"Could you tell me that story in more detail?"
Just as Estelle, sensing she had found a clue, was about to press for more information—
"Things looked a bit hectic out front. Do you have a guest?"
Right then, the old woman's voice rang out.
Before Estelle could register that this was the survivor they had been desperately searching for, Duren moved first.
"Grandma!"
Duren rushed straight into the arms of the old woman, who was leaning on her cane.
"Good heavens, who are you, child?"
The old woman was bewildered by the sudden, fervent welcome from an unfamiliar boy.
"Grandma! It's me!"
On the excited Duren's head, his ears perked up sharply, and his fluffy tail wagged furiously.
"It's me!"
"...Dudu?"
"Grandma!"
The old woman's pupils widened.
Those familiar ears and tail.
That face smiling back at her.
Though the shape of the ears and tail aside, the child's appearance was completely different from what she remembered, she knew instinctively.
"You were so small back then…"
It was her puppy.
"You've grown up. My baby."
The puppy had returned, reborn as a human.
It was something that made no sense.
But then again, a human growing puppy-like ears and a tail made no sense either.
"Have you ever seen this child's face before?"
At Estelle's question, the old woman shook her head.
"No. My memory falters sometimes in my old age, but I can say this with certainty. This is the first time we've met."
"As you can see, our child firmly believes himself to be that puppy named Dudu. If it's not too much to ask, could you tell us more about this Dudu?"
Duren clung tightly to the old woman.
Perhaps it was because he had always stuck to Estelle like a leech until now.
Suppressing a twinge of disappointment, Estelle spoke politely.
Since it wasn't something she couldn't talk about, the old woman gave a small nod.
"Dudu was a stray puppy wandering the streets. After I fed him a few times, he eventually settled at our house."
Recalling that time, the old woman smiled faintly—but the smile soon faded.
"He never barked, and even after about a year his body hardly grew at all. I thought it was strange… then one day a doctor happened to pass through our village, so I asked him about it."
"The doctor looked into his mouth and told me this: the pup wasn't nearly as young as I thought."
"What?"
"At the time, Dudu's face was no bigger than my fist, and his body only about this size. Of course I assumed he was a newborn pup…"
From the way she gestured, Dudu had been no larger than the palm of her hand.
\[It's a procedure that's become popular among nobles these days. Since puppies are cutest when they're little, they inject drugs to keep them looking that way even as they age.]
Out of the doctor's mouth came cruel words.
\[And judging by the fact his vocal cords were surgically damaged so he couldn't bark, it's obvious he must've belonged to some noble household.]
\[...]
\[But once he got "too big," it seems they abandoned him.]
\[What are you saying? Too big? He's this tiny!]
\[Nobles prefer puppies small enough to fit in a teacup. Compared to that, he was considered large. Judging by his paws, he should have grown much bigger than he is now… it's unfortunate.]
\[…]
\[Grandmother, you should start preparing yourself. This little one won't live long.]
At that moment, the old woman had hurriedly covered Dudu's ears—so that he would not hear those words.
And now, just like back then, she covered Duren's ears.
"Um?"
Duren tilted his head in confusion when his ears were suddenly cupped.
Seeing that innocent face, the old woman's hands pressed down more firmly.
"If he manages to live another year…"
Her voice came out weak, barely more than a whisper.
Even with his ears covered, she feared Duren might hear.
"…they said that would be considered a long life."
"Grandma, you hurt?"
Bewildered, Duren reached out his hand.
"Don't cover them."
As the old woman had hoped, it seemed Duren hadn't heard the sorrowful story.
But since her face was filled with sadness, he gently caressed her cheek—
as if wiping away tears that did not fall.
It had been the same back then.
On the day she was told Dudu wouldn't live long, that tiny puppy had licked the tears streaming down the old woman's face.
"Fortunately, Dudu lived three more years. If he had been human, he would have been about five years old, like this child."
The old woman finally removed her hands from covering Duren's ears.
"What do you mean by saying the puppy saved you?"
Lennox asked the question.
Though it was directed at the old woman, Duren shot his hand up first.
"That day, I felt really weird!"
"..."
"So I kept telling Grandma to hurry, hurry!"
People always said his grandmother had died because of the demons, but in the end, Dudu had protected her.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. Since early morning, Dudu kept barking for a walk, so I had no choice but to get up. But because my steps are so slow, even after the demons struck the village, I hadn't gotten far."
Calamity had come without warning.
The old woman, startled at the sight of the village blackened and ruined, saw the demons surging toward her like a wave.
