♚Chapter 5: Wolves Form Packs
♚Chapter 5: Wolves Form Packs
KRISTER’S room smelled faintly of mold.
The walls were made of rough limestone, and the cramped space was furnished with only two work tables and the chair he sat on. It was far too small for a tailor’s workshop and too dark, lacking any windows to let in natural light.
But pincushions, measuring tape, scissors, and punch needles were scattered about. Several clothes were hanging on the back wall, further testifying that he was indeed working there.
“Mr. Tailor, this is our daughter,” Lauretta introduced Rock to Krister. “Her name is Roxy. She’s interested in sewing and seemed very taken by your embroidery.”
“Roxy…?” Krister repeated that name in a hoarse, cracked voice.
Of course, he had no way of knowing. All of the slum dwellers, including him, believed the owner of Floria Clothes Shop was a young man called Rock Floria.
And today, Rock was wearing a blue dress with amber embroidery to match the robes her aunt and uncle wore. A gold, gem-lined hairclip decorated her wine-colored tresses. It’d be impossible to mistake her for anything other than a woman unless you knew otherwise.
That was probably why Krister looked so terribly distraught.
He gave Rock a wild-eyed stare, completely disregarding Lauretta in the process.
Rock silently scowled, stopping the flustered tailor from saying something that could get them both killed.
“Is something the matter, Mr. Tailor?” Lauretta asked, suspicion edging into her voice.
“N-No, nothing’s wrong…” Krister responded as if he was coming up for air after being held underwater, his eyes still anchored on Rock.
Lauretta turned to follow his gaze, so Rock hurriedly injected herself into the conversation.
“He must be terribly busy, Auntie. His work table is cluttered with projects.”
“Oh dear, I didn’t realize…” Lauretta held her hand up to her lips in dismay, then apologetically continued, “Shall we come back another time, Roxy?”
“No, I—”
“I can at least chat if you don’t mind me working at the same time,” Krister said faster than Rock could. He glanced at Rock before turning back to Lauretta and saying, “I am humbled she has taken an interest in my embroidery. I know it’s rude to converse while I’m working, but I would love to speak with your daughter.”
“Really? I don’t mind if it doesn’t bother you, but…”
Lauretta seemed reluctant.
Perhaps she didn’t feel comfortable leaving Rock alone at the church during her first visit. But Rock also needed Lauretta to leave if she was ever going to get anywhere with her investigation.
“I’ll come find you as soon as we are finished talking shop, Auntie. Please tell me where I can find you.”
“I… I guess I will join my husband in speaking with the bishop,” Lauretta said, then she bowed to Krister. “I’m sorry to impose on you when you’re busy, Mr. Tailor. Please speak with my daughter for a little while.”
And then she left the cramped room without suspecting a thing.
The two tailors remained silent in the muffled underground room until the footsteps retreated into the distance. Once they were sure she was out of earshot, Krister looked up at Rock and cautiously asked:
“You’re…Rock Floria, aren’t ya?”
“I am. Long time no see, Krister.”
When Rock confirmed her identity, Krister leaned toward her to get a better look at her confounding appearance.
“Why’re ya dressed like a girl? Phoebe rub off on you?”
“That’s the first thing you want to ask?” Exasperated, Rock shrugged. “Spies need disguises, no?”
“That’s not all. Weren’t you just introduced as a noblewoman’s daughter? And not just any noblewoman, but that Lady Alexis!” Krister uttered her name as if it was the most terrifying one in the world.
That bothered Rock, but she decided to answer him first.
“Don’t worry about the small things. I’m more interested in your situation.”
“My situation…?”
“Why are you with the Werewolf Brotherhood? Tell me the truth.”
When Rock urged him to speak, terror filled Krister’s gaunt face. He lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper.
“I was kidnapped by the freakin’ cultists. They’re monsters, I tell ya! They just broke into my house in the middle of the night!”
His apartment definitely showed signs of a break-in. Phoebe said that if it was a kidnapping, it had to be a skilled group’s work. His guess seemed to be right on the money.
“Why were you kidnapped? You aren’t a werewolf, right?”
Krister’s eyes were the same charcoal-black that was listed on the missing person posters. He trembled like a tree in the middle of a tornado at the question.
“Don’t be ridiculous! Like hell I’d willingly become a damn werewolf!”
“Did they tell you to become one?”
“They told me they’d gladly grant me the power if I wanted it. But they only kidnapped me to work here.”
If they could offer the power that easily, then that meant someone in the Brotherhood had the ability to bestow the werewolf curse on others.
The same statue that turned Placido into a werewolf must still be somewhere in these ruins, she thought.
“They started off as ordinary customers.” Krister exhaled a shaky breath, as if recalling a traumatic memory. “I thought the money was too good to be true. But then they put in a huge order for thirty robes and were willing to pay for any expenses along the way. I jumped on the opportunity, and the customer was pretty nice at first, too.”
There’s always a catch when something sounds too good to be true.
Phoebe always stuck by that saying, but Krister didn’t. He stupidly accepted a job that smelled fishy.
“They couldn’t place that order in the capital. Blue robes are considered damned by that city’s churches, so no reputable tailor would touch that order with a thirty-foot pole. That’s why they came all the way out to the slums to find a tailor they could make disappear, if ya know what I mean. They settled on me, but it turns out they looked into you too.” Krister dropped his voice to an even more terrifying whisper, “They knew where you live.”
“What…?” Rock was speechless. Then she suddenly remembered the night she ran into Krister in front of her apartment. “Is that how you knew where I lived?”
“Yeah. They told me.”
“That’s hella creepy… And hey, shouldn’t that have freaked you out too?”
Shouldn’t there be a limit to how much caution and conscience someone’s willing to throw away in pursuit of riches?! Rock scowled, earning a bitter smile from him.
“You can say that again. I was a fool.” Sighing, he continued, “I got too full of myself. I deliberately delayed delivering the end product, hopin’ to milk ’em for all I could. I said crap like, ‘It’s taking longer than expected to get a hold of the fabric you wanted.’ That started to piss ’em off or somethin’, because the next thing I knew, I was trapped here, forced to do their bidding.”
“You reap what you sow.”
Krister seemed to have had that lesson burned into his very soul—he didn’t object to her criticism.
“But they’re still a hella crazy bunch, even without me screwing around. They broke my right leg the day they kidnapped me, saying it was to stop me from runnin’ away.”
“Your leg?”
Rock looked at Krister’s leg with a start.
Maybe the reason he’d never got up from his chair to greet them was because he couldn’t stand up. Was his right leg bandaged under his pants? It looked oddly bumpy and swollen around his knee.
“That’s horrible… Can you walk?”
“I can’t run, but I can manage if I drag the thing,” Krister replied bitterly, hugging his shoulders to stop shaking. “But that’s only where this nightmare began. Those bastards were the ones who broke my damn leg, but the second I said I’d work for ’em here, they suddenly started pitying me. They treated my injuries like they’d forgotten they were the damn monsters who caused them!!!”
Krister angrily shook his head, his shaking growing out of control.
