Everyone was waiting, hands clasped in prayer for a miracle as a bigger chunk of Oya’s soul wondered into the room, hesitantly hovering around until it got closer to the bedside. Once it got closer to her unresponsive body, it finally descended like a lost child finding their home at last. Oya’s skin finally seemed to gain some warmth, giving Clad hope that she might be returning to normal. The big knight brushed aside some stray strands of hair, looking for any sign of change to her expression.

“Oya can you hear me, it’s me Clad?”

“…gree…gr..n…eyed…wolf…” the old matron’s lips were moving but it was hard to make out her words. Clad had to move closer to make sense of it.

“Beware…of the…green-eyed…wolf.” The dark elf keeps repeating the phrase like a mantra. It’s clear though the soul fragment was larger than the last, it still isn’t enough to bring her back.

As a knight relying solely on his build and strength, Clad is quite aware that he’s lacking by scholarly standards. Frowning, he looks up at the gathered group in hopes that someone else might understand what she means. Ariellia and Rei shake their heads as one, just as lost as him in the matter.

“Rei! Help Rei, something has happened!”

And as they are about to pick their brains to try to make sense of it all, Riell bursts into the room, holding a crying little girl in his arms, while looking very agitated with his fur standing on end. He reaches for Ariellia’s shoulder without warning, staring her dead in the eye before asking a very unexpected question.

“The night you were kidnapped, was Anya with you?”

Both Rei and Ariellia as stunned for different reasons. Arie is amazed the smitten fox is willing to look past his love-tinted glasses to notice this hidden fact. Rei looks flabbergasted by what his friend might be insinuating, it’s precisely because of his reaction that Ariellia kept her mouth shut this entire time. But as fate would have it, who knew the person who would give her a chance to settle her accounts with Anya would be Riell, this unspoken love-struck bystander.

Eren won’t tell her why exactly, but from within the seal she’s noticed he’s always been very nice to Anya, never trying to ruin the tentative relationship between them like she might get the upper hand at any time. While some might say he’s just trying to win Rei over, caring for those he cares about, Arie knows there’s more to it. Eren’s actions make it clear that openly opposing Anya would only hurt her standing, so she’s kept her troubled peace about the whole kidnapping incident in hopes it can be used for emotional blackmail in the future.

As much as she wants to say the relationship with Rei has changed, in some cases, certain things remain the same. In his eyes, Anya will always be his precious childhood friend, a little sister he must take care of. After she returned from Draghdom, she’s even noticed some unclear guilt occasionally filling his gaze in passing when he looks at the wolf-girl. Deep down she is afraid to put his newfound feelings to the test, knowing she might never recover if he picks Anya over her like he did on their wedding night.

“…Beware…of…green-eyed wolf…”

Sometimes while grappling with a hard decision the words of another can bring unexpected clarity without meaning to.

‘So that’s what she meant.’

The heiress is stunned to think that the wolf girl might have turned on the kind nun that raised her. No matter how little she thinks of the two-faced hussy, this is a bridge too far from the Anya she knows. The little wolf has always been territorial, fiercely guarding all the people in her pack. Assisting the king’s men to get rid of her to free Rei from their unlikely marriage is one thing, but to harm Lady Oya?

‘Something is not right.’ As much as she hates to admit it. For once, even she finds herself shaking her head in Anya’s defense.

‘Anya has been acting weird ever since you returned from Draghdom.’ Eren also finds this to be a curious case, but until now many things have gone off the rails because of his interference, could this be the latest deviation? Perhaps because Ariellia is not dead and Rei is still married to her, the universe has decided to flip their roles. Now Anya is to play the part of the Villainess, while Ariellia gets to remain married to the protagonist as the heroine? Still, if that were the case there would be no need to involve the innocent, Anya would just come after Arie then.

“Slow down boy and explain what you saw.” Jasper, despite being a doll, now remains the only voice of reason in this otherwise emotionally tense room.

“Behind the Orphanage, I went to go check on Anya, I saw little Macie pacing behind the shed, so I went over to ask her what’s wrong. That’s when I saw Anya devouring little Orim’s soul!” It’s clear from his fluttering voice that even the speaker is still in disbelief. Placing the traumatized little Macie on the ground, Riell curls up into a hunched ball, gripping his head in discomfort. The obvious war between his heart and mind on display for everyone in the room to see.

“I can’t believe it, Anya is a wind attribute magic user. When did she learn to devour the souls of others in such a short time span? Like Jasper said, it’s a dark art that’s hard to master from a group that barely exists now.” Rei keeps shaking his head, looking for reasons to champion Anya’s defense.

“And where is she now?”

Everyone is startled by Clad’s voice, his tone is a lot deeper than usual, a lot darker in fact. It’s unknown when he gently tucked the covers around Oya’s trembling frame, his big stature suddenly taking the likeness of a daunting mountain. His simple question conceals the true anger brimming in his chest.

“I overheard her talking to a sparrow. It said it’d found the resting place of the late duchess. They’re headed to the castle now!” Despite his misgivings on the situation Riell knows better than to hide this from the group. As much as he would like to protect his friend, he can’t stand idly by while she desecrates the resting place of the late duchess. If he did, he would have no face left to look Ariellia or the duke in the eye.

“You’ve done well child. If a friend is straying from the right path, it is your duty as a friend and a suitor to correct her before it is too late.” Jasper offers the troubled teen this little bit of guidance.

“She dares!” Upon hearing that Anya’s goal is her mother’s resting place, Ariellia’s entire restrained attitude takes a turn. Her violet eyes shine with a blood chilling rage at the thought of her worst enemy entering her home to disturb her mother’s rest. Uncontained mana bursts out of her like a ferocious storm. She doesn’t even bother to check on Rei’s reaction to the news, already bolting out of the room and headed towards the castle. It isn’t until she feels strong arms wrap around her waist, hoisting her inches off the ground to keep her from running away that she takes note of him. For once she’s not in the mood to appease or flatter him, wildly flinging her legs as she struggles out of his iron grip, even kicking him in the knee a few times. Rei hisses at the hit but doesn’t release his hold, through gritted teeth, he speaks to the doll at her waist.

“Teleport us to the castle Uncle.”

“For this, I don’t even mind being used as a transporter.”