Chapter 48

“We greet His Grace the Duke Albarant.”

Not betraying any sign of her own fluster, Litia scrambled to bow in step with Baskal, who had already greeted him with smooth composure.

Why on earth would the Duke show up all of a sudden?

Wasn’t running into your employer at your own workplace one of the worst situations to be caught in? Of course, the Duke was both her employer and her client, which made the whole thing a little more complicated than usual.

The Duke swept his gaze over her and Baskal without bothering to hide his displeasure. Even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, that look alone made her feel strangely cowed.

What is it? Did I do something wrong?

She’d been careful to show as little affection toward Kazen as possible, and Durna and Luira’s condition had been steadily improving. As for the training Baskal had requested…… honestly, calling it “training” was a bit of a stretch. Their relationship had been smooth to begin with; all she’d really done was oil the hinges a little.

No matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn’t guess what she might have done wrong. At the very least, she didn’t think she’d made any mistake large enough to put that kind of expression on the Duke’s face……

While she was still staring at him, utterly lost, his eyebrow twitched.

“Baskal. I believe this is still working hours?”

“Ah, I simply took a brief moment to walk one of the dragons.”

At that, the Duke’s gaze shifted to her. Under that look, she promptly explained the situation.

“Baskal requested a training session, and I’m accompanying him for it.”

“Is that so? It seems your workload isn’t as heavy as I’d imagined.”

Wait, hold on. She was fairly sure she’d just heard a word ominous enough to warrant a few choice curses.

“Taking on an extra dragon so lightly. I may have badly underestimated how capable you are at your job.”

“Excuse me, Your Grace, that’s not it at all!”

At the Duke’s words — the man seemed set on digging her grave and personally erecting a headstone over it — she burst out before she could stop herself. His eyebrow shot upward sharply at that, but what did she care?! Her very livelihood was on the line right now!

“The training Baskal requested was on the simpler end — just a bit of advice, nothing more! That’s exactly why I agreed to take it on!”

“And did giving a bit of advice require staying in the same space as Baskal for an entire week?”

Ah, damn it. He knew? If he already knew, then why was he making this into something it wasn’t?

Feeling thoroughly wronged, she glared at the Duke. At that, he flinched — rare for him — and turned his gaze toward Baskal instead.

“Your Grace, what Trainer Litia says is true.”

Seemingly oblivious to the ominous mood hanging over them, Baskal spoke up with a smile.

“Thanks to Trainer Litia, my relationship with Emeril seems to have improved considerably. I’m quite satisfied.”

“…… Is that so?”

“Yes. All of it was necessary, so I’d be grateful if you could overlook it generously.”

No — correction. That wasn’t a mere smile. It was the smile of a man thoroughly enjoying the situation.

Baskal’s got more nerve than I gave him credit for.

Grinning away so cheerfully in front of his employer. And doing it, on top of everything, with the face of a man who found this whole scene absolutely hilarious.

Marveling at the nerve it took to show that kind of attitude in front of one’s employer, and a noble at that, she looked over at Baskal — only for the Duke to clear his throat with a pointed “Ahem.”

She turned back to look at him and found him watching her, his face brimming with displeasure. No, seriously — why?!

“…… Your Grace.”

“What is it, Trainer Litia?”

“If you have a complaint, please say it plainly. I trust you’re aware that an exclusive trainer’s duties include handling any dragon belonging to the household.”

Looking after Baskal’s dragon was part of her job too — so why was he acting so put out about it?

…… Swallowing that retort back down, she firmly held his gaze.

He didn’t look away either. He simply stared at her for a long moment, like a man who had far too much to say and no idea where to start, before finally letting out a long sigh.

“When it comes to Baskal’s dragon, I’d have thought the other trainers would know better.”

“When I asked around, I was told Emeril never leaves Baskal’s side. On top of that, Emeril is a Pantera Stalker — a breed that normally conceals itself, which makes even observation difficult. I only managed to observe her at all with the help of a magic tool.”

“And did you accomplish anything?”

“I got to fully savor the rare good fortune of observing a precious breed like the Pantera Stalker up close.”

It really had been wonderful. A dragon that hid its own form using mana and fur, no less. Opportunities like that didn’t come often.

The Duke clenched and unclenched his fist, over and over. He seemed less than pleased that she wasn’t shrinking back under his gaze, but why should she back down when she hadn’t done anything wrong? Her only crime was doing her job properly! And it was Baskal who’d come to her and requested it in the first place!

“As you requested, a training enclosure is currently being built.”

“Do you mean Kazen’s enclosure? The one for the training grounds?”

“That’s right. We’re building it with long-term stays in mind as well. Can you give your opinion on it? Whatever else might be needed.”

Anything else needed for a training enclosure. She thought it over for a moment before answering.

“I’ll visit the site where the enclosure is being built and put together a list of what’s needed.”