“The bloody bastards are the nicest people in the world if you work for the Brotherhood. Like, eerily nice. It’s like they’ve forgotten they ever kidnapped me. They seem to think I came here of my own will.”
Rock sucked in a quiet breath.
His situation sounded eerily like hers. It was the same as how the Alexises doted on her like their own daughter, after they’d smashed her carriage apart and kidnapped her.
That was probably the curse’s effect.
It made people’s desires irresistible.
And once they had their desires fulfilled, they regained their original personalities and treated others with an unnatural level of kindness.
The werewolf curse is becoming more terrifying the more I learn about it, Rock lamented.
“You came to save me, didn’t you?” Krister asked, his eyes begging her for help.
“I’d love to say that’s the case, but I’ve got my hands full taking care of myself.”
Rock estimated she’d passed over a dozen cultists since entering the underground cathedral. She didn’t know how many were werewolves. There was at least one—her uncle.
Meanwhile, Rock lacked physical strength, and Krister could barely stand. Ebel and the others would come to their aid if her dove made it to them, but she’d no way of knowing if it had.
“Please! Help me! Get me outta this hellhole!” Krister pitifully cried out.
It’s not like she didn’t want to help him, but Rock didn’t have the strength to escape while supporting him.
“Don’t whine, Krister,” she rushed to placate him before he drew attention. “If everything goes right, help will come. And if it does, I promise to break you out too.”
“Only if it goes right? What happens if it goes wrong?” Krister asked, his voice trembling with fear of the answer.
“I’m trying not to think about it.”
I’m not alone.
That thought kept Rock going.
Of course, it was unfair to ask Krister to think the same way when he’d been isolated and helpless for so long.
“I can trust ya, can’t I…Rock Floria?”
Apprehension darkened his features, so Rock brought up the one thing she thought might lift his spirits.
“You don’t want Nisha seeing you look so scared, right?”
Mentioning her name had an immediate effect. Life returned to Krister’s face, and his glassy eyes regained their former mirth.
“Nisha… You met her?”
“Yeah. She was looking for you. She coughed up a pretty penny to put up missing person posters all over the slums.”
Nisha must’ve invested a lot of money in those posters. It would be a real shame if Krister didn’t make it back to her alive.
“Don’t waste her money. You’d better make it back alive, Krister.”
Those were the most effective words for a fellow money-lover.
“Nothing worse than wastin’ money! Thank you, Rock.” Krister bowed his head and wiped under his eyes. “I thought she’d have moved on by now.”
“You know she’s not that shallow. I would’ve never cared about finding you if not for her,” Rock snorted.
Krister frowned with unease. “I ain’t givin’ you Nisha.”
“You’d better not even try. Nisha ain’t gonna let ya go,” Rock retorted, using her best slum accent.
Seeing him get his spunk back was a real relief.
Rock wanted nothing more than to help him escape his underground prison that very day, but when she turned around looking for something to help her make that happen, she saw someone who wasn’t there before.
Placido Alexis was looming directly behind her.
He stood in the small room’s doorway, less noticeable than invisible gases in the air. How long had he been there?
“U-Uncle…” Rock uttered in shock, and Krister let out a terrified yelp.
Placido was all smiles in the face of their sheer panic.
“Roxy, doesn’t the tailor have a lot of work to do? You mustn’t overstay your welcome,” he said, his gold eyes narrowed on them in such a way that Rock couldn’t discern the emotion behind them.
But his smile gave her the chills.
How much of their conversation had he overheard? She hoped it was none, but he was a werewolf. He might have heard everything—
“Th-Thank you for your time, Mr. Tailor,” Rock hastily said goodbye to Krister.
Krister said nothing in return, his eyes nailed on Placido, his expression frozen in fear.
Rock followed Placido out of the room.
Her uncle turned around to face her after they’d proceeded a little ways down the narrow hallway. “Are you…acquainted with that tailor?”
So he did overhear, Rock thought.
She glared at Placido to hide her terror.
“I see not even those of noble blood are above eavesdropping,” she quipped.
“Nothing is below me when it comes to my precious niece.”
Placido didn’t take the bait. Instead, he grabbed Rock’s wrist, as if to drive his point home.
“I want you to know this, Roxy: I treasure you like I treasure Lauretta.”
His large hand tightened painfully around her wrist, sending the message that he could easily break her in two if he had to.
“But I won’t allow even you to be the cause of Lauretta’s sorrow.”
“Uncle, y-you’re hurting me,” Rock moaned, but Placido didn’t let go.
“I can’t let you go free for Lauretta’s sake. Do we have an understanding?”
The golden eyes looking down the bridge of his nose at her flared with insanity.
Rock had seen eyes just like that once before.
Those were the same eyes she’d come face to face with when Guido Linus had lured her to his mansion and trapped her in its storage room, while he was under the statue’s influence.
Sensing the danger, Rock reluctantly played along.
“…I understand you perfectly.”
She uttered words she didn’t mean, but she had to if she wanted to survive.
If nothing else, Placido seemed satisfied. He released Rock’s wrist and then suddenly looked apologetic.
“I apologize for coming across so threatening. To me, both you and Lauretta are irreplaceable.”
“I’m sure…you feel that way.”
He probably wouldn’t listen even if she told him that he was being driven to insanity by those feelings.
Rock couldn’t help hoping there was some way to break the spell on him.
“Are you ready to go, Roxy?” Placido asked, urging her on with a fatherly smile, entirely unaware of her inner turmoil.
“Go where, Uncle?” she asked as she rubbed her aching wrist.
“To see the bishop,” he responded with the epitome of gentle calm. “He wants to meet you.”
Rock had thrown herself into the heart of her enemy’s camp, hoping for this chance. And yet, she found herself trembling with fear, now that she’d gotten what she wanted.
♚♚♚
ROCK was led by Placido through the ancient ruins.
Mazelike passages had been carved out of the limestone and branched out in different directions along the way, but Placido carried on his path without getting lost. Had he traveled this route so many times that he knew it like the back of his hand? Or did his werewolf senses guide him? Either way, being forced to follow him into this maze was enough to put Rock on high alert.
Eventually, a wooden double door appeared in front of them.
Placido pushed it open with both hands, and the heavy door groaned with the effort.
A sprawling open space with high ceilings appeared. It was the only section of the ruins left like a natural cave, with several dozen small holes in the limestone ceiling. Narrow shafts of light spilled in through those holes, pouring down on the surroundings like a shimmering veil of silk. Fragrant wood incense was burning here too, and billows of smoke rose toward the ceiling, as if riding on the light.
But Rock’s full attention was directed to something altogether different from that beautiful display.
Her eyes fixed on a large, old stone statue enshrined in the back of the cavernous room.
Many years—centuries, perhaps—must have passed since it was made. The chiseled shape and features carved into the limestone had rounded and become ambiguous over time.
But Rock recognized it. The statue looked just like the one she’d bought at Lady Trilian’s shop. Like the one Guido Linus had gotten his hands on and cursed himself with.
The entire back wall had been carved out in the shape of that damned werewolf statue.
