AFRPR 12

Episode 12

“He didn’t bite me.”

Estelle was worried Duren might bite or run again, but this time, he quietly accepted her touch.

She felt like they were a little bit closer now.

As she gently patted Duren’s small, fragile back, a memory popped into her head.

In the original story, a noble lady had once said something funny when Vera said Duren looked like a puppy:

“Oh, I saw it too! He had puppy ears on top of his head! And even a fluffy tail!”

“There’s no way ears can just grow on a person’s head.”

Back then, Estelle thought it was just a silly lie to impress Vera.

But now—right in front of her—something unbelievable was happening.

“…What are these ears like gnocchi?”

Duren now had triangle-shaped floppy ears on top of his head.

And that wasn’t all.

A fluffy black tail was softly wagging from his lower back.

Estelle blinked her eyes.

But the ears and tail didn’t disappear.

He really looked like a little puppy.

Later, Duren finished eating, and Estelle walked out with the dishes.

The first to greet her was Pippin.

“Milady, did it work?” he asked nervously.

“Of course it did.”

Estelle nodded and showed him the clean plate.

“Oh my goodness.”

Pippin got teary-eyed with relief.

But Estelle had to be honest.

“But… I don’t think I can bathe him today. He needs another day or two.”

“A day or two?”

“Is that too long?”

Estelle looked worried, but Pippin quickly shook his head.

“No, no! I’m just surprised it’s so soon!”

The servants had tried for weeks without success.

But Estelle had managed to get him to eat in just one day.

Everyone would be happy to hear this news.

“I’d like to be the one to keep feeding him for now. Is it okay if I stop by the main house kitchen every day?”

“Of course! You can come and go freely!”

Even though Duke Lennox had told them to keep Estelle out of the main house, Pippin decided to ignore that.

The duke had just dumped the child on them, while Estelle was actually trying to help him.

To Pippin, Estelle deserved support.

“But… did the little one like the cookies shaped with that mold? If so, the chef could make more—no need for you to go through the trouble…”

Estelle let out a dry laugh.

“That plan totally failed.”

“Huh?”

“He didn’t care about them at all.”

A normal child might have been curious, but Duren was not normal.

“And yet you still succeeded? You’re amazing!”

Pippin’s respect for Estelle grew even more.

To change the subject, Estelle asked something she had been wondering.

“By the way… is Duren his real name?”

“No, the Duke gave it to him.”

That made sense—he never responded when called.

“He needed a name for the official paperwork. The Duke asked the boy directly.”

“What’s your name?”

At the time, Duren had just been scrubbed clean and looked exhausted.

But he had whispered weakly:

“Du… Du…”

“Dudu? A nickname maybe?”

The Duke made up his mind quickly.

“We’ll call him Duren.”

“Huh? He said ‘Du,’ not ‘Dyu.’”

“Same thing. Dudu, Duren—whatever.”

The Duke thought since the boy was starting a new life in Winterlen, a new name made sense.

“‘Du’ from what he said, and ‘ren’ from Winterlen,” Pippin explained.

“Then… what’s his real name?”

“No one knows.”

“No one?”

“We tried to find out, but no clues. And the boy won’t say anything either.”

Estelle thought for a moment, then asked something that had been on her mind:

“Is Duren a beast-person?”

“What?”

Pippin looked totally shocked.

Estelle hurried to explain.

“You know those old stories where humans and animals are combined? I wondered if he was a dog-beast.”

“You mean beastfolk?!”

“…Yes, exactly.”

Pippin practically screamed, “That kind of thing actually exists?!”

Estelle shouted back, “I think so!”

She thought Pippin might know something—but now both of them were just confused.

“I’ve never heard of it,” Pippin said. “And the Duke didn’t say anything when he brought the boy.”

“The best way to find out is to ask a doctor, but…”

Right now, only Estelle could get close to Duren, so a doctor wouldn’t help.

“I’ll keep trying to get closer to him.”

“You really are amazing, Milady.”

Pippin felt touched again.

“Then I’ll try asking the Duke if he noticed anything unusual too.”

And maybe send a strongly worded letter while he was at it.

Meanwhile…

One day, Duren woke up in a strange place.

It was so bright it hurt his eyes.

Strangers kept coming closer.

“I’m scared.”

Who were they? Why were they trying to touch him?

He hid in the shadows.

“Grandma… where are you?”

He missed his grandma so much.

Tears rolled down his cheeks.

But Grandma didn’t come.

Instead, strangers kept talking to him.

“You’ll become part of the Winterlen family now.”

Winterlen? What’s that? What does “become part of” even mean?

“Sadly, the rest of your family probably died. There’s nothing left alive in that area.”

What nonsense.

To Duren, Grandma was his only family.

He missed her terribly, but strangers kept trying to dress him, feed him, even bathe him.

“Please change clothes now!”

“Here’s lunch—tell us what you don’t like.”

“It’s time for a bath…”

He ran away and hid every time. If they touched him, he’d bite.

But then… one person was different.

He didn’t trust her at first, either.

But—

“These are freshly baked! Soft, chewy, and warm!”

“No one will take it away, so eat slowly.”

She always gave him yummy food, and her touch was gentle, like Grandma’s.

“She’s nice,” he thought.

And she was also very pretty.

Even though she kept calling him “Duren,” which was weird…

Then one day, she looked him in the eyes and asked:

“Duren, what’s your real name?”

Name?

He blinked. He didn’t know what that was.

“It means… what did people call you?”

Oh, that was easy.

“My…”

Duren searched his memory.

“My baby.”

“…”

“So cute. So pretty.”

“…”

“My puppy. My darling.”

“…”

“Dudu.”

“…”

“There were so many names.”

That’s what people said when they looked at him.

“Oh! They also said ‘Oh my, oh my!’ a lot!”