The Werewolf Count and the Trickster Tailor, Volume 2

by Yuruka Morisaki

  (There are even more of those statues out there?)

  (I didn’t see it for myself, but there’s definitely more than the ones we destroyed. He’s also in communication with the Werewolf Brotherhood.)

  Michaela gasped. Pure hatred and anger flashed across her lovely young face.

  “No…!”

  She’d every right to be furious. Both her beloved older brother and her childhood friend and ex-fiancé had their lives derailed by the werewolf curse.

  And that curse came by way of the Werewolf Brotherhood.

  “Use this, Michaela.”

  Rock placed the pencil in Michaela’s trembling hand.

  Michaela stopped herself from saying more and furiously scribbled her feelings down on the slate.

  (I didn’t think they still existed!)

  (I don’t know if they’re the exact same organization. But Lord and Lady Alexis relied on them and received power from the werewolf statue to grant their deepest desires.)

  (That being your kidnapping???)

  (Sadly, yes. Lord Alexis did it to heal his wife’s broken heart.)

  Rock hesitated to write what she had in mind next.

  She wanted nothing more than to leave her gilded cage. To ask for help. How wonderful it would be if just one word to Michaela would have her back in her father’s warm embrace and in Ebel’s arms.

  But if she left, she’d be letting go of a chance to uncover the truth.

  Mustering all her courage, she wrote:

  (I’m so grateful you came for me. But I want to stay here a little longer to see what I can find out about the Werewolf Brotherhood.)

  Rock handed Michaela the pencil.

  Michaela’s eyes wavered and she hesitated to write anything for a long moment. But then she made up her mind like Rock and wrote her reply.

  (Ebel would’ve never allowed you to do that. He’ll probably try to whisk you away from here no matter the personal cost because he doesn’t want you to suffer more than you already have. But—)

  Michaela’s pencil stopped there, her expression distorting with anguish. She finally pushed through it to write:

  (But I want to know the truth. I want to sever the curse that afflicts Brother and Ebel at its root. Those are my true feelings on the matter. I know this is cruel to ask of you, but you are our only hope.)

  “That’s not true, Michaela,” Rock reassured aloud, forcing a smile as she took the pencil back.

  (I also want to know the truth. As long as those statues exist, there’ll be no end to people like Lord Alexis, who will give up everything in the pursuit of power. This is an opportune moment. Please tell Ebel and my Father to come rescue me after I’ve found some information we can use.)

  “Roxy, you…” Michaela’s voice quivered.

  Tears threatened to spill from her eyes this time, so Rock silently placed her hands on her cheeks. Understanding she was nearly about to do the same thing she’d warned Rock about, she blinked away the tears.

  “I’m sorry. I’m all right.”

  Then she glanced over at the dove she’d brought as a “gift.”

  (That dove will fly straight back to our house once you let it loose.)

  (So, I should release it when I want help?)

  (Exactly. But please remember it will only work once.)

  (In that case, I’ll let it free as soon as I have something we can work with.)

  (When you do, we’ll use all our power to rescue you.)

  Michaela marked that promise by looking into Rock’s eyes.

  Rock could sense her guilt from her gaze that seemed to both plead with her to do this and beg her for forgiveness. The thing was, Rock was choosing to stay behind of her own volition. There was no need for Michaela to feel guilty.

  “I’ve made a very good friend today,” Rock said, hoping her voice would convey how she felt. “I hope we continue to have a great friendship going ahead too, Michaela.”

  “Roxy… So do I,” Michaela said with a firm nod. Then she picked the pencil back up and scribbled on the slate, her expression warping with the pain she was trying to keep at bay.

  (Do you remember what happened before my brother was cursed?)

  Rock blinked in confusion over what she was getting at with that question. Michaela continued to write.

  (Brother was acting strange right before it happened. I don’t know what possessed him, but he became obsessed with Ebel and fascinated by werewolves. But what’s even stranger is that after he was cursed and came back to his senses, he said he could only vaguely recall his behavior beforehand and that he doesn’t know what got into him.)

