Chapter XI: Where The Story Begins – The Exiled Wolf Road to Damnation

25 of worldscrown, 998 A.N.E.

It was already past 9AM when Alexandra opened her eyes. The girl hasn't slept well for the past months. Every morning, she woke up with a single thought : she had to go to the lower ring soon and complete her mission. 

The girl slowly got out of her bed and opened the great window in her room. In the garden, there was no one, not a single domestic. Well, that was to be expected in a house whose owner was condemned by the LIBRARY. She actually amused herself by counting how many of them would still be here after each day.

"People are so unreliable…" she whispered. "Well, I can't blame them."

Indeed, she couldn't blame them. All it meant was that she had to wake herself up and prepare her own food and other little things. It wasn't that far from being a slave, but she didn't really care at this point.

"A slave…"

As Alexandra looked at herself in the mirror inside her room, she wondered about a thing – why did she reflexively start tying her into a braid ? Usually, she would just adopt a sort or wavy hairstyle which she thought got pretty well with that moving strand of hair on top of her head.

"Hmm… Well, I will go into the lower ring today so I might as well change my hairstyle."

After finishing tying her hair Alexandra decided to look at the result standing in front of the mirror.

"Wah… this is bad. Maybe, I will just straighten my hair and wear a hat…"

***

After putting her hair in order and taking a bath and then putting her hair in order again because she forgot taking a bath would ruin everything, Alexandra put on the Berattelse Academy of Bibliomancy's uniform. 

It consisted of a long sleeved white blouse with a dark blue necktie and a black under chest corset ending with a tailed skirt. There were six golden buttons lined in two columns along the waist, and two more on end of each of the blouse's sleeves. On her hips was a belt holding a book alongside a dagger. Furthermore, the official uniform's footwear consisted of black garter belts, stockings, and low heeled ankle boots.

The whole thing had a sort of noble and military feeling to it befitting to the high class of the students attending that academy.

Her chest up, Alexandra looked at herself in the mirror with a satisfied smile, "(Yes, this is good enough!)"

"Wait! Wait, Lady Lefresne!!! You can't barge into milady room like that!!!"

"Of course, I can! Alex chérie~*?!"

//*darling

Alexandra twitched. From behind the door came noise, no, voices she was familiar with.

"(Oh no…)"

"SÉSAME OUVRES-TOI*!!!"

//*Open Sesame!!!

The bedroom's door was suddenly slung open by a black boot. It was a girl with a medium bob, ash blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was wearing the same uniform as Alexandra, but underneath a long sleeved black coat. Contrary to Alexandra however, she wasn't wearing stockings, but slightly long shoes and a black necktie.

"I, I am sorry, Milady. I couldn't stop her!"

Behind the girl was an old woman in a Victorian style maid outfit. Her salt colored hair was fastened in a chignon on the back of her head and wrinkled forehead was clearly visible as she tried her best to restrain the uninvited guest. 

"(Still here, huh?)" Alexandra thought, looking at the woman.

"Lower your foot, Lefresne. The stupid dog can see your panties." another girl in the back said.

The third intervenant was also wearing the Berattelse Academy Bibliomancy's uniform, except with pantyhose, and a dark blue coat similar to the girl before her. She had pale skin and her straight and silky dark blue hair was tied in a short ponytail.

The girl called Lefresne lowered her foot and turned to the other with a smile, "I want her to see though!"

"Don't lower it then."

"Well, we should stay décent en public!"

"What about you is 'decent'? And if that's what you think, don't go and barge into other people's houses."

"You are here too, though. So much for your decency!"

"To berate you, that's why I am here!"

"Eh~? Ah bon*? You really aren't honest, Zera! Are you a so-called 'tsundere' by any chance?"

//*Is that so?

"Are you a so-called 'idiot' by any chance?"

"Um… you two… what are you doing here on a Monday? Didn't you go to class?" Alexandra intervened.

"I could ask you the same question, stupid dog." Zera retorted.

