Side Story 2 The New Pup

 

 

 

Side Story 2

The New Pup

 

WHAT would you do if you were reborn?

It’s a silly little question.

I remembered discussing this topic with friends in my past life. Of course, I never really gave it much thought—it was just a fun topic for conversation.

I didn’t even remember my answer anymore.

“…But now, this is definitely what I want.”

I stared at the row of dishes in front of me, murmuring under my breath.

On the day I regained my past-life memories, a single wish took shape in my heart. It was something I thought would prove impossible, but now, in this moment, it had come true.

“What’s the matter, Your Majesty…?”

Oops. That was close.

I’d just suddenly frozen in place.

I smiled at Gilbert to distract from his question and picked up a spoon. It was time for the first bite. Dipping into my bowl, I dug out a scoop of light-pink ice cream.

Strawberry ice cream.

The treat was cold and smooth on my tongue, and as it started to melt, I could make out the sour-sweet taste of the berries. It was the same flavor I remembered from my past life. I felt myself break into a smile.

“This is delicious…! It’s like I’m eating strawberry snow!!”

“Hehe. I’m glad you like it.”

My heart was leaping for joy just like Gilbert’s was. His eyes lit up.

I don’t mean to exaggerate, but this strawberry ice cream was my dearest wish.

Since I died in my past life while walking my dog, Jiro, I never got a chance to eat my homemade strawberry ice cream that day. That fact was a bitter regret of mine, as a lover of food.

Of course, I was plenty curious about everyone I left behind—Jiro, my family and friends, and even my work—but all I could do was accept that there was no going back to see them again.

I pushed away my sadness with that explanation and instead focused on something I actually was capable of doing in this world—creating strawberry ice cream.

The one thing I wanted more than anything after being reborn is to eat strawberry ice cream.

Sure, I’m a bit of a glutton, but I can’t tell a lie when it comes to my appetite.

I’d been busy as of late with the chiffon cake preparations for His Majesty’s birthday, but the weather was a bit warmer today, so I decided ice cream would be a nice treat for the kitchen staff.

With the help of Gilbert and his extensive cooking knowledge, our venture was a success.

“Thank you, Gilbert. You’ve helped grant a wish of mine.”

“Your Majesty…?”

Gilbert stared at me, spoon in hand and confusion on his face.

Well, that makes sense.

I couldn’t tell him about my past life, but I still wanted to share my appreciation.

“Your Majesty, you wanted this ice cream that badly…?”

“I certainly did, and it was delicious. I never thought I’d be able to eat it, so I guess I froze up with emotions for a moment there.”

“…Yes, I see how this ice cream could send one into fits of delight.”

Gilbert gave a deep nod. It seemed he was taken with his first taste of the sweet ice cream.

“Are you sure you don’t mind us chefs taking the rest of it?”

“Of course not. It was supposed to be a present for all of you in the first place. I’d be honored for you to eat it. Although…” I paused to look around the room. “I guess Berry’s not here today. I’d like you to leave some ice cream to offer her too.”

“Of course. That Gardener Cat is our strawberry ice cream patron, after all… Or should I say, paw-tron.”

The two of us smiled. Our minds were filled with images of the tiny little Berry.

It was Berry, the Gardener Cat, who gifted us with these strawberries in the first place. They weren’t widely available, both within Wolfvarte and Elltoria, so at first, I thought strawberry ice cream would remain a distant dream.

But thanks to Berry, we could now stuff our mouths with homemade strawberry ice cream of our own. I wanted her to try it too, as a token of my appreciation, but she didn’t seem to be around today.

“That’s strange. She can usually tell when we’re making something with strawberries.”

“Is she somewhere in the house?”

Maybe she’s going on one of her little patrols? Or she might be out in the forest, keeping an eye on her hidden strawberry patch, watching the berries grow bigger for another day.

“Gilbert, may I borrow a basket? I’m going to bring the ice cream to Berry.”

◇　◇　◇

I quickly found Berry out on her rounds.

