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~Chapter 19~
“M-Master!”
His little “puppy” was always in the same spot, looking as though it belonged by his side, with a carefree expression, completely without worry.
Seeing that peaceful sight, his facial muscles immediately relaxed.
‘This count… this is already the third time. Trying to take a bath for some ridiculous reason again. Does he have no brain?’
Even when he was tirelessly marking through documents in his office that made his brow furrow with nonsensical claims, he would occasionally glance up to check the snack table.
Gulp.
Sometimes, the little puppy would be lured by the smell of the treats, stuffing the sweet morsels into its cheeks while mumbling. Seeing that innocent act, the previously tense furrows on his brow would instantly smooth out.
‘…I should ask for more snacks to be brought.’
He had never realized before how warm and comforting that feeling could be, and like an addiction, Crown Prince Michael always looked first for his puppy whenever he returned to the palace.
“……?”
But today, for some reason, neither in her favorite spot in the garden nor at the snack table did he see her.
‘Where could she have gone?’
Eventually, he directly asked his attendants about the whereabouts of his puppy, only to receive reports that she could not be found anywhere in the palace.
“Tch.”
At first, Michael was slightly annoyed, but he didn’t feel too anxious. He had already prepared countermeasures for this exact situation.
After all, she was his cherished pet. Whether she was kidnapped for ransom or simply because of her cuteness, Michael had long anticipated the danger.
‘Maybe I should have filled it more.’
That was why he had added seemingly excessive magical functions into the collar he had given her. And as it turned out today, those magical functions were not excessive at all.
So, by now, the tracking function embedded in the collar should have already revealed the location of his puppy-girl.
“Your Highness… I’m terribly sorry…”
The palace magician, hesitating, could barely speak in front of the visibly displeased prince.
“The… the magic circle inscribed on the collar isn’t responding.”
Michael had never expected such foolish words from the magician he had summoned without delay.
His expression immediately hardened.
“……What do you mean by that?”
The palace magician sensed even life-threatening intent emanating from the prince’s unusual expression and quickly tried to explain himself before any wrath fell on him.
“It’s not that the magic circle is broken…!”
“So, it’s not broken, but you still can’t find her?”
The prince’s piercing, anger-filled gaze made the magician wince, yet he continued:
“The magic circle is definitely reacting, Your Highness. But something is blocking it from sending the crucial location. Usually, this happens when continuous confusing magic is cast in the surroundings….”
The magician explained that, in some cases, when stealing precious slaves or hostages, expensive ‘otherworldly’ magicians were hired to continuously maintain magic that would prevent tracking during the escape.
In reality, the secret passage’s protective magic for the royal family was stronger than the palace magician’s, which is why the tracking magic failed. But even the palace magician couldn’t know that. He simply provided the most reasonable explanation he could infer.
Hearing this, Michael’s lips set in a firm line.
“…….”
Kidnapping.
The thought alone made his mind ice-cold and his insides boil with rage.
‘Who dares…’
He was furious that someone had taken what was his. At first, he had been irritated, but not overly anxious. He had expected to locate her easily with the collar he had given her.
But now that the magic failed, unease and restlessness gnawed at him.
“Release all the soldiers immediately.”
He commanded all palace personnel to search the surroundings, running his hands roughly through his hair in frustration.
‘She can’t have gone far yet.’
He tried to calm himself with that thought, but it was not easy. The uncontrolled anxiety and impatience clawed at him.
‘Who took her…’
The idea that he had truly lost his puppy sent wild, fragile, and violent emotions surging through him.
‘If I catch them, I’ll tear them into twelve pieces and hang them up.’
His golden eyes gleamed with the ferocity of a predator that had lost its young.
Meanwhile…
Eugene, relying on the tiny bit of light, finally reached the end of her long journey through the dark corridor.
‘The exit!’
Seeing the faint light spilling through a gap ahead, she hurried forward and opened the door, which probably led somewhere.
Expecting perhaps a hillside outside the palace or a quiet den just beyond the walls, she…
“Eh?”
Rrrr…
Met with a pair of sharp, glaring eyes staring at her.
It was a fateful encounter.
Facing the beast unexpectedly, her heart pounded like crazy. Yet along with fear, there was joy at seeing such a magnificent creature up close.
The black-striped patterns on its body looked as if a master had painstakingly painted each line.
Its still-developing body had wiggly parts that were utterly adorable. The stubby cylindrical legs made it hard to even discern the knees at first glance.
And the plump, fur-covered paws supporting its four legs invited a desire to reach out and touch them. Its round eyes, gazing at her warily, were dotted like ripe straw with spots.
‘So cute!’
Eugene covered her mouth with both hands, stifling a scream at the sight of the baby tiger.
‘This… this is…!’
She knew the tiger’s name.
“Kun?”
When she called it carefully, the little ears perked up, and it looked at her as if questioning how she knew its name.
Eugene lowered herself to the baby tiger’s level, and it sniffed around her curiously.
“Wow…”
Eugene marveled at the tiny tiger, thinking, ‘Kun really was this small when he was a baby.’
The tiger she knew was already fully grown. Eugene recalled the illustration of Kun from the game.
‘The illustrator must have loved drawing animals… so much detail, such high quality.’
Even though the tiger had no real role in the game’s story, the fur looked alive, as if the artist had poured their soul into it. Fans joked it was a personal indulgence of the artist.
“Come to think of it…”
Eugene felt the baby tiger tap her with its paw. She held her palm under it, feeling the soft pads, and thought about the character who usually appeared with Kun in the game.
‘Kun being here means…’
Looking around, the room was as lavishly decorated as the prince’s palace, befitting the presence of someone important.
“Is this… the princess’s palace?”
Raphaela, the princess, was Michael’s twin sister, born as the only princess of the empire, reigning above all other ladies.
In the game, she sometimes appeared as either an ally or obstacle, barely a supporting character.
Whenever Raphaela appeared, fans could always anticipate her presence by noticing the baby tiger, Kun.
Later, the adult Kun would grow to a size that rivaled strong adults, his presence commanding attention in every scene.
Eugene admired the cute, tiny baby tiger and thought it enviable that the royal family could raise such a magnificent pet.
“Wow… royal scale indeed.”
Owning a tiger at home was unimaginable for a commoner.
As Eugene admired the royal pet, her thoughts turned to her master, working hard in the palace today.
‘I wonder if my master is okay…’
Even though she was just a pet herself… maybe a future emperor should be able to afford such grand pets as tigers or lions. Eugene briefly pondered this, then shook her head coolly.
‘I’m smart enough. Be satisfied with that, Master.’
Primate brains are among the smartest in the animal kingdom, after all.
“Hmm?”
Eugene let the baby tiger play with her hands while scanning the room, and noticed something catching her eye…
