An Unexpected Companion
The main gate was more crowded than usual, packed with students heading home for the weekend and the countless carriages that had come to fetch them. It was a scene that played out every Saturday without fail.
"Woof woof!"
Black came bounding straight through that teeming, chaotic throng.
"Huh? That dog!"
Eli, spotting Black a beat late, shouted and pointed at him. Perhaps it was his sheer size—some students panicked at the sight of him and scurried out of the way. Even the horses shrank back whenever Black passed.
"What's he doing here?"
The rascal had popped up out of nowhere last night too, startled everyone, showered them with tricks, and then vanished without a trace. Now here he was again, and Bayul couldn't help being curious.
"Did he go home for a meal or something?"
He was glad to see the fellow again, but what exactly Black *was* remained a mystery.
"Black!"
The moment Bayul raised his voice, the creature picked up speed. Under the blazing sun he showed off his sleek frame, flying toward Bayul like a tiny arrow. The dodging students sped up right along with him.
—Bayul, what's a Black?
Innocent, who until moments ago had been buzzing with excitement about leaving the city, asked with a wounded pout. Eli tilted his head and echoed the question.
"Black? Surely this guy isn't actually named Black, is he, Bayul?"
Black had just arrived in front of them. As yesterday, he showed interest in Bayul alone, swishing his tail and gazing up at him exactly like a dog greeting his master.
"Is it strange? I made it up yesterday when I was lying down to sleep. It just came to me."
"Black is really this guy's name?"
"Yeah. Is that weird?"
—It's weird!
"...Innocent?"
—Very! It's very, very weird!
Bayul was utterly baffled when Innocent suddenly flared up in a temper, since he had no idea what exactly had offended her. She shot him a glare, then vanished somewhere in a flash.
"Innocent!"
He called after her in a hurry, but it was no use. A few days ago she had sulked over something equally trivial, and somehow this felt just like that time. Back then it had blown over on its own—so even now, Bayul had no clue what the cause was.
"Woof!"
Black barked as Bayul stood staring blankly at the spot where Innocent had disappeared.
"Look at this guy. He's an uninvited guest, so why's he so full of himself? Aidan, he's telling Bayul to look at him right now, isn't he?"
"...Maybe."
Aidan, staring down intently at the newly returned Black, shook his head blankly, just as he had yesterday.
"Not like you to say 'maybe.' You can't interpret this one? Oh, wait, now that I think about it, that *is* weird. You, the guy animals go crazy for, are just standing there like a post. Don't tell me you hate dogs?"
"It's not that. It's just..."
"Just what?"
Even under Eli's prodding, Aidan for some reason couldn't bring the words out.
"This guy's doing it again. Hey, Black! What the hell are you, anyway? Why does my friend go mute the second he looks at you?"
"Woof woof!"
"What did he say?"
"Woof!"
"Was that 'How should I know?' His voice is seriously grating, by the way."
"Beats me. I'm heading out, anyway."
He had waited long enough. Quinn raised a hand and hailed a passing carriage. Bayul had sensed it yesterday too, but Quinn seemed entirely indifferent to Black.
"What's this 'important business' that has you rushing off?"
"Am I obliged to answer that?"
"No obligation, but there's such a thing as loyalty between friends."
"Were we friends?"
Quinn stopped mid-step as he climbed into the carriage and shot back the question. At that glacial tone, Bayul found himself momentarily speechless.
Fortunately, Aidan was still absorbed in Black (and with his temper, he surely would have exploded), and Eli's nerves had been hardened by everything he'd been through lately.
"Then are we *lovers*? What a sourpuss. Just go!"
As Eli called for departure, the coachman raised his whip high.
"Take care, Quinn!"
Whether or not he heard Bayul's belated farewell, the carriage carrying Quinn soon vanished into the crowded streets. Bayul had no idea what this important business was, but he wished him well in getting through it safely.
"I should be off too. I have to get ready for the dinner service."
"Busy crowd on weekends, I bet."
"You have no idea."
Eli shuddered, both shoulders trembling, as if he couldn't bear even to imagine it.
"Ride with me, Eli. I'll drop you off on the way."
"Oh, really?"
"We're heading the same direction anyway."
"Heh, if you insist, I'm much obliged!"
It was a golden opportunity to save on carriage fare.
"Over here, over here!"
Eli spotted an empty carriage and raised his voice.
"Aidan, you're coming too!"
The carriage stopped, and Eli, Aidan, and Bayul climbed aboard one after the other. Or rather, tried to.
"Woof!"
Black abruptly wedged himself between Bayul and the carriage, barking up a storm.
"Black?"
"Woof woof!"
Barking apparently wasn't enough—the creature clamped his teeth onto the hem of Bayul's uniform jacket and pulled. To anyone watching, the message was unmistakable: *don't go*.
"Hah, what a character."
Eli smirked, clearly amused.
"Are you getting in or not?"
The coachman pressed, as Bayul stood there irresolute. The weekend was his bread and butter—every extra run meant meat on the table that night.
"Why not just take him along?"
Aidan, who had been lost in thought the whole time, came up with a brilliant solution.
"From the looks of him, he doesn't seem to have an owner. I figure it wouldn't hurt for you to look after him, Bayul."