She was returning from the direction of the strawberry patch, her tail bouncing with each step. Lucian opened the basket in front of her. Immediately, Berry dashed more than fifty feet to close the distance, perhaps catching a whiff of strawberries. She didn’t hesitate to make use of all four of her legs this time.

“You’re so fast…!”

“Mrow mrow? Meow meow meeeooow?”

Berry did laps around Lucian and me, pressing us for more information.

…So cute.

She stared up at the basket and twitched her little nose.

“Are strawberries like catnip to you, Berry?” I asked.

Her green eyes were pointed straight at me.

“Catnip? I don’t care about whatever that is. I want strawberries! Strawberries!!”

Was that what she just said to me?

I took out the plate of strawberry ice cream, and Berry was already standing on her hind legs. She couldn’t wait.

I set the plate on top of the basket lid and handed Berry her tiny silver spoon.

“Here. Eat up.”

“Mrah!!”

Berry let out a cry, perhaps one of thanks, and dug her spoon straight into the ice cream. She brought the scoop up to her mouth.

“Hraah?!”

Berry’s whiskers perked straight up. Her tail puffed up, and she was frozen in shock.

Does she not like cold things?

I watched her with concern, until the cat finally unfroze and sprung back into motion.

“She takes a bite, stares at the spoon, then goes in for another bite…over and over again.” Lucian seemed amused as he observed this pattern.

“‘When I put the spoon in my mouth, the ice cream just melts into a puddle all on its own. I’m not even chewing it, but I can taste the strawberries. How strange.’ Or something like that?” I added my own dubbing of Berry’s thoughts.

The way she looked so entranced by the ice cream on her spoon was amusing.

“Lucian, how about we have our dessert out here?”

“Of course. Please have a seat.”

I sat down atop the blanket Lucian had spread on the ground.

Along with the ice cream, I had used some strawberry jam in a cookie recipe. Since it was nice and sunny out today, I was in the mood for a little picnic.

I watched Berry, still in a standoff with her spoon, and took my first bite of cookie. It was light and crisp, and as I chewed, I felt the sugary, fragrant sensation grow in my mouth.

Some of the cookies were light pink in color, since we mixed strawberries directly into the dough. Others were baked to a nice brown hue and topped with a dollop of crimson jam and a sprinkling of nuts to give them some texture. Others were shaped into small hearts, stars, and even paw prints, thanks to the new cookie cutters I had transmuted.

The last thing in my basket was a cherry pie the chefs made for me one day earlier. When I bit into a slice, I tasted the sweet, juicy cherries hiding beneath a layer of flaky crust.

“Yum, what a treat! It’s truly the perfect day for a picnic.”

Strawberries and cherries—I could never get enough of any treat that used these sweet, seasonal fruits.

Smacking my lips in satisfaction, I saw that Berry had finished her ice cream and was now eyeing my cookies.

“Would you like a cookie too, Berry?”

She nodded and stretched her front paws out toward me. I placed a brown paw-print-shaped cookie on top of her smooth, black paw pads.

Berry clutched the cookie between her two paws and began to nibble at it. I could hear the tiny crunches as she ate. She finished her snack in an instant. Next, I handed her one of the stained-glass cookies.

“Mrah…?”

Confused, she held her cookie up toward the sun and gazed at it.

The stained-glass cookies are crafted with an opening in the middle and filled with colored candy. When baked, the candy loses its color and becomes transparent, resulting in a beautiful panel that resembles stained glass.

Berry had one of the cookies with a candy panel made with strawberry jam. The sunlight poured in through that layer, casting a red glow on her fur.

“Don’t worry, Berry. It looks like glass, but you can eat it.”

I took another cookie and bit into it so that she could see for herself. With a look of relief, the cat sniffed at the cookie and took her first bite.

“Meow meow meow!!” Berry cried happily.

To my delight, she seemed pleased with the taste of the stained-glass cookies.

