"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Theo and Clara were already done talking and eating, and right when he was about to get the box of the mantis, the door was knocked.
Clara quickly went and opened the door, and it was none other than the head butler of the Barony.
"Good morning, young master Theo," Alfred spoke with his usual polite bow, his head bobbed up, and his eyes stared at the bandages on Theo's hands, especially the knuckles.
"Attendant Clara, why do I not see a record of young master Theo's entry in the infirmary? It was just your beast that was admitted overnight." The butler's spoke almost instantly, his cold gaze fell on Clara, who felt a shiver in response.
Clara took a second before she replied with as much calm she could be, "My apologies, head butler Alfred. I examined young master Theo when we came back; he didn't have any wounds when I checked in the carriage. Although…" Clara spoke and looked toward the bandages on Theo's hands.
"It is alright, old man Alfred. I wasn't injured in the forest, and seeing how you are interrogating about it, I see you know about what happened."
Alfred bowed his head again after Theo spoke and continued, "My apologies for the sudden interrogation toward the attendant, young master Theo. But your safety is the only thing that is of top priority." He stated.
"If you are talking about these bandages, I got these wounds while practicing on this dummy." Theo said and pointed toward the training dummy in the left corner of the room.
"…" The butler looked toward it, and his gaze fell on the small cuts at the bottom side of the ropes. There were also some residues of training having happened on the upper side too.
"I am all okay, and it was me who ordered Clara to go and tend to the Ironback Boar first. It is one of my saviors that helped me live yesterday."
The butler looked at Theo and then at Clara, "My apologies, Attendant Clara." He spoke before he continued again, "while it may be difficult right now, I have come to get the report from your side. The body of the Petrastone Ape has been procured from the carriage already." He spoke, and Theo nodded.
The only thing as close to a wound that he got from the forest was some pain in his shoulder that was shaken at the impact of falling down.
Yet it, too, was not that big of a deal for Theo; wounds like this were nothing.
Theo kept sitting on the chair while he explained everything that the head butler noted down in his notebook.
What Clara had done to save Theo was highlighted at every point in the story, and it made the head butler look at her quite a few times.
When Theo was done with the story, Alfred closed his notebook and looked at Clara with a serious face.
"Thank you for protecting the heir of the Merrick Barony with your life, Attendant Clara. As both the Baron and the Baroness are not present in the estate at the moment, I will be taking care of everything in their absence." He stated and continued.
"You will be rewarded accordingly in due time."
"It's not needed, but I graciously accept," Clara stated with a polite greeting. She knew there was no getting out of noble rewards ever.
"Also, young master Theo, it seems the culprit of this situation has also confessed."
"Culprit?" Theo asked with surprise.
He remembered Clara saying this was not a normal occurrence, but to hear that there was someone involved in it felt shocking.
"Yes, it was master Lucien. I have taken his side of the testimony too, and things match. As the situation is quite unique, we will have to wait for the baron to make a ruling. But till then, it is advised that you take some rest, young master Theo."
Theo was frozen in place, and it didn't feel like he heard anything after hearing his brother's name.
"Big brother Lucien? How is that possible?" he asked with shock.
"Well, it is not known if the testimony was truthful or not, but master Lucien reported that during their training hunt, an ape escaped their formation. They tried to follow it back, but by the time they tracked it, the ape was already gone."
"So it was an accident?" Theo questioned, and the butler looked at him with unknown emotions.
"We can't say till the Baron arrives, young master. And I cannot add my real emotions to this incident when an heir of the Merrick Barony was harmed."
Theo went silent and looked at the mantis who was just beside him with a dazed look.
"Please rest for the time being, young master Theo. It will help you get back on your feet faster." The butler spoke before he bade farewell.
In the end, he nodded toward Clara, who gave a polite farewell too before the butler left.
After Clara closed the gate, she looked at Theo with concern.
"That situation happened because of my brother, huh… I don't know what to think right now." He spoke and scratched his head.
"Young master…" Clara wanted to console him, yet there was nothing to say in this situation.
"I am confident that it was all an accident; he has been anything but supportive, just like most of the people here. But still…" Theo chuckled and looked at Clara with a saddened face.
"If things had not played out as they did, you would have most probably died, Clara. I don't think I can let that slide." He stated with concern as his mind went to the thought of Clara not being there with him anymore.
"Young master… don't think of it like that. We all are okay, and I think that's all that matters. Please don't make any decision about your relationship with master Lucien before you hear from him." Clara spoke and tried to make Theo understand.
Yet there was nothing to understand about; Theo knew if it was an accident, it was not Lucien's fault, but even then, the news left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"You're right… I should not think of anything before I talk with him…" Theo stated and got up, "Then let's go meet him right now."