Wolf’s party returned to Silver City a week before Barbara’s birthday.

The young woman turned out to be a bigger slave driver than Wolf. She insisted on forced marches, but her effort and persistence paid off. Barbara had enough time to prepare for the ball.

“I don’t even have a week to prepare.” Barbara nervously tugged a lock of hair she found especially displeasing while rushing down the Silver Road. “I’ll go home straight away.”

The gang had ample time. They’d just passed the checkpoint and entered Eastside, but Barbara still wanted them to march on all the while babbling about her birthday.

Wolf saw how pressed Barbara was for money, and that her behavior was odd. However, he didn’t bring it up. Wayde already taught him women were irrational, and that such outbursts happened from time to time. Anna proved this multiple times.

Instead of inquiring about Barbara’s troubles, Wolf turned right into a large avenue and headed north, towards the Merchants’ district.

“See you later everyone,” Wolf said, waving his hand. “I’m gonna spend a day with Big Brother.”

Anna moved her hand. She wanted to reach out and stop Wolf, but in the end the young woman stopped her movement and remained silent. Instead, she clenched her teeth.

He’s going to a brothel, she thought, her expression turning ugly. They already had several arguments about the subject on their return trip from Mirkwood, but Wolf didn’t relent.

He’s getting benefits from it! Anna recalled Wolf’s words and snorted with dissatisfaction. Then she looked at Barbara and shuddered.

If they failed to advance their Order in the next six months, they could kiss the elite class goodbye.

Anna believed Matilda could advance her Order whenever she wanted. She was almost certain of it. Wayde, after this mission, should have enough Academic Credits to purchase resources and advance.

But what of her and Barbara?

Her father already gave up on her, Anna thought, looking at the redhead with pity. Once I get kicked out of the elite class, my situation will be the same as hers. But I have Wolf. Father won’t dare force me to quit school as long as Wolf is a student!

Barbara entertained similar thoughts a year ago. Wolf was beautiful. He wasn’t handsome, but he had a woman’s beauty. He was smart and competent in some areas. Definitely better husband material than most noble scions. That is why Barbara agreed to forget her pride and kick up such a scandal.

Anna averted her gaze and sighed.

This will be her last birthday ball, she thought and then gazed towards Merchants’ district.

He isn’t the only man going to brothels, Anna thought bitterly, taking a step back for the sake of her freedom, for the sake of staying a student at the Mage Academy. For the sake of being away from Edwin for as long as possible.

It’s all that gods damned pervert’s fault! she silently cursed, finding the culprit for Wolf’s perverted behavior.

***

Wolf left, unaware of Anna’s thoughts. After walking for hours, he entered the gods damned pervert’s junk-filled alley.

“Hey, Big Brother,” Wolf said in a tired voice he never used in front of his friends.

“Hey, Little Brother! You feeling down?” South cracked his eye open a bit, giving Wolf a long look.

‘I’m fine’ Wolf wanted to lie, but he felt that damn tug on his soul.

“I’m tired. Nothing big. How about you?” Wolf asked, not letting the annoyance enter his voice.

“Same old, same old,” South said with a laugh. “Still keeping the fort safe. Holding on, against all odds. I guess I’ve got a tough life.”

The bum took a swig from his wineskin.

“So, do you feel like cooking, drinking or talking?” he asked, motioning with his wineskin.

“Why ‘or’?” Wolf asked, producing everything the two of them needed to prepare a meal.

“You won’t believe what happened this time,” Wolf said as South already began chopping. “I got two Monster Cores from Ninth Order Monster Beasts. The funny thing is I got them as a present from another pair of Ninth Order Monster Beasts…”

Wolf narrated what happened with the Alchemists and the Pureflame Salamander eggs. South listened, his knife making a steady stream of ‘toks’ as he chopped the meat and vegetables with insane precision.

Finally, Wolf explained how he returned the eggs, and how the Salamander brought two Monster Cores from its stash.

“Isn’t it funny?” the youth said with a hollow laugh. “Humans stab you in the back, while Monster Beasts are grateful for returning something some other bastard stole.”

This thought was depressing. Wolf had heard plenty of stories about manlings betraying one another, but experiencing it personally was another thing altogether. As for mindless beasts being more reliable and true to their word was even more preposterous.