"Ah yes! I almost forgot!" Lefresne exclaimed. 

Unbelting her own book, Lefresne skimmed through the pages until she found what she was looking for and showed it to Alexandra. 

"Alex chérie, do you care to explain?" she asked with a smile on her face.

In her hand was a paper notifying a request of engagement vow's breaking between a certain Alexandra B.B. Wolf – 9th of the name – and a certain Lefresne L. Aschenputtel. 

Seeing the document, Alexandra was taken by cold sweats.

"(How do I explain this?)"

The strand of hair on her head waved in a Z fashion. 

Zera's eyes widened a bit. "Get out," she ordered the old woman before going inside herself.

The old woman twitched and bowed, "Yes, Bibliomancer Zazzera Schneeweißchen."

"Wait, take this!" Lefresne called, giving a chocolate tablet to the old woman. 

The old woman bowed again, taking the tablet with both hands, "That… That's too much coming from you, Lady Lefresne. I can't possibly accept."

"It is okay! Keep it a secret though, s'il te plaît?"

Lefresne made a cute and radiant smile, greatly touching the old woman. With another bow, she thanked the girl and exited the room. 

"Close Sesame." Zazzera calmly said, making the door close violently behind the woman. 

Once the door closed, the three girls looked at each in silence a few seconds, until Lefresne turned to Zazzera.

"Zera, you are too ruthless!" Lefresne accused.

"I don't know what you mean. Aren't you the one whose mind is too subjective? Dolls aren't people, there is no need to show kindness to them."

"But—"

"Anyway, aren't you forgetting something again, Lefresne?" Zazzera remarked, turning to Alexandra. "You sure are silent today, stupid dog."

"Ah yes, Alex chérie! What is this about you breaking our vows? Surely you jest, n'est-ce pas?!"

"Um… well… you see…" Alexandra stammered.

"So it isn't a joke. Figures, you seemed stressed lately." Zazzera noted.

"No, that must be a joke, right? Why would you suddenly break our vows, Alex chérie? There's no reason to do that, n'est-ce pas?" Lefresne asked, hitting Alexandra's shoulder as if to joke. However when she saw the girl didn't smile with her, Lefresne's expression grew worried. She tried to uphold her usual smile, but she found it way harder than usual. "A… Alex chérie, you didn't really request our vows to be broken… n'est-ce pas?" Lefresne asked again, her voice trembling. 

The black haired girl's eyes tried to escape by looking at a nearby wall. 

"Sorry. I didn't really have a choice, Fresne," Alexandra apologized. "I signed a contract of exile."

"A… A contract of exile? For what purpose? Pourquoi? Why would you choose to be exiled? What does it mean?"

"Well, I… I have… reasons… Anyway, it would be bad for your reputation to be engaged to a criminal, so I decided to break our vows."

"My 'reputation', you say?! Why would you care about something like that?! Did I say it bothered me?! Even if your family has lost a little of its standing, I wouldn't ever marry someone else, you know that much!!!"

"... sorry…"

"Ce n'est pas d'une excuse dont j'ai besoin !!!"

//*It is not an excuse that I need!!!

"Stop harassing her, Lefresne. Get a clue would you?" Zazzera scolded, gently pushing Lefresne back with her forearm.

"That is my point exactly! Pourquoi devrait-elle payer pour les actes de cette horrible femme*?!!"

//*Why should she pay for that horrible woman's acts?!!

Alexandra slightly lowered the head – the strand on her head lowered too. Seeing that, Zazzera seemed to get angry and turned to Lefresne, "Can't you see that's her own decision?! How clueless can you be, you dimwit?!"

"Excuses-moi*?!! I totally understand it is her decision, but what I DON'T understand is POURQUOI she has to make it!!!"

//*pardon?!!

"Um… you two, stop fighting, please. It is my fault in the first place so…" Alexandra tried to intervene before being shot down by Zazzera. 

