Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The Silver Wolf
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Should I turn back and run away with all my might right now?
The long corridor connecting the main building and the annex was lined with rows of pale gray arcades, the space wide open on all sides.
The snowflakes that had begun falling yesterday only seemed to grow heavier.
If I ran away, where to? Where could I possibly flee?
Even if she dashed into the snow, Lara's steps wouldn't carry her more than a few paces before she was caught. And if she truly defied him, turning her back and bolting away, it felt like something horrific would happen.
Then deeper into the mansion, to Lara's room? How far had she come?
'That man is clearly human...'
Why did such intense fear grip her? Moreover, it felt different from the dread of facing a regular human. The man before her eyes seemed just like... a dangerous predator. A savage beast no human could ever hope to defeat.
"Oh dear. You look terrified. You don't need to be that scared."
The elegant man with snow-white, flowing hair spoke to the thoroughly frightened Lara with what seemed like pity.
"Your dress. It's soaked in blood. I'll heal it for you. Come here."
The man smiled casually, as if it were nothing. Lara glanced down at her own dress. Just as he said, blood was seeping out in spots.
Lara shook her head, forcing out a voice that barely emerged.
"No. I'm fine."
"Why? It hurts, doesn't it? Of course it does if blood's flowing."
"It doesn't hurt. Please leave."
"Well now..."
The man had closed the distance to right in front of her nose before she even noticed. Lara gasped sharply. The man seized a fistful of her hair.
"Why is it that those who won't listen to words are all so alike?"
"!"
The pain was so sudden and intense that Lara couldn't even scream. This man could kill her. Terror made her body tremble, tears welling in her eyes.
"You're just like your foolish mother. Uncannily so."
She couldn't grasp what he meant.
Mother? Who? Was he talking about my mother?
"Let... go."
The pain was too much for coherent thought. With her own strength, she could never escape his grip. Trembling violently, Lara barely managed the words, but the man ignored her completely.
Only now that he'd released her hair did her full eyes come into view, and he stared at them with keen interest.
"Such beautiful eyes. So fitting for a half-breed. That blood-red hue... it reminds me of someone."
"Ugh..."
"I should have found and dealt with you long ago. Funny how that slipped by."
The man kept muttering things she couldn't understand.
He gazed at her eyes and called them beautiful, but Lara felt no joy.
It was nothing like with Theodor. These were the same words she'd heard from him, yet from this man, they only filled her with chills and horror.
"Let... let go..."
"Should I just kill you right here? That might finally quench this long-burning rage of mine."
His piercing yellow eye glinted coldly as he spoke those gruesome words so casually. Like a beast with prey right under its nose.
"Imagine this beautiful winter garden stained with blood... Quite the sight, don't you think?"
"Hic."
"Haha. No need to be so scared. I haven't decided yet."
The man grinned. His gaze shifted to Lara's injured knee. Seizing the brief slack in his grip, she tried to flee—but it was futile.
As blood trickled from the torn skin, he tilted his head curiously.
"Humans are so fragile. Just a simple fall tears the skin and draws blood. And yet creatures this weak thrash so desperately to survive. Watching that is rather amusing, don't you agree, Lara?"
His grinning face as he spoke suggested he was no longer in his right mind. He looked nothing like an ordinary human now. His long white hair cascaded over her thigh.
"What shall we do with you? That's right—beg me to spare you, Lara. I might just let you live. If not, well, no helping it."
Tears threatened to spill from Lara's eyes. Her mind kept going blank, and she could do nothing. Her body was frozen solid, unable even to move. She lacked the courage or strength to push him away.
Was this how it ended—dying without putting up a fight?
She wanted Theodor.
"Hic... ugh..."
"Lara."
Lara's eyes flew wide, her trembling ceasing.
Cool air gently enveloped her from behind.
She knew that voice calling her name all too well.
"...Theo..."
Her voice caught in her throat like something was lodged there.
"Don't look."
Lara swallowed hard. Holding back tears, she nodded firmly.
"...Okay."
"No matter what sounds you hear, don't turn this way."
"Yes."
It felt like their first meeting all over again.
And like the warning he'd given her before leaving her alone in her room.
Her room was too far, and there was no blanket nearby to hide under, but Lara squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away.
Shrieeek—thud!
