♚Chapter 4: The Cross-Dressing Lady’s Love and Aspirations

 

 

 

♚Chapter 4: The Cross-Dressing Lady’s Love and Aspirations

 

GETTING ready in the morning took extra effort when Roxy dressed as Rock. After slipping off her pajamas, she had to strap on her handmade corset before wearing her work clothes. The corset hid her breasts.

When she first started dressing as a man, she had wrapped a cotton roll ’round and ’round her chest. But hiding her body shape with a roll of cloth wasn’t easy. Failing to wrap it well created bumps and gave her a disproportional thickness. Ugly marks left by how tight she had to wrap it depressed and hurt her, so she chose to make a corset to solve the problem.

She tied the corset around her chest, wore her shirt over it, and then pulled on her tailor vest. After all of that, a flat-chested, skinny, fragile-looking young man was meant to appear in her mirror.

“I should look like a man at every angle…,” Rock muttered to her reflection in her bedroom’s full-length mirror.

Maybe the image was ruined by her wine-colored hair growing just to her chin.

Maybe it was because she no longer had to worry about food since coming to the imperial capital and that made her cheeks plumper.

Or maybe Ebel was telling the truth when he said he could tell by her smell. Rock had no way of knowing how keen a werewolf’s nose was. Did men and women really have distinct smells discernible by a superior nose?

Rock took a whiff of her hair and underarms. “Is it really that different?”

She couldn’t tell the difference. Having never used perfume, makeup, or feminine hair products, she was unaware of anything artificially giving her a womanly scent. The only thing she could think of was the fragrant bar of soap Phoebe shared with her. Perhaps that left some sort of feminine smell?

At any rate, Ebel saw right through Rock’s disguise.

The “how” was now a secondary concern. Rock’s primary concern was how she should come to grips with being seen through.

Barely three days had passed since Ebel correctly guessed that she was a woman in that secret room inside his manor. To be precise, that was his second time getting it right. His werewolf form pointed it out for the first time inside Floria Clothes Shop’s fitting room.

“You smell like a woman.”

Both then and the other day, Rock sidestepped his probing with empty talk. But that amounted to little more than obstinate insistence to tide over the moment. Even if Ebel took her request to heart and stopped making inquiries, his suspicions, which had probably been confirmed within him already, wouldn’t just go away.

In which case, she might be better off confronting him with the truth and getting it over with. Ebel was quick to initiate physical contact with her, but he was also the man who protected Rock at risk to his own life even though he was a count and she was a girl from the slums. They knew each other’s darkest secrets as it was, and he wasn’t the type to spread sensitive information.

Most of all, the man who didn’t hesitate to declare that her gender was irrelevant wouldn’t suddenly change his attitude upon learning the truth.

“…Actually, I wish he’d change,” Rock sighed, responding to her thoughts aloud. She unconsciously massaged her neck, her cheeks flushing.

It didn’t matter that three days had passed—she remembered that moment as if it’d just happened. The feeling of his dreadfully gentle love bite lingered.

Ebel had called his love bite a kiss replacement. Surely, it was because she had zero experience when it came to romantic relationships that she couldn’t forget it after three days.

“I’m being strange…,” she whispered, running her fingers along her nape. A young woman with cheeks dyed rosy red reflected back at her in the mirror. Disgust filled her when she realized it and she purposely scrunched up her face. “If I make this face, I’ll get called the kind of man that gets passed around when there aren’t any women.”

Guido, the nobleman Rock met at Ebel’s manor on the same day as her sweet memories with him, had cut her deeply with his mockery of her and the persona she had achieved.

People made fun of her on a daily basis for being a weak and delicate man, but Guido’s malicious words packed a different punch. They oozed with his contempt for what and who she was. Of course, he ridiculed her with every intention of striking a painful blow. He openly shunned Rock. His contempt seemed to stem from more than just disgust at Ebel’s partner being a man and that person coming from a lowly status.

Guido may very well become an even bigger nuisance if Rock confided in Ebel. If that was a possibility, then it’d be better to say nothing at all. No one in their right mind would willingly make an enemy of a duke’s son.

“I should just work out until I pack on muscle.” Rock flexed her shirt-covered arms in front of the mirror and pinched the toneless flab there.

Rock had always dreamed of becoming a man. She’d wanted to start working early in life in order to make her single mother’s life a little easier. Boys could find all sorts of work, but there weren’t many respectable jobs hiring a girl in her early teens. Knowing what the future held for her daughter, Rock’s mother taught her everything she knew about tailoring, but by the time Rock became accomplished at it, her mother had fallen ill, never giving her a chance to thread a needle for her sake.

Dressing as a man was more than just a disguise for Rock—it embodied her unfulfilled dreams.

So she was happy as long as she could remain a man. She just had to become the kind no one could mock as being a woman’s substitute.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.” Rock hurried away from the mirror as if running from those sweet, lingering memories.

♚♚♚

THE sun had begun to rise by the time she left her room. From there she headed out to open her shop for morning customers. People rarely showed up at daybreak, but she opened the doors and cleaned up the shelves so she could welcome them whenever they chose to arrive. Putting in extra effort that way had a habit of turning into opportunities to earn money, so she never overlooked the small things.

Someone was standing outside her shop before she arrived today. A young man with burnt sienna hair leaned against the locked door waiting for Rock.

“Good morning, Rock. You come to work awfully early, huh?” A slight smile graced his handsome face, which didn’t look the least bit tired despite the early hour. He wore the shirt, vest, and sash belt trousers Rock had previously tailored for him.

“G-Good morning, Ebel,” Rock spluttered.

At what insane hour did he arrive to be waiting in front of her shop before even the birds woke up? Ebel had dropped by on countless occasions as a customer, but never before opening hours. The unexpected visit completely flustered her.

And it didn’t help that she was already unhinged by the vivid memory of his kiss.

“A-And what b-brings you here at this hour?”

Ebel answered Rock’s shaky question with unusual seriousness. “I need to speak with you. I chose this time explicitly for that purpose.” He paused to scan the morning-mist-covered market streets, then lowered his voice. “…Where’s Phoebe?”

“She isn’t here yet. She usually comes later.”

Phoebe arrived around the time Rock put out the “Open” sign. She often offered to be there from opening until closing, but Rock had her pride as shop owner. She didn’t want to overburden Phoebe with how little she paid her.

Ebel appeared relieved she wasn’t around. “I see. Let’s wrap things up before she arrives then.”

“What is it you want to discuss?”

“What I discovered in regards to the matter you entrusted me with.”

The only thing she had entrusted him with was her father’s name. Could it be?

“Did you learn about my father?” she asked, jumping right to the point.

Ebel nodded, his gaze focused on her. “Yes. There are several things I want to make you aware of.”

Not even three days had passed since she told him, yet Ebel had uncovered information on her father. Though baffled by how fast he moved, Rock was genuinely excited.

“Thank you so much! Let’s talk in my shop. Please come inside.”

“Pardon the intrusion.” In direct contrast to Rock’s billowing excitement, Ebel was mellower than usual this morning. He watched her unlock the door with a pensive expression.

She saved preparations to open the shop for later. Cleaning was the last thing on her mind.

Rock invited Ebel to sit on one of the chairs meant for customers and she sat on the stool behind the counter. “So? What is it you have to tell me?” she asked, restlessly playing with her hands on her lap.

Her impatience softened Ebel’s frown into a partial smile. “I obtained information on the mercenary known as Fredericks Berwick.”

Fredericks Berwick was undeniably the name of her father and also the name of the man her mother, Vale Floria, loved up until her final breath.

“I think this is what they call an odd twist of fate…” Ebel started, his golden eyes intently watching her. “You see, Ludovicus—my butler—knew your father’s name.”

“Ludovicus does?”

Rock thought back to the white-haired butler she met at Mateus Manor. Ebel had introduced him as a butler who’d been with the family for generations. She had only exchanged greetings with him, but he left a kind impression.

“It seems my father used to hire his services. He had him partake in his antique-collecting hobby by sending him to explore ruins.”

“Father did stuff like that…?”

Rock didn’t know much about mercenary work. Judging by what Phoebe told her, mercenaries accepted any job to keep from missing their next meal. Mercenaries did everything from going to battlefields as just another soldier, to serving as an individual’s bodyguard, and even partaking in dirty work such as extortion.

Among the various types of jobs, exploring the ancient ruins scattered around the imperial capital was said to be a great endeavor for mercenaries who needed quick cash. Money could be made by selling to dilettantes like Ebel’s father who paid top coin for antiques or to scholars who spared no expense to obtain historically valuable artifacts. As good as that sounded on paper, the architects had designed the ruins with ingenious, deadly traps that spelled death to anyone who challenged them with half-baked skills. Phoebe had once told Rock stories of those ruins.

