Chapter 11 : In Pursuit of The Wolf Witch Part 1

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Apparently the Wolf Witch was always plotting to kidnap young noble daughters everyday. Gilbert-sama spread the incident files as he explained it to me.

“It seems that the flesh and blood of young noble daughters, up to age of 15, is the best thing to enhance the power of curses.”

The story sent chills up my spine. The kidnapping often occurred during social season for the high society. This was not surprising to know since all noble families from all over the kingdom would gather in the royal capital during social season. 

“The victim is Miss Marierose de Cellotene.”

A portrait that they apparently had borrowed, was placed on the table. She was a beautiful young lady with blonde hair and blue eyes. The incident occured yesterday evening. She was on her way to a tea party she had been invited to with her maid in a four-horse carriage. 

“The knight squads have been dispatched to search for her whereabouts to no avail and since there isn’t any witness, it’s safe to assume this must be the work of the Wolf Witch. Because of that, the request to help with the search has arrived to our unit.”

“So the carriage vanished without a trace.”

“That’s right.”

Dietrich-sama was staring intensely at the report that he might bore a hole through it. 

“Big brother, what do you think?”

“I need to investigate it even further before I can say anything.”

“Then let’s get right to it. Let’s begin our investigation.”

“Then can you please change into your knight uniform-”

For some reason, the so-called uniform that had been prepared beforehand this morning was a fresh green dress with plenty of frills on the sleeves and cuffs. 

“Nah, Melodia, you’re fine as you are. Our knight activities are not known to the public after all.”

“Ah, that’s true…”

Because our knight uniform would make us look conspicuous, we had to go in our casual clothes. Gilbert-sama was also dressed in a casual shirt, pants and a vest. 

“We’re going to set out right away. Get ready now.”

“Yes!”

I wonder, what kind of preparation Dietrich-sama has to make since he looks like a white dog ?

As I pondered that question in my heart, a male servant came with a collar and a leash. He then nimbly put the collar on Dietrich-sama’s neck. In just a split second, Dietrich-sama looked like a dog who was ready for his afternoon walk. 

“Okay, good.”

Dietrich-sama bit the handle of the leash and put it on top of my hand. 

“Melodia, you’ll be the one who holds my leash.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yesterday, you promised me, didn’t you? We will start from the beloved dog stage.”

“Yes….. Well….”

“You will naturally understand how splendid I am when you hold that leash.”

“Is that so…?”

I wonder how I can understand how splendid Dietrich-sama is when I walk him like a dog….?

As my gaze was fixated in the future that awaited me, I saw Gilbert-sama was preparing a cane with a hidden blade within it. 

“Melodia-sama, here it is.”

Ruri-san presented a parasol to me. It was a beautiful parasol with a picture of lily flowers decorating the panel part. There was also something that looked like a jewel on the end of the handle. However, upon closer look, I realized the handle had an ivy engraving that looked like the pattern of a magic spell. 

“This parasol, could it be a magic staff?”

“Yes. The handle is made from oak and a charm to repel the witch’s curse. The panel is made from champagne beige cloth along with matching lace. The pointed end of the handle is decorated with a diamond.”

I immediately flinched when I heard Ruri-san mention the word ‘diamond’. I had heard diamonds were sometimes used in a magic staff but this was the first time I ever actually saw a diamond magic staff. 

When I unfolded the parasol, I saw the lily design had a semi-circular pattern. It was a very elegant and refined parasol. 

“Is it really alright for me to borrow this?”

“It’s a gift from me.”

“From Dietrich-sama?”

“Yes.”

It was a very wonderful gift. I was instantly captivated by it at the first glance. It must be very expensive too. I wondered whether it was alright for me to receive such an expensive gift. I glanced at Dietrich-sama, looking for an answer. 

“What is it?”

“I-It’s nothing. It’s just, I’m afraid this item will be wasteful on me….”

“I’ll be the one to decide if it’s wasteful or not. That thing was made specifically for Melodia.”

“Made for me?”

“Ah, no. Coincidence. The merchant brought it and I bought it. That staff contains my feelings for you. I will not allow you to return it.”

“Ah, okay…”

If he said his feelings were in it, of course I couldn’t return it to him. I had to obediently accept this gift. 

“Umm… Thank you very much.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes, I like it very much.”

Lastly, they gave me a wide-brimmed hat. This hat was also decorated with lace and ribbons all over it. It looked really cute but somehow, I felt like a doll being dressed up by them. 

“Melodia, they look good on you. You look lovely.”

“Thank you very much.”

I never received any compliment from someone of the opposite sex so hearing Dietrich-sama said that, made me feeling bashful. I unconsciously hid my face with the brim of my hat. 

“Now then, let’s go.”

After we were all ready to go, we departed from the mansion. Holding the leash for Dietrich-sama made me feel complicated but I decided to brush that feeling off since this was also part of my job. We boarded a carriage and headed to the city. 

“First, we will conduct an investigation around the city. We will do it in a different method than what the knight used to do so Melodia, please listen to me well.”

“Understood.”

The view changed from the landscape of a thick forest to the landscape of a city. As I gazed at the cityscape, I suddenly realized. 

Is it really alright for such a big dog like Dietrich-sama to walk around in the city?

“Excuse me, Dietrich-sama…”

“What is it?”

“That… Even for a dog, Dietrich-sama looks bigger than the usual dog so I was wondering if it’s alright for Dietrich-sama to walk in the city?”

“There’s no problem. Look, over there.”

I followed my gaze according to the direction Dietrich-sama motioned me for and there, I saw a black dog who looked about the same size as Dietrich-sama walking in the city. 

“That’s-!”

“That’s the breed for the biggest dog in the world. At maximum, that breed can go up to 2 meters big.”

Apparently this breed was popular among the noble. They said, the bigger the dog, the more beautiful it was. 

“That breed was popularized by the Fenrir family a few years ago.”

“Perhaps the purpose of that is to ensure Dietrich-sama won’t look conspicuous when he walks in the city?”

“Exactly so.”

If dogs about the size of Dietrich-sama became a common sight in the city, people wouldn’t feel frightened or felt odd when they saw Dietrich-sama.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a dog that big.”

“There aren’t that many of them yet but since this area is the nobleman’s district, you will see this breed quite frequently.”

While we were talking, we finally arrived at our destination, the house of Cellotene family. They were going to let us listen to the testimony of the maid and the servant that had sent Marierose out but when I was about to enter through the front door, I was stopped by the butler. 

“Pardon me, dogs are a bit…..”

I was about to say,”of course” when Gilbert-sama quipped in.

“This is the famous dog that has helped us track down over 100 missing people. This is not an ordinary dog.”

“Oh, if that’s the case then please.”

With how smooth Gilbert-sama with words was, Dietrich-sama was easily granted the permission to enter. 

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T/N: Technically Gilbert is not wrong. Dietrich himself has helped to find missing people for his whole life I assume. Also!! I also want to take a 2 meters big dog for a walk!! One that’s docile and won’t pull the leash!! I’m so envious of Melodia here (Ｔ▽Ｔ)