I murmured softly to the dog. The dog, vigilantly watching those threatening it, turned its eyes to me. Its gaze was filled with hostility.
“I was trying to help you.”
As I stepped forward, Laches hurriedly grabbed my wrist, stopping me.
“Are you crazy, wanting to die? It’s an untamed hunting dog. Didn’t you hear from Tom already?”
“I remember.”
“It’s not a dog raised and trained by humans, but one that grew up in a monster’s nest with its wild instincts intact.”
“But talking to it…”
“Do you see it as a werecreature that transforms under a full moon?”
Laches frowned deeply. His clear intention to protect me, a mere maid, surprised the gathered knights.
“It’s been exposed to the monster’s energy for too long, it’s not just a normal hunting dog anymore. It’s half a monster.”
“That’s environmental. If it really was half-monster, it would have bitten or attacked people by now during its time here. But that never happened.”
“How can you be so sure… Ah, just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it won’t in the future.”
“It didn’t run away just to escape.”
I turned to look at the still growling dog, bread still in its mouth.
“It left because of its puppy.”
“…What?”
Laches seemed incredulous at my statement.
“It has a puppy. The dog left its puppy in the monster’s nest.”
When Laches attacked the monster’s nest and found this dog, it resisted, looking elsewhere. It had struggled to protect its one remaining puppy, out of five, only one survived. And it had to leave that one in that dangerous outside world.
The dog’s memories I saw through its eyes were solely focused on caring for its puppy.
“It’s not because it’s half-monster and aggressive, but because it left its puppy outside. It’s not eating the bread, just holding it for the same reason.”
Laches sharply turned his head to look at the hunting dog, which was still growling and glaring at the enclosure.
“Tom!”
Startled by Laches’ shout, the huntsman, Tom, hurried over.
“Is there a possibility that this dog had puppies?”
“It showed signs of having been pregnant, and its teats hadn’t dried up, so it might have had puppies. But… but given it was near a monster’s nest, it’s unlikely any of the puppies could have survived, so we assumed they were all dead…”
“Ha.”
Laches cut off Tom’s explanation with a deep sigh, sweeping his dry face with his large palm.
“Even if the puppy really survived, there’s no guarantee it’s still alive. We sent a team to check around the monster’s nest afterward, and there were no signs of any living creatures.”
“You’re right, Your Grace. But… that dog will never know that.”
I looked at the hunting dog. If it truly had only wild instincts left, it would have already bitten someone or caused harm and fled.
But it hadn’t.
“Animals can’t communicate using the same language as humans, so we need to make extra effort to understand each other.”
“Just because…”
“If you wanted to save and tame this dog, all the more reason.”
Despite saying if it’s untamed and unnecessary, it has no place in this estate, the dog’s memories told a different story.
Laches had brought the dog from the monster’s nest and even checked its health, despite it being an unnecessary burden.
It was as if he was trying to create a reason for the dog to stay here.
He let go of my hand. I walked past Laches and approached the baring dog.
“Nobody knew about the puppy, that’s why.”
I felt the dog might understand me.
“I was trying to help you, not separate you from your puppy.”
“Rrrr.”
Slowly, I extended my hand. The tense breathing of those around me was palpable. My hand gently touched the dog’s forehead.
“He wanted to save you.”
The dog didn’t bite me. Perhaps because it was affected by the monster’s energy, the dog was smart.
It knew who had helped it and who would help it.
The dog put down the bread and slowly lay down, hiding its teeth and closing its eyes trustingly.
“Yes. Everyone wants you to be safe.”
The dog’s past slowly unfolded to me. I could see where the puppy had hidden.
But that didn’t mean the puppy had survived until now. There was no way to send people out for a puppy that might be dead or alive.
I gently stroked the dog, and it seemed to understand all my confused feelings.
I had always thought my ability was just for reading the past, but it was more than that. It was another form of dialogue where words were absent.
As I petted the dog, I turned to see everyone looking at me.
“…Send out a search team.”
Laches, who had been silently observing, muttered softly.
“!”
Surprised, I looked up to see Laches smiling wryly, brushing his hair back.
“Your Grace! It’s dangerous!”
“Going out to save one puppy might bring more danger!”
Ignoring the worried words of the knights around him, Laches walked towards me.
“Just to be clear, I’m not doing this because of you.”
“…Your Grace.”
“It’s a life I brought here, so it’s my responsibility to take care of it.”
“But.”
“We’ve already cleared out all the monsters, so if we quickly scan the area, it won’t be dangerous. Besides, I think it will nag at me if we don’t check.”
Laches, having reasonably justified his decision to alleviate my guilt, sat in front of the hunting dog and gently stroked its head.
The dog, seemingly moved by Laches’ sincerity, quietly accepted his petting.
“Can you lead us to where your puppy is?”
“Woof!”
As if understanding Laches’ question, the dog that had been lying down suddenly stood up, barked, and circled around in place.
“Alright, good. Then you’re coming too.”
Laches stood up and looked around at the knights.
“I’ll go personally. Only those who want to follow me should come.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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