◇　◇　◇

BERRY and I—and sometimes even Lucian—continued to help ourselves to one cookie after the next. It was a relaxing, peaceful way of spending our afternoon, until suddenly, Berry stood straight up on her hind legs.

“What’s wrong? …Oh, it’s Lord Aroo.”

I offered him a greeting when I saw the wolf emerge from the bushes.

“I’ve decided to visit you again. You better appreciate it.”

Lord Aroo gave a brief nod back at me. He was as proud as ever today.

The wolf’s silver fur rustled in the wind as he made his way toward me. Seeing this, Berry froze in place again, just like when she first tried the ice cream.

“Berry, is this your first time meeting Lord Aroo? Don’t be scared. He’s not a bad wolf.”

As I tried to comfort the cat, to my surprise, Berry began to rub her body against my hand.

Her fur was fluffy and it felt very nice as it tickled my skin. I knew Berry was scared, so I felt a little guilty, but really, I was just happy to see she trusted me.

“Graaah… Aroooooo!”

“There’s no need to be afraid. You got here first, so rest at ease,” Lord Aroo seemed to be saying.

Berry climbed into my lap. Her ears twitched as she stared at Lord Aroo, alert. The cat was clutching her strawberry stained-glass cookie in her striped paws, desperate to keep it away from the new visitor.

“You really don’t have to worry. I’m not going to steal your cookie…”

Lord Aroo seemed a bit exasperated in his breathing.

He lay down and kept his chin to the ground as if to make himself appear less threatening. This seemed to provide some relief to Berry. She left my lap, still holding the cookie with her right paw, and slowly but surely, she made her way toward Lord Aroo.

Creeeep. Creeeep. Creeeep.

Forward and back, she crept close to Lord Aroo, only to step back again, just out of reach. The wolf seemed a bit annoyed, but allowed Berry to continue her little dance undisturbed.

“Lord Aroo is kind to both humans and animals…”

Not that he would actually let me pet him yet.

But he really did have a soft spot when it came to creatures like Berry and the other wolves.

“Well, of course. Those are beasts. It would be childish to reject a beast.”

That’s what I took from Lord Aroo’s little snort.

◇　◇　◇

BERRY and her new pal Lord Aroo left a while after that.

Lord Aroo was truly a mysterious creature—I could never predict when he would appear or when he would be gone again.

According to Melvin, who had known Lord Aroo for some time, that behavior never caused any trouble, so I decided to just accept it for what it was.

After changing out of the dress now covered in Berry’s fur, I decided to head down to the kitchen. I’d received news that the herbs I requested were finally here.

“Herb-crusted chicken. We haven’t had this in a while.”

From behind me, Lucian kept his usual, formal smile, but I could see a bit of joy in that look as well.

The herb-crusted chicken we were about to make came from Elltoria—the homeland I spent seventeen years in.

But it was not the type of fine cuisine enjoyed by nobles. This was a simple recipe passed down through generations all throughout Elltoria.

“It takes me back. When Claude and I went out on the town, we would eat herb-crusted chicken together.”

Claude is the youngest of my three older brothers. He always doted on me, and we spent a lot of time together as kids. He loved to read, and in general, he lived a more leisurely life than I did—including taking frequent trips into town.

Whenever Claude took me out, what I looked forward to the most was eating the simpler meals I could find only there.

“……”

The duke’s daughter who sneaks into town in search of commoner food… Maybe my past life really was influencing me over all these years. To what extent, I didn’t know, but we really were starting to feel like the same person.

“What’s wrong, Your Majesty?”

“…I’m just trying to remember the recipe correctly.”

Brushing off Lucian’s question, I turned my eyes to the ingredients laid out on the counter.

Chicken thighs and salt, with basil, rosemary, and karana for herbs.

Karana is a common herb in my homeland, famous for the spicy kick it gives to food. It’s cheap and easy to obtain, so it’s often used with simpler meals in our local cuisine.

This herb didn’t exist in Japan, but I had my chefs back at home, whom I’d grown closer to, teach me how to use it. Today’s dish would be a result of their gracious assistance.

