Elise moved her eyes nimbly to discern Tyllo’s intentions.
And quickly reached a conclusion – he was feigning anger to test her with lies.
What exactly he was testing, even Elise did not know.
But she could tell that if she tried to circumvent the situation with falsehoods here, he would censure her harshly.
Not that she had any intention of lying anyway.
Elise took a breath. And as she always did before saying something crucial, she paused briefly before speaking.
“Because it is Lysandro’s symbol.”
That much explanation sufficed.
From the moment she heard about the silver wolf from Melanie, Elise had considered ways to avoid harming it.
Ridiculous as it may seem, a family’s symbol can be more precious than a human life at times.
Tyllo mulled over Elise’s words for a long while before rising. Leaving her behind, he headed outside the tent.
“Summon the palace physician for Elise. Until she has recovered, no one is to enter here.”
Elise’s tensely raised shoulders drooped. A faint smile crossed her lips.
The king yielding his tent carried greater significance than any prize.
Tyllo believed Elise’s entire account and moreover, acknowledged her worth.
“Your Majesty, I must go in.”
Karan, who had been anxiously waiting outside, blocked Tyllo’s path as he tried to return to the festival grounds.
Karan’s eyes were bloodshot. Tyllo stared at him intently before nodding.
As Karan brushed past, Tyllo said one thing.
“You brought something useful.”
****
Karan menacingly approached Elise, who was stroking the silver wolf’s mane.
He knew she was injured. While everyone focused on the silver wolf, his eyes were only on Elise.
And he knew exactly who inflicted those wounds–that wolf!
Karan intended to pull out every last one of the silver wolf’s fangs. How dare it attack Elise!
The symbolism of the silver wolf meant nothing to him.
The silver wolf shook off Elise’s hand, standing with its mane bristling.
Lost in reviewing her conversation with Tyllo, Elise belatedly noticed Karan’s arrival.
“Your Highness, when did you…Your Highness!”
Before Elise could even greet him, Karan swung his sword at the silver wolf. It swiftly retreated back.
The tent’s contents scattered across the floor, kicked by the wolf’s paws.
The silver wolf who realized Karan was no easy opponent let out a low growl.
“Your Highness, don’t do it!”
Before Karan could attack again, Elise blocked him. Karan immediately sheathed his sword.
“Elise, it’s dangerous. Move aside.”
“Your Highness, why are you acting like this? Why so suddenly?”
Though Karan had acted impulsively, he had never been so reckless before today.
“You’re asking because you don’t know?”
Resentment could be felt from Karan’s face. His eyes were blazing.
It wasn’t the atmosphere for nodding, but Elise didn’t know why Karan was so angry.
She had no choice but to nod.
“Because you got hurt.”
Karan said with a furrowed brow.
“Ah…this?”
Elise raised her arm. Seeing the distinct bite mark on her pale arm, Karan felt like the world was flipping upside down.
“This is nothing. Uls let go right away. It’s not deep, see?”
Karan grabbed Elise’s outstretched arm to examine it. True to her words, the wound was not deep.
However, the depth of the wound meant nothing to Karan. What mattered was the fact that Elise was hurt.
So that wolf bastard had to die. He would tear its skin, flesh and bones to make it a crow’s meal.
“Your Highness, I’m really not in pain. If you’re still worried, you can apply the medicine yourself.”
It had been several months since Elise and Karan lived together.
Elise knew how to stop his anger. But she didn’t know how to diffuse it.
Karan sighed at her words as she blinked her big eyes.
“You treated it well for first aid.”
“The warriors you assigned to me did it.”
Karan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.
“Did I get caught?”
“Yes.”
“Were you angry?”
“No. But I was a bit disappointed.”
Karan raised his eyes from examining the wound.
“It felt like you didn’t trust me.”
Elise answered with a light smile at his questioning gaze. Bewilderment crossed Karan’s face.
“No, Elise. It’s not that I don’t trust you……”
“I know, you were worried about me. That’s why I’m not angry. I hope you don’t get angry either. You know why I took the risk.”
Elise gestured towards the silver wolf.