“This is…”
Placido wordlessly passed by Rock as she stared in terror at the wall. Her eyes tracked him as he walked toward the two people waiting in front of the life-size statue.
It was Lauretta and someone Rock didn’t know. The stranger was shorter and altogether smaller than Lauretta and wore the same blue wool satin faille robe. Their face was hidden under a white-painted wooden mask, revealing only their eyes and lips.
“Oh, hello, darling. I see you brought Roxy with you.” Lauretta’s voice sounded awfully chipper for the eerie atmosphere weighing over the whole room. “I was just speaking to the bishop about her.”
She looked to the petite masked person when she said that.
“Go on, Roxy. Greet the bishop,” Placido urged her.
“A-All right.”
Urge me all they want, but who in their right mind would want to speak to such a blatantly suspicious person?
Rock was wary, but Lord and Lady Alexis were watching her. She reluctantly stepped forward.
“How do you do? I’m Roxy,” she introduced herself, and the bishop slowly nodded.
“Roxy Alexis. I have already heard all about you.”
The bishop’s voice sounded so young that it took Rock by surprise. It had such an innocent tone, and the pitch was just at the level where it was impossible to tell if it was a boy or girl speaking.
“A young girl guided to your new family by the werewolf’s power. I pray that your path in life is always warm and filled with success,” the bishop said, faltering along the way, as if they were reading off a script.
It seemed only Rock was alarmed by that oddity. Both Placido and Lauretta listened with tranquil, reverent expressions.
And the bishop even had the nerve to call her Roxy Alexis.
I don’t remember ever relying on the werewolf’s power to guide me to a new family I didn’t want.
Rock’s opinion on that matter remained uncompromised and defiant.
“Now then, Roxy, I will bestow the blessing upon you,” the tiny bishop said, pointing to the area in front of the statue. “Lay there.”
They had pointed to an altar that looked like a bed carved out of stone.
Rock thought it was an altar because werewolves had been carved into its base as well. It came up to her knees and was just long enough for a person to lie across it without issue.
Obviously, Rock had no intention of obeying.
“Why?” Rock asked, not hiding the wariness from her voice.
“Didn’t you hear me?” the bishop replied in dulcet tones. “It’s to bestow the blessing upon you.”
“What is this blessing?” Rock asked her aunt and uncle since she didn’t think she’d get anywhere with the elusive bishop.
Unfortunately, it seemed they were just as confused. Lauretta gave her husband a questioning look and Placido voiced his doubts.
“We didn’t hear anything about this either, Bishop.”
“And you wouldn’t have,” the bishop said with a guileless nod. “The moonlight delivered the oracle to this altar just last night. The oracle told me to offer the statue a drop of blood from the newcomer and to bestow the blessing upon them.”
The werewolf curse would be unleashed when the statue received blood.
Knowing that, Rock blanched.
Lord and Lady Alexis also gave each other baffled looks.
“Does that mean Roxy will gain the werewolf’s power…?”
“With all due respect, Bishop, our daughter is as delicate as a flower, as I’m sure you can see. I doubt she will be of use to the Brotherhood even if she receives the werewolf blessing.”
“Do not misunderstand the blessing,” the bishop replied with absolute composure in the face of Lauretta’s confused frown and Placido’s objection. “It is not for the Brotherhood’s benefit but for hers.”
“You mean to say it is for Roxy’s own good?”
“Indeed. According to the oracle, this girl’s path in life is fraught with thorns. There is much she must fight and resist going ahead. The power of the werewolf is a blessing granted to overcome those obstacles.”
HOGWASH!
Rock resisted the urge to shout, but she couldn’t conceal her anger.
The bishop’s eyes gleamed through their mask as they took in the sight of her biting her lip.
“There’s nothing to fear, Roxy Alexis. You are about to obtain a wonderful power! It’s the power to crush every difficulty, obstacle, and enemy in your way, so you can fulfill your deepest wishes.”
Everything about the bishop’s voice, from its tone to its lilt, sounded terribly young. The way they spoke like a child clumsily reciting a poem from memory only ignited fear in Rock.
“Now…entrust yourself to the altar.”
“Hell no!”
Rock shouted out loud this time, but her feet were swept off the ground before she could make a run for it. Placido had picked her up and placed her on top of the altar.
“Uncle?!”
Placido looked down at his terrified niece with a calming smile.
“You heard the bishop. Not many people can receive this blessing. Gladly accept it.”
“What the hell are you saying?! I don’t want this shit!”
“Hell? Shit?” the bishop quietly repeated her unladylike word choice, as if they found fault with it. But they quickly shook their head and ordered Placido and Lauretta. “The ritual will be over quick. Both of you, please restrain your daughter.”
“Stop! Lemme go!”
Rock swung her arms and thrashed like her life depended on it.
But Placido pinned down her hands, preventing her from leaving the altar.
“This is a miraculous power! It is the only blessing granted to weaklings abandoned by the gods.”
The praying bishop pulled a slender dagger out of their robe pocket.
Rock became even more terrified when the needlelike tip gleamed in a shaft of sunlight.
“It’s all right. It’s just a little prick.”
The level of kindness in Placido’s soothing voice was downright eerie.
Rock wasn’t just afraid because she had witnessed the werewolf curse before.
She had a terrible feeling she wouldn’t be able to resist it right now.
She had an earnest wish buried deep within her—or rather, desires.
I want to go home. I want to reassure Father. I want to see Ebel.
I don’t want to be here!
I don’t want anything to do with something as terrifying as a curse. I wish I had the power to destroy every last thing connected to these statues that caused Ebel, Guido, and those around them to suffer so much.
If only I had the power to make it, so no one has to suffer again—
“Please! Don’t do this! I’m begging you!”
Rock’s plea devolved into screams.
She had a terrible, unshakeable feeling that if she were to receive the werewolf curse at this moment, she would lose herself forever.
She probably wouldn’t be satisfied until she’d destroyed everything and everyone in these ruins.
“I don’t need power! I absolutely don’t want it!”
Placido loosened his grip when he heard her strangled cry.
“Roxy…?”
He blinked in a daze, as if he’d just awoken from a dream.
Lauretta’s expression also changed, and she clung to the bishop, who had the dagger raised over Rock.
“Bishop, my daughter is terribly upset. Please let her go for today—”
“What has gotten into you two? There was an oracle. Oracles are absolute.” The suspicious bishop shook Lauretta off.
Lauretta rushed over and placed herself between the bishop and Rock.
“Please stop! My daughter is so terrified!”
“What happened to you? Why would such devout believers stand in my way…?”
The bishop tilted their neck, as if they were staring at an enigma they couldn’t understand.
Placido and Lauretta also seemed confused. They stiffened and exchanged perplexed looks
This was the time to escape.
With her arm restraints loosened, Rock sat up on the altar.
Just as she did, the double doors were thrown open with enough force to break them.
“Bishop!”
A man dressed in the cult’s blue robes barreled into the room.
“What’s the matter?” the bishop asked.
“We’ve got trouble!” the distraught man cried. “Werewolves! People who suddenly transformed into werewolves are rampaging in the sanctuary!”
