How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 93

“Aisha, why do you think he… gave the victory flowers to me?”

In a room at the hotel, Elizabeth sat beside the window, holding Aisha’s hand while gazing outside. A trace of confusion seemed to linger in her eyes. Unconsciously, she touched her wrist. Because of the magic sealed within it, she still could not exert its full strength.

“You mean… Brandon?”

Aisha paused, then asked the question.

Elizabeth gave a slight nod, the confusion still plain in her eyes. “Was it because… he didn’t want to give them to Lieutenant General Killott? Or did he think it was pitiful that I hadn’t received any flowers…?”

As she spoke, Elizabeth frowned faintly and pressed her lips together, uncertain how she ought to interpret the incident.

In the blink of an eye, several days had passed since Brandon defeated Edward. Watching matches every day was tiring even for the judges and invited guests, so the World Tournament scheduled two-day rest periods from time to time. Today happened to be one of them. Worried about Elizabeth, Aisha had run from the Tower of Magic to the hotel opposite it early that morning.

After encountering the darkfolk prince in the market shortly after arriving in Wold, Elizabeth had been afraid to go outside for a couple of days. Fortunately, she had worked hard to recover. But after what happened at the match, her feelings had once again become rather complicated.

Prince Brandon giving her the flowers might just barely have fallen within the realm of expectation. His sudden embrace, however, had plainly startled her.

Aisha gently patted Elizabeth’s shoulder in comfort. She could understand how Elizabeth felt. If the same thing had happened to her, all manner of wild thoughts would surely have crept into her head as well.

After thinking for a moment, Aisha said, “Could it be… that he wanted to apologize for breaking your wrist before? Hmm, but if that were true…”

Halfway through, Aisha found herself unable to make the explanation hold together. If he felt guilty about what he had done to Elizabeth, why would he seal her wrist afterward? It made no sense…

After a pause, Aisha asked, “Did he say anything when he hugged you?”

Elizabeth looked somewhat embarrassed by the question.

The embrace truly had caught her off guard—not only because it had come entirely without warning, but also because…

Brandon’s movements had been unexpectedly gentle. Apart from the initial tug that pulled her toward him, he had barely used any force, almost as if… he were afraid of hurting her. He had even released her of his own accord before she had time to react.

For some reason, Elizabeth’s eyes shifted away. She shook her head and answered honestly in a soft voice, “No. He didn’t say anything.”

It was the complete lack of clues that made the gesture all the more unsettling.

Aisha sighed. That was true enough.

…

Aisha continued comforting Elizabeth until the princess finally smiled and said, “Never mind. I won’t think about it anymore. Sorry—I’ve made you worry about me again.” Only then did Aisha leave her room.

But in truth…

Remembering Elizabeth’s earlier expression and the way she had tried so hard to appear carefree, as if the matter no longer bothered her, Aisha could not help growing even more concerned. Elizabeth was insecure by nature. Though a princess, she was remarkably humble, and for that very reason her heart was delicate and sensitive. She was particularly afraid of becoming a burden to others.

Aisha hoped she was all right. She also hoped… that the darkfolk prince’s embrace had carried no deeper meaning, that it had simply been a casual gesture. And then there was one other thing…

If only she had a chance to ask him what magic he had placed on Elizabeth’s wrist. Perhaps then she could develop a counterspell and break the seal. Even if her own ability was insufficient, she could ask Eric for help. Of course… best of all would be for Brandon to remove the spell himself, though that possibility was probably rather remote.

Aisha silently sorted through these concerns and committed them to memory. Then she composed herself, restored a small smile to her face, turned to the room next door, and knocked.

“Aisha!”

Tina quickly opened the door. Delighted, she embraced Aisha and planted two rapid kisses on her cheek before stepping aside to let her in.

“You’re here earlier than I expected. I thought you girls would talk for longer… How is Princess Elizabeth? Does she seem well? Is she feeling unwell at all?”

“Mm. She looks fairly well.”

Aisha smiled naturally. For some reason, Tina always seemed to possess an inexhaustible supply of energy. Merely seeing her made Aisha feel more energetic too.

Elizabeth had focused rather too much on Brandon, which had left her spirits somewhat low, but there was certainly nothing wrong with her body. She appeared healthy, and her cheeks had remained rosy while they spoke.

Hearing that, Tina relaxed and smiled. “In that case, Princess Elizabeth’s illness may truly be improving. In the past, she would sometimes grow so weak that she couldn’t get out of bed for an entire day. She would have to rest for a while before she recovered, and her condition was always fluctuating… In recent years, apart from looking pale on occasion, she hasn’t shown anything unusual. I was worried the island climate of the Heart of the World might disagree with her and make her ill again, but it seems there’s no need to worry too much… By the way, Aisha, do you have any plans this afternoon?”

“Huh? Um…”

Aisha paused and answered awkwardly.

“I may be going out with Les this afternoon… so…”

“Oh. I see.”

Sure enough, Tina’s cheeks stiffened slightly, and her expression lost some of its simple happiness. She remained silent for a moment before reaching out to ruffle Aisha’s hair and smiling gently. “I almost forgot. You’re already all grown up.”

