I woke up and, sensing something, turned to look beside me.
“………..”
A small brown dog was staring at me.
It was a long-haired breed with floppy ears, and its legs were thick compared to its body. Its body length was about the size of a baby like me. It must be a puppy.
“What’s that?”
Around the puppy, spirits were gathered. Fluffy spirits surrounded the fluffy puppy, making it look like some incomprehensible creature.
There are always a lot of spirits in the room, but they never gather like this when others come. It seems the puppy has caught the spirits’ attention.
In my past life, I met countless mean humans—no, after my parents were killed, I only encountered cruel humans. But I never met a mean animal. Whether it was a carnivorous bear or a lion, they were kind to me in my past life.
So, I didn’t feel scared of the puppy at all.
“What’s that?”
“Hun-hun.”
When I spoke, probably thinking I was calling it with meaningless words, the puppy wagged its small tail happily and came to sniff me. Its black, wet nose and black eyes were so cute. However, it was very dirty and smelled like a dog.
“What’s that? (You’ll get scolded, you know?)”
“Kyoon. Hun-hun-hun.”
Every time I spoke, the puppy wagged its tail happily. It was so cute. Goats are cute, but dogs are cute too.
It must be the puppy my parents are raising. Because even if the servants had a dog, they wouldn’t bring it to the mansion.
“Well then…”
How did it get onto this bed? It would be hard for the puppy to climb up by itself. Maybe someone put it here so I wouldn’t feel lonely.
I was grateful for the puppy because it was so cute, but it was too dirty. I began to worry whether my brother or sister might get scolded by my parents.
As I silently watched the puppy, it stretched out its front paws into the air, as if trying to catch the spirits.
It seems the puppy can see the spirits. It might be something like my dog version from my past life.
“What’s that?”
When I spoke, the puppy came closer to me as if asking what was wrong. Its smell wasn’t unpleasant. The smell of beasts was nostalgic.
“Hun-hun.”
The puppy sniffed me and wagged its tail.
“What’s that?”
When I spoke, the puppy’s tail wagged even harder. Watching it made me feel happy.
“Kya-kya.”
“Hun-hun-hun.”
When I laughed, the puppy seemed happy too.
Putting a puppy into a baby’s bed was an unthinkable thing to do. But I was grateful to whoever did such an unreasonable thing.
It really was cute.
As I spent a joyful time with the puppy, my mother arrived with a maid.
Even though she had been ill after giving birth to me, she came to see me every day without fail, and she would come multiple times a day.
At first, her complexion was very poor, and I was more worried about her than she was about me. Recently, she had started looking better and even sometimes gave me breast milk. She seemed to be recovering, and I was relieved.
“What’s that?”
“You’re in a good mood. …Huh?”
My mother tilted her head when she saw the puppy.
“Huh? When did this happen? A dog?”
The wet nurse, who had been in the room, became flustered.
“What’s that? (Didn’t you notice?)”
It was a surprise.
“A puppy?”
“What would you do if something happened to the young lady?”
One of the maids scolded the wet nurse.
“Ah, I-I’m sorry.”
Ignoring the wet nurse’s apology, the maid grabbed the back of the wet nurse’s neck and lifted the puppy up.
“Kyoon.”
The puppy let out a pitiful sound, scared and tucking its tail between its legs.
“What’s that? (Don’t hurt it.)”
I tried speaking, but of course, it didn’t understand.
“It’s quite dirty. Where did it sneak in from?”
“Make sure to support its bottom properly. The poor puppy.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Chastised by my mother, the maid readjusted her hold on the puppy.
My mother gazed at the puppy thoughtfully.
“Hmm. I don’t know this puppy. Could it be a puppy that someone’s raising? Or did it come from outside?”
“It’s hard to imagine a stray dog sneaking into the young lady’s room.”
“Yes, you’re right. Hmm.”
“I’ll investigate who brought the puppy in.”
“Yes, that’s important.”
I was picked up by my mother.
She was so beautiful. Now I could understand why my father was so in love with her.
“And change the bedding.”
“Understood. This dog is very dirty, so it’s a hygiene issue.”
“Kyoon.”
The puppy whined anxiously.
If things continued like this, they’d probably get rid of the puppy.
“What’s that? (Please don’t throw it away.)”
I reached my hand toward the puppy to let my mother know I liked it. But I knew it wouldn’t get through.
“What should we do with this dog?”
“Well, let’s wash it.”
“Huh? Wash it?”
“Yes. It seems like the young lady likes it. And it’s very cute.”
“What’s that? (What?)”
I never thought my mother would understand.
“Kya-kya!”
I laughed happily, and my mother smiled back at me.
“Ku-oon.”
Immediately, the puppy wagged its tail, almost as if it understood what was being said.
“I’ll take care of this one.”
“Understood.”
Though the maid didn’t seem fully satisfied, she didn’t argue.
As the maid left the room, holding the puppy,
“Take good care of it. It’s my cute dog.”
My mother reminded her.
Now that my mother had said that, I was sure the puppy would be fine. It would probably come visit soon.
Come to think of it, who put the puppy in the bed? Considering its size, it shouldn’t have been able to climb up on its own…
I wondered about this while nursing from my mother, burping, and falling asleep.
