Translator: Nox
A squirrel shall raise the tiger cub.
Hokan Russell Blantiger ☁
“Once I turn… the only people who can stop me are my dad and my uncle. And now… Uncle is all that’s left.”
Mentioning his father’s absence seemed to bring a surge of grief rushing to the surface.
Lulubell Durams
“Hokan. Our Jackjack is a very smart baby, just like you, but he hasn’t fully settled into his beastfolk form yet. Even Jackjack transforms every now and then. Besides, I have several younger siblings, not just one. That means I can handle anything you throw at me.”
Hokan Russell Blantiger !
“Jackjack is still a tiny baby! He’s only three, so of course he does that! But I’m seven, and… and… and squirrels aren’t scary at all!”
A thick, potent wave of pheromones rolled off the upset boy.
My instinct was to pull away, but I held my ground and pretended not to notice.
It was not as if I harbored no dread about how dangerous things might get if his beast nature took over.
No matter how young he was, his bloodline belonged to the fiercest of apex predators.
I knew that once that feral nature was unleashed, the reasoning mind of a beastfolk vanished, leaving behind only raw animal instinct.
‘Still, I’m a veteran tutor.’
I would never let a child down over something like this.
Trust was always something demonstrated through actions, not mere words.
I squeezed both of my hands into tight fists.
Lulubell Durams
“Hokan, I won’t ask you to believe in me this very second. Just watch me until you do.”
At my words, Hokan slowly turned his gaze back toward me from the window.
I looked steadily into his eyes, hoping with all my heart that my sincerity would reach him.
“I will wait. Until the day you can trust me.”
Hokan’s lips parted as if to say something, but he stopped himself and whipped his head back toward the window.
Gale Onca
“Now then, why don’t the Young Master and Teacher have some bread and soup?”
Before I knew it, Gale had arrived at our table carrying a loaded tray.
Lulubell Durams
“Thank you, Vice Commander.”
Gale Onca
“Don’t mention it. I brought the Commander his meal first, and then carried this over to join you two.”
Lulubell Durams
“I see. But is His Grace not eating with us?”
I turned my head to look for the duke. He was sitting alone at a table in the deepest corner of the room, taking his meal in silence.
When I looked back at Gale with a silent question in my eyes, he shook his head slowly.
Gale Onca ✧
“I don’t particularly fancy eating meals with my superior either, you know.”
I nodded in instant understanding.
Gale Onca
“Haha, I’m only joking. The Commander simply prefers to dine alone. He likes to eat in peace and quiet.”
Lulubell Durams
“Yes, I see.”
Swallowing down the urge to say that his first comment sounded far more genuine than his second, I offered a pleasant smile.
Gale Onca
“Young Master, you need to eat well to settle your motion sickness. Come on now, be brave and eat up.”
Pushing the bowl of soup closer to Hokan, who had barely touched his food, Gale gave an encouraging nudge.
Hokan scowled in clear displeasure, but he picked up his spoon nonetheless.
It occurred to me that Gale might not be quite as flippant a person as I had thought.
Ever since he made that crude remark about my brothers, I had written him off as just an oddly tall weirdo.
Noticing my gaze on him, Gale looked up and gave me a pleasant grin.
Gale Onca
“Come now, you should eat too, Teacher. We still have a long way to go.”
Lulubell Durams
“Yes. How much further is it to the North?”
Gale Onca
“If we ride hard until evening, we might just reach the northern borders. In the grand scheme of the empire, the capital of Leyton already leans toward the north, does it not? Blan Castle is relatively close compared to other places. Reaching the estates in the far south would take an entire month at least.”
Gale looked toward the distant mountains as he spoke.
He even shook his head as if recalling some harrowing journey from his past.
Lulubell Durams
“Really? That’s much further than I thought. I’m worried about Hokan’s motion sickness.”
Gale Onca
“Are you not worried about the pass over Mount Reverse?”
Mount Reverse stood on the border between the capital and the north, and it was one of the regions where hunting was strictly forbidden.
Hunting was banned there because far too many beastfolk had gone missing on its slopes.
Mount Reverse was infamous for its rugged terrain and countless caves born of volcanic activity.
Worse yet, rumors lingered that inside those caverns, the line dividing animal and beastfolk could blur into nothingness.
Just like on the day the moon eclipses the sun.
Lulubell Durams
“Are we crossing into the north through Mount Reverse? I assumed we would pass through the villages instead of taking the mountain trails.”
Gale Onca
“Taking the road through the settlements would add two entire days to our trip. The Commander seems set on the mountain trails. He has work piling up back at Blan Castle, so he grumbled several times that he has no time to waste on this trip north.”
Lulubell Durams
“Then why did His Grace insist on coming along?”
I leaned in a little closer, keeping my voice low.
