Chapter 93 - Naming
An elegant carriage, out of place amidst the idyllic scenery of sprawling fields, made its way down the road. But the people of the fief who were working there did not look surprised. Instead, their faces broke into smiles as they waved. From the carriage window, a smiling couple waved back. It was none other than the lord and lady of this land, the Duke and Duchess of Boccelli.
Previously, in the time of the former duke, the tenants would have had to immediately kneel and bow their heads. But the new duchess had issued an order that such greetings were unnecessary. Though the people were skeptical at first, they believed it when they saw the duchess take up a large scythe and begin harvesting alongside them. They knew then that she was different from the stern, haughty nobles of the past.
What’s more, she would frequently come to check on them, casually asking if they were facing any hardships or if they needed anything. The people of the fief had come to accept and hold deep affection for the new duke and duchess.
They no longer suffered from poverty, nor did they live in fear of their home becoming a base for rebel forces. On the contrary, their work had become easier with farming tools they had never seen before, their fields had expanded, and their livestock had increased. The nobles no longer trampled their fields on horseback for hunts and other frivolities. The faces of the people were bright and filled with hope.
"Opal, did you enjoy the picnic?"
"Yes, I did. It seems the only effect of the rain from three days ago is that the river is a little high. I’m glad there was no damage to the houses or crops."
"That’s not a picnic, Opal. That’s an inspection."
"Weren’t you the one who suggested we go to the area where the rain was heaviest, Claude?"
As Opal complained with a laugh, Dog Claude barked, "Woof!" and placed his front paws on the human Claude’s knees. As a result, Claude's trousers were smeared with dry mud. Dog Claude was usually well behaved, but he occasionally played pranks like this on the human Claude.
"Claude… You haven’t had your paws wiped yet, have you? I'm the one who’ll get scolded by Jill, you know."
Claude’s face wore a smile as he feigned a sigh and grumbled about being scolded by his footman. Opal couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and Claude laughed aloud with her. Dog Claude tilted his head as if to say, "What’s so funny?" which only made it funnier. At the sound of their bright laughter, the coachman and attendants outside the carriage smiled as well. However, after they had gone a little further, Dog Claude began to bark with an unusual intensity.
"Claude, let’s stop the carriage."
"Yes, good idea."
Opal soothed the fiercely barking Claude, while the human Claude signaled outside to stop the carriage. The moment the door opened, Dog Claude leaped out.
"Claude!"
Opal tried to chase after Claude as he ran down the embankment, but an arm caught her and held her back. The carriage steps had not even been set down yet.
"I’ll go. You can come after me, Opal."
"Thank you, Claude."
Claude jumped down from the carriage and skillfully made his way down the poorly maintained embankment. Watching him with concern, Opal also alighted from the carriage using the steps an attendant had prepared. Dog Claude went to the riverbank and began barking toward a sandbar, stomping his feet. Seeing the grass bent in the river’s current, the sandbar was likely connected to the bank on normal days.
"Is there something on the sandbar? Hey, wait!"
"Claude!"
The moment the human Claude caught up, Dog Claude leaped into the river. Opal, who had been making her way down the embankment from a spot the attendant had found for her, couldn't help but cry out. The current wasn’t very fast, but it was still dangerous. However, despite their worries, Dog Claude easily swam to the sandbar. He immediately stuck his head into a thicket, his tail wagging.
"There seems to be something there."
"A weasel or a mouse, maybe?"
Claude answered Opal, who had finally caught up, as he picked up a dry branch from the ground and poked it into the river. He seemed to be checking the depth.
"You’re not going to cross, are you?"
"I’ll go see what’s there. In any case, I have to bring that mischievous Claude back, right?"
"…Be careful."
"I will."
She knew that the cautious Claude would be fine, but she couldn’t help but worry. The attendants had also hurried after them, but neither of them considered sending one in their place. Opal watched with bated breath as Claude carefully crossed. It wasn’t a great distance, but that didn’t mean she could rest easy. When Claude finally stood with both feet on the sandbar, Opal let out a sigh of relief. Claude then peeked into the thicket where Dog Claude had his head stuck.
