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Chapter : 13
It was more of a puppy than a dog.
A small black puppy was lying there as if it wanted everyone to see it!
“Wait, don’t go near it!”
“Huh? Why?”
“Why are you even asking? Doesn’t it look suspicious at first glance?!”
“What does?”
Raven grabbed my arm just as I was about to run over. He looked at me with an exasperated expression, as though he had a lot to say.
What? What is it?
“…Do you have any idea how protected your environment is?”
“I get overprotec… ted.”
“This goes far beyond simple overprotection… Do you even know how long it took me just to meet you?!”
Oh. Was that so?
“The person who saved your life—that’s me—spent two whole years requesting to see you, and Duke and Duchess Wentworth wouldn’t even listen.”
I rolled my eyes around, pretending to think.
Raven stared at me coldly.
“Don’t pretend you’re thinking and try to distract me. I’m not letting go of your arm, so stop pulling. You’ll get hurt.”
“So mean…”
“How is that mean? If I let go, you’d run straight to that thing!”
“Of courth I would!”
“Did you not hear what I said?”
“Yeah, I did. I’m overprotected, and there’s no way a puppy should be here.”
“You really are surprisingly articulate for your age… even if all your pronunciation is slurred.”
“I don’t wanna hear that from you. You looked at a baby and asked what it was. You don’t act your age either.”
Apparently he hadn’t expected me to bring that up.
Raven blinked his large golden eyes.
“…When you’re being carried around by a wolf, it’s hard to believe you’re actually a person.”
“You already knew I was a perthon and still asked what I was.”
“…”
“Let me go. You’re curious too, Raven!”
“You think calling my name will make me go easy on you?”
“…No?”
“If I were Duke Wentworth, maybe it would’ve worked.”
Tch.
I guess he wasn’t as easy as Father.
The confident grin on Raven’s face looked like something from a magazine model. The problem was that it felt more like a children’s magazine. There wasn’t much intimidation behind it.
“But my arm hurts….”
“…I’ll let go of your arm.”
As I puffed out my lips sulkily, Raven stepped back.
Actually, it didn’t hurt at all.
“I don’t know what that thing is, but there’s no way it’s really a puppy. Don’t go near it until we’ve called someone to check. Lady Wentworth has covered this garden with all sorts of protective magic. Most creatures wouldn’t even be able to approach. Maybe it got through because it’s an animal… or maybe someone brought it here. Whatever it is, Sha—!”
He knew my name, huh?
While Raven was lecturing me, I dashed toward the puppy.
Don’t underestimate someone who had been an escape artist since infancy.
It’s really a puppy!
A puppy about the size of a hand—well, bigger than my hand since my hands were small, but about the size of an adult’s palm—was lying on the grass.
The black puppy’s ears drooped sadly.
And more importantly…
“Whine….”
“Don’t touch it, Shana!”
It was injured.
Without a second thought, I gathered healing clay and spread it over the puppy’s body.
Oh. It’s being absorbed.
I stared with sparkling eyes as the light was drawn into its small body.
Then Raven reached from behind and pulled my cheek hard.
My cheek stretched.
“Owowowow!”
“I guess you didn’t hear me when I said not to do that, hm?”
“But it looked hurt….”
Raven sighed and released my cheek.
“Fearless little thing.”
“But it’s a puppy.”
“Visually, yes.”
The puppy whimpered and shifted, so I reached out to examine its wounds.
The tiny black puppy trembled as it slowly forced its eyelids open.
Reflected in its moist eyes were my worried face and Raven’s frowning one.
How did such a tiny thing get hurt like this?
“It’s okay. You’re safe now….”
At the same moment, there was a crunch.
Oh.
I got bitten.
“Shana!”
“Uh….”
Raven immediately reached toward the puppy.
Without thinking, I screamed.
“No, Raven!”
“Urgh!”
“Don’t touch the puppy! Don’t!”
“Take your finger out of its mouth before saying that!”
“It doesn’t hurt!”
Trying to protect the puppy, I tucked my bitten hand inward and shielded it with my body.
Half lying on the ground, I twisted my neck around and glared at Raven.
“Raven, you were about to hit the puppy!”
“I was trying to separate it from you. Stop being stubborn and move.”
“No! No! Raven, villain!”
“…You do realize that dog is biting you?”
“I know! It doesn’t even hurt! It just bit me because it got scared! Villain!”
“Who are you calling a villain?”
As I hugged the puppy and shouted, Raven let out a weary sigh that seemed far too mature for a child.
“Fine, fine. Let’s separate first.”
“……”
“Don’t be stubborn, Shana. If the Duke sees this, that dog won’t keep its life.”
