I immediately began to investigate the ritual to switch sacrifices. Lady Serena wasn’t adept at ritual magic—I was almost certain that she would come to me for assistance. A squire had to always think a few steps ahead of what their master wished to do—that was one of our many roles.
A week later, as I expected, Lady Serena ordered me to conduct a ritual to switch sacrifices. I was prepared for it and had steeled my resolve too. All that was left was to add the finishing touches.
I had a red dog that I had been with for the past seven years. I met it when it was still a puppy, but time had done a number on the dog. It hardly moved around now due to its age. Admittedly, though, my pet had always been a quiet one and often curled up by my feet as I read books.
When I walked around with my nose stuck in a book, it would tug at my clothes just as I was about to bump into something. If I continued to read and forgot to eat and sleep, it would growl as though to tell me to eat and to feed it too. At times, it used its mouth to bring me a book that I wanted to read, but I soon stopped it from doing so because it would often ruin the book. My dog loved Lady Serena. In fact, all of the squires’ dogs were infatuated with her.
When I returned to my room, I called out to my dog, who had been waiting for me.
“Please save Lady Serena,” I said.
I didn’t expect my dog to understand my selfishly cruel words. It locked its gaze on me and slowly approached my side.
“I’m sorry,” I said as I stroked my pet’s head.
✦ ✦ ✦
Before I began the ritual, I cast a suggestion spell on my dog. The suggestion spell wasn’t powerful; if the target wasn’t proactive or willing to act, the magic was ineffective. For example, even if I used it to order my target to die, if they didn’t have strong suicidal tendencies, they wouldn’t push themselves to end their lives. It couldn’t really force anyone to act against their wishes, and the spell merely acted as encouragement to an idea one already had.
I utilized my dog’s love for Lady Serena to cast this spell. I gave it the motivation to act for her sake and encouraged it to become a sacrifice in her stead. This was more than enough for my pet. I also cast some support magic that increased stamina, allowing my elderly dog to move nimbly once more. The spell would only last a short amount of time, but my dog could run around as much as she liked, just as she had in her youth. According to my calculations, six dogs would be equivalent to one human offering. I had already told the other squires beforehand that there was a chance that Lady Serena would use herself for the ritual and cast the same spells on their dogs as well.
I went around speaking with Isabel, Emma, Richard, Oscar, and Lewis. We all agreed to lose the only family that we orphans had gained, all for Lady Serena’s sake. That was why everyone was quiet at the training ground—we had decided to let go of our precious family. Isabel’s eyes were bloodshot. The usually cheery Emma had her eyes downcast, while Richard was tense and prickly as though he had reverted to his childhood days. Oscar’s brows were furrowed so much that there were deep wrinkles all through his face, and Lewis had his eyes wide open, desperate not to let any tears spill out. No one could make this sacrifice without batting an eye.
I was the one who set up the barrier and thus could undo it whenever I wished. At my signal, the dogs would rush out. Even if my body refused to move, I could command our pets.
Miracles never just happened. That was why they were called miracles.
I didn’t want to lose Lady Serena. I was willing to sacrifice my previous family for her sake. No matter how smart dogs were, they couldn’t offer their lives of their own accord. This was no miracle—these creatures acted in accordance with my crooked scheme. If I had sat back, this world would have been altered, and we would all have forgotten those dogs—nary a shred of their existence would remain in our memories. But I couldn’t do that.
And so, I cast a spell on myself. It was the same one embedded in Reset that allowed memories to be fixed and unaffected. The spell was effective for a short amount of time, but if I activated it the moment the world changed, I knew that I would be able to keep my memories. Only I remembered everything.
Only I knew of those twelve eyes that had disappeared from this world. Neither Lady Serena nor my comrades would know about the dogs’ sacrifices—no, this was my sin and burden to bear. That was fine with me. Everything went well, and only I needed to know the truth behind it all.
However, ever since that day, Lady Serena kept dogs away from her. Lewis had always misunderstood her character; while she was loved by dogs, she wasn’t fond of them one bit. I had noticed it pretty early on, but I decided to stay quiet because I found the situation humorous. But as time went on, Lady Serena gradually became closer with the pups, and I knew that she must have formed a bond with them. That was why she tried to push the dogs away from the light and become the sacrifice instead.
Since her memories were also altered and the dogs’ existence was gone, her disdain for the animals surfaced once more. They loved Lady Serena so much that they willingly offered their lives for her, but not a trace of them remained within her mind. I thought that only I should retain these memories, but this harsh reality made me feel inexplicably sad and lonely.
✦ ✦ ✦
Today, Lady Serena was scheduled to head to the royal castle where Queen Eleanor the Saintess resided. I tagged along with my lady. The two had become friends, and Lady Serena was elated to have made her first friend who was the same gender as her. She often visited the castle to play.
The royal family loved dogs and had many as pets. But the keen Lady Eleanor knew of Lady Serena’s preferences and kept the dogs away when she visited. However, on this day, a puppy escaped and rushed straight for Lady Serena. My lady was as popular as always with these animals. I swiftly stood in front of her to catch the pup, but Lady Serena was quicker than I was. In one elegant movement, she crouched down and gently scooped the puppy up in her arms. The chamberlain of the royal family apologized profusely for the mishap, but my lady simply stared at the animal. She made no attempt to return it, showing no timidness or fear in her gaze. Instead, her eyes began to fill with tears.
I couldn’t help myself.
“Lady Serena,” I called out. “I thought you hated dogs.”
Only then did she finally return the puppy to the chamberlain.
“I used to hate them,” she admitted. “I’m not sure what caused the change of heart, but before I knew it, I grew to love them.”
“But you always kept dogs away from you,” I said.
“It’s quite confusing, isn’t it?”
As the chamberlain swiftly retreated with the puppy in their arms, Lady Serena stared after them.
“I like dogs,” she said. “But for some inexplicable reason, when I stare into their eyes, it makes me sad. So much so that I begin to tear up. It’s weird, isn’t it? I’ve been called names like demon or devil, and yet I still have the capacity to cry. That’s why I kept them away from me. Even now, I almost cried. Goodness… I wonder why I became this way. It truly is a mystery.”
“My lady…” I muttered.
I knew the answer to her question, but her change of heart shouldn’t have been possible.
“Oh? Alice, whatever is the matter?” Lady Serena asked with a smile on her face.
“What do you mean, my lady?” I inquired.
“You’re crying. We’ve known each other for quite a while, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen you cry. When you learned of my love for dogs, did it move you to tears?”
Only then did I realize that something was trickling down my eyes. My vision grew blurry as a droplet fell from my cheek and onto the ground.
“I suppose it did,” I replied.
I smiled. I couldn’t understand why, but her words absolutely thrilled me. Lady Serena looked shocked that I was smiling. I found that to be a touch rude.
“Because to me, that’s nothing short of a miracle,” I said.