“According to Ludovicus, your father was extremely talented.” Ebel softened his tone. “He was a genius ruin explorer who succeeded at every job he accepted. And he returned from the majority of his adventures unscathed. Father put his full trust in him and apparently invited him into our home on many occasions.”

Rock leaned across the counter to hear every word he said. She felt as if she were catching glimpses into her father’s life. He was just the kind of man she had hoped.

“What’s more is that it sounds like he was an incredibly good-looking man.” Ebel glanced at Rock’s face when he said that part.

She didn’t know her father’s face, but she remembered the way her mother spoke of him. “Mother said the same thing. She always said my father was a gorgeous, wonderful man.”

Whenever she talked about him, she sounded happy for a woman who had been abandoned. No matter how much Rock pestered her, she absolutely never spoke of his hair or eye color, or about the details of how they met and fell in love. Sometimes she wondered if that was her mother’s way of monopolizing her memories with him. They were surely precious reminders that she treasured. Perhaps speaking of them would taint her image of him somehow.

“Did you learn anything about my father’s hair or eye color?” Rock asked, wanting to know the details her mother never told her.

Ebel paused before shaking his head. “…No, Ludovicus didn’t mention it. I can ask him next time for you if you like.”

“Thank you very much! You have made my day, Ebel,” Rock exclaimed in sincere thanks.

She wanted to know anything and everything about her father. She could count on one hand the number of things she knew about the man whose blood ran through her. For whatever inexplicable reason, both her mother and Phoebe were tight-lipped when it came to him. That was why every bit of information Ebel shared with her brought Rock untold joy.

“I barely know a thing about my father… So I want to learn anything I can about him.”

Ebel squinted at Rock’s face, as though her passionate pursuit of information made her shine brightly in his eyes. “I will do everything in my power to assist you.”

“Ebel… Thank you. I truly mean it.”

“But allow me to ask this of you first.” A grave expression overtook his usually smiling face and he continued in a cautionary tone: “Should the information I obtain not be…favorable to you, would you still wish to hear it?”

“Um…” Naturally, Rock didn’t know how to respond.

It was a fact that she’d had mixed feelings when she learned of her father’s lover. She likely would have sustained a greater blow if Phoebe hadn’t been the amazing person she was. Digging into her father’s life would probably dredge up painful stories. They might even stumble upon the reason why he left Rock and her mother.

However, longing to know her father was strong enough to push back the fear of what she might find.

“…I would still want to know,” she answered, letting her desire win.

Ebel’s eyes widened ever so slightly. Those golden eyes burrowed into Rock without blinking. “Is that so? In that case, Rock…”

“Yes?”

“There’s something I was hesitating whether I should tell you or not.” His unusually heavy tone made it sound as if he’d already obtained information that wasn’t favorable to her. He falteringly informed the astonished Rock, “It’s about her—about Phoebe.”

Rock was baffled by his bringing up her name. “Uh…what about Phoebe?”

They were supposed to be talking about her father, Fredericks. While Phoebe wasn’t completely unrelated, the mention of her felt like an abrupt change in subject.

But Ebel proceeded carefully as he slowly elaborated, “You told me she used to be a mercenary and that’s how she met your father, yes?”

“Yes, that’s what I heard.”

“As far as I can tell from looking into it, I can’t find anyone who knows of a mercenary named Phoebe.”

“You can’t find anyone at all…?” Rock blinked.

Ebel carefully picked his words. “Up until today I had the opportunity to meet and speak with several dozen retired and currently active mercenaries. Many among them knew of your father, Fredericks Berwick, while none knew of Phoebe.”

That Ebel spoke with so many mercenaries in such a short period of time surprised Rock.

“You asked that many people for me? I’m sorry for putting you through so much trouble.”

“I had other things to discuss with them. I just asked about your father along the way.” Ebel smiled for a moment before his face hardened. “But I didn’t expect to learn nothing about Phoebe. Few everyday mercenaries move and fight like she did. I thought for sure she’d have made a name for herself far and wide, but I have yet to meet someone who knows a mercenary going by the name Phoebe.”

He stopped there but looked as if he had more to say. Something was making him hesitate, though. The golden eyes that reflected Rock wavered with an unexplained emotion.

She stared back into those eyes, doubts beginning to fill her thoughts. Why was he so concerned with Phoebe?

The imperial capital was teeming with mercenaries; add in those who claimed to be one without doing much work, and there were more mercenaries than stars in the sky. Not finding information on her after asking a few dozen people didn’t prove Phoebe wasn’t a mercenary.

“Are you sure it isn’t just because you didn’t happen to meet anyone who knows her?” Rock asked.

“Perhaps,” Ebel conceded, though he still couldn’t shake his suspicions. “But I can’t get over the fact that so many people knew your father, yet none of them know Phoebe who was supposedly so close to him.”

It was certainly strange when he put it like that.

According to Phoebe, she had taken on some jobs alongside Fredericks. Rock didn’t know how often they had joined up, but she always imagined Phoebe and her father working together as close partners. Of course, even if the truth was different from her image, that didn’t make Phoebe a liar.

It’d be a different story if she was never a mercenary, but then why would she lie about that?

“Do you think Phoebe wasn’t a mercenary, Ebel?” she pressed.

His expression became unreadable. “No…that’s not what I think.”

“You aren’t being very clear. Do you think she was lying about how she met my father then?”

Ebel didn’t answer her second question. He pressed his lips together and searched Rock’s face for something.

Apparently, this question hit closer to the truth. In which case, she could see why Ebel was slow getting to the point. Perhaps his earlier warning about unfavorable information had more to do with Phoebe than her father.

“You believe I will be hurt if I learn that Phoebe lied to me?” Rock asked as a follow-up question.

Ebel’s eyes widened partially before he confirmed it. “I…don’t want to hurt you, Rock.”

He came across as very sincere, but Rock thought of it as an overblown reaction. “I’ll be fine. I have long since been scarred and wounded by things to do with my father.”

Deep wounds had been carved into her heart ever since the day she found out he had abandoned her. Another wound bled when she found out about his secret lover. But that lover had held on to her father’s inheritance and had given her the full amount. And she cared for Rock daily. Rock’s wounds didn’t vanish, but they no longer bled.

“Besides, I won’t be put out even if Phoebe wasn’t telling the truth. She has been caring for me all this time. That’s enough for me.”

What’s the big deal if Phoebe lied about being a mercenary or how she met Father? Rock thought.

“…I see.” Hearing Rock’s answer softened Ebel’s expression. He squinted his eyes as if she were the radiant sun, and he said, voice heavy with envy, “You trust him.”

“Him? It’s rude to refer to Phoebe that way,” she chided with a smile.

He didn’t return her smile at first. But then he rushed to agree. “True. Her, then.”

“Yes, her. Please refer to Phoebe that way.”

Phoebe didn’t like to talk about it much, but as a cross-dresser, Rock understood how difficult it must be for her to live as a woman with a man’s body. She’d witnessed countless occasions where vulgar punks in the slums verbally abused Phoebe with crass remarks. Of course, she beat them to a pulp every time, but just because she was physically strong didn’t mean her heart came away unscathed.

Rock knew that hurt well when others made a fool of her for being a weak man.

“If that is how you wish it to be,” Ebel consented, but his expression turned grave again. “But, Rock, you told me you wanted any information I can find on your father, no?”

“Yes, if it’s about my father, I want to know everything.”

“In that case, there is one bit of information that I want to impart to you not as a joke or with the intention to confuse you. I just want you to consider the possibility.” Ebel started with that warning, then suddenly brought his face close to hers.

Clothing rustled as their bangs brushed and overlapped. His handsome face and beautiful eyes like amber gems being within an inch of her face froze Rock in place.

Ebel had no ulterior motives. He spoke seriously as he carefully chose his words. “There is a chance your father is—”

There is a chance Father is?

Rock couldn’t guess what came next. She earnestly returned his gaze, prepared to accept whatever followed.

Floria Clothes Shop’s bell rang with impeccable timing.

“Hey, Rock, you haven’t tidied the place up for— Oh?” The moment Phoebe became aware of Rock and Ebel staring passionately into each other’s eyes across the counter, her voice dropped several decibels. She shot them both a sharp look. “You’re heating the place up first thing in the morning, eh, you two?” she said, ice dripping from her usually friendly words.

