“We’ve arrived at the castle.”
At the coachman’s voice, Valentin drew back the curtain that had been covering the window.
After staring at Valentin’s face for so long, I was finally able to look out the window at the lush green leaves.
“Wow.”
The carriage had already passed through the main gate and was traveling along the driveway. The avenue was so wide that it was as vast as an airplane runway.
Unlike Laphelia Castle, which was the epitome of splendor and charm, the magnificent ducal castle, with its restrained beauty, made me realize that I had really followed Valentin.
‘The bunnies…’
As I left the mansion, only two bunnies saw me off, but they didn’t follow. I thought that would be safer for them this way.
“Squeak, squeak!”
Nadan, come back as a human.
But, I’m human on the inside…
Remembering them waving their short forepaws as they saw me off, my ears drooped involuntarily.
“Nadan.”
I straightened my shoulders at the unfamiliar voice. Valentin had already gotten out of the carriage and was reaching out his hand to me.
“……”
I stared intently at his hand, and Valentin gestured with his fingers as if playing the piano, urging me on.
I hesitated before placing my beastly hand on top of his. He smiled in satisfaction and led me out of the carriage.
“Welcome, Your Grace….”
A gray-haired man bit his tongue.
He naturally bent over as if he hadn’t bitten it, but I could tell.
‘He bit his tongue when he saw me!’
Still, it was a relatively good reaction. Perhaps because I was Valentin’s person, he was brave.
“And… who might this be?”
His expression naturally composed as he asked, showing his experience. He must be the duke’s butler.
“A puppy.”
“Pardon?”
“Huh?”
The atmosphere suddenly turned strange.
He kept talking about puppies, so I thought he was calling me a beast in a gentler way. Is he really introducing me as a puppy?
At this point, even the experienced butler seemed to have difficulty managing his expression, and his pupils were visibly shaking.
Valentin seemed determined to tease him, driving the nail in even further.
“Didn’t I say I was bringing a puppy? Show her to the room I mentioned last time.”
“Oh, understand.”
It sounded like a very unfriendly answer to me, but the butler understood perfectly and nodded.
“See you later, Nadan.”
Then Valentin smiled sweetly at me and went his way.
Hey, Valentin, where exactly are we seeing each other later? I feel like I’ll get lost if I take even one wrong step in this enormous castle.
As I glared at Valentin’s back, the butler led me to the entrance of the castle.
“This way, Dame Nadan.”
The long, endless corridor was intricately engraved with the family crest, a rose.
I don’t know why they put a sword in the flower, but the delicate pattern was eye-catching even from a distance.
While I was distracted by the corridor, the butler spoke to me.
“I am Levi Halbrecht, the butler for House Berenice. I have been by Valentin’s side for many years. If you have any questions about the Berenice Dukedom, please ask me.”
As I thought—he was indeed the butler.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Even though I’m planning to steal kisses from Valentin’s lips. Anyway, I greeted him with sincerity, saying it was a pleasure to meet him.
After crossing the wide lobby and climbing the stairs for quite some time, a huge room appeared.
Actually… could this even be called a room?
‘This isn’t a room, it’s just a whole house!’
“The adjoining room is Valentin’s bedchamber. If you need anything, pull the bell cord. The maid in charge, Aliya, will help you with anything.”
Levi pointed to the yellow cord attached to the side of the bed, bowed politely, and left the room.
‘As expected of Valentin. He keeps a tight rein on things.’
Even if the future where Valentin kills me has changed, his nature of smiling brightly while wielding a knife isn’t going anywhere.
‘Because he’s been through more than he looks like he has.’
I sighed and sat on the bed, which looked like ten people could lie on it comfortably.
The springs were firm even when I sat on it, so it was definitely a high-end bed.
‘Figures, his is a Ducal House.’
Surprisingly, the Berenice Dukedom was only established two years ago. Valentin received the title of duke when he left the imperial palace at the age of twenty.
Nevertheless, Valentin quickly developed the north with his elevated status on the battlefield, the wealth he swept up, and his extraordinary charisma.
A hero who pioneered the north, which everyone shunned because it was adjacent to the Black Swamp.
Although it has only been two years and there are still shortcomings, Berenice will develop even faster in the future.
As I was drawing the plot, I stopped thinking and sauntered towards the bathroom.
Perhaps because I had been in a narrow space with Valentin for a long time, I was sweating more than usual. I wanted to wash.
Of course, an animal’s fur doesn’t get greasy in a day or two like human hair. It didn’t smell bad either.
If I groomed myself like an animal, I wouldn’t have to wash every day… but I’m human!
It will be hard to dry, but I will wash today.
“I don’t need to call someone, right?”
What if the maid, Aliya, faints when she sees me?
“Washing isn’t a big deal.”
Hot water, cold water, soap, etc. It’s all the same where people live, right?
I strode into the bathroom.
…Washing was a big deal.
“Ah, it’s cold! Why is only cold water coming out?”
Laphelia Castle had an intuitive design. There was nothing difficult from turning on the water to adjusting the temperature.