"Ah…"
"Claude? What is it?"
"…Cats. There are kittens."
As he spoke, Claude reached into the thicket. Sure enough, muffled by the sound of the river, she could hear the faint cries of cats. Claude grabbed the tiny kittens, which fit in one hand, with both hands and returned to the bank.
"Opal, please take care of these little ones."
"Yes, leave them to me."
Opal took the two kittens and held them to her chest, watching Claude return to the sandbar while giving instructions to an attendant. One of the attendants hurried back to the carriage.
"This is the last of them."
When Claude straightened up from the thicket for the third time and said this, Dog Claude barked, "Woof!" as if in agreement. The four kittens they had placed in a basket brought by the attendant flinched.
"The mother cat was there too. I’m so glad."
"She’s a little weak, though."
"Then we must hurry back!"
When she handed him a towel from the carriage, Claude wrapped the mother cat in it instead of drying himself. Opal entrusted the basket to an attendant standing by, telling him not to drop it, and started back, but she quickly stopped.
"Are you alright, Claude?"
"Of course."
"Woof!"
Since both of them gave energetic replies, Opal felt relieved and continued up the embankment. Behind her followed a Claude with drenched trousers and a sopping wet Claude. Once inside the carriage, Opal wrapped the cats in her lap blanket, returned them to the basket, and handed a new towel to the human Claude. It had been a good idea to bring extra towels, just in case.
"Aren’t you cold?"
"No, I’m fine. Please dry Claude for me."
"Alright."
Dog Claude had shaken himself off before getting into the carriage, but he was still quite wet. By the time she had dried him thoroughly with another towel, Opal was also covered in mud.
"At this rate, a scolding from Jill won’t be the end of it."
"Nadia will be cross with me, too. She’ll say I should have brought her along. She could have helped with the kittens."
"For now, their mother is here, so it should be fine, shouldn’t it? She looks a bit stronger than before."
"You’re right."
The mother cat was diligently licking her kittens, whose eyes were not yet open. She must have been desperately protecting them as the river rose from the continuous rain.
"You did so well."
Opal spoke to the cats wrapped in the lap blanket and petted Dog Claude. As Claude wagged his tail happily, dry dirt flew into the air.
"You were a good boy too, Claude. You found the cats."
"Opal, what about me?"
The Claude sitting next to her also looked like he was wagging his tail, waiting for Opal’s praise. It was so funny that she burst out laughing before she could answer.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because it’s never boring with you?"
"The same goes for me. Life is never boring with you, Opal. How many times have I gotten soaked like this?"
"That was Julian’s fault."
There were many times in their childhood when Julian’s mischief caused Opal to fall into rivers or ponds. And each time, Claude had been there to save her. The memory made her angry at Julian all over again, so Opal changed the subject.
"Well then, since you worked hard too, Claude, I’ll let you be the godfather to the kittens."
"You’re not planning on keeping them all, are you?"
"The estate is huge. There are plenty of places for cats to be useful."
The estate’s kitchen already had two cats. There might not be that much for them to do, but Claude laughed and thought, oh well.
"Alright then, this most energetic one will be ‘Opal.’"
"Hey, Claude!"
As Opal protested, Dog Claude wagged his tail happily again. The human Claude grinned as if to say, ‘See?’, and it was so funny that Opal laughed again.
"What if it’s a boy?"
"It’s energetic enough, so that shouldn’t be a problem, right?"
"Well…"
"And this one is ‘Julian.’ Look, it’s already started a fight with Opal."
Just as Claude said, the two kittens were squabbling for a spot at their mother’s belly. It was so amusing that Opal couldn’t even protest anymore. She laughed, and Claude laughed with her. After that, the friendly kitten was named ‘Nadia,’ the always calm one was ‘Trevor,’ and the mother cat was named ‘Marcia.’ And so, the estate of Boccelli Duchy came to be filled with the cheerful pitter-patter of kittens running about… and occasionally, the sound of destruction and screams.