The Wise Wolf Princess: Love Is War

Recently, in Parnam, Souma has been rapidly preparing for the second

marriage ceremony of his lifetime—to Maria and Yuriga, of course.

The king of a rising power in the east was marrying the former empress

of the fallen great power of the west, and also Princess Yuriga, who came

from the Great Tiger Kingdom as an exchange student. There wasn't a

person in the Kingdom of Friedonia who wasn't excited.

That day would also see the Black-Robed Prime Minister, who was the

pride of the Kingdom of Friedonia, married to Queen Jeanne, the new

sovereign of the Euphoria Kingdom. This one would be taking place in the

Euphoria Kingdom, but the people were excited that the Black-Robed

Prime Minister would become royal consort there. That is, everyone except

for all the women who had secretly been gunning for him themselves.

There was a festive mood in Parnam right now that was as great, if not

greater, than the one that'd greeted Souma's marriage to Liscia and the

other queens.

And just as back then, Souma had put out a call to his retainers who

were looking to get married so that there could be weddings held all around

the city at the same time. Two of the big names that came forward were Mio

Carmine, daughter of Georg Carmine, whose name had been cleared of the

black mark of treason, and Colbert, the minister of finance.

This conversation happened the other day, in the Carmine Domain...

"Congratulations, Colbert. You're finally getting a wife too, are you?"

It was after the wedding was made public. Julius had come to the

Carmine Domain with his wife Tia to congratulate his old friend.

With a wry smile, Colbert said, "Thanks, Julius. Technically, I'm the one

marrying into her family though."

"Oh, I see... You're taking her name, then. I won't be able to call you

Colbert anymore."

Colbert's full name was Gatsby Colbert, but Colbert was easier to say

than Gatsby, so Julius and Roroa always called him by his family name.

This had been adopted by others, and his family name started getting treated

like it was his first name. However, once he married into the House of

Carmine, his name would become Gatsby Carmine.

"I don't see a problem with it. He can still be Colbert," Mio said as she

entered the room holding Julius and Tia's child, Tius. Tia was behind her,

smiling.

Mio put Tius back in Tia's arms, then put a hand on Colbert's shoulder.

"You'll always be Sir Bee, Sir Bee. No matter what anyone else calls you,

that's never going to change."

"Madam Mio..."

"And if it bothers you, you could ask His Majesty and Lady Roroa to let

you keep Colbert as a middle name. Gatsby C. Carmine."

"No, no, Madam Mio, I couldn't... Deliberately keeping my family name

when there's no political reason for it, like the Maxwells had..."

"Hmm... That could be good, actually."

"Julius?!" Colbert's eyes went wide.

Julius laughed. "Roroa would be sad if she couldn't call you Colbert

anymore. I think I'll put in the request myself when I visit the castle

tomorrow."

Colbert was stunned.

And so, the proposal to keep Colbert as his middle name went through

with surprising ease. It worked out perfectly for Souma, who would get

confused if he had to start calling him Gatsby or Carmine instead.

While these preparations for weddings around the capital continued,

there were others who were quietly preparing for a wedding of their own.

One such couple was Tomoko, the Wise Wolf Princess Tomoe's birth

mother, and Inugami, the vice commander of the Black Cats.

Inugami was deeply involved with the Inui family due to his job as

Tomoe's bodyguard, and her little brother Rou was completely convinced

that Inugami must be his dad because he had no recollection of his own

father. Inugami and Tomoko also seemed to share a mutual affection for one

another, so those around them had pushed them to finally tie the knot.

However, as Inugami was a member of a clandestine organization, and this

was Tomoko's second marriage, they didn't want to make a big deal of the

event.

"Then let's do it while all those other weddings are happening," was

Tomoe's idea, and the reason the couple decided to do it during the mass

wedding event.

Having reached the age where she was thinking about marriage herself,

Tomoe wanted to see her birth mother find happiness.

