ENGDB 10

Chapter 10

There were still piles of documents left unfinished on the desk, but looking at the drooping white lump made Kalid feel uneasy.

“Even if it’s troublesome… it can’t be helped. I’m the only one who can see that thing. I have no choice but to take responsibility for it.”

Feeling a strange mix of excitement and responsibility, Kalid headed toward the library.

As always, Irene stood in front of him as if asking where he was going, then followed behind him.

‘Kalid. Where are you going in the middle of work? I’m not in the mood to follow you around like this.’

“I’m going to the library.”

‘The library on the 5th floor? You’re reading early today?’

Irene knew that Kalid usually read before sleeping, so she couldn’t help but feel confused seeing him go to the library during work.

When they arrived, Kalid went to the section with books about animals.

The library on the 5th floor was a personal one made for him by his grandfather, the former Duke.

Kalid picked a few books by their titles and sat down.

‘Hmm… “First step to bonding with your pet: give your pet a name.”’

Kalid slowly repeated the sentence in his mind and looked at the white lump floating around the shelves.

“Ha… I said I would raise it, but I didn’t even give it a name. That’s not proper for an owner.”

He fell into deep thought.

He had never named anything before, so he didn’t know how to do it.

‘Anastasia? No, that’s too grand… Bibi? Scarlet? No… I don’t even know its gender. That won’t work. Then… Roundy? Fluffy? No, that’s also…’

Kalid struggled to find a name he liked.

‘It’s just a pale white lump anyway… Pale-lump? White-lump? Whitey… Hmm… Whitey sounds fine.’

Muttering the name, Kalid looked at the white lump following him.

A soft, floating, bright white presence that followed him well.

The name felt simple and fitting.

“Whitey.”

Kalid called it with the name he chose.

‘Huh? Whitey?’

Irene quickly flew toward him.

‘Whitey? What’s that?’

“It’s your name from now on. When I call you Whitey, come to me like this.”

“What? That’s my name? That sounds like a dog’s name!”

Irene was shocked and stomped angrily to complain.

But sadly, she was the only one who thought it sounded ridiculous.

“Haha. You must be happy to have a name. Looks like you like it.”

‘What?!’

Kalid, who usually understood her reactions well, was now completely satisfied with the name he made.

‘Sigh… fine. If you like it that much, call me whatever you want.’

What power did she even have as a ghost?

After being speechless for a while, Irene finally accepted the name.

Then she looked at the book in Kalid’s hand.

‘Kalid… what book did you read to suddenly give me a name? “101 Pet Psychology Guide”… “Complete Animal Training”… What is this…?’

At that moment, she realized the origin of the name “Whitey.”

Kalid noticed her reaction.

“Whitey… can you read?”

‘Yes! I can read! There’s actually a book I wanted to read before—this is perfect! Kalid, show me a book!’

Her anger disappeared instantly.

She bounced away toward a section of the library.

Kalid followed her with curious eyes.

‘Kalid! This one! I want to read this!’

She bounced in front of a book.

“…You want this one?”

‘Yes! This one! I didn’t expect to find romance novels here!’

She jumped excitedly in place.

Kalid picked up the book she pointed at.

“‘Why Did the Lady Give the Knight a Raspberry?’… What kind of book is this…”

He casually opened it—

But the contents were so embarrassing he could barely keep reading.

“You… shameless creature! How can you read something like this?!”

His face turned completely red as he scolded her.

‘W-what? We’re both adults, so what’s wrong with it? It looks interesting! If you read it, you’ll get into it too—’

Irene tried to explain, but seeing Kalid so embarrassed made her feel embarrassed too.

“I’ll call Sebastian right now and have all these harmful books removed.”

With his face still red, Kalid left the library without even looking back.

‘What?! Wait, Kalid! You’re removing them all?! No—!’

In the end, all the libraries in the castle—including the one on the 5th floor—were left with only “proper and clean” romance novels.

For Irene, this was a disaster.

She collapsed in despair, then slowly floated back to Kalid.

‘Kalid… you really removed them all… Maybe those books were actually good for you…’

She looked at him with pity.

Honestly, she felt he really needed to learn from those books.

“That look you’re giving me is very unpleasant… Perverted Whitey. You’d better stop thinking whatever you’re thinking.”

Kalid warned her and walked toward his room.

‘You don’t even know what I’m thinking…’

“Whitey. Stop it while I’m being nice.”

Irene was annoyed at how he somehow always caught these things.

They argued like that and entered the room together.

“Whitey. Stop complaining and go to sleep.”

Kalid suddenly found the situation amusing.

He was living comfortably with a creature he couldn’t even properly communicate with.

He had always killed such beings… yet now, he felt comfort from one.

During full moon periods, the Grand Duke’s castle would become extremely quiet.

For someone like Kalid, who had lived on the battlefield, this peace felt strange—but also comforting.

As time passed, both of them grew used to living together.

Whenever there was nothing to do, Kalid would read before sleeping.

And gradually, his book choices started reflecting Whitey’s taste too.

They would sit side by side on the bed and read together.

Kalid found it both fascinating and admirable.

“There’s probably no monster as smart as our Whitey.”

He remembered knights bragging about their pets before—now he finally understood.

‘But… it’s a shame no one else can see it.’

He wanted to show Whitey to others.

But no one else could see it.

Sometimes, that made him feel sorry.

At the same time, imagining Whitey following someone else made him feel strangely uncomfortable.

‘Kalid. What are you doing? Open the book already!’

Irene urged him.

As they stared at each other, a small round lump popped out of her body and tapped the book.

It looked like an arm.

Kalid noticed that her form had slightly changed.

Before, she was just a vague floating mass.

Now, she had a faint shape—like a head and body.

Sometimes, small lumps stuck out like arms or legs.

She almost looked human.

‘…Kalid?’

She tilted what looked like her head.

Like a cat acting cute.

Kalid almost reached out to pat her.

Instead, he smiled softly.

“If we keep living like this… I’ll eventually learn what you really are.”

For the first time, Kalid felt a bit of anticipation.

And—

That day came sooner than expected.

But not in a good way.