I Shall Raise the Baby Tiger, Squirrel-Style
Chapter 12.
Gale busily snapped his fingers, scrambling to walk back his earlier comment.
A little too late for that. Letting out a soft laugh touched with a sigh, I stepped up into the carriage.
Only Hokan, Jackjack, and I were riding inside; His Grace the Duke and the knights all appeared to be traveling on horseback.
Nod, nod. Seated across from me, Hokan nodded without a shred of hesitation.
Children truly had a knack for being needlessly blunt.
Still, once he entered the academy next year, Hokan would have to take classes alongside many young ladies.
It seemed necessary to teach him how to speak with a touch more tact.
An heir descended from the imperial line could hardly afford to incur the displeasure of noble daughters.
What in the world…? Wasn’t that an absolute masterstroke of a compliment?
***
By the time we had traversed half of the capital, Jackjack’s country drawl back at Blan Castle suddenly crossed my mind.
Jackjack had yet to command much of a vocabulary, but whenever someone asked his age, that rustic accent always slipped out.
I decided I should at least correct that much without delay.
Snicker. Beside Jackjack, Hokan burst into laughter.
Clearly unamused by Hokan’s teasing, Jackjack shot him a sullen glare out of the corner of his eye.
Hastily drawing his attention back to myself, I demonstrated the proper pronunciation.
Phew. A quiet sigh slipped past my lips before I could stop it.
Ahahaha. Hokan burst into a peel of gleeful laughter.
Well, fine. As long as at least one of you is having a grand time.
I watched the two boys with a dry, wry smile.
***
The journey north was both effortless and grueling.
By that, I mean the imposing banner of the Blantiger Knights fluttered so magnificently that not a single bandit dared show their face.
That part made things wonderfully easy, but as for the grueling part… it was motion sickness, plain and simple.
The salt road, paved smooth with fitted stone for trade, made for gentle carriage travel, but the moment we reached the outskirts, it gave way to a relentless stretch of rutted dirt track.
The carriage clattered and rattled violently across the uneven terrain, leaving my stomach churning and my head throbbing in pain.
Jackjack had scrambled over to my side early on and had long since curled up fast asleep in my arms.
Hokan, sitting opposite us, was also feeling wretched, his small face growing paler by the minute.
Even the little ears poking through his hair were drooping lower and lower.
At my question, Hokan glanced toward the carriage window before giving his head a vigorous shake.
To my ears, that sounded like an admission that he was barely holding on.
His eyes wavered. It was obvious he desperately wanted to lean against me.
Yet Hokan shook his head once more, stubbornly enduring the jostling carriage.
He seemed convinced that toughing this out was how he proved himself worthy of the Blantiger bloodline.
Hokan offered no reply.
He merely stared out the carriage window, his face drained of color.
Just how long had we been traveling?
Having dozed off, I jolted awake with a start and blinked rapidly, trying to bring the world back into focus.
Peering out the window, I beheld a lake so vast its far shore was lost to sight.
Sunlight shimmered across the water like scattered silver scales, a breathtaking view.
‘We’ve already cleared the capital’s outskirts.’
Following the road bordering Lake Hest, we soon came in sight of Meist, a village well known as a resort destination.
Cradled by the picturesque lake, Meist was beloved among residents of the capital as a prime summer retreat.
I had only ever heard tales of it, so this was my first time visiting the village in person.
Perhaps because late spring still carried a chill, no one was swimming in the lake, but a fair number of people were enjoying picnics across the grassy meadows near the water.
Glimmering reflections filtered through the towering plane trees like a painted masterpiece, drawing soft sighs of admiration from me again and again.
My attention had been entirely stolen away by the scenery beyond the glass.
A soft thud in front of me made me whip my head around.
Hokan’s head was lolling drunkenly, knocking against the carriage wall with dull thumps.
It seemed that motion sickness had finally worn him out, and he had slipped into sleep.
Quickly shrugging off my coat, I laid it across the bench, tucked Jackjack down upon it, and crossed over to sit beside Hokan.
Gently cupping his head, I drew him in so he could rest comfortably against me.
Seeing his complexion worsen by degrees, I leaned toward the window to check outside.
As luck would have it, Gale’s mount was cantering right alongside us.
Relieved by his answer, I gently stroked Hokan’s forehead.
Roused perhaps by the murmur of our voices, Hokan cracked open his eyes, noticed me, and sat bolt upright in surprise.
He straightened his posture and looked out the window as if he had never been dozing at all, but he still swayed on occasion, and each time, I caught him by the arm.
Clearly disliking the fuss, Hokan gently pushed my hand away and turned his gaze back outside.
‘Does he hate showing any sign of weakness?’
I felt as though I could understand his heart.
After all, he had likely been raised under the strict expectations of an heir since he was a mere babe.
My heart went out to him, but I refrained from comforting him any further.
After riding on a bit longer, the carriage at last ground to a halt before a quiet inn with white walls and an orange-tiled roof.
Lifting the still-sleeping Jackjack into my arms, I took Hokan by the hand and hurried down from the carriage.
As our entire party entered the inn, the genial innkeeper couple and their staff warmly greeted the new arrivals.
Though encircled by woodland paths, the inn’s windows faced out toward the water, offering a view nothing short of breathtaking.
Guiding Hokan over, I took a seat at a table by the window to take in the scenery.
During the hiring test, Hokan had called me ‘Teacher’ only once.
Touched that he had addressed me that way again, a bright smile spread across my face.
Perhaps returning to a place filled with fond memories had softened the boy’s heart.
Tempering my delight, I answered him with quiet composure.
I was eager to hear what he wanted to say.
Yet something seemed off about his expression.
I assumed he was simply still feeling the lingering effects of car sickness.
Contrary to my expectations, Hokan spoke with a sullen, petulant pout.
Hokan looked like the most adorable baby tiger in the world, yet his expression belonged to an old man who had grown weary of life.
He looked up at me with an air of pure resignation.
“Unless my feral nature disappears, everyone ends up leaving me behind. That’s what every tutor and nanny has done so far.”
A pang of sorrow struck me so sharply that I could not find my voice right away.
I could guess the circumstances, and I understood all too well why he was speaking like this.
Even before his beast nature manifested, his pheromones were already this overpowering; there was no telling how dangerous he might become once it truly awoke.
Even so, a sense of duty welled up within me.
After all, I was officially Hokan’s teacher now.
His once-perky little ears drooped down and down without end.
