STABLE BOY ; Trash of the Count's Family

46. RETURN POINT

"I'm going to build a summer house here. Of course, we'll also bring some horses here from the estate," Cale told him out of nowhere, like it was obvious. "You will have a room here as well, so you may stay whenever you wish."

South was trying to brush out On's hair when Cale just dropped that info on him.

Like, what is that, some kind of overtime warning? You want me to work at your summer house too? Is that a promotion or a demotion, and why does the Henituse insist on giving me a new job every few months? Can I not just stay in place and rot?

Unfortunately South did not verbalize any of those questions. He knew Cale would one day reach the end of his patience and deck him over the skull and he wasn't sure if he wanted today to be that day.

So, instead, he said, "do I get a nice bed in the stables too?"

"Sleep in a room," Cale sounded annoyed. "I just said I'll make you a room with a comfy bed, why do you insist on never using it? You obediently used it when you were sick, why can't you always be like that?"

"Why can't you stop overexerting yourself, Young Master?"

Cale fell silent.

South finished On's braid feeling victorious. He moved on to folding Hong's sleeve around so it was buttoned neatly, then had to turn back around when On wanted help with the straps of her suspenders that were tangled around her back.

Cale groaned."Your tongue is too precocious for your own good. You're not influential enough to talk like that."

South hummed. "That's why you're here, Young Master."

Cale sighed longsufferingly. "Yes, that's why I'm here."

-

South was no stranger to war and what it does to people and places. So, Harris Village felt almost nostalgic to him— the smell of char and dirt melding together, the dust and dryness in the air, the slight whisper of rubble against the wind.

The silence.

It's like home.

"South, stay here and help Hillsman settle everything here," Cale said.

"Yes, young master."

Great, honestly, South was going to knock himself out on a tree if Cale tried to come up with a reason for South to follow him into the Dark Forest to find a lake or something.

Honestly, South was already very much taken aback by everything that's already happened so far in this life. He didn't think much else could surprise him anymore.

"Please have a safe trip, Young Master," South promised him, "I'll be here when you return, with the carriage prepared so we can head back tot he Henituse Mansion anytime you wish."

A smile curled onto Cale's face at that.

"Yeah, you just wait here for me to come back."

If there's anything between each other that's never going to change, it's the fact that they'll always start and end a journey together. And no matter how far Cale heads out, South will always be here waiting for him so they can all return together.

It's just a routine. It's just what they're meant to do.

That mundanity is nice.

-

"Sir Hillsman!" one of the wolf beastmen children called out frantically, "Horse-hyung fell asleep in the middle of shoveling! He's still standing actually!"

"Damn," Hillsman couldn't even be surprised anymore, he was too tired for that, "he's going to get cursed by the spirits of the dead disrespecting that grave like that."

South was not daunted at all by the job of rebuilding the cemetery for Harris Village. He lifts tonnes of horse dung out of the stable on a daily basis, and hefts hay back in its place like it's no big deal. Shovelling dirt is the first key point in his resume.

Unfortunately, narcolepsy is the second key point in his resume.

"Sir Hillsman, he just woke up and continued shovelling like he didn't notice he fell asleep at all," someone else spoke up.

"Leave him be," Hillsman said, "pointing it out to him will just confuse him. He's very startled and disoriented when he wakes up somewhere different from where he fell asleep, and that makes him feel awful for the rest of the day. So never startle him awake. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Yep!"

"But can we still stack things on top of his head right?"

-

"This is Broncoxander," South introduced the horse. "He's a very strong horse, but he doesn't like pulling carriages. So you can only ride him on horseback, but he can go very long distances without rest."

"South," Leon started, "we talked about this. His name does not begin with Bronco, the late Countess named him Ale—"

"Broncoxander," South interrupted, "isn't he so pretty? He's so pretty even the mean Joycequine acts so cute around him. Though technically he and Steedphanie are mates."

The wolf beastmen children went 'oooh' in chorus.

"Is it a love triangle?"

"Broncoxander gets lots of ladies!"

"He does indeed," South said, "he's very brave. Never complains when you take him out in storms or through scary terrains, he understands he's used mostly in emergencies, and he's very eager to help."

"What valour!"

"I respect him!"

Even Broncoxander huffed smugly, very pleased with all the praise South was giving him.

"I'm thinking I'll leave Broncoxander here when we rebuild the village," South said, telling the kids as much as he told the horse himself. "You don't like being in the county anymore, and none of the older servants there can bear to ride you out. So, you can stay here with the kids, is that alright? You won't be able to see Steedphanie as often, though..."

Broncoxander seemed to consider it for a bit, eyeing the kids with skepticism.

No one really rides Broncoxander anymore since he was the late Countess' favourite. Only South did, sometimes, but only ever around the field and as an excuse for a walk or a run of sorts. He'd been feeling kind of lonely because South was gone on the trip, so bringing him out to the village was South's way of making up for it.

Bronxander then huffed, nudging the first wolf kid on the head gently with his snout until the child laughed.

That was an affirmation, if nothing else.

"I think that's a yes?" the kids asked.

And South confirmed with a nod. "It's a yes."

Needless to say, rebuilding Harris Village and helping the wolf beastmen children adapt to the forest was a smooth effort.