I Become the Baby Tiger in a Beast Taming World-Chapter 39: The Beast and Human Detective Agency

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: The Beast and Human Detective Agency

What does any secret agency need? An outside base of operations. One where many people wouldn’t think to go, but that is hidden in plain sight.

We already found it. Right after our meal, we sought a place free from prying eyes.

Hiccuping Hermit Niall Widdershins doesn’t look all that surprised to see us back again, coming on the pretext of bringing a sausage and pepper sandwich and hot spiced cider to pay him back for the yummy crumpets.

Loudly, Vedette says, "Because you’re such a shut-in and everyone in the village worries about you, we thought you might like this food. Especially after the crumpets you baked for us. REALLY, you did not have to do that. As the daughters of the House of Riddlehoeven, it’s our job to look out for you."

Kaline pipes up, "And besides, EVERYONE enjoys the sausage and pepper sandwiches on Market Day. The line is abominable. Did you ever? I cannot believe it."

Wiggling his wide pointed elfin ears that fan out from his face, Niall says, "How generous to visit a lowly old hermit like me. Come in, come in!"

I lead Lightning inside, tails and heads erect, with Demos behind us, and Gussie sitting on Niall’s head. His wild hair is a nest for our parrot pal, amazingly enough. Hans closes the door and bolts it behind him. Ahhhh. So, our elf lordling knows a thing or two about secrecy.

The details shared by Niall earlier flash through my mind.

Hans is not the current Lord Lammermoor’s son. Lady Lammermoor has chosen to keep that from him. Kaline and Vedette didn’t even mention it on our short walk from Niall’s cottage to the sandwich vendor. Even gossipy Gussie and Demos didn’t comment on it to me.But it has been a whirlwind day so far, and juicy gossip about our elf nobleman has taken a back seat.

Still, it churns through my mind, and I am trying to keep it shielded from Lightning. Somehow, I doubt that she is privy to the dark secret.

[Blaze?]

Lightning is a furry cloud brushing past me, her eyes gleaming with curiosity and anxiety.

[Don’t worry.] I rub ears with her. Oooh, so soft. [Niall is our friend now. He’s determined that someone cursed our house. And it’s NOT anyone from your mansion. At least, he doesn’t know for sure.]

[What do you mean? BLAZE! Explain right now!]

She is so demanding! Reminds me of my ex-fiancee, whom I loved. But Lightning is NOT my ex-fiancee. She’s a regal, entitled tiger cub. I am NOT having a romance with her, no matter how cute she is, or how much Gussie, Hans, Kaline, and everyone else insists.

Trying to be polite, I fill her in on what Niall revealed about the curse on our family.

Seated beside me close to Niall’s coffee table, Lightning bumps against me. [Cursed? I can’t believe it. I will scratch Lady Lammermoor’s eyes out if she had anything to do with it.]

[It doesn’t seem like her style. She ignores things. Passive aggressive.]

Lightning’s ears wiggle, and she looks startled. [Primal Beast! That is so true. She never does anything directly, not like Viscount Rotten. She would rather let something happen and then pretend to be sympathetic. Like when Lobo attacked you. By the way, his conscience bothered him so much that that is why he fought the intruder to protect you. It was really gallant.]

I utter a "mrrp" in response. Lobo. Gallant. Hmmm, I suppose. [He deserves a better tamer. Can one break the beast bond?]

[I don’t know.] Lightning doesn’t seem offended by the question. She has probably considered it herself. [Does Minette Riddlehoeven want another beast?]

[Yes. But how in the name of the Primal Beast could we switch the bond from Lady Lammermoor to our house mistress?]

Niall’s voice jolts us out of our intense conversation. "Lord Hans Lammermoor. It has been a legendary age since I’ve seen you. Great wars have been fought since I last saw you."

Hmmm. Niall and Hans haven’t interacted. Could that be because Lady Lammermoor doesn’t want a reminder of her secret? Afraid that the Hiccuping Hermit will hiccup the truth?

"But we have never met," Hans demurs. "I have only heard of you." His eyes sparkle. "All intriguing stories, to be sure." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

A mysterious smile playing on his lips, Niall says, "I’ve known your parents for a long time. Your father has always been kind to me."

