The Northern Mad Dog Is Wagging Its Tail

  The ownership of Lockhart Territory has completely transferred to Robley.

 

  Even if Harty borrowed a magician to check the documents, Britia knew that this would be the outcome.

 

  So she thought she wouldn’t be too sad when that time came, but now that it had actually happened, her heart felt heavy.

 

  “It’s just two lines.”

 

  The paper that announced the transfer of ownership had only two lines written on it.

 

  “What about the items in the castle?”

 

  Crave asked the messenger from Robley who had come to deliver the paper. He could finally sit up now.

 

  “The Duchess kindly ordered all of Lockhart’s belongings in the castle to be loaded onto the carriage and sent here. However…”

 

  “However?”

 

  “This morning, the carriage was attacked by robbers, and all the luggage disappeared…”

 

  “Damn it. They probably never loaded it onto the carriage in the first place.”

 

  Before the messenger could finish speaking, Leon blurted out angrily. His outburst surprised the messenger.

 

 “I’ve said everything I needed to say, so I’ll go now.”

 

  He quickly fled before Leon could scold him any further.

 

  “Still, it’s fortunate that this house wasn’t taken away. Father bought it after he died, so no one could touch it.”

 

  Crave looked at Leon with a complaining tone.

 

  “Father didn’t have any other choice.”

 

  “I understand that you want to remember Father as a good person. But it’s time to wake up now.”

 

  Trying to reason with her had the opposite effect. Leon scoffed loudly, mocking their absent father.

 

  “We had such a hard time because of Father, and it’s his fault that things will get even harder in the future.”

 

  “Father probably didn’t expect it to turn out like this.”

 

  Creve became worried, but he still defended their father.

 

  “If that’s the case, then he was just foolish.”

 

  “Foolish? What are you saying? Father was great and kind!”

 

  Crave scolded Leoni in an angry voice. Leon didn’t back down. He disliked their father being remembered as a good person by everyone.

 

  When he used to say, ‘If we all endure a little longer, things will get better,’ it made Leon furious.

 

  Why should “we all” have to suffer?

 

  There was a time when Leon threw a tantrum because he wanted to eat meat. He went into the forest with his older sister and brother. Leon ended up damaging only the bow and arrow without any significant gain.

 

  Instead, Britia caught two brown rabbits. It looked so amazing to his young heart.

 

  Although Crave wasn’t good at hunting, he knew which herbs were edible. He knew how they tasted and what went well together.

 

  His older siblings, who knew so much, were cool.

 

  Leon was so proud to have them as his older siblings.

 

  When they returned with the rabbits and herbs, their mother greeted them with a bright smile. Until a few years ago, Leon had never even tried to skin a rabbit, but now he had become quite skilled at it.

 

  But while their mother briefly left the meat with the herbs, it disappeared. It wasn’t stolen, and nobody took it.

 

  Their father had given the meat to a guest who had visited briefly.

 

  ‘You can’t send someone on a long journey empty-handed.’

 

  When Leon got angry and asked why, he responded with a kind laugh.

 

  Their father hadn’t caught the rabbit, found the herbs, or skinned and cleaned the meat himself.

 

  What did their father do to deserve touching that meat?

 

  ‘Why are you getting so angry? We can just catch another rabbit.’

 

  No. No other rabbit could be like that one.

 

  It contained the love of a kind sister and brother who accepted her tantrums and the love of their mother.

 

  They always did things like that for Leon. Even though their family didn’t make efforts or sacrifices specifically for him, their father, who was considered a “good person,” took away what belonged to them.

 

  ‘Thank you, Count.’

 

  And he became a good person without doing anything.

 

  ‘Are you afraid my bow will be broken and I won’t be able to hold it? Give it to me. I’ll fix it quickly.’

 

  His father said, offering his hand with a gentle smile. 

 

  Leon, thinking it wasn’t necessary, threw the broken bow with all his strength. When their mother got upset about his disrespectful behavior, their father just laughed it off.

 

  Leon didn’t bother to pick up the bow his father fixed. He didn’t want his father or the bow to remind him of what happened.

 

  “He was only good at laughing and going along with what others say. If Robelly told you to do something, he’d sign it without thinking!” Leon remembered what happened with their father and couldn’t help but poke his finger at his temple in frustration.

 

  “What’s wrong with that if it’s not foolish? Are you lacking intelligence?”

 

  “Leon Lockhart!”

 

  Crave got angry and raised his voice.

 

  “Fine! What!”

 

  “You’ve said enough!”

 

  “Stop it.”

 

  As the two of them were about to argue, Britia and Hailey intervened.

 

  It’s true that their father was reckless.

 

  “Even you!”

 

  Crave looked at Britia with an expression of disbelief.

 

  “But Leon, your words were too harsh.”

 

  Britia said with a stern face. Leon bit his lip nervously. When he felt her heart about to burst with the thought that he had no one on her side, Britia held his hand.

 

  “When you were little, our father once gave the rabbit you caught to a guest after singing a song saying you wanted to eat it.”

 

  When Britia brought up that day’s event, Leon’s hand twitched.

 

  “You were crying so much that Dad felt guilty and said it was because of him.”

 

  “…So what if he realized it later?”

 

  Leon snorted.

 

  “You even said you wouldn’t eat dinner, so I personally brought you a meal.”

 

  It was a potato dumpling made by mixing flour and cream sauce.