“Th-This isn’t what you think, Phoebe!” Rock panicked for two completely different reasons, but Ebel was unfazed.

He faced Phoebe and greeted her with a composed smile. “I woke up early this morning and felt the need to start off my day with Rock’s face.”

“How quaint. I hate to burst your bubble, Your Excellency, but it’s almost time for us to open our doors.”

“I guess I will make myself scarce, then.” Completely undisturbed by Phoebe’s piercing glare, Ebel took Rock’s hand into his. “Before I go, how would you like to have dinner with me again tonight? I still have much to discuss with you.”

“You do? All right. I would love to…”

They weren’t finished discussing her father yet. She had to hear the rest. She warmly agreed with that in mind, bringing to Ebel’s face a profoundly suggestive smile that replaced his earlier seriousness.

“I’ll pick you up tonight, then. I’m looking forward to our tryst, Rock.” He planted a kiss on the back of her hand, winked, and then turned to leave.

Rock stayed rooted to the ground all the way until Ebel went out the door and disappeared down the dirty streets.

“…What kind of relationship do you two have right now?” Phoebe’s deep sigh was warranted.

Rock finally pulled herself together and weakly murmured, “N-None. His Excellency is our very important customer—”

“So you allow all your well-paying customers to kiss you?”

“I never allowed it!”

He caught her off guard, was all. She never once openly agreed to it. She was more concerned with whether it was another oath kiss. It was a gentle gesture that let her briefly feel the softness of his lips brush across her skin.

Ebel was making another oath to her before he left.

Under Phoebe’s melancholy watch, Rock gave serious thought to what he might have left to say. She absentmindedly contemplated what came after “There is a chance your father is—,” even though thinking about it would never lead her to the answer.

♚♚♚

FLORIA Clothes Shop had a very busy morning. On top of trying to catch up to her morning store-opening routine, Rock had to contend with Phoebe’s incessant attempts at sounding out her relationship with Ebel.

Time nipped at her heels as she raced against the clock while juggling the insanity of prepping the shop and evading Phoebe’s inquisition.

Fortunately, few customers arrived in the morning, and peace and quiet returned to the shop just past noon—or that was how it appeared at first.

Dragging the morning’s craziness into the afternoon, a fancy carriage suddenly pulled up in front of the shop.

“Oh? Carriages are rare in these parts.”

Just as Phoebe said, such conveyances rarely traveled these streets. Running a horse-drawn carriage through these squalid, narrow, and intricate parts was a daunting task for even the best coachmen. Hearing hooves and wheels happened about as often as the constables actually doing their job in the slums.

“It’s a luxury carriage to boot. Doesn’t look like His Excellency’s.”

Rock followed Phoebe’s lead and peered at the street outside the window. The carriage blocking the tight road by parking in front of the tailor shop wasn’t the same one Ebel had sent for her last time.

“His Excellency usually runs here anyway,” she laughed.

Ebel had once raced through the streets carrying Rock in his human form. She’d never seen him riding a carriage and couldn’t imagine him arriving at her shop in one.

The coachman opened the carriage door, and an imposing man with black hair stepped out. Rock recognized that smug face.

“Guido Linus…”

“Duke Linus’s spawn? What’d he come for?”

While Rock and Phoebe grimaced in unison, out on the street, Guido was offering his hand to someone inside the carriage. A slender white hand took hold of his, and out stepped a woman. The young lady shared Guido’s raven-black hair.

“…Who’s that?”

“From the look of things, I’d say that’s the duke’s daughter. In other words, she’s Lady Michaela Linus,” Phoebe said in answer to Rock’s whispered question. She glanced at Rock’s face before unhelpfully adding, “His Excellency the Count’s former fiancée.”

Before long the bell over Floria Clothes Shop’s entrance loudly chimed, and in stepped the two nobles.

“Say, do you truly plan to place a clothing order at this store…?” The young lady hesitantly glancing around the interior appeared around the same age as Rock. She was a beautiful lady with traces of her cherubic youth still lingering in her soft cheeks, plump lips, and big eyes. Her wavy hair cascaded to the middle of her back and shimmered like polished obsidian. Aside from her hair, she had nothing in common with Guido, especially when it came to his domineering, cruel aura.

“This is the right place. Ebel’s a regular here,” Guido whispered.

The fair young lady instantly lit up. “My, Ebel is? Then we know it’s good, Brother.”

That proved it—she was Michaela Linus, Ebel’s former fiancée and Guido’s younger sister. In any case, she wasn’t an appropriate customer for a tailor shop located in the slums. Preventing Phoebe from saying what was on her mind, Rock approached the nobles herself.

“Welcome, Lord Guido. What business brings you here today?”

The Linus siblings directed their attention to Rock at once. Michaela’s gaze brimmed with curiosity above all else as she appeared to be studying every detail about Rock.

On the other hand, frosty contempt burned in Guido’s eyes and he even seemed annoyed at having to look at her.

“I want you to tailor a dress for my little sister,” he requested of Rock in spite of the hatred pouring off him. “A dress to make my beautiful sister the most gorgeous woman in the world.”

“Oh, Brother, you tease…”

Guido smiled softly at his blushing sister before haughtily demanding, “If you have the skill to pull it off, I want a dress that can enchant even the most thickheaded of men and win them over. Can you take this order, tailor?”

Rock wasn’t simply imagining the dive her heart just took. “…I can take your order, my lord.” She lifted her head after respectfully bowing to him and saw Phoebe grimacing out of the corner of her eye.

She was signaling her to not do business with a customer like him. But it was plain to see he’d become an even bigger nuisance if she turned him down. If he was going to be a pain either way, she might as well accept the job and charge him an enormous sum for the temporary displeasure.

Guido demanded a very specific tailor-made dress for his sister. “Make an evening gown out of the finest silks. I expect you to make the most bewitchingly beautiful gown in all the realm.”

Currently trendy evening gowns exposed the shoulders and were tied in a ribbon at the back of the neck. Young nobles were drawn to this latest dress style that revealed the ladies’ beautiful collarbones and drove the fastidious generation before them crazy with disapproval. Another popular design choice was to sew the dress tight to the body from the waist down, so the ladies could show off their trim waistlines and elegantly slender legs.

Guido seemed to be placing an order for that exact seductive dress style.

“The finest silk in the realm is a must for the material used. The color should be…” Guido shifted his eyes to Michaela’s black hair. “Purple. A mystical color to make you stand supreme in a room.”

Michaela strained a troubled smile. “Do you believe I can pull off such a dress, Brother?” She currently wore a conservative dress that exposed very little skin.

“How could you not? You have become a fine woman of late,” Guido said, casually dismissing his sister’s concerns. Thorns bristled in his glare meant for Rock, but his expression was softer than butter in the brief moments he looked at his sister. “It’s a waste to conceal your beautiful skin. It’s about time for you to try alluring clothing.”

“I am only nineteen, though.” She smiled sheepishly. Guido gently stroked her luscious black hair.

“You will be twenty next month. You’re no longer a child, Michaela.”

Apparently, Michaela Linus was almost Rock’s age, though her manner of speaking was immature, and she behaved like a spoiled child with her older brother. “I wish to remain a child for much, much longer… Can’t I?”

“You can’t. Ebel won’t come to his senses if you stay a child,” he chided and flicked her porcelain chin. “You’re the only one suitable to be his fiancée. Don’t you agree?”

“I…” Michaela’s long eyelashes fluttered shut as she struggled with what she wanted to say. Between her embarrassed fidgeting and sad profile, it was too soon to read how she truly felt.

Rock watched their exchange in silence until Guido shot her another antagonistic glare.

“You heard it with your own ears, tailor,” he spat, insinuating something with his provocative tone. “My sister has her heart set on a lord. Tailor a dress that will attract, tempt, and seduce him into the realization that she is his destined woman.”

“I accept your order,” Rock answered as calmly as possible, uninterested in taking his bait.

Phoebe warily watched them from the back corner. She had wisely kept quiet ever since the Linus siblings had entered the shop, though Rock was encouraged by her occasional eye signals.

Rock knew Guido’s intentions. He wanted to stress that his sister, Michaela, was the one for Ebel, not her. Of course, emphasizing it with words wasn’t enough for him—he wanted to prove it in a visible form too. Ordering a dress that brought out Michaela’s feminine beauty was a part of that ploy, and if things played out well, he planned to tell Ebel to “stop dabbling in loving men.”

As for Rock, it didn’t bother her if that made Ebel change his mind and choose Michaela instead—she shouldn’t have minded, so surely that growing gloomy feeling stemmed from her being agitated by Guido’s low jabs.

