TYND 44

TL: Motokare

Ken Bane had attempted to kidnap Rothy several times. Even after his first failure, he’d persistently sent mercenaries and assassins, but after that initial attempt, none had even managed to get close. 

—Are you saying this knowing full well my current situation? Things here aren’t like your empire. Just trying to stabilise my royal authority alone is—

“Yes, which is exactly why I’m bringing it up. I must admit, I regret tossing bait at someone so preoccupied with their household affairs. I thought you’d handle it quickly.”

Harrié spoke with a beaming smile, but Ken Bane’s face in the communication orb twisted into a vicious scowl.

—You bastard… You think you can just get away with your shit talking just because you’re far away! 

“Now, now, I didn’t mean to upset you. I was simply concerned that all these affairs must be overwhelming for you. I’ll send the decoded text soon.”

Harrié smoothly placated Ken Bane, but the face in the orb was still scowling. He’d no intention of breaking off dealings with Ken Bane. This was simply a slight prodding to stir some urgency. 

Of course, this urgency was intended for the emperor, not Ken Bane. Emperor Dierm had been receiving reports of Givarche’s continued attempts to kidnap Rothy. However, since all the attempts had failed, the emperor felt no sense of urgency. Rather, this was his exact reaction:

“I made the right choice when I entrusted Rothy to the archduke.” 

The emperor would only feel the crisis of losing the living magic stone to another nation if the provoked swordmaster created a major incident. 

—I’ve got a plan already in motion. Every failure so far has simply been a step towards that goal. I’ll execute it before summer ends. When the time comes, you lot must help us.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Harrié ended the communication and put the device back in the cabinet. 

Before summer ends, he says.

Today marked the first day of the seventh month. Whatever grand operation Ken Bane was planning, Harrié decided that he could afford to wait another three months.

And before then, I need to…gather more detailed information.

Harrié picked up his quill and signed the document that had been on his desk for a while. 

[Dispatch of guardian mages to Siren’s Sea]

Patrolling the border regions infested with fiends was also a duty of PLEIN, the imperial mage organisation created to protect the empire. Mages had been sent regularly to guard the western, southern, and eastern boundaries, both before and during the war. But they’d only seen one or two dispatches to the North since the formation of PLEIN. In the first place, there was no need to send anyone when House Falsen was already protecting it. 

Harrié decided to dispatch mages to that very north, and of course the leader of PLEIN would accompany this dispatch. Coincidentally, the warp system between the capital and Falsen had also been repaired. With the Human-Demon War just ended, they’d a pretext of conducting major maintenance. 

It would make a good opportunity to approach Rothy. 

They call him the ‘Snow fairy’ up there, don’t they?

In mere months, Rothy had won over not only the people of Falsen, but all the Northerners. Would that child who once begged others not to fight over him now let his guard down? The whip hadn’t worked last time, so now he planned to offer a carrot. Even though he’s called an archmage, he was still an unworldly sixteen-year-old boy.

A child with baggage at that. Manipulating him would be all too easy……

A mocking smile appeared on Harrié’s lips.

“Hee-hee~ How much bigger are you going to get?”

Rothy held the black puppy in his arms, whispering affectionately, and a cheerful, friendly bark answered in return. Wolfesains pups grew faster than other breeds, so the time they spent as puppies were short. Every time Rothy returned from patrolling the fiend-infested border regions, the puppy had grown another finger’s length. Now, it was almost the size of Rothy’s torso. 

“Hey, hold still.”

Woof, woof!

The puppy kept wagging its tail. Even though it was young, its tail was already quite long, and it kept hitting Rothy’s cheek. It also kept squirming, making it harder to hold since it’d gained quite a bit of weight. 

“Rothy.”

Theon, who’d been watching, took the puppy from Rothy’s arms, then set it down among its siblings and lifted Rothy up. 

“Why keep holding something heavy? Aren’t your arms sore?”

“It’s cute, so it’s fine. But I’m heavier than Hee-hee. Doesn’t your arm get sore when you hold me, heon?”

“You’re cute, so it’s fine.”

Rothy laughed brightly and rubbed his cheek against Theon’s face. When that soft, fluffy snow-white hair tickled his sharp nose, a warm glow softened his stern face.

“But I’m not as cute as the puppy.”

“You’re cuter than the puppy, and lighter too.”

“That’s impossible. Maybe I might appear cuter to you, but I definitely am not lighter.”