With his tiny body, Dudu desperately pushed her away.
[...No!]
The demons reached right up to her feet—
but after swallowing the little puppy whole, they seemed satisfied and came no closer.
"Everything this child says is true."
"Then let me ask you just once more."
Unlike Estelle, who was shaken by Dudu's tragic story, Lennox questioned in a voice devoid of any emotion.
"Are you truly certain you do not know this child's face?"
"Yes. I stake everything I have on it—I have never seen him before. There was no such child in our village."
"..."
"If Dudu has been brought back to life, then it is nothing less than divine grace. A blessing from Reltasia…"
Overcome, the old woman had to fight desperately not to let tears fall.
Even after the story ended, Duren refused to let go of the old woman, so Estelle and Lennox quietly stepped aside to give them space.
A puppy becoming human—
something utterly impossible had happened.
Both Estelle and Lennox needed time to整理 their thoughts.
"Duren suddenly grew ears and a tail, yet you don't seem all that surprised."
"I already received a report from Pippin."
In fact, Pippin's report—filled with complaints about Lennox—had also included that detail.
"So then, it makes sense to believe that Duren is truly the reincarnation of that puppy, Dudu."
There were too many things that couldn't be explained if one simply dismissed it as nonsense.
And the memories that matched with the old woman hammered in the certainty of Dudu's rebirth.
'Even I ended up transmigrating into a book, didn't I? Then why couldn't a puppy be reborn as a human?'
At last, Estelle felt she had identified the sense of incongruity she'd always noticed while watching over Duren.
She quickly accepted it—but the problem was Lennox.
Would he believe it?
"It does seem that way."
Contrary to her worry, he accepted it right away.
Thinking they might finally be on the same page, Estelle spoke her mind.
"How about letting Duren stay here as long as he wishes?"
"Duren longed for his grandmother all this time, and she seems to be a good person as well…"
"Estelle Bel—"
Lennox almost called her Bellonsa out of habit, but remembering her earlier advice, he corrected himself.
"Estelle. I told you to live quietly for a year, didn't I?"
"But this concerns the child's happiness. You saw Duren's face just now too, didn't you? If we allow him even a little more time with his grandmother, then Duren will—"
"Enough."
Lennox cut her off coldly.
"And if the boy then says he wants to live with that old woman for the rest of his life, will you allow that too?"
"Once you make one exception, the second comes easily. Unless you mean to let him live forever as that woman's grandson, do not meddle further."
He spoke sharply, unwilling to leave any room for compromise.
"That child is destined to become the heir of Winterlen."
If the priests heard the tale of a mere puppy reborn as a human, they would erupt in outrage.
According to their doctrine, humans might be reincarnated as humans—but an animal being reborn as a human was impossible.
If such a being were to become Winterlen's successor, opposition would be inevitable.
"…How tiresome."
The words slipped from Lennox's mouth as he thought about how troublesome it would be to silence the people here.
Compared to his previous life, he had gained no benefit at all from learning this information.
Hearing his muttered words, Estelle's face darkened instantly.
"Don't tell me… you called it troublesome for him to spend time with his family? All I'm asking is that he be given a chance to say a proper farewell. The parting came on him far too suddenly…!"
"Partings are always like that."
"..."
"Enough of this useless, bothersome waste of time. We're returning to the duchy as we are."
Since he could not bring up his previous life, Lennox didn't bother to clear up Estelle's misunderstanding and simply let it stand.
"If we just leave like this, Duren will be alone again."
"And so?"
The way he said it—genuinely asking what the problem was—left Estelle at a loss for words.
And in that moment, she became certain.
Lennox hadn't accepted Duren's difference because he was understanding.
As long as the boy was qualified to be admitted into Winterlen, nothing else mattered to him.
It was ruthless indifference.
"Duren will spend his whole life with you, Duke. He is your family. And if he's family, then you shouldn't be teaching him that partings are sudden—you should be teaching him that partings aren't only painful."
Estelle glared at Lennox.
He understood, in his head, what she was trying to say.
But to him, her words sounded overly idealistic—just the sort of thing a woman of Bellonsa would say.
Estelle was a hothouse flower raised in Bellonsa's sheltered greenhouse.
Had it been the count who raised her in secret like a hidden treasure who made her this way?
The thought stirred a pang of resentment.
"Estelle. I didn't marry a meddlesome wife."
Lennox let out a weary sigh, not wishing to continue an unnecessary quarrel.
He began to turn away—
when Estelle spoke.
"Let's divorce."
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]