“Werewolves?” the bishop repeated, emphasizing the plurality.
The man jerked his head up and down.
“Y-Yes. I saw at least two, both young men. They were praying in the sanctuary, when, without any warning, their clothes tore, and they became werewolves.”
“Impossible… Only those who’ve received the blessing can become werewolves,” the bishop muttered in their childish voice. “The people worshipping in the sanctuary haven’t received the blessing yet. Are you certain you didn’t see wrong?”
“I know what I saw!”
All the color had drained from the man’s face. His knees were shaking so hard they were smacking together—a sure sign he’d seen something terrifying.
“They’ve lost their minds! Please do something!” he begged for assistance from the bishop, as if the child were his one and only hope not to be eaten.
But his nightmare was Rock’s salvation.
Two young male werewolves the Brotherhood knows nothing about… They might just be…
Rock couldn’t sit still when she thought of that possibility.
She slid off the altar and ran at full speed for the doors, shoving the bishop and man out of her way as she went.
“Outta my way!”
Rock might not have been the strongest person out there, but the trembling man and child bishop posed no obstacle to her. They easily tumbled to the ground, and Rock took that opening to bolt from the cavernous room.
“Roxy!” Placido called after her a moment later as he regained his senses.
“Don’t go, Roxy! It’s dangerous! Come back!”
Rock heard Lauretta’s panicked plea as well, but she didn’t look back. She yanked up her dress so the hem wouldn’t get in the way and ran for her life in the direction of all the noise.
She didn’t know which way to go. But if she relied on the screams and commotion, she was sure to run into them.
I knew he’d come. I trusted he would absolutely rescue me. I’ve cried. I’ve suffered. Yet, I was able to endure it all and wait because I knew. And just as I’d hoped, he—they have come for me.
Rock was sure of it even before she saw him with her own eyes.
She was about to see Ebel again.
As she raced through the narrow corridors, she gradually started to make out more of the noises. Multiple screams and the sounds of people running around like crazy mixed into the louder bangs and crashes of stuff being destroyed. It sounded like beasts were going on a wild rampage.
Rock relied on those sounds to navigate her way through the mazelike corridors of the ancient ruins.
When she finally managed to return to what she assumed was the living quarters, Krister flashed to the front of her thoughts.
He should’ve been somewhere behind one of the many doors.
If she was going to run for it, then she should take him with her, but he’d only one good leg now. She didn’t have the strength or stamina to escape while supporting an adult man.
But rescuing him shouldn’t be hard if she could meet up with Ebel and the others. She had nothing to lose by confirming his whereabouts first.
With that in mind, Rock started searching the familiar living quarters.
Relying on her memory, she threw open the wooden doors and cloth partitions.
Every single room was empty—only the beds and simple furniture remained. It seemed like the cultists cohabited here, but maybe the residents had fled in all the commotion. Chairs were knocked over in some of the rooms, and half-eaten bread and opened books were left atop the tables.
The identical rooms continued on endlessly, with Krister’s workshop nowhere in sight.
I hope he got out all right, Rock thought as she left the nth room she’d checked.
Suddenly, someone clad in a blue robe appeared in the corridor she thought was empty.
It was a tall man. He had the hood low over his face, obscuring it from view, but he was quickly coming her way.
Rock freaked out for a moment, her back pressed up against the door, keeping her out of sight.
She considered running for it, but the robed man didn’t seem to be after Rock. He walked by as if he couldn’t care less about her, so Rock tried to run past him like she was fleeing the commotion.
“…!”
Then the man’s arm shot out and caught Rock around the waist.
Rock jumped back and cautiously looked up, just as the man used his other hand to pull down his hood.
“Don’t run away and spoil our touching reunion.”
The devious grin that appeared made Rock’s voice crack.
“…Father!”
There was her father’s face that was so comforting she could cry.
He had his chestnut-colored tresses tied back and his beautiful skin free of makeup. His blue eyes gazed down at his daughter lovingly.
Driven by joy and relief, Rock flung herself at him, and Phoebe caught his daughter, wrapping her up in his strong arms.
“Sorry I took so long, Roxy.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad you came,” she said, rubbing her face into her father’s muscled chest. It felt weird to press her cheek against the robe’s strange fabric rather than her father’s usual dresses, but it was still reassuring nevertheless.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything when it happened. You were kidnapped right before my eyes…”
“It’s all good, as long as you’re safe, Father. And I’m grateful you came for me.” After telling him the honest truth, Rock tugged on the robe he was wearing. “But where’d this come from? Why are you wearing it?”
Phoebe was wearing the blue wool satin faille robe over his favorite leather armor. She could see his sword pommel poking out through the robe opening, telling her he’d come armed for a fight.
“I borrowed it from a guy,” Phoebe answered without a lick of guilt. Then he caressed his daughter’s cheeks in both hands and turned serious.
“We couldn’t just barge in through the front doors, y’know? We were able to follow the Alexis family’s carriage thanks to the dove you set free, but things got trickier from there. We made a couple of people outside and inside the ruins take a little nap and stripped them of these robes that are seriously in bad taste.”
He cast his gaze toward the unceasing ruckus.
“His Excellency, Lord Linus, and I came down into the ruins. Lady Michaela and Johanna are waiting in the carriages outside.”
Apparently, this was a full-scale rescue mission.
Rock was moved to tears as she thought of each person who had come for her.
“You’ll reach the main sanctuary if you return down the path I came. You can’t miss it—the hall’s full of benches.”
Phoebe jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, pointing out his path. The main sanctuary room was probably the same space she’d passed on her way here. She’d seen the cultists with their heads bowed in prayer there.
“His Excellency and Lord Linus are tearing the place apart as we speak. The plan was to scare the living daylights outta the cultists until they ran for it, which seems to have gone swimmingly. It’s safer there now. Go to him.”
“Okay. Thank you, Father.” Rock nodded, then shared the information she had obtained during her time there. “By the way, I ran into Krister here.”
Phoebe furrowed his brows.
“Krister? Was he in one piece?”
“He’s alive. He said they broke his leg when they kidnapped him.”
“And here I thought he’d willingly joined their ranks,” Phoebe said sarcastically, but he couldn’t hide his smile. He was probably relieved to hear the other tailor was mostly okay.
“I met with him in this area earlier. He might still be around here somewhere.”
“Should I fetch him while I scout out the area?”
Phoebe seemed keen on looking for him, so Rock quickly let him know what he needed to watch out for.
“Watch out, Lord and Lady Alexis are further in. They’re with someone called the bishop, who seems like a child to me.”
“A child?” Phoebe raised an eyebrow but shook his head, seemingly deciding it was best not to think about it. “I’ll just look for Krister right now. Go find His Excellency in the sanctuary.”
“I will. But try not to get hurt, Father.”
Rock trusted her father’s skills, but she still worried about him.
“I won’t get hurt,” Phoebe answered her worry with confidence. “We’ve gotta get home and open up shop before the dust settles.”
“You’ve got that right. I’d hate for everyone to think we ran away from paying rent.”