  Rock got the chills as she read what Michaela wrote.

  Michaela’s expression was equally grim.

  (Do you suppose the same thing might be happening to Lord Alexis? Like, what if those statues not only turn people into werewolves but also amplify their desires, making them uncontrollable?)

  Her theory fit.

  Placido deeply loved Lauretta and was trying to bring her out of her depression. But kidnapping his niece to make that happen seemed too shortsighted and reckless for his personality. That night almost seemed a lie with how good of a husband and lord he was at home.

  What if that duality was also brought on by the curse?

  What if he was also going crazy like Guido had?

  Or what if the same was happening to Lauretta?

  It must be stopped. The chain of misery being brought about by the curse must be broken.

  Rock’s resolve was strengthened.

  Writing took much longer than talking did.

  Rock still had a mountain of questions for Michaela. She wanted to know how her father was faring at Mateus Manor, how Iniel’s recovery was going, and how Ebel was handling everything—but there was a knock at the door before she could ask.

  Both girls froze for a fleeting moment before Michaela tucked the slate and pencil into her bag.

  “Come in,” Rock said only after she made sure the slate was out of sight.

  The door opened and Guido stepped in after being escorted there by Danilo.

  “It’s time to go, Michaela. It’s rude to stay too long.”

  “Aww, all right, Brother.”

  Michaela reluctantly stood up.

  Rock also rose to see them off, earning an approving hum from Guido when he saw her full figure clad in the pretty deep-green dress.

  “Very nice…”

  He looked impressed.

  When she thought about it, this was the second time Guido was seeing her in a dress. And he was probably too enraged the first time to pay much attention, so it wasn’t strange for him to be surprised this time.

  “Brother, isn’t it rude for you to stare so hard?” Michaela laughed at her brother. “Roxy’s future husband wouldn’t approve. I can hear him now: ‘To think you would become smitten by my bride!’”

  “I’m not smitten,” Guido promptly objected before boasting, “Besides, you can’t find a more beautiful woman in this world than my sister. Lady Roxy isn’t half bad, but nowhere near on par with Micha—”

  “OH, BROTHER!” Michaela fumed, cutting him off, her face redder than a tomato.

  It appeared the Linuses were still the world’s closest siblings.

  Thanks to them, Rock could truly laugh from the heart for the first time in days.

  ♚♚♚

  ROCK saw Guido and Michaela off in the foyer where she’d welcomed them. Lord and Lady Alexis were watching them, so they couldn’t say anything suspicious in parting.

  “I had a wonderful time. Let’s meet again soon, Roxy.”

  Rock looked right into Michaela’s smiling eyes and nodded.

  “Yes, it’s a promise.”

  Michaela curtsied after hearing Rock’s reply and then left the manor accompanied by her brother.

  Rock was struck by the desire to chase after them as she watched them leave the house. But Danilo closed the door behind them before she could act on it, shutting off Rock
’s connection to the outside world once again.

  Michaela had said Ebel and Phoebe were close by. So Rock hoped she could at least step outside to show them she was doing well, but she wasn’t even allowed that freedom. Suffocating sadness filled her, but she closed her eyes and blocked it out.

  “Come, dear. It’s time to go back to your room. Show me the gift you received from Lady Michaela,” Lauretta said with a big smile.

  “Yes, Auntie,” Rock responded. Then she suddenly noticed a loose thread on her sleeve. “Weird…?”

  The cuffs were shamefully frayed, which was odd, considering it looked brand new when Lauretta had gifted it to her that morning.

  “What’s the matter, Roxy?” Lauretta asked.

  “My dress cuffs are frayed,” Rock answered honestly.

  “You’re right, dear. This was supposed to be a brand new dress I had tailored just for you, though.”

  “At least I can still repair it.”