Aisha obediently lowered her head. She loved the feeling of Tina gently stroking her hair. Her mother’s warmth and nearness always gave her an indescribable sense of security, even if her hair sometimes ended up mussed. Still…

Aisha composed herself, raised her head, and asked, “Mother, do you… not like Les very much?”

She asked cautiously, but Tina had made her feelings rather obvious. When Aisha had written to say that she and Les were dating, Tina had rushed over from Vitas at an unimaginable speed. She had even reversed her decision and accepted the World Tournament invitation after all. Then, whenever Tina met Les in Wold, her smile plainly carried hostility and her words had thorns in them. Afterward, Tina often made a point of inviting Aisha out for tea or to stroll through Wold, leaving her less time to meet Les. Perhaps her mother genuinely only wanted to spend time with her, but… now and then, something in Tina’s casual remarks suggested that she did not want Aisha and Les to spend too long together.

Tina had not expected the question. Looking at her daughter’s earnest, nervous face, she stared for a moment before slowly saying, “Actually… I have no objection to him personally.”

“Huh?”

“It’s undeniable that Major General Wolf is an outstanding officer. He’s only twenty-two this year, isn’t he? Yet he’s already a major general. At his age, I was nowhere close to that rank. It was so long ago that I don’t remember clearly, but I may still have been struggling along as a junior officer. I’ve heard stories about him on the battlefield. He is an exceptionally brave and fearless young man, and even among beastfolk officers, very few possess equally high skill in both human and beast forms… All right, I’ve watched his recent matches, and apparently the stories weren’t exaggerated…”

At this point, Tina’s expression grew complicated. “From a soldier’s perspective alone, relations between humans and beastfolk have been good recently. Major General Wolf is also a diplomat dispatched to the Federation by the Beast Emperor, and my impression of him is favorable. As his senior, I have no reason to dislike him. To tell the truth, I admire him quite a bit. But…”

Tina paused, and sure enough, an expression of dislike crossed her face.

“That’s exactly what makes him even more infuriating.”

“…What?”

Aisha blinked in confusion. The first half had already surprised her, and she had not expected such a reversal afterward. Faced with the rare, almost willful expression on her mother’s face, she did not know whether to laugh or cry.

“But… why?”

Aisha had assumed her mother objected to his race, profession, personality, or something else. Yet apparently none of those were the reason. Tina had even said she admired Les.

A major general at twenty-two—even though Les had graduated from Wold Warrior School at fifteen and joined the army immediately, his rate of promotion remained astonishing. Moreover, he had not risen any further during the two years since the war ended, meaning he had actually become a major general at twenty. Of course, his family background played a part. His beast form and lineage gave him advantages, and the Beast Emperor who had raised him trusted him greatly, so Les had begun his career from a relatively high position. Nor did Tina have any reason to compare herself with him. As a woman, her path in the military had been far more difficult than a man’s, even though she too came from a martial family. For example, despite graduating from a military academy and holding the title of countess, she had been forced to begin as a noncommissioned officer. Until Tina finally established herself and claimed a place in the world, doubts about her gender had pursued her without end. Had she not won King Richard’s trust, or had she not concealed her marriage and family circumstances, her situation would probably have been worse still.

If Les’s achievements came from his extraordinary personal advantages, Tina’s carried truly revolutionary significance. Yet at this moment, the female lieutenant general who had never retreated or wavered on the battlefield revealed a trace of vulnerability.

Aisha stared. For the first time, she suddenly realized that the woman before her was already in her forties.

Tina pressed her lips together, bent slightly, and embraced her daughter.

“I don’t know how to explain it…” Tina said. “Maybe it’s because, if it’s someone like him, then it feels as though… you truly don’t need me to protect you anymore. But I… haven’t even had the chance to protect you for very long.”

“Mother…”

Startled, Aisha wrapped her arms around Tina’s shoulders. She could not possibly remain unmoved by those words. Her heart was crowded with emotions, but she did not know how to put them into words for Tina.

The room fell silent. Mother and daughter held each other, and through their breathing and heartbeats, they seemed to sense feelings richer than language could convey. Only after a long while did Tina release Aisha. She was clearly doing much better than she had moments ago and had already returned to her usual lively, forthright self. She patted Aisha’s shoulder and smiled. “Never mind. We can deal with my feelings when the time comes. Whether the two of you suit each other matters more than a parent’s opinion. So compared to that, what I’m really… rather worried about is the two of you.”

As she spoke, Tina’s expression grew more serious. She gazed at Aisha with the same brown-green eyes her daughter possessed, as if trying to see straight into her heart.

Tina seemed extremely hesitant about what she intended to say next. She paused for more than ten seconds before speaking.

“I don’t know whether you’ve thought about this… You know, Aisha, I have always hoped you would inherit my title one day—the title of Countess Killott. There is also an estate belonging to our family not far from Vitas. I showed it to you on a map before…”

Tina’s voice was even and slow, as though she wanted to make her words as easy for Aisha to understand as possible.

“But you should understand that Major General Wolf inherited the title left by his late parents when he came of age, as well as a vast direwolf domain in Beast… And the Ancient Direwolf Clan has served for generations as the final line of defense protecting Beast’s northern territory. He is already a true military officer. Spending a year or two accompanying you in Wold may not be a problem, but… I don’t believe he could ever leave Beast permanently. So…”