‘Being eaten by a wolf.’ She seemed much calmer than the rest. ‘When you say eaten, do you mean this literally?’

The Wolf Queen gave an exaggerated nod. ‘That I do. You’ll be swallowed up whole. But don’t be tempted to do anything you’ve read in a story, such as calling your mum to come and rip open the wolf’s stomach and stuff it with rocks. Just make sure you’re very, very careful.’

Her words only confused them further.

‘Are you going to eat us?’

‘I’ll leave that to your imagination, but a huge wolf will indeed appear. A powerful force will punish you. And once it’s triggered, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it. Not even me.’

The Wolf Queen looked at each of them in turn.

‘And if one of you is punished, each of you will be held equally responsible. If one of you is barred from going home, then none of you can leave. So watch your step.’

‘Are you saying all the others will be eaten, too?’

‘I suppose I am,’ the Wolf Queen said vaguely and with a small wave of the hand. ‘Anyway, stick to the opening hours. Don’t sneak in here when the castle is closed to search for the Wishing Key.’

As the Wolf Queen continued to lecture them, it seemed more and more as if the wolf lips on the mask were actually moving.

‘We’ve barely met, but we’re still supposed to be responsible for each other?’ the girl with the glasses and bowl cut said in her high-pitched voice. ‘We don’t actually know each other, but we have to trust everyone?’

‘Correct. So do your best to get on. I leave it up to you.’

Silence.

‘Will you be here when the castle is open?’ Kokoro screwed up her courage to ask a question for the first time. The Wolf Queen spun around, stared at her, and Kokoro flinched.

‘I’ll be here, and not here. I won’t be here all the time. Call on me and I’ll come out. Consider me your caretaker and supervisor.’

Kind of an arrogant supervisor, thought Kokoro.

Someone asked another question.

‘The thirtieth of March is a mistake, isn’t it? There are thirty-one days in March.’

This was from the boy in sweats, the only one who hadn’t spoken yet. The boy that Kokoro had secretly thought so good-looking. Like a character in a manga for girls.

The Wolf Queen shook her head several times.

‘No, you heard correctly. The castle will remain open until the thirtieth of March.’

‘Why?’ the boy asked. ‘Is there a reason?’

‘Not really. If anything, the thirty-first of March is when the castle closes for maintenance. You see that sometimes, no? Closed for Maintenance?’