Volume 6 Chapter 42 The Wolf Princess’s Request
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Ha! You look just like a petty thief,” the Wolf Princess said.
”Ugh, smells like a rat… absolutely foul,” muttered Klock.
He hauled the gray sheets free, the fabric snagging against the narrow entry as he dragged the bedding out. The Wolf Princess slipped through first, then the Fox Princess, and last came the man who had been rifling greedily through the room.
”More food than weapons. Didn’t expect that. Just cheese, everywhere,” the Wolf Princess remarked.
”Move it. The stink of cheese will cling to these sheets,” Klock grumbled.
”Too late. Now it’s soaked through with rat-stench and cheese. Imagine living like this,” said the Fox Princess with disdain.
They slipped from the Guard Room at a jog, the path ahead arrow-straight, skirting the outside of the Great Hall. There were no branches; that meant if the guards returned, collision was inevitable. They had to reach the next floor first.
At the head, Kuzuha—the Fox Princess—halted abruptly. She raised two fingers, hand hovering close to the earth. The ground rippled unnaturally beneath her gesture.
”—Divination.”
A strange sensation crawled underfoot, as though something slithered through the soil. Magic, certainly. A fist-sized mound swelled at her feet and shot down the corridor, moving fast, splitting into four directions.
It looked like monstrous worms burrowing at impossible speed. The uncanny sight made the Wolf Princess glance at Klock, both of them unsettled.
”Water Thunder Tun. Celestial Water Song. Earthen Aquamancer—” Kuzuha intoned.
The ground swelled again, as if swimming through earth. Each mound disappeared, only to return one by one. Cracks webbed across the stone floor, pulsing like veins delivering blood back to her.
”Wind Heaven Small Livestock. Damn, we have to move. No—better if we turn back!” she shouted.
”Why? What are you even doing?” Klock asked.
”Questions later! Run!”
She bolted. The others followed, Klock abandoning thought for instinct. Already his breath hitched. The Beastkin sprinted with frightening ease; for a human man past his prime, keeping pace was agony.
The Wolf Princess loped beside him, turned with a flash of eyes, and her expression said plainly what she thought: pitiful.
”—Heaven as Heaven!”
Fueled by pride and irritation, he forced his legs harder.
”This way!” Kuzuha cried. “They’re probably descending, hurry!”
”…Some sort of detection, huh?” the Wolf Princess muttered.
The straight passage opened into forks. The broad central street surely led outward, but Kuzuha veered sharply into a side alley. If her words meant anything, straight ahead was a trap. Better to hide than collide. Fortune that she carried such magic.
”Hah… hah… hah—”
”Pathetic! Already out of breath? Your stamina is disgraceful,” the Wolf Princess snapped.
Minutes of full sprint had burned him hollow, pain stabbing his chest, every step torture. Finally, he slowed to a staggering walk. The princesses, far ahead, turned almost in unison. Neither glistened with sweat; both looked insultingly fresh.
”Pitiful. What slothful life makes a man so feeble?” mocked the Wolf Princess.
”Dragging us down in a moment like this? Ah—I see. You want me to pull you along. Very well. You have such convenient hair to grab,” she sneered.
”Haah… shut it. Go on without me… too much damn trouble,” Klock wheezed.
He stumbled forward, resisting the urge to collapse. Sweat streamed down his forehead, heat suffocated him, and their smug glances stung worse than fire. Why didn’t he have one of Suzette’s spell circles at hand?
”Unbelievable. Have you forgotten your role?” the Wolf Princess said.
”You’re the key-bearer. We can’t leave you,” Kuzuha reminded.
With a resigned sigh, they fell into step beside him. The crest-key was indispensable; without it, escape was impossible. That was why the Wolf Princess had decided to spare him in the first place.
The three pressed on through a narrow sandy corridor. Danger seemed to ebb; Kuzuha’s urgency faded, while the Wolf Princess kept wary eyes to their rear. Their twitching ears betrayed vigilance, but no clash came.
”…Dark here. Maybe disused,” Klock muttered.
”Human. Light the way,” the Wolf Princess ordered.
Burdened with bedding and food, the princesses left illumination to Klock, who carried a basket filled with glowing magic stones. Torch-bearer by default. If he’d been carrying heavier loads, he would have collapsed already.
Still panting, he moved ahead, raising the basket. Light spilled over a sandstone chamber. Natural, not crafted by hand. Likely the entire way out would be nothing but sand-choked passages.
