Chapter 5
In that moment, I realized something.
Come to think of it, my brother, my sister-in-law, and I all shared one particular trait.
We were completely helpless in the face of anything cute, pretty, or handsome.
There was no point in grumbling about who that child took after to be so obsessed with good looks—the answer was painfully obvious.
Having inherited those genes, Dioana was just as crazy about beauty and handsomeness.
“Hey, oppa, what’s your name?”
For reference, Dioana calls anyone handsome “oppa” regardless of age.
Sure enough, with a sweet smile, she called the man “oppa” and asked his name. I could only shake my head in disbelief.
“I don’t have a name.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m a slave. Slaves don’t get names unless their masters give them one.”
“You don’t have a master?”
“I do. But she’s pretending she doesn’t know.”
The man looked at me with a hurt expression. How arrogant and shameless could someone be?
“Then I’ll be your master! I’ll give you a name too! From now on, your name is—”
With her eyes sparkling, Dioana continued excitedly.
“Puppy! Your name is Puppy now!”
There was a dog Dioana especially adored.
He had been a loyal guardian, a friend, and even a brother. He lived a long life of 23 years.
He had been with us from my childhood through Dioana’s early years. When he passed away, not only Dioana and I but also Jeremy and even the elder of the household expressed their condolences.
He was a Gordon Setter with long, sleek black fur and distinctive brown markings.
Over the years, he grew into a large, muscular dog, but when he was first born, he was just an adorably tiny “puppy.”
And it was none other than I who named him. At five years old, without much thought, I gave the little guy a simple and intuitive name: Puppy.
Puppy passed away last year.
The one who cried the most when he died was Dioana.
I was sad too, of course. But instead of crying all night, I chose to remember the happy times we shared.
He lived long, and passed away without much pain. I like to think he’s now frolicking over the rainbow bridge with other dogs.
Anyway, the moment the word “Puppy” came out of Dioana’s mouth, I instinctively placed a hand to my forehead.
No matter what, you should give a person a proper human name.
Not that there was any reason for her to name him in the first place—Dioana was not his master, and he was not her slave.
Still, the man nodded with satisfaction.
“Thank you.”
“Puppy! You’re Puppy from now on!”
Of course she’s a Steren by blood.
Even children have standards for beauty. And this man was certainly attractive enough to steal a child’s heart. I could accept that. But hearing Dioana call him “Puppy” was something I just could not accept.
“Puppy, seriously? Jeremy, take Dioana down from the tower. Why is she even up here?”
“My apologies, Your Grace. To explain, the young lady suggested a game of hide-and-seek, and we ended up here. I believe she saw you and Lord Lockhart heading this way and wanted to follow.”
Jeremy looked genuinely distressed, and I couldn’t bring myself to scold him further.
I knew better than anyone that it wasn’t his fault.
Dioana never wants to be apart from me.
Maybe it’s from losing her parents too soon, or maybe she has some form of trauma, but she clings to me like a cicada on an old tree.
If she catches wind that I’m going somewhere, she’ll follow me like a shadow, upset if I leave her behind. In hindsight, it was my mistake to leave her to Jeremy.
“Aunt Daphne, can Puppy stay with me?”
Absolutely not! I wanted to shout that immediately, but my opponent was a sweet, innocent seven-year-old niece.
“You know, Puppy isn’t a bad person.”
Was this similar to “If he’s handsome, he must be a good guy”? I had no strength left to argue with Dioana’s strange logic that good looks meant good character.
“I like Puppy. He looks just like the old Puppy!”
“Dio, comparing people to dogs isn’t polite.”
“But, but! You think so too, don’t you? Puppy had black fur with brown spots, and this Puppy has black hair and brown skin! And look, his eyes are the same golden color!”
Even with her front teeth missing, her pronunciation slipping everywhere, she tried to sound logical by listing reasons.
Where do I even begin with this child?
No, before anything else, I needed to get her out of this unsuitable place for a child.
I skipped further explanation and simply picked her up and carried her out of the tower.
As expected, Dioana’s tear ducts exploded again.
“Daphne! Don’t kill Puppy! Pleaaase! Puppy’s my frieeend!”
“What nonsense, Dioana! You just want to be friends because he’s handsome. Do you even realize how dangerous it is to trust someone just because of how they look?”
Once we were outside, I put her down and spoke sternly.
“Dio, if you want friends, go make some others. If you’re shy, you can play with me. That man’s identity is unclear—we don’t know where he’s from or what he’s done. I have to protect you. He could be a threat.”
“No! Puppy isn’t like that! He’s a good person!”
“Dio! Are you going to keep acting like this?”
I tried to think from her perspective.
Last year, when Puppy passed away, she experienced death for the first time and was deeply affected.
She’d already lost her parents. That must’ve left her fearful of death.
But that’s that. This is now. I can’t coddle her forever.
“That man is someone who snuck into the Grand Duchy.”
“No, you’re just mad because I stole your friend. I heard everything outside! You said he was your friend from your travels. That you stayed up all night playing together—”
I quickly covered Dioana’s mouth. She looked up at me with a suspicious squint.
What could a seven-year-old know? She probably thinks we had some kind of pajama party.
Pretty pajamas, chatting with friends, eating dessert, skipping brushing teeth before bed. That sort of thing.
The elders of the Steren family didn’t meddle much in my personal life. I was an adult. So was he. We spent the night together by mutual consent.
That part wasn’t the problem.
The real issue was that I had tried to kill someone in front of a child, and that someone—who was a slave—was now calling me “Master” while the elders already disapproved of me being a duchess who had flings instead of taking a proper husband.
If that ever got out, I’d be in real trouble.
And most of all, I felt a twinge of guilt thinking about killing someone whom Dioana had already accepted and shown kindness toward.
Ugh, why did she have to name him Puppy…
Because of Dioana, I couldn’t help but start to see the man as the dog we used to have.
Have I finally gone mad?
Noticing my inner turmoil, Dioana tugged on my uniform and looked up at me with pleading eyes.
“Aunt Daphneee~ I want to be friends with Puppy. Pleaaase? Pleeaaase?”
With Dioana pulling out all the stops with her cutesy begging, the conscience I thought I had buried long ago started to rear its head.
“Let’s make a deal. Puppy is a good person. He’s not bad. You can’t kill him. If you do, you’re a bad person, Auntie. I won’t bother you ever again. I’ll just play with Puppy oppa.”
She begged so desperately that I began to feel like she’d hate me forever if I refused.
After much deliberation, I sighed and finally said,
“I’ll have a meeting with the other adults first.”
That alone made her let out a relieved “Whew!” and she nodded eagerly.
“Then while Puppy’s in prison, I’ll take care of him!”
“Why would you take care of him? Do you even know what prison is like?”
“It’s cold, small, and hard! That’s why I’ll take care of him!”
I’ll never understand the way a child thinks. Today, I was completely run over by Dio, and I guess I’ll end the day still run over.
“Mrs. Keller said, ‘Hate the sin, not the sinner!’”
“…Mrs. Keller really did a great job teaching you.”
I let out a dry laugh and clenched my jaw.
Yes. Dioana is really sharp. She’s selfless too. Hahaha… truly my little one. Well, technically my brother and sister-in-law’s little one.
Trying to comfort myself with those thoughts—
“Puppy must be hungry! I’ll go ask Chef Hans to cook something. Auntie, I’m heading in first!”
And so, thanks to Dioana, Puppy was granted a brief extension of his life.