Guido aside, she felt strangely uncomfortable around Ebel’s former fiancée. Her discomfort was likely born out of guilt.

“I will take your measurements now. Please come this way,” Rock said, addressing Michaela, and she began to show her to the fitting room in the back.

Guido stalked behind them as if it were only natural. He threw open the curtain and inspected the small fitting room. “You plan to stuff my sister into these cramped quarters?” he complained, earning a scolding from that very sister.

“Good grief, Brother… You are too much! Wait out there!”

“Michaela, call for me immediately if this grungy tailor offends you in any way,” he said on his way out.

Michaela lowered her voice and apologized. “I’m sorry. My brother is always like this.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” Rock lied with a professional smile.

A sunflower-like smile bloomed on the face of the duke’s daughter. “Thank you. Now then, shall we wrap this up quick so as not to make my worrywart of a brother wait?”

Internally, Rock was shocked by the complete disparity between these siblings, for the sister spoke sweetly without a barb in her voice, while the brother was all thorns.

Michaela removed her dress down to her undergarments and allowed Rock to solemnly measure her. Though she was a decorous unwed young lady, Michaela’s status as a duke’s daughter gave her no qualms about stripping down to her undergarments before a male tailor. Not even her brother questioned it. She stood tall and unabashed even as Rock’s fingers pressed the measuring tape against her body.

Then again, she seemed to be experiencing a different sense of security around Rock.

“Say, tailor, are you a man?”

Rock hid her bitter smile at her casual question. “Yes, I am.”

“How strange. You don’t really give off that feeling… Is it rude if I say that?”

“No.” Rock shook her head, which encouraged Michaela to innocently rattle on.

“I have always had a hard time with male tailors. I wonder why that isn’t the case with you. I can relax with you looking at my body.”

Was that her intuition speaking? Or did she possess some extra knowledge she wasn’t sharing? Either way, her remarks were enough to give Rock a fright.

“I believe it is surely because I take pride in my work,” Rock responded, keeping her voice level. “Scoundrels who forget their work before a beautiful lady are not fit to be tailors.”

“I wholeheartedly agree. No wonder Ebel is a regular at this shop.” Michaela complimented her while bringing up the name of her former fiancée.

Rock’s pen tip shook a little as she wrote down the measurement numbers.

Not noticing Rock keeping her head down, Michaela cheerily asked, “Do you tailor Ebel’s clothing as well?”

“…Yes.”

“Isn’t he a wonderful man? He is very good friends with my older brother.” Her voice lilted as brightly as the sun unobstructed by a single cloud of gloom.

But a very different impression of their relationship had been engraved in Rock. When she had seen them together at Ebel’s manor, bad air seemed to fill the space between the two. Ebel’s expression had been far from cheerful when he’d introduced Guido as his childhood friend.

Meanwhile, Guido treated Rock like trash. She didn’t have to hear what his motives were to draw her conclusions.

“Brother adores Ebel. I just know he would have married him if he had been born a woman.” Michaela giggled behind her hand. “And that is why he is desperate to marry me to Ebel no matter the cost. We broke off our engagement once already eight years ago, but Brother still won’t give up. He always talks about how we can make Ebel reconsider.”

Rock didn’t know how to react to what Michaela was telling her. Quietly returning the girl’s gaze resulted in her cutely tilting her head.

“Please make me the most fabulous dress in the realm.”

“A-All right. Y-You can trust me with your order.”

“Make it a dress capable of changing Ebel’s mind.” She didn’t speak with urgency or personal desire. Her request betrayed her childlike, innocent desire to make her brother happy.

Rock struggled to find the right words to say regardless. Giving a deep nod was about all she could manage. “It will be as you request, my lady.”

♚♚♚

ONCE Michaela had her measurements taken, Guido paid for the dress upfront and happily went home with his sister. Phoebe didn’t speak a word until the carriage that had stuck out like a sore thumb was out of earshot.

“Was it really smart for you to accept that job?” Though Phoebe’s voice sounded calm, Rock heard the warning in it.

“…Yes. A well-paying customer is a well-paying customer,” Rock said, giving her official stance on the matter.

Phoebe scoffed, “I’m not talking about financially. I’m talking about how he makes you feel.”

“I don’t feel anything really. Work is work. I’ll do what he paid me to.”

“I’m willing to bet good money that rich boy is plotting something.”

Rock agreed completely with Phoebe. But Michaela had put in the same request. She wanted a beautiful dress to catch Ebel’s eye. Rock had no right to intervene.

“All I can do is make the dress according to their order.” She sighed to release the tension in her body.

I’ll procure the glossiest violet silks and make the ultimate dress. I’m going to imitate the latest fashions and tailor the finest evening gown my skills can pull off.

A dress that showed off the wearer’s figure without losing class would draw out Michaela’s dainty beauty and give her the seductive allure Guido desired.

How would Ebel view Michaela wearing the dress Rock made?

“Tell His Excellency,” Phoebe advised, as if she were privy to Rock’s inner thoughts.

“T-Tell him what?” Rock jerked her head up from her hands. Phoebe was watching her with an exasperated smile.

“About that spoiled toff. Let him know he came to your shop.”

“Aah. Yeah. I’ll be sure to tell him that.”

Michaela aside, Ebel needed to know that Guido had shown up at her shop. As it was, their visit didn’t come across as being an introduction from Ebel. Guido clearly wasn’t a normal customer if he deliberately searched her out to spite his friend.

Michaela’s childish innocence was the only thing stopping Rock. Guilt lurked in the back of her mind over tattling on the girl.

“But you’ve got to wonder why they ever broke off their engagement.” Phoebe’s concerns lingered on another matter. “As far as we’ve seen and heard, the duke’s side didn’t want the annulment. Was it the count’s arbitrary decision?”

Rock knew the answer to that. The werewolf’s curse had torn Ebel and Michaela apart and changed Guido for the worst.

But there appeared to be a huge disparity between how Ebel and the Linus siblings perceived the situation. The siblings didn’t forsake Ebel after he became a werewolf and were even trying to restore the annulled engagement. It sounded like a beautiful story if she looked at it only on the surface, but Rock couldn’t get past Guido’s behavior.

Just as Michaela had pointed out, Guido was the one obsessed with Ebel.

♚♚♚

EBEL arrived that night per their arrangement.

Rock decided to go out to eat with him after she closed up shop. Their destination was the same hash house on the first floor of the public bathhouse.

Proprietress Justia merrily welcomed them and showed them to their special table in the back.

“Duke Linus’s son showed up today,” Rock said before they toasted.

Ebel had been restless up until that moment. He seemed as if he wanted to talk about something, likely the remainder of what he was going to say that morning, and his fidgetiness also arose from pure excitement at having dinner alone with Rock. He sat there brimming with energy, so much so that she could just imagine his werewolf tail wagging behind him. But that nervous energy dissipated the instant she brought up his angry friend.

“Guido came to your shop?”

“Yes. Together with his sister.”

“Michaela too? What brought this on?” Ebel groaned, suspicions mounting. “This may come across as rude to you, but they aren’t the kind of people to shop in the slums. I highly doubt it, but was it a social visit?”

Michaela’s wariness when she set foot in the shop certainly proved they didn’t patronize businesses in the slums.

Rock firmly shook her head. “No, they came as customers. They requested I make a dress for Lady Michaela.”

“That makes even less sense. That pigheaded Guido is making you tailor clothes for the sister he dotes on beyond healthy limits…?” Bumping into an unsolvable mystery, Ebel pressed his fingers against his temples.

Rock practically held the answer to that question in her hands. Guilt for tattling still prickled at her, but it had to be said. After all, it had more to do with Ebel than her.

Making excuses to appease her conscience, Rock exhaled before announcing, “According to the duke’s son, there is a lord whose attentions he wishes to gain.”

“For Michaela? I have a hard time believing that…”

“He wants to make you reconsider, Ebel,” Rock spelled it out for him, but rushed to amend her statement because she heard the cynicism in her voice. “The only reason I divulged a customer’s information is because I believed you needed to know. I normally never leak information like this.”

“I know. Thank you for telling me.” His handsome face softened into a smile, and he said comfortingly, “You needn’t worry. My heart belongs to you.”

I wasn’t worried… Rock felt an odd sense of relief.

“No matter how beautiful of a dress you make and whoever may wear it, my heart won’t be stolen away from you,” Ebel cheerfully announced, drawing a smile out of her.

“To be honest with you, your comment offends my skills as a tailor.”

“Then are the dresses you make that stunning?”

“You know my skill. I will make it more beautiful than a dream.”

