The Squirrel Will Raise the Baby Tiger — Chapter 12

RIDE A HORSE TOGETHER?

ME? WITH THE DUKE?!

DO I REALLY HAVE TO RIDE WITH THE

WHAT?

AND THE DUKE CAN TAKE CARE OF THE KIDS, RIGHT?!

I CAN RIDE WITH THE ADJUTANT INSTEAD!

I'M SORRY, BUT THAT'S DIFFICULT.

EH, WHY?!

IT'S MUCH LARGER THAN OTHER HORSES, AND ITS STAMINA AND VALOR ARE OVERWHELMING.

THE COMMANDER'S WARHORSE, BALTAN, IS THE FINEST OF FINE HORSES.

CURRENTLY, ONLY THE COMMANDER'S HORSE CAN HANDLE LONG-DISTANCE TRAVEL.

OUR HORSES CAN CARRY TWO ADULTS, BUT

IS THAT SO?!

I'D PREFER NOT TO WASTE ANY MORE TIME.

TRAVELING BECOMES HARDER ONCE THE SUN SETS.

ARE YOU PLANNING TO WASTE EVERYONE'S TIME BECAUSE OF YOU?

I'm scared...!!

AH, NO...

I SHALL NATURALLY FOLLOW THE DUKE'S WORDS...

...CAN YOU RIDE ALONE?

ARE YOU LOOKING DOWN ON A SQUIRREL RIGHT NOW?! OF COURSE I CAN RIDE!

HA

IS HE LAUGHING?!

YOUR DESIRE TO DO IT ALONE IS ADMIRABLE, BUT AS I SAID, WE DON'T HAVE TIME.

PUT YOUR CHALLENGE OFF FOR NEXT TIME, AND LET ME HELP YOU NOW.

!

THANK YOU...

Hold your posture straight so you don't fall off...

?!

BALTAN?!

UH,

UH?!

AAH!

MY LADY!

LOOK OUT!

UGH!

UGH, THAT STARTLED ME...

ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, MY LADY? DO YOU HAVE ANY INJURIES?

YES, IT DOESN'T HURT AS MUCH AS I THOUGHT AND IT'S FIN-

AH!

AAAAAAAH!!!!!!!

How on earth did we end up in this position?!

C-CALM DOWN, LADY DURHAMS!

SISTER LULU?!

SISTER, WHY DID YOU SCREAM JUST NOW? ARE YOU OKAY?

TEACHER, WHAT'S WRONG?!

SORRY, KIDS! I ACCIDENTALLY STEPPED ON A BU- BUG AND GOT STARTLED.

IT'S NOTHING, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!

REALLY...?

PHEW, THAT SCARED ME...!! I ALMOST SHOWED THE KIDS A WEIRD SIDE OF ME.

WHY DO I KEEP GETTING SO HUMILIATED WHENEVER I GET INVOLVED WITH THE DUKE?!

...I WAS SIMPLY TRYING TO CATCH YOU AS YOU WERE ABOUT TO FALL.

MAKE SURE YOU DON'T UNNECESSARILY MISUNDERSTAND LIKE LAST TIME.

...I KNOW.

JUST NOW, I SCREAMED BECAUSE I WAS STARTLED FOR A SECOND...

YOU PULLED ME TO PROTECT ME, RIGHT?

THANKS TO YOU, I DIDN'T GET HURT. THANK YOU.

IF YOU DON'T MIND, COULD YOU HELP ME GET BACK ON THE HORSE?

I'M GLAD YOU UNDERSTAND.

OF COURSE I WILL HELP YOU AGAIN.

BUT BEFORE THAT, GIVE ME A MOMENT...

BALTAN.

NOW YOU'RE EVEN LOWERING YOUR BODY SO I CAN GET ON EASILY?

WHAT IS THIS, WERE YOU ACTUALLY A GOOD KID~?

THIS IS A FELLOW I RELY ON. IT NATURALLY HAS THIS MUCH MANNERS.

EARLIER, IT WAS JUST STARTLED BECAUSE IT HAD TO CARRY SOMEONE IT WAS SEEING FOR THE FIRST TIME.

THEN, WE WILL SET OFF NOW.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO LOSE YOUR POSTURE, MY LADY.

Y-YES!

THE NORTH, BLANDUS CASTLE.

WELCOME BACK, YOUR GRACE THE DUKE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK TRAVELING SUCH A LONG WAY.

RIGHT. HAS EVERYONE BEEN WELL?

HAS THERE BEEN ANY PARTICULAR ISSUES IN THE MEANTIME?

OF COURSE NOT, THANKS TO YOUR GRACE, WE ARE ALWAYS PEACEFUL.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE, YOUNG MASTER.

WELCOME BACK, YOUNG MASTER HOKAN.

...YEAH.

BLANDUS CASTLE, WHERE DAD AND I USED TO LIVE.

AFTER DAD DIED, BEING DRAGGED AWAY BY UNCLE'S HAND AND FRANTICALLY LEAVING THIS PLACE,

I THOUGHT I'D NEVER BE ABLE TO RETURN...

IT'S THANKS TO THE TEACHER.

AT FIRST, I HONESTLY THOUGHT SHE WAS A WEIRD PERSON,

BUT SHE SEEMS LIKE A PRETTY DECENT TEACHER...

UGH.

AGH.

M-MY LADY?!

I'M SCREWED...