Chapter 197

Vorbuk opened his eyes at the feeling of someone's hand petting his head. A low growl in his throat as his mind was still not completely clear after dreaming so deeply. His white teeth bared Vorbuk jolted awake.

Snapping his head around while growling he took in the sight of prince Leo's startled expression. The growl slowly faded away as Vorbuk realized he was being held by the prince. Uncomfortable with the situation the wolf stood up and stepped away from Leo. He would not harm the prince but that did not mean the wolf was fond of being held like a lap dog.

"Master~!" Ashley's voice called out from the side as he turned his head to see the vampire rushing over to him. "Your awake!"

"You slept almost the entire day." Prince Leo stated as he tidied himself up as if he hadn't been startled a moment ago.

"Master, you must be hungry," Ashley said while grabbing some food from the side that he had prepared in advance. Pushing a bundle of baked bread in front of the wolf. "They were made by mother Daryl himself."

Wait! Why do I find something wrong with what you just said there! Vorbuk shouted in his mind at the strange things Ashley had just spoken.

"The temple's cook had some problems and Daryl offered to help. He is temporarily helping out in the kitchen and people have become fond of his cooking in that short span of time." Prince Leo explained when he saw the puzzled look on the wolf's face.

In fact Daryl was very skilled with food as he had much experience with cooking. As someone who had traversed the twelve kingdoms over the years Daryl often cooked for himself and came into situations he needed to for other people as well. He could easily turn something simple into something that felt extravagant. That was why as the group traveled Daryl willingly took on the role for cooking for those in the group.

"Any word from Bredret yet?" Vorbuk decided to change the topic. Looking at the prince sitting on the floor he could tell Leo had not slept very well recently. The prince had watched over him while he was unconscious and disregarded his own comfort and health.

"Nothing from him yet. Knowing him it wont be long before he makes it back." Leo responded while thinking about how quickly Bredret was able to move. As a dragon known for his speed in flight it was easy for Bredret to move about quickly.

Vorbuk's gaze wandered around the temple and eventually faltered. His eyes were still as he noticed her there. With her hood pulled down low to cover her face from others where she stood. The princess was indeed not hiding in the room he had asked her to.

"Was there any problems with the princess?" Vorbuk asked the prince bluntly. Noticing that she was not hiding he worried about others causing problems when they spot her. It would be impossible to hide her forever. The only thing that bothered him was things getting worse before he could find a way to handle the situation. He was not able to fully grasp how well the pope could keep his people under control. The warning he had given to the pope about her had been simply one of his methods to ease the tension.

"Some of the temples people have noticed her but there has been no major issue around her being here. I think they are afraid to say anything because they don't know where the pope himself stands on her being here. It would be difficult for anyone to be inside the temple without the pope becoming aware of them. Therefore they are probably keeping quiet while waiting to know his decision on the matter." Prince Leo quietly explained his opinion on the matter.

The wolf thought for a long time as he stood there. It was unclear to prince Leo what Vorbuk was thinking but he could see it in the gaze of the wolf's eyes. There was something weighing on him.

"Are you sure you want to catch Aoki alive?" Prince Leo asked him quietly. He did not feel comfortable with the thought of keeping that vampire around in the future.

"He would be useful in the future." Vorbuk said simply. It was true that there were uses for that vampire if he kept him alive. If the vampire died however it was something that seemed like a pity. Aoki had skill and held a lot of knowledge about a kingdom he would eventually come into conflict with. It would be foolish to waste a given opportunity.

"You-" Prince Leo hesitated before muttering "I feel like you are strange sometimes.."

That was the only way the prince could explain the feeling he got from the wolf. It was like sometimes Vorbuk held a personality similar to anyone else. He simply did not act like a normal beast when they communicated. Leo felt at ease like he was talking to someone equal to himself when they spoke with each other. It gave him a familiar feeling.

"Thank you." Vorbuk decided to pretend those words were a compliment. No matter how he thought about it they could be taken in either way. Rather then pondering over it he would just accept it as a compliment and move on.

"Did you have a family out there? Aren't you ever curious what they might be doing?" Prince Leo suddenly felt his questions starting to take control of him. He had always wondered where the wolf had come from. Wolves usually lived in packs together. They were rarely ever found alone since they were social creatures.

"I had nothing of that sort." Vorbuk's words were cold and empty as he spoke. Something about his voice seemed to cut through the air like a knife. He did not want to talk about where he had come from. Those memories were something that he wanted to keep buried. He could not imagine how he would explain where he had come from. Things like family he had nothing to call that. Not even this new body of his had such things that he knew about.

"... I will go check if there is any sign of Bredret coming back yet." Prince Leo said as he stood up from the floor. Dusting himself off he began to walk away from Vorbuk. The prince could tell that the wolf did not want to continue talking further. Finding it was best to remove himself from the unpleasant atmosphere that he had caused.

Vorbuk stood there quietly as he watched the prince leave. Listening to the sounds of Ashley sitting a plate of food down on the floor for Vorbuk to eat. Following up the food he placed a bowl of warm milk for him to drink. Ashley did not need to eat like others so he could only act on routines that he knew other mortals lived by when it came to foods.

Quietly enjoying the meal, Vorbuk was watched over by Ashley. No words were exchanged between them as the wolf did not feel like changing form. It would waste his energy to change simply so he could communicate with Ashley. Therefore his entire meal was enjoyed in his natural wolf form.