First, I cut the chicken thighs in half, then used a fork to poke holes in the meat. This would result in a more consistent cook over a flame.

I sprinkled salt onto the surface of the chicken, then followed it up with the finely chopped rosemary, basil, and karana. The spicy karana would give the chicken a balanced flavor without using black pepper…or so I hoped.

I silently prayed for the chicken to turn out well as I placed it skin-side down in the oil-filled frying pan. Once the meat got nice and brown, I’d flip the thighs over, cover it with a lid, and let it steam until it was ready to eat.

“I see. So this is the local cuisine in Elltoria.”

Gilbert had been watching me cook. He gave the plate with the herb-crusted chicken a nod of approval.

It was an ordinary dish, but it was only meant for Lucian and me to enjoy in the first place. Gilbert, in his endless culinary curiosity, came to join us after the fact.

The plate was garnished with red and yellow vegetables that resembled bell peppers. They gave the dish some needed color.

I also cut the chicken into slices so it would be easier to eat, and watched as the tender meat came into view underneath the outer crust. With my first bite, the fragrance of the herbs filled my nose, and as I chewed, I tasted the delicious juices from the chicken. The meat itself was soft and moist, with a refreshing aftertaste.

“The rosemary and basil make for a fragrant bite, while the karana adds a bit of spice as an accent. It’s diverse enough to eat many times without growing bored of it.”

Gilbert was lost in thought as he stared at the dish. He appeared very focused on analyzing the flavor makeup.

No one from this kingdom was familiar with seasoning like this, but its simplicity might just make it that much more acceptable for foreigners. Food was different no matter where you went in the world, but deliciousness still translated all the same between countries when it came to some flavors.

I already had my hands full with re-creating Earth recipes and familiarizing myself with this world’s utensils, but someday, I hoped I could learn Wolfvartian cuisine as well.

◇　◇　◇

AS I busied myself with improving the chiffon cake for His Majesty’s birthday, I also worked on learning brand new recipes.

Each day that passed was peaceful and uneventful.

Berry had even come to learn that Lord Aroo wasn’t a foe. The two were interacting much more casually now. Lord Aroo also didn’t seem to mind when Berry approached him either.

“Thanks to him, Berry’s getting along with the other wolves too…”

I thought back on the series of events that led up to this.

Lord Aroo was a large and beautiful wolf whom the others seemed to acknowledge as their superior.

Though he usually moved separately from the rest of the pack, they seemed to revere Lord Aroo as the lone wolf that he was. Now that Berry had earned his affection, the rest of the pack came to accept her too.

“And now, thanks to that…”

Behold: Berry, the wolf-rider of legend.

As the wolves scampered around the villa’s front yard, Berry would cling to their backs and ride like the wind.

She seemed to enjoy the speed they could give her, so the cat took many a ride on the wolves’ backs. I’d seen it more than once lately. The wolves didn’t appear to hate her extra weight either, and so they would run around the yard, clearly having an absolute blast.

“I wonder if I’ll get to see it again today…?”

I couldn’t believe my eyes the first time I witnessed it. I had to do a double-take at the sight of the glorious wolf-rider.

I stepped outside, eager to see it again, and after some time, the bushes began to rustle.

It was Lord Aroo, looking the same as ever, along with…

“What…? A baby…?”

Lord Aroo was carrying a wolf pup by the scruff of its neck. It was flapping its short little limbs in the air and crying loudly.

“Lord Aroo? You’re a father? When did this happen…?”

“Gruuuh?!”

With the pup still in his mouth, Lord Aroo attempted to let out a growl. It sounded like…

“Don’t be ridiculous! A father? Me? Are you joking?”

Or something in that vein of scorn.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Where did that pup come from…?”

I crouched down to look the flailing creature in the eye.

Her entire body was already covered in a fluffy coat. Her fur was much thinner and softer than an adult wolf’s, and her ears flopped around atop her head.

