I Talked With Mr. Ekenhart
“Ah, Mr. Takumi. Are you making herbs then?”
“Yes. Because Nick comes to pick them up in the morning.”
As I was making herbs and muttering to myself, Mr. Ekenhart walked over to me.
Apparently, he had heard what I said… Thankfully, it was nothing strange.
“She is in the room that was prepared for her. Your rejection was most effective, it seems.”
“…Will she be alright?”
“Well, if she does not pull herself together soon…”
Ms. Anne would not leave her room now.
I suppose it was because part of her worldview had crumbled, and she was still in a state of shock.
But as the person put in charge of her, Mr. Ekenhart seemed to have known something would happen.
After all, he and the count were so different…in direction. And so he could make some predictions.
“Do you think I made the right decision?”
“What? Do you want to be a noble now?”
“No, that’s not what I meant, but…”
“Then there is nothing to worry about. It is not as if nobles can force people to marry them.”
“I know that this house doesn’t use their authority like that, but…”
“What? Is that what Claire told you? Indeed, we do not believe in doing that. …Though, there are exceptions, of course.”
Even if he prefered to not use his authority…he was still ultimately a duke.
Besides, it didn’t change the fact that other people would treat him and Ms. Claire differently, and do what they could to prevent them from getting angry.
“I knew about the differences between Barsler and I. Annelieis will be confused and have to get accustomed to this new life.”
“Are you really that different?”
“We do…think quite differently. But all humans do. He likes to use his position whenever he can over his people.”
People think differently…yes, that was obvious.
And unlike Mr. Ekenhart, Count Barsler had done as he pleased up until now.
From the malicious store to the attack on Range village… While it was on someone else’s lands, he really did see commonfolk as disposable pawns.
Unlike Ms. Claire…who felt that the people must be treated with respect.
“Aye, that’s right. While we’ve been talking about Anneliese, I came to discuss a different matter.”
Mr. Ekenhart changed the subject as if suddenly remembering something.
It was the main reason he had come here. But what could he have to say to me?
“Am sorry…for telling Sebastian to incite Wood into reacting violently at the shop.”
So Mr. Ekenhart had come to apologize about what happened yesterday.
I felt a little awkward as he bowed his head.
“I realized it after Claire said it. While it was training, I shouldn’t have put you in danger. Apparently, my expectations for your growth were too great…”
Was there a reason that he would have such high expectations?
Weed Cultivation was one thing, but there was so much that I didn’t know and was not used to…
Even now, I could not hit Leo or Mr. Ekenhart with my sword.
“When you protected Range village…both with the herbs and with your sword. I thought that surely you would be able to manage it… Such were my expectations. …Though, they were completely unwarranted.”
“…Yes. I do have my limits. But I’ll do what I have to…”
It’s not as if I had done everything at Range village.
As for the herbs, that was because of Weed Cultivation… While it was my power, it was just something I was able to do out of nowhere.
And my skill with the sword… Though the herbs did allow me to train longer than normal, I didn’t feel as if I had grown all that much.
That being said, it did help me at Wood’s store, and during the orc attack.
“I forced you to do something beyond your ability… And for that I apologize. From now on, I will try to avoid placing you in harm’s way.”
“I understand. But if I can be of service in any way, I will help.”
“Thank you. …Now, where is that Leo?”
“Leo? Is something the matter?”
After apologizing, Mr. Ekenhart promised that nothing of that nature would happen again.
And when a duke bowed his head and made a promise, I had a feeling that it would be kept.
Well, as he had said before, his word didn’t really have anything to do with his rank.
In any case, Mr. Ekenhart seemed to be curious about Leo now.
What had Leo done? No, it did not appear to be something like that…
“I…uh. Good Leo carried me back to the mansion yesterday and…”
“And ever since… I feel as if she is glaring at me… And so I suppose I should apologize to her as well. One does not like having a Silver Fenrir glare at them like that…”
“…Are you calling Leo…scary?”
“…Exactly. Our family has always revered them. And so I would rather this tense situation continue no further…”
He had been like that when first meeting Leo, and he still felt that way a little.
After all, it wasn’t just Ms. Claire who scolded him, but Leo as well.
…But then again, it wasn’t like Leo to glare at people. So it was possible that Mr. Ekenhart’s fear was causing him to imagine things.
Regardless, as the head of his house, which was tightly related to Silver Fenrirs, he wanted to avoid being glared at, or feeling like he was being glared at.