Chapter 67
After the Grand Madam was completely out of sight, I asked,
“What are you going to catch?”
And he said it was to capture something alive. The monsters of the North were supposed to be violent—was capturing them even possible? And if he did, what would he do with them?
Diago, however, had no intention of telling me.
“You’ll see this afternoon. I’ll be going now.”
“Aren’t you having breakfast with us?”
“What time do you think it is…? I already ate.”
Ah, right. Well, fine—just try to keep the ‘how pathetic’ look to a minimum.
“And the priests are waiting. Since I brought them along, I should report to them quickly. I also need to return the ink borrowed from the temple.”
Priests? Now that I think about it, they did say priests arrived at the temple earlier.
“What do you need to report?” I asked.
Diago showed me a document he had just gotten signed by the Grand Madam. It was—
“An adoption form?!”
“Yes.”
Diago adjusted his monocle with a faintly proud look. He handed the document to me, and I quickly checked it.
Adoption Report
Adoptee: Arne ta Glentino
Adoptive Parent (Mother): Agata ta Verdi, Agata ta Glentino
Adoptive Parent (Father): Valter ta Glentino
…(omitted)…
Relationship between adoptee and adoptive parents: Biological parents
Reason for adoption: Although the adoptee and adoptive parents are biologically related, the adoptee’s health was poor at birth and continued to worsen, so the birth registration was delayed while the child underwent long-term treatment. This year, the adoptee’s health recovered, and an official birth registration was intended, but since the period for registering birth had passed, an adoption report was filed instead.
This adoption is hereby reported.
Signatures:
Adoptee: Arne ta Glentino
Adoptive Parent (Mother): Agata ta Glentino
Adoptive Parent (Father): Agata ta Glentino
(In the case of the adoptive father, the spouse, as legal guardian, signed due to the father’s death)
Arne’s signature was even on the adoption report. Apparently, it had been obtained before coming here.
Then I noticed the ink bottle Diago was holding. When submitting documents to the temple, official temple ink had to be used to prevent forgery. That was what Diago was holding.
The plan to make Arne the late child of the Grand Madam and the former Duke had already been discussed with Owen before departure. Still, I couldn’t help asking in this situation:
“Does the Count know about this?”
“He is responsible for signing without reading the details.”
So, he didn’t know. Though somehow I felt the Grand Madam probably guessed everything.
I quickly handed the adoption form back to Diago and said,
“If anyone finds out, make it clear I opposed this until the end.”
“Do you think you can get away with that?”
Even as he said that, Diago’s expression wasn’t bad. Right now, he’s like… a sly younger boyfriend who knows he’ll get forgiven even after doing something wrong. Well, in this case, that was true.
I smiled faintly and answered,
“Yes. I’m here, so take care of it.”
Late breakfast was with all four of us, including the Grand Madam. During the meal, Diago knocked and entered the dining room to report that he had seen the priests off. He also reported that Arne’s adoption had gone smoothly.
The Grand Madam raised only one eyebrow, saying nothing else. Implicit approval. Officially, Arne had become the fourth son of the Glentino Duke family.
Thus, our family’s official records were now complete.
Even with this immense rise in status—“I, an orphan, am now the youngest son of a Duke’s family?!”—Arne remained calm. Well, I didn’t expect him to gush over it either.
No, rather than that, it was good because it gave me one more thing to tease Owen about.
“Please take care of me, brother.”
“You—are really cheeky.”
Owen didn’t seem upset at all.
After breakfast, the Grand Madam left for hunting, as planned.
Owen seemed to have a guess about the prey from seeing the Grand Madam and her party, but he didn’t tell me. Very curious, but I’d find out soon enough.
While waiting for her return, Owen, Arne, and I decided to tour the Count’s estate.
Earlier, when we had gone to Diago’s office to ask permission:
“I’d like to tour the estate.”
“Yes, Diago. We have some time, so would it be difficult?”
The Verdi Count’s assistant, sitting behind the desk without even looking up, said:
“There’s a knight order a little away from the castle. Other than the Imperial Knights, it’s the only one in the Empire. You may tour it if you wish.”
A Northern knight order! I’d been curious already, so it was perfect timing.
“Is that allowed? Thank you for arranging this.”
“I didn’t really care.”
“Wha—! That’s a lie!”
Of course, that wasn’t me! I quietly scolded Arne next to me:
“Arne, that’s what it means to be dishonest.”
“Dishonest?!”
“…Both of you, please leave now.”
And so, we got the chance to tour the knight order.
Outside the castle, everything was white.
“Haah—Mom, you can see our breath!”
Arne blew out his breath, forming white clouds. The winter in the capital was generally mild, so seeing visible breath like this was rare.
To go outside, Arne and I had to wrap ourselves in fur clothes. The large cloak Owen gave was so warm it could almost be considered heated.
Owen seemed worried about visiting the knight order.
“The training grounds are a bit far from the castle, so it may be tiring to walk.”
“I’m fine. We have plenty of time.”
“…Yes, but let me know if you feel tired at all.”
In the North, riding horses is common, but the horses are different from the capital, so it takes time to get used to. Only a few carriages existed, and since the Grand Madam went hunting, she had taken them all. Owen regretted that.
“I should tell Diago to prepare more carriages.”
“That would be good.”
Though he said that, I knew Diago probably wouldn’t bother. Who knew when we’d return? I ignored Owen’s comment.
The path was well maintained. Snow about a hand deep lined both sides, and many trees looked familiar from the forest on the way here.
Ahead, Popo and Hatir were playfully chasing each other, then ran toward us when they noticed us. Arne called out happily:
“Popo!”
Hatir charged toward me, and the sheer presence felt like a giant tiger running. Having met him a few times, my fear was less than before. He had even healed me yesterday.
I expected Hatir to lick my face, but I was wrong. Instead—
Snap!
“?!”
His nose touched the back of my neck. I could feel the giant wolf’s body heat. Wait… did he just bite my clothes?!
But that wasn’t all.
Whoosh!
“Kyah!”
This crazy wolf threw me into the air!
Thud!
The time in the air was brief before I landed somewhere. The surface was soft yet firm, and dark fur filled my view.
I was now on Hatir’s back!
Snort!
As Hatir exhaled, Owen shouted:
“Sophia, hold on tight!”
Hold on to what?!
I soon understood. Hatir had started running. Oh no. I pressed myself against his back and grabbed the short fur I could see.
“Mom—!”
Arne called out, and my hat fell off my head to the ground. No chance to pick it up.
The cold wind felt like it could freeze my face. Once I felt secure, I slowly opened my eyes. I expected fear, but it wasn’t that bad. In fact, it felt surprisingly good.
Hatir had grown larger. To be precise, at the moment he bit and threw me, he became a giant wolf comparable to a mammoth. He was already big, but now he was enormous—no longer an ordinary animal.
Was this his normal size? Perhaps he had shrunk to move around the estate.
Anyway, Hatir’s back was now broad and high.
Whoosh—Whoosh—Whoosh—
The gallop of a quadruped is quite dynamic. Each leap and landing was rhythmic. In the white field we crossed, his paw prints dotted the snow.
Feeling braver, I let go of one hand gripping his fur tightly. Okay, that seems fine. Though my other hand held on even tighter.
I spread my legs and braced my thighs and ankles to secure my lower body. Once I felt stable, I lifted my upper body slightly.
Thinking it was like riding a horse made me feel calmer. The sense of freedom was even greater.
Gathering more courage, I straightened my waist and looked back. Owen and Arne were already tiny dots in the distance.
I waved one hand and shouted:
“See you later—!”