“Ruff?”

She looked back at me, and from the pup’s mouth came a little bark. She blinked her big eyes and cocked her head to one side.

“How adorable…!!”

The sight nearly knocked me off my feet. I couldn’t help breaking into a big grin.

Big adult wolves were cute to me too, but their coolness was nothing like the charm this pup possessed.

I continued to stare at the little pup as she let out more cries.

“This woman just fawns over any creature with fur, doesn’t she…?”

Somehow, it felt like Lord Aroo was watching me with a bit of disgust.

“Whoa! Your Majesty!”

“Edgar?”

He raced through the lawn in my direction, yelling loudly for my attention. Edgar didn’t appear to have his usual wolves with him. He looked panicked, actually.

“You scared me, Tera! How did such a little pup get all the way over here?!”

“…This pup escaped?”

“She sure did. I was so worried! I had to put the wolves in their pens and go looking with the other wolfkeepers.”

“Then Lord Aroo saved the day, didn’t he?” I praised him.

Lord Aroo raised his head, as if offering Tera, the wolf pup, for Edgar to retrieve.

“I heard the wolfkeeper was out in search of this pup. I’ve got a fine nose, so luckily, I was able to find her,” he seemed to boast, like a boss who had to lend a helping hand to his subordinates at work.

“Thank you so much, Lord Aroo. Tera likes to make her escape, so we wolfkeepers were keeping an eye on her, but she’s small enough that we can’t seem to keep her in her cage for very long.”

“So she’s a repeat offender, then? I wonder why such a little pup wants to escape so badly.”

“…She doesn’t like her food.” Edgar turned his head down to look at Tera. His dog ears and tail seemed to droop. “Tera’s mother struggled in childbirth, and she ended up passing away about twenty days ago. We’ve been giving Tera milk to drink, but…”

“She just won’t accept it…”

Edgar nodded weakly in response.

It appeared that wolves weren’t so receptive to artificial attempts at nursing.

“Her father and the other wolves are looking after her… But sadly, none of the female wolves have any milk to spare right now, so it’s up to us to make sure she’s fed.”

“What a difficult situation. How old is Tera now?”

“She’s about forty days old, so still quite young, but her development is pretty slow, since she won’t drink much milk. I just don’t know what to do about it.”

“I see…”

It wasn’t a simple problem.

I took another look at Tera and saw that she did seem quite thin and weak, even for a baby. It sounded like she was drinking just enough milk not to starve, but at this rate, she might be prone to other risks in the future.

“So, are humans giving her the milk directly?”

“No, she doesn’t seem to like it that way, so we put the milk in a leather bag, cover it with tightly wound cloth, and make a hole for a tap. Then we leave it out for her to suckle the milk from.”

“…So she has to decide when she wants to drink.”

Tera, from Lord Aroo’s mouth, was staring at me without any fear. Being raised by wolfkeepers seemed to result in a lack of caution around humans.

“I’m sure it’s hard on her without a mother…”

Animals are defenseless when they eat.

Tera, the young pup, didn’t seem to feel completely safe when it was time to be fed, so it just didn’t feel natural to her.

Is there any way she can eat without feeling scared?

I racked my past-life memories for an idea until I landed on something.

“Edgar, would you mind if I participated in Tera’s feeding, just once?”

◆ ◆ ◆

“TERA, it’s time to eat.”

The pup’s ears perked up when she heard her name. Her usual keeper was calling her. When she stood up to follow that voice, her legs wavered a little.

“Hrm…”

Her limbs were heavy, but her belly was too empty.

The pup’s natural instincts were telling her she needed to put food into that tiny body. The urge made her take step after wobbly step forward, toward where the wolfkeeper would have milk ready for her.

Though the feeling was a hazy one, Tera did have some appreciation for the fact that she even had the opportunity to eat. But still, this didn’t make her actually want to drink the milk.

The milk was warm, but the leather pouch was cold.

The more Tera drank from the lifeless leather vessel, the closer she felt to losing the memories of drinking milk from her mother, and so, she always gave up halfway through her meals.

