Dreams of a White Wolf
“Who are you?”
Hiro opened the door to the study on the third floor of Berg Fortress to find an unfamiliar girl yawning beneath a pile of books.
“Hm?” She cocked her head at him, uncomprehending.
Her hair was white, her eyes were ocher brown, and her shapely figure could not help but elicit a gasp. Moreover, she was entirely naked, with not a single scrap of cloth to protect her modesty.
“Umm...” Hiro began. “How did you get in? If you’re looking for the baths, they’re downstairs.”
This seemed like something he didn’t want to get involved with. Better to get her out of his hair so he could get back to reading.
“I hate baths,” the girl snapped.
Hiro frowned. “I don’t know how to say this but...why aren’t you wearing anything if you’re not looking for the baths?”
She shook her head emphatically. “I don’t wear clothes.”
So she walked around naked all the time? For a moment, Hiro was speechless, but then a thought struck him.
“One of our soldiers didn’t snatch you, did they?”
The Duchy of Lichtein’s invasion had thrown Berg Fortress and the surrounding settlements into disarray. It wouldn’t have been surprising for some of the troops to get up to no good in the chaos. This girl was certainly pretty enough to catch an unscrupulous soldier’s eye.
“Do you remember who took you?”
Commonfolk or nobleborn, that was not a crime that could be overlooked.
“It’s all right. I won’t let them hurt you. Can you tell me who it was?”
The girl let slip another yawn, then tilted her head thoughtfully. “Liz,” she said at last. “With the red hair.”
“You have to be kidding...”
She wouldn’t...would she? It was hard to imagine Liz violating the law in any way, let alone for that. Gears ground in Hiro’s brain as he found himself with a dilemma on his hands.
“If she’s losing her way, I have to nudge her back onto the right path.”
As he made up his mind to give Liz a stern talking to, the white-haired girl’s hand fell on his shoulder. At some point, she had moved to stand by his side. He turned to face her, then immediately looked away; he didn’t quite have the nerve to openly stare at a girl in the nude.
“A-Anyway, how about we get you some clothes? You must be freezing.”
“Mmm...”
“Right? That’s why— Oof!”
Hiro’s voice turned into a yelp as the girl pushed him over. Something soft pressed against his chest. Sensing danger, he tried to extricate himself, but her arms wrapped around his body, preventing his escape. At the end of the day, she was a girl and he was a boy; he could have broken out if he’d tried, but—
“Hey... Hey! Hold it! What are you doing?!”
As her hand slipped inside his uniform, she bent down to gently lick his cheek. Her tongue glistened red on the fringe of his vision.
“The same thing I always do.”
“The same...?! I don’t even know who you are!”
“Yes, you do. We do this all the time.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Now get off me! What if Liz sees?!” Hiro shuddered to imagine the disgust in the princess’s stare.
“She won’t mind.”
“Try telling her that!”
“Try telling me what?”
As Hiro tussled with the white-haired girl, a shadow fell over him. There was no mistaking that voice. He looked up to see Liz practically glowing with rage, her fists clenched in fury.
“I see someone’s enjoying himself.”
“It’s not what it looks like!” Hiro protested. “Besides, she wouldn’t even be here if you hadn’t—”
“No excuses!”
“Guh!” Hiro grunted as her fist smacked squarely into his face. He sat up, nursing his cheek. “Ouch! What did you do that...for...?”
His teary-eyed whimper trailed away as he looked around.
“Huh? Liz?”
He scanned the room, but Liz was nowhere to be seen. There was only a book lying on top of his head and Cerberus curled up at his feet, looking up at him blithely. He rubbed his forehead and cracked a sheepish smile.
“Just a dream, huh?”
“Ruff!”
If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn the white wolf’s bark sounded faintly amused.
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