”There’s dampness, but no water. Unfortunate. We’ll hole up here for now,” said the Wolf Princess.
The alley dead-ended in a cramped chamber, boxed in like a tomb. Perhaps once it had held ant eggs. With no cages or stones laid across it, it might remain overlooked for a while.
”I’ll scout,” Kuzuha said. “We need water anyway.”
Klock spread the threadbare bedding and arranged their stolen spoils as she stepped forward with her proposal.
”You offering on your own? Admirable. Fine—go.”
”…I’ll be back.”
Her brow furrowed for just a moment, but she left without complaint. She seemed to hate being ordered about by the Wolf Princess, yet here she was moving of her own will. What shift had turned in her?
”Oi. Hand me one of those sorry-looking cheeses.”
”…Here.”
He tossed her a wrapped bundle and rolled over a small flask with it.
”…Hm. White cheese. The rind’s edible.”
Her mood lifted, she bit into the pale block with relish. Catching it in the corner of his vision, Klock pressed a hand to his forehead.
”Lucky we found even scraps of food. No clothing, of course. I’ll tear the sheets later. And no weapons. They’ve got claws, but we’re empty-handed. The biggest problem is—”
”Mm? What?” she asked, chewing.
”—that they’ll raise the alarm. Stealing futons makes it obvious it wasn’t one of their own. Anyone’ll know it was us.”
Before Klock lay two futons, bundles of pilfered rations. They’d slipped into the Guard Room, phasing through the bars in the watchmen’s absence, and instead of escaping clean, they’d stolen everything they could carry. Food would’ve been risky enough. Futons made it blatant.
”No matter,” the Wolf Princess said. “We’ll only stay a short while. What we need is rest. Once the fighting starts, we’ll run until we’re free. Better to have some sleep than none.”
”Sure, but the longer we stay hidden, the better.”
”You worry over trifles. You’ve me. Think of it as riding a great wolf.”
With that she stuffed more cheese into her mouth. Likely the mole soldiers had snacked on the same. Food missing could be explained away as a comrade’s theft. Futons missing would scream prisoners.
A fortress this solid might have kept suspicion elsewhere—if they’d been careful. No one could leave without passing through or breaking the cage. If food vanished, the guards would’ve first suspected their own.
But no—the Wolf Princess had demanded the futons. The Fox Princess had agreed without hesitation. Just because they wanted to sleep on them. Klock had protested, but the two royals steamrolled him. Now he followed along, half-resigned, half-baffled at their whims.
Strong folk were the worst. No sense of tension. However powerful, even they could be overwhelmed if enough guards stormed them. …Well, unless they were at Cianie’s level.
He glanced at the Wolf Princess, sprawled across the spoils. She cared nothing for his worry, pleased enough with stolen rations. Lying on her back, tail flapping against the futon like a child fresh from the bath. Naked woman on bedding invited certain thoughts, but her antics erased any allure, making her seem more like a lazy brat.
”You’re staring too much.”
”Huh?”
”I said you’re staring. If you keep dousing me in that animal hunger, even I’ll feel embarrassed. Don’t ogle just because you’ve got the chance to see a princess’s body.”
Her half-glare branded his glance as lust. Irritated, he looked away.
”Honestly. Come here.”
”…What now?”
”It’s morning. The guards will be winding down. They won’t act until tomorrow. That’s the sort of creatures they are. You’d best sleep while you can. This may be your last proper rest.”
Morning, she said, with certainty. Somehow she could feel time, a beastkin’s inner clock sharper than any human’s. Proof of their superiority, Klock thought grimly.
”Only two futons, you know.”
”You refused to carry more. I’ll make space. Get over here.”
She laced her fingers behind her head, eyes narrowing, tail twitching like a restless foot.
”Wait, we’re sharing?”
”Of course. I grant you the honor of keeping me warm.”
Yawning wide, she turned to the wall, shifting to open room in the narrow bedding.
”You serious? A princess, sharing a futon with a strange man?”
”Already we lie naked in the same room. Better warmth than shivers. Or do you mean to confess you plan to assault me?”
She glanced back, flashing her fangs in a grin.
”No? Well then, think you could try? If you’re prepared for how it ends, perhaps test your luck.”
”…I’ll pass.”
Even without sharing bedding, the danger was constant: naked bodies, cold stone, dropping body heat. Futon alone could only blunt the chill from the ground. Fire-stones glowed dim, useless for warmth.