If her desire for food was instinct, so was the longing she felt for her mother.

With these feelings of loneliness, she carried herself to the milk just to survive another day.

“Ruff…?”

Tera cocked her head slightly when she saw a different meal setup than usual.

There was the leather bag that smelled of milk, but wrapped around it was some kind of cloth lump.

Curiously, she sniffed at the cloth and caught a familiar scent.

It’s Mom.

She smelled her mother, the wolf who had disappeared without a trace, on this lump of cloth.

The nostalgic smell drew her in, closer and closer.

She took another look and saw that the lump even had four leglike things sticking out of it and some sort of triangle shapes on the top, like ears. The brown fabric was also a familiar color.

With both a scent and appearance that reminded her of her lost mother, Tera nuzzled her body up against the fabric.

Strangely, the cloth even felt warm to her.

Tera softly closed her eyes, now enveloped by happy memories.

The sweet aroma of milk tickled her nose.

Remembering the days she spent in her mother’s embrace, Tera found the hole in the milk bag and began to suckle.

◆ ◆ ◆

“…AND that’s how we managed to get Tera to drink milk.”

I finished telling Lord Aroo my story while holding the wolf-shaped plushie. The doll wasn’t too big in size. It could sit in my hands when I put them together.

I had thought back to my plushie-making experience from my past life, then started with a small toy, working my way up to the experimental wolf plushie meant for Tera.

“You never know what experiences are going to help you out in life…”

Back in college, at my friend’s request, I helped her make stuffed toys for her volunteer work when the group didn’t have enough items to sell at the school festival.

Wanting to make realistic Shiba Inu dolls, I’d put time into finding the right pattern paper and learning how to use it. Now, that experience had proved useful again.

Shiba Inus and wolves share some similarities in their ears and faces. But their torsos, tails, and other small details are different shapes, so I had to adjust my work as I stitched together a mother wolf doll for Tera.

“I made her a plush toy to act as her mother and set it next to the bag of milk. I wasn’t sure it would work, but I’m so relieved she took to it.”

When I lived in Japan, I saw a documentary showing how dolls could help animals in their nursing.

The wolves who visited my villa were very smart. The depth of their intelligence and emotions was probably why Tera struggled so much with her loss of a parent.

“But still, the wolfkeepers and I can’t replace her mother…”

Maybe all we could do was offer her the occasional memory of the mother wolf.

The plushie had another trick to it too. I’d stuffed some of the mother’s remaining fur, along with fabric that had her scent on it, inside the doll. Finally, I filled the plushie with a bag of hot water to give it a familiar sense of warmth.

It was all a lot of guesswork, but it appeared to have been a success.

“Ruff!!”

“Welcome, Tera. We’ve been waiting for you.”

The pup wagged her tail vigorously as she approached the yard with Edgar and the others.

“Arf Arf!! Bark bark bark!!”

Tera bounced her way around me.

She was a completely different wolf now, only six days after first using the stuffed animal.

Her legs were thick and her body was plump. The change in demeanor made her almost unrecognizable, now that she was growing.

Tera sprang at me like a rubber ball, landing straight in my arms.

“Hey, that tickles!”

Her little red tongue licked at my cheeks.

Now that Tera was eating, she’d become much friendlier with me too.

It probably had something to do with my lingering scent on the wolf plushie I stitched together for her. Perhaps she liked how it mixed with that of her mother.

Lord Aroo’s blue-green eyes watched me return Tera’s affection with a good petting.

“What’s wrong? Do you want me to pet you too, Lord Aroo?”

“Uruuh!!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just glad to see Tera doing better, that’s all,” his annoyed grunt seemed to say.

He turned away from me with a pout, though I could still see his tail swinging from side to side.

He seemed just as happy to see Tera full of energy.

“You’re so nice, Lord Aroo. So nice, in fact, that I’d like to give you something.”

Lucian handed me a plushie that I set down in front of the wolf.

