Don't Obsess Over A Married Woman - Chapter 75

“It’s okay, it’s alright. You don’t have to be scared.”

It was a small puppy. About 3 months old.

Sergei carefully picked up the puppy in his arms. The pitiful creature trembling in his hold whimpered, then wagged its tail vigorously.

“It seems to have been abandoned. Poor thing……”

“……”

“It was wandering outside on such a cold day?”

The next morning, I went down to the dining room for a meal and heard some surprising news.

Last night, Lord Joseph and Sergei went for a walk and found a small gray puppy and brought it back.

The young puppy was reportedly shivering in the cold and whimpering in an alley, so they felt sorry for it and brought it back, and after washing it……

Woof woof! Pant pant pant.

“Mother! It’s Kong Sam!”

Its fur is shiny white, with one black dot each on its eyes and nose, for a total of three dots firmly embedded.

That’s right. This puppy was one we knew well.

No, honestly, I couldn’t recognize that this puppy was the Dot Sam we met at the pet shop back then.

It had grown bigger in the two weeks since then, and animals of the same breed all look similar anyway.

But Chersion recognized the child.

He said the shape of the ears and the position of the eyes, nose, and mouth were the same as the puppy from before, and the tail length was also the same.

I suppose so.

“Did it perhaps escape from the pet shop?”

Lord Joseph shook his head.

“I checked early this morning, but it seems to be abandonment rather than escape.”

“Abandonment…?”

My voice lowered at the word that was unpleasant just to hear.

Chersion turned to look at me in shock, so I had to adjust my mood again.

“A few days after we visited the pet shop and left, the Count and Countess came by. They adopted the puppies, saying the children wanted them……”

“And then?”

Lord Joseph shook his head and continued.

“The Count’s daughter developed a fever, I hear. Hives appeared on her skin and she showed symptoms of respiratory distress as well.”

Ah, an immune disorder.

That must have been quite troublesome indeed.

But I still couldn’t understand what that had to do with abandonment.

If it became difficult to raise them near the children, they could have kept them in a separate place, or found another owner, or even had one of the servants raise them separately.

If even that was too difficult, they could have taken them back to the pet shop they adopted from and returned them.

It’s obvious. They must have felt hurt in their pride. Or it became bothersome.

“In any case, it seems the Count’s family had no intention of taking responsibility. So we need to find a new owner.”

Chersion must have been waiting for these words. He was looking this way with sparkling eyes.

Well, it may have been a terrible experience for Dot Sam, but it worked out well for Chersion.

We were already considering going to pick up Dot Sam after two weeks had passed anyway.

‘If we had just gone, we would have made a wasted trip only to hear it had already been adopted.’

If that had happened, Chersion would have been very disappointed too. He might have regretted not bringing it home even if it was difficult back then.

“Alright, Chelsie. If you’re okay with it, take good care of it from now on. You have to feed it, take it for walks every day. Oh, and give it baths too.”

“Yaaay! Yes!”

“Taking responsibility for a life is difficult. You know that, right?”

“Yes! I understand, Mother!”

Chersion, who had been jumping up and down excitedly, reached out to Dot Sam…… no, the white puppy.

He called out “Come here” with sparkling eyes.

……However, a small problem arose here.

Instead of going to Chersion, Dot Sam was acting all cute next to Sergei who had rescued it.

“Heeeng. Kong Sam……”

“……”

Thanks to this, Sergei’s face became very awkward. He was already preparing to leave today.

At this rate, it seemed Dot Sam would leave the mansion with Sergei.

“Mother! It seems Kong Sam doesn’t remember me.”

No, this isn’t about not remembering……

“It feels closer to the person who rescued it.”

Sergei patted the small puppy’s head.

The little ball of fluff that had flopped over licked Sergei’s hand and wagged its tail furiously.

“Then, will Uncle Sergei take Kong Sam?”

Sergei shook his head.

“It’s difficult to raise pets in the Tower of Honor. It’s hard to manage them too.”

“Then what should we do?”

