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Since that day, I decided to hole myself up in the little cabin until I got my magic back.

Of course, during that time, I decided to refrain from visiting the impoverished village as well, and since the risk of running into my father was increasing day-by-day and upon every outing, I figured it was best to stay inside as much as possible. This worked out well though, since I had some things that I wanted to think about anyway.

I told Henry-Oniisama that I wasn’t planning to attend school for a while and he agreed immediately with my decision.

“Wow, he sure spoils you… Henry, I mean.”

“Yeah, but Henry-Oniisama is the only one who acts that way with me.”

“That’s true,” Gilles admits with a small smile.

I had requested that he stay with me, since I wanted to hear his opinion on some things, and he had graciously agreed.

“When did the wolf appear in the academy I wonder….” I say, thinking aloud. “Do you know?”

“I heard from Henry that it happened around a year ago.”

One year ago….. How was this not a bigger deal?

It’s almost unbelievable that a rabid wolf would be able to make it onto the grounds of the magic academy. And yet, nobody’s questioning it!? Is the king even aware that something like this happened?

“I just can’t get it out of my head. It doesn’t make sense no matter how much I try to rationalize it….” Gilles mutters. And then looking up at me suddenly, “It was tomorrow, right? The day you can start using magic again?”

“Yeah,” I say, giving a small nod.

Tomorrow my magic should come back. Which means I’ll also be able to verify my magic level tomorrow. Though, before requesting an audience with the king, I really need to see Uncle Will first….

Ugh, I have too many things to do. My head’s a complete mess.

“It’s really strange. If it was in the town, that would be one thing, but how did a wolf find its way into the magic academy?” Gilles ponders seriously.

“Someone likely brought it in on purpose.”

“A rabid wolf?”

“Maybe they just made it look rabid…?” I suggest, though it comes off as more of a question than a statement.

Gilles considers this, bringing his hand up to support his chin. As he thinks, a wrinkle forms between his brows and his eyes grow unfocused, like he’s looking at something far off in the distance.

If someone did, in fact, bring the wolf onto the academy grounds on purpose, this could be a huge issue.

I go over to a small desk in the corner of the room and pull out a map from the drawer.

To toss a wolf into the academy without anyone noticing… could they have used the forest as cover? And how did they even acquire a wolf in the first place?

“Wolves are not native to this kingdom….. which means it that it likely came from a foreign country,” Gilles murmurs to himself even as he’s moving towards my desk and pulling out another, more extensive map than the one I had grabbed.

…..A foreign country.

…..And a wolf.

Hmm. There’s an important connection here. I know it. I can feel it. It’s right on the edge of my mind, wavering just out of reach….

What else is there? Think…..

Liz-san protected students at the academy from a wolf….. Oh!

” “The Ravaal Kingdom!” ” Gilles and I cry simultaneously.

“I read a book once that mentioned there are wolves in the Ravaal Kingdom,” Gilles tells me while tapping his pointer finger on the map in the location of Ravaal.

…..Ah, that makes sense. I didn’t even think of that. The only reason Ravaal came to mind for me was because I suddenly remembered a certain event from the otome game.

It was an important event during the game as it was a chance for the heroine to raise her favorability levels. Though, if I recall correctly, I feel like I chose not to save anyone when I had been playing….. A part of me had wanted to to protect them, of course, but I didn’t want to die. And the people that I was going to try to save all hated me. I definitely didn’t want to risk my life in order to save the likes of them. I’m not nearly that good of a person. Honestly, there isn’t much in this world that I’d be willing to endanger my life for….

“Alicia? Are you listening?” Gilles asks sticking his face right in front of mine.

I flinch, taken aback.

“…What did you say?”

Looking a bit annoyed, Gilles repeats himself.

“I said, if that wolf is still around and we can see it, then we’ll be able to figure out whether it’s from the Ravaal Kingdom or not.”

“…..Oh, right. Since most wolves native to Ravaal tend to have big, red, bushy tails.”

“Well yeah, that. And wolves from Ravaal have thin, iron collars put around their necks,” Gilles says, his voice a fraction lower than usual.

…..I didn’t know that. Though, why would I? During the game, the wolf’s appearance only served to provide the player with a chance to earn some favorability points. There was no need to include such minute details like that, the reason the wolf appeared, or where it came from since it had no bearing on your goal of obtaining love.

As with any otome game I played, there was no reason to wonder if there was any meaning or significance behind an event like this. Raising favorability was the only thing that mattered. Though, thinking logically now, it’s obviously odd that a wolf would appear within the academy….. I didn’t notice it while I was playing, but the creators were pretty sloppy when putting this game together.

“And the owner’s name should be engraved on that collar,” Gilles continues carefully, looking me straight in the eye.

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T/N: Awww thanks for all the comments you guys ❤ It really did help energize me!!

Haha, so I was a bit confused on this whole collar business. The way Gilles was saying it, it sounded like ALL the wolves in Ravaal have collars. Like it’s just a normal thing, like them having bushy red tails…. Which doesn’t really make sense? Unless all wolves in Ravaal are domesticated? So I did my best to write that portion clearly without making any assumptions to what he meant…. But just know that I have no idea what his logic was. And the way he said it didn’t leave room for doubt haha. There was no “probably” or “should.” It was like he knew the wolf would have a collar if it was from Ravaal…..

Maybe the funky logic was intentional. Now I won’t be able to stop thinking about wolves and collars, just like Gilles and Alicia XD