Chapter 125
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“Ha ha, as long as Liam’s around, that’ll never happen.”
“Then sometime I’ll suggest tricking the head butler and sneaking it in. Since that seems to be what you want.”
“What a cheeky little rabbit. To talk so brazenly of deceiving my head butler right in front of me. You’re a disgrace as a personal maid.”
The townsfolk dining nearby clearly heard their conversation too. In truth, ever since Ivan and Ruby had entered the shop, they couldn’t tell whether their food was going into their mouths or their noses.
Partly it was because of their rarely seen lord, but more than that, their curiosity was stirred by the woman with pink hair, the kind they could never see in their village.
Even though they felt the weight of those stares, the two finished their meal focused only on each other.
Having wandered about following Ivan as he examined this and that until the sun set, Ruby couldn’t hide her weariness on the way back and sat slumped against the soft backrest of the carriage.
Ivan looked at her quietly and spoke.
“How was it?”
He was curious about Ruby’s impressions of the Wolf tribe’s domain. He wasn’t hoping for grand praise, but he wanted to hear that it looked as good a place to live as her own village.
More precisely, he hoped she’d like his domain enough to want to stay even after her tribe was rescued.
To Ivan, who waited quietly for an answer, Ruby replied briefly.
“It was fascinating.”
“Because it’s so different from your village?”
“Hmm, that too, of course.”
Ruby gave voice to what had puzzled her most as she’d gone about all day.
“It was very strange that I didn’t see a single spirit.”
The spirits, so numerous at the ducal house, were nowhere to be seen in the town instead, and she found it odd. Normally there were bound to be spirits hiding all over a town.
Even the earthbound spirits, which couldn’t move at all, were nowhere to be seen, and it felt rather unnatural.
At this unexpected remark, not the answer he’d hoped for, Ivan’s expression shifted subtly. Soon he asked in a low voice, almost a whisper.
“Do you mean the ones attacking me have been meddling in my estate as well?”
“Hmm, I’m not certain. But it’s by no means a natural occurrence.”
“…What on earth are they plotting?”
“I don’t know about anything else, but one thing has become clear.”
Ivan waited for her to continue. After ordering her thoughts for a moment, Ruby went on.
“In the Negro domain, the only place where spirits exist is the ducal house. If someone who can control those spirits at will were to appear, you’d have no way to escape harm, Your Grace.”
At Ruby’s words Ivan’s expression darkened sharply. His suspicions already pointed to the Serpent Tribe, but he had no proof. Nor could he guess what they wanted.
As he sat lost in thought with a grave expression, Ruby spoke to him in a tone that suggested she didn’t think it was a big deal.
“What is there to worry about, when you have me?”
As long as he was working for her tribe, she too would work to repay his kindness. That was their contract.
At her words, the corner of Ivan’s mouth rose slowly.
“What a confident rabbit. Still, don’t underestimate my abilities too much.”
“How could you, when you don’t even have any spirit power?”
Just as she answered primly, the carriage stopped. And she saw Liam hurrying over. Unlike usual, his appearance was oddly disheveled.
“M-Master!”
“What is it?”
At the urgent tone Ivan’s expression turned sharp. Liam, his confusion plain on his face, cried out.
“Count Morado’s son has collapsed!”
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