Chapter 018
Shaila woke to the sound of birds chirping outside her window, slowly regaining consciousness. Morning had arrived, and the sunlight was brilliant.
“Ah… wh-what is this!”
She felt a soft, squishy mass tickling her toes as she stretched. Startled, she threw back the covers and found Calion curled up at her feet.
“Ah, Shasha, are you awake?”
He approached her, wagging his tail enthusiastically, and licked her chin. His face was still heavy with sleep.
‘Right. I slept with him, didn’t I?’
She had always met him in his bedroom, so waking up together in her own bed gave her a fresh, new feeling.
“Shasha, did you have a nightmare?”
“No.”
“That’s good.”
What a sweet creature.
Shaila cupped his innocently smiling face with both hands, and while gazing at him, she suddenly noticed something astounding.
“Leon, you!”
“Yes?”
“Your ear, your right ear…!”
It was standing up!
Though it was only one, his right ear was more than halfway erect.
“What’s wrong with my ear? Has it become strange?”
“It’s standing up! It’s standing, I tell you!”
“Oh?”
Shaila picked him up and ran quickly to the mirror. She held him high so he could see his reflection.
“Look at this!”
“What?”
Calion touched his ear with his front paw. His right ear, which had always been folded, was now upright and twitching with life. Astonished, his round eyes grew even rounder.
“Shasha, my ear is standing! My ear is standing!”
“Yes! It’s real!”
Shaila hugged Calion and spun around. Even holding him for a moment made her arms tremble; he was growing.
“You’re getting bigger! You’re growing fast, Leon!”
“It’s thanks to Shasha! Wow! My ear is standing!”
Excited, he licked Shaila’s face and zipped around the room like an arrow.
* * *
The Duke of Graywolf returned to the castle in the morning after a turbulent day dealing with the Demos. He bore an honorable wound on his arm. Antonio was stunned by the sharp Demos claws that had pierced through the metal armor.
“The wound is not minor.”
It was a large gash, looking as if it had been caused by a scythe.
“How did those creatures reach the villages?”
“The attacks are becoming more frequent.”
Many who do not know the Kingdom of Azasha well think that ‘Demos’ is just the name of the demon army, but the true designation refers specifically to those monsters; they are the Demos.
Their physical strength and size made them difficult to confront. The demon army consisted of fearsome heavy knights, but they were less dangerous than the Demos themselves.
‘If only they could break through the Demos unit…’
The Graywolf knights were highly trained, but the Demos were not human—they were beasts. Today, a third of the knight force had deployed and managed to kill three out of five Demos. The remaining two escaped, and they could not be pursued due to their supernatural speed.
Watching the Demos move so freely, the Duke felt a sense of disquiet. He recalled the story of the Black Warrior, who descended into the Hamlock Mountains alone, armed with a single sword, and defeated all the Demos. He was the incarnation of the Black Wolf, the Great Ruler’s protector. This miraculous tale is known as the “Legend of the Black Wolf.”
‘Is it just a made-up story to give hope?’
Could a human power truly achieve that? Especially since Calion, who was born based on that prophecy, was in his current state…
Therefore, the Duke did not believe the legend. Rather, he began to doubt its authenticity.
“The doctor is coming from the temple. We will apply the available medicine for now. It will be painful.”
“…”
Blood seeped from the deep wound in his muscle. Antonio frowned instinctively. What agonizing pain. The wound looked excruciating, yet the Duke did not utter a single groan. It was a pity that the handsome young Duke’s face seemed to grow more sorrowful day by day.
* * *
“You look sad today, Princess.”
Said the maid who was braiding Shaila’s hair. The maid, Jessica Mallory, was around Shaila’s age and the daughter of a minor Northern noble. She wasn’t particularly friendly or skilled at lifting spirits, but Shaila occasionally called her to style her hair.
Honestly, no one in the North could match Shaila’s sense for hairstyling. The region was vast and the weather harsh, so balls did not flourish, and there was no high society to speak of. However, in order to hear news of the fief and to please the Duke and the butler, Shaila had chosen Jessica as a maid.
“How can I be happy? Hannah passed away like that.”
“Don’t worry too much about Hannah. The Head Maid has decided to hold a communal funeral for her.”
The dead are buried in the “Moon Cemetery” managed by the castle after a communal funeral.
“It is a great honor for her family, for a commoner maid.”
Her rough hands trembled slightly as she secured the hairpin. She was the best among the maids in Shaila’s eyes, yet she disappointed her. Shaila kept her disappointment hidden behind a composed silence.
“Thank you. You may go now.”
After Jessica bowed and left, a white ball of fluff that had been tickling Shaila’s foot emerged from under the vanity.
“Is she gone?”
“Yes, she left.”
Upon confirming the answer, Calion squeezed out of the narrow space. After waking up with Shaila, he had made excuses to stay in her room instead of returning to his own. He would hide near Shaila when the maid brought breakfast, when the Head Maid briefed her on the schedule, or when the maid helped her dress.
“You can stay out.”
“…”
“Are you afraid they will say something?”
Calion toyed with her feet, feigning indifference. The soft sensation tickled her, so she lifted him onto the vanity.
“Are you afraid of rumors?”
Rumors had not spread that Calion Graywolf, the Duke’s heir, was a wolf shifter because he went to great lengths to hide his identity.
“Don’t worry too much. The Duke has acknowledged you. Who would dare criticize?”
However, if this news spread through the North, chaos would ensue. But Shaila believed he had to face this challenge.
‘He can’t hide forever.’
What would become of his life? How could he continue hiding in his room, sneaking under beds for fear of being seen? Revealing his identity as a wolf would cause a great shock, but… only for a moment.
“It’s okay. We can overcome it together.”
Calion was the Duke’s legitimate son.
‘Even if he isn’t loved by the vassals, they cannot cast him out.’
There had been no divorce in the history of Graywolf, and thus no remarriage. The Duke might be able to do it if he wished, but Shaila saw him as a traditionalist. In other words, Calion was the sole heir to the Graywolf family. In the North, the Duke’s status was as solid as the Hamlock Mountains. Who would dare criticize the Duke’s son when his father had acknowledged him?
Shaila had calculated everything before making her suggestion.
“Don’t hide. If anyone says anything, I will scold them.”
“I don’t want to. I don’t want others to see me.”
He snapped back, shaking his four legs to get down. At that moment, a servant knocked on the door.
“Little Lady, the Duke is waiting for you.”
After the Duke’s injury, she had to visit him. There was no time for further debate with Calion.
“Do you want to accompany me? The Duke would be happy to see you…”
“No, go!”
He escaped her grasp, and as soon as his feet touched the floor, he hid under the vanity.
“Leon…”
Shaila felt a pang of sorrow seeing him run away from reality, but she couldn’t say more. How could she leave him alone in this state? She couldn’t bear to leave. She looked at him with concern, but the servant’s urgency pushed her to leave the dressing room.
As the door closed, she heard a faint whisper.
“I hate for people to know who I am.”
Shaila felt a weight in her chest as if a stone were pressing down on it.