Ebel put his finger to his chin as if imagining the dress. His expression melted into a dreamy smile as he said, “In that case, I would love to see you wear it.”

“…I am a man, Ebel,” she repeated, but it went through one ear and out the other. The golden eyes observing her seemed to already be imagining her in a different outfit.

“Your charms will shine even brighter in a dress.” Ebel raptly gave voice to the picture in his head. “A wreath of flowers will crown your wine-colored hair, a necklace of blue gemstones the same shade as your gorgeous eyes will adorn your neck, and a satin weave white silk dress will cascade down your sleek frame. I will take your hand and introduce you to the ladies and gentlemen waiting in the salon. Doesn’t that sound like a dreamy moment in time?”

It certainly sounded like a dream.

Rock didn’t know anything about salons or high society gatherings. Going into a place where snobbish nobles gathered, when she was uneducated in their ways, was more like a nightmare that set her hair on end. She was guaranteed embarrassment.

“You have questionable tastes picturing another man in a dress,” she objected again.

He gaped at her. “You think so? You would look good in a dress, though. Of course, I can’t get enough of your usual looks either,” he whispered, fixing his gaze on Rock across the dinner table.

Rock’s usual work attire of white shirt, black vest, and slacks was not particularly attractive or appealing, but Ebel’s expression filled with satisfaction over it.

“You are always so clean-cut, it’s a home run for me. But since you would look amazing in anything, I want to enjoy you in both styles.”

The way he spoke without malice proved his confidence in knowing Rock’s true identity. Thinking that arguing with him was a lost cause, she sullenly kept silent.

She’d never imagined herself in a dress. Dresses had always been a garment she made for others. In the three years since she began living dressed as a man, she’d grown accustomed to this male lifestyle and never longed to live as a woman again.

That said, a single treasured memory was buried deep in her heart. One from when her mother still lived. Her mother had been sewing smooth cloth into a dress for one of the village barmaids when she said, “Someday I will sew you a lovely dress too.”

Back then, Rock never doubted that “someday” would come.

The sudden revival of that bittersweet memory solicited Rock’s yearning for her mother. What kind of dress would Vale Floria have made for her daughter if she were still alive? Rock pondered that answerless question in silence.

Justia arrived at the table where the two sat with completely opposite expressions on their faces. “Oh, what’s this I hear about a dress? Is there a girl involved? That’s rare for you, Rock,” she teased while setting down a plate piled with freshly baked potato bread. “I never hear anything about romance in your life. Did you finally meet someone good?”

“H-Hardly!” Rock denied, her heart nearly bursting out of her chest. She didn’t have anyone like that in her life. How could she?

Exasperation overtook Justia’s features as she posed with her hands on her hips. “You never change. A tailor should have plenty of opportunities to interact with women. With that attitude, you’ll end up single for life.”

“I’m not looking for a romantic partner, after all.” Rock frowned.

Justia directed a friendly smile at Ebel next. “As you can see, Your Excellency, Rock’s a late-bloomer with no prospects. You must have your pick of the litter when it comes to women. Can’t you give him some advice?”

That was completely unwanted meddling on her part, but Ebel blandly shook his head. “I hate to dash a lady’s hopes, but I don’t have much relationship experience with women either.”

“Oh my. Now that is surprising. You are such a handsome catch, though!”

“I treasure the few relationships I do have above all else instead.”

Those golden eyes casually sent an amorous glance toward Rock. She squirmed in her seat and sat bolt upright.

Never in her wildest dreams would Justia imagine the very man she was asking advice from had been trying to court Rock.

“You can see for yourself what a fine disposition and appearance Rock has. He’ll meet someone eventually.”

Justia seemed convinced simply by the confidence in Ebel’s assertion. “You just got the best endorsement possible, Rock. Treasure the relationships you do form,” she advised and left their table in a swoosh of skirts.

Once he confirmed the proprietress was out of sight, Ebel flashed a playful grin at Rock. “You can have the best partner there is as soon as you want.”

“I never said I want one,” she retorted as she reached for the potato bread. Ebel blissfully watched her chomping on the bread across the table.

“The proprietress called me a handsome catch. What is there to be dissatisfied with?”

“It has nothing to do with being dissatisfied.” Rock downed her first slice of bread and glared at him. “Besides, you lied about not having relationship experience.”

“That wasn’t a lie. You’re about my only relationship, Rock.”

“What about Lady Michaela?” She asked on the spur of the moment and instantly regretted it. That made it sound as if she was deeply bothered by his relationship with her.

Ebel laughed out loud in front of the internally panicking Rock. “Is it bothering you that much? I told you that my heart belongs to you.” Amusement filled his voice as he explained, “I won’t deny I was once engaged to Michaela. But our engagement was decided by our parents when we were children. I was a fourteen-year-old boy and Michaela had just turned ten when we were betrothed. It’s not the kind of relationship that involved our feelings then or now.”

Ebel closed his eyes to revel in the nostalgia. “…If I had to describe our relationship, you could say I viewed her as a younger sister.” He picked up a slice of bread and spoke between bites. “My mother left this world young, leaving Father and my best friend Guido as my only pillars of support. Michaela was that best friend’s little sister. I wanted to care for her, and I accepted our engagement as the natural course of things.”

Though the shape of his feelings was different from romantic love, Michaela was still a person near and dear to Ebel’s heart. As was Guido—though in retrospect, his behavior at Rock’s shop made his status as Ebel’s “pillar of support” a questionable one. In any case, the three of them appeared to have once shared a beautiful relationship. If it was only the werewolf’s curse that had altered their relationship from what it once was to what Rock saw today, then perhaps Guido was obsessed with Ebel out of a desire to return to the glory days.

On the other hand, Ebel, who had lost both mother and father, was using the curse that had befallen him as his strength and took on each day with a cheerful outlook. His optimism was so great that it tended to make others perceive his werewolf curse as a light matter. When she thought about it, Rock had never once pitied him. There was no way he didn’t experience pain, but Ebel was the kind of man who made others think he didn’t.

Rock munched on her bread in silence for several minutes. During that time, she thought about herself. She’d also lost her father right after her mother. Dressing as a man was something she did because she wanted to, not a curse, but she hadn’t recovered from her loss yet. Being with Ebel intensely reminded her of that.

What we should be thinking about isn’t the beautiful memories of the past, but what will happen in the future. Rock’s thought reminded her of the conversation she had with Ebel that morning.

“Oh, right, Ebel, about what you were going to tell me this morning…” Because of the issue with Duke Linus’s son, the very thing they had met up to discuss had been completely pushed aside.

Ebel immediately figured out what she wanted. Though he eased the tension from his hardened face, his tone remained serious. “The conversation about Phoebe, right?”

“No, about my father,” Rock corrected.

A slight pause filled the air between them before Ebel agreed. “Right. I would like to investigate into that matter more before discussing it with you.”

Rock hadn’t expected him to say that. Ebel had already obtained a remarkable amount of information on her father, a man who had died several years ago. Would he be able to dig up more details if he tried?

At the same time, she didn’t miss the drastic change in his attitude since that morning. Was it just her imagination that he had seemed keen to share information with her earlier, but not now?

“I’m sorry. Won’t you please give me some time?” Ebel’s request was an earnest one, not intended to dodge the question or mislead her.

As it stood, Ebel was Rock’s only lead on her father. She reluctantly agreed. “I don’t mind. Please do what you must.”

“You can count on me. I’ll bring you solid proof next time.”

Ebel had no intention of sharing unconfirmed information with her. The desire to hear even rumors about her father coursed through her, but she put a lid on it to respect his wishes.

I just know Ebel will bring me new information on Father. That hope brightened her spirits.

♚♚♚

THE pair finished their meal and left, with Justia seeing them off at the door.

“Thank you for the meal. Goodbye…” Rock tried to bid Ebel farewell outside the hash house, but he stopped her with a wry grin.

“Your coldness never ceases to amaze me. Allow me to walk you home.”

“It still seems strange to me for two men to have dinner, then walk home together.”

“Perhaps. For two men,” he said, implying something more before shrugging. “It’s late. Getting into a fight with street thugs like the last time isn’t a pleasant thing for a man or woman.”

At night, the streets in the slums were eerily still except for the few rowdy areas around the pubs. Starlight wasn’t bright enough to light every nook and cranny of the labyrinth streets, and Rock would be stuck walking through dark shadows before she arrived at home. Knowing the streets didn’t assuage her fears, not after what happened the last time.

“Furthermore, your protector didn’t come along tonight.”

