12.2. Chapter twelve(2)

"Well well, good to see everyone is here!"

Theo greets us from above his horse, grinning all teeth and wrinkled eyes as he tries to calm his horse, "Good to see you all prepared, I was so sure that it'd be just me and Carlyanne today but alas, I'm nothing if not a welcoming host so-" some struggle with the horse, until it huffs angrily. "-glad that you all showed up!"

Eric huffs as he signals his attendant to do something to the horse, probably checking the saddle? "What's your plan?"

"Oh not much, it's just going to be light hunting for the two of us," The grin remains wide as he turns his gaze to us, me, specifically, as he says his next words. "And the ladies can just enjoy the wood trail, if they so wish."

If that will bring me far far away from you then I'd happily take the trail in the woods! Let's fucking go!

The eldest son sighs, muttering "I thought so." and takes the reign off his attendant's hand and climbs in one smooth motion. His attendant then hands him a bow (where did that come from? Ah it's the thing on his back, was it quiver?) while Eric checks the string and talks at the same time. "What are we hunting?"

"Just pheasants and boars, the likes." Theo shrugs, his head tilts sideways for a moment as his smile remains plastered on his face. "I let go of the rabbits just before you all arrived, so they shouldn't have gone too far yet."

"Same scoring system as usual?"

"That's fine by me!"

I tune out of the words as the two continue to talk in slang I don't understand, turning to observe the other sibling. Joanne doesn't chime in, silently climbs up her horse with nearly the same smoothness as Eric, though with some assistance using the stepladder on the side- ah, so that's what it's for! "Let me show you a trail good for beginners, I'll take the lead so it's easier."

I look over to Sieghart, who had the sword fastened on his belt and he thankfully lead me and Spinel to the stepladder. I wait for him to get into position to assist just like how we've practiced, before I try my best to be calm and climb. One leg at a time, into the stirrup, make sure the heel latch is secure before I try to sit straighter.

It a whole day for me to get over the sudden height jolt, and another day to get used to riding that by the time Spinel realized that Sieghart was the one in charge and not me, I'd gotten some of the basics down pat at the cost of my sore buttocks.

But it's all worth it for this moment! I find myself feeling accomplished that I get to do this routine smoothly now, when it matters! The rest I can leave to Sieghart!

Taking a bit of the reign rope, I look over to Sieghart and nod, signaling him that it's fine to lead now, making a slow trot away from the mansion as I start to sway along the motion of the cobblestone path leading outside.

And so begin– the trek!

There's not much to see at first. We start from an open grassland that's connected to the mansion (the backyard has a backyard heh) to the wooded area with sparse trees. Most of the grass here is rather tall, reaching Sieghart's ankle, more or less, so it's pretty obvious where the trail we're following even to a set of untrained eyes like me. 

Since I'm not going to have to think much about steering the horse thanks to Sieghart, I just have to manage my et own body sway and get to look around, enjoying the scenery. When the sparse tree becomes tighter and the grass receding is when I realize that we're entering the woods and can't help but take a deeper intake of breath under the sudden dark shade.

Mmm, yes. Fresh, crispy air. The balm to my aching soul.

"You okay there?"

Joanne who's been riding in front of me slows down as she takes the spot to my right. "Carlyanne?"

"I'm fine." That almost startles me! No zoning out, this isn't a solo vacation, me! Focus on the route!!! "Where are we going?"

"We are going to pass one of the rivers that runs through the territory, then loops back to the mansion." Joanne points over to a direction somewhere on her right, past the trees, "The riverbank isn't the most interesting part, since there is a small clearing got made recently, where flora have started to grow in the empty patch of land over there."

"Ah, what kind?"

Joanne purses her lips, expression shifts into contemplating. "I'm not very well versed with the kinds, but there should be enough of variation to satisfy us."

Nice! I don't have to fear getting bitten by some bugs then! "I see."

The rest of the trail are spent in comfortable silence, filled only by the sound of hooves hitting the hard ground and the distant call of faraway birds and other kind of critters. It's only now that I get why some people think that forests are scary. Hearing random sounds when it's dark, especially when you can't see clearly, must be scary-

'Crack!'