"Oh shut up, you stupid dog! All of this is your fault in the first place!" Zazzera scolded. "What were you planning exactly, agreeing to be exiled without telling your fiance?! I might understand you not telling me since we aren't friends, but why not talking with Lefresne about it?! And you even planned to leave today without telling her, didn't you?! How heartless can you be?!"

"Wha… What?! I understand that you are angry about me, but I have my reasons, okay?! Besides, it's not as if that engagement was important, it's just a promise between my mather and her mother! Moreover, someone from the Aschenputtel lineage should have many courtesans! I can easily be replaced!"

"You!!" Zazzera barked, grabbing Alexandra by the collar. "Don't you get it?! This isn't about being engaged, it is about—"

"I get it okay?!!" Alexandra yelled. "That's why I didn't want you two to know!!!"

"Calm down, you two!!!" Lefresne yelled, kicking Zazzera. 

"Ouch! Hey, what do you think you are doing?!" Zazzera yelled, letting go of Alexandra's collar. 

The teenage girl let out a deep sigh before turning to Alexandra. "Alex… not so 'chérie' anymore—"

"You are letting her go that easily?" Zazzera remarked. "I know I asked you to get a clue, but…"

"Zera, I might have reacted a bit like a child earlier. Sorry to put you through that. I appreciate you getting angry for me, but that isn't the right thing to do." Lefresne apologized.

"..."

"We are bibliomancers, we aren't children anymore," Lefresne added, turning to Alexandra again. "Alex, if you think it's your duty, then I am no one to stop you. I am sorry for hiding behind our engagement as a means to express my current anger and frustration, but it is your fault too! Breaking our vows so suddenly… I know it's just an agreement between our parents and that you don't feel that way about me, but at least as a friend… I would have liked to know you as your dear friend! When you told me you chose to be exiled without telling me… I don't know, I just…"

The girl's eyes became watery. She stopped as she knew if she talked any more, her voice would break in a sob.

Alexandra stayed silent, her head down. She knew enough Lefresne to know that it wasn't what she really wanted to say. The Lefresne she knew was selfish, spoiled and a freethinker, yet, if they were talking about duty, she would never let her personal feelings in the matter. 

Ever since her family had his name dragged in the mud, Alexandra expected Lefresne to break their engagement herself, but for some reason, she didn't do so. Alexandra theorized it was because the powerful Aschenputtel household tried to uphold its reputation of selflessness and charity by not abandoning the "innocent pup" of the infamous "Black Wolf''. This way, they could still appear good in front of the public, without compromising their status in the LIBRARY. 

That wasn't to say Lefresne or her family was using her however. The latter firmly believed in their own righteousness and Lefresne was her dear friend so, of course, she wouldn't let her down. Nevertheless, that made things incredibly difficult for Alexandra, since she now HAD to take the responsibility of breaking their vows herself. 

Actually, she might have done it whether or not she accepted to be exiled – if Lefresne was acting normally around her (and Zazzera was being Zazzera), that didn't mean the others did the same. In fact, Alexandra was bullied at the academy – not only her, but her servants too. The only who remained with her after all that was that old doll, but that's because a doll is what it is, it doesn't have any free will so of course it will stay with its master.

In short, the Wolf household was already exiled in the middle ring – trying to prove herself by serving the LIBRARY in the lower ring was all Alexandra found to regain a semblance of dignity. Lefresne probably understood that much which is why she seemed to give up.

Zazzera on the other hand…

"Oh? Is that so? So you are going to say because it's her 'duty' she has the right to throw away her life, is that it Lefresne?" Zazzera snickered.

"Zera! How can you say things like that?! Being exiled isn't synonyme de mort*!"

//*synonym of death

Ignoring Lefresne, Zazzera skimmed through her own grimoire until she produced another document she presented to Alexandra. 

"If you are so eager to throw away your life, sign that document, stupid dog."

Alexandra eyes narrowed as she took the document, "What is this? A joke?"

"I am serious." Zazzera replied.

"Serious?! That's a contract to…"

"Agree to become my pet for the rest of your life, yes."