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Chapter 3
I met Mary on Christmas at the age of twenty-three.
When I lived in the orphanage, I used to sneak in and out of the forest all the time because of puppies. Even after growing up, I always wanted to raise a dog if I ever had the chance—and on that Christmas when I was twenty-three, I met Mary, wandering aimlessly.
That day, I had been betrayed by a boyfriend I trusted.
That bastard. I waited through his entire military service, and he repaid me by cheating?
People really can’t be trusted.
Crying my eyes out on the street while remembering the young freshman girl who had been clinging to him, I found Mary.
“Grrk!”
A tiny, adorable Mary who wasn’t even cold, nudging her nose against me.
From that day on, Mary and I were never apart.
“…Mary.”
Emma echoed me softly.
“Grrk! Yip!”
“She seems to like it!”
Emma carefully stroked Mary’s head in my arms.
“But Emma, aren’t you worried at all even though I’ve lost my memory?”
“…I’m just happy that the Duke is okay like this. That you’ve opened your eyes and are talking with me.”
Emma stared at me with tear-filled, goldfish-like eyes.
“But I think it’s better to keep the memory loss a secret from others.”
“Why?”
“Not everyone is like me, Your Grace.”
Suddenly, Emma grabbed my hand.
“You once saved me and protected me. Now it’s my turn to protect you. I swear it—on my soul.”
On her soul.
In this world, the concept of the soul was especially important. It was believed that all memories and experiences were contained within it, the essence of life itself.
A vow made upon one’s soul was the most valuable oath of all.
Scenes where the male lead swore such vows to the female lead were endlessly discussed among readers.
“I will never forget that I am you, and you are me. I will love you with my entire soul.”
That kind of line.
And now I had received something similar from Emma instead of the male lead.
“Thank you, Emma.”
They say life is worth living with just one good friend. With someone like Emma, it really felt like life was worth it.
With such a reliable ally, I felt a bit braver too.
* * *
For several days, I tried to figure things out—but the problem was that there was absolutely nothing in the mansion suitable for Mary.
Not even toys.
That was my mistake for overlooking it.
After a few days had passed since I woke up, Mary quickly adapted to the mansion just as the servants and Emma had adapted to her sudden appearance.
She behaved as if she had been born and raised in the Stadion estate.
So much so that she ran around everywhere, making it almost impossible to see her even once during the day.
“Have you seen Mary?”
“No, Your Grace.”
Maid servants carrying laundry baskets shook their heads.
“Have you seen Mary?”
“No, we haven’t.”
There’s a saying: when a dog goes missing, you should just shout “NO!” everywhere. But what’s the point of shouting in such a huge mansion?
While I was searching the entire estate during a nap session, a scream suddenly rang out.
“EEEEEK!”
Where there’s chaos, there are usually fluffy creatures involved.
Found her.
The source of the commotion was the dressing room.
Inside, there was a standoff between one person and one puppy. Emma, shaking with anger and turning pale, and Mary, calmly scratching her ear without a care in the world.
The moment Mary saw me, she stopped.
“Grrk!”
Then she happily barked and ran toward me, wagging her tail energetically.
“Oh… did you have fun?”
I laughed awkwardly and brushed off lace fragments and threads stuck to her head.
Mary seemed to have enjoyed her day in the dressing room.
Most of the dresses inside had been torn at the hem. Fabric scraps were scattered across the floor, and sparkling stones were mixed in—clearly, even the jewelry hadn’t been spared.
“Emma…?”
Emma turned to me, teary-eyed.
“…Hmm.”
This is problematic.
Emma had every right to scream.
My dog had caused a lot of damage. Just how much money was that?
The only reason I could spend money so freely in this world was because its currency system was different from Korea’s.
But even so…
“This might cost quite a lot.”
Reality hit me.
If I were my past self, I might have to break my savings like cracking open a piggy bank.
But now I was bourgeois Agatha.
“Since we need a change of atmosphere anyway, we might as well replace everything.”
Emma sniffled.
“Should we go shopping?”
Just buy new ones. Why cry?
“…What about the ones here?”
“We can just fix the bottoms and resell them, right?”
“You mean sell the dresses the Duke wore?!”
“Then what do people usually do? I can’t remember.”
I whispered so only Emma could hear.
“Store them!”
Money is literally rotting inside this mansion.
Even selling the jewels on those dresses would make a fortune.
Should I just search the entire place one day? If it’s all mine anyway, then handling it is also my responsibility, right?
…No, no!
Snap out of it!
You’re different now!
I was getting confused between my old commoner self and my new diamond-spoon identity.
“Well, leave that to you then.”
Seeing Emma’s distress, I added,
“Should we put iron bars around the dressing room so Mary can’t enter? About this high?”
“…That would ruin the mansion’s appearance.”
“Then… just lock the doors properly. It’s not like Mary did anything wrong. Emma, stop crying. I’ll make sure she doesn’t go in again.”
Mary, the culprit of the disaster, was already sitting lazily near my leg, half-lidded, as if she had forgotten everything.
You’re sleepy, huh.
* * *
Because of Mary’s “attack on the dressing room,” we ended up going on a massive shopping trip. Very few dresses survived, and we also needed to buy things for Mary to prevent future incidents.
“I’ll help you get ready to go out. It really feels like you’re awake now that you’re going shopping, Your Grace! And maybe going out will help your memories return!”
Emma had already forgotten about the ruined dresses. Good.
Watching her excitedly prepare things, I carefully picked Mary up.
“Mary, shall we go buy toys with mommy?”
“Yip!”
At the mention of toys, Mary wagged her tail furiously, making me smile widely.
Aww, my baby. Let’s go. Mommy will pay for everything today!
“Oh, Your Grace! We’ve arrived.”
Emma had brought me to a bustling street.
“This is Street 11. It’s the busiest area in Marso Street. There are still divine-beast shops here, so we can find things for Mary.”
“That’s a relief.”
I walked down the street holding Mary, who kept squirming as if she wanted to get down. I should probably get her a harness soon. Where do they sell those?
But before we reached any shop, something else caught our attention.
“You’re useless now!”
A young noble lady, her face bright red with rage, screamed loudly.
“That’s Viscount Yannis’s second daughter.”
How does she know all this? Is she a walking encyclopedia?
I decided I needed to keep Emma with me forever.
The lady kept shouting. In front of her—
A small white puppy was curled up on the ground. It wore a worn pink ribbon, likely something it used to be cherished with.
“You said you were a divine beast! A divine beast! So why can’t you even protect me in a situation like this?”
“Yip…”
“Don’t follow me!”
Was I watching a real-time pet abandonment scene?
Yet none of the passersby paid attention.
So what if it’s a divine beast? How can someone abandon an animal they once took responsibility for like that?
Back when I volunteered at an animal shelter in my past life, I could only curse people who abandoned dogs because I couldn’t do anything else.
But now I didn’t have to just watch.
I had the wealth and power to solve problems.
Justice needed money too.
“Emma, hold Mary for a second.”
I handed Mary to Emma and stepped forward, approaching the noble lady and the pitiful puppy following her.
I blocked the lady’s path.
“Then how about I take it instead?”
Seeing the stunned reaction of the young noble lady, I suddenly remembered I was a duke and screamed inwardly.
Get it together! That’s not how a duke speaks!
