Chapter 191

Leo sat on the floor against the wall. Close by to where Ashley was sleeping he held the wolf on his lap as it slept. His hand brushing through the shadow like fur with his fingers. Listening he could hear the sound of the wolf breathing deeply. Vorbuk was in a deep slumber as his body needed to rest in order to restore all his lost mana and due to lack of energy after a long day.

At the sound of approaching footsteps his attention was pulled away from the wolf on his lap and instead to the two people who cautiously approached. One was a young boy, Chase. The other was in a temple robe with the hood pulled down over her head trying to block others from noticing who she was.

"Why did you bring her out of the room?" Prince Leo lowered his voice to ask Chase. If Vorbuk knew that the princess was wandering around with Chase it would have made him worry. Thankfully he was asleep and unaware.

"Father-!" Chase rushed over to prince Leo and knelt down to take a look at the sleeping wolf. Though the single word that came out of Chase's mouth caused prince Leo to freeze up momentarily.

"We were worried when we heard the two of them collapsed from going outside the temple." Princess Isis was the one who responded to Prince Leo. She did not want Chase getting in trouble over her coming out. In her eyes Chase was a child and didn't deserve to be scolded for her own choice to sneak out of the room.

"Why are you here, your highness?" Prince Leo sighed while asking. "What if someone recognizes you?"

Princess Isis sat down on the floor beside Leo on the floor. Her back against the wall just like his as she watched everyone in the temple running about working. Zoe and Daryl who aided the priestess in helping the wounded, Ashley who slept, Prince Leo who watched over Vorbuk, and she couldn't help herself but she did not want to hide inside that room. While everyone was at war against her father and countless people died on both sides. How could she sit back and hide while knowing Vorbuk and everyone was caught in the middle of it all? How could she not feel worried about him?

"I understand the risks," Princess Isis's gaze fell on the sleeping wolf. "But I was worried and wanted to see the situation myself when I heard the temple servants talking outside the room."

"Considering you came all the way here from the palace I guess that sounds just like something you would end up doing." Prince Leo slightly laughed.

"Shouldn't you get some sleep as well, your highness?" The princess asked while assuming that prince Leo would want to find a bed to rest on.

"I'm alright. I can not leave him on his own and it is not like I can carry him with me if I left this area to find somewhere to rest." Leo knew he could not move Vorbuk alone. There was also risk in leaving him alone. With the others too busy to watch over him while he recuperated that only left him. Prince Leo would not abandon the wolf's safety just to rest comfortably. He would remain by the wolf's side even if he had to sleep on the floor himself.

"Have you known him very long?" Princess Isis tried to make a conversation with the prince. She knew the two of them were friends but she did not know much about where Vorbuk had come from. He treated her with kindness but rarely spoke about himself.

"... Not really." Prince Leo responded honestly. The amount of time they had spent together had not even amounted to a year. That did not matter to him because he felt close to Vorbuk.

There was still a lot he did not know about him but he did not care. He considered Vorbuk like family to him already no matter what. Leo did not care that Vorbuk did not want to become a companion bound to him. It was not something that he desperately desired nor was it something he ever once asked for. Accepting the fact that Vorbuk wanted to maintain his own sense of freedom in the vast world.

"I thought you two would have known each other for a long time considering how close you two seem at times." Princess Isis had imagined their relationship to have been at least a few years or more. Though she was wrong in the end.

Leo listened to the princess's words as he watched Chase. The young child stepped away to give the sleeping Ashley a look over. He was full of curiosity as well as worry for the one who served the wolf. Not seeming as worried about the vampire as he had the wolf when he first arrived. He could still see a hint of worry hidden in the child's eyes.

"Does time matter that much?" Prince Leo asked her in return. "No amount of time can determine how important someone becomes to you."

"... You're right." She could not disagree with his words.

"What's wrong with him?" Chase asked the prince from where he stood by Ashley's side.

"He was hurt protecting your father." Prince Leo felt strange saying those words. It was hard for him to imagine a wolf as a tiger's father.

"I see." Chase muttered as if considering something to himself. It was hard to know what the child was thinking with that expression on his face.

"Are you worried about him? He will be fine after a while. Ashley just needs to rest. They both need to rest for the night so you should get some sleep as well." Leo knew that Vorbuk would not want the child staying up too late.

"I will later." Chase's replies seemed to almost always be short and to the point. The child did not drag out his own words when he spoke. Maybe his words were short and simple because of his lack of interaction with others.

The princess only sat quietly and listened to them both talk as she thought to herself. A small amount of time could build a strong connection with someone. That was true in the opposite. No matter how much time you spend with someone your connection to them could easily take a turn for the worse. It did not matter how much time two people spent together. How strong the bond with someone else is that was unique to each individual.

Time passed by as the hour grew late. Holding the wolf on his lap the entire night as he leaned against the wall. Prince Leo's head began to doze off where he sat in place. Entering his own state of slumber from exhaustion. His hold on the wolf never letting up.

On the right of Leo, he could feel the warmth of another. Chase sat on the floor while leaning against Leo. The child's hand holding onto the wolf's fur as he slept peacefully. The four of them resting together was like a beautiful painting against the wall of the temple.