***
“Are you coming along too, my lord?”
Having heard through the servant that a carriage had been prepared to take her to the village, Ayesha changed her clothes and, just as she stepped out of the bedroom, stopped short with a start.
Today as well, Kirix was waiting. He was even perfectly dressed in a full suit—trousers and shirt that handsomely revealed his long, straight frame and the physique packed tight with firm muscle, with a coat over his waistcoat.
Ayesha looked down at her own attire. Because her profession often required her to rush out in a hurry, she preferred clothes and shoes that were easy to move in, and so the garments she had brought were no different from those of the manor’s servants.
Worn for a long time, they showed their age at the sleeves and collar no matter how cleanly they were washed, and they were far from the styles currently in fashion.
“It is my estate, after all. I thought I might take a look around it once, after so long.”
“Is it all right for you to go out like this?”
“Why would it not be?”
He asked back, faintly narrowing his brows.
Perhaps because the story of the former lord never stirring from the manor had left such a strong impression. She had inadvertently asked a suspicious question. Because his father had shut himself away for life, she had assumed Kirix would have a similar disposition.
“It is just that you seem to be devoting so much time because of me.”
Ayesha wrapped it in a suitable excuse.
“I am not as busy as Ayesha worries. Estate affairs are simpler than you think. With proper oiling, they roll along well on their own. Like the wheels of a carriage running on flat ground. I have done it for a long time, so it is not difficult.”
Well, this man had no siblings to quarrel with over the estate, so he must have received intensive training as heir from childhood—she had likely overstepped, meddling in something she did not truly understand.
The carriage bearing Eseldor’s emblem was waiting at the door. And beside it, of all things, was the butler. It seemed he had come out to see them off at the hour of the lord’s outing.
Ayesha secretly held her breath. Inside the manor, she had a servant dedicated to her and had managed to avoid the butler this way and that, but she could not do so when going out. As long as she stayed in this manor, the butler was someone she was bound to face at least a few times.
“As the butler of this manor, I must guard against any guest who visits this place harboring improper intentions, so I will tell you in advance.”
“Is there perhaps something else you have come to find?”
The butler’s rigid voice revived in her memory, and her mind grew troubled.
Never mind suspecting her reason for visiting—could he not have kept silent? The presence of the old man openly monitoring her conduct through the servant assigned to her pricked at her like a thorn swallowed by mistake.
The butler bowed politely to greet Kirix, then addressed Ayesha with perfect composure.
“Is there anything inconvenient about your stay, miss?”
“Yes, thanks to your consideration, I am staying comfortably.”
“If there is any shortcoming, please tell me at any time. I am an old man, old and unrefined, so there is much I do not know about the refined young ladies of today. Are you satisfied with the servant currently attending you? It would be much more convenient to have several people waiting on you—shall I send more hands?”
The servant assigned to Ayesha was Hannah alone. Because she was mindful of the butler, she barely communicated with Hannah, and Hannah showed no sign of approaching the other servants either—so the butler must have meant to send someone first and probe her intentions. What a sly old man.
“No, I thank you for the offer, but I am already comfortable enough.”
Ayesha flatly refused the butler’s proposal. The butler did not press a second time.
“Shall we depart? Ayesha.”
Kirix called to her at just the right moment. Ayesha finished preparing to go out and walked toward the carriage waiting for them.
“Master, miss.”
It was just as she was about to climb into the carriage under his escort. The coachman came running in a fluster.
“Please wait a moment, both of you. The departure looks like it will be a little delayed.”
“What is the matter?”
“One of the horses is a little strange.”
Hearing that, she saw a brown horse trembling noticeably, looking weak. The coachman peered at the horse with a worried face.
“Becky, Becky? Are you sick somewhere?”
The horse called Becky dropped its head heavily and whinnied listlessly.
“What is wrong with you, girl?”
The butler approached and rebuked the coachman.
“How on earth have you been managing the horses?”
“This one was fine until the day before yesterday—I do not know what it picked up and ate wrong since then…… I am sorry. Actually, when I heard the message that the lord was going out, I naturally assumed you would ride Nox, so I had Nox saddled. I did not know you would ride in the carriage with the miss, so I hurried to prepare and could not properly check this one’s condition.”