All head moves to locate the source of that branch crack. I and Sieghart hone into the same direction to our left, where there's a slight movement behind one of the bushes. We tensed up when Joanne joined us looking at the suspicious foliage as my mind ran wild on what could possibly be hiding.

"Who is there? Show yourself!"

…It's a bit shocking to hear Sieghart bark an order for the first time, his voice steeled and stern, threatening. His left hand rests on the scabbard of the blade, and his right fist claps the handle tight while his entire posture changes with increasing alertness as time passes without a reply.

Man, I have to apologize to the Siegstans huh? This kind of scene would've made them go feral, frothing at the mouth, and instead of any of them witnessing this it's a lil' ole me that's being put on the front row of this clown circus.

"Don't make me come over there!" He repeats one final time, blade slightly drawn, the sharp edge scrapes against the scabbard causing a sound I never want to hear again. "You've been wa–"

"P-Please, spare me!!"

What emerges from the bush is.. just a guy. Not an assassin or some staff member, but a grown man wearing ragged clothes made out of white dirty fur. On his head rests something halfway between a hat and a headband, what's it called.. Agh, I can't recall, but that's not important! What's catching my attention is not the hat itself but what's on the hat.

"That depends on what you were planning to do." Sieghart glares at the man, his left hand no longer holding the scabbard but resting on Spinel, as if grounding her down since she starts to behave nervously. "Why were you hiding in the bushes?"

"I-I was-! I'm waiting for you all to pass! Nothing else!!" the man pleads desperately. His fingers, folded, into a praying gesture as if he's dealing with deities and not man. "Please, believe me!"

It's a pair of rabbit ears. 

"..I see."

Fake, of course, there's no way to mistake the poor quality stitching even from this distance. But it's rabbit ears nonetheless, in proportional size to the man, sticking high and stiff, perhaps wired so it can maintain its shape.

"Then stay here until we pass," Joanne commands, her tone cold, then thaws a bit as she urges me. "Let's go." 

It's as much of an urge as she's commanding, since her horse is already moving without waiting for my input, which in turn makes Spinel move too. Sieghart lets go of the hand on the sword's hilt as he chooses to follow the horse and me, holding the reign again as his eyes now scan the surroundings in tense and alert silence. 

The man remains still on the ground as we pass by him, his figure becoming smaller and smaller, and it's not until we are far enough that he finally lifts his head and darts away, perhaps looking for a new hiding place.

It's not until he's no longer in view that I let out the breath I was holding in a painful exhale, share a glance with Sieghart, and turn my head away from that 'I'm checking in' look he has.

It takes a while for me to calm down, but I do manage to get my heartbeat under control. That ache in my chest dulls, allowing me to breathe easier as time passes.

Rabbits. Fucking- Theoderich! I knew that there was nothing normal about this outing at all!! Getting the other two in this was the right call after all!

I got so focused on cursing him in my head that I nearly missed the moment when the lighting starts to become brighter despite the trees becoming denser. When I do notice the shift, I have to squint a bit as some stray light hits my eyes, blinking a few times before finally looking at the source of the light reflection on the sight of a smooth-looking riverbed. 

"This is Hortensie River, the one I told you about." Joanne starts talking in a calm, collected tone, "There isn't much to tell about this river, though this place makes a good spot to unwind, if you wish to."

"Do you visit often?" 

My question is answered by the sound of soft melodic laughter. "I suppose you can say that."

There is a hint of melancholy in her voice, so clear that I can't help but turn and look at her, only to see her face calmer than the deceptive flow of the water before us. "If you don't want to rest here, it's best that we continue."

I feel my mouth open slightly, something about to make its way to my lips, but vanishes instead with the exhale of breath I took, so I shake my head and we continue our journey again.

Now, I know that we've gone quite a distance, but Sieghart looks nowhere tired. He is not even breaking a sweat, though I can't tell if that's just him being resilient, the summer sun not hot enough, or if he's just good at not showing anything on his face. 

