* * *
A little after noon.
Raphel and Lizelle were out in the garden after finishing their meal. It was the first time she’d been to the garden since her ankle healed. Although she occasionally got some fresh air through the large window, the refreshing feeling of being outside was completely different from standing by a window. Since coming to the Duke’s residence, Wilhazelle had spent almost every day taking a walk with Raphel or spending time in the garden.
As a guest, that was all she could do here. Even if she wanted to go out to town, Chaser stopped them, saying it was dangerous. She’d been taking walks or spending time in the garden for most of the last two weeks, but these past few days, being locked in her room was frustrating.
“I can breathe now.”
“Have you been feeling frustrated for a while?”
“Yeah, I thought I was in prison.”
She sat in a chair chatting with Tia. Raphel was sitting next to them, eating cookies.
“I’m glad you recovered quickly.”
“Yeah. Thankfully it wasn’t broken. Even though I got injured, I have decent athletic ability.”
Lizelle laughed, feeling proud of himself. She was quite proud that she only ended up with a slight sprain, thanks to her agile movements.
“That’s good.”
Tia laughed along with Lizelle. When she was playing ball with Raphel, Tia clearly saw her panting even if she ran only a little, but she pretended not to notice.
“It’s a bit cold.”
Lizelle rubbed her arms.
It was a little chilly, perhaps because the wind kept blowing and the fabric of her dress was thin.
“Shall I bring you a shawl?”
In response to Tia’s question, Lizelle shook his head and looked at Raphel.
“Raphel. Isn’t it cold? Would you like to go inside?”
“Uhm… No!”
Like Lizelle, Raphel, was out in the garden for the first time in a long time, also enjoyed the fresh air. Besides, it hadn’t been long since they came out to the garden. He had no intention of going back to his room so soon.
“Tia. Please look after Raphel for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
Lizelle stood up. She needed a coat to stay in the garden longer.
“I’ll bring it for you.”
“I’ll go and come back quickly. I’ve been so restricted lately that I haven’t been able to move, and my body is cramped.”
Lizelle stroked Raphel’s head while stopping Tia who was about to leave.
“Raphel, play with Tia for a bit.”
“Okay!”
Lizelle headed to her room, feeling happy that Raphel was now close with Tia instead of just relying on her. Entering the room, she grabbed Raphel a coat along with her shawl and went back out. She went down the stairs through the hallway, she was so familiar with the house now that it felt like home.
The mansion, which had no end in sight no matter how far she walked, was big enough to intimidate her at first, but now that she’d gotten used to it, it felt cozy and familiar. When Lizelle had just left the mansion and was heading to the garden. A voice called out from behind.
“I heard you made a full recovery.”
When she turned around, she saw Chaser standing in the distance, holding a thick leash. She looked down the leash and saw Warden sitting next to him.
“Yes. You must be about to go on a walk?”
Lizelle, surprised to see the dog standing calmly unlike last time, looked at Warden. At that time, Warden rushed at them without any mercy, but perhaps because he was by his master’s side, he stayed still as a doll.
“Warden has prepared something.”
“For me?”
The two talked at a distance, neither one approached other. It was to prepare for any unexpected situation.
“Warden.”
“Kkiiing…”
“Hurry.”
Warden was downcast at Chaser’s low voice and approached her with his ears drooping, holding a flower in his mouth that Chaser had given him.
Tuk.
Following Chaser’s instructions, Warden put down the flower he was holding a short distance away from Lizelle. It was the apology she’d asked for.
“You are very smart.”
Lizelle, watching with interest, smiled like she was enjoying herself and looked at Warden. Seeing him like this, he seemed like a gentle sheep. The scene from not long ago, the beast-like appearance in the garden, was now completely docile. She picked up the flower Warden gave her. The yellow flower whose name she did not know was very pretty.
“Will he bite me if I pet him?”
Feeling regretful about just leaving, Lizelle glanced at Chaser. She wanted to pet him, but was careful in case he might lunge at her suddenly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’d like to become friends.”
She especially wanted to touch his fur and the many wrinkles. Wouldn’t it feel like holding a soft carpet in her hands?