"Would that really be all right?"
"He's clearly taken with you. Think of him as a stand-in for Jasper."
Aidan knew well how much Bayul missed Jasper. The creature had put him through shock and a whole tangle of other feelings, but Aidan thought it had ultimately been a good encounter for him.
"Um... Black?"
The moment Bayul, having wrestled through his hesitation, finally called the creature's name—
*Thump!*
Black leapt up onto the carriage as if he'd been waiting for exactly that, then barked at Bayul to hurry and climb in.
"Woof woof!"
"Bayul!"
The carriage set off the instant Bayul took Eli's outstretched hand and stepped up. A cool breeze washed pleasantly over his face. Having gained such an unexpected travel companion left him flustered, yet somehow Bayul felt a surge of excitement—as though something good were about to happen.
Rita will be happy too, won't she?
Imagining their reunion made a smile spread across his face without his meaning it to.
"Welcome, Black."
There was no shortage of tenderness in Bayul's hand as he stroked Black's head. Whether he minded the touch or not, the creature rested his chin on Bayul's knee and met his gaze. Two blue orbs caught the light and gleamed brilliantly.
"Young Master!"
The moment the carriage drew up before the estate, Rita came running out, as if on cue. Bayul didn't need to guess—she must have been pacing back and forth, waiting for him day and night.
"Rita!"
The girl who gave him gratitude and warmth in equal measure. Bayul waved happily as he climbed down from the carriage.
"Young Master, I was just about to—oh?"
Rita stopped short mid-run, catching sight of Black behind him. A dog, traveling with Bayul? She looked thoroughly puzzled.
"Say hello. This is Black."
"...Black, you say?"
She asked while eyeing the approaching animal with cautious scrutiny.
"Yep. He's black, after all."
"He's enormous."
"Handsome, isn't he?"
"Yes, well... a little."
Perhaps because she was used to Jasper, Rita showed not the slightest fear of Black's great bulk. As she held the gaze of the creature looking up at her, wariness melted from her face almost before she noticed it.
"We met by chance and he just kept following us. He doesn't seem to have an owner, so I brought him home for now. Is it all right if he stays with us?"
"He'll live *here*?"
"Yeah. I'm asking because when I'm away, you'll be the one looking after him."
"Of course I don't mind! You know how much I love animals!"
"You're really sure?"
"Of course! Whee, I was dying missing Jasper anyway!"
Just as Bayul had predicted. Rita threw her arms around Black with a cry of delight. The creature staggered backward, but it did him no good. In this moment, to Rita, he was Jasper. Just as he had been to Bayul.
"So you finally arrive."
It was then that a familiar voice reached the ears of Bayul, who had been watching Rita and Black's ferocious embrace with a fond smile. Bayul turned, beaming in welcome.
"Sir Ian...?"
For some reason, he was not alone. Two unfamiliar men walked out from beside him.
"Greetings, Lord Bayul. We meet for the first time. I am Rizai, and this is my brother Ribai. We've been sent by the Young lord."
"My uncle?"
Young lord had originally been the term the territory's people used for his uncle. After he was raised to viscount for resolving the diplomatic dispute with the Kingdom of Caledonia, his title had changed—but Bayul had heard more than once that his uncle's longtime retainers still called him Young lord.
"Viscount Randert seems to have been worried about you. A letter arrived along with us."
He ought to read the letter first. Passing by Rizai and Ribai, Bayul hurried inside the house.
Bayul, my boy.
Today marks one week since you left for Carrington.
The rain still falls heavily here in Hamilton. I wonder how it is where you are.
I worry about many things—whether academy life suits you, whether you're well, whether you're keeping up with your studies. Even if you are a heartless nephew who never writes back to his uncle.
If you are reading this letter, then you will have met the brothers Rizai and Ribai. Though neither has received a formal knighthood, they are every bit as skilled as Ian, and I hope you will get along well with them.
However much of a bother it may be, I ask that you accept their escort whenever you go out. It is the heart of an uncle who cares for you—do not refuse it, I beg you.
Oh, and I fear I will be unable to keep my promise to visit Carrington soon. Business has arisen at the imperial palace, and I am to enter court alongside your father.
I will write again upon my return. Until then, stay healthy and well.
With all my heart, your Uncle Liam
"Then those men out there are...?"
"Yes, my lord."
As Bayul set the letter down, embarrassment swept over his face. Escort knights, of all things? In all his life, apart from his guard dog Jasper, Bayul had never once kept an escort.
Carrington was every bit as safe a city as Hamilton, and Ian alone, as his attendant knight, was more than enough protection. The thought of keeping strangers at his side—two of them, no less—stirred an instinctive resistance in him.
"The letter says they never received a knighthood. Do you know them at all, Sir Ian?"
"I've seen them a few times in the Viscount's company."
"But you've never spoken with them?"
"No, today is my first time meeting them face to face. That said, even without titles, the Rizai and Ribai brothers are fairly well-known figures in my line of work."
"Well-known?"
Bayul found this a little odd. He'd only glimpsed them briefly, but their faces had looked entirely ordinary.
"Their talents are rather special. They excel at tracking and stealth, and their particular specialty, I'm told, is assassination."