What else can we do.

It seems this is the only way after all. I glanced at Lord Joseph once before speaking.

“Then, if it’s alright with you, Lord Sergei. Could you perhaps stay at Daiern until Kong Sam, not Dot Sam, becomes close to Chelsie again?”

“……Pardon?”

He opened his eyes wide as if my proposal was quite unexpected.

“It happens to be the jubilee year, isn’t it? I also know that Lord Sergei doesn’t have a place to stay elsewhere. Besides, it will be difficult to find a hotel in the capital during this season.”

Just in case, I had already ordered one of the remaining guest rooms on the 4th floor to be cleaned.

“Actually, there’s another more important reason. The tutor Jepetto, who originally taught humanities to Karl and the children, will soon be returning to the Tower of Honor. We’re in quite a difficult situation as we need to find another home tutor.”

“……”

“Since Lord Sergei happened to visit Daiern, and you’re also the children’s uncle, I thought I might ask you.”

Only then did Sergei make a slightly contemplative face.

And seeing his hesitant green eyes, I was certain he would accept this proposal.

It’s not like I’ve only known Sergei for a day or two.

I was aware that it was regretful to take advantage of his kind nature. But I should make an excuse here.

This stubbornness of mine is not entirely for my own sake.

I knew that Sergei had been longing for home and family ever since his forced independence at a young age.

It bothered me that now that Sergei had finally found his way home like this, his relationship with his nieces and nephews wasn’t very good.

If they had even a little time to get to know each other, it seemed their relationship might improve.

Above all, I wanted to show my children that there was an adult as excellent as Sergei in the Daiern ducal family.

I admit that the adult men they’ve seen so far have been quite inadequate.

But that doesn’t mean Daiern is such a mess that the children should distrust the family.

I wanted to show them that.

“……If the Duchess insists so much.”

“This is wonderful!”

As expected, Sergei eventually agreed to my wishes. I clapped my hands in delight.

Chersion was also relieved to have the opportunity to become friends with Dot Sam.

Kardiel and Euphemina sat at the table as if uninterested in this matter.

Ah, I forgot something important.

“By the way, Chelsie. About the puppy’s name.”

“Kong Sam!”

Chersion called out the puppy’s name as if he had been waiting for this.

Sigh, I knew it would turn out like this. I was a bit disappointed as I had inwardly wanted to suggest Dot Sam, but I decided to go along with my son’s opinion.

Sergei, whom Kong Sam practically recognized as its owner, also seemed to agree with that name.

“It’s easier to call than Karneos Abraxio.”

“……”

The previous owner certainly had quite the talent for naming.

With a new family member, there was much to prepare.

First was the room issue.

The middle room on the 4th floor that had been left empty was to become Sergei’s space.

Fortunately, the furniture and bedding that Lady Baden had used for a few days before changing them out remained intact.

Around the time breakfast ended, Tutor Jepetto returned.

Tutor Jepetto was very surprised yet pleased to learn that even if he left, Sergei would take his place as the children’s home tutor.

Thus, his return to the tower was decided.

Still, following Chersion’s insistence that there should be a farewell party, Tutor Jepetto’s departure was set for tomorrow morning after completing the handover.

Come to think of it, there was one more interesting thing.

Before afternoon, Madam Petrika, the tailor, visited the Daiern mansion.

She brought the starry night rain scarf that I had been eyeing, saying it was an item Lady Baden had ordered.

“As for this scarf, it’s truly so beautiful that one can’t think there’s only one in the world. Isn’t it even more splendid now that it’s been processed like this?”

The completed scarf was indeed as eye-catching and beautiful as when I saw it last time.

I didn’t know Lady Baden had purchased this scarf.

‘If I had known, I would have bought it then.’

I waited because Lord Joseph told me to consider the purchase for a month, only to find it had a new owner.

But it was too late now.

Besides, just because the owner was gone didn’t mean that scarf would become mine.

It was right to send it to the Baden mansion. At least so it could be placed in her grave as a burial good.

It’s truly a shame.