Gale Onca
“He is probably worried about the Young Duke. After all, the boy is his only remaining blood relative. Besides, this gives him an excuse to inspect the northern estates. Blanders is the Commander’s true home and the territory closest to his heart.”
Leaning in as well, Gale offered a playful smile and whispered the answer back to me.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable with how close he had drawn, I pulled back as I answered.
Now I had a different reason to worry about Hokan.
He was already struggling with motion sickness, and a mountain path would surely be far rougher than the open road.
Gale Onca
“Tell me, Teacher, are you any good at riding horses?”
Lulubell Durams
“Pardon? No, I’ve never learned.”
Gale Onca
“Just as I thought. In that case, we might end up taking the village roads after all. Taking the mountain trail means leaving the carriage in town and proceeding entirely on horseback.”
Lulubell Durams
“I feel terrible if I’m holding everyone back…”
Right then.
Kuhn Russell Blantiger
“We take the mountain trail.”
The duke’s low, resonant voice cut cleanly through the air.
Every head at the table turned toward him.
Kuhn Russell Blantiger
“Teacher Lulubell will ride with me. The Vice Commander and Halo will take charge of the children.”
Lulubell Durams
“Pardon? On your horse, Your Grace?”
My voice shot up before I could stop myself.
The sudden exclamation stirred Jackjack, who had been sleeping soundly in my arms.
“Uwah…”
Lulubell Durams
“Oh, Jackjack, are you awake? Come on, wake up so you can eat.”
Still half-asleep, Jackjack only clung to my collar and rubbed his little forehead against my chest over and over.
Pulling myself together, I replayed the duke’s words in my head.
Did he mean he was offering me his horse while he took another? Or could he possibly mean we were to ride together?
Gale Onca
“I could take the teacher on my mount, Commander, and let the knights handle the children. Wouldn’t that be less of a burden for you?”
Gale spoke up as if to clear my doubts.
Kuhn Russell Blantiger
“Baltan is the only mount capable of carrying two full-grown adults for an extended journey.”
Gale Onca
“I suppose that’s true.”
When I continued to stare blankly at Gale, he grinned and explained.
Gale Onca
“Baltan is the Commander’s warhorse—a legendary steed among steeds. He is vastly larger than an ordinary horse, and his stamina and courage are on a whole different level.”
Lulubell Durams ///
“S-So… in the end, it means I have to share a horse with His Grace? That’s a bit…”
As I hesitated and let my words trail off, the duke’s brow knitted together.
His displeasure was plain to see. I watched him cautiously, but I had to voice my thoughts.
Lulubell Durams
“If someone teaches me, I think I could ride a horse by myself. I’m a very fast learner.”
Kuhn Russell Blantiger
“Teacher.”
Holding back the urge to snap ‘What, Lord Duke?’, I looked at him squarely and waited for what came next.
Kuhn Russell Blantiger ⚔
“I noticed this before, but your recklessness truly knows no bounds. Do you honestly think one learns to ride overnight? And you expect to tackle the trails of Mount Reverse the very day your feet first touch the stirrups?”
Well, it was only because I had no idea how rough Mount Reverse really was.
Kuhn Russell Blantiger
“Have you already forgotten what came out of your own mouth earlier?”
Lulubell Durams ///
“W-What did I say?”
Kuhn Russell Blantiger
“That you would become a rat that thinks.”
With those words, the duke squared his broad shoulders.
He looked just like an eagle shifting its stance to rise tall before striking.
Overwhelmed by his chilling, commanding glare, I shrank back—until Gale stepped in from behind.
Gale Onca
“Um, Commander. It was ‘a squeak-squeak.’”
At Gale’s interruption, the duke leveled a look of pure, murderous intent at his aide.
Thoroughly cowed, Gale took a hasty step back.
Speechless, I looked between the two men.
Speaking to me this way in front of Hokan, especially when I was his tutor, was undeniably crossing the line.
I was a governess, not his squire.
Even if he was my employer, some things simply needed to be said.
Lulubell Durams ///
“I, I said I would be a thinking squeak-squeak…”
Seeing Gale nod encouragement from the side, I pressed my lips together tightly.
I swallowed hard, then spoke again.
Lulubell Durams !
“However, I am already a thinking person. Perhaps Your Grace should also mind your tongue as a thinking person.”
Kuhn Russell Blantiger ⚔
“What?”
Lulubell Durams !
“I was hired to be Hokan’s tutor. I do not believe it is right for you to continuously demand drills suited for a knight’s squire from me.”
Kuhn Russell Blantiger ⚔
“Then as his teacher, you should set an example. Is it right for the knights and myself to waste our time entirely on your account? Whether we take the carriage or wait around for you to learn how to ride, the delay is identical.”
Lulubell Durams ///
“T-That…”
Kuhn Russell Blantiger
“Even if riding with me is distasteful to you, you will simply have to endure it, will you not?”
Ugh. I had nothing to say to that.
