Lawrence sent word to Eve that they would be heading straight for Tonneburg in order to speak with Matthias.
Eve was not particularly alarmed, nor was she jumping for joy; her response was as usual, like she was telling them to neatly take care of business.
After getting a horse, Lawrence and Holo both rode out of Karlan. And after riding a good distance in the direction of Tonneburg, the sun eventually set; and when the sun cast long shadows of the hills over the ground, they dismounted for a time. They tied up the horse to whatever tree they could find, and Holo braided loose hairs from her tail into its mane. It was unlikely thieves would find it after one night, and Holo’s scent would keep the wild dogs away.
“I am not saying this because I am vexed.” Holo, in her wolf form, allowed Lawrence to climb on her back, swiveling her head back to look at him with her large, red eyes. “But are you not thinking too hard about this?”
“If you said the same thing to me right after telling me about her, what do you think would’ve happened?”
Eve was absorbed in her self-indulgent pleasures and was hard to trust. She was using Col’s dignity as a shield to do awful things as she pleased.
Lawrence had simply assumed that was the case, which earned Holo’s exasperation. Yet Holo, in all her intelligence, remained quiet, and knew things would clear up once he saw her for himself.
Lawrence realized the exact same pattern was evident in this situation.
“Eve hasn’t said anything specific about Kieman or Kerube.”
Holo began to walk with light, easy steps, and slowly increased her speed. The sun had not yet fully hidden behind the horizon, so she was making doubly sure that no one could see them.
That included Eve’s underlings.
It was likely that Eve told them about Holo’s true form. They would be putting a lot of distance between them if they were to be following the couple, which meant that so long as they managed to get back on track the following morning, they would not be found out, even if they did take a detour.
“The one thing we should’ve taken into consideration wasn’t Eve’s intentions. We should have questioned whether Kerube wanted to get in Karlan’s way in the first place.”
Holo went even faster, and Lawrence felt himself becoming a part of the wind.
The scenery around him melted, and all that was certain around him was the warmth of her fur and the power of her breath.
Yet Lawrence continued speaking.
“Every part of what Eve told us is based on the assumption that Kerube is our enemy. She spoke like it’s a hard fact, like there’s no point in questioning it. Of course, it’s hard to imagine that Kerube is going to outright accept what Karlan is doing, so no doubt there’s a conflict of interest between the two towns. Yet it’s entirely possible that the actual nature of the conflict itself is entirely different.”
Holo reached her full speed—even if a traveler did catch a glimpse at her from afar, she would only seem like a speck of dust in the shape of a wolf.
“The reason Eve has not directly negotiated with Kerube might not be because she’s wary of interference or because she’s throwing them off. Kerube might be troubled by their weak position in the matter.”
Lawrence felt like the only reason Matthias was still safe as of now was because Kerube could not freely use force.
All they had heard about Kerube so far was secondhand through other people. Lawrence himself knew just how selfish and merciless the people of Kerube could be through his experience with the narwhal incident, so he assumed he had a general gist of the situation without Eve’s detailed explanation. And he knew better than anyone else what she had gone through in that city.
The most important thing was that Eve knew everything as well. Plus, their interaction at the tavern should have shown her that Lawrence had not changed one bit.
The foolish sheep had jumped to conclusions after speaking with Matthias and marched right over to her.
All she needed to do was place her hands on his shoulders, change his trajectory, and he would willingly follow the path she wanted him to take.
“No falsehood escapes my ears.”
As Lawrence lay sprawled across Holo’s back, he could hear her voice reverberate into his body. He felt his stomach grow cold, and the floating sensation almost hurt his back.
Holo leaped from hill to hill, dashing down the sloped sides faster than rainfall.
“But I cannot hear what is not spoken. Just as you miss things when you jump to conclusions.”
That was not so much cynicism or a pointed jab at him as it was self-deprecation.
“But it’s only thanks to you we can make up for it.”
It was unlikely Eve thought that Lawrence would go to Kerube of his own accord.
He pictured negotiations with Kerube as delicate and dangerous, and Lawrence did not get the sense that Eve was acting arbitrarily for her own gain.
And that meant Eve could pull this off.
She could convince the sheep that the noises coming from the other side of the forest were from a pack of wolves.
“But if I am the reason you fall into holes every time, I am unsure if helping you climb back out really makes up for it.”
Holo had originally gotten them involved in this because she had been enticed by the smell of the forest on Meyer and his mead. And where Holo went, so did Lawrence, boldly claiming that she could leave it all to him. That was how they tumbled into the hole this time.
“Sounds like we were made for each other,” Lawrence said breezily.
A shudder that was not that of Holo’s feet hitting the ground resonated through his body.
“I, too, have grown foolish.”
After all was said and done, Holo enjoyed the days they spent together.
“And it’s possible that once we get to Kerube, we’ll see that what Eve says is true. Don’t get mad if it is.”
“We shall see.”
Though there was no obviously large dip in the road, Holo leaped a little higher than usual.
“It’ll all be a nice memory of our journey, though!” Lawrence yelled from atop Holo’s back.
Instead of giving an answer, Holo sped up, leaping high off the ground.