Keeping the shop closed for days was horrible for business.
If we get home safe, I need to quickly get business going again and make back our losses.
“See you later, Roxy,” Phoebe said, lowering his arms so she could leave. But after looking down at her face like he was loath to part with her, he closed the gap between them and pecked her on the forehead.
The sensation tickled a laugh out of her.
“That’s embarrassing, Father.”
“You did it first. I’m just getting revenge!”
After that light exchange, father and daughter temporarily parted with a smile.
Rock broke into another run toward the sanctuary.
The ruckus sounded as loud as ever, and she even heard beastly howls. It was kind of funny, trying to imagine Ebel and Guido trashing the place, given their usual demeanor.
Thinking about them filled Rock with joy.
She was dying to see him and thank him.
Phoebe’s directions accurately led her straight into the sanctuary.
The room she’d passed through mere hours ago looked like a disaster site with all the benches smashed to pieces. Nothing was left standing. The werewolves had trashed everything from the tapestries covering the limestone walls to the rugs and even the altar.
Only two figures loomed in that destroyed space—both sharing the same black fur, triangular ears, sharp fangs, and golden eyes.
The two werewolves turned toward Rock in unison as she bounded into the room.
“Roxy!” one of them howled, his golden eyes flaring open.
Rock knew it was him. It didn’t matter how many werewolves were around, she’d never mistake his velvety voice.
She dashed toward him, jumping over the debris in her path. She nearly tripped over a broken bench, but by that point, two furry arms had already wrapped her in their secure embrace.
“Ebel! I knew you’d come!” Rock cried out, throwing her arms around him. Ebel rubbed his wet nose and furry cheek against her head.
“I’m so glad you’re all right, Roxy!”
“I’m perfectly okay, thanks to you,” she answered, gazing into the golden eyes just above her.
Even the color of those eyes, which was unique to werewolves, were beautiful and precious when she associated them with him. Of the several different werewolves she’d met, only Ebel’s visage was special to her. Unable to resist that beloved fluff, Rock returned his nuzzle by rubbing her cheek against his.
“Thank you so, so much…for coming.”
“You are my light. I can’t live without you,” Ebel said, his voice trembling with every emotion.
A surly sigh echoed behind the hugging couple.
Rock looked over her shoulder to see the other werewolf giving his broad shoulders a cynical shrug.
“It would’ve been entertaining if you picked wrong. How could you tell just by his voice?”
That whining voice undeniably belonged to Guido Linus.
“Roxy would never mistake you for me,” Ebel retorted with absolute confidence and looked to Rock for affirmation.
“Hmph! You say that when even we can’t tell each other apart in the mirror?” Guido snorted, sounding a little jealous, which got a laugh out of Rock.
“I can’t tell your faces apart, but I know Ebel’s body.”
“Right, you’ve measured me in this form before, too,” Ebel said, backing her up with a wolfish nod.
But Guido was the kind of man who wasn’t satisfied unless he got the last word. His nostrils flared with a second snort.
“And what kind of measuring was that? Can you swear before God that that was a chaste act, Ebel?”
Rock and Ebel instinctively looked at each other when they heard his quip.
“I’m sorry,” Ebel said with a chuckle to the blushing Rock. “Guido can’t help feeling embarrassed and awkward around you.”
That probably had something to do with the quarrel they’d had before Michaela’s birthday party. Not only did Rock not care about that anymore, but she was actually grateful to the Linus siblings now.
“I am truly grateful to Lord Linus and his sister,” she said from within Ebel’s arms.
“You should be. Make sure you tell Michaela the same thing,” Guido shot back.
Seeing as he was still hung up on his younger sister, not much had changed since he’d become a werewolf.
After celebrating their safe reunion, Rock told the two werewolves about running into Phoebe and the information she’d shared with him.
“Father went to search for Krister.”
“…Is that the other kidnapped tailor you told me about?” Guido asked Ebel.
“Yeah.” Ebel nodded, then placed a furry hand on his chin. “Still, a bishop…? I guess it’s not all that strange for a cult to have clergy.”
“I have a lot to ask that little pipsqueak.”
Anger seeped from Guido’s voice, the fur between his flattened ears standing on end.
Rock felt the same way, and she was sure Ebel did too. The Werewolf Brotherhood could never be forgiven for disrupting so many lives.
Maybe putting the squeeze on the bishop would lead them to the truth about the abominable Brotherhood and its curse.
They were facing both a crisis and a golden opportunity.
“Let’s capture them alive,” Rock declared, and Ebel laughed.
“Your bravery is admirable, but you should leave the ruins first.”
“Because you’ll only slow us down.”
That last remark, obviously, came from Guido.
Rock couldn’t deny it, so she reluctantly agreed.
“Everyone will be out of sorts if you get hurt—especially me,” Ebel proclaimed as he lifted Rock into the air with both arms. After gazing longingly at her with his golden eyes, he closed his fang-filled mouth and rubbed it against her forehead in a doglike kiss.
Rock cracked up laughing.
“Father just did the same thing to me.”
Ebel’s eyes widened with shock before he burst out laughing too.
“Looks like he beat me to it. In that case, I’ll find another place to do it when we get home.”
“Another place? Like?”
Ebel turned toward Guido without answering Rock’s query.
“I’ll bring her out to the carriage first.”
“All ri—” Guido stopped in the middle of answering, his pointed ears flicking forward. “No, wait. Someone’s coming.”
Right after he said that, Rock also heard the sound of hurried footsteps. She looked over her shoulder with a start to see someone rush into the desolated sanctuary.
“Where are you planning to take my daughter?”
Placido Alexis, dressed in the blue robe, asked that in a growl of suppressed rage. His expression brimmed with anger as he glared at Ebel holding Rock.
Lauretta staggered out into the sanctuary behind him, her face whiter than a sheet.
“Aaah! Roxy!”
She let out a scream that sounded like ripping silk when she saw a werewolf about to make off with her niece.
Rock felt her heart sink when she saw Lord and Lady Alexis.
She’d hoped to leave without running into them again, because she knew it’d cause strife if they saw her.
The way they saw it, some rampaging werewolf was in the middle of abducting their precious niece.
It didn’t help the situation that they were standing in a space that no longer looked anything like the sanctuary, with mountains of debris from shattered furniture and clawed tapestries. The hall was deathly quiet, now that the people who prayed there had all fled.
Who would ever believe these werewolves were capable of reason?
“Darling, Roxy is…Roxy is…!” Lauretta clung to her husband’s arm in horror.
“I know. Stand back. It’s going to get dangerous.”
Placido pushed his wife behind him and stared down the two werewolves. His expression was threatening as he spoke. “I was wondering who we were dealing with when I heard there was a rampage, but you seem awfully docile.”
Placido didn’t seem scared, even when he was facing two werewolves. It was quite the opposite. His golden eyes had narrowed to slits as he assessed them.
“I don’t know who you are, but you will unhand my daughter,” he ordered in a low, threatening voice. “You understand me, don’t you?”
The two werewolves exchanged looks with the same gold eyes.
