TNBT 10

Chapter : 10

“…I think it’s a better hobby than hunting.”

“Oh? Have you ever tried it?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know whether it’s a better hobby or not?”

Adele pursed her lips into a tiny pout before answering in a small voice.

“…Because I feel sorry for them.”

Hunting was one of the favorite pastimes of Erwin’s upper class.

Her father, Michael Baden, would often leave for several days of hunting whenever he returned home from his business trips.

“But that prey is going to become your dinner.”

Karl nodded toward the game strapped to the back of his horse.

Adele’s face turned bright red, and she lowered her head.

She mumbled something that sounded very much like, “I’m sorry…”

Her reaction was so unexpected that Karl let out a quiet chuckle.

Just a few months ago, the little uninvited guest had suddenly appeared at Heightsrind Manor.

His father, despite bringing her here on a whim without any apparent plan, seemed to have little interest in her. His mother and her ever-faithful attendant behaved as though the child simply didn’t exist within Heightsrind.

“You never hunted or rode horses at the Baden household?”

“I’ve ridden a horse a few times. Father liked hunting, but Mother and I never did.”

Karl pulled his black riding glove snugly over the back of his hand.

“Want to give it a try?”

Curiosity and uncertainty flickered across Adele’s eyes.

She wanted to ride again after so long, but Karl’s horse was nothing like the small pony she had ridden as a child.

“It’s all right. It’s been such a long time… I think I’d fall.”

“Then I’ll ride with you.”

Before she could react, Karl swiftly lifted her into his arms and placed her on the saddle.

Adele’s little legs flailed helplessly against the horse’s sides.

Karl shot her a sharp look.

Feeling his gaze, Adele instantly froze and sat perfectly still.

“That’s right. Easy… If you keep squirming, Siri will get startled.”

Then Karl casually stuffed her brushes, paints, and sketchbook haphazardly into her art bag before placing it on her lap.

I’m doomed.

Adele was certain everything inside had become a complete mess.

She hugged the bag tightly, worried something might fall out.

Only then did Karl swing himself effortlessly onto the saddle behind her.

This quiet little girl has more spirit than she looks.

The resentful glare she kept directing at him was oddly amusing, which was why he’d impulsively put her on the horse.

Still…

Can I really ride the way I normally do with a twelve-year-old kid sitting in front of me?

Karl gently stroked Siri’s neck before nudging the horse into motion.

There was also the deer he had hunted that morning strapped behind them.

With both the child and the game on the horse, there was no way they could run at full speed.

He had only intended to tease the little girl he’d met again after such a long time…

“Wahaha! This is so much fun! Can’t we go even faster?”

It was the happiest laugh she’d shown since arriving at Heightsrind.

Rather than being frightened, Adele grabbed the reins herself and eagerly urged him to ride faster.

Karl looked down at her in disbelief.

The back of Adele’s head bounced excitedly.

Feeling strangely challenged, Karl urged Siri into a faster gallop.

They raced deep into the forest—farther than Adele had probably ever been before.

Yet instead of growing frightened, she looked even happier.

Eventually, Karl himself burst into laughter.

“What kind of kid is this?”

“Do you shoot while riding the horse too?”

Adele twisted around to look at him, her eyes sparkling.

Karl sighed and glanced toward the hunting rifle secured behind him.

“Yes.”

Her eyes practically screamed,

Please take it out and show me!

Wondering how he’d ended up getting dragged into such a troublesome situation, Karl pulled out the carefully stored hunting rifle.

He brought Siri to a stop.

Resting the rifle against his shoulder, he aimed toward the distance, adjusted his stance, and demonstrated how he would fire.

Adele watched without even breathing.

“I wonder what happened to the little girl who said hunting wasn’t a good hobby.”

“Ahem…”

Adele cleared her throat awkwardly and deliberately looked away.

The corner of Karl’s mouth curled upward.

He handed her the rifle.

The bullets had already been removed, so it wasn’t dangerous.

He merely intended to scare her a little.

Instead, Adele immediately shoved her art bag onto his lap and eagerly grabbed the rifle.

Karl was genuinely speechless.

“Have you ever even held a gun before?”

“No. Father never even let me touch one.”

She smiled brightly at him.

Karl sighed yet again.

“Lean your upper body forward a little more. There’s recoil when you fire.”

“Like this?”

“A little more.”

“…”

“Straighten your back. Relax your shoulders.”

The rifle was quite heavy.

Adele struggled with it, adjusting her grip over and over.

“How do you shoot something this heavy while riding a horse?”

Karl snorted softly.

Without answering, he took the rifle back, slung it over his shoulder again, and returned her art bag.

“I think this suits you much better.”

Adele hugged the bag tightly.

The outing had been exciting enough.

Karl turned Siri toward Heightsrind Manor and picked up speed.

The forest had seemed quite far when they walked there.

On horseback, however, they reached the manor in no time.

As the edge of the forest came into view, Karl slowed Siri to a gentle pace and guided her toward the stables.

Only then did realization strike Adele.

The servants will definitely see us!

“K-Karl! I’ll get down! Please let me off here!”

She fidgeted anxiously.

Not understanding her sudden panic, Karl stopped the horse and climbed down first to help her.

