Chapter 55

"Um..."

Harold was at a loss for words.

For all that she'd asked so carefully, Leona seemed sure the answer would be yes.

Well — of course. She was family of the deceased. He wouldn't have recommended it, but he couldn't stop her either. As far as Harold knew, Günter had no other family.

The question was whether a trial would happen anytime soon. Or whether there'd be one at all.

"Sir Bertholdt?"

"Well... from what I understand, the culprit was injured during the arrest and is still in the hospital."

"Ah..."

Leona looked at Harold with a blank expression for a moment, then asked,

"Was he hurt badly?"

Harold couldn't tell what answer Leona wanted, and answered carefully. There was no reason to lie.

For one thing, he was the one who'd put the man there.

"Still can't get out of bed, from what I hear."

"Good."

More edge to her than she let on. Leona seemed to realize that wasn't the sort of thing to say to an employer, and caught herself — but Harold only smiled.

Still, the trial was another matter. He couldn't say whether it was the city watch or Intelligence interrogating Dustin Glenn right now.

"There are other charges, and I hear those are still being looked into. There won't be a trial any time soon."

"...Then—!"

"When one does happen, I'll let you know."

Satisfied enough with that, Leona's face brightened.

"Thank you!"

Harold looked at Leona Bleiss again. There was no question about who she was, and Mattheus had vouched for her ability. She was young for Günter's successor, sure, but the staff at the manor had no complaints, so it was worth giving her a try.

There was no telling when he'd be able to get down to the domain. Grisha had told him to keep the domain running as it was, as much as possible, until then. Intelligence had eyes on the Bertholdt domain either way, so the longer Harold stayed away, the better the odds of the other side slipping up and leaving evidence.

Hunting had always been a game of patience.

"So — the reason I brought you to the capital, Ms. Bleiss, is that I can't leave my nephews right now."

"Yes. Mr. Mattheus explained."

"With everything around Günter, and me leaving the domain unattended on top of that... I'm sorry."

"Not at all, Sir Bertholdt. You're busy yourself! You have the young masters!"

Thinking of his nephews, Harold gave a small smile. Leona's expression softened too.

"I'll be counting on you."

"And I'll be counting on you, sir!"

Leona said it with force. If he hadn't known better, he might have mistaken her for an academy underclassman.

Beaming through the greeting, Leona pursed her mouth as if she'd just remembered something.

"Oh — Sir Bertholdt! Speaking of the young masters — that reminds me."

"Hm?"

"The sheepdog the young masters named."

"The one they called... Nabi?"

"Yes. That one."

Harold's brow tightened.

"Something wrong?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. He's very healthy. But he's a large breed, so a bit of preparation goes a long way."

Leona wore the same serious face she had when she'd asked about the trial.

"Forgive me for asking, Sir Bertholdt — have you ever kept a dog?"

---

"Edgar, Edwin."

"No, walks matter a lot!"

"Can't you just let him loose?"

"That's dangerous! What if he goes at someone?"

"Do people even walk through King's Woods?"

"..."

"..."

"Boys."

"There's the royal guard!"

Even when Harold tried calling to them during a lull, he was completely ignored.

Whether they simply couldn't hear him, Edgar and Edwin were completely wrapped up in the argument, worked up over it.

"Safety comes first! And what if there are dangerous animals in the woods?"

"They said there aren't any big animals since we're this close to the capital."

"You don't know that!"

"The royal guard patrols every day. If there were dangerous animals, they'd have taken care of them."

"Anyway! He has to be walked every day. On a leash. And trained—"

"Boys?"

"But he's a sheepdog, so he'll need loads of exercise. Are walks going to be enough?"

"I said, just let him run loose."

"Edgar, that's not how it works!"

"Boys? Could you listen to your uncle for a second?"

"Ugh, this isn't working. Right, Edgar. Listen up..."

"Boys!"

"Uncle, you don't have to yell — we can hear you."

They seemed unaware their uncle was even in the carriage with them.

Rather than feeling put out, Harold laughed easily. Watching the boys carry on with this much life had become one of his real pleasures lately.

"You remember what I told you?"

"We remember! You've been saying it since yesterday."

"Grandma Linda and I will help, but—"

"But taking care of the dog is our job? We know!"

Edwin parroted Harold, bored. Beside him, Edgar snickered.

"Edwin, he's not a puppy. He's a full-grown dog."

"Once a puppy, always a puppy."

Edwin was usually the livelier of the two, but Harold had never seen him this worked up. They'd been talking about bringing the dog up from the domain for a while now without setting a date, and telling them they were going to learn what they needed to know about looking after one had set them off like this.

Whether he loved dogs in general or was just attached to the one he'd named himself, Harold couldn't say — but with the boy this happy, what did it matter?

"Uncle, is Nabi already here too?"

Unable to sit still, Edwin bounced on the seat as he asked.

"No. Nabi's coming separately."

"Then what are we going for?"

"Edwin! Were you even listening when Uncle explained?"

"He explained?"

Edgar frowned and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Someone from the domain is going to teach us how to look after him. And bring the things we need."

"Ohhh. Now I remember."

