Young Wolf and the others approached the main square of the castle.
In the center stood Wolfwood's lady, Carla, poised and elegant, a book in her hand and a teacup on the table beside her.
A respectful distance away — as always — stood Xaba and Jula, the two Wolf Knights: loyal, strong… and at times unbelievably foolish.
Andras smiled at them from afar.
"How's it hanging, lads?
I heard the Goddess blessed both your wives with children."
Jula sighed.
"Yes… that might be our punishment."
Noelle snapped her head toward him.
"Punishment?
Children are a blessing.
Or are you two still not over the fact that Anita rejected both of you back then?"
Jula shook his head.
"That's not it.
We've long accepted we weren't right for Anita, and we both found happiness."
Andras folded his arms.
"So you're scared of the responsibility that comes with having a child?"
Xaba scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"It's embarrassing to talk about, but I'll explain.
Before the capital's knight tournament, Lady Carla gifted us some excellent village cherry brandy."
Jula nodded.
"And not just one bottle."
Xaba continued:
"After our shift ended, the four of us celebrated at home.
We got into such a good mood that we… felt like spending time with our wives.
And then we got so carried away with the cherry brandy that we came up with the idea:
what if we tried each other's wife?"
Andras stopped walking.
"So you… entertained each other's wives right in front of one another?"
Xaba lowered his gaze.
"To put it gently… yes."
Jula added:
"So now we don't know whose child belongs to whom."
Noelle stared at them in disbelief.
"Are you two idiots?!
Did an ogre hit you on the head with its giant club?
Is that why you became such morons?"
Xaba shrugged.
"It was the cherry that hit us on the head."
Jula sighed.
"That's why I said the Goddess punished us."
Noelle pressed a hand to her forehead.
"You didn't get punished enough.
Maybe I should tell Anita."
Xaba turned pale.
"Don't scare us!
If Anita found out… I don't even want to imagine what she'd do to us…"
Noelle smiled — the kind of smile that would make even demons take a step back.
"Oh, I have a few ideas.
She'd make sure you'd never be able to father children again."
Jula dropped to his knees.
"Have mercy, Noelle!
Our children could become Wolf Knights!"
Xaba bowed as well.
"We truly regret what we did."
Andras finally spoke up to end the panic.
"Well, it's not that terrible.
Since the two of you have different elemental affinities, we'll eventually be able to tell whose child is whose.
If the child has fire affinity, it's Xaba's.
If it's earth affinity, then Jula is the father."
Noelle raised an eyebrow.
"And what if their elemental affinity never awakens?"
Andras shrugged.
"Then they'll just look like one of you."
Noelle folded her arms.
"Did you tell Carla about this too?"
Jula nodded.
"We did. She is our Lady, after all."
Both knights sighed at the same time, as if the weight of the world rested on their shoulders.
Andras shook his head.
Noelle stared at the two Wolf Knights in disbelief.
"And what did she say?"
Xaba blushed.
"She started crying…"
"…from laughing so hard," Jula finished.
Andras burst out laughing.
"Well, as long as Anita doesn't find out, your sausages will stay where they belong."
Noelle nodded sternly.
"Otherwise you two will be the ones crying — and not from laughter."
Jula looked at her in desperation.
"You're not going to tell her… right, Noelle?"
Noelle shrugged casually, as if discussing the weather.
"Who knows?
Maybe one day some cherry brandy will flow into my head too, and I'll accidentally let it slip."
Xaba immediately switched to flattery.
"You're the best and most beautiful maid in all of Wolfwood!"
Jula added another layer.
"No — in the entire Kingdom!"
Noelle narrowed her eyes.
"Save that for your wives' backsides, not mine, thank you very much."
Andras couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Or each other's wives', hahaha!"
Fireburp blinked in confusion.
"Do humans lick each other's backsides?"
Noelle quickly crouched down to her.
"Only when they drink too much cherry brandy.
So never drink it."
"Ew, I won't!" Fireburp shook her head vigorously.
Xaba finally took a closer look at the girl.
"So who's this new girl with you?
She has horns… maybe she's a cow‑folk?"
Jula waved dismissively.
"Idiot. Don't you see the tail?
She's clearly crocodile‑folk."
Fireburp clapped her hands in outrage.
"Cow?! Crocodile?!
I'm a dra— I mean… a lizardfolk!"
Xaba squinted.
"Lizard… yellow lizardfolk?
But your hair is red, isn't it?"
Noelle cut in quickly.
"Red lizardfolk.
But she's only eight, so she mixes up colors."
Jula nodded approvingly.
"I heard lizardfolk are pretty strong.
Will she be as strong as Ironclaw?"
Andras smiled.
"One thing's certain — she'll be smarter."
Noelle burst out laughing.
"Hahaha!"
Andras finally waved the two knights off.
"All right, lads. I'd love to chat more, but I need to introduce Fireburp to my mother.
Enjoy the rest of your… guard duty."
Xaba and Jula saluted in unison, though the gesture looked more like a desperate apology than a military greeting.
Andras and the others continued toward the flower garden, where Carla was already waiting — unaware that the House of Wolves was about to welcome its first "lizardfolk" who was, in truth, a dragon.
"Come on. Time to introduce Fireburp to my mother."
A gentle breeze drifted from the garden, and the last rays of the sun painted the air red — as if fire itself were calling the little dragon girl forward.
As Andras and the others stepped into the flower garden, Carla had already lifted her gaze from her book.
In truth, she hadn't been reading for a while — ever since she spotted her son approaching with an unfamiliar little girl, curiosity had completely stolen her attention.
The last rays of the sun painted Fireburp's hair a vivid red, and the scent of flowers drifted softly through the garden.
Carla smiled.
"Hm… a little girl who looks a bit like Noelle, with horns and a tail.
Let me guess: you found a new oddball for your battle‑maid squad?"
Andras bowed to her.
"You know me as well as your own hand, Mother.
That is indeed the case.
Her name is Fireburp.
From the name alone you can guess her element is fire, and Master Florian will be teaching her fire magic."
Noelle added,
"But first she needs to learn the art of reading."
Carla raised an eyebrow.
"And teaching her will be my noble duty, I assume?"
"Exactly.
But don't worry," Andras said,
"She's much smarter than Ironclaw, so you won't have trouble with her."
Carla laughed.
"I never said teaching Ironclaw was troublesome.
It may have started a bit slowly, but once treats were involved, she learned the letters with that peanut‑sized brain of hers so fast even I was surprised."
Noelle nodded with a smile.
"She might be the first beast‑folk in history who can read at all."
Carla turned to Fireburp.
"But since we're on the topic… what kind of beast‑folk is Fireburp supposed to be?"