[Discontinued*] The Darling Princess [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

🦁 Chapter 63

"Leona, good evening! I brought your dinner. And I took care of another job." 

Leona rolled over and glared at the small hyena, silently contemplating the best way to kick him out of his room. But when he heard about Ruggie's success, he smirked and pushed himself up from the bed.

"Ahh. Aren't you an efficient one, Ruggie."

Ruggie snickered. "Well naturally. If it's for you, Leona, it's easy."

"Ha. Don't flatter me. You're doing this for yourself."

"Oh no, Leona. This is for us, y'know. Everyone wants to turn this world on its head. The hyenas in the legend of the King of Beasts followed him because they wanted to improve their lot in life." The boy shrugged and flopped down onto one of the many armchairs around Leona's room. "I'm just doing the same."

Leona's glare returned a second later. "Then be discreet while you 'hunt'. Don't leave evidence."

The familiar snicker of a hyena bubbled up through Ruggie's lips. "Shishishi! Of course. It's hyena policy to never leave a scrap of their prey behind." He paused and stretched back in the chair a little. "By the way, Leona. For the next prey, which dorm and who should we target?"

Leona glanced over at his balcony, watching as the moon hovered in the blanket of indigo. "Let me think." He turned to one of the dark corners of his room. "How about a wolf that likes to sneak around eavesdropping on others?"

Ruggie jumped to his feet. "Huh?!"

The lion jumped off of his bed and snarled at the dark corner. "I know you're there, fresh-baby. You might want to find a new hobby with those giant ears of yours."

It took a moment, but soon, a foot stepped into the moonlight, followed by the familiar body of a muscular boy with wolf ears and a bushy white tail. He glared at his two leaders, irritated that they had found him so easily, and even more annoyed with what they were discussing.

"What do you want this late? Are you homesick and need a lullaby?" Leona's tone was nothing but mocking toward the freshman.

"I'll sing one for you," Ruggie snickered.

Jack wasn't listening to their mockery. "Tell me the reason. Why are you guys doing something like this?"

"I see. You're looking for a bedtime story." Leona sat back down on his bed. "All right, I'll tell you one. 

For two years in a row, we played against Malleus and Diasomnia Dorm in the first match of the tournament. The result? We were crushed. A participation trophy. Savanaclaw has taken down opponent after opponent, but even we were like newborn kittens who hadn't even opened their eyes. That unsightly state was broadcasted to the whole world. Do you know what happened in the end? The dorm leader was branded as incompetent and scouts from pro leagues and sponsors dried up."

Jack was at a loss for words. "That's because... you just weren't good enough..." He knew that Leona wouldn't take kindly to this. 

Sure enough, Leona's glare hardened. "That's precisely it. Until last year, we weren't committed to personal affairs. Having an honest match with that monster-like opponent without coming up with something in advance was stupid. We knew we'd lose, but we still didn't come up with a plan. To hear that about Savanaclaw, the dorm that is founded on the persistence of the King of Beasts, it must have been a shock."

Jack was fuming at this point, snarling like a wolf protecting its den. "That doesn't make the cowardly way you're attacking people any less wrong!"

"It's wrong?" Leona didn't like being questioned, especially by a freshman who hadn't even learned any advanced magic yet. "Jack, you know, I'm only thinking what's best for all the members of Savanaclaw. If we shoot down Malleus, we'll get revenge and all of that, and the value of Savanaclaw will be restored. It's already been decided that if we don't win this year, Malleus will be entered into the Hall of Fame. This is our last chance. But you want to give it up, for your sense of justice? Do you want to destroy your upperclassmen's futures?"