Chapter 10
“Are you leaving again today?”
At my startled question, those crimson eyes, indifferent to everything in the world, glanced my way.
“That’s right, Ayla. So it’d be great if you could pack my things as quickly as possible.”
Two years older than me, the young master, who had his coming-of-age ceremony before I did, now asked me in a noticeably more composed tone.
Though honestly, I couldn’t be sure if his actual feelings were as composed as his words.
“It feels like you only just got back…”
“Me leaving the estate. Doesn’t that count as good news for you?”
See that? He started getting snide right away.
By now, I was so used to his manner of speaking that I let his sarcastic voice go in one ear and out the other. Seeing me like that, Claude gave a derisive snort.
“It’ll take about a month, so pack plenty of clothes. If you make me source things locally like last time, I’ll kick you out for real this time.”
“For that long?”
I ignored the threat and simply asked about the duration, and maybe because he lost the will to argue, the young master didn’t press further.
“Just do as you always do, Ayla. It’s not like you’ll miss me when I leave, so there’s no point in pretending to be sad.”
That was true. I quickly agreed, and as soon as he said he’d be leaving within the hour, I busied myself with preparations.
Ever since I first came here when Claude was just a thirteen-year-old boy, he’d already been pulled into all sorts of operations, big and small. And as he grew older, he started being away from home more and more.
If that was how it was even before he came of age, there’s nothing more to say now that he’s an adult. Recently, the young master had been so busy, dragged from one mission to another, that he hardly had a moment to breathe.
Apparently, this household only moved at the Emperor’s command, but just what kind of business could His Majesty possibly have that required so much bloodshed? And how did the ducal house end up with such dangerous work as its family trade?
I still didn’t really understand the world, but there was one thing I knew for sure: if I didn’t prepare everything perfectly, the young master would let me have it.
Hurrying around to get everything ready on time, I had just finished packing his luggage perfectly when I immediately had to help the young master into his armor.
“Don’t you think it’s time you kept a squire, young master? You’ve long since outgrown rejecting squires just because they’re older than you.”
I grumbled as I strapped a fine mesh of chainmail around his torso. It sounded easy, but getting armor onto someone who’d grown so much taller than me was no small task.
“It’s fine. I have you.”
Claude’s annoyingly calm voice brushed aside my suggestion, and inwardly, I cursed him. Not that it mattered. At most, I wished his hair would get caught in the links.
“To be honest, it’s hard for me.”
It’s fine—because it’s hard for you.
I muttered again as I knelt by his feet, fitting greaves onto his shins, but the young master didn’t even bat an eye. I was starting to get frustrated.
“I mean it, it’s really hard!”
Claude was the type to let minor complaints slide, as long as he wasn’t having one of his infamous fits, so I tried pouting a bit more. The response was immediate.
“I guess I’ve made things too easy for you, Ayla. Now you’re even starting to talk back.”
I hesitated for a moment, but with all my experience, I wasn’t about to give up here. I decided to grumble one last time.
“When I was younger, at least the head butler helped out, but now I’m doing all of this by myself. It’s not like you don’t know how heavy this stuff is.”
“And what about the person who has to wear this and run around for days on end?”
There, I almost regretted my words. But with Claude, arguments were all about momentum, a trick I’d learned after nearly seven years by his side.
“You’re a strapping man, young master, and I’m just a small, delicate woman. You manage to put it on by yourself just fine when you’re away from the estate…”
But the young master only scoffed at my final plea and dealt me a finishing blow.
“First of all, Ayla, people don’t call someone not even twenty years old a ‘woman’. Second, I don’t want a squire. That’d just be another child following me around nagging just like you. Really, what would I need a squire for, except for your convenience?”
In the end, it was my complete defeat.
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