“……”
“Give me your hand, Shana.”
Who did he think was a dog?
Still, frustratingly enough, Raven was right.
Not only would Father dislike this, but hugging the puppy like this wouldn’t actually help.
The puppy whimpered.
Maybe it was frightened because I had suddenly grabbed it.
“Oh, I hugged you too hard! Sorry….”
The puppy scooted backward with little wiggles and escaped from my arms.
I knew a toy like that.
There was a stuffed toy that looked exactly like this.
The kind that barked and rolled backward whenever it yapped! It was exactly this size!
Could I maybe pet that soft-looking fur just once?
Its little black nose was so adorable.
Because of its black fur, only its shiny eyes and nose stood out.
Ugh, so cute.
When approaching a puppy, you’re supposed to do it from below so you don’t startle it…
Or something like that.
What was it again?
Mr. Kang—the dog lover from my previous life—had explained it once.
My fragmented memories were too hazy to recall clearly.
Mina had loved dogs so much that whenever we ate together, we often watched animal programs.
She frequently shared cute animal videos with me too.
Though I barely had time to watch them because of work.
I loved animals too.
My dream had been to raise a dog together with Mina, but family circumstances never allowed it.
And now that I saw one up close…
“It’s too cute….”
“The finger that cute thing bit is bleeding, by the way.”
Raven snatched my hand away and frowned.
“It’s tiny! Just a tiny bit!”
“Your hand is tiny too.”
“Mmm, fair point….”
“The Duke is going to cause an uproar when he sees this….”
“If Raven keeps it a secret, it’ll be okay!”
“As if your maids would pretend not to notice.”
“……”
“Your parents hired an A-Rank mercenary as a babysitter. They’re not the type to overlook this.”
“Huh…?”
“If you didn’t know, then forget I said anything.”
What did I just hear?
“Get behind me, Shana.”
Raven gently pulled me back.
The puppy glared nervously between me and Raven.
But it couldn’t hide its trembling body.
If it was so wary of people…
Could those injuries have been caused by humans?
“The puppy’s fine. So stop worrying about it and get your hand treated.”
“I can’t.”
“…What?”
“I said I can’t.”
“Stop pretending. You healed the dog.”
“It doesn’t work on me.”
They say a monk can’t shave his own head.
Though saying that probably wouldn’t make any sense here.
Still smiling while Raven held my hand, I looked up at him.
Raven, your expression is terrifying…
“You can’t even heal yourself immediately, and yet you offered your hand?”
“Uh, huh?”
“You can’t treat your own injuries, but you’ll still touch something that might be dangerous?!”
“It’s not dangerous. It’s a puppy….”
A tiny, adorable puppy cute enough to make my nose bleed.
There was no need to treat it like a ticking bomb.
“You got hurt.”
Raven lifted my chin as he spoke.
His expression was arrogant, but he held my bleeding hand very carefully.
“Throw that thing away right now.”
“Raven, you have no blood or tears….”
“……”
“How can you say that about such a tiny puppy….”
“You got hurt.”
Raven’s golden eyes flashed dangerously.
“You belong to me.”
“No, I belong to myself….”
What was he even talking about?
Ignoring me completely, Raven tugged me along.
The wound wasn’t even that serious, but he was making a huge fuss over it.
The prince sure makes a lot of noise when he’s worried about someone…
Cold, noisy, and troublesome…
Still, I couldn’t be harsh toward someone who was worried about me.
So, acting like the mature adult I was, I decided to humor the child.
“Raven, I’m okay. It really doesn’t hurt. Really….”
“Try saying that in front of your parents.”
“Come on, Raven. You’re not my parents.”
Exactly.
Raven looked down at me for a moment.
His sharp eyes, clear golden irises, and expressionless face didn’t suit a child.
But because he was handsome, somehow it worked.
“I’m not your parent, but I am your lifesaver.”
“Uh….”
“I picked you up, so you’re basically mine.”
“Yeah, no.”
Your Highness, I have human rights too.
Surprising, I know.
“Anyway, if you can’t protect yourself, don’t touch dangerous things. Understand?”
“How is it dangerous? I just got nibbled by a puppy….”
He clicked his tongue at my parents for overprotecting me, but he was acting exactly the same.
Though it’s hard to be too harsh on a kid.
Especially one who had saved my life.
And the very first person I’d seen after opening my eyes in this world.
“Just because it looks like a puppy doesn’t mean it is one.”
“Huh?”
“It could be the offspring of a ferocious monster….”
Raven lifted his gaze past my shoulder.
“Or it could be a beastkin.”
Following his line of sight, I looked over.
A small little girl was standing there.