◇ ◇ ◇

"You're...okay with that, Tomoe?" Ichiha asked after hearing about it

from Tomoe.

Tomoe gave him a blank look in return. "Okay with what?"

"Having Mr. Inugami as your father. I thought you might feel

conflicted."

"Hmm... Not at this point, no?" Tomoe cocked her head to the side at the

look of concern Ichiha was giving her. "I mean, I've already got a lot of

family who aren't blood-related to me."

"Oh... That makes sense."

Tomoe's family included her birth mother, Tomoko; her blood brother,

Rou; her adoptive parents, Albert and Elisha; her adopted sister, Liscia; and

her brother-in-law, Souma.

On top of that, all of Souma's wives treated her like a little sister.

Adding Inugami to the mix as a stepfather wasn't going to make much

difference at this point.

Tomoe pressed her hand to her cheek and sighed. "Besides, I think Mr.

Inugami is a good choice. He's looked after me all this time as my

bodyguard, so if he makes Mom happy, then that's what matters."

"I guess it is, yeah."

"But I can't spend all my time fretting over the two of them," Tomoe

said, taking a big sip of fruit juice through her straw.

Ichiha and Tomoe were visiting the fruit parlor run by Lucy's family, the

Evans Company, together. In short, this was a date.

Fed up at the lack of progress in their relationship, despite their obvious

mutual attraction, their friends had started forcing them to go places alone

together more often. And yet, not much had changed between them.

Silence overcame the table.

This was because Ichiha just wouldn't make the first move. He had

incredibly low self-esteem after spending most of his life in the Duchy of

Chima being bullied by people who couldn't recognize his gifts. He was

aware of Tomoe's affection for him, and his for her, but struggled to see

himself as worthy of her princessly status.

However, after coming to this country, Ichiha's talent blossomed, and

people recognized that. Those closest to Souma thought there was no one

else who would be a suitable partner for Princess Tomoe. Meanwhile, the

people who didn't know any better largely assumed they were already

engaged. All the groundwork had been laid for him, and all Ichiha needed

to do was press the attack and seize the fortress that was Tomoe for himself.

Tomoe was even waiting for him with the gate bar removed.

The only thing keeping them in limbo was Ichiha's introverted

personality.

Ugh! This is going nowhere...! she thought.

That was why Tomoe had decided to try something today. She was

going to make Ichiha take the first step, and the only one he would need in

order to bring him across the finish line. Even if it took using the feminine

wiles she'd learned from First Secondary Princess Juna for this day. Yes,

the Wise Wolf Princess wanted to make him confess his love to her.

"You know, Yuriga's going to be getting married too."

Tomoe started jabbing in the general direction of the subject.

"Well, they'll be getting married, but they're not going to be trying for a

baby for a little while. Yuriga wants to keep playing mage soccer for now."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I know because I'm going to be the chamberlain."

It had been decided Tomoe would be taking over Marx's role in

managing palace events and managing the health of the royal family. One of

those duties was managing their nightly schedules to ensure the propagation

of the royal bloodline. That meant their family planning was handled by

Tomoe, and she'd been using that to poke fun at Yuriga lately. It was

adorable the way Yuriga turned beet-red and got angry.

Tomoe chuckled to herself as she remembered Yuriga's face.

"Big Brother and the others want to respect Yuriga's decision," she said.

"I see. Well, they already have Prince Cian and Princess Kazuha as

heirs. When you consider our relationship with the Great Tiger Kingdom,

it's probably best not to rush things."

"Yeah. So...I may be the problem. There's been a lot of marriage offers

for me lately." Tomoe went and threw a straight punch at the matter.

"Maybe a lot of people are being influenced by this mass marriage? I've

been getting a lot of requests from knightly and noble families... It's a real

nuisance, you know?"

Tomoe let out a belabored sigh, but...it was all a lie.

Souma had made some moves behind the scenes, quietly shutting down

any offers for the Wise Wolf Princess's hand before they could happen.