South, however, wasn’t perturbed one bit.

“Why do you find it strange?” the drunkard asked. “The lower your intelligence the more you rely on common sense and the less you think about future interests or threats. For example, if you help a child it will be grateful and it will want to do something nice in return. Not much different from a beast, isn’t it? Then again, if the creature’s intelligence is too low, it may not realize you helped it and could attack you.”

Suddenly, the bum stopped his chopping.

“But you don’t live in a world of statistics. Don’t generalize,” he warned. “A child you saved might stab you, a greedy man you rescued may willingly give you all their wealth. If you approach creatures with prejudice, you will get burnt. It doesn’t hurt to be cautious. When you do something expect the worst. Everything else is life’s gift.”

“You’re a pessimist, aren’t you?” Wolf asked, then realized South was powerful beyond his understanding. And yet he spent his days wallowing in a heap of trash, constantly complaining about barely clinging to life.

South just shot him a look that was threatening to bite the youth.

“Anyway,” Wolf hastily changed the subject. “How about you fill some wineskins for me?”

“Sure, as soon as I’m done with these peppers,” South said solemnly, then resumed chopping.

“Right, regarding your wine, nobody else wants to try it,” Wolf suddenly remembered that peculiarity.

“Well, it’s the same thing as when I offered it to you,” South said flatly. “Unless you shove it down people’s throats, only those who know its effect or have some destiny with it can taste it.”

After a moment of silence, he continued. “You can keep looking for people who want to drink it. No matter how much you drink it’s not even a drop in the ocean. Now, regarding fine literature…”

***

While Wolf chatted, drank and ate with his big brother, Anna, Barbara, Matilda and Wayde entered the Nobles’ District. Since Barbara and Wolf weren’t going back to the academy, they couldn’t cash in their mission yet. So, Wayde also decided not to head back to Mage Academy. Instead, he went to Sweet Dream.

He used a back entrance and went to his private room. Unlike what people would expect, the youth didn’t go to the brothel to fool around. Instead, he started reading various reports that came in since he was gone.

Wayde wanted to become a Duke. He started establishing his own intelligence circle ever since entering the Mage Academy. This mostly included Sweet Dream prostitutes, but also some Mage Academy students and staff, as well as several unimportant servants in important households. He was still a teen with little funding or power. The quality of his cheap agents was questionable at best, but he still benefited from the practice.

While the rightful Duke busied himself, reading reports and writing letters, Anna and Matilda returned to the Mage Academy.

The girls had suffered this time. Barbara was more ruthless than Wolf and now all Anna and Matilda wanted was to soak in warm baths and sleep for a couple of days.

“See you tomorrow morning,” Matilda said as she opened her bedroom door.

“Can we make it noon?” Anna asked in a whiny voice.

A moment later the girls laughed, wishing each other a good night and went to spoil themselves a bit.

***

Anna woke up. She had fallen asleep in the tub last night. After a moment she frowned, seeing her skin was all wrinkly from spending too much time in the water.

She stood up from the still warm water and dried herself with a towel. The young woman then moved to the large mirror and started massaging her breasts.

It’s really doing the trick, she thought as she nodded in a satisfied manner. They were growing just fine.

She saw Wolf’s disappointment with her bust. But it wasn’t her fault she wasn’t developing as fast as Matilda and Barbara. She even asked her mother for advice, but all she got was a laugh and a ‘be patient’. After investigating a bit, she came across this tip for massaging. It pleasantly surprised her and showed results.

If Anna had mentioned this to her mother, the woman would have laughed and told her it was a placebo. Anna’s issue was simply genetics, since Margaret was a late bloomer too.

By the time Anna finished her morning routine, it was already ten in the morning. She entered the living room she shared with Matilda wearing a green silk house-dress. There was no trace of Matilda. However, there was an envelope, waiting in front of the door.

I knew it, Anna thought. He went whoring again.

She tried to fight it. Tried not to let it get to her as she clenched her fists and grit her teeth. She failed miserably. Anna took long, decisive steps towards the letter, intent on tearing it to shreds.

She was about to rip it apart, but changed her mind at the last possible moment and gave in to her curiosity.

The young woman took a deep breath and looked at the envelope.