But the interior of the duke’s residence was different. It felt like they had simplified everything to the point of removing what should be there.
Fine, let’s just washed with cold water. The real problem was after that. I had a very important task left: drying my fur.
‘I’m an indoor beast! If I don’t dry my fur, I’ll drip water all over the place like some swamp ghost.’
Just like now.
“Where is the heater? Is there no hair dryer here?”
I searched every corner of the spacious bathroom, but there was nothing particularly noticeable.
Even in the midst of all this, water was dripping from my entire body.
“I can’t go on like this.”
I took out a bunch of fluffy towels from the drawer and started laying them out outside the bathroom.
One towel for each step.
It was my own way of preventing the floor from getting soaked.
It was also an action filled with the conviction that there would naturally be a heater in the room since the weather was cold.
“Ah… out of towels.”
I needed more towels to get to where the heater seemed to be.
Just as I was wondering if I should go back to the bathroom,
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
Startled, I looked around the messy room and stamped my feet. It was clear that an embarrassing situation would unfold no matter who caught me.
But before I could react, the door opened.
“……”
“……”
Seemingly indifferent green eyes slowly scanned me from bottom to top.
A body shrunk from being soaking wet, damp fur, puddles of water on the floor as if it had rained.
His gaze dropped to the floor behind me—to the trail of white towels scattered here and there.
Click.
With a slight curl of his lips, Valentin stepped inside and closed the door.
I guess it was just my imagination that the sound of the door closing was unusually loud?
By then, I still hadn’t said a word.
“…I guess the thing I brought home really is a puppy.”
No!!
I screamed inwardly in embarrassment, but that wouldn’t reach Valentin.
Valentin, who shrugged his shoulders annoyingly, saying he was amazed at how messy the room could be, brought a new towel from the bathroom.
In his right hand, he held a diamond-shaped device the size of his forearm.
“Come here.”
When Valentin tapped the device a couple of times, the unidentified object floated low in the air and emitted hot air.
I silently went and sat in front of it.
‘No, what is that thing? I didn’t recognize it at all.’
I, who didn’t recognize the newfangled object, just grumbled inwardly.
In the meantime, Valentin dragged a chair over, sat down, and began to dry my head in earnest.
‘This actually feels nice.’
His touch, which gently tickled my head from the beginning, felt good.
Maybe it was because I’d been tense the whole time in the carriage with Valentin, but the warm air and gentle touch relaxed me, and my eyes began to droop.
I think I heard Valentin’s voice in my fading consciousness.
“Like master, like dog.”
I’m not a freaking dog…
* * *
Mmm.
The sunlight pouring through the window tickled my eyelids.
“Today’s breakfast is rabbit…”
My eyes snapped open.
I immediately straightened my back and turned my head from side to side.
Unfamiliar air, unfamiliar sounds, unfamiliar room.
‘I came to the duke’s castle with Valentin yesterday.’
The thought of having to adapt to a new place again made my mouth bitter. I wish the bunnies had come with me.
As I was regretting and smacking my lips, there was a knock and a person came in.
I naturally turned my head, thinking it was Valentin, but it wasn’t at all.
“Hello, Dame Nadan. My name is Aliya, and I will be serving you from today.”
A woman wearing a navy blue dress that came down to her knees bowed her head. Her voice was cheerful and her face looked youthful, so she appeared very young.
However, perhaps because she had been warned by Levi, she didn’t show much surprise when she saw me.
‘Or maybe everyone in the ducal house is brave.’
“These are the clothes you will wear today. I will help you change.”
Her voice seemed a little shaky?
I stole glances at Aliya, worried for no reason, and turned my gaze to the clothes she was pointing at. My mouth dropped open involuntarily.
W-what is this?
* * *
“What’s the matter?”
Valentin, who was elegantly slicing meat from breakfast, asked me.
As I followed the series of actions he took to pick up a piece of meat with his fork and put it in his mouth, I replied in a sulky voice.
“The ribbon.”
Seriously—what am I, some black cat named Nero?
The clothes he had prepared for me were a navy blue vest with a bright yellow ribbon. The yellow ribbon fluttering around the neck was particularly eye-catching.
“Why? It matches your eye color and looks good on you.”
I wrinkled my nose at his shameless answer.
It wasn’t that it didn’t suit me, but I felt very embarrassed because I felt like I had become a beast dressed up ridiculously.
‘I was only wearing the vest to maintain my dignity as a person!’
If it weren’t for Aliya, who had a troubled expression at my declaration that I wouldn’t wear the ribbon, I wouldn’t have had to see Valentin’s mischievous expression.
I expressed my dissatisfaction and chewed the food very diligently.
But he didn’t care. Rather, he gave me a relaxed look and sliced the meat for me, placing it on my plate.
“Today is a special day, so you have to dress nicely.”
“…A special day?”
I narrowed my eyes.
Unlike me, who was trembling with anxiety, Valentin raised his wine glass to his lips and smiled leisurely.
“I’m going to introduce you to the Knights of Berenice.”
“What?”
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