Perhaps owing to the fact she’d had a good sleep, come the next day, Estelle felt well enough to get out of bed.
That said, her back and buttocks still hurt, and the bandages on her left hand remained, so she’d been told to stay in her room.
“Lady Estelle, I’ve brought Snow!”
Since Estelle couldn’t use her left hand, the only activity she could come up with was reading. Amid her boredom, Leah showed up with Snow, whom she’d kidnapped... That is, brought in a basket from the cat’s room.
The white cat with eyes like blue glass beads nimbly got out of the basket and came close to Estelle as she sat on the couch. Looking curious about the bandage on Estelle’s left hand, she brought her face to it, nose twitching. Then she made a face that said, “It stinks!” and ran away.
“Does it really stink that much...?” asked Estelle.
“She probably found the smell of the medicine on your fingers irritating... Ah, hey!”
Leah shouted at Snow when the latter stretched and began to sharpen her claws on the carpet.
“No need to get angry at her, we can just buy a new carpet. Let her do as she likes,” said Estelle.
Snow appeared to be fond of how it felt to scratch her claws on cloth, which was why she sharpened them on carpets and upholstered couches. She didn’t seem to like wood, so she didn’t show any interest in wooden furniture or columns. It felt like Snow was the good kind of cat.
Perhaps having had her fill of scratching, Snow looked around herself, then began exploring Estelle’s room.
Estelle found it amazing how animals could heal your soul just by being there because of how adorable they were. The cat was simply walking around, but she was really cute. Estelle even wanted to keep Snow in this room, but unfortunately, she’d have to return the cat to hers at some point because this one didn’t have any of Snow’s things.
Leah had brought a ribbon toy she’d made for Snow. Estelle took it in her right hand and waved it around, which immediately piqued the cat’s interest.
As Estelle sat on the couch and played with Snow, May came rushing into the room, looking panicked.
“Lady Estelle, we have a situation! Lord Sirius is here!”
Estelle was amazed by the news.
✦ ✦ ✦
Ever since the public had been informed of the incident with the stray dragon without anything being covered up, Rosalia had been in an uproar.
As Estelle herself had seen in several of the quality papers to which the Libra Palace was subscribed, all the newspapers seemed convinced that the incident had been the work of radical groups looking to overthrow the state.
The government had stated it would not submit to extremists. Putting its prestige at stake, it announced it would catch those responsible.
As for Estelle herself... Rather embarrassingly, the papers had been waxing poetically about her. It made her back itch and she couldn’t bring herself to read to the end. Recently, the papers had settled on Princess Dragon Exterminator for Estelle’s nickname. Not that she was a princess yet, since her wedding was still in the future...
Sirius appeared to have seen those articles and made his way to Albion in great haste from his earldom on a mana locomotive. While it was a visit with no prior notice, it made sense given the circumstances. He’d been let into the parlor for the time being, but then it was decided that Estelle probably wouldn’t mind if he came to her room, as he was her blood relative.
Estelle didn’t want Snow to be stressed out at the sight of a stranger. Passing like ships in the night, the white cat was returned to her room, and in came Sirius—tears budded in his eyes when he saw Estelle.
“I’m so glad you’re in one piece...” he said. “When I heard you’d been hurt in a dragon attack, I just couldn’t sit still...”
“I do have terrible bruises and a bad injury on my hand, but I got away with just that.”
Sirius had seen the horrific sight of bodies mangled by dragons countless times. He heaved a deep sigh of exhaustion.
“Please, sit down, brother. I’m happy you’ve come running to me, but what of the dragon-hunting?”
“Since the thaw came early, we won’t be able to continue hunting them in their lairs for long. I’ve asked Earl Léger to give us aid if something happens, just in case.”
Earl Léger was the lord of a domain neighboring Flozeth, which similarly had Dragonbone Mountains on its territory. Heidi, the woman who would inherit the Léger earldom, was also a childhood friend of the Flozeth siblings.
Sirius must’ve contacted only Earl Léger about this because the Flozeths’ relations with their neighbors to the south, the Wyntias, had been severed. Estelle’s former fiancé Lyle had turned to drugs and caused trouble to House Léger too, so the Wyntias were on their own at the moment.
“By the way, the papers say you’re the one who killed that dragon...”
Sirius’s question brought Estelle back from her thoughts about House Wyntia.
“That they do,” she replied.
“Is it true?”
“It is. Though I only managed it because His Highness Prince Liedis protected me.”
At that, Sirius sat back on the couch and hung his head. Estelle wondered if he was going to scold her for unladylike behavior. Her brother’s mana was slightly dark.
“Um... Brother... Are you angry...?” she asked timidly, unable to put up with the silence.
Sirius shook his head. “Quite the opposite—you did well. That is the way of Flozeth’s women... I just feel conflicted as your brother. After all, my sister ended up in danger...”
He gave Estelle a worried look.