“Shame you can’t lift yourself to find out.”

A soft smooch sound followed that statement. 

Chu~

Currently, the only people in the cabin were Rothy, Theon, Ultje, and three knights. Rothy was smiling shyly, Ultje was beaming contentedly, while the knights cleared their throats awkwardly and looked away. 

The archduke’s affectionate and sweet words were no longer anything new, but they still hadn’t grown used to them.

“Your Grace, it’s time to prepare.”

“Right.”

With that, Theon carried Rothy from the cabin. 

“Wait,” Rothy said, reaching his arm down.

“Chi-chi.”

Screee

The weasel, who’d been busy licking the now much larger puppy, scampered over and climbed up his arm before settling snugly in his embrace. Theon carried Rothy along the path through the garden towards the mansion and even took the stairs up to the third floor, where the archduchess’s chambers were. By the time they reached there, they’d passed over fifty people. 

The servants, maids, knights, guests……

Some widened their eyes at the sight of the archduke carrying the young archduchess, some gaped, and others wore expressions of exasperation, as if thinking, ‘Ah, again……’

Theon knew exactly how people reacted when he carried Rothy around like this. Yet he still did it. Almost as if he enjoyed it.

The moment Theon set Rothy down in the room, he handed Chi-chi to Theon as if it was the most natural thing to do. 

“I’ll pack my bag, Theon. Please dress Chi-chi for me.”

“Alright.”

Rothy then went into the dressing room.

“……”

Screeee……

Theon and the weasel exchanged a subtle glance. Aeruhen had explained that weasels were a highly prized species among poachers and suggested dressing it up. Covering its body with clothes would distinguish it from an ordinary weasel. Rothy had shared this with Theon, and Theon immediately had a few outfits made.

The weasel seemed indifferent to being dressed and showed no signs of discomfort. Theon thought making the clothes was worthwhile, seeing how adorable Rothy looked dressing the white ball of fur with his tiny, fidgeting hands. That was until Rothy made this request: 

“I need to pack my bag and dress Chi-chi, I’m so busy… Theon, you dress Chi-chi, okay?”

Theon and Rothy had spent much of the past six months away from the mansion. They worked on fixing the climate-control Tremuhle, repairing the Great Northern Mine, and patrolling the fiend-infested border regions. Since they were always on the move, even within the border regions, they often had to pack their things. The servants handled essentials like clothes and shoes, but Rothy packed his own bag for personal items.

One day, Theon, who’d finished packing early, watched Rothy get his things ready. Rothy’s hands moved quickly as he packed a lightweight, fluffy white bag given to him by a craftsman from the Falsen territory, putting his clothes, shoes, books, and pens inside. But then his hands slowed, and he stopped, thinking hard. After a moment, he went over to Theon and said:

“I still have a lot to pack, and I haven’t dressed Chi-chi yet… Can you help me? Chi-chi’s well-behaved. Just put its front and back legs through the holes in the clothes here. It’s really simple and easy. And Chi-chi’s calm and trusts you, so it won’t bite your hand……”

Theon couldn’t say no to such a carefully worded request, and he also knew Rothy wanted him to get closer to the weasel. Until then, he’d never handled small, soft animals. The dog he had owned before was a big, sturdy hunting hound, and even as a child, it’d been raised by a trainer, not by him. His only experience was when Rothy made him hold the weasel to dance. 

Theon awkwardly held the weasel and dressed it. The weasel seemed surprised at first but didn’t fight back, maybe because it could see its young owner watching eagerly. And so began the routine of dressing Chi-chi, which was still happening now.

Screee

The weasel yawned and then flopped onto Theon’s large palm.

‘Go ahead, dress me’, it meant. 

With a frown, Theon picked up a palm-sized outfit from the weasel’s wardrobe beside the bedroom. This time, it was a blue outfit with the sun, moon, and stars stitched on it. When Theon laid the weasel on the fabric, it stuck its front and back legs through the holes on its own. Theon did up the buttons one by one. Even though he’d done this many times, he was still careful, as if worried he might hurt the weasel Rothy cared so much about.

Screee

Once it was fully dressed, the weasel shook itself and slipped out of Theon’s hand and scurried into the dressing room. From inside the dressing room came an excited ‘Wow!’. Soon after, Rothy came out wearing an emerald-green mage robe that matched his eye colour and ran over to Theon.