  Rock always carried a sewing kit on her, so she’d never miss a chance to make some coin. She’d had it with her when she visited the mausoleum with Ebel too.

  “I have a sewing kit in my room, so I can repair it now,” she said.

  “You can do that too?” Lauretta’s eyes widened with surprise.

  “Yes, Mother taught me.”

  “I see…” she uttered in a low voice, then fell into deep thought.

  Placido pensively walked past Lauretta as she seemed rooted to the ground.

  “Say, is it all right if I watch you mend it?” Lauretta eventually asked after what felt like a long pause.

  Rock thought it was an odd request, but she’d no reason to turn her down.

  She returned to the coral pink bedroom with Lauretta and mended the dress’s cuffs under the watchful eye of her new dove friend. All she had to do was take off the loose thread and resew it, which was a thousand times easier than fixing the fray.

  Even so, Lauretta was beyond impressed by it.

  “You’re good… You have such skill with your hands, I wouldn’t be afraid to call what you’re doing art.”

  Her eyes twinkled with childish delight as she sat next to Rock, watching her hands work. She was like a child being shown a flashy magic trick.

  From Rock’s perspective, this skill was how she made her living, and she felt a giddy kind of embarrassment when it was praised. It wasn’t a bad feeling, being complimented.

  In the coral pink room illuminated by the setting sun, Rock mended the dress sitting side by side with her aunt. There was something strangely comforting about the way their shadows seemed snuggled up together on the floor. It almost reminded her of when her mother taught her how to sew as a child.

  “Something like this happened before…” Lauretta seemed to be reminded of the past as well. She slowly began recounting the incident. “Valencia mended my sleeve after it caught on something and tore. She said, ‘I can handle something this simple, Sister.’”

  There was something gutting about realizing those were once her mother’s words. Her aunt seemed to truly know a side of her mother she didn’t.

  “When it came to sewing, her hands really did work magic. She seemed happiest when she had a needle and thread in hand…”

  Loneliness crept into Lauretta’s expression as she dug through her memories—the way everyone gets a little sad when they reminisce about the past.

  She must’ve cherished and missed those long-gone days that she could never return to. Regardless of their fighting leading to their separate paths in life, there was once a point when they were close sisters. And there was no way to return to that time.

  “I didn’t know how sad it’d be to lose her back then,” Lauretta muttered, her eyes locked on Rock. “My precious little sister did a wonderful job raising you.”

  Tears lightly misted her gray eyes. Her expression, which seemed so inhuman and cold the first day they met, had regained human warmth and emotion.

  “…Thank you, Auntie.”

  Rock was uncomfortable because she was starting to feel guilty about deceiving her aunt by playing along with what she wanted.

  Though she was doing it for the just cause of pinning down the location of the Werewolf Brotherhood, her aunt was sure to get her feelings hurt in the process. Rock’s goal was to discover the truth and then return in one piece to the slums. Lauretta would surely suffer even more when she found out Rock wasn’t planning to stay.

  But Michaela seemed like she was onto something when she’d written: (Like, what if those statues not only turn people into werewolves but also amplify their desires, making them uncontrollable?)

  If her theory was correct, then uncovering the truth would lead to saving Lauretta and Placido.

  They’d kidnapped their own niece to satisfy their desires. Even if they did it out of familial and marital love, they needed to be stopped now before it was too late.

  If they were left to their own devices, they might very well commit another crime for their “family.”

  While Rock was busy solidifying her resolve, Lauretta interrupted her thoughts.

  “Oh, I know! There’s actually another piece of clothing I have that’s frayed and bothering me.”

  Apparently, she wanted Rock to mend some clothes for her.

  “Would you like me to fix it?” Rock happily offered, her guilty conscience getting the better of her.

  “Yes, I’d be delighted if you could.” Lauretta seemed thrilled until her bright smile soured a little. “To tell you the truth, both that item and your dress were made by the same tailor. I’m shocked they both frayed when they aren’t that old yet.”

  Auntie must’ve been conned by a bad tailor, Rock thought.

