Chapter 44

“Oh, Your Grace. Do you have a moment, by any chance?”

Bringing it up reminded me — between settling into the duchy and correcting Luira, I’d momentarily forgotten something important.

“What is it?”

“The records concerning the Agrix dragons were lost when the exclusive trainers died, weren’t they?”

“They were.”

It wasn’t a pleasant question, and the Duke’s brow furrowed.

“Grrrrrr…….”

Kazen tilted his head, then pushed his snout against the Duke’s neck. At that, the Duke startled for a moment before gently stroking the ridge of his nose.

“I need Your Grace’s knowledge.”

“You mean the knowledge I’ve gained raising Kazen?”

“Yes. In a situation like this one, nothing is more valuable than the experience of someone who’s actually raised one.”

The Duke was someone an Agrix dragon had chosen, and the one who had raised Kazen from the time he was still an egg. There was no better reference than the account of someone like that.

But the Duke said nothing. The unexpected reaction left me a little flustered. Ever since coming to the duchy, I’d kept saying that the information on the Agrix breed needed to be organized — so why was he reacting like this?

“……Hm. If that’s the case, I think I’ll need some time to sort my own thoughts first. Trying to lay out more than ten years all at once like this, I’m not even sure where I’d begin.”

“Ah. That’s true, isn’t it.”

Come to think of it, the subject of Agrix dragons was simply too broad. Asking him to unpack all of it on the spot, out of nowhere, must have caught the Duke off guard too.

“Then I’ll wait until you’ve had time to sort it out.”

“I’ll send word to you soon enough.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

“Trainer Litia has gone into the library.”

“Again today?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

He frowned at his subordinate’s report.

Just because Kazen had accepted her was no reason to stop watching her — not when so much rested on his position as head of House Albarant.

Litia had no idea, but she had never once been free of watching eyes. It would be foolish to let his guard down so easily around a new face who had just entered House Albarant.

And yet, from every report he’d received so far, Litia showed not a shred of ulterior motive — her focus was entirely on the dragons.

Today’s report said the same: she’d only been flipping through books on dragons, concentrating mainly on their ecology and care.

Just as she’d said herself, it was clear she was doing everything she could to help the apprentice trainers earn their certifications.

Could it all be an act……

He couldn’t rule it out. There had been more than a few, over the years, who did nothing for ages — only to strike the moment everyone’s guard finally dropped.

If she truly, genuinely had eyes only for the dragons, that would be a relief. But if this was merely groundwork laid to earn his trust, it would be more than unpleasant.

The Duke gripped the notebook tightly, about a third filled. Inside it was everything about Kazen he had, until now, kept only in his own head.

Until now, he had never once put anything about the Agrix breed — about Kazen — into writing. If someone with ill intent ever managed to seize such a record, and it ended up dealing Kazen a fatal blow, he didn’t think he could ever forgive himself.

Even now……

If he just threw this record into the fireplace, wouldn’t all this agonizing become unnecessary?

And yet the Duke couldn’t bring himself to toss it in so readily. After a long moment of hesitation, he finally put the notebook in a drawer and locked it.

“Hff…….”

Was it that he hated the idea of destroying, with his own hands, a record of Kazen’s life that he’d never before let himself keep? Or was there some other reason?

The Duke was clicking his tongue and scowling at a hesitation even he couldn’t quite understand, when—

“Your Grace, it’s Baskal.”

“Come in.”

At his permission, the door opened soundlessly, and Baskal entered without a single footstep — alongside a Pantera Stalker that had, for once, made herself visible.

“You brought her along today.”

“Ah, yes…… that’s how it worked out.”

Baskal wore a slightly awkward expression and let his words trail off. Paying that no mind, the Pantera Stalker simply sat back on her haunches, watching Baskal and the Duke.

Her manner was languid, as though she couldn’t care less, but the gaze she fixed on the Duke was relentless. At that look, the Duke let out a short laugh.

“Dedicated to her role, I see.”

Becoming a Pantera Stalker’s owner was no easy thing. But from the moment one did, they received the breed’s wholehearted protection.

That she’d chosen to show herself like this was surely because Baskal had given the order. Feeling a measure of satisfaction at that, the Duke’s eyes creased with a smile.

“Still haven’t gotten used to her?”

“Well, she hardly ever shows herself normally. And it’s not as though she comes up and acts affectionate, either — if I just fill her bowl, it empties on its own…… sometimes I even forget she’s there at all.”