Rock didn’t know what was communicated between them, but Ebel quietly answered Placido.
“…She’s not your daughter.”
Both husband and wife gaped at him.
“That voice… You’re Count Mateus?!”
“I knew it! Your eye color really is…!”
“Yes, Lord Alexis. They are the same as yours.” Ebel’s gaze was concentrated on Placido as he held Rock in his arms like a precious jewel. “What differentiates us is that I was cursed against my wishes and obtained this power without ever wanting it. Still, I am happy that I have the power to save her.”
Rock silently clung to Ebel’s chest. His fluffy black fur was warm.
“You call this saving? You’re just abducting her!” Placido raved. “I won’t go easy on you, even if you are a count, if you dare take my daughter away!”
“That’s exactly what you did to me several days ago. I am merely returning her to her parent, as she requested of me.”
Lauretta and Placido had no intention of listening to Ebel’s side of things. They shouted at him in unison.
“We merely took back our rightful child!”
“Her parents are right here! We are her parents!”
Placido was one thing, but Lauretta also seemed to think they had legitimate reasons for kidnapping Rock.
This only saddened her.
Her aunt’s thoughts and feelings were extreme and insane, yet also pure. Her yearning for her deceased sister was being used by some malicious force.
And because of his deep love for Lauretta, Placido was also being manipulated.
“You’ve both lost your minds!” Rock shouted back at her aunt and uncle.
Indescribable apprehension and fretfulness surged within her, even though she was safe in Ebel’s arms.
I can’t let them get any more involved with the Werewolf Brotherhood. I can’t let them stay here.
Something within her warned her of that.
“It doesn’t matter what reason you might have, taking someone against their will is unforgivable!”
Lauretta stepped back as if she’d been struck by lightning when she heard Rock’s reproach.
“Roxy…?”
Placido looked over his shoulder, his brows snapping together when he confirmed his wife’s shattered expression.
“Stop it, Roxy! If you keep this up, I won’t forgive even you!”
He was trapped by his fanatical obsession with protecting his wife.
It didn’t matter what was said—none of it would reach him now.
Likely because of the curse lurking within the ruins.
Guido stepped forward when Rock reluctantly bit her tongue, knowing she couldn’t reach them.
“Ebel, it looks like we’re gonna have a fight on our hands.”
Placido’s frigid gaze shifted to Guido when he heard his voice.
“Lord Linus…you’re one too, then?”
“I apologize for not greeting you as a fellow wolf the last time we met,” Guido snarked, then whispered to Ebel. “You’ve got baggage to handle. Go. I’ll take care of things here.”
Needless to say, the baggage he was referring to was Rock. Ebel’s pointy ears flicked back in annoyance, despite Rock not minding the dig.
“Don’t say it like that. She’s not baggage! She’s my treasure.”
“I’m not buying time so you can flirt. Go on. Get outta here.”
Guido shooed them away with his furry hand. Sharp nails glinted on his fingertips.
“…Thank you,” Ebel said after a second’s pause.
“I won’t let you leave!” Placido howled. “You can’t have my daughter! I’m taking her back!”
He pushed Lauretta away to protect her and leaped off the wrecked floor.
His body rapidly gained mass as he flew through the air.
The blue robe and the rest of his clothes burst off his swelling torso and limbs. His hair and face transformed as if swallowed whole by a wave of rippling, black fur, and in the instant Rock blinked, a puissant werewolf appeared. His eyes remained the same golden color, but the gaping maw of bladelike incisors and canines proved he was no longer human.
By the time his muscular legs landed with beastlike agility on the floor, Placido’s body had fully transformed into a werewolf that looked just like the other two.
“Darling!” Lauretta screamed.
Her scream was not one of fear but a warning signaling the bloody fight about to ensue.
Whether he’d heard her or not, Placido charged straight at Ebel and Rock.
“What’re you still doing here?! Go already!” Guido howled, grabbing the charging Placido before he could reach them.
The two werewolves collided head-on, and bones cracked as their fists slammed into each other. When Guido brutally slammed his fist into Placido’s face, Placido staggered and quickly regained his balance, tearing Guido’s ear with his claws.
Lauretta let out another ear-piercing scream as a small amount of blood splattered around them.
“Stop it! Just stop it!”
“Ebel!”
Rock looked up at Ebel to put a stop to it too. At this rate, no matter who won, injury to both sides was inevitable. The fight between werewolves was too brutal, unforgiving, and terrifying.
“…I know. I’m sorry.”
The werewolf face she was so familiar with tensed with determination. She heard what sounded like his fangs grinding together before he nodded.
“Stay here. I’ll put an end to this now!”
He gently placed Rock behind a toppled bench and then bounded to join the fight.
“Be careful!”
Rock crouched behind the bench and watched the muscles in his broad back ripple as he ran.
She could understand why Lauretta kept screaming. She was unbearably worried about Ebel too. But she didn’t want to see Michaela saddened by the result of this fight—and she obviously didn’t want to devastate Lauretta either.
The battlefield instantly turned in their favor, with Ebel joining the werewolf scuffle.
Not even Placido could hold his ground against two werewolves. His arms were pinned behind his back by Ebel, and when he finally shook him off, he had to contend with Guido coming at him from the front.
In the blink of an eye, Guido had Placido knocked to the ground, thrashing to get his pinned arms free.
“Let go! Let go of meeee!”
He must’ve taken a few punches to the mouth because he spat blood as he howled at them. He was breathing heavily, his body trembling with the effort.
Even Guido and Ebel’s shoulders rose and fell with their ragged breaths as they tried to hold him still, and clumps of blood had already begun to solidify in Guido’s fur.
“Are you trying to shame yourself this late in the game, Lord Alexis?!” Guido roared.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of!” Placido spat back through shaky breaths. “I’m fighting for the people I love!”
He struggled even harder to escape but couldn’t free himself of their grip.
“Sorry, but I need you to take a little nap!” Ebel politely warned him before smashing Placido’s head into the ground.
Rock heard a loud moan and saw his wolflike jaw hit the floor.
This was entirely different from any of the fights she saw on a daily basis in the slums. Both sides had an unshakeable reason not to back down, a resolve they weren’t willing to compromise on, and so it became a fight that tragically shed blood. From the sidelines, their desperation was painful to see and too brutal and cruel to watch.
Still, Rock didn’t look away, she needed to see Ebel was okay with her own eyes from behind the wreckage.
And it was only because she kept her eyes peeled that she immediately noticed another person had entered the sanctuary.
It was the young bishop dressed in a blue robe and white mask.
They appeared with a confident, relaxed gait that belied their age, stopped in the doorway, and raised both arms as they chanted their orders.
“Lauretta Alexis! Protect your beloved husband!”
Lauretta’s head jerked up in horror at the sound of that innocent voice. Startled, she turned her eyes to the bishop, looking as if she’d just received divine orders to kill herself.
“Bishop…what do you mean…?”
“Now is the time to receive new power from the statue!” the bishop declared, pulling a small statue from their robe pocket.
It was a terrifyingly sinister werewolf statue made out of coarse, white quicklime.