  Looking closely at the velvet dress, the sewing work was poorly done in more than one place. Although she’d fixed the cuffs, it was only a matter of time before other sections came undone. As a fellow tailor, Rock was disgusted and infuriated by the sloppy work.

  Rock thought of her own shop while she followed Lauretta to her dressing room.

  She hadn’t been back to her shop since going to Ebel’s. Phoebe probably didn’t have the time to go back and forth from Ebel’s, so the shop was likely left closed with their away sign for the past few days.

  Justia was probably going to start worrying about them soon. Lady Trilian might also be throwing a fit, thinking Rock was shirking paying rent. And then there was Nisha…

  What would Nisha think when she realized the second tailor she knew had vanished without a trace too?

  I hope she doesn’t get too depressed. Rock couldn’t help wishing for the other girl to stay strong.

  “This is the room. Let me pull the piece out of the drawers.”

  Lauretta opened a chest of drawers once they arrived in her dressing room. Then she began merrily searching for the clothing she wanted to be fixed.

  With nothing better to do, Rock randomly looked around. It was quite large for a room dedicated just to clothing—granted, only nobility could afford to waste a whole room for such things. Judging by all the dressers and shelves, her aunt probably owned more clothes than what Rock had in stock at her shop.

  Lauretta finally found what she was looking for in the room that smelled of herbs used to keep bugs away.

  “I found it. Roxy, would you mind taking a look?” She pulled the piece of clothing out of the drawers and held it up for Rock to see. “The embroidery on the back is coming undone. I thought I’d never be able to wear it again.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Rock turned around with a smile—then froze.

  Her aunt was holding up a blue robe.

  The wool satin faille fabric had been dyed an eye-catching blue, and its back had an intricate design embroidered in gold thread. As Lauretta had said, the embroidery was frayed, but Rock could tell it was of the foxglove flower.

  Rock had seen an order placed for a very similar robe rather recently.

  The order recorded in Krister Gionet’s l
edger.

  “…What’s the matter, Roxy?”

  Rock shuddered at Lauretta’s question. She hastily composed herself.

  “N-Nothing. I was just taken by the stunning embroidery.”

  “It is rare to see such complex embroidery work, even if it is fraying.”

  Lauretta gave a carefree response. At least she hadn’t noticed how flustered Rock felt.

  “Do you think you can fix it?”

  “Yes, I can manage it.”

  The embroidery’s quirks were exactly the same as the dress Rock was wearing. It was a really sloppy job, resulting from rushing to finish the end product and giving priority only to the appearance while cutting corners on stitching. As a fellow tailor, Rock could never forgive such shoddy workmanship.

  But she’d never felt happier to see it in her life.

  “Auntie?” Rock began, accepting the robe from Lauretta. “Is it possible for me to meet the tailor who made this?”

  “Why would you want to do that?”

  That was the natural thing to ask.

  But Rock couldn’t let herself get caught now, so she made up the most plausible excuse she could.

  “I’d love to speak to the person capable of such beautiful embroidery work. Learning from them would help me in my studies.”

  Rock wasn’t sure she’d succeeded in putting much enthusiasm into her lie. At least Lauretta seemed convinced by it.

  “Well then, that works for us too. I’ve been thinking about taking you to worship service at the Brotherhood with me next time.”

  “Worship…service?”

  “Yes. We wear these robes during worship,” Lauretta said, then added, “The tailor works for the Brotherhood. You’ll definitely see him if you come to church with us.”

  That must be Krister, right? What’s he doing with the Werewolf Brotherhood? Was he kidnapped like me? Or…

  But Rock had no reason to hesitate.

  “I’m looking forward to it. When’s the next service?” Rock asked as cheerfully as she could manage.

  Lauretta seemed delighted to see her niece take an interest in her religion. “During the next Market Day,” she told her.

  Market Day was a weekly holiday meant to encourage people to take time off work and shop in the markets.