Loraine sheathed her sword once more before stepping closer, her face laced with worry as her eyes fell upon Wein's bleeding neck.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," Loraine murmured hesitantly, her hand half-raised as if to touch Wein's neck—though it looked more like she was about to choke him.
It wasn't entirely Loraine's fault, either. They'd both been sneaking around, and the fog had obscured their vision.
"It's fine. Just a scratch," Wein exclaimed, though he had no idea what kind of injury he was dealing with. Loraine looked like she was on the verge of tears; the wound was wider than he realized.
"What? A scratch? I'll take responsibility," Loraine snapped firmly, prompting Wein to fall silent and finally grow curious about the extent of the wound. He raised his free right hand to feel it.
The moment he touched his neck, it wasn't skin that met his palm—it was liquid. He pulled his hand away, only to find it soaked in blood.
You didn't notice a fatal strike because you were too stunned, Persephone muttered.
The sword had pierced deep—not quite fatal, but it had sliced the outer layer with a clean line from the rapier's edge.
"Okay… That's pretty bad," Wein said with a nervous chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. Loraine, however, gave him a sharp look, not even hinting at a smile.
Wein quickly followed suit and dropped the humor until Loraine finally spoke. "Don't joke around too much. You got stabbed in the neck, you know," she scolded.
Then her expression softened as her gaze shifted toward the two wolf pups, her face lighting up with delight. "Are these wolf pups?" she asked.
"I don't know. I can't even tell if they're wolves or dogs," he replied, just as one of the pups coughed in front of his face, which was now very close to theirs.
"Aww… Poor thing. This terrible air must be hurting them," she muttered, looking away and standing up again to lock eyes with Wein.
"You planning to keep these sweet little things?"
"Yeah, I guess. Can't just leave them here."
Loraine gave him a look as if she'd already expected that answer, and after a few seconds, she sighed and said, "Alright. I suppose we should bring them in before their breathing gets worse. And I need to treat your neck too."
Wein only nodded in response, unsure of what to say, and followed Loraine as she walked ahead of him, carrying the two little creatures in his arms.
---
"Fetch," Wein whispered firmly but kept his voice low, making sure not to wake Aria Everdisch, who was asleep in the neutral meeting room.
She'd dozed off holding a book that had slipped onto her face, covering it as she slept. Loraine slipped in quietly through the back door, tiptoeing across the room.
She headed toward the portable bookshelf to search for books related to animals in this world—just moments before Aria mumbled something in her sleep.
"Over there…" Aria murmured hoarsely, pointing weakly toward a book on the table before her arm dropped limply back down.
Loraine watched her carefully, then slowly approached the desk and spotted a book with a large wolf on the cover. Without hesitation, she snatched it up and hurried off, not caring about the noise.
Aria stirred slightly at the sound of footsteps, the book falling from her face onto the floor—but she quickly returned to her slumber.
The two of them, along with the small creatures, stared in silence for a moment at the scene—and at Loraine—before she closed the door without a second thought.
"You were too loud. Aria could've woken up," Wein said with annoyance. Loraine didn't respond—her eyes lingered on the book in her hands, though a flicker of jealousy began to bloom in her chest.
Wein's words had been in jest, but… why did it stir something inside her? She wasn't even sure what she was feeling, but she wanted to react.
"Oh… you're right," Loraine replied, widening her smile. I'm jealous, she muttered in ancient CyFil tongue.
Wein froze, caught off guard, and tried his best to act like he hadn't heard her. He did his best to look confused, pretending not to understand.
"What did that mean?" he asked, putting on his best clueless face. He already knew she wouldn't tell him.
"That? I meant this wolf is terrifying," she lied boldly, her face unreadable in its confidence. If Wein didn't speak ancient CyFil, he would've been easily fooled.
They made their way up to Wein's room. Loraine stayed for a while—not only to observe the little animals but also to take responsibility for the wound she'd caused. Since she couldn't sleep anyway, she decided to help Wein care for the wolf pups—or dogs.
Standing in front of Room 429, Wein Arcveil's room, Loraine reached for the door. She didn't bother with the handle—just pushed it open and glanced back at Wein.
"You didn't lock your room?"
"I was in a rush."
It was a normal, minimalistic room. Loraine looked around. It was spotless—not because he cleaned it often, but because he barely used it. Wein was satisfied. He hadn't expected any of this tonight.
…
Wein, still exhausted, gently placed the pups on a chair, then cleaned the bed to set them down on it.
"Alright. Are you going to clean your wound, or should I do it for you?" Loraine asked as she sat on the edge of his bed, keeping a watchful eye on the pups.
"I'll do it myself," Wein replied and headed to the bathroom. From behind, Loraine called out,
"Alright. I'll wait," her voice soft and low. She slowly opened the book—its cover illustrated with photos of wolves, giving her hope that she'd find an answer.
Her eyes scanned every word, though she wasn't well-versed in this kind of thing. The only one who truly was… was Aria. After reading a few chapters and comparing notes with the pups, she finally reached a conclusion: they were wolf pups.
From the tails to the other physical features, they closely resembled a Dire Wolf. But Loraine still had her doubts—Dire Wolves were supposed to be extinct.
"I'm done," Wein emerged from the bathroom, his hair messy and shirt hanging loosely. He walked over to Loraine when she signaled him to approach.
"Look—based on what I've compared, this little one is a Dire Wolf. But I'm not sure," Loraine said, hesitating as she pointed to an ancient illustration of a wolf.
"Oh… I thought it was just a regular wolf. What about its health? Shouldn't they still be drinking milk at that age?" Wein asked, though there wasn't any milk in the room—he rarely drank any.
Still, it'd be tough to find milk fit for a wolf pup.
"You're right. I almost didn't think of that. Is there any milk here?" Loraine glanced around and ended up locking eyes with Wein Arcveil.