The guy notices my eyes on him, employing that questioning look that I often see on Ina and almost choke a laughter due to surprise, masking that as a cough instead.

"Nothing."

"?"

Fuck, what the hell? Is he- is he mimicking the girls right now?? Stop tilting your head, you don't have that innocent puppy aura like Ina does! It's gonna work!!! "Keep straight."

"Of course, miss."

That short banter draws Joanne's attention, though she doesn't question it or rather, is ignoring Sieghart to point out another landmark of the forest for me to see. "There, do you see that yellow tree?"

I turn over to where she's pointing and yes, I see the tree. The leaves are yellow, for sure, an oddity among the surrounding greenery. It is also the stoutest looking tree, due to its thick trunk roughly quadrupling my arm span, though another color splashes on the tree as a red fabric hangs around one of the branches like a hanging root would.

"What about it?"

"That is a marker tree," Joanne looks around the place as we come closer, then shifts her index finger to the fluttering red fabric tied onto the lowest branch, "The red fabric marks the direction of where our Manor is. So if you ever find yourself lost among the woods, just look for them and follow the red marker."

I follow where her finger swoops to point in the opposite direction and finally notice the other red fabrics fluttering on other normal trees. Wow, they're easy to spot once I see them pointed out, that's pretty neat! "I see."

"Ah, there we go. Here is the clearing I wish to show you."

What I imagine and what the reality turns out to be are so vastly different that I had to blink while adjusting to the light difference again. 

It's not a clearing in the sense of a place as big as someone's backyard, no, this is more like a park! If Joanne said we've gone out of the woods I'd have believed her! There's so much open space here, it's crazy!! What is this, some kind of parking lot??

I scan around the field (cause that's really what it is, a goddamn field) and see that Joanne wasn't lying when she says that flowers are thriving in this area. I feel a bit vindicated from missing the flower festival from my last life after witnessing this scenery, it just.. it can't compare! 

There's the lavender, some daffodils, other wildflowers that I don't know the name of, and of course, the namesake of this family, the hydrangeas.

… The namesake of this family? Isn't it supposed to be Hortensia(Hydrangea) why is it — 

Wait 

Wait a moment!!! Hold the fuck up!!! Why am I hearing two things in my head instead of one?? Is that what Hortensia means, gardenias??? The flower, hydrangea??? Why didn't this register to me before??? This makes so much sense- the leather jacket is embossed with a thorny rose wrapping on a sword and hydrangea on the bottom! Is that the family crest then???

Also, for a family whose name is based on a flower, it's weird that I don't see a single hydrangea around the garden during my previous stroll??? Do none of them grow at the wing where I live or did I visit too early? Ugh, so many questions! 

I manage to say "It's beautiful." before the silence goes on for too long but fuck, shit, there are so many things I don't know about this isekai journey and I'm in such a bad position that I can't freak out about it!!! "The plants are.. very vibrant."

Joanne's face softens after hearing me, her lips curving into something that's almost a smile and says, "I knew you'd like it." as she climbs down her horse looking all cool and elegant.

Awh, that's not fair! I can't stay internally panicking when faced with a beauty! Pouting in my head, I give my hand to Sieghart and he helps me down by catching me. On the waist. Securely lifting me down like a parent would to a child on the arcade. The guy doesn't even break a sweat after all that fucking trek!

Again, I wanna ask myself, but why the hell are the servants in this place so strong??? Do you all have some kind of mandated exercise during weekends? Wait, no, I don't think the concept of weekends exists here, then what, is it in the food? Is there something in the healthy people's food that makes you swole cause I sure as hell want a taste!

One day.. One day I'm going to be free of that mashed potatoes for good and eat to my heart's content! I swear of it!!!

Anyway, while I'm off scrutinizing the uncanny strength of the people of this era and planning my culinary break, Sieghart sets out a fabric on the ground, where I'm supposed to sit and rest, probably but screw that I've been sitting on a horse for hours now, I want to stand!

So I go ahead and start stretching by pulling my arms above my head and-

Huh.