As he elucidated, there were no traces of someone tailing them. Phoebe seemed to have the wrong impression of their relationship and didn’t tag along this time because she thought they were on a real date.

Being completely alone at this hour in the slums was dangerous for a man or woman. Caution meant survival. Rock grudgingly accepted his offer. “Since you insist, please come with me half the way.”

“I’ll go the whole way to your room with you.”

“I sincerely want you to stop halfway.”

Bantering, the pair set off into the dark, filthy streets.

♚♚♚

ROCK’S room was on the second story of a shady antique shop located one alley over from the main market street. An old woman with more wrinkles than meat on her bones owned the antique shop. She almost never returned Rock’s greeting, except for when Rock came to pay rent—then, and only then, the embittered woman turned on the charm. Business didn’t seem to be booming for her, but mercenaries occasionally dropped by with questionable artifacts on their way back from exploring the ancient ruins, and Rock had seen some weird objects put out in the sun to dry.

“I live on the second floor of this building. Thank you for escorting me home,” Rock informed Ebel, stopping in front of the run-down antique shop.

Tagging along the whole way had done wonders for his mood, as he flashed her a brilliant smile that put the crummy torchlight to shame. “I haven’t escorted you all the way home yet. I have to see you to your room.”

“No thanks.”

“Won’t you invite me in for tea as thanks for walking you home?”

“I am grateful to you, but please don’t expect such things from me,” she huffed, exasperated by this situation, a classic case of a supposed gentleman walking a lady home only to make a pass at her.

She turned on her heel and climbed the outdoor stairs leading to her room, all the while wondering why he didn’t tenaciously follow her. He almost always persisted, trying one hand then the next to get his way. In no way did she want him to do that now, but she found it peculiar for him to silently let her go with the last word.

Curious, she looked back and found him still standing in front of the antique shop. Suspicion drew his eyebrows together and his mouth into a frown as he cautiously did a sweep of the area.

“…Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Did you just hear someone calling for me?” he asked in return, confusion lacing his words.

“Other than me? No.”

The area around the marketplace was deserted once night fell. She would’ve heard someone talking to him.

“I thought I heard something…” Ebel’s unconvinced expression sent chills racing down her spine.

“P-Please stop it. I won’t let you scare me into letting you inside.”

“No, that’s not my intention,” he promptly denied. “I’m certain someone is calling m—” Ebel suddenly dropped to his knees. “AUGHHH…!” A groan ripped from his throat, and he painfully gripped his shoulders.

Rock raced down the stairs and to his side. “Ebel!” She crouched beside him and touched his trembling shoulder. The muscles of his shoulders and arms suddenly swelled beneath his white shirt. “Wh-What is—”

“What in the blazes?! This shouldn’t be possi—” Ebel cried out in confusion as he stood in front of the wide-eyed Rock. Before he could finish speaking, his lips split wide open to his ears, and his straight nose jutted out in an uncanny manner. His burnt sienna hair noisily bristled, turning black as if being swallowed by the very darkness around them. Fur sprouted over his face, his fleshy ears vanishing, only for triangular, inhuman ears to pop out of the top of his head. In mere moments, the handsome face Justia always complimented finished transforming into a werewolf’s.

His body transformed just as quick. The shirt, vest, and trousers Rock had tailored couldn’t withstand his enlarging body and ripped into pieces with a scream-like sound. Beneath the starlight, a burly werewolf covered in black fur appeared.

“Ebel, this is a bad spot for that!” Rock’s warning came too late.

The werewolf rose on his haunches, unleashing a guttural howl that shook the empty streets. He blinked his gleaming eyes and took a shaky breath. “I-I don’t understand it either. Why am I in this form now…?”

Until now, Ebel had changed into his werewolf form at will. Rock didn’t know how it worked for sure, but his transformations always appeared as free and natural as breathing.

Did he just go through that process against his wishes? Obviously, she didn’t know why.

“A-At any rate, you mustn’t be seen.” Rock grabbed hold of the dazed Ebel’s oak-tree-like arm. “Let’s go in my room for now. Hurry!” She pushed his muscular back up the stairs and shoved him into her room. Then she returned to the street once more to collect his clothes before dashing back inside.

She quickly dragged a match along the striker and set a lantern ablaze with its flame. Warm light illuminated the cramped space, revealing the werewolf hunched over on the floor. It was strange how his presence alone was enough to make her familiar room feel like a supernatural place.

“Are you all right, Ebel?” she asked, holding the lantern over him. He sluggishly brought his head up. She couldn’t glean his mental state from the wolf’s face.

“Yes… Forgive me for losing my head.” His gravelly voice lacked its usual strength and confidence. Nevertheless, he spoke with concern for Rock’s well-being. “I accidentally forced you to witness my werewolf transformation. I sincerely hope I didn’t frighten you…”

“I’m not frightened. I’m used to it by now.” Rock deliberately added a cheerful lilt to her voice and guided Ebel to a chair. The simple wooden chaise with a quilted cushion creaked slightly under the robust werewolf, but it accepted his weight without breaking.

Sitting there with his back curled forward, he let out a small chuckle. “I’m always being saved by you. Thank you.” The situation appeared worse than she initially thought as his short laugh gave way to a hopeless sigh. Amid the swaying lantern light, the werewolf’s broad shoulders drooped. “I haven’t had this much trouble controlling my transformation since the first time.”

Rock placed the lantern on the floor and sat beside him. “The first time? You mean when you…”

“Indeed. I told you about it before, no? I’m speaking of the day the curse befell this body.”

Rock remembered clearly the story he’d told her after inviting her to Mateus Manor. Included among the late Count Mateus’s collection of antiques was a statue entombing the werewolf’s curse. A foolish mistake unleashed that curse upon Ebel eight years ago, turning him into a werewolf.

Ebel accepted his fate as a werewolf and showed a familiar ease with the inhuman form, but even he had a “first time.”

“I’m capable of transforming at will now, but it wasn’t always like that. When I was first cursed, I struggled with how to control this power.”

Thinking back, Ebel always transformed when he wanted to in front of her. He switched from person to werewolf and back without much effort.

“Do you think something is causing the same thing as then to happen?” Rock speculated.

Ebel inhaled. “So it appears. To be perfectly honest with you, I have been trying to return to human ever since entering your room.”

“You have?! Even when you don’t have any clothes?!” Rock sputtered, but clothing was the least of his concerns.

“It’s been to no avail. Try as I might, I can’t revert back.” His pointy ears fell flat against his head and his tail drooped lifelessly. This was clearly a problem he didn’t expect to face.

“It’s a serious matter if you can’t revert back. You are a count.”

He shook his head as if to rebuff her remark. “You are mistaken, Rock. It is a serious, trying matter for anyone, regardless of rank, to be stuck as a werewolf.”

“I am sure it is, but your title adds another level of difficulty.”

On the contrary, however venerable and prestigious the count’s family was, the nobles would never permit a werewolf among their ranks. The fearmongering word on the street pinned werewolves as unholy monsters that took on the appearance of men to devour unsuspecting citizens. Status as count didn’t have the clout to overthrow the people’s wild fears. Not only would the discovery lead to his downfall, but Ebel’s very existence would be trampled upon.

“I can hide you here until you revert back,” Rock offered, her heart dropping as she considered the worst possible scenario.

Ebel cracked what she assumed was a slight smile but looked more like him baring his fangs. “Thank you. I might have to impose on you if worse comes to pass.” He shook his furry head again. “But I would rather come up with the solution to this. Something is clearly the matter with my sudden inability to do something that came to me as naturally as breathing. This is…disturbingly abnormal.”

“I agree.” Rock was all for helping him, but racking her mind for a solution against an unprincipled curse was an exercise in futility. “Do you have any ideas what caused it?” she asked, speaking as gently as possible to calm him. “If something different from usual occurs, there must be an unusual element at play.”

“True…” He groaned, stroking his fluffy chin. One of his ears twitched. “Now that you mention it, I did hear that voice. I heard something calling me from this street.”

“You said that right before I went upstairs.”

At first, she’d rudely thought it was just a pretense for him to enter her room, but he actually did hear something she hadn’t. From on top of the stairs she had confirmed there wasn’t a single soul around the alley. Chills crawled along her spine, and she shuddered.

Ebel became lost in thought beside her. “I remember hearing that voice before…” He groaned again, agonized by a memory just out of reach. He raked his claws between his ears, searching his mind for the answer.

Rock watched Ebel’s wolf profile in silence. Frustration squeezed at her heart to see him anguished this way. Surprised by how much she sympathized with him in his time of crisis, she frantically put her mind to work.