“I modeled this one after you.”

The base model was exactly the same as the one I used for Tera’s mother.

But for this one, I built it with silver fabric that looked just like Lord Aroo’s coat, and I even painted some wood to make a pair of blue-green eyes for the face. I was having so much fun making plushies, I just couldn’t resist.

“Aroo…?”

“Why are you giving this to me?” he asked with a cock of his head as he poked the doll with his nose.

“You don’t sleep near the rest of the pack, do you? I bet you get cold in the winter. If you have someone put a small hot-water bottle inside this doll, it’ll be nice and warm to sleep with.”

“Grrruh!!”

“I don’t need a hot-water bottle!” he declared, pushing the doll over with his snout.

Hmm. I guess he doesn’t like it.

I was a bit sad, but I decided to take the plushie for myself.

“Very well, then I’ll keep this in my bed with a hot-water bottle during the winter.”

I gently pet the doll’s head with my hand, taking a moment to admire my nice handiwork. The doll had the same proud look to it that Lord Aroo did.

Just when I decided I’d keep it on a shelf in my room until winter arrived…

“Woof!!”

“I changed my mind. Gimme that thing.”

Lord Aroo snatched the plushie back.

“Does that mean you like it, Lord Aroo?”

Naturally, my question didn’t receive any answer.

With the Lord Aroo plushie in his mouth, Lord Aroo dashed off into the forest, out of sight.

“I wonder what changed his mind…?”

As I cocked my head in confusion, Tera came up to me to play some more, as if to fill the space that Lord Aroo left.

I spent some time entertaining the inexhaustible Tera, until it was nearing time for the wolves to leave.

“Your Majesty! The strawberry ice cream is almost ready!”

“Thank you. I’ll be there soon.”

Hearing Gilbert call to me from the villa, I took Tera off my lap and stood up.

The pup started to sulk, knowing it was time to say goodbye, so I bent down to pet her head.

“I’ll see you again tomorrow, okay? But now it’s time for both of us to go home.”

“Arf…”

She stared up at me with her sad puppy-dog eyes. I wanted nothing more than to give in, but I couldn’t let her grow up spoiled.

Reluctantly, I turned to head toward the dining room. Strawberry ice cream, made by Gilbert and the other chefs, was waiting for me.

Once I was inside, I found Berry waiting for my arrival, holding her little spoon in hand. She had sensed the strawberries in the air.

“You’re such a glutton, aren’t you, Berry?”

In that way, she was a lot like me, her master (or whatever our relationship was).

I wondered which of us would win in a battle of strawberry enthusiasm.

What would you do if you were reborn?

By eating strawberry ice cream, I’d already found my answer to that question.

I gained a villa where I could cook, received help from Gilbert and the other chefs, and was led to strawberries by Berry herself.

My life as the figurehead queen, surrounded by uncountable blessings and the company of my many furry friends, would continue on unchanged.

◆ ◆ ◆

“THAT damn woman. I just never know what she’s going to do next…”

Glenreed was leaning back in the velvety chair of his office.

On top of his large oak desk, looking completely out of place among all the refined furnishings that filled his room, sat a cute little wolf plushie.

“I ended up bringing it back home with me…”

The plushie stood out like a sore thumb in this room. It just looked unnatural, sitting there in front of Glenreed’s cold yet beautiful face.

…And he never even meant to accept the thing in the first place.

He was going to return it to Laetitia, its creator, and that would be the end of it.

But no, I had to take it with me. She said she was going to keep this thing in her bed…

Sure, it was only modeled after Glenreed’s silver wolf form, but then he heard Laetitia say she wanted to sleep with it. Naturally, he had to prevent that at all costs, so he ended up rushing home with the plushie in his mouth.

“……”

When he thought back to how happy Laetitia looked as she carried that plushie, Glenreed couldn’t bring himself to throw it away. She probably wouldn’t find out either way, but for some reason, the idea of tossing it out bothered him.

“Fine, then…”