Rock instantly recognized it for what it was. She stopped breathing when she saw it.
“NO!”
Rock instinctively jumped into action as she screamed.
Ebel and Guido couldn’t move. She’d no choice but to take matters into her own hands. She couldn’t let Lauretta fall under the curse.
Rock dashed as fast as she could through the rubble toward them.
Lauretta was undoubtedly drawn to the curse now. She was overcome by the desire to save her husband, and that pushed her over the edge. Rock saw her staggering on unsteady feet toward the bishop as if they were offering Lauretta their one and only hope.
The bishop waited there with obnoxious confidence that Lauretta would come to them.
“I won’t let you!”
Right in front of Rock was a piece of a bench someone had broken in half.
Half of a bench should’ve been too heavy for Rock’s slender arms to pick up. Yet, she managed to lift it up then and there. Clenching her teeth, she swung the piece of wood up and chucked it in front of Lauretta as she crept forward.
“KYAAH!”
Lauretta fell backward as the heavy object flew past her.
Rock kept running. Her next objective was the bishop. Stopping them would put an end to everything.
“Wh-What?”
The bishop seemed to notice Rock’s quick approach from under their mask. Rock heard their confused, childish squeak, but it didn’t stop her.
“GO TO HELLLL!”
Rock drew her fist all the way back and slammed it as hard as her momentum would take it into the mask.
Rock was mocked daily for how weak she appeared as a male tailor, but she was up against a much younger child. She was confident she wouldn’t lose, and she’d no intention of holding back either.
More than anything, she held onto the hope that putting a stop to this child would bring her aunt and uncle back to their senses.
With that thought propelling her, she didn’t hesitate to punch them as hard as she could.
“UGH!”
The moment her fist hit the mask, she heard the bishop moan.
Immediately after a dull pain ran up Rock’s hand, there was a crisp sound, and the bishop’s mask cracked clean in half.
The bishop fell backward with the impact. The werewolf statue fell from their small hand, and the shattered mask hit the ground.
Rock stood there with her fist out for a long while.
As an amateur fighter, she thought that pose better prepared her to get another hit in. But anyone looking would only see it as her frozen in place.
Meanwhile, the bishop who was struck by Rock’s weak punch didn’t move either.
They showed no signs of getting up from where they laid flat on their back. They neither moaned nor cursed her. Rather, the lack of movement made her worry they’d stopped breathing.
Eventually, she was concerned enough to check, so she cautiously approached them while keeping her fist out.
The face she saw was as strikingly young as the voice.
“What…? This child was behind it all?”
She could tell he was an innocent little boy even with his eyes pressed shut. He looked around ten years old, had light-brown hair, a round face, and freckled cheeks. He didn’t look like a villain or someone capable of leading a cult.
His cheek was swollen, but he was still breathing. Rock didn’t think her punch was strong enough to knock him unconscious, but he didn’t move even while she was closely staring at his face.
“Roxy, are you all right?” Ebel called, his hands still full with keeping Placido pinned.
“Yes,” Rock responded, just as Lauretta suddenly started screaming like someone who’d just woken up from a trance.
“What…what was I about to do— Noooooooooooooo!”
Apparently, she’d regained her senses. She tightly hugged her shoulders and started shaking on the ground from her overwhelming fear.
“I-I was just about to become a werewolf too! About to give my body and soul over to that…that curse! I was trying to gain power to kill people! But I n-never wanted that!”
“Auntie, calm down, please!” Rock raced over to her aunt and pulled her to her chest to stop her shaking. “You were being controlled. You know that, right? You didn’t do anything bad, right?”
Lauretta clung to Rock too.
“No, no! I wasn’t trying to! I never wanted to kill anyone!”
“I know that, Auntie! I do! So please don’t beat yourself up!”
“But even if I escaped the curse, my husband…!” Lauretta’s quivering voice caught in her throat.
Her gaze went to her werewolf husband being held to the ground by two other werewolves.
Placido also seemed to be in the middle of waking up from a nightmare. He slowly raised his head, his golden eyes shimmering when he returned his wife’s gaze.
He said he’d willingly offered himself up to the curse for his wife. And he’d used and abused that power in whatever way necessary to satisfy his desire to ease his wife’s broken heart.
So how did they both feel now that they had regained their sanity?
“Lauretta…”
The werewolf’s big mouth moved to quietly utter that name.
Ebel and Guido slowly let go and backed away. Placido rose to his feet and plodded toward his wife.
Borrowing Rock’s hand, Lauretta barely managed to stand and hobble toward her husband.
Husband and wife embraced in the middle of the devastated sanctuary hall, as if magnetically drawn to each other. Lauretta instantly broke down and began quietly crying into her husband’s furry chest.
“I’m so sorry, darling…! There was no need for you to get cursed, but you ended up with this body because of me…!”
Placido supported his wife in his arms and answered her feebly. “It’s not your fault. Please don’t let it hurt you so deeply.”
“But—”
“Besides, there’s someone else we have to apologize to first. Don’t you think so, too?” After saying that in a persuasive voice, Placido turned toward Rock. His triangular ears fell flat against his head as he addressed her. “We’ve done something we can never apologize enough to you for, Roxy. I’m truly sorry to have frightened you.”
Rock naturally struggled with how to word her response.
She was undeniably angered by his actions. But she didn’t have it in her to denounce the couple when she witnessed firsthand how they weren’t entirely in control of themselves when it happened.
“…I’m glad you’re back to yourselves,” she finally managed to squeeze out.
Placido deeply bowed his head to her. “We will do anything to atone for our actions.”
“You don’t have to do that…”
Rock honestly didn’t know how to respond. She had mixed emotions because she had lost a target to direct her anger toward.
Well, there was still someone who fit the bill—the person who manipulated the Alexises and led the Brotherhood sect located in these ruins. He was the main culprit behind it all.
But the boy bishop had yet to regain consciousness.
Ebel and Guido approached him in turns, bending their enormous werewolf bodies to get a good look at his adolescent face. Neither of them seemed convinced he could be the ringleader.
“What’s with the boy? Why’s he here?” Ebel asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Guido responded. “But it’s a fact he came into the room wielding a werewolf statue.”
“Then he’s a member of the Brotherhood? This small child?”
“Don’t ask me, Ebel. I want to know as badly as you do.”
“Everyone here called that child the bishop,” Rock interjected into their conversation.
“This little punk is?!” Guido was so shocked, his tail shot up in alarm. “You must be kidding, tailor! How could a prepubescent child lead a cult?”
“I have a hard time believing it too. But he seemed to be respected by everyone here, and he spoke with confidence.”
While he sounded confident, his tone was still childish, as if he was reciting a script he was made to memorize by some adult.
Rock was suddenly worried that he might not remember a thing after he woke up, now that his mask was broken.
“If you don’t believe it, let’s just ask the boy himself.” Ebel quickly accepted reality and told Guido what to do next. “Let’s take him back alive as discussed. Guido, carry him.”
“Fine. I’ll make him cough up every last detail when he wakes up.”
