If You're Being Held Hostage, Wiggle the Carrot! - Chapter 23
Ivan tightly shut his eyes. Since yesterday, her exposed skin had been bothering him. He’d never properly seen a woman’s flesh before, so it was too provocative a sight for him.
“Why did you stop talking suddenly? Does it bother you that I’m sitting like this?”
“…No, I’m just wondering about something.”
He realized that yesterday, when she sat on the sofa, her bare legs were exposed up to her thighs. He began to wonder if his family’s servant attire was this immodest.
“Maybe I should have them remake it.”
“Pardon?”
“…Don’t mind me, and if you’re not uncomfortable, just stay as you are.”
“Alright, then.”
With that, Ruby turned her attention back to the book she was reading.
Ivan was suddenly curious about what she was looking at. She was scanning the page with her face lit up in admiration.
“You seem to be looking at a flora guide exclusive to our estate.”
“Yes, I’m seeing many plants I’ve never encountered before. But even just looking at the illustrations, they seem incredibly delicious.”
“Well, our estate is located in the northern region of the Stege Empire, so the average temperature is relatively low. Hence, the fruits and vegetables grown there tend to have richer flavors.”
“It’s fascinating, isn’t it? I mean, if the weather is bad, it’s going to be hard for them to grow, but they’re still able to do it. I think it’s amazing.”
“Indeed, while plants inherently possess strength, our ancestors also made significant efforts to develop our estate.”
“I’ve heard that the Black Wolf tribe is an ancient clan. In that case, your knowledge repository must be enormous.”
“I suppose so?”
“Well, the fact that they’ve created a flora of their homeland like this speaks volumes about the wisdom of the Wolf Tribe.”
“Well… that’s true.”
“I skimmed through it earlier, but I noticed that many of the books are homemade, and I wonder if that’s because they love their homeland so much.”
“Our ancestors truly cherished our land. I feel the same way now.”
“Yeah, I think they had a lot of love for the land as well as the people, because they even had an herb book. I saw a little bit of it earlier, and it detailed things like how to bring down a fever with common grasses.”
“…You examined it quite closely.”
As Ruby kept chattering, Ivan’s face gradually reddened, and the corners of his mouth seemed to almost reach his ears.
Whenever they went to the capital, there were those who scoffed at the Wolf Tribe’s harsh and barren territory. Mostly, it was the members of the Lion Tribe from the south, but those who subtly sympathized with them were even more irritating. However, this small hare-like humanoid seemed to see things the way they did.
Her words were heard not just by Ivan but by all the aides in the study. Although they were pretending not to listen, their ears pricked up and they didn’t realize that their hands had long since stopped moving. Within the study, except for the one pink hare-like humanoid, all the black wolf humanoids had the same thought—she was far more intelligent than she looked.
“I didn’t know you were so interested in plants. How about this, then? It’s a tree guide. Due to the cold in the north, it actually yields excellent timber for furniture.”
“Oh, yes please.”
“And there’s this type of book as well.”
Ivan jumped to his feet and began searching for books, as if he were possessed. The aides were staring at him, too.
Then, one of them stood up. “Your Grace, how about this book? This truly is a comprehensive guide to our northern region. Isn’t this a book that venerates our origins?”
“You have a point.”
“Perhaps information about your surroundings should come first, and since you are new to our realm, it would be best to start with something light rather than heavy!”
One by one, the aides abandoned their papers and rushed to the bookshelves to assist Ivan.
With their enthusiastic actions, Ruby, with a stiffened expression, hid beneath Ivan’s desk. It was frightening to see so many wolves so close.