 

  ‘Say that you made it. If I say I made it, you might not eat it, right?’

 

  Quietly, he handed her the bowl, afraid that Leon might hear.

 

  ‘I didn’t know Leon would be this upset. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the village and get a chicken or something. So, can you please ask nicely to have this for today?’

 

  Britia couldn’t forget her father, who had apologized so much with a bump on his forehead from the arrow he threw.

 

  ‘I know you were really sad back then. But still, you said some harsh things to our father, who loved you and thought about you. Understand?’

 

  “…So what? In a life where you always give things and love to your family, but only suffer losses, what’s the meaning in that?”

 

  Leon’s rebellious voice grew quieter.

 

  “Why, is it meaningless?”

 

  Crave snorted dismissively.

 

  “Do you know why that terrifying Mr. Devon lent us such a large sum of money without interest?”

 

  He was a man known for neither blood nor tears. But while Lockhart diligently repaid the money, he also provided both big and small help.

 

  “So on the day we repaid all the money, I asked Mr. Devon why he treated us so well.”

 

  Mr. Devon was someone who didn’t have any money when he was Leon’s age and was kicked out of his family. He was so hungry that he decided to steal money from someone passing by with a knife.

 

  But then, a man appeared carrying a bag full of bread.

 

  ‘Do you want to take this bread even if you don’t have any money?’

 

  Mr. Devon, who was threatening to take his clothes off quickly, suddenly felt dizzy and passed out.

 

  He thought he should run away at that moment. But the man moved the conversation to a different topic and said, ‘My wife is pregnant right now, and she really wants Mrs. Calibra’s bread. So I ran over here quickly. I told Mrs. Calibra about the situation, and she baked fresh bread for me. I don’t know how thankful I am.’

 

   Mr. Devon found it strange that the man was telling such trivial stories to a robber. But somehow, he found himself opening up and sharing his own stories.

 

  He kept talking about how he had no money, no home, and no future, and that he just wanted to die. Then the man said, ‘Why don’t you have a future when you still have youth? Well, if you sell this hat, you’ll at least get a little money.’

 

  Saying that, he handed over the hat he was wearing. After that, Mr. Devon went through many hardships. He faced even more difficult days than that day. But strangely, every time he faced those tough times, he remembered the words of that strange man and gained an unexplainable strength.

 

  After many years had passed, Mr. Devon heard the story of a debt-ridden count.

 

  The man who gave him bread and a hat had become a count burdened with debt. Seeing the former robber who had become a moneylender, he chuckled and said, ‘What did I tell you? It was good that you didn’t die back then, right? Both you and I are still young, so we have a wonderful future ahead!’

 

  ‘Getting older and having gray hair doesn’t mean you’re not young?’

 

  ‘Well, you’re much younger than the me of tomorrow!’

 

  The strange man remained positive even after becoming a moneylender. On that day, Mr. Devon forcibly lent him money, believing only in the bright future that his youth would bring, without any interest or repayment deadline.

 

  But suddenly, he died.

 

  ‘How will you repay what your father couldn’t repay?’

 

  Mr. Devon asked, but Crave already thought he couldn’t repay it. He couldn’t even answer the question of how he could trust him before.

 

  ‘We three siblings are young, you know.’

 

  While contemplating whether to forcefully take money, Crave suddenly spoke just like his father.

 

  When the youth and bright future of the count, which he thought had disappeared with his death, shamelessly laughed, Mr. Devon raised both hands.

 

  “If our father didn’t give him bread and a hat back then, would there be the greatest moneylender in the empire now? We were able to receive continuous help from that person, big and small.”

 

  Although he said it softly, Crave proudly spoke of his father, who was a person.

 

  “But if you cry and throw a fit, saying that you didn’t get to eat meat!”

 

  “It’s not just because I didn’t get to eat meat…!”

 

  Leon shouted, choking back tears.

 

  “I wanted to brag about eating that rabbit. I saw how you skillfully caught that fast rabbit.”

 

  When Britia silently hugged Leon, she felt her eyes welling up.

 

  “Now I can recognize the bay leaf thanks to my older brother, and I know other things too…”

 

  He wanted to brag to his father. But he couldn’t.

 

  “I know he loved me. I loved him too. But I still hate him!”

 

  “Stubborn!”

 

  Crave sighed and shouted.

 

  “It can’t be helped because it’s your heart. But you should apologize for saying your father is stupid. Those words hurt me too!”

 

  Crave approached Leon and smiled meaningfully.

 

  “Otherwise, I’ll give a kiss to the youngest who wants to brag about his skill to his older brother.”

 

  When he playfully extended his lips, Leon screamed.

 

  “It’s okay, Lenny. We’re young, so we’ll figure it out somehow. But before that, let’s cultivate our mindset with a kiss.”

 

  Crave gestured with his eyes, and Britia held onto Leon.

 

  “Sis, let go of me! They both must be crazy! Hailey, stop laughing and intervene!”

 

  “Why? It’s nice to see them getting along.”

 

  Hailey chuckled.

 

  “This is not nice at all! Ahh!”

 

  Leon squealed as he received kisses from both Britia and Crave on each cheek.

 

  He still disliked her father, who used to be kind to everyone. Even though this feeling might eventually wear away and disappear, for now, it remained.

 

  Still, he decided to accept that what he did, what he left behind, wasn’t all bad and meaningless.