I shook my head left and right.

“Not funny.”

“…”

“And where did you hear that? That I like funny men.”

Sylvie, who had been talking confidently just now, suddenly turned around like a person who had something to do, or like a dog.

“Ah, I just remembered something I had to do.”
“…You’re not following me secretly, are you?”

“Not everyday!”

“…What?”

I glanced at Sylvie, only blinking at the unexpected answer. There was a terrible silence in the room.

Sylvie was more perplexed than me, who was also perplexed.

Silence came, as if it stopped. After a while, Sylvie moved.

“Anyway… I didn’t follow you secretly.”

For a long time, I stroked my chin with the sound of grunting for a long time, and Sylvie came to me again.

“The truth is my human form is pretty cool, too.”

“Huh? Human form? Wow, can you turn into a human?”

“There’s nothing I can’t do. I am a wolf.”

“Then try to change.”

I stared at Sylvie, who raised his long snout high in the sky.

“Well, that’s… Uh, as an adult…”

“Huh? An adult?”

“…Anyway, I’ll show you later.”

“Have you never changed?”

Seeing this, it seemed that Sylvie can’t lie. I saw him flinch, as if I hit the nail on the head.

“That’s right. Sylvie, you’ll never change since you think you’re good-looking?”

“…No! Just looking at me, I am handsome!”

“More like cute.”

When I first saw Sylvie, I thought he was cool, but after that, he’s a cute dog.

“But Sylvie, you have fur sticking in your eyes. Should I cut your hair?”

I smiled brightly and looked at Sylvie.

“…This silver fur is the pride of a wolf, so no.”

“You’re not a wolf, you’re a dog. Um… but why did your bangs get so long?”

“…The fur doesn’t matter when we’re wolves.”

Sylvie, who was dissatisfied, tried to touch his fur with his short arms, but it was impossible to touch. Seeing that, I made an ‘ah’ sound then ran to the dressing table.

“I’ll tie it up with a rubber band so it won’t hurt your eyes!”

“What! You’d do this to a silver wolf?”

“Just a rubber band!”

As if I could never do that, Sylvie tried to run away but I held him firmly with my legs. With a rubber band, the long part of his hair was tied together.

This was how my mom used to tie my hair with a rubber band.

“Oh, it’s pretty!”

“This! I knew you were going to do this!”

Sylvie trembled in his cutely tied bangs, but the tight rubber band couldn’t be loosened that much.

“How dare… How dare… To do such a thing to a silver wolf!”

“Why? You’re cute.”

“Cute… to me… you’re the first girl to do this to me. My heart just beats badly.”

“Are you upset?”

But Sylvie, who had been talking all this time, ran out of the room like that.

“S-Sylvie?”

“I’m going!”

He went out just like that, who was muttering alone saying that it was his first time.

I rushed to the window where Sylvie had gone out. However, the silver wolf, who was annoyed and didn’t like it, disappeared towards the forest.

Sylvie’s footsteps seemed especially light. In addition, Sylvie was shaking his white head from side to side. I thought he was trying to untie the rubber band, but I didn’t think so.

While watching Sylvie like that, I moved back to bed.

Eventually, I fell asleep while staying close to my mom that day.

I thought I was all better, but it was the next morning that I woke up because I fell asleep and was not fully recovered.

“Oh my…! It’s the day we go to the Imperial Palace.”

I felt like I’m suddenly in the dark.

I jumped out of my seat and looked out the window. Beyond the window, the world was dark as if the sun had not yet risen.

“Ha… It’s like my future.”

I really didn’t expect this day to come. I never thought I’d go back to the palace.

I pretended to be okay in front of my dad, but my hands trembled when I thought about it.

“But I can’t stop here. Dad will protect me. And I can protect him, especially if it’s for Mom.”

I closed the open window and approached my mom in bed.

Then I rolled over to her side and clung to my mom. My mom’s body was warm, as if to let me know she was alive.

However, it felt like my mom’s breath was fading away, perhaps because she listened to my dad’s words.