Chapter 41 Back to the Capital

Chapter 41 Back to the Capital
The capital’s sky had turned a golden orange as the horse-drawn carriage procession finally entered the main courtyard of the pack house.

The carriage wheels creaked softly, and the horses heaved heavy sighs after the long journey from Frostfang, which had taken weeks with several stops along the way.

Ruella was overjoyed to be back in a place with warmer air, though she still loved the white snows of Frostfang. Despite some unfortunate incidents that had befallen her, she remained grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this pack.

"We’ve arrived," said Calix.

On this return journey, he chose to sit inside the horse-drawn carriage with Ruella. Meanwhile, Rubina rode in a different horse-drawn carriage because Ruella still didn’t want to see her.

The carriage stopped right in front of the main building.

The door opened.

Calix got out first, then extended his hand to Ruella.

"Give me your hand," Calix said.

Ruella fell silent and looked at Calix’s outstretched hand hesitantly.

Calix tilted his head. "Let me help you down, may I?"

Only then did Ruella nod and take Calix’s outstretched hand. She stepped down carefully, one hand gripping the side of the door and the other in his warm grasp. Her movements were still a bit stiff as she hadn’t fully recovered yet.

Before she could stand upright, suddenly someone ran out of the pack house, shouting her name.

"Milady!! My princess."

The voice immediately shattered the atmosphere.

A girl ran out, her maid’s skirt slightly lifted by her hurried steps. Several maids there immediately shot her scornful looks and whispered among themselves.

"Look at that maid, such an attention-seeker."

"How rude of her to be running around in front of our Alpha."

"Claire, watch your manners," ujar Stanley, the butler, reminded her.

That maid was Claire, Ruella’s loyal personal maid.

Claire immediately stopped in her tracks and waited for Ruella, greeting her return on the spacious terrace of the pack house. She had missed her so much that she felt like hugging her right away and listening to her stories all night long.

As soon as Ruella reached Claire, she hugged her tightly without hesitation.

"I missed you, Claire," Ruella said.

"Milady… I was so worried…" her voice trembled, clearly holding back tears.

Ruella chuckled softly, finding it both amusing and touching. "I’m fine, Claire. Your worries were for nothing," she said gently, patting the girl’s back.

Calix, standing a few steps away from them, remained silent as he watched.

His eyebrows raised slightly, looking confused. He had never seen that before.

A maid… hugging her master?

A very rare sight, he thought. The closeness between Claire and Ruella went far beyond what was visible, they were like sisters who had weathered life’s many sweet and bitter moments together. Their bond was genuine, not just a formality.

Calix’s gaze grew slightly sharper, more thoughtful.

Interesting.

"If they’re really that close, then the person who knows Ruella best is undoubtedly that maid," Calix thought.

Calix was still standing quietly behind Ruella, as if he were intentionally waiting to enter the pack house together.

"Cal? You’re still here? I t-thought you’d gone in already," Ruella said as she ended the embrace.

"There’s something I want to tell you, let’s talk while we walk," Calix replied.

Shortly afterward, the horse-drawn carriage carrying Rubina arrived. Rubina stepped down from the carriage with great grace, it was no wonder she was dubbed the "flower of high society" by the social elite. She smoothed out her dress, and her eyes immediately took in the scene before her.

Seeing that Calix was still in the front yard, she immediately walked over to him. Her face looked very calm, as if she were showing everyone that her closeness to Calix had reached a level where she could act relaxed in front of him.

"Calix," she called softly as she took his hand.

Calix turned his head.

"I’ll be staying in the annex for a while, in Orion’s room until he returns from his assignment in Frostfang," Rubina continued, her tone casual. "That’s okay, right?"

Calix gave a brief nod. "You’re used to coming and going there, no need to ask again," he replied.

Rubina smiled faintly. "Haha, I was just making small talk. In that case… may I have dinner with you in the main building?"

Calix didn’t answer right away. He had actually planned to eat dinner alone in his bedroom because he felt a little tired, but having dinner together sounded like a good idea to start building a connection with Ruella.

He glanced at Ruella, who was still speaking softly with Claire, then turned back to Rubina.

"Sure, of course," he finally replied. "We’ll have dinner together tonight."

Rubina’s face lit up slightly.

"Thank you."

Calix released Rubina’s hand from his arm and stepped closer to Ruella.

"Ruella."

Ruella turned, slightly startled by being called.

"Yes?"

Calix stood before her, looking hesitant, and he didn’t know why. "Cal, come on. It’s just dinner at home, just think of it as asking Rubina out. So just relax."

"If you’re not too tired, come down later tonight, we're gonna have dinner together," he said.

It wasn’t an invitation or a question, his tone sounded like a plan that had already been decided.

Ruella blinked once, then a small smile appeared on her face.

"Yeah… sure."

Claire, standing beside her, immediately glanced at Ruella with a confused expression.

Calix gave a small nod. "Good."

Then, without saying much, Calix gestured for Ruella to continue walking into the pack house.

"I’ll take you to your room."

Ruella paused for a moment, once again, Calix had surprised her by doing something out of the ordinary.

Claire was surprised too.

Even a few other servants standing nearby exchanged glances.

Ruella quickly nodded. "Alright, thank you."

Claire immediately moved a little closer, whispering softly in Ruella’s ear as they began to walk.

"Milady, what’s going on…" her voice was very soft. "Is something happening at Frostfang…?"

Ruella held back a faint smile.

"I’ll tell you later," she replied softly.

Claire nodded quickly, though her face was still full of questions.

Meanwhile, Calix waited for Ruella to catch up and walk beside him.

"You two can chat some more in the room later," Calix said to Ruella and Claire.

They walked side by side in sync. Calix adjusted his stride to match Ruella’s small steps.

Rubina was left standing behind, watching.

Her eyes followed them until they had completely entered the building.

Her smile… vanished.

Her hands clenched into fists again.

"This… is too much. I really hate that woman. You should have died when you went missing in the forest," she growled.

Rubina headed toward the annex with a surge of anger boiling over in her head.