I Wish I Could Predict Love, Not Fall Into It - Chapter 25

They say wolves eat people. That’s why I couldn’t even faint in front of these man-eating wolves, even though I desperately wanted to.

I’d heard of wolves raising humans, but never of wolves eating them. They weren’t raising humans to eat them later, they just ate them right away.

While I was frozen in confusion, the emperor and Clark got off their horses. At the same time, they drew their swords.

“Watch the horses.”

The emperor handed the reins to me, who was standing stiff as a stone.

I quickly took the reins and led the two horses to a corner. I tied them to a tree and turned to watch the emperor and Clark.

One, two, three…

They kept slashing at the wolves without rest, but there were just too many to deal with.

I felt completely helpless being the only one left behind.

But what could I do? I was scared of blood, terrified of death. What could I possibly do?

While the emperor and Clark were bravely fighting off the wolves, I stood there, doing nothing.

“…This isn’t why I learned swordsmanship.”

I didn’t ask for jewels or titles. I proudly declared I wanted to learn swordsmanship—not to hurt people, but to protect them. Now was the time to protect myself, to stop worrying others.

With renewed determination, I took the sword case from the bag and wrapped my palm tightly around the hilt.

I slowly drew the blade.

Honestly, I was still scared of the man-eating wolves, of the blood they spilled.

But even so, I held the sword, felt its weight, and ran toward the wolves.

Whoosh—

I had worn the most comfortable dress on purpose. The fabric was light and soft, so I could move freely.

Whoosh—

So the problem wasn’t the outfit. I had sharpened the blade every day, so it wasn’t the weapon either.

Whoosh—

But I couldn’t cut a single wolf. I couldn’t even touch one.

I was completely useless.

The wolves easily dodged my sword, as if mocking me, and I just kept swinging into thin air.

Did I really train for almost a month?

Getting scolded at the imperial training grounds, enduring sore muscles yet my sword skills were unbelievably poor.

While I stood there shocked, frozen in place, one wolf lunged at me, baring its sharp fangs.

“Aaah!”

I screamed and flinched, curling my shoulders. But then the emperor stepped in front of me.

Slice—

With a single stroke, the emperor cut down the wolf, then spoke with his back still turned to me.

“You lack real battle experience.”

“Huh?”

For a second I didn’t get it, but after thinking about it, I realized he was telling me why I failed to hit any wolves.

Feeling touched, I looked at him but he had already moved on.

I took a deep breath and gripped my sword again.

That’s when I heard a wolf growling right behind me. I froze as a chill ran down my spine.

Kehk!

But then the wolf suddenly collapsed beside me, spewing blood. It was lucky it was nighttime. If it had been daylight, I would’ve fainted from the sight of blood.

I quickly turned my head and saw Clark putting his sword away.

“Step back. It’s dangerous.”

Leaving only those words, Clark returned to the fight.

I stood there blankly, watching the two men move swiftly before me.

“This isn’t right…”

In the end, once again, I couldn’t do anything.

I felt like such a useless person again. So, determined, I tightened my grip and shouted loudly.

Like casting a spell.

“I’ll fight too!”

I ran forward with my sword and slashed at the nearest wolf.

Thud.

The wolf fell to the ground, lifeless.

I was more shocked than anyone.

“I… I killed it.”

With my anemia, and with this sword it was the first time I had taken a life. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

When I looked up again, I saw the emperor facing a large wolf. But another wolf was sneaking up behind him.

“No!”

As the wolf raised its claws to strike him, I leaped forward. My sword slashed the wolf diagonally.

Thud—

I quickly looked away from the fallen wolf and checked on the emperor first. He glanced at me, then focused back on the large wolf before him.

I was relieved to see he wasn’t hurt at all.

But then…

Whoosh—

Two wolves suddenly appeared from behind and wrapped their front paws around my long hair.

“Urgh!”

My body was yanked down and I dropped my sword. The wolves dragged me by my hair, pulling hard enough to feel like my scalp was tearing.

They even picked up speed.

“Help! Somebody help me!”

I kicked and flailed, but it was useless. The pain was unbearable, but I was being dragged too fast to stop them.

“Anier!”

I heard the emperor’s voice. Then suddenly, he wrapped his arms around my waist and swung his sword toward my head.

I thought he was attacking the wolves.

Slice—

I heard the sound of something being cut and suddenly I was free.

❖ ❖ ❖

Anier said nothing as we came down the mountain after finishing off the remaining wolves.

She should have been angry at me for cutting her beautiful red hair, but she just quietly sat behind me on the horse.

When we arrived at the edge of a village lit by lanterns, I got off the horse first and held out my hand to her.

“I had no choice.”

The wolves were running too fast, and she was in too much pain. I had to separate her from them as quickly as possible. Cutting her hair was the only option.

“If you had kept being dragged, you would’ve been eaten.”

It was both an explanation and an apology for ruining her hair. I watched her closely as she got off the horse, trying to read her expression.

“Ah, yes.”

Once on the ground, she touched her now-short, uneven hair. I felt even more uncomfortable.

“Just complain. Don’t go silent on me.”

“Huh?”

Anier looked confused.

Then Clark, who had been quietly standing beside us, pointed to a restaurant nearby.

“Aren’t you both hungry? There’s a place over there.”

“Yes, I’m hungry.”

Anier cut him off before he could even finish.

Both Clark and I stared at her.

She quickly defended herself, as if she felt wronged.

“I just talk less when I’m hungry. I wasn’t protesting in silence.”

I couldn’t help but let out a short laugh.

“So, you’re not mad about your hair being cut?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because hair grows back.”

Her calm attitude left me speechless.

“But it’s uneven and choppy…”

“Does it bother you that much?”

She pulled out a dagger from her clothes. It was the one I had given her.

“Then, just a moment.”

She smoothed down the uneven side of her hair, held the longer part in her hand, and—

Slice—

She cut it cleanly into a bob, without hesitation, and dropped the hair to the ground.

“There. Now it’s even. No problem, right?”

She looked completely fine.

She had never been attached to her hair to begin with and this hair didn’t even belong to her in the first place.

But both Clark and I were visibly shocked. Clark even rubbed his eyes like he couldn’t believe what he’d seen. I scratched my temple.

“Most women care about their hair.”

“I don’t mind. It’s not even my body anyway.”

She trailed off. My brow twitched.

“Not even your body?”

I repeated her words. She gave an awkward smile and explained,

“W-well, I’m the imperial prophet, right? That means my body belongs to Your Majesty.”

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