Not long passed before a certain possibility struck her. “Is there only one cursed statue?” she ventured.

The intentions behind the statue were a mystery to them. But it seemed likely it was made to cast a curse upon unsuspecting people. It was a scary thought, but if someone did create the statue with the purpose of giving birth to more werewolves, then would such a wicked creator stop with just one?

“I don’t know. I’ve always thought it likely that more were out there,” Ebel answered surprisingly fast, turning his golden eyes on Rock. “But I only know of the one. The statue that cursed me no longer exists either.”

“Wasn’t it another one of the antiques your father had mercenaries acquire for him?” she asked, looking straight into his gleaming eyes. She felt as if they were on the precipice of grasping the truth. “Let’s say there isn’t just one in the world. Why don’t we consider that another statue is nearby? Think of it this way: another cursed statue’s powers are influencing you in a similar way to when you were first cursed.”

Rock obviously wasn’t an expert on curses, so this was just speculation on her part. But it was more than plausible. If something that hadn’t happened since he destroyed the original statue occurred only after he approached her room—

“Nearby…? You mean in your room?”

“No, below it. My room sits on top of an antique shop.”

“It does?!” Ebel jumped at that information and grabbed hold of Rock’s shoulders with his furry hands.

Fighting back her surprise at the strength and feel of those large, paw-like hands, she nodded. “Y-Yes. My landlady owns it. Sometimes mercenaries bring her artifacts from their ruin explorations.”

“I see! Then your theory has merit!” Excited, he leaped from the chaise and whirled toward Rock. “Is it possible to check if the shop has the statue right now, Rock?”

“No, not at this hour… An old lady runs the shop, so…” She was baffled by how fast he took her theory to be truth. “I will check first thing in the morning.”

Ebel’s massive body trembled with impatience. “Tomorrow morning? I won’t be able to do anything until then.” The lie of his fur bristled like a windswept meadow and shimmered in the yellow candlelight.

After being momentarily captivated by him, Rock brought up a critical point. “What should I do if that statue is in the shop below? If we theorize you can’t return to normal with it around…”

“For now, I want you to take it somewhere far away,” Ebel said, then continued along that vein of thought. “After that…I will send an envoy you can entrust it to. Once it’s in my hands, I’ll take responsibility for destroying it.” By the time he finished speaking, his tone had sunk several decibels, the weight of the world bearing down on him. Surprised, Rock lifted her gaze to where the werewolf arched his back, every strand of fur standing on end. He bared his fangs, his ears flicked back, and his nose crumpled. “That thing must be destroyed.”

Resolve and anguish echoed in his deep voice, which sounded like someone raking metal over cobblestone.

What took her by surprise was how different from before this image of him was. Hadn’t Ebel told her that by becoming a werewolf he had gained a marvelous power? That he didn’t resent his father for unleashing this curse on him? Yet the werewolf before her simmered with palpable resentment, outrage, and hatred for the curse.

Keen man that he was, Ebel detected her shock. “Is it strange for me to say such things?” he questioned.

“Yes,” she gave him the honest answer he deserved. “You praised the curse as a good thing…”

“For me, it is. I have no regrets as far as that’s concerned,” he asserted bluntly, not hesitating with what he said next either. “But this curse should end with me. When I think of others being afflicted by it—especially you—I must eradicate the source.”

The flame suddenly swayed inside the lantern, and something flashed within those golden eyes. “I believe that is my duty as the bearer of this curse.” Not a fragment of hesitation or wavering could be gleaned from his tone.

Overwhelmed, Rock gasped and held her tongue. Thinking it over again, there was nothing magnificent or wonderful about being under a mysterious curse. Ebel took it in stride, but now she didn’t know if his cheerfulness was the whole truth.

What she did know was that a curious feeling overcame her when she touched upon his anger and suffering. I still don’t know anything about the man named Ebel Mateus. That thought clung to her and wouldn’t let go.

♚♚♚

EBEL “tried” changing back countless times after their conversation with no results. Night advanced into the wee hours, and his werewolf form prevented him from going home. So Rock allowed him to stay at her place.

“To think I would have the opportunity to sleep in your room…” His tail whipped back and forth at her offer. “Lady Luck is shining down on me. Let’s thoroughly enjoy this precious moment.”

“There is nothing for you to enjoy. My home is cramped.”

Twinkling golden eyes flicked about the room, ignoring Rock’s laughter. “Hrm… This is indeed your room. It smells of you.”

“Please don’t smell my room!” she chided him for getting overexcited as she prepared the sleeping arrangements.

With Phoebe as the only guest she ever had over, Rock owned only one bed. Ebel said he didn’t mind sleeping on the floor, but she had mighty reservations about making a count sleep on the floor or chaise.

So she layered several thick quilts on the floor next to her bed and wrapped them in the softest linen. It took some work to create a werewolf-sized bed, but she managed to prepare one just the right size after having Ebel lie down on it several times.

“Would you like a blanket?” she asked, looking down at Ebel resting on her makeshift bed. She thought it was an unnecessary question for a fur-covered wolf, but to her surprise, Ebel, who was curled up on his side, asked for one.

“Yes, please.”

“Here you go. Please throw it off if you feel too hot.” She shook out the blanket and spread it over the werewolf’s body. The large blanket fit snugly around him.

“Thanks, Rock,” he said with a tickled laugh. “I always find myself in your care.”

“That’s not true.” She shook her head, then said as gently as possible to assuage his fears, “I hope we can pull everything off smoothly tomorrow so you can return to normal soon.”

Ebel stuck his wet nose out from under the blanket and blinked in a human manner. “I don’t mind staying this way forever if it means being treated this kindly by you.”

“Am I normally not kind to you?” she prompted with a sardonic smile.

He fell momentarily silent before answering in a voice sweeter than any nectar: “Nay. You have been my savior from day one.”

Rock stepped away from him without a word, though it wasn’t because of his tone or the words he used.

Was it because of the silent night? Or because they were alone together? Every word he said lingered in her ears and wouldn’t go away.

♚♚♚

ROCK’S room was reasonably small for one person to live there. A large cloth hung from the ceiling to partition the square studio into separate sleeping and living areas. She had used a thin cloth to let through the light from the only window, but it didn’t serve as a good partition with guests present.

Lantern in hand, she returned to the living area, and when she looked back at the sleeping area, she saw her bed and the bed she had made directly beside it right through the thin cloth. This threw her into a state of considerable disquiet, as she had planned to change before bed.

“Ebel, would you mind not looking this way while I change?” she asked. The blanket-covered werewolf stirred restlessly.

“Going out of your way to alert me has the adverse effect of rousing my interest.”

“Please douse it. I’m putting my trust in you,” she said, a threat hanging from her words. Then she placed the lantern at her feet and doffed her clothing.

She stripped off her tailor vest, shirt, and slacks, then unhooked the corset concealing her chest. Sleeping with that uncomfortable thing on would cause too much pain to rest well. Removing her corset around Ebel was the epitome of danger, but he’d be less likely to notice with her being in her pajamas and under the blankets in the dark.

“Phew…” A sigh of relief slipped past her lips once she pulled on her baggy night clothes.

Rock loved the moment at the end of the day when she removed all her clothing and changed into her comfortable pajamas. Everyone feels ultimate bliss in those moments when they are freed from the day’s oppressive restraints and only have to fall into peaceful sleep.

Then again, she doubted peaceful sleep was on the agenda tonight.

Finished changing, Rock returned to the sleeping area with the lantern. She slipped through the thin partition and climbed into bed, when Ebel poked his head out from under his blanket.

“You are still awake?”

His pointy ears flicked back and forth at her question. “I couldn’t help being distracted by the sound of your clothes.”

“Those ears seem like they bring more trouble than they are worth, Ebel.”

“You can say that again. On another note, your nightclothes have a whole new appeal of their own.” The werewolf looked up at her from his side, his golden eyes perusing her.

“Please don’t look.” Rock blew out the lantern to escape his keen eyes. Thick darkness fell over the once brightly lit room. “All right, I turned out the lights. Please go to sleep,” she instructed, straining her eyes against the dark. Two golden, blinking orbs of light glimmered on the floor. She knew Ebel was there. For whatever bizarre reason, that put her mind at ease.

“Honestly, I doubt I can sleep…”

She couldn’t see his face, but she heard clearly the distress in his voice. Rock pulled the blankets close to her chest and asked the pair of golden orbs, “Are you having a hard time keeping calm?”

“Yes. My heart is kicking up such a racket, I can’t quiet it.”