“Then I suppose I should have them halt construction for the moment. As you know, dwarves build faster and more precisely than humans do.”

“…… I’ll visit first thing tomorrow, then.”

“Good.”

As though that had been exactly the answer he was waiting for, the Duke’s expression settled into satisfaction. He glanced once more at Baskal, then turned and walked off, his bearing cold enough to stir up a chill wind.

“…… What on earth was that about.”

She muttered to herself, too dumbfounded to stop the words from slipping out, and Baskal — who had been stroking the head of Emeril as she came up to him — burst out laughing.

“Pfft, hahahaha……!”

He shook with laughter, trying his best to hold it in, but it was plain as day just how much he was enjoying this.

“…… Baskal.”

As if running into her employer at work and getting scolded for no apparent reason wasn’t bad enough already, now even he had to join in?

She looked at Baskal, pouring every ounce of her feelings into her stare. At that, he pressed a hand over his mouth and fought to hold back his laughter for a long moment before finally catching his breath enough to speak.

“My apologies.”

“…… You’re a lot more emotional than I would’ve guessed.”

Finding the comedy in a moment like that, and laughing hard enough to lose his breath over it — maybe that was a talent all its own.

“Ah, truly, my apologies. When someone laughs in a situation you don’t understand, it’s only natural to feel offended.”

His courteous apology left her, of all people, feeling awkward instead. Coming at her like that made her feel like the small-minded one.

“…… Explain the reason, and I’ll understand.”

“How generous of you.”

He curved his eyes into a gentle crescent.

“Mm…… shall I just say that His Grace and I practically grew up together?”

“Ah.”

Ah, well, that would do it. No matter how one framed the relationship between noble and vassal, growing up together since childhood wasn’t something to dismiss lightly.

Perhaps there’d been something funny that only Baskal, of everyone, would notice. There were things visible only to a childhood friend who’d known someone since they were young, after all.

“And…… hm. I suppose I should apologize first, before anything else. The reason I asked you to train Emeril was to have some time with you, Trainer Litia.”

“What? Me?”

What on earth did that mean? Ah, wait. Hadn’t Baskal said something earlier — that she’d reacted in a way completely disconnected from the situation she was actually in?

She turned it over in her head. The state of the ducal house that the Duke had told her about, Baskal — the vassal who’d known Duke Albarant since childhood — and her own situation……

“…… I’m not trusted very much, am I?”

“Unfortunately, that’s correct.”

He hadn’t expected her to land on the right answer so quickly, it seemed — his eyes widened slightly before he nodded, smoothly and without hesitation.

“Forgive my rudeness.”

“It’s strange, though. I didn’t expect you to say something like that so easily.”

“From what I’ve learned, it’s because Trainer Litia has no ulterior motives.”

Baskal added, with a kindly smile.

“You’re simply someone who loves dragons so much that you made it your life’s work. Am I wrong?”

“No, you’re exactly right.”

Because it really was true. No matter how dangerous or demanding the work, she’d become a trainer who mainly handled large and massive dragons precisely because she couldn’t look away from their huge build, their overwhelming strength, and the charm hidden within all of it.

“His Grace may, at times, show reactions that seem unreasonable or baffling.”

Was he reading her mind? How did he know?

“…… If His Grace had told me about the ducal house’s situation beforehand, the terms of my contract would have turned out quite differently.”

“Haha. I imagine they would have. But who would ever speak so freely of such things to a stranger? It’s the ducal house’s shame, after all, and its weakness.”

It was infuriating, precisely because she couldn’t deny it. Even so, hadn’t she more or less walked straight into a predatory contract?

“Still, he’s someone you can trust absolutely when it comes to pay.”

“If it weren’t for that, I’d have torn up the contract a long time ago.”

Her life being guaranteed was a given — she ought to be squeezing out more on top of that, too. If the food had been bad, she’d have packed up and left ages ago.

At that, Baskal let out a short, wry laugh. But unlike before, there was something bittersweet about it this time.

“Trainer Litia, has His Grace ever slept alongside Kazen, by any chance?”

“He has. I found him there one morning when I went to bring Kazen his food.”

She’d been a little taken aback, admittedly. Kazen’s scales did feel pleasant, but she couldn’t say for certain they were quite as comfortable as the plush beds furnished in the ducal manor.

“I’d heard as much from Durna, but he’s still at it, I see.”

He murmured something quietly to himself, then let out a long sigh.

“I’d asked him to tell me first, going forward, whenever he wanted to sleep beside Kazen……”

“Ah, did you? Thank you for that.”

“…… Do you know why His Grace sleeps at Kazen’s side?”

“Yes, I do.”

Baskal seemed to mull it over for a moment before nodding firmly and answering.

“Because Kazen’s side is the only place His Grace can truly set his mind at ease and rest. A dukedom placed into the hands of a twelve-year-old child is, to anyone’s eyes, far too large and far too tempting a thing — tempting enough that some would want it even with blood on their hands.”