Sure enough, it said Missus Without-a-surname, just like last time.

Anna opened it and didn’t bother reading the text. She looked at the sketches, but as soon as she saw the first one she froze.

The image was familiar, Wolf laying on a bare woman’s back, biting her ear. However, this time the woman didn’t have Anna’s face. Instead, it was the slut from the Mission Hall.

Anna’s breathing quickened. She went through sketches in quick succession. They were identical to the ones she’d seen last time. The only difference was the face. The despicable face of that shameless commoner slut.

Anna bit her lip. Blood trickled, as tears of anger and humiliation welled up in her eyes. She panted as if she’d run a marathon as she scanned the letter.

“Noooooo!” Anna screamed and fell down on her knees before crumpling to the floor.

As the young woman sobbed, loud thuds came from Matilda’s room. A moment later she opened the door to her bedroom with a bang.

Matilda’s face was a panicked grimace. Her eyes scanned the room for a split second. She wore a fluffy white pajama, and yet seemed ready for battle. Then, when she realized there were no intruders, Matilda ran over to her roommate and hugged her.

She’d seen the envelope and had the same initial guess as Anna. Matilda wondered why Anna was so shaken with this and started petting her friend’s head.

“I’ll kill her! I’ll kill her,” Anna started screaming suddenly. “I’ll dig out her eyes and claw her face off! How dare she! How dare that commoner bitch! I’ll bite her tits off!”

Anna screamed hysterically, shocking Matilda. Apparently the content of the letter differed from her expectation.

“Annabelle, calm down. Everything will be fine. You just have to calm down first. Let’s talk about this.” Matilda hugged her even tighter and whispered into her ear.

Rage twisted Anna’s usually gentle features into an inhuman mask. The two friends looked like a gentle fluffy snowflake wrapped around a fierce, red-faced demon.

While Anna screamed, Matilda heard a clicking sound from behind the door. A moment later, the Hallway Monitor opened the door.

“We’re fine, get out,” Matilda growled, her face almost as terrifying as Wolf’s in full rage.

The woman at the door froze for a moment then nodded and hurriedly locked the door once more.

Anna sobbed, muttering barely intelligible words.

“Why? Why? Why?” she mumbled. “Why can’t a Mage be intimate with the man she loves? Why? Why are men such sons of bitches? Is it because she has bigger breasts? I was trying so hard… Am I ugly? Why is he torturing me?”

A string of questions no living person could ever answer poured out of Anna’s mouth. Matilda couldn’t help her. Nobody could. Matilda wanted to say that Wolf wasn’t like that, but she was afraid those words would further fuel the inferno which had just died down a bit.

“It’s not your fault little sister, it’s not your fault,” Matilda said, hugging Anna even tighter. She didn’t even realize she was also crying. “You’re very very beautiful, don’t cry. Don’t cry.”

She kissed Anna on the forehead, saying whatever came to her mind that could help Anna calm down.

An unknown amount of time passed before Anna finally quieted down and stopped crying. Matilda’s pajama top was wet with tears, drool and snot. For a moment she looked at what she was wearing. Her lips twisted in disgust, but returned to normal the next instant as she looked at Anna. The young woman’s eyes were closed as she hugged her knees.

“Have you calmed down?” Matilda whispered, looking at Anna with worry.

Anna opened her puffy red eyes and looked at Matilda. Her lips quivered, but she nodded her head. “Mn”

“You won’t do anything stupid? You won’t try to murder anyone?” Matilda asked, subconsciously tightening her grasp on Anna.

Anna slowly shook her head.

“That’s good to know.” Matilda smiled weakly.

“Wash up. I’ll do the same.” She took off the soiled pajamas and went back to her room.

Matilda was about to close the door, when she turned around to look at Anna once more.

“Remember. As long as nobody’s dead we can sort out everything,” she said and Anna nodded.

“Don’t worry Big Sister. I won’t let her die that easily. I’ll have her go through life worse than death. She can hang herself later, if she wants,” Anna whispered after Matilda closed the door to her bedroom.

Then she got up and went to clean up. As Anna dragged her feet, a twisted plan already started forming in her mind.

“Now, should I go there in person, or should I ask uncle Brad to record it?” she muttered for herself as she closed the door.