Tsk, the butler clicked his tongue.
“How can a young man be this slow? Leave Becky out and bring Nox. Hurry.”
“Yes, I am sorry. I will be back shortly.”
The coachman led Becky away and disappeared. After a moment, a pitch-black horse appeared, its fine mane streaming.
Ayesha’s eyes went wide. Given the family, they would surely have bred horses of good lineage, but even to her eye—unfamiliar with animals—it was exceptionally large in frame, with a sleek silhouette, and even its gait was elegant. It looked splendid beyond measure.
“The horse is truly magnificent.”
“It is the horse the former lord gifted to Master Kirix. It is an old tradition of the family. The name Nox was also given by the master himself.”
The butler answered in his stead.
“Yes, indeed. In order to obtain this horse, would you believe I crossed all the way to the border?”
The coachman also shrugged. Being a man who handled horses, he seemed full of pride in Nox’s worth.
“Nox is by nature a lone wolf and has never pulled a carriage in cooperation with the other horses, but it will probably be all right.”
The coachman skillfully fitted Nox with the harness.
“May I take a look?”
“Of course. Oh, wait a moment! Miss, you must not simply go up close like that!”
“Oh my!”
Wanting to touch Nox’s splendid mane, she had reached out abruptly, and the horse snorted and bristled with anger—she had nearly been in trouble. A large beast flaring up in fury was extremely intimidating. Startled, Ayesha backed away with a short scream.
“Whoa, whoa. That will not do. Be gentle!”
The coachman hastily calmed the horse.
“This one has a very fierce temper by nature. It is a fine horse that does not tame easily, so even now there are almost no people who can approach Nox. Miss, do be careful.”
The butler added.
“I am sorry. I did not know.”
“Come here, Ayesha. Leave the rest to the coachman, and let us get into the carriage.”
As she climbed into the carriage under Kirix’s escort, Ayesha thought, Oh dear.
The butler was watching her back closely.
It was not a scene that would look good in the old man’s eyes. To all appearances, it was a lord going out and a servant following to attend him—yet the lord was courteously treating the servant as though she were a fellow noble.
I should probably keep my distance.
Ayesha deliberately and quickly took the seat facing backward. It was the seat farthest from Kirix, who would sit in the place of honor.
Then Kirix, without a word, sat down beside her. As the flustered Ayesha looked up at him with a bewildered face, the carriage lurched into motion.
“No, why……”
He gave Ayesha no time to be embarrassed.
“Look, Langfield Manor is growing distant over there. Sitting in this seat, don’t the two of us look exactly like we are running away somewhere?”
Ayesha involuntarily followed his nod.
It was just as Kirix said. Sitting in the forward-facing seat, the scenery came toward you and you felt closer to the world, whereas sitting on the opposite side, you felt yourself moving moment by moment away from the space you had been in, as though being drawn into some secret, unreal place.
“You are right.”
“It is a nostalgic scenery.”
“Ah…… it seems you have sneaked off on travels at some point.”
“Well, something like that. Speaking of travel, you travel often too, don’t you, Ayesha?”
“Pardon? Me?”
A reporter was, unusually, a profession that required frequent travel. Startled at the question herself, as Ayesha hesitated over her answer, Kirix added.
“Requests to resolve spirit matters will come in from many regions, after all.”
“That is…… yes. That is right.”
“Do you like traveling?”
“Hmm, well.”
Ayesha thought for a moment, then honestly opened up.
“Actually, I do not think I like unfamiliar places all that much. Of course, if a business trip is necessary, I go—it is my work. But rather than that, I feel relief when I finish what I have been assigned and return to my own space, comfortable and safe. It feels as though, after wandering somewhere for a long time, I have finally found a place to rest. When I say things like this, the people around me ask why a young person who should be busy going out and enjoying herself is as worn out as an old person who has been through everything.”
“Perhaps it is engraved on your soul? It seems that in a past life you lived wandering greatly from place to place.”