Guido accepted the situation and gently scooped up the boy clad in a blue robe.
The boy still didn’t wake up. His expression was peaceful, as if he was just in a deep slumber.
“The kid doesn’t even know how easy he has it…”
Ebel offered Rock his hand as she muttered to herself.
“We should get moving too, Roxy. Your father should be back soon.”
“I’m sure he will be. I hope he found Krister.”
Rock nodded and took hold of his big, furry hand. As soon as she did, Ebel pulled her to him and easily lifted her into his arms.
“I-I can walk on my own, thank you!”
Ebel’s tail swished in response to her panic.
“We’ve finally reunited. I don’t want to be apart from you for even a second.”
“W-Well…when you put it like that…”
Rock couldn’t help but accept the situation when he said it with such earnest seriousness. Snuggled up against his broad chest, Rock called out to Lord and Lady Alexis.
“Uncle, Auntie, I’ve some stuff I would like to ask you about once things have calmed down.”
“All right.”
Lauretta looked anxiously up at her husband, who appeared prepared to accept whatever Rock had to say to them.
Feeling a prick in her chest as well, Rock purposely urged them forward in a cheerful voice.
“Let’s get out of here first.”
Phoebe strolled into the sanctuary then, as if he were waiting for the right timing.
“I went all the way in and checked out the place. This guy’s the last person left.”
He had his arm around Krister’s shoulder, helping him walk with one bum leg.
“Father!”
Phoebe flashed a triumphant smile at his daughter. “Hey there, kiddo. Things look awfully hunky-dory here. Did you guys work things out?”
“At least for now? We captured the Brotherhood’s bishop alive, but…”
Rock and Ebel looked to Guido, who pointed to the boy he had slung over his shoulder. Phoebe’s eyes bulged when he saw that tiny body.
“That’s the bishop? Am I the only one who sees a little kid?”
“That’s all I see, too,” Rock sighed.
“I fear I’m the same. We need to question him.”
Just as father, daughter, and Ebel confirmed they weren’t seeing things, Krister suddenly screamed in a shrill voice.
“Werewolves! Three werewolves! Talking werewolves!”
“You only just noticed…?” Phoebe let out a dry laugh, and Krister started babbling like a mad man.
“I’m hella confused, man! Phoebe ain’t dressed like a lady, but a man and is Rock’s da. Rock’s dressed like a lady, surrounded by three werewolves, and all the cultists are gone. What the hell is goin’ on?!”
“Come on, calm down, Krister,” Rock said to pacify the other tailor, who seemed to be losing his mind amidst all the chaos.
“How can you expect me to be calm?! Besides, are you okay over there?!”
Krister looked at Rock cradled in Ebel’s arms as he might a child being carried off in a wolf’s mouth. Naturally, none of the werewolves in the room were a threat.
“There are some good werewolves too,” Rock insisted. “At least no one here is going to hurt you. You can go home now, Krister.”
“Go…home…?” Krister repeated, still failing to see what was going on.
Phoebe readjusted his grip on him to hurry things along.
“Anyway, let’s get outta here. I don’t want to stay any longer in this dusty dungeon.”
With that, Rock, Ebel, Phoebe, Krister, Guido carrying the bishop, and the Alexises all escaped from the ancient ruins.
Not a single soul could be sensed anywhere near the ruins, which had been destroyed from the entrance on. The cultists seemed to have all fled. Perhaps they too, were awaking from a trancelike dream.
Once they made it outside, their party was greeted by three carriages.
One belonged to the Alexises, and the remaining two belonged to Mateus Manor and Linus Manor respectively.
“Master Rock!”
“Roxy!”
Rock squinted her eyes in the direction she heard two ladies’ voices.
Johanna and Michaela had jumped out from behind the carriages parked on top of the small hill, illuminated by the setting sun.
Ebel lowered Rock to the ground as the girls ran down the hill toward them. Thanks to that, Rock was stuck catching both girls as they lunged at her, arms open.
“I’m so glad! So, so glad you are safe!”
“Aaah, Roxy! I’m glad I could keep my promise!”
Johanna and Michaela’s teary voices brought tears to Rock’s eyes too.
“Thank you, both of you.”
“…You give this tailor a grander welcome than your brother? I can’t say I approve,” Guido grumbled with displeasure.
Michaela looked up at him with a watery smile. “I’ll be sure to shower you with thanks later, Brother!” She took a breath and wiped away her tears before continuing with more authority. “We took custody of everyone who fled from the ruins. They all said, ‘I don’t know anything. I don’t even know what I’m doing here.’ But I plan to question them all anyway.”
“This is our only clue too.”
Guido lifted up the boy on his shoulder to show her. Michaela blinked several times but then must’ve determined it was going to be a long story.
“Let’s return home first,” she replied, her expression stern. “Roxy, Brother, Ebel, and…everyone else needs a moment’s rest before we get into it.”
Meanwhile, Danilo rushed down the hill to greet Lord and Lady Alexis.
Had he been waiting outside the whole time? Did some sort of exchange happen between him and Michaela’s group? Whatever went on, he broke down crying the second he saw his masters’ faces.
“Lord Alexis, Lady Alexis…I’m so relieved to see you’re safe…!”
They both stared at their sobbing butler in stunned silence.
“Danilo… Forgive us for making you worry.”
“We are truly sorry…”
Husband and wife both rubbed his back as he crouched on the ground wiping his tears. Rock watched them interact at a distance.
Although it was only for a few days, and unwilling on her part, these were the people whose roof she’d stayed under. She was deeply moved to see change take place in their lives.
Ebel also watched over them for a time. But then, perhaps because the sun had set, he shook his head and called out to the group.
“It’s important to confirm everyone’s wellbeing, but we can’t stay here forever. We should all board the carriages and return to my manor first.”
Three werewolves were among them, after all.
They may have been on the capital outskirts, but that didn’t guarantee merchants and hunters wouldn’t pass by and see them.
Each carriage was boarded by one werewolf.
The rest squeezed into the cramped, leftover spaces.
Ebel, Rock, Phoebe, Krister, and Johanna all piled into the Mateus carriage. Ebel didn’t want to part from Rock, nor did Phoebe, but Krister refused to ride with people he didn’t know, and Johanna pulled a face like she’d never board another noble’s carriage.
Naturally, the carriage felt as cramped as a sardine can, and Rock sat practically buried into Ebel’s fur.
Ludovicus, the butler, sat holding the reins in the coachman’s seat. Their carriage moved quite a bit slower than the other two.
“A pretty big group came to my rescue, huh?” Rock said into Ebel’s fluff from a position where she couldn’t see his face.
“Wolves form packs, after all,” Ebel replied, his arms tightening around her.
“Does that make me one of the wolves?” Phoebe laughed, shrugging in the tight space.
“That makes me one too!” Johanna happily joined in. “I’m another wolf!”
“…What the hell is wrong with you people?”
Krister eyed them like they were all insane, but it’d take too long to explain.
For now, Rock entrusted herself to Ebel’s furry body in the shaking carriage to enjoy every moment of their safe reunion.