Jeffrey spoke with such a serious expression that I couldn’t help but gulp. Even so, I nodded firmly.
It turned out that these were the only two matters Susanna wanted to settle with me, so I took the tool of Dark Magic and left the two of them there, as they wanted to discuss how they were going to assist Cezar the next time they saw him. In order to return to the Magical Ministry, I headed to the palace’s gates.
Susanna gave me the following piece of advice before I left: I should rely on my own magic, but also on Pochi, my familiar. It was true that Pochi, who could even turn gigantic when I needed him to, was pretty dependable, but there had also been times where he ignored my instructions and ran amok.
Maybe I should talk to him more often. After having this thought, and seeing there was no one else around in the corridor I was standing in, I quietly told Pochi to come out.
“Woof,” Pochi barked energetically as he leaped out from my shadow.
He looked so adorable, sitting there looking up at me with his big round eyes and wagging his tail, that I reached down to stroke his fluffy little head. He seemed pleased and started to close his eyes.
Yep. That’s my little guy. He’s the cutest.
“Pochi, you see, some dangerous people might be after me. If it ever looks like I’m in danger, will you protect me?” I asked tentatively.
“Woof,” replied Pochi, seeming to have understood me.
I picked Pochi up. He happily rubbed his head against me.
Ah, my little guy is just too cute. Looking back now, I remembered how, in my past life, dogs all seemed to hate me, and when the same thing seemed to be true in this life, I started to give up on the idea of ever petting their fluffy fur like this. But then this miraculous puppy, Pochi, appeared. He was so fluffy that, if I’m honest, I could spend all day petting him. So fluffy, so fluffy, ah, his fur feels so good to stroke.
While I was petting Pochi to my heart’s content, suddenly he stirred in my arms.
“Eh? What’s wrong?” I asked as he started to kick with his legs, clearly asking to be put down. After I gently put him back down on the floor, he ran off as fast as his little legs would carry him. “Eh?! Is this really happening again?!”
Weren’t we just having the loveliest time two people—well, one person and one dog—can have? Or am I the only one who felt that way...?
Though I felt sad, I hiked up my skirt and sprinted after Pochi as fast as I could. Chasing after Pochi eventually brought me to an unsurprising destination—this was my fourth visit. The uncle of Jeord and the other princes—who was also the previous king’s youngest child—lived a reclusive life in a building nearby, which had been declared off-limits. I approached Pochi, who had flopped down on a patch of grass that was only dimly lit by the sun.
“Is there something here?” I asked.
Pochi looked back at me with his big, round eyes, and wagged his tail, but said nothing in answer to my question. The fact that this was the fourth time Pochi had run away to this place made me feel sure that there was something important about it. Though the possibility remained that he might just find it comfortable because it was unusually dark.
I cast my gaze across my surroundings. The area was dense with trees and a bit gloomy, but besides that there was nothing unusual about it. Each time we ended up here before, I immediately headed back, knowing it was off-limits—but I couldn’t help but wonder why Pochi kept coming here. With Pochi at my side, I decided to take a quick stroll around the area. Curiously, now Pochi obediently walked beside me like a good boy.
Outside that patch of grass, the surrounding area was mostly bright and sunny. It seemed only that area, where the trees hadn’t been pruned and their leaves grew more densely, was left gloomy. It looked to me like, if the trees had only been pruned neatly, the sun would be able to shine through and it would be a much prettier spot. Part of my reason for thinking so came from a number of signs here and there suggesting that this area was once tended more carefully.
Though the building where Jeord’s uncle was holed up certainly showed signs of its age, when I looked closely at it, I could see it had been designed with a good deal of taste—as one would expect from a building standing on the grounds of a palace—and I could tell that someone important had lived there. It was probably because the building was so stately that the royal family had started using it, but I wondered who had lived there originally.
The last time I found myself standing in front of the building, I noticed a window was open. Then a man I assumed to be Jeord’s uncle stuck his head out of the window. I only saw him briefly, but he made a very strong impression. He was so beautiful that I could hardly believe he belonged to this world. Even though I was sure that was the first time we’d met, for some reason he already knew my name, and to top it off he really disliked me. It was a pretty staggering turn of events, so I could still remember it well, even after some time had passed.
I bet the window won’t open today.
“You’re quite famous for being a villainess who plays with the hearts of princes,” he had said before adding, “You continuously ignore his romantic advances, hurt him by doing so, and you don’t even realize it? You truly are despicable.”
The declarations he made about me that day were completely different from the kind of insults I’d heard whispered about me in society before—they really hit the mark, and wounded me deeply. However, because of what he said, I was inspired to think more deeply about my situation afterward, so part of me wanted to thank him. But the thought of having my heart pierced by more frank admonishments caused me to recoil slightly.
I briskly walked past the window in question and advanced through the gloomy thicket of trees, but just as I expected, there was nothing of note. Something told me that I had better not venture much further. Just as I decided that I might as well turn back, Pochi wagged his tail before dashing deep into the undergrowth.
“Eh?! Pochi, not again!”
Panicking, I hustled after him, only to see him dive into a large bush with a rustle of leaves. I knew that if I leaped into the bush myself, I was sure to get covered in foliage, so I thought it would be better to walk around it.
“Whoa, what are you doing?!”
Suddenly, I heard a voice cry out from behind the bush Pochi had leaped into.
Oh no, there was a person there?! There was nothing for it but to plunge into the bush myself. Parting the undergrowth with my hands, I emerged from the bush to find Pochi wagging his fluffy tail as he pestered a young man.
“Sorry on behalf of my puppy,” I called out as I approached the man Pochi was bothering.
Then he turned to face me. He had sparkling golden hair and beautiful black eyes, dark as obsidian. This strikingly beautiful man was the very individual I’d just been thinking of. I didn’t think I’d actually meet him again. Our eyes locked.
“This place is off-limits. What do you think you’re doing, trespassing here?” he said icily, as he stared daggers at me.
“I’m sorry. My pet wandered in here, so I came chasing after him.” I hurriedly scooped Pochi up as he ran around the man in circles. Pochi looked up at me discontentedly. I gave him a scolding look in return, as if to say, Bad dog.
“Don’t let your pet run loose on palace grounds. You lack common sense,” said the man, again with an icy glare.
“You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on,” I said, bowing deeply.
“Now that you’ve found your pet, hurry up and leave. You’re an eyesore.”
Wow, this guy sure does hate me. Ah, but wait, there’s something I wanted to say to him.