“As I understand, you’re not here for my shop, but for Cat… How embarrassing…”

Upon realizing that Ethan and I were here because of Cat’s request, the woman carefully ushered us inside. She quickly grabbed the piece of cloth—no, calling it “clothing” was too generous—that I had been holding and, with a slightly flushed face, invited us into her home.

‘Since the cloth’s magical power disappeared when she took it, this must mean she’s definitely Cat’s grandmother…’

…But her appearance was quite different from what I had imagined. When I heard “big bad wolf,” I thought she’d look more like a wolf than a human—maybe about 80% wolf if we divided the transformation into 10 stages.

But the woman in front of me was far closer to human. If I had to assign her to a stage, she’d be around a 4 or 5. She had ears poking out from her head and fur on her face, but her overall body shape was far more human than wolf. The tight dress she wore emphasized her figure, making it hard to imagine her as a wolf at all.

Even someone who had never seen a werewolf before wouldn’t mistake this woman for a wolf.

‘Maybe Cat, being so young, doesn’t understand the difference between a wolf and a werewolf?’

One thing was clear, though: she had a physique that might be a bit inappropriate for a child’s guardian. If someone kept staring at her, they might develop strange inclinations. Not that it affected me, being a fellow woman, but still…

“…Ed.”

“Hmm?”

“Stop staring at her like that.”

“…Suddenly?”

It wasn’t out of jealousy. I was just worried that Ethan’s tastes might drift into odd territory. After all, I wasn’t a species purist, but it would be strange for the next heir to the Blackwood family to take an interest in a werewolf hybrid. Plus, Cat’s grandmother was married, after all. Either way, it wouldn’t be good for Ethan to show too much interest.

“So, Cat’s been waiting for her grandmother to return, right?” Ethan asked.

“Yes… Cat’s grandmother.”

“Call me Cashimilly, or just Cashi.”

“Alright…”

Introducing herself as Cashimilly, Cat’s grandmother gently waved her tail behind her, looking troubled.

“I’m not quite sure what to do. I’d like to go back to Cat immediately, but as you can see, I’m in this… state.”

“So, does that mean… you don’t plan on revealing the truth about being a werewolf to Cat?” I asked.

“I thought I’d tell her someday, but only when she’s older. If she realized too early that I’m not the same species, she might also find out that I’m not her real grandmother, and that could cause her to act out.”

“…So you’re not biologically related to Cat?”

“As you can see, I’m a half-breed myself, but I still have many noticeable traits like these ears and this tail. Have you ever seen Cat with features like mine—wolf ears, a tail, or even thick gray fur on her hands?”

“…No, I haven’t seen anything like that on Cat.”

Realizing that Cashimilly wasn’t actually Cat’s blood relative, she began explaining how their relationship had come to be.

“Three years ago, the caravan led by Cat’s parents was attacked by wild wolves. That night also happened to be a full moon, so I rushed in to save them, but by the time I arrived, the wounds Cat’s parents had sustained were beyond healing. That’s when I found three-year-old Cat inside the wagon.”

“…”

“That’s why I never told Cat I’m a werewolf. If she found out, it would inevitably lead to her realizing that I’m not her real grandmother. On top of that, seeing me as a werewolf might trigger traumatic memories from the incident three years ago. So, during the full moon, I always came up to this shop to stay the night. But two nights ago, without understanding why, I reverted to my true form and had to run back up here.”

“I see. I suspected something like that when you mentioned you left the house once a month.”

“So, the story about the wolf kidnapping her grandmother… was that just to buy time?”

“Yes. Normally, I’d revert to my human form within a day, two at most. So I figured I’d be back in time and told her that.”

Cashimilly let out a shallow sigh, a rueful smile playing on her lips.

“But I do have one question,” I interjected.

“Yes?”

“You mentioned that Cat saw real wolves when she was younger, but looking at you now, you don’t seem like the kind of ‘big bad wolf’ Cat described…”

“Now that you mention it,” Ethan added, “you look much more human than a wolf, so you don’t really fit the image of the ‘big bad wolf’ she was talking about.”

“That’s because I’m currently halfway back to my human form. Right after the transformation, I look almost indistinguishable from a wild wolf. It takes about a night to gradually revert to my human appearance. This time, it’s just taking much longer than usual.”

…That made sense. If a woman like this appeared in the house, even a child like Cat wouldn’t think a “wolf” had broken in—she’d just assume a stranger had entered her home.

“Do you have any idea why you transformed into a wolf so suddenly?” I asked.

“Well… that night, I was putting Cat to bed and glanced at the clock tower in the palace garden to check the time.”

“…You can see the palace clock tower from here?”

“My species has sharp night vision since we’re half-wolf. Oh, now that I think about it, I remember seeing a brief flash of light from the direction of the palace that night.”

“A flash of light?”

“Yes. It seemed to come from the back garden of the palace. I think the transformation happened right after I saw that light…”

Two nights ago? The palace garden?

The night she was talking about—that was the night of the noble’s gathering! The night I had that confrontation with Mechart in the palace’s back garden and finally defeated him with an execution.

And to prove that Mechart had been using dark magic tied to demons, I had used the Saintess’s power, the Mirror of Truth.

A power that reveals hidden forms and shows people’s true nature…

‘…Wait a minute.’

Could that flash of light Cashimilly saw have been the Mirror of Truth?

-Bang!

“I’m so sorry!!!”

“Lily?!”

“Wh-what’s going on, Miss Lilith?!”

In that moment, everything made sense. The reason Cashimilly transformed into a wolf wasn’t because of the full moon or any natural cycle.

…it was my fault.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“So that flash of light… it was the Saintess’s power, the Mirror of Truth, wasn’t it?”

“I’m so sorry, Miss Cashimilly! I never imagined the Mirror of Truth would reach this far, let alone disrupt your relationship with your granddaughter!”

“Please, Miss Lilith, you don’t need to apologize like this. Or should I call you Lady Saintess?”

“…Just call me Miss Lilith. The fact that I’m the Saintess isn’t widely known yet…”

“Ah, I see. The current Saintess everyone knows about is Celesta, right?”

To my surprise, Cashimilly accepted my apology with a calm demeanor, much more forgiving than I deserved. Although I had inadvertently revealed my identity as the true Saintess, she promised to keep it a secret.

Still, I felt guilty for potentially ruining the relationship between Cashimilly and Cat.

‘I’m so glad I was determined to fix this mess…’

If I hadn’t realized what I had done, I would’ve left for the Witch’s Forest, unaware of the trouble I had caused. Next time I use the Mirror of Truth, I’ll make sure to angle it at the ground or something…

“We’ll explain everything to Cat. You’re not in a position to return just yet, but we’ll make sure she understands the situation…”

“No, I can’t ask you to go through that trouble, Miss Lilith.”

“It’s not trouble; I need to fix my mistake…”

“Thanks to you, I’ve made up my mind. I always knew I’d have to tell Cat the truth someday. I guess it’s time I did it now.”

“…Huh?”

With a resolved look, Cashimilly stood up and asked me, her eyes full of determination.

“It’s a bit scary to reveal a truth I’ve hidden for three years all by myself. Could you come with me, Miss Lilith?”

At least it seemed like we wouldn’t need the Blackwood family’s search squad to find Cat’s grandmother after all.