“I know this must be difficult for you, but try not to think about it too much,” Rock said, attempting to be considerate of his feelings. “I will run down to the antique shop as soon as dawn breaks. Please rest until then.”

They had no guarantee that would solve anything. They didn’t even have any proof that the shop below housed another statue. But Rock wanted to cling to any possibility, no matter how small. She couldn’t leave Ebel in this state. All the more so if he was stricken with depression over it.

“…Thank you,” Ebel responded with a hint of hesitation before a smile filled his voice. “The biggest cause of my sleeplessness lies in you being beside me in that provocative outfit.”

This was what she got in return for showing concern over his situation. Annoyed, she frostily spat out, “I shouldn’t have worried about you!” She flipped over on the bed, pointing her back toward him. Then she yanked the blankets up to her head and pretended to go to sleep angry.

She heard Ebel’s heartrending voice behind her blanket-covered back. “Did I anger you? I’m sorry. Please face this way again.”

Not a single light illuminated the room, making it impossible, under normal circumstances, for anyone to see that Rock had turned her back to him. If they were human, that was. She sat bolt upright in bed and questioned the eyes glowing in the dark. “Can you see me?”

“Wolves have excellent night vision. I can see you clearly even now.”

“Your good eyes seem like more trouble than they’re worth too. Please refrain from looking at me, then.” Rock hugged the blankets to her chest, concealing it. The golden glowing orbs abruptly went out. Either he had shut his eyes or put his head down.

“Does this work?”

Surprisingly, he obeyed without a fuss. Rock lay back down and answered him in a slightly better mood: “Yes.”

Silence filled the lightless room for a span of time afterward. Rock shut her eyes in a bid to fall asleep. But her heart thrashed and rollicked, keeping at bay the sleep that should’ve come long ago. Closing her eyes failed to keep out of her thoughts the knowledge that Ebel was sleeping beside her.

She’d mentioned her theory to him out of a wholehearted desire to cheer him up. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen Ebel depressed. Like an honest child, he had openly worn his despondence on his sleeve when Rock had scolded him for ruining his clothes and when he tore his shirt. But what she saw in him tonight was different from the other times—it was closer to utter despair.

Can I lift his spirits and inspire hope in him once more tomorrow? Was her theory even correct? What happens if I don’t find anything close to what he’s looking for in the shop?

The more she thought about it, the deeper into the pits of despair her thoughts plummeted. Unable to take another minute of being haunted by spiraling thoughts, she forewent sleeping for now and opened her eyes. Without much thought, she glanced toward Ebel and found two small golden orbs twinkling near the floor. Moreover, those glowballs suspiciously darted around the room the moment she turned toward him.

“You were still awake?” Rock asked, holding back her laughter at his poor, but funny, attempt at fooling her.

Giving into fate, the glowing eyes stopped restlessly wandering the room. “Um…forgive me. I couldn’t resist when I couldn’t fall asleep,” he apologized, a timorous tone accenting his rumbling voice.

“Me either. Would you like to talk instead?” Rock offered, hoping to escape the downward pull of her emotions. The two golden orbs slowly blinked, followed by a long, tired exhale.

“Rock, may I tell you my story?”

“Sure.”

“Thank you.” After expressing his gratitude, he broached the topic in a voice softer than the blankets she held to her chest. “Do you remember the night we met?”

“You appeared inside my shop in your current form.”

“Indeed. I called you a lad at the time because I didn’t know your age. Forgive me.”

Others often made that mistake as well. Making people accept a short and wiry “man” with a lyrical, high-pitched voice was harder than picking pockets in the slums.

“It happens all the time. I’m not bothered by it.”

Ebel gave a strained laugh at her reply. “You should be. Calling a pretty person like you a lad is the same as any other insult.”

Rock didn’t respond. Whether he knew her secret or not, she wasn’t going to acknowledge it. She felt as though doing so would make her lose something valuable. What that was, she didn’t know.

“When I think about it, you and I are very similar,” Ebel proceeded, not needing her to answer. “Both of us have obtained a peaceful life by transforming into another version of ourselves. I don’t know your circumstances, but I can see the need for you to do it to operate a shop in these parts. I believe you made the correct decision too.” He spoke as gently as possible to reach Rock’s ears as she maintained her silence. “My feelings are the same as the last time I confided them in you. I don’t care if you are a man or woman.”

He told her that frequently, and every time, she thought of him as a troublesome fellow.

“Of course, one of those would make me happier than the other. But, whoever you choose to be, these feelings won’t change.” Ebel paused there, hesitating with what he had to say next. He swallowed audibly before taking the plunge. “How about you? Say I remain a werewolf forever, never to return to being a man again. Would you still lend an ear to my love confession?”

Those words exposed his weakness and fears like never before.

In a sense, he phrased it in a way that was very like him. Whether Rock had been listening to his love confessions until now was up for debate. But on this night, the man who normally whispered his affections with confidence was sharing his heart with unusual reserve. The anxieties hiding inside him became more pronounced.

He might never become human again. That fear chewed away at him more than it did Rock. The man who always took pride in being a werewolf feared being one forever.

Feeling her chest squeeze, Rock sat up in bed. She reached out into the endless darkness and gently stroked the area above those glowing golden orbs. Her hand sunk into the soft, almost bottomless fur and bumped into the malleable ears, letting her know she was touching the top of his head.

“What are…?” Ebel’s dubious voice trailed off into a pleased groan.

“Please don’t be worried, Ebel,” she told him. Comforting words failed to come to mind. But she couldn’t just leave him to suffer alone with his fears. “Whether you are man or werewolf, it doesn’t change you from being the Ebel I know.”

Rock still didn’t know a lot about him. The small bits of information she did have made her want to save him from despair. She wanted to set his mind at ease, if only a little. Did that desire stem from his being like her?

“So don’t think too deeply about it. Let’s get proper rest tonight and tackle the problem in the morning.”

Ebel let out a blissful exhale when she rubbed the long fur between his ears. “Yes…let’s do that.” His fuzzy hand grabbed her slender wrist. “Rock, I have a single request.”

“What is it? Waah!”

He pulled Rock off the bed with his brute werewolf strength. Rolling on top of the soft, furry werewolf prevented her from getting hurt, but she raised her voice over his abruptness. “Ebel! You are always so forceful—”

Her objections were swallowed by his arms wrapping tightly around her. “…I know. But I want you at my side tonight.” Trembles shook the body that was larger than two men. “You can leave once I fall asleep. Please allow me to cling to your warmth.”

His earnest entreaty stumped her. She couldn’t spurn him. Not that she didn’t realize a piece of him was taking advantage of the situation, but that wasn’t enough to neglect him.

Rock ducked her head in his brawny arms. “If I can leave once you fall asleep, then fine.”

“Thank you, Rock.”

“I’m putting my trust in you. I will pinch off your wet nose if you try anything.”

Did he hear her warning? She heard his tail whipping across the makeshift bed.

Ultimately, Rock fell asleep first that night.

After all, she went to sleep in the luxuriously furry arms of a fluffy werewolf. In addition to the ultimate comfort of being surrounded by the softest fur, her wariness easily fell before her accumulating fatigue. It wasn’t possible to support her eyelids from rapidly weighing shut.

To top it off, Ebel was gently stroking her hair the whole time. Using his sharp claws in the place of a brush, he combed them smoothly through her hair. Was it the sleepiness pressing down on her that made Rock not only not hate what he was doing, but even enjoy it?

“The first night I became a werewolf, I fell asleep alone on top of the cold floor,” he said, beginning to narrate his past in a quiet voice while he played with her hair. “After all, Father had fallen to pieces… He was in such a bad state Ludovicus had to force strong ale down his throat. They quarantined me in fear of me going on a wild rampage, and I spent the night isolated. I returned to being a man the next morning, making that the only night I felt that helpless, but…”

Adrift in partial sleep, Rock listened to his story.

“I couldn’t stop myself from remembering the fears that tormented me that night.” Joy colored his voice even though he was talking about a painful memory. “I was saved this time by your presence. Thank you…”

Satisfaction filled her at the sound of his voice. She didn’t know why. She just wanted Ebel to be happy and optimistic like his usual self.

There was still so much she didn’t know about him. Perhaps the real Ebel trembled from old, scarring memories all the time. Even if that were the case, she couldn’t stop from wishing that his melancholy woes would be washed clean, leaving only his smile tomorrow.

Until now, she only ever felt that way about her mother and Phoebe.

“I hope you have a good tomorrow,” Rock whispered into Ebel’s chest on her way to deep sleep.

Although they were not yet lovers, the couple slept on top of the makeshift bed in an affectionate embrace.