied.

During her time as Eric’s student, Aisha had experienced Frey’s resentment toward him more than enough.

Of course, the Tower of Magic ranking tournament had nothing to do with Princess Elizabeth, who was not a mage. In even-numbered years, however, Wold hosted another world-renowned event.

“…The World Tournament at the Free Arena?” Aisha asked tentatively as understanding dawned.

“Exactly.” Tina nodded. “You know that every year, the tournament invites famous warriors, soldiers, and even public figures from outside the fighting professions to lend prestige to the event. I don’t know what to call that role. Something like a mascot, perhaps. In any case, both sides gain publicity.

“This year’s guests have not yet been chosen. They invited me before, but I refused. If Princess Elizabeth is willing, however, I can recommend her. Judging from precedent, any prince or princess invited is considered outstanding in talent, virtue, and appearance, with insight into combat equal to that of a soldier. Their fame and public approval both rise.

“Elizabeth has always been at a disadvantage in that respect. His Majesty Richard has recently arranged lessons and banquets for her because he wants her to build a reputation quickly. Then, when she becomes queen in another country, her path will be much smoother. Elizabeth is introverted. Achieving that by herself would be exhausting.

“If we use the tournament as our reason, I think His Majesty will agree.”

So that was it.

Aisha understood at last.

Until the age of sixteen, she had lived in a very isolated environment. Life in the towns around Philray had been quiet and happy, but most residents possessed little ambition and paid no attention to distant events unrelated to them. Aisha had learned of many famous spectacles only after coming to Vitas and spending a year in Wold.

The World Tournament was one example. Held by the Free Arena once every two years, it opened at the beginning of summer in even-numbered years.

Although the Free Arena ordinarily published rankings from its random matches, the World Tournament remained far more significant. Warriors and mages paid to participate in random matches, while the timing, venue, condition of the competitors, and strength and number of opponents all varied wildly. As a result, the rankings rose and fell quickly, with many changes every month.

The World Tournament was different. Spectators paid for admission, competitors entered voluntarily, and the event took place at a fixed time every two years. Prospective participants could prepare far in advance. The Free Arena provided its largest stadium—a gigantic venue ordinarily prohibitively expensive to rent—and established more complete, uniform rules and scoring standards.

The final rankings remained on display at the arena for two full years. Warriors and combat mages who placed highly received immense honor and powerful advantages whether they wished to join an army, become mercenaries, or pursue some other path.

Whether motivated by honor, fame, prize money, or something else, enormous numbers of competitors entered every tournament, and spectators arrived from every corner of the world.

Naturally, Aisha would never participate. Normally, her only role was to look amazed and curious whenever Pal told her about events like this.

But if it concerned Elizabeth…

The threshold for a World Tournament invitation was extremely high. The organizers generally rotated their invitations among the three major races, with occasional representatives from minority peoples such as dwarves and elves. When they invited a human prince or princess, the guest was usually a princess of the Helman Federation’s highest rank or an already famous prince. The honor was so great that almost no one refused.

As far as Aisha knew, the only royal to decline in the past was Queen Louisa. Aisha did not know why. Louisa had been extraordinarily gentle and amiable when they met, but apparently, she truly hated leaving home.

Under such circumstances, Princess Elizabeth—considered ordinary among princesses, lacking obvious accomplishments, and so frail and reclusive that many people might not even know her—was unlikely to receive an invitation.

But if Tina wrote a letter of recommendation…

“Of course, I can’t be certain they’ll listen merely because I recommend her,” Tina added, spreading her hands. “The final decision still belongs to the managers of the Free Arena. We can only try. If it fails, we’ll find another reason.”

…

Tina evidently succeeded.

Not long after returning to Wold, Aisha received an ecstatic letter from Elizabeth announcing that she would visit Wold at the end of spring and had been invited to attend the World Tournament.

But that would come a month and a half later.

For now, Aisha had only just finished her holiday and returned to Micks. She had to face her studies, her teachers and classmates—and a separation.

“I’m sorry, Aisha. I have to leave for a while.”

Les held Aisha’s hand against his chest and did not want to let go. He looked at her with apology in his eyes.

Only now did Les understand what Queen Louisa had meant before his departure when she said, “Perhaps by the time you return, you’ll be even less willing to leave her.”

The pain of separation was stronger than ever. Love had deepened both his affection for Aisha and his dependence upon her. Before they confirmed their relationship, the possibility of failure had always remained in his mind. A person prepared in advance for that outcome and learned to endure the separation that might come at any moment.

But after their relationship became certain…

Once he possessed this happiness, even a temporary parting became difficult to bear.

Still, diplomacy was the legitimate reason for his presence in the Helman Federation. He had to visit every country and observe its attitude toward Beast.

Les gazed at Aisha, emotion flickering in his blue-gray eyes.

Naturally, Aisha did not want to part from him either. Their romance had only just begun, and they remained passionately in love. Now that they could finally love one another openly, she did not want Les to leave her side.

After thinking, Les looked at her with solemn resolve.

“I’ll move as quickly as I can. Before spring arrives… I will find you in Wold.”

At those words, and at the steadfast expression unique to a soldier, Aisha finally relaxed. She rose onto her toes, placed a soft kiss on Major General Wolf’s lips, and forced herself to smile.

“…All right. I’ll wait for you.”