The instant his feet touched the ground, Adele looked ready to jump off on her own.

Karl frowned and carefully lifted her down.

“Karl, thank you! Today I got to ride a horse again, and I even touched a gun for the very first time.”

She quickly stepped away from him.

Lowering her voice almost to a whisper, she hurriedly searched through her art bag until she found her small sketchbook.

Flipping rapidly through the pages, she found what she was looking for.

She tore one page free and handed it to Karl.

“It isn’t a very good drawing, but… I’d be happy if you’d accept it. I hope you stay healthy and have a wonderful time at the university. Thank you very much for today!”

Constantly glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Adele hurriedly shoved the crumpled sheet into Karl’s hand before running toward the manor as fast as she could.

Karl stared after her in confusion.

Just moments ago she’d been laughing loudly and chatting without restraint.

Yet the instant Heightsrind Manor came into sight, she’d become visibly anxious.

The complete contrast in her behavior left an uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

As Karl stood there frowning in the direction Adele had disappeared, Siri snorted impatiently and pawed the ground.

“I know. All right.”

Karl soothed his horse, gathered the reins, and led Siri toward the stable.

From a distance, the servant Boris came running over and took the reins from him.

“Boris, give Siri plenty of oats.”

“Yes, sir.”

While Boris busily unloaded the deer and secured Siri in her stall, Karl put away his riding equipment.

Then he remembered the paper still clutched in his hand.

Removing his gloves, he unfolded it.

On the fine-quality sketchbook paper was a pencil drawing of himself.

It appeared she’d drawn him dressed for a formal social gathering.

His upper body, clad in a frock coat and formal top hat, had been carefully rendered with remarkable attention.

…She has sharp eyes.

He had no idea when she’d observed him closely enough to draw it.

But she must have watched him for quite some time.

The resemblance was striking.

She had said she enjoyed drawing.

Apparently, she was genuinely talented.

Karl looked at the sketch for a long moment.

Then he shrugged, folded it neatly, and slipped it into the back pocket of his trousers.

Daniela doubted her own eyes.

For a long time she simply stared, unable to believe what she had just witnessed.

Dayna had suggested they enjoy some tea on the balcony since the weather was pleasant.

Just as they approached the tea table she had prepared…

The elegant rose garden, the pride of Heightsrind, spread clearly below the balcony.

Beyond it, barely visible near the back of the estate…

stood Karl.

Together with that detestable little girl.

Seeing Daniela frozen like a statue, Dayna hurried over in concern.

Following the Duchess’s line of sight, Dayna looked toward the garden.

The moment she recognized what she was seeing, she gasped in shock.

The teacup slipped from her hands.

Crash!

The sharp sound of shattering porcelain echoed across the balcony.

Yet Daniela didn’t so much as blink.

“M-My apologies, Your Grace! Are you hurt?”

Fortunately, the cup had been empty.

Even so, shattered pieces of porcelain scattered across the floor.

Daniela didn’t answer.

Her gaze remained fixed on Karl and Adele as though nothing else in the world existed.

Dayna looked worriedly at the Duchess.

Then she cast another look at Adele—this one filled with contempt.

From a distance, the pair looked like an older brother happily spending time with his much younger sister.

She couldn’t hear what they were saying.

But watching Karl carefully steady Adele as she stumbled while climbing down from the horse left her utterly dumbfounded.

Young Master Karl was not someone who cared about other people.

All three members of the Clausen Ducal family were emotionally distant.

Yet Karl was by far the coldest toward others.

Even when his parents fought bitterly, he hardly seemed affected.

When he left Pforzheim at the age of twelve to study in the capital, Schultz, no one had worried much.

He was the very image of the calm, rational young Duke of Heightsrind.

Even when he returned during school holidays, he devoted himself entirely to his own work and hobbies, never growing close to anyone in the manor.

How could this happen… Young Master Karl!

Dayna silently wept tears of blood as she inwardly blamed him.

The Duchess would undoubtedly be deeply shocked by this.

She had begged him countless times not to become close to that child.

She had assumed someone as indifferent as Karl would treat the girl no differently than a stone lying by the roadside.

What in the world had happened for the two of them to appear so friendly?

Soon, that sly little girl placed something into Karl’s hand before darting into the manor like a mouse.

Not only did she look like one—

She behaved like one as well.

A filthy rat that lurked through dark sewers.

A symbol of misfortune that carried plague and disease wherever it went.

Carefully, Dayna gathered the shattered pieces of the teacup from beneath the Duchess’s feet.

The larger fragments were quickly collected.

Tiny shards, however, remained scattered like grains of sand across the floor.

“My lady… if you could please step back for just a moment, I’ll clean this up immediately.”

Daniela still gave no response.

It was as though she couldn’t hear a single word.

Dayna had never seen the Duchess’s face so utterly rigid.

Not even during her fiercest arguments with Duke Clausen had she worn such a terrifying expression.

Her face resembled someone staring directly into the flames of hell itself.

Like one witnessing the damnation of the world’s most sinful beings standing before eternal judgment.

Without blinking even once, Daniela’s blue eyes remained fixed upon the place where Adele had disappeared.

In the end, Dayna said nothing more.

She simply stood silently behind the Duchess, keeping her company.