Chapter 93

Amidst the tranquil scenery of sprawling fields, an incongruously stylish carriage arrived.

However, the peasants working in the fields did not show surprise; instead, they smiled and waved.

From the window, the ones waving back with smiles were undoubtedly the Duke and Duchess of Bottselli, the land's lords.

In the past—during the previous Duke's time—the peasants would have had to kneel and bow their heads, but the new Duchess had announced that such formal greetings were unnecessary.

At first, the people were skeptical, but they came to believe when they saw the Duchess wielding a large scythe and working alongside them in the fields. —She was different from the stern and haughty nobles of the past.

Moreover, she often came to check on them, asking if they were comfortable and if they needed anything, in a friendly manner.

The peasants had come to accept and respect the new Duke and Duchess.

Now, they no longer suffered from poverty or feared becoming a base for rebels.

On the contrary, their work had become easier with farming tools they had never seen before, the fields had expanded, and the livestock had increased.

Nobles no longer trampled the fields with their horses for hunting.

The faces of the peasants were bright and full of hope.

"Opal, did you enjoy the picnic?"

"Yes. The only effect of the rain from three days ago is that the river has risen a bit, but it seems there's no damage to the houses or crops."

"That wasn't a picnic, Opal, it was an inspection."

"It wasn't me who invited you to the area where the rain was particularly heavy, Claude."

When Opal complained with a laugh, the dog Claude barked "Woof!" and placed both front paws on human Claude's knee.

As a result, Claude's pants got dirty with dry mud.

Claude, who was usually well-behaved, occasionally played pranks on human Claude.

"Claude... You haven't wiped your feet yet. If Jill scolds me, it's your fault, you know?"

With a theatrical sigh, Claude complained, but his face was smiling.

Unable to hold back, Opal burst out laughing, and Claude laughed out loud as well.

The dog Claude tilted his head as if to say, "What's so funny?" which made it even funnier.

The laughter brightened the faces of the coachman and servants outside the carriage.

However, after a while, the dog Claude began barking loudly.

"Claude, let's stop the carriage."

"Yeah, you're right."

Opal calmed the dog Claude, who was barking fiercely outside, and human Claude signaled to the coachman to stop the carriage.

The moment the door opened, Claude jumped out.

"Claude!"

Opal tried to chase after Claude, who ran down the embankment, but was held back by someone grabbing her arm.

The step had not been lowered yet.

"I'll go. Opal, you come after me."

"Thank you, Claude."

Claude jumped out of the carriage and skillfully descended the poorly maintained embankment.

Opal, watching worriedly, got out of the carriage using the step prepared by a servant.

The dog Claude, reaching the riverbank, barked at a sandbar while stomping his feet.

From the way the grass was leaning in the river's current, it seemed the sandbar was usually connected to the land.

"Is there something on the sandbar? Hey!"

"Claude!"

The moment human Claude caught up, the dog Claude jumped into the river.

Opal, who had been descending the embankment from a spot the servant had found, couldn't help but shout.

The current wasn't very fast, but it was still dangerous.

However, the dog Claude swam to the sandbar without any trouble and stuck his nose into the bushes, wagging his tail.

"There seems to be something."

"Maybe a weasel or a mouse?"

While answering Opal, who had finally caught up, Claude picked up a dry branch and thrust it into the river to measure the depth.

"Are you going to cross?"

"I'll go see what's there. Either way, we need to bring that mischievous Claude back, right?"

"...Be careful."

"Yeah."

Although Claude was cautious, Opal couldn't help but worry.

The servants also hurried to catch up, but neither of them considered letting the servants go instead.

Opal watched anxiously as Claude carefully crossed the river.

It wasn't a great distance, but that didn't make it any less nerve-wracking.

When Claude stood on the sandbar with both feet, Opal let out a sigh of relief.

Claude then peered into the bushes where the dog Claude had stuck his head.

"Ah..."

"Claude? What is it?"

"...It's a cat. There are kittens."

As he spoke, Claude reached into the bushes.

Indeed, the faint meowing of a cat could be heard over the river's flow.

Claude grabbed a tiny kitten in one hand and returned to the shore.

"Opal, please take care of these."

"Sure, I'll take care of them."

Opal took the two kittens and cradled them in her arms, giving instructions to the servants while watching Claude return to the sandbar.

One of the servants hurried back to the carriage.

"That's the last one."

When Claude stood up from the bushes for the third time, the dog Claude barked in agreement.

The four kittens in the basket the servant had brought shivered.

"The mother cat was there too. That's good."

"She's a bit weak, though."

"In that case, we need to hurry back!"

Opal handed Claude a towel from the carriage, but instead of drying himself, he wrapped the mother cat.

Opal entrusted the basket to a servant, careful not to drop it, and turned back, but soon stopped.

"Is Claude okay?"

"Of course."

"Woof!"

Both gave energetic answers, so Opal climbed the embankment with relief.

Behind her, Claude, with wet pants, and the soaking wet dog Claude followed.

Once in the carriage, Opal wrapped the cats in a blanket and returned them to the basket, then gave a new towel to human Claude.

It was a good thing she had brought extra towels just in case.

"Aren't you cold?"

"No, I'm fine. Dry Claude off for me."

"Alright."

The dog Claude had shaken off water before getting into the carriage, but he was still wet.

By the time Opal had dried him with another towel, she was also covered in mud.

"This is more than just a scolding from Jill."

"I'll get scolded by Naja too. I should have brought Naja. She could have taken care of the kittens."

"Since the mother cat is here, it should be fine. She seems more energetic now."

"You're right."

The mother cat was diligently licking the kittens, who hadn't opened their eyes yet.

She must have been protecting them from the rain and rising river.

"You did a great job."

Opal spoke to the blanket-wrapped cats and petted the dog Claude.

When Claude wagged his tail happily, dry soil flew up.

"Claude did a great job too. He found the cats."

"Opal, what about me?"

Claude, sitting next to her, seemed to be waiting for praise, wagging his tail.

It was so funny that Opal burst out laughing before she could answer.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because it's never boring with Claude."

"That's the same for me. I never get bored with Opal. How many times have we gotten soaked like this?"

"That was Julian's fault."

When they were children, Julian had often pushed Opal into rivers or ponds, and Claude had always rescued her.

Thinking about it made Opal angry at Julian again, so she changed the subject.

"Since Claude did a great job, you can name the kittens."

"Are you planning to keep them all?"

"The manor is big. There are plenty of places for the cats to help."

There were already two cats in the manor's kitchen.

It might not be much, but Claude smiled, thinking it was fine.

"Then, the most energetic one will be 'Opal.'"

"Hey, Claude!"

When Opal protested, the dog Claude wagged his tail happily.

Human Claude grinned, as if to say, "How about that?" and Opal laughed again.

"What if it's a boy?"

"He's energetic enough, so it's fine."

"Okay..."

"Then this one will be 'Julian.' Look, he's already fighting with Opal."

As Claude said, the two kittens were fighting over a spot on the mother cat's belly.

Opal found it so funny she couldn't protest, and Claude laughed with her.

The friendly kitten was named 'Naja,' the calm one 'Trevor,' and the mother cat 'Marcia.'

From then on, the Bottselli manor was filled with the lively paws of running cats. ...Sometimes, there were also sounds of destruction and screams.

It's been a while.

Today is Cat Day!

So, Opal has started keeping cats, and actually, the third volume of "The Duchess in the Attic" has been confirmed for release!

Yay!

For more details, please check the activity report.

Thank you.