The Baby Tiger Will Be Raised by a Squirrel
Chapter 24.
When I nodded, Toby swallowed back her tears and gazed up at me with glistening, moist eyes.
Viscount Lund offered an easy, pleasant smile, bowed slightly in farewell, and turned to head on his way.
After returning the polite bow, I turned back toward the young siblings.
I rummaged through my bag for the gifts.
I must have left them wrapped in the bundle inside the carriage instead of slipping them into my bag.
Thor and Toby each grabbed hold of one of my hands from either side.
I quickened my pace, leading the children toward the carriage.
Once we reached it, I asked the little ones to wait outside for just a moment.
While I climbed inside to fetch the parcel, the rabbit siblings craned their necks this way and that, their eyes wide as they took in the carriage and the company around it.
When Hokan and Jackjack poked their heads out of the carriage window at the same time, Toby’s already enormous eyes grew even wider.
Toby pointed right at Hokan and Jackjack, stomping her feet in excitement.
As Toby let out her loud, thrilled shout, Thor pulled her back sharply, looking thoroughly embarrassed by his little sister.
While Toby huffed, Hokan leaned farther out of the carriage window.
Hokan fired back in a grumpy huff.
Not to be outdone, Jackjack piped up in a clear, ringing voice.
Toby, who had just been blinking in surprise, suddenly shuddered all over.
I had just found the children's gifts and was tying the cloth back up when Jackjack tugged at my sleeve, pointing outside the window.
I scrambled out of the carriage at once and hurried over to the siblings.
“Waaaah…”
Toby burst into tears, mortified that she had wet herself, while Thor stood beside her with a crumpled, helpless scowl.
It seemed the young ones were mistaking a predator's aura for sudden cold.
Herbivorous beastfolk who had never stepped beyond this vicinity in their lives would have had virtually no contact with the pheromones radiating from predatory beastfolk.
The tuft of fur brought to me as a gift back then had likely come from Hokan during his molting phase as well.
I needed to redirect the children's attention elsewhere.
Quickly, I held out the gifts toward them.
The moment she laid eyes on the presents, Toby's crying stopped instantly.
Her little shoulders still hitched softly with lingering sobs.
As if she had never shed a tear in the first place, Toby swallowed the remainder of her sniffling and clutched the shield firmly in her grasp.
Having divided the toys amicably between themselves, the brother and sister offered sweet smiles.
Finding Toby's quick bounce back adorable, I patted the child gently on the head.
I walked the children back to the merchant guild building.
It happened right then.
Townspeople had suddenly begun gathering behind the children.
Behind the children, onlookers who had drifted out to gawk at the knights were murmuring among themselves.
Even though I tried not to listen, the women’s voices burrowed persistently into my ears.
Their whispering was crossing the line more and more.
While the carriage and mounted knights farther back might not catch it, their voices carried loud and clear to me, Thor, and Toby.
To think grown adults would chatter so thoughtlessly right in front of little children.
Unable to listen to another word, I marched straight toward them.
Approaching them, I spoke with a firm expression and unwavering steel in my tone.
They all chimed in at once, raking their gazes over me from head to toe.
Their unsavory stares felt prickly and foul, but I forced myself to endure it.
A stout woman stepped right up into my space, even pointing a finger as she challenged me.
Right on cue, a tall, gaunt woman beside her chimed in to back her up.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I hardened my gaze, preparing to address them directly.
“Even if one’s growth is slow, everyone matures in their own time. Plucking a flower just because it blooms late means no one ever gets to see how lovely it might have blossomed. Above all, are you aware that what you are committing right now amounts to lèse-majesté against the imperial family?”
Hands planted on her hips, the stout woman screeched shrilly.
The other women watching from behind joined in, furiously jabbing their fingers toward me in outrage.
Only after watching their backs as they walked off did I let out another long sigh and return to Thor and Toby.
I waved until Thor and Toby turned and walked inside, then turned back toward the carriage.
At that very moment, my expression stiffened completely.
I had no idea when he had come over, but Hokan was standing right before me.
Just how much of that had he heard?
In Hokan’s hand was a small wrapped bundle.
Hokan handed me the pouch of tea leaves, then turned around.
Throughout it all, Hokan’s expression had hardly shifted, leaving me with no way of knowing how much the boy had overheard.