Chaser loosened his tight hold on the leash a little at Wilhazelle’s request. Then Warden sniffed and began to inch closer to Lizelle. Although she spoke excitedly, Lizelle’s expression became increasingly nervous as Warden approached. The memory of Warden rushing at her fiercely still remained in her thoughts.
“Hold out your hand.”
“It’ll be okay, right?”
“I will be right here.”
She didn’t know why, but for some reason, Lizelle thought his words sounded trustworthy. She swallowed her saliva and slowly held out her palm towards Warden. Warden cautiously walked around Lizelle and sniffed, then put his nose near the palm of her hand and sniffed, breath tickling her palm.
“You can touch him now.”
Chaser’s permission was granted. Lizelle slowly crouched down and rubbed the underside of Warden’s chin. Fortunately, Warden didn’t bite or lunge at her.
“Wow. You really have a lot of wrinkles.”
She held a bunch of Warden’s fur in her hands. The wrinkles on his face and the droopy eyes were adorable.
“What breed is he?”
“He’s a bloodhound.”
Warden seemed to like Lizelle’s touch and even laid down to show his stomach.
“You’re nothing like you were then. Are you saying we can be friends?”
Lizelle burst into laughter at Warden’s cuteness and rubbed his stomach. Warden lay on the floor panting and wagging his tail. Chaser was looking at Lizelle and Warden in silence.
“Thank you for the flower.”
After petting Warden for a while, Lizelle stood up, holding the yellow flower that Warden gave her tightly in her hand. If she thought about it, the fact that Warden brought her a flower meant that he received training, right? Lizelle couldn’t imagine Chaser training Warden to hold a flower.
She always thought he was blunt and cold, but this was a surprise. The fact that he didn’t just brush off her request and prepared this instead.
“Thank you. Then I’ll let you go for your walk now.”
Lizelle bowed to Chaser and returned to Raphel. It was strange seeing a new side of him.
“Woof! Woof!”
Warden barked, circling in place, disappointed that Lizelle had left.
“Warden.”
Chaser comforted Warden by stroking his head. He looked at her back as she walked further and further away at a light pace, and then handed Warden’s leash to the knight who came over.
“I’ll take care of the rest of the walk.”
And then he followed Lizelle.
* * *
“Haa.”
Lizelle was spending time with Raphel. He was wearing the coat she brought, eating madeleines. She sighed.
The reason was because of Chaser.
She didn’t know why, but he kept watching them. At first, she thought it was because he had some business with her, but he didn’t really talk to her or anything.
“Maybe he has something to say?”
Tia must have discovered Chaser too and whispered to Lizelle in a quiet voice.
“Then he can just tell me, why is he sneaking around?”
“I think it’s because of me. Would you like me to step away for a moment?”
“No. I’ll go over there.”
While Tia and Lizelle were talking, Chaser was watching them from under a tree a little distance away.
“Master.”
Rohan came over to Chaser’s side. He had seen Lizelle glancing in their direction. It seemed like his master was trying to hide himself, but the lady had noticed him a long time ago.
“Do you want to sit down with the lady?”
“What?”
Chaser frowned at Rohan’s words.
“Aren’t you secretly watching the lady?”
“What do you mean secretly?”
Chaser answered bluntly, pretending he wasn’t doing anything, but inside he was very embarrassed. It was because Rohan hit the nail on the head. In fact, he followed Lizelle and Raphel with the intention of watching them from nearby. He felt like he was misunderstanding Wilhazelle so he wanted to see for himself how she treated Raphel. But unexpectedly, she quickly realized that Chaser was watching, and he had no choice but to stand there. Facial expression as natural as possible, as if nothing happened.
“I thought you were hiding again. Well, who would hide so out in the open?”
Rohan immediately realized that his master was lying, but he deliberately pretended not to know.
“…”
He was trying to hide behind a tree, but was revealed, just when Chaser was seriously considering whether he should climb the tree or not.
“Do you want to play with us?”
At some point, Lizelle appeared in front of Chaser.