By stressing that she already had someone in mind and bringing Liscia

and the other queens, who were always delighted to hear about their little

sister's love life, on board, he had managed to kill any attempts to say, "It

would look bad if she were to refuse outright, so could we just have the two

of them meet?"

In short, there were no offers to marry Tomoe right now. It was a total

bluff! Tomoe was simply scheming to make Ichiha feel it was urgent that he

propose to her himself! This was what the Wise Wolf Princess could do

when she got serious!

Now, as for Ichiha...

"Yeah, go figure. I get a mountain of those requests too."

"..."

He was serious. Once his talents were discovered, Ichiha had become

famous throughout the country. It had also been decided he would act as

prime minister while Hakuya was out of the country. There were few better

people to marry for wealth and power, so all the upper-class families with

daughters of marriageable age were plotting to arrange a marriage with

Ichiha. And having come from another country, Ichiha didn't have the kind

of strong backers that Tomoe did. It was hard for him to reject the meetings.

While he was at the Royal Academy, and Tomoe was by his side, the houses

had restrained themselves, thinking it best not to anger the king's little

sister.

However, now that he had graduated, they didn't see the need to hold

back anymore. Many of them thought that even if he was going to get

engaged to Tomoe at some point, they should get in there first, build a

connection, and have him choose their daughters as his second or third

wife.

Tomoe understood that too. She had been trying to put pressure on

Ichiha, but instead, she unknowingly piled more pressure on herself. What a

natural womanizer! Ichiha Chima!

But Tomoe wasn't one to be deterred.

"Then I think you should get yourself some proper backers. If you had a

fiancée with powerful people behind her, that would dissuade the others

from making offers. Might I suggest someone with ties to the royal

family?"

A blatant appeal to pick her!

Tomoe was King Souma's honorary little sister. Who could have a more

powerful backer than her? If he would just get engaged to her, he could get

rid of all those bothersome other offers.

So, propose to me, she was saying.

Tomoe gave Ichiha a meaningful gesture, but...

"Hmm... But wouldn't it be rude to the lady I proposed to if I was only

doing it to fend off other suitors?"

Ichiha unbelievably missed this blatant move due to his sincerity! What

he was saying was genuine, and it was a valid argument. But because of

that, Tomoe couldn't keep pushing. However, she wouldn't give up!

"By that same logic, isn't it insincere going to meetings with prospective

marriage partners you have no intention of taking seriously?" she

questioned.

Tomoe overturned his good argument with one of her own! That put a

pensive look on Ichiha's face.

"You've got a point... It gets harder to refuse every time I see them, but

it's not like I can just keep ignoring them either..."

"Th-Then..."

"How do you handle it, Tomoe? You've been getting offers too, right?"

An unexpected counterattack!

Her earlier attempts to make Ichiha feel the need to act fast were coming

back to bite her! Because all attempts to make marriage offers to Tomoe

had been shut down completely, she'd never struggled with this problem.

Tomoe looked around evasively, sipping her tea and trying to appear

calm.

"W-Well... In the end, you have to turn them down sincerely, I guess?"

"Yeah, you're right," Ichiha replied, nodding repeatedly.

Tomoe had just been trying to say something inoffensive, but Ichiha was

in agreement. Despite her feigned composure, her hands trembled as she

held her teacup.

Urkh... I'm so bad at acting like a mature woman... she thought.

In order to compete with Yuriga, whose perspective was broadening as

she grew up, Tomoe had turned to Juna for lessons on how to act like an

adult woman. Perhaps thanks to that, Tomoe wasn't intimidated by adults

the way she had been when Souma first hired her. She'd gained the ability

to keep her composure no matter whom she was dealing with.

However, that was only on the surface level, with people she only had

superficial relationships with. When it came to someone like Ichiha, who

she was looking to connect with on a deeper level, she lacked the

experience she'd need to show that kind of composure. He was her first

love, after all. And they'd come this far with their relationship as it was.