Her request was simple. If Karan forgave her for having people assigned to her, she wanted him to let the wolf go.
“An animal that bites a person once will bite again, Elise.”
Barbarians are not much different from animals. That’s why Karan knew the habits of animals better than anyone.
Moreover, that thing is a silver wolf. Not an animal that accepts dominance.
It may be docile now, but it could turn anytime and bite Elise.
“Your Highness, please trust me.”
After contemplating, Karan grabbed Elise’s uninjured arm and sat down.
Karan’s eyes met the growling wolf behind Elise.
Even though Karan hid his hostility, the wolf didn’t flatten its bristled fur.
The wolf knew Karan was superior, whether by strength or his relationship with the woman who persuaded it to come.
So it didn’t lower its tail and persisted. Puffing up in front of a powerful opponent was an animal’s survival instinct.
“Uls, come here. Behave.”
Elise reached out her hand to the wolf.
“Uls?”
Karan asked, gripping the medicine bottle.
“I named it. It was hard to call out.”
Naming held great significance.
It was too much affection for the creature that had bared its fangs at her.
Having to share Elise’s affection even with an animal, Karan wiped his hands with a displeased look and generously spread the ointment. Seeing the hole in her arm pained his heart.
“It will hurt.”
Contrary to his warning, Karan treated Elise’s wound as gently as handling a dandelion seed.
He thinly applied the medicine, barely making contact.
It was difficult for his rough hands to do such delicate work.
Elise couldn’t help but burst into laughter watching him furrow his brows in concentration.
“Does it hurt?”
“Would I laugh if it hurt, Your Highness?”
Elise freely waved her unhurt hand, showing she felt no pain at all.
She had a wolf seated at her feet and a man no less than a wolf in front of her.
Elise felt she could overcome any adversity that came her way.
****
At the time Tyllo and Elise were conversing, Chase met with Duke Odilon.
“How did this happen? Didn’t you say for certain that Elise wouldn’t be able to move?”
Chase snapped. Duke Odilon wiped the sweat from his brow.
“That’s what I thought. How could this be…The silver wolf would never do such a thing…”
Duke Odilon shook his head, clueless as well.
Their plan had completely fallen apart.
Chase had intended to come to Elise’s aid if she was in danger. She could have gotten hurt in the process, but sacrificing something small to gain something greater was a virtue.
Chase had even planted a spy to send a signal if Elise was in peril.
But no matter how long he waited, there was no signal from that spy.
Then Elise appeared with the silver wolf instead.
He had intended to capture her by any means necessary, but Elise returned as the victor instead of the captive.
Chase glared daggers at Tyllo’s tent until his eyes widened.
“This has already happened, so just find a way to deal with it, Duke.”
“Deal with it? As we agreed, take me off this matter.”
Hearing Duke Odilon’s anxious tone, Chase narrowed his eyes.
“What do you mean, Duke?”
“You agreed to take me off this if things went awry.”
“Didn’t you assure me things wouldn’t go wrong?”
The two confronted each other tensely, trying to shift the blame.
“Your Highness can just leave, but I live here. If what I’ve done comes to light…”
Duke Odilon’s hair stood on end.
“No one even got hurt and Elise returned safely, didn’t she? Would they really punish me so severely just for capturing some animal cub?”
Chase didn’t understand why Duke Odilon was so rattled.
All the Duke had done was tell Chase the location of the silver wolf who had lost her cub.
“It won’t be a problem.”
These words were practically for himself.
Since Elise was unharmed.
The issue to address was why the silver wolf appeared there, which was the Duke’s responsibility.
That was Chase’s conclusion.
“It wasn’t just some animal cub. It was a silver wolf!”
Duke Odilon flared up.
As few silver wolves remained, they received precious treatment abroad. Duke Odilon had coincidentally learned of a silver wolf den and smuggled out the cubs to sell for years.
Smuggling a nationally protected animal was a crime, but the bigger issue was that the animal was the symbol of the Lysandro royal family.
“If His Majesty questions me, I will confess honestly, Your Highness.”
The carefree look on Chase’s face hardened completely.