”Ha! Coward. Typical human weakling. My kin would have pounced without a thought.”
So wolfkin would risk being torn apart rather than hold back. Savage, reckless beasts. They had once ruled a whole country? A sorry reign it must have been.
”The way you put it, sounds like you want me to.”
”Interpret as you will. Behold: a princess, yet unmarried, still as pure as a hadaka-ishi (loose stone)—T/N: pun on ‘naked stone,’ meaning ‘virgin.’ Any male would burn to mark me his. That your body stirs at the sight isn’t sin. Only acting on it earns judgment.”
So: “Go ahead, but I’ll kill you after.” Wolfkin logic at its finest. Some desperate man might try, thinking it his first and last chance.
Suppressing the thought with a sigh, Klock sat beside her. She leaned on one elbow, watching him. When he lay down, her tail plopped across his body. Her leg stretched, tangling with his.
”…You’re in the way,” he muttered.
”Who ever said simply share my bed? I said keep me warm. If I wake and catch a chill, who will fight those filthy rats then?” she asked.
Her brow furrowed slightly, her face hinting at anger. Up close, her cheek looked impossibly soft.
”That’s… pretty much what humans call a lover’s thing,” he said.
”Idiot, don’t spout nonsense. On the battlefield we sleep close. Everyone rests in sight of each other, united in thought. I am their leader. Don’t pollute this with human values,” she said.
”Yeah… but does a princess mix into that?” he asked.
”What business of yours? A retainer warms the slippers. So if I lie like this, then your loyalty is to keep me warm with all your strength. Now move closer. Hold me tight so your body heat keeps me from the cold,” she said.
She wanted to insist this was ordinary. Was it really? Would she punish him later under some flimsy pretense, laughing it off as sport? Brushing the doubt aside, Klock wrapped an arm around her. She pressed in, snug against him.
”Heh. That’s better. Ah, now we’re both warm,” she said, smiling with satisfaction.
What the hell was this? Even handmaidens to noble daughters didn’t go this far.
He let out a slow sigh, careful not to let her notice. How ridiculous. What face would the Fox Princess make if she returned to find this scene? Well, once sleep came, none of it mattered. Closing his eyes, he suddenly recalled nights months ago—Adelina, small in frame like the Wolf Princess, curled against him in much the same position. She had vanished so suddenly. Where was she now?
”…Hey. Your tail keeps swishing. I can’t sleep,” he said.
”What do you mean? Do you dislike the sheen of my proud fur?” she asked.
”No… not like that. It’s just—distracting,” he said.
Rustle, swish. Her long tail flicked again and again, brushing his thigh to his knee, tickling, keeping him awake.
”This is enemy ground. Even I can’t relax easily. At this rate, I won’t be able to sleep at all,” she said.
She brushed off his protest and launched into her own concerns instead. Self-centered, unhurried, the Wolf Princess was as always—her way of dealing with others so reminiscent of Tiet that he almost found it natural now.
”…Klock. I want to sleep in comfort,” she said suddenly.
”…What more do you want from me?” he asked.
”Don’t make me spell it out. Must you shame me again?” she said.
Don’t shame her. The Wolf Princess’s whims always demanded he simply know. Women often expected men to move at their convenience. And men, in turn, thought: If you want it smooth, say it aloud. Stop the games. Speak.
”…Tch. Fine… you mean that thing from earlier. The licking. You want me to do that again? To test my loyalty?” he said.
She turned, eyes lingering on him—not sharp or piercing, but expectant.
Then—something pressed against his groin. Turning had caused her hand to brush him. An accident. A coincidence. Yet her hand didn’t pull away.
What the hell. She was more curious about this than she let on. Princess or not, was that really okay?
Notes:
• Suzette – The older maid from Viscount Fennec. The head maid at the Viscount Fennec’s villa. She is confident, clear-spoken, and professional.
• Cianie – A noble girl with a fluffy white and light blue dress, indicating her high status. She has a hesitant and flustered personality but is kind and courteous. Her relationship with Klock begins as an accidental encounter and develops into a romantic interest. She has a fiancé but expresses feelings for Klock, complicating their relationship.
• Adelina – The slave girl.
• Tiet – A companion and friend of Anna. A holy knight from the royal capital. She wears light armor and carries a shield adorned with a dragon holding a sword, indicating her affiliation with the National Military Police. She is concerned about Anna’s well-being and tries to support her emotionally.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply