Surrounded by the wolves, their fluffiness, and the exhaustion of her first day she found herself drifting away into sleep. The warmth was almost comforting, she'd never felt so secure before even in her past life where she didn't have to fight to survive, she couldn't put a finger on it.
"You're going to hand her back to the seventh mistress, aren't you?" The brunette asked after noticing the girl was asleep. He had been the attendant of the Duke since childhood, but never knew what was on his mind more than half the time.
Sitting and reaching for his paperwork, the Duke paid no mind as he continued his paperwork. "Later. If you're so eager then send her back yourself," he grumbled after a minute, the other man happily trying to approach the wolves without them going feral. "How old was she?" The Duke asked, for the first time looking up.
"Six months." He replied while getting a leash off the sofa and doing his best to collar the wild dogs which detested him. He was losing, and they knew it far too well almost as if they smugly looked down on him.
It was a pure miracle the girl didn't get mauled. Surely, it weren't possible, but could she actually? "Stop being a slow bastard and hurry." He huffed interrupting the man's thoughts.
Rolling his eyes, he would of liked to. Grabbing his sword, he kept it at a safe distance as he slipped on the collars he had gotten use to doing as he pulled them away towards the duke, but quickly stopped as he didn't want to hurt her head without support.
With an annoyed huff the Duke got up and snatched her, giving a glare. "Next time don't waste either of our times, I'll send her back." Without further delay, he fixed his coat collar and exited, making his way to the seventh wife's residence.
It was a long walk, giving him a few moments to think. The last beast tamer had died a decade ago, and yet she showed signs of possibly having the dormant magic. If it were true, he'd need to keep her alive, her magic was powerful and much more than Cyrille's. He never expected her to have the genes for it, especially after it skipping generations of people, including her mother.
He didn't need permission from the royal family, as long as he said the word beast tamer they would allow him to test whichever method he decided. Her mother wouldn't be able to deny, but only plead with him, how bothersome. If she knew his intention, she'd probably insist on attending as well, or beg him to find another method, just not take something she loved away from her again.
Opening the door without knocking, the Duke noted immediately that no maids were at the door, nor any knights. There were only a few standing by the foot of the bed with the doctor, along with his seventh son. "Take her." He ordered the head maid. Seems like he'd have to avoid telling her at the moment. Taking his daughter from his hands, the head maid bowed and gently put her in her crib, making sure to give her a pacifier.
Turning to his son, the Duke used a softer tone. "Tell your mother in the morning that she will join me during the royal hunt with me that's upcoming." Although softer, his tone was still as blunt and aloof as ever.
Eye widening, Isaac was at a dilemma. Just what did the Duke say? Or rather, just what exactly did he have in mind for his little sister? Even he at age seven wouldn't partake in the hunt just yet. His mother hated the hunt, or even the thought to attend. It's commonplace knowledge within the family she hated seeing animals in pain, and normally avoided them.
The hunt made her sick to her stomach, especially when the ladies of the hunt receive their offerings and prizes from their knight or suitors. Due to her frail health, he would stay at the estate with her, one of the few times they were almost all alone with no torment and fear. Even if it risked his ability to inherit the title of succession due to not being able to showcase his magic affinity he still had to make sure his mother was alright in case of an emergency.
There's no way she'd leave the estate, nor would she be safe at the moment with the second wife's family on house arrest. However, this was much more serious than that.
How could he take an infant that hasn't even debut with their first birthday to the event? There's no way he'd publicly announce her like this, surely, so what was his objective?
The royal hunt was one of the biggest events for the Argyris family in terms of public reputation. After the age of seven, each Argyris successor partook in the tradition of hunting, any child baring the Argyris name which takes part in the hunt will only hunt in the dangerous zone with adults, or not at all. The reason people fear the family is their ruthlessness and cruelty, even amongst the children. A normal child at seven would still be learning the basics of nobility, maybe able to hunt a rabbit. An Argyris child would have to be able to kill large beasts within a matter of minutes by themselves at that age.
Survival of the fittest, something each child of the family knows. Either you succeed, or get branded an embarrassment not shown to public eye. As his nails dug into his skin, Isaac looked straight forward at the Duke. "Father, grant me a single wish." he breathe out calmly and smiled.
A manic look. "Rather than watching mother, allow me to partake in the hunt this year, with the adults." He couldn't trust the Duke with her safety. If she did get hurt by his whims, mother would only break more, and he couldn't let that happen, meaning his only safe option was to protect his little sister himself if things end up going wrong.