“That’s a good sign.”

If she was that skilled at concealing herself, then anyone with designs on Baskal would be caught off guard and driven back before they knew what hit them.

“That’s…… ah—”

Baskal cut himself off mid-sentence, a startled sound slipping out. The Pantera Stalker had suddenly wound herself around his leg.

Nearly thrown off balance, Baskal just barely managed to steady himself and let out a long sigh.

He hesitated under the Pantera Stalker’s unblinking upward gaze, then turned to look at the Duke.

“Do you have something to report?”

“I’ve brought the documents that need their regular review.”

At the sight of Baskal setting a thick bundle of documents down on the desk, the Duke’s brow creased faintly — then smoothed right back, as though it had never happened.

“Anything worth noting?”

“That dragon management has settled into a stable rhythm.”

At the mention of dragons, the Duke flinched reflexively. Baskal gave him a puzzled look at the reaction, then went on speaking.

“Efficiency in dragon management has improved. The apprentice trainers’ satisfaction has risen as well.”

“Has it.”

“I suspect it’s largely because we now have a certified trainer actually handling the real work — things have settled down a great deal, in every respect.”

Baskal glanced sidelong at the Pantera Stalker now lying at his feet before continuing.

“Even the female Marcelid — the one everyone worried about for being the most sensitive and difficult-tempered of all the dragons — has been brought under control, and the taming of the wild dragon steeds caught after the escape incident is proceeding smoothly as well.”

“What’s the progress?”

“They say it’s not yet at the training stage. Thanks to Trainer Litia, it seems Lady Durna’s been able to focus steadily on her research too.”

A faint smile hung at the corner of Baskal’s mouth.

The ducal house was, at present, balanced precariously on a tightrope. It had barely managed to hold its ground, a deeply unstable state where the balance could tip at any moment, in any direction.

To break through that situation, he had urged the Duke to bring in an exclusive trainer — but covering for the gap that decision left behind had fallen to him.

Still, seeing the duchy settle into stability at such a rapid pace, as though to prove all that hardship hadn’t been for nothing, Baskal couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

“It’s all thanks to Trainer Litia.”

“…….”

“An experienced, fully certified trainer really does make all the difference.”

“Do you think she can be trusted?”

At that, Baskal’s expression clouded over.

“…… If you’re asking about trust……”

“Do you have any proof that she won’t turn out like the ones who’ve slipped into this house before, time and again?”

“If you’re asking about that…… no. Not yet.”

“I thought as much…… of course.”

Even knowing the answer already, the Duke let out a quiet sigh at a strange sense of disappointment. At that, Baskal added one more thing.

“Didn’t you already put her through a fairly rigorous test? Is something still bothering you about it?”

“As someone sitting in the seat of Head of House, I suppose I’d say it’s simply hard to trust another person easily.”

Baskal couldn’t answer right away. Having grown up alongside the Duke, having stayed by his side and supported him all this time, he knew exactly what feelings lay behind those words.

But even so, holding more wariness toward Trainer Litia than necessary wasn’t right either. Finding talent like hers wasn’t easy.

And excessive caution could turn poisonous too.

“Your Grace, please grant me permission to meet with Trainer Litia.”

“You?”

The Duke’s eyes widened, looking taken aback. At the reaction, Baskal gave an awkward smile and said—

“Don’t you need some reason to be able to trust Trainer Litia?”

“…… That’s……”

“Besides, I’d like to consult her about this one here, too. So — Rohanes.”

Baskal spoke the given name of his friend — the one he’d only ever used back when they were children, and only when the two of them were alone.

“If it’s hard to decide on your own, let me help.”

For the friend who had shouldered so much at such a young age and held everything up ever since, this was the only thing he — both friend and vassal — could offer him.

“Baskal.”

“I’d actually been wanting to ask her about this one anyway. Handling dragons…… I’m clumsy at it in more ways than one.”

At the look Baskal gave him, as if to say leave it to me, the Duke fell silent.

“Don’t trouble yourself over it too much. It’s only natural, as Head of House.”

“Then I trust you’re well aware that a vassal has a duty to support his lord in turn, Your Grace.”

Baskal replied with an easy smile, and the Duke fell silent again.

“I, too, hope that someone like Trainer Litia won’t betray this house. So please — give me this chance.”

The Duke, who had been quietly watching Baskal press his point so firmly, gave a small nod.

“Understood.”