Chapter 5

I was still dumbfounded even after I reached my room. Nevertheless, I immediately fell asleep after I laid on the bed because of that tiring night stroll. The last thing that replayed on my mind before I drifted off to sleep was my husband running away.

When Lari came to wake me up, my mood was down again, but I pretended to be fine. My morning went smoothly as I washed my face and got breakfast.

“Lari. I think I saw my husband yesterday.”

“Pardon? Prince Shuert?”

“So his name is Shuert……… but then, he ran away as soon as he saw me.”

“Oh. He’s not fond of people.”

I suppose so, too. Because of the curse of the wizard, he lived as a monster during the day since he was young that perhaps he hadn’t had a choice but to hide in the shadows and got no one to talk to.

I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be a monster myself and having to walk around in contrast to the standard time for everyone else. I might as well just curled up inside the room.

For me, it would be altogether a good and a bad idea.

“Have you seen it? You know…”

“No, I’m afraid not. I only knew of the rumors, and I don’t think anyone has ever seen it.”

Lari went to work after a short meal, and Elle sat by the window and glanced at the sun.

Even if I went outside a little bit under such a bright sky, it would be terrible for me, but what would my monster husband like to do from sunrise till sundown? Do you want to roam around to your heart’s content?

But why am I…

“Haa..”

I’m so depressed, and yet the world is too bright.

Soon, Elle irritatedly draped the curtains all over the room.

* * *

It seems that sleeping has reached its limits now.

In the end, I was obsessed with meaningless thoughts for a long time, so I went out looking for Lari with the idea of just staying with her.

What would have happened if Lari’s not here?

No matter how much I cleaned and cleaned this palace up, it always looks dirty. Only this room was regularly cleaned.

Still, this is a royal palace, so that means the budget was already set every year.

I don’t know who’s managing this palace’s budget, but let us find that person and perhaps let Irene take care of some of the management.

“……Ah, no, it’s too bothersome.”

Ugh.

To manage this palace and to sort out all the stuff, it seemed that one year would be too short. No matter how hard one says that I have nothing to do right now, it would be impossible for a lowly staff to become the CEO of a conglomerate overnight. It’s too much for me to handle it at this point.

Eventually, Elle shook her head and made a compromise with reality, moving toward the familiar garden.

As I was looking for Lari, I stumble upon the white dog again, even though I didn’t go deep into the garden today.

The dog was sleeping under a tree, and I quietly sat down next to it after looking at it for a long time, hoping it wouldn’t wake up any time soon.

The dog was fluffy, so I think it’ll feel good to pet him… Or is it a she?

I tilted my head to look down, and it was quite apparent that it’s a he.

However, I was hesitant to approach it recklessly at first because he was very wary of people.

Lari immediately asked other servants after I told her that time, but the only animal raised in the Imperial Palace was the canary of the Empress.

So what the hell is he?

“Why do you sleep so pitifully like that?”

Is it an abandoned dog? Who threw it away?

I wonder if there’s anything to eat within the surroundings of the palace. Don’t tell me you’re eating grass?

After I was thinking such things, the dog’s eyes flashed open.

When our eyes met, I knew then for the first time that even dogs could have facial expressions like human beings.

When I was Irene Song, I was more of a cat-lover rather than a dog-lover, so I’ve never had a dog and never knew what they would look like from a spitting distance.

“Wooo!”

You’re freaking out as soon as you woke up, huh.

“Humph.”

I’m not interested in a dog who doesn’t like me either. Elle looked away from the dog immediately, feigning ignorance.

Nevertheless, the dog was scampering and galloping so far away.

But the funny thing was, he’s not entirely gone, he merely stood a bit in a conspicuous distance and was looking at me.

Would he have been like that for a long time, if not for Elle, who left without hesitation at the voice of Lari calling from afar?

I know it was childish, but I didn’t even look back to where the dog was.

“…….”

However, was it just my imagination that I felt a stinging sensation at the back of my head?

Somehow, the dog’s circumstance was bothering me.

It’s quite ironic that I empathized with the dog when his current situation was more or less the same as mine.

An abandoned and unwanted child.

It’s awfully harsh to be thrown into a novel and live as a character that no one can understand.

At least I had Lari, but the dog seemed like no one was taking care of it.

Finally, we decided to have lunch here in the garden.

Lari said she would bring a tea table, but it was too heavy, so I only asked her for food and a mat. I didn’t know that having a picnic like this seems fun.

I always lost my appetite, so every time I would wake up to a salad or a soup and fig pies at lunch and more fig pies at dinner, but today I was able to eat a sandwich.

When I sat down on the mat, I also invited Lari to eat together with me. The Lari, who often said, ‘it’s preposterous for a maid to dine with her master’, bite a sandwich today.

Hmm, it seems I should come out more often.

“Oh! There’s really a dog!”

“Yes. How did he even get in here?”

“Perhaps it’s Prince Shuert’s dog.”

“But somehow, he’s a bit skinny, don’t you think?”

“Indeed.”

It was said that only canaries were raised in the palace, so there could be no dog food.

Lari said she had mixed the cold food left by the maids with some sauce. It was the dog that didn’t come near in the first place. When Lari approached, he moved farther away, so we couldn’t get close to him.

I thought he’d eat on his own if we left, so until a while ago, I left the plate with food under the tree where the dog was lying earlier.

“Once in a while, I’ll take care of him whenever I see him.”

“Do you feel sorry for the dog?”

Do I feel sorry? I couldn’t see the dog’s face well because he’s too far away now.

“……the dog’s exactly like me without anyone.”

“Lady Elle…”

Lari was aghast and suddenly exclaimed with a tearful look.

“You know that I’m here for you, right? I’m staying with Lady Elle forever.…!”

“Yes, thank you.”

But Elle knows. At least with Lari here, it wouldn’t feel lonely, but she would never get away from the idea that she was just an outsider.

‘Loneliness’ and ‘understanding’ were two separate things.