A whoosh of freezing air grazed her cheek, followed by a rustling crackle. She felt the man's grip on her hair slacken. Then came a strange, hollow, unsettling sound. Something solid shattering into pieces.
Lara kept her eyes tightly shut, body shaking.
She couldn't dare open them to see what was happening.
"...!"
Suddenly, something dropped onto her head, startling her into shrinking back.
The familiar scent of winter forest. It was Theodor's overcoat.
Lara cracked her eyes open just enough and clutched the fabric to keep it from falling.
Theodor's voice came from close by.
"You never listen to words."
His muttered tone was as cold as the surrounding air.
Was he angry? Of course—he was furious that she'd defied his order...
Lara didn't know how to respond. More than him scolding her, she feared disappointing him. She truly regretted disobeying.
"Why are you crying?"
Theodor asked. Clutching his coat, Lara let silent tears fall one by one.
"...I'm not angry."
A sigh-like sound escaped him. What was he to do with this child who couldn't even sob aloud? Lara was a mess. Blood flowed from her knee, and the long silver hair that man had gripped was tangled.
"Don't cry."
"Okay."
"And don't force it back."
"..."
Lara finally bowed her head.
"...Okay."
As if vowing not to defy him this time—though she still didn't dare open her eyes. A faint chuckle slipped from Theodor.
"You only obey at times like this."
"...I'm sorry."
Lara's head drooped even lower toward the floor.
She really shouldn't have sought him out. Staying quietly in her room as he'd ordered might have been better. To cause this trouble just because she couldn't wait two days.
Theodor had saved her life again.
"Sorry for what?"
"For defying your order... I'm sorry."
Watching her who still wouldn't lift her head, Theodor slowly removed his leather gloves.
His bare hand came into view.
Theodor let out a deep sigh.
"You're truly high-maintenance. Annoyingly so."
Theodor raised his hand to wipe the tears from her cheek.
It was warm. Warmer than she'd imagined.
"But I don't mind it. Wonder why. Now even I don't know."
Despite his words, his voice was gentler than before. Lara slowly raised her head.
And in that instant—
Dazzling light began to envelop him from his fingertips.
"Ah..."
Lara stared blankly, entranced. The light seemed to consume him bit by bit. Her eyes stung, so she blinked—and when she opened them again, a massive presence loomed before her.
'A wolf.'
Her breath caught.
It was a wolf.
With fur so blindingly white it shimmered silver, and eyes the same blood-red as Theodor's, staring right at her. Unmistakably a wolf.
Just like the one from the fairy tale books—beautiful and enormous.
"...Master Theo?"
The wolf approached slowly as Lara murmured his name in a daze.
It blinked once, languidly, as if in answer, then lowered itself before her.
'It's Master Theo. Really, it is.'
If this unbelievable truth was real, how should she accept it?
Yet strangely, Lara found it easy to embrace that Theodor was a massive wolf. She couldn't quite understand herself.
It felt as if he'd always been a wolf, from the start.
As Lara simply gazed at him, the wolf moved first.
Her feet lifted into the air in a whoosh, and instinctively, she clung to him. He'd nudged her up with his muzzle so swiftly she was left bewildered.
Atop the giant wolf's back, everywhere her hands touched was plush.
'So fluffy. And... soft.'
The softness lifted her spirits. To Lara, who still seemed dazed, Theodor spoke.
"Hold on tight. Anywhere."
The wolf's voice was unmistakably Theodor's. It resonated from deeper within, almost mystically whispering straight into her heart.
As Lara gently grasped his silver fur, Theodor began to move.
Cold winter wind brushed her nose differently. Snowflakes landed on the back of her hand.
Her view was high up. So massive was the wolf that Lara's head atop him nearly scraped the lofty arcade ceiling.
Lara had to confirm again: this wasn't a dream, was it? Had falling asleep in the corridor last night led to this strange dream?
The giant silver wolf growled low.
"Space out and you'll fall. I won't pick you up."
"...Okay."
Theodor leaped forward in a single bound.
It felt like soaring through the sky.
Fierce snowflakes shattered against her cheeks. From this height, both the main building and annex looked slightly different than usual.
It was like a dream.
Lara clung tightly to the enormous silver wolf carrying her.
Somehow, it seemed the wolf was smiling.
'Have I stepped into a fairy tale?'
Lara's heart pounded.
She wasn't afraid anymore.