Tomoe stared down into her cup.

This is hopeless. I can't think of where to take this. What am I supposed

to do, Juna?

Inwardly, she turned to her master for help. When she did, Juna's words

echoed in her mind...

"There are times when thinking with your head will get you stuck.

Sometimes, you need to act honestly with your feelings. Surprisingly, there

are moments when that kind of candor will work better."

This was something Juna said to her one day.

"There was a time I prioritized my own feelings over my family's

situation. It was at the ceremony to reward those who distinguished

themselves during the war with Amidonia. The right thing to do there

would've probably been to act on behalf of the Houses of Walter and Vargas

for my grandmother. But Grandmother gave me the push I needed, and that

let me ask His Majesty for what I really wanted. Hee hee! Now, I'm glad I

was honest with my own feelings."

Juna had patted Tomoe on the head as she said that. Even the mature

Juna had given in to her emotions before, and that fact gave Tomoe the push

she needed.

"I...hate this..." Tomoe said, forcing the words out. Ichiha suddenly

looked up at her, surprised.

Large tears were streaming down her face.

Ichiha panicked. "T-Tomoe?! What's wrong...?!"

While Ichiha was all shook up, Tomoe let her emotions do the talking.

"I don't want you marrying someone else. We... We've been together all

this time... And I want us to stay together...forever... Sniff..."

"Well...yes. I want to be together forever too."

"Sniff... Do you mean...as family? Will you be with me my whole life?"

Tomoe asked between sobs. Ichiha was so preoccupied with thinking about

how to make Tomoe stop crying, that he'd lost all his previous self-control

and lack of confidence.

That's why, almost reflexively, he said what he'd been holding back all

this time.

"As a family—of course! Because I want you to be the one I spend the

rest of my life with too...! Ah—"

A moment later, Ichiha's eyes widened as he realized what he'd just

said. There was no doubt about it—he had just proposed to Tomoe. And in

response, fresh tears began to roll down Tomoe's face.

Unlike her previous sobbing, she was outright bawling in earnest now.

Ichiha still didn't know how to react.

"U-Um...Tomoe?"

"Thank..."

"Thank...?"

"Thank goodness! Oh, thank goooodness! You proposed, Ichiha..."

When she heard his proposal, all the tension she'd been feeling broke.

These were tears of joy.

Seeing her tears, Ichiha realized that Tomoe had been waiting for him all

this time. Though he hesitated at first, Ichiha resolved to get up from his

seat and walked around to hug her from behind.

"Um... Sorry I'm a gutless coward, and I made you wait so long..."

"Sniff... Tell me about it. You're such a dummy."

Ichiha smiled wryly. He had to admit, he'd been a big dummy indeed,

making her worry like this.

"Yes. But if you'll have me, I hope we can be happy together."

"Yeah."

Tomoe relaxed, leaning her head back against Ichiha.

◇ ◇ ◇

A little later, once they'd calmed down, Tomoe clapped her hands.

"Okay, why don't we go tell Big Brother that we're engaged now?"

"Huh?! So soon?"

"Yeah. It'd be nice if we could announce our engagement at the

wedding."

Tomoe was giggling, despite crying not that long ago.

She brought her hands to his face, and her expression changed gears.

"Those tears weren't just an act...were they?"

"Hee hee! I'm not that skilled an actress. I learned that today," Tomoe

said with a soft smile. "That's why I opened up about my feelings. It just

happened to work out."

"You've got me beat..."

When he saw Tomoe's smile, Ichiha raised the white flag. When you

think about it, he'd been tossed this way and that at the whims of Tomoe's

emotions today. When she stopped thinking and acted naturally, Tomoe was

even more of a little devil. As Ichiha realized this, and that his fate was to

be at her mercy from now on, he let out a sigh, not entirely unhappy with

that outcome.

Today's victor: Tomoe (as she got Ichiha to propose.)