Little Rat, Return to Tetroka

Callum wanted to speak as well, but he noticed that the rat squeaked aloud. Before he could do something about it, the rat suddenly jumped at his face, its short claws latching on his skin. The rat quickly ran across his head and around the neck to slip inside his shirt. He dropped the helmet on the ground as he tried to map where the rat was. He didn't dare to grab or slap her as she might bite him from inside.

Moreover, that was the archduke's pet. How much courage did he have to actually harm the archduke's pet?

It's just that the commotion and the loud sound of the helmet against the floor broke Miel's trance. Dragen was also concerned because the rat was so behaved. Why did she choose to act up now? He went to help out trapping the rat with the shirt gently.

"Do not breathe, brother. I have her… I have her..." Dragen assured Callum that he was holding onto the rat that was clawing at the shirt as if trying not to fall off. The commotion caused by Callum's panic had pulled on the shirt from getting tucked underneath the belt. The rat would fall off if she didn't grab the shirt.

Actually, Artie was also shocked when Callum moved so much. The person who she thought wouldn't be bothered by a rat sneaking underneath his shirt… actually danced wildly the moment her short fur had skidded against his skin. Now, she could only hang on to the cloth for her life while Dragen's hand was supporting her weight from outside. She didn't know how awkward things were from outside, but she must never be revealed to Miel's eyes.

Of course, Callum was blushing from embarrassment. Suddenly, flailing around when a rat jumped at him was quite unbecoming of a young lord… and it was right in front of the seneschal. It was a good thing that Dragen was shielding him from the shame, and so he could just bring his head down and stare at the rat inside his shirt.

Actually, Dragen couldn't make fun of him either. If it was the other way around, Dragen would be screaming like a child if ever Artie dove inside his shirt. He was already commending Callum for not screaming and keeping his face from not being too horrified. They might be both knights, but they were still raised in a place with no pest. Suddenly getting jumped at by a rat would still make them tremble.

It's just that they thought Miel would be mocking them for it.

One young man was from the recognized brother of one of the seneschal's blood sisters while the other was the man who wished for the other sister's hand in marriage. Seeing them wildly reacting to a rat jumping at their faces was not something they might be able to live down.

Then again, Miel was not that kind of person. Moreover, he was even the most terrified among the three. It was a good thing that two soldiers, who heard the commotion, came to check up on them.

"Seneschal! Sir Princesley! Sir Stonefable!" The soldiers ran to them in fear of something slipping through their security. However, when they saw the scene, they only had question marks floating above their head. Were they beginning to take after the archduke's sudden strange episodes? My, they were doing a bad job at hiding it.

"...rat..." Miel cleared his throat and turned away.

It was enough clue for one of the soldiers to hand his weapon to the other soldier and approach the knights. He picked up the helmet and offered it to help Dragen with the rat. They managed to convince Artie to jump back into the helmet. The guard then pulled off his cape and covered the helmet with it before handing the helmet to Miel so the seneschal wouldn't see what was inside.

The soldier knew that handing the rat to Miel was suspicious, but he spoke, "Seneschal, we only think of one rat that the archduke spared long enough to stay in the castle. It seemed to be his pet. Should we deliver this to him on our own or…?"

"...I'll take care of it." Miel reluctantly received the helmet that was covered by the cape. As long as he didn't stare at the rat's horrifying red eyes and edging sharp teeth, his hands wouldn't probably tremble. Besides, he was still in shock by the fact that he saw someone got jumped in the face. All rats must have been of Tetrokan origins.

"Sir Princesley, your face is scratched. You should see the nuns for some salve for it." The other soldier came closer to check up on the knights. He noticed that lines had appeared on Callum's face, and so he was worried. Callum only nodded as he continued to hide from the gazes of the people around him.

The soldiers didn't think ill of his behavior. Although it was indeed shameful to be caught in such a situation, no one would really blame his reaction. If the maids got jumped by a rat, they would scream and swing around. The soldiers would probably do the same, more or less. It was already so brave not to scream and remain calm.

Miel had left the scene as soon as he held onto the helmet. He only took a few steps before deciding to go outside and release it into the wild. He didn't want the rat inside the castle even if it was the archduke's pet. Besides, it had already escaped. It would dare to do so again next time, and its next victim might be the archduke by then.

"Little rat, return to Tetroka or wherever hell you have come from. I will not let you hurt the archduke should he cage you again..." Miel's voice trembled as he stood before the bushes. No one else was around, and so if he had done this, no one would know. He slowly pulled the cloth and almost threw the helmet along with the content.

Artie jumped off as well and dove into the bushes. She was thinking about whether to tell Miel the truth or not, but she was also scared of what Larkin would do next. Moreover, she still needed to rescue the very assassin that tried to kill her. When she stayed on the ground, she looked up at Miel who was trying to find the rat in the bushes.

Suddenly, a window from the second floor opened, and Larkin jumped down like a lunatic escaping. The black mist cautioned his fall, and Miel and Artie couldn't help but open their mouths in disbelief. If anything, they would be scolding the archduke for the stunt; as for Miel, he was a tad grateful since the archduke didn't break the window, unlike the last time.

"I was told you have my pet." Larkin only walked towards him as if the former didn't jump out of the window. He then brought his gaze at Miel who looked away from him.

"Your Grace, I..."

Artie bit her lip and transformed, suddenly sprouting out of the bushes. "He was just trying to protect you!"