Chapter 2

The atmosphere at dinner that evening was still cheerful.

Mom put the most tender pieces of roasted meat onto Wendy's plate.

"Eat a little more. Tomorrow, we're going to have your coming-of-age clothes and accessories custom-made. It'll be a long, tiring day."

Wendy smiled and nodded.

"Mom, I want some of your moonberry sauce."

"Sure. I'll get you some in a minute."

After saying that, she looked at me.

"Nancy, why aren't you eating?"

I gathered my courage and looked up.

"Mom, tomorrow is the final round of the selection for the chief healer. I've already signed up."

The smile on Mom's face disappeared. She then casually said, "Go ahead. That competition doesn't mean much anyway. It's not like you're going to leave Black Wolf Pack. If you want to participate, we won't stop you."

"So you're not going to have my ceremonial dress made?"

I already knew the answer, but I still couldn't help asking.

Dad glanced at me impatiently. "We can't cancel on a top designer over some pointless competition. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get an appointment with that designer?"

Mom sighed softly. "Nancy, please stop making a fuss. Besides, you don't even like wearing dresses. Dresses are what this designer specializes in, so you're not really losing anything by skipping it."

Steven gently touched my arm. "Don't worry. I'll have a designer from the northern territory make you a custom cloak. You won't have to attend the coming-of-age ceremony in old clothes."

I wanted to tell them that I didn't dislike wearing dresses. The first time I'd worn one, my figure had developed more than Wendy's, and the dress looked better on me. Wendy cried for the entire day.

Mom had awkwardly told me, "Nancy, you know Wendy's wolf spirit is too weak, and she's not as physically developed as you. Just don't wear dresses anymore. You might upset Wendy and make her feel bad."

For the sake of keeping Wendy happy, I hadn't worn a dress for so many years.

Dad firmly ended the conversation. "That's enough. Wendy, just focus on having your ceremonial dress made."

I opened my mouth briefly before closing it in the end.

I knew there was no point in saying anything. In this family, my opinions were always filed under things that didn't need to be considered.

I lowered my head and took a few more bites.

Suddenly, Wendy reached out and grabbed my arm.

"Nancy, don't be mad. I'll let you borrow my favorite necklace for the day. Will that make you feel better?"

She made it seem like she was being generous, but she made no move to take off the necklace. Instead, she ran her fingers over the carefully crafted piece as if deliberately showing it off.

I pulled away.

"No, thanks."

Her eyes immediately welled with tears.

"Do you hate me?" she asked.

Mom immediately put down her fork. Her voice was harsher than I'd ever heard before. "Nancy, don't take your anger out on Wendy!"

Dad stopped eating too. "Enough, Nancy. Stop giving us that attitude. Whenever you're around, the whole mood in this house turns awful."

Steven sat silently for a long time. In the end, he said softly to me, "Nancy, don't put everyone in a difficult position."

I felt a suffocating sensation in my chest.

Everyone genuinely believed that my feelings didn't matter at all.

What hurt the most was that even Steven now felt the same way.