With a faraway look, Hans says, "Yes, he has been away so long. I have almost forgotten his face, the smell of his aftershave that could rouse the dead, and his voice."

Ohhh. Hans, I can relate. I’d give anything to see my human parents once. Just once. I wish I could have a vision of them. If I got a twisted vision of all the beasts symbolically turned into precious objects for Viscount Rotten, surely I could somehow receive some kind of message that my parents are alright. I don’t mean happy. I can’t imagine how they must feel after my death.

His mouth covered in sausage grease and pepper sauce, Niall devours his sandwich, considering everything. For several long minutes, he seems to consider his response.

"You miss your father," he says finally. "Even knowing that elves lead such long lives. Of course, halflings like me can give you some competition. We easily live to be two centuries."

"It matters not how long we live if my father is gone every waking moment and only appears as a brief specter in my life." Hans is the picture of melancholia. "When my father is present in my life, my mother seems, well, happier. Much happier. I don’t understand it."

"Mmmm. Well, your father is driven to find the best beasts and the best beast-taming knowledge," Niall shares, as if Hans didn’t already know about his father’s business.

Demos grumbles, sucking up crumpet crumbs from the floor. [Is there a point to him moping about his father? We have a case to solve!]

Gussie swats him with her wing, feathers rippling. [Manners! You are so uncouth. What is Niall going to think?]

[That I’m bored. We came to Niall for help solving this mystery before the kidnappers and their employers strike again!] Demos grinds his teeth together in frustration. [We did not come to hear about Hans’ melancholy.]

[I think Niall has a reason for indulging that melancholy.] I can see it all so clearly. [Maybe this mystery and the disappearing beasts have something to do with Hans’ birth father, Lady Lammermoor’s first husband.]

[You really are so gone on Lightning.] Demos looks at me as if I’m a disappointment. [Suddenly you’re so fixated on this boy because of her.]

Gussie blows a blast of air right into his face. [Stop it! You are being a big mean old grump.]

The two of them bicker, providing enough of a distraction that I can pay attention to Niall and Hans having an intense conversation without Demos acting crazy. Thank the Primal Beast for Gussie and her diversions.

Hans rests his hands on his knees. Long-legged and tall, he looks the most oversized of all of us in Niall’s pleasant living room. "You speak as if you know my father quite well."

"Yes, I know Lord Elrohir." An enigmatic expression flits across Niall’s round little face. "And I knew the Lady Rosabel’s first husband."

So rare to hear Lady Lammermoor’s first name. I have learned more about the Lammermoors sitting in Niall’s living room than I discovered during the ball and from Ser Maartenwitz’s lectures.

Ashen, Hans stammers for the first time. "My mother’s first husband is not a subject to be discussed. It was a time of heartache and pain for Mother."

As disgusted as he is by his mother’s actions, Hans still feels a son’s fierce, protective love. Interesting how he knows that any mention of Rosabel’s first husband is still a festering wound.

With a reassuring pat on Hans’ hand, Niall says, "Ah, family loyalty, a treasure beyond all the dragon hoards in Tanglewood. Your defense of your mother does you great credit. Especially given this scandal at the ball."

"I love my mother, but I don’t know what she was thinking," Hans confesses, breathing easier in the presence of a supportive, comforting kindred spirit. "I don’t know what goes through her mind sometimes or why she acts the way that she does."

Gussie squawks, "Passive aggressive."

"GUSSIE," Vedette and Kaline shout.

Baffled, Hans doesn’t respond to Gussie’s seemingly bizarre comment. "What I do know is that my mother would NEVER have anything to do with stealing a beast, especially a guest in our home. That is just not her."

Kaline believes him. The warm surge through the bond takes me quite by surprise...

Because it’s love. Kaline is in love with Hans! That could either doom our investigation, or help us break the case wide open.

"No, it’s not her," Niall says slowly. "But while you have been away, I’ve had a vision of something about Lady Rosabel’s first husband. He is not dead. And somehow, he helped kidnap the beasts Judo and Memo...and he tried to abduct Blaze!"

WHAT?

How can this be?