The Squirrel Will Raise the Little Tiger
Chapter 18.
She moved her lips at an excruciatingly slow crawl.
Unable to endure waiting for her trailing sentence to finish, I introduced myself first.
As I stood waiting for her painfully drawn-out words, Hokan chimed in abruptly.
If she belongs to House Sloth…
‘Ah, she must be from the sloth beastfolk clan.’
The vast silences between her drawn-out syllables were agonizing to endure.
Straining to keep a polite smile plastered on my face, my palms turned clammy.
Meeting my eyes briefly, she reached her hand toward her cloak pocket.
Even that gesture moved at an glacial pace, and I watched her every movement while breaking into a cold sweat.
She produced a small vial from the pocket, popped off the stopper, and downed it in one gulp.
A brilliant flash sparked across Rina's widened eyes before settling into an expression of calm composure.
She flicked the hood of her cloak back with a smooth sweep and beamed at us.
I was instantly struck with admiration by her radiant features.
Platinum-blonde hair, milky-white skin, striking monolidded eyes that were surprisingly large, an open mouth, and bright, sparkling eyes.
She possessed an incredibly charming appearance with an alluring androgynous air.
She swung between wild extremes.
Before taking the potion, she spoke at the plodding pace of a baby tortoise crawling on dry land, but now she rattled off sentences like a sprinting cheetah.
Hokan boasted as proudly as if she were showing off his own accomplishments.
Leaving my sentence hanging, I looked up at her with an inquiring gaze.
I veiled my bewilderment behind polite admiration.
She spoke as though desperate to pour out everything she had to say before the potion wore off.
Jackjack scrunched up his face tightly and clamped his little hands over both ears.
Gently stroking Jackjack's ear to soothe him, I offered Rina an awkward smile.
Enduring the agonizing voids between her words was difficult, but having speech pelt me nonstop like arrows on a battlefield proved just as harrowing.
Still, proper manners demanded courtesy regardless of my distress, so after a brief hesitation, I spoke.
I gathered a fold of my skirt and dipped into a slight curtsy to convey my pleasure.
‘Wait, already? Phew…’
Nearly letting out a spontaneous sigh of relief, I bit down on my lip and straightened my composure.
I gave her a warm, bright smile.
With those words, Rina clamped her lips shut.
Giving an awkward nod of farewell, I started to turn around.
Just then, the corners of her mouth gave a faint twitch.
Wondering if she was trying to say something more, I turned back to look at her.
No words followed, however; the corners of her lips were simply curling upward at a glacial pace.
It seemed she was attempting to smile at me.
Mustering every shred of patience I possessed, I waited until those upturned lips reached the midpoint of her cheeks.
A single bead of sweat trickled down my spine.
Eventually, her slowly creeping smile seemed to peak and came to a stop.
Seizing the moment, I grasped Jackjack's hand with one hand, hitched up my hem slightly with the other, and gave a low bow.
I whirled around and hurried briskly across the courtyard.
Struggling to match my pace, Jackjack ended up practically dangling from my hand as his short little legs kicked through the air.
Hokan trotted diligently behind us.
And from far behind us came a faint murmur.
Rina's distant, drawn-out voice faintly drifted after Hokan.
***
Once back at the annex, we asked Linda for some refreshments.
Linda hurried to the kitchens and promptly returned laden with all sorts of treats.
Tarts, cakes, dried fruits, and an assortment of flavored teas were set out neatly upon the table.
For a while, we ate dessert in complete silence.
For reasons unknown, Jackjack, Hokan, and I all seemed to desperately crave an immense amount of sweets.
Only after filling our bellies to our hearts' content did a sense of relief finally settle in.
Our energy had clearly been thoroughly drained.
“…”
Hokan abruptly lowered the hand clutching his cookie and pressed his lips together.
His ears and tail drooped downward in an instant.
I deliberately kept my tone low and gentle.
I wanted to persuade him, not force him against his will.
Tears quickly welled in Hokan's eyes.
Brimming with unshed tears, the child opened his mouth.
Startled out of my wits by that deep voice, I sprang to my feet.
When on earth had he arrived? The Duke was standing behind us, arms crossed over his chest.
Behind him stood Gale, hovering like the Duke's own shadow.
Had I grown so accustomed to the scent of apex predators from being around Hokan all the time?
I had been completely oblivious to them approaching so close.
“You would do well not to make careless promises you cannot keep, Teacher.”
As I bit my lip and frowned, one side of the Duke's mouth curled up crookedly as if he had been waiting for that exact moment.
It was the most infuriating smirk in the world.
A fierce competitive fire flared up inside my chest.
Standing behind the Duke, Gale visibly staggered.
