CH 37

Chapter 37: Wolf and Ball Throwing 1

The next morning, Ernesta woke up feeling exceptionally refreshed.

A Druid and Courtesan - Neverwinter...

Still in the dim light, she awoke to find the handsome face of the man sleeping next to her and smiled softly while gazing at him.

This was the first time she had stared intently at his sleeping face. His refined and elegant features were so unapproachable, but when he slept like this, he looked innocent like a child.

She wanted to wait for him to wake up, but shook her head, knowing it was a presumptuous desire. They had only happened to wake up at the same time yesterday. If Ivan woke up and found her staring at him like this, he would surely dislike it.

Ernesta quietly got up from the bed, not wanting to disturb the king’s sleep as he seemed exhausted.

It was a good morning. Although there were many things on her mind, there was no point in struggling with them. On days like this, she decided to take a walk until breakfast.

She returned to her room to freshen up, then walked confidently out into the hallway. As she walked aimlessly, she soon bumped into Prime Minister Slezak.

“Good morning, Lord Slezak. You’re up early today.”

“Good morning. My Queen, what are you doing up so early?”

Johan is impeccably dressed as usual, and the gleam in his eyes behind his glasses was sharper than usual, although Ernesta couldn’t tell.

“I happened to wake up early. I was thinking of going for a walk, but do you have any recommended places?”

Ernesta casually asked, but Johan’s face immediately stiffened.

“That is not possible. We have been ordered to increase the protection for My Queen, by order of His Majesty.”

“Protection?”

Ernesta had never heard such a thing. She tried to think if something had happened, and came to a single possibility.

Instead of protection, but surveillance.

Ernesta felt a chilling sensation, but surprisingly, the answer to her question came easily.

“There have been some suspicious movements recently. I don’t know who’s behind it, but we should be cautious regardless.”

She had no idea that such a situation had arisen without her knowledge. She thought they had stayed out late drinking the night before, but perhaps the meeting had gone on for longer than expected.

“Understood, then I shouldn’t go for a walk. Thank you for letting me know.”

“Wait a moment, My Queen.”

She was called back just as she was about to turn on her heel.

As she wondered what was going on, Johan gave a fleeting glance toward the courtyard facing the hallway.

“It should be okay to go to the courtyard. His Majesty told us not to restrict your movements too much.”

“His Majesty said that?”

“Yes. It’s okay to take a break once in a while.”

Ernesta felt somewhat guilty for having had plenty of rest the day before. She hesitated, but then noticed a shadow approaching from down the hall.

“Mikola!”

The wolf called by name happily ran on all fours to stand in front of Ernesta. He began pulling on her Arkrig’s hem, but it was Johan who scolded him.

“What are you doing biting a woman’s attire, Mikola?”

In response, Mikolash quickly opened his mouth and released Ernesta.

Johan’s gaze was surprisingly gentle. Perhaps he was fond of this wolf.

“Good morning, Mikola.”

In response to the greeting, Mikolash let out a howl before quietly starting to walk away. As Ernesta watched him take a few steps and turn his head back towards her, something flashed through her mind.

“Could it be that he’s telling us to follow him?”

“That seems to be the case.”

And when Johan readily nodded, an almost unbelievable sense of excitement welled up in Ernesta’s chest.

To have an animal show her the way, it was like a fairy tale.

“Shall we go then? I will accompany you.”

“But, Lord Slezak, you must be busy.”

“Do not worry about me. Come on.”

And so they walked led by the wolf and arrived at the courtyard in question. It seemed that they wouldn’t need to cause Johan any more trouble regarding protection, and Ernesta felt a sense of relief wash over her.

As silver fur crossed the space filled with green and summer flowers, Mikola immediately returned and handed something over.

“What’s going on, Mikola? Oh, is this…”

When she received it, it was a ball made of sheepskin.

“It seems like he’s telling you to throw it.”

“Really…?!”

She felt like she was in a dream already. Even the fact that she had treated a wolf eight years ago felt like a miracle, and now she was playing with one.

Mikolash barked cheerfully. He somehow looked like a dog, but that didn’t matter.

“May I throw it, Lord Slezak?”

“As you wish, My Queen.”

When she asked for confirmation, Johan calmly nodded back. If he allowed it, then in the royal family of Shenka, it wasn’t a strange thing for a woman to throw a ball.

Ernesta felt like snapping her fingers. After all, she had gained five years of experience in taming her neighbor’s dog.

“Alright, let’s do it, Mikola!”

At the moment Ernesta swung, Mikolash ran out with tremendous force.

“Ther…e!”

It was a beautiful throw.

The ball flew in an arc across the sunrise, and Johan stared in amazement. He witnessed the silver wolf catch it brilliantly.

“Wow! Mikola, amazing!”

Mikolash returned without slowing down his pace. Ernesta patted him with her admiration while he proudly held the ball in his mouth.

“Well done, Mikola! Good boy, good boy!”

His fur was still fluffy and cute. She felt like burying her face in it and rolling around together, but she restrained herself as it would not be appropriate.

“Again! Ther-e!”

The wolf caught it gracefully again and came back. Ernesta clearly heard Johan mutter “…a dog.”

It’s not unreasonable to feel that way, but she thought it was forbidden to say such a thing to Mikolash. She had a feeling that he would get really angry. Definitely.

“Mikola~! Good boy, good boy.”

Although it was undeniably cute, Ernesta pushed out her inappropriate thoughts.

As she petted the silver coat, she saw the white belly and couldn’t help but touch it. It was simply the best feeling. Oh, she wanted to hug it without caring about others’ eyes…

“Ellie!”

Fortunately, the sudden call of her name caused her desire to dissipate.

When she turned around, she saw Ivan crossing the courtyard, wearing the same grey chokha as yesterday, and running at an incredible speed. Upon arriving in front of her, he grabbed Ernesta’s shoulder and unusually shouted.

“Are you okay?!”

“Eh? Yes, I’m fine.”

As she nodded repeatedly, Ivan let out a deep sigh, relieved that she was safe.

Having made him run from morning despite being busy was a terrible thing to do. It seemed that the situation was more serious than she had thought.

“I’m sorry…”

“No, it’s fine. I was just getting anxious for no reason.”

Ivan stiffened at that moment. The Prime Minister and a wolf were there before him, watching them closely with wide-eyed anticipation.

“…Johan, were you here?”

“I was here. I am the one who escorted My Queen here.”

Ernesta felt unexpectedly happy when Johan replied coolly. It seemed that their relationship was better than she had imagined.

“I see. Thank you. You can go back to work now.”

“Understood.”

Johan nodded expressionlessly and turned on his heel, but after a moment, Ivan somehow called out to him from behind.

“Johan, did I say anything to you guys yesterday?”

“Nothing in particular. We just talked about old times.”

Johan gave the most heartfelt smile Ernesta had seen so far. While it may have had some ulterior meaning from his acquaintance’s perspective, to Ernesta, it was as refreshing as the morning light.

“Oh, and make sure to change properly later. It would be a disservice to your subjects.”

Johan has finally left this time.

Apparently, the sharp-eyed Prime Minister noticed that he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Upon closer inspection, his golden hair was messy, and he seemed to have left his short sword on the chest, so he may have come immediately after waking up.

Ivan awkwardly brought up the subject after waiting for the sound of footsteps to fade away.

“…I’d like to ask Ellie the same thing. Did I do something rude last night?”