Sensing one of Edgar's lectures coming, Edwin made a big show of it. Edgar's sighing didn't stop.

Edwin only grinned at his twin.

"Uncle, who's here? Günter?"

Harold gave a small smile.

He hadn't told the boys about Günter's death. The boys had only been introduced to him once, after all. He wasn't someone they'd have seen much unless they went down to the domain, and by the time they were a little older they probably wouldn't remember him at all.

There was absolutely no way to tell them that the man who'd abducted them had killed Günter.

"No. Günter's tied up with business down at the domain and can't leave for long."

"...Is that because you're not going down to the domain, Uncle?"

Harold stroked Edgar's hair. Whose nephew was this, to be this thoughtful?

"No, Edgar. You remember there's grazing land at the domain, right?"

"Yes."

"You remember the old manor? The old manor is much older and bigger than our house here in the capital. Running a place like that, plus the pastures — there's a lot of work."

Truthfully, as the second son, Harold didn't know much about running the domain.

Vague as the explanation was, Edgar seemed to accept it and nodded. Edwin, who'd been reading the room, jumped in quickly.

"So who's here to teach us?"

"Hmm... anyone you can think of, Edwin?"

"Hmm."

Edwin swayed side to side, groaning over it, and finally blurted a name.

"Nicola?"

"..."

"The shepherd who kept Nabi's mom!"

"Ah, right. But no, not him."

Harold cleared his throat.

"Günter's niece is up in the capital. She brought a few things over — said you'd need them for keeping a dog..."

"Günter's niece?"

"A niece?"

The twins' eyes went wide.

"That's right. You won't have met her."

The last time Edgar and Edwin had visited the domain was before their mother's disappearance. Leona, who'd already been helping Günter with his work back then, had reportedly paid her respects to the Count and Countess at the time.

But while Günter had been attending to the Count and Countess, she'd been busy with other estate work, and she'd told Harold, with a regretful look, that she hadn't gotten to meet the young masters.

"...What's her name?"

"Her name? Leona Bleiss."

"Leona!"

"What, do you know her?"

Edwin, still riding the Nabi high, said Leona's name like they were old acquaintances.

Harold barely held back a laugh — the boy saying her name that familiarly was too endearing. The way he scrunched his face up was funny and rather touching all at once. It was obvious enough who he'd picked up the arm-crossing habit from.

He hoped the boys held onto that image as long as they could. Given their ages, they'd end up spending more of their lives growing up without their father than with him — but if some trace of their parents lived on in them, wasn't that something to be glad of?

"..."

Edwin pressed his lips tight. Edgar gave him a poke.

"Edwin? What is it?"

"...Nothing! I was trying to remember if we'd met her at the domain, and I couldn't!"

"I told you, you won't have met her."

Edwin smoothed his face out and beamed.

"But does Günter's niece like dogs? Does she know a lot about them? I know a lot too!"

"Edwin, you just read books about them."

"Edgar. Why do you think we read books?"

Edwin gave a scornful little laugh.

"It's all secondhand experience."

"Even so, actually doing it is different."

Not to be outdone, Edgar scoffed right back. Both had their hackles up, each trying to prove he was more right, but from where Harold was sitting it just looked like two puppies rough-housing.

While Harold watched the twins go at it, the carriage turned onto a familiar street. As more people appeared outside, the boys quickly lost interest in the argument and plastered themselves to the window.

"Are we going to Grandpa Mattheus's?"

"Edwin! You didn't listen to a word Uncle said!"

"What did I do?"

Truthfully, Harold hadn't planned on introducing Leona to the boys.

Being Günter's niece was one thing; trust was another. Was every familiar face to be trusted? Adrien Renard was the precedent.

"All right, boys. No fighting."

"We're not fighting!"

But keeping a living creature — dog or cat — was a different matter. As Leona had pointed out, Harold had never kept an animal himself. He'd trained military dogs, but that was another matter.

And he couldn't just leave it to the boys, who lit up insisting they'd read all about it. And of course he couldn't lean entirely on Linda either.

"Sounded like fighting to me."

"It wasn't!"

"We were just talking."

"Right. Healthy debate. Come on, Uncle — you know that?"

"All right, all right. Understood, Edwin."

The carriage slowed down. Eventually it came to a full stop.

"Hello, young masters."

"Grandpa Mattheus!"

Mattheus and Leona were already waiting outside the office building — they must have spotted the carriage coming.

At the sight of Mattheus, whom they hadn't seen since the funeral, the boys called out warmly. Mattheus smiled fondly.

"Have you been well? You've grown while I've been away."

"Really?"

"Of course. Why would I lie?"

Mattheus stepped slightly aside.

Leona was as tense as she'd been when meeting Harold. But faced with two pairs of round little eyes, her own eyes curved, and her face melted into a soft smile.

"Hello, young masters. My name is Leona Bleiss."

The boys' reactions split at opposite ends.

"Hello!"

Unlike his lukewarm mood in the carriage, Edgar walked right up to Leona with a wide smile.

"...Hello."

And unlike all his earlier enthusiasm about Nabi, Edwin hesitated and hid behind Harold's leg.