DVDD 03

Chapter 03

“Because Lord El disappeared, I thought… I thought something had gone wrong…!”
“I… disappeared?”
“You were lying unconscious in the garden! Huuugh—!”

El pressed his lips tightly together. He hadn’t been unconscious—he had just been asleep. Unsure of what to say, he fidgeted awkwardly. One of the knights standing at attention behind him asked,
“Was something the matter?”
“…It was nothing.”
“Pardon?”
“…I said it was nothing.”
“Please speak plainly.”

El, his face bright red, said,
“I was just asleep!”
“……”
“……”

A heavy silence filled the bedroom.

The stunned knights eventually left, and Lari sat there for a while, trying to process what had just happened. After zoning out, she finally seemed to realize the situation and let out an awkward laugh.
“Why… were you sleeping there…?”

Seeing his eyes swollen and red from how much he had cried, guilt gnawed at her. Even a glance outside confirmed that the sun had risen while he slept, meaning he had just spent the entire day asleep. Normally, Lari would have woken him, but seeing him sprawled in the garden, she must have assumed he was hurt and hadn’t dared touch him.

It was practically a record—he had easily slept over ten hours. Considering he had only slept the day before as well, it wasn’t a small amount at all.

“Sorry… you must have been worried.”
“…Huh… I thought… something had gone terribly wrong…”
“…I’m sorry.”

Having slept so much, he didn’t feel like he would be able to sleep again anytime soon. Lying on the grass-covered floor had left his body stiff.

Also, in his rush to move, he hadn’t had a chance to change; his dress was covered in grass stains and felt a bit sticky, so he wanted to wash up. When he got up, Lari’s eyes lit up as she asked,
“Where are you going?”
“To wash up.”

Knowing that El didn’t usually have anyone help him bathe, Lari rushed to the bathroom to prepare water. Though it wasn’t necessary, she seemed quite shocked that he bathed entirely on his own in the ducal household. As Song I-rin, El had found it normal to bathe alone, so she had answered yes when asked, and since then, Lari’s care had grown even more meticulous.

“El, the water’s ready!”
“Lari, I want to ask you something.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Why did you come to this palace?”

A normal maid would have no reason to be here. For the first time, El wondered if Lari might also be an outcast in this palace. Ignoring his own reality, he normally wouldn’t notice someone else’s suffering, but seeing Lari cry earlier over thinking he was hurt had made him concerned.

Lari seemed momentarily speechless at the unexpected question. Her hesitant fidgeting looked awkward.
“If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine.”
“….”
“Just… thank you for today.”
“El…”
“I’ll go wash up.”
“….”

“Oh, by the way, do you keep a dog in this palace?”
“A dog? No, we don’t.”

Hmm… then what was the dog I saw at dawn?

After bathing, El’s stiff body relaxed a bit, and he lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. Lari had sent him off to rest when she went to wash herself. El tossed and turned until he decided that if sleep came, he should just surrender to it. He got up, wrapped a thin chemise and shawl around himself, and went outside. His plan was to look for the dog he had seen earlier.

Since Lari had never seen a dog, maybe it belonged to another palace? El had no expectation of finding it in the vast grounds—he just needed something to pass the time before sleep. Having a definite goal was better than wandering aimlessly.

Still, he headed toward the lake he had visited yesterday.
“Who…?”

No dog was there—just someone standing. Dressed entirely in black, face covered by a black veil, the figure reminded him of someone. His husband on their wedding day had looked just like that.
“…Husband?”

This gloomy attire was apparently normal for him. El couldn’t recall his husband’s name, and the man, presumably his husband, didn’t answer. As El approached, he seemed wary and stepped back cautiously.

“Excuse me.”

El didn’t know why the man was there at this hour, but since they had met, he tried to speak. The man, as if triggered by El’s words, ran straight into the bushes without even looking back.

“Huh? Am I… some kind of prey?”

Though bewildered, the late-night walk tired him enough that he slept well afterward. When Lari came to wake him, he pretended nothing had happened, washed his face, and took breakfast.

“Lari, I think I saw my husband yesterday.”
“Pardon? Lord Schuert?”
“So that’s his name… but he ran away as soon as he saw me.”
“Oh, he doesn’t like people.”

It made sense. With the wizard’s curse, he had lived as a monster by day. El couldn’t imagine exactly what he looked like, but he pictured him curled up as a monster when everyone else was out. Light and darkness, coexisting.

“Have you ever seen him?”
“No, just rumors. No one has actually seen him.”

After a brief breakfast, with Lari off to work, El perched by the window and watched the sun. Even glancing down, the palace grounds looked terrible, but would his monstrous husband want to see the daylight? Surely he’d want to move freely… so why do I…?

“Haa.”

Wouldn’t he want to see this brightness? I feel so gloomy, yet the world is so bright. Annoyed, El drew the curtains across the room.

Now even sleeping felt impossible. Lost in useless thoughts, he decided to find Lari to be with her. What would he have done if even Lari weren’t here?

No matter how much he cleaned, the palace always seemed messy. At least this room was always tidy. Still, as a royal palace, it must have a yearly budget. He wondered who managed it and considered taking care of the palace himself.
“…No, too much trouble.”

Ugh. Managing this palace would take more than a year. Impossible. For now, he gave up and walked toward the familiar garden. He hadn’t gone deep today, yet he found the white dog he had seen yesterday.

The dog lay asleep under a tree, and El sat down on a nearby tree trunk, watching it. Its fur looked soft, and it seemed pleasant to pet—but it seemed wary of people, so he hesitated.

Lari had asked others, and they said the only animal kept in the palace was the first princess’s canary. Then what was this dog?

“Why is it sleeping so pitifully?”

Was it a stray? Did someone abandon it? Did the palace even have food for it? Maybe it ate grass?

At that moment, the dog opened its eyes. Their gaze met, and El realized for the first time that even dogs could have expressions. Song I-rin had always preferred cats, so he had never owned a dog.

“Grrr!”

Starting off aggressive.
“Hmph.”

El turned his gaze away, ignoring the dog—he had no interest in something that didn’t like him. The dog jumped a few meters away but didn’t disappear completely, staying visible.

After a while, hearing Lari calling from afar, El left without hesitation, not even glancing at the dog.

“….”

Yet somehow, the back of his head felt itchy. The dog seemed to linger in his thoughts. Funny as it was, he felt strangely connected to it. Both were outcasts. Suddenly living as a character in a novel was hard enough, and no one understood him. At least he had Lari; the dog had no one.

Eventually, he decided to have lunch there. Lari offered a tea table, but he said it was too much trouble—just food for the dog and a mat. A little picnic, why not.

Usually, he barely ate, just salad or soup—but today it was sandwiches. Lari had firmly refused to eat with him before, but today she obediently took a bite. Seeing that, he decided to come out more often.

“So there really is a dog?”
“Yes. I wonder how it got in here.”
“Maybe it belongs to Lord Schuert?”
“But it’s too thin.”
“That’s true.”

Since the palace only kept a canary, there was no dog food. Lari had brought some leftover cold food from the staff, mixed with sauce. The dog had kept its distance, and even more so when Lari approached, so he couldn’t get closer. They left the food by the tree where the dog had been lying, hoping it would eat when they left.

“Sometimes… I worry about it.”
“You feel sorry for it?”
Is it pitiful?

From this distance, the dog’s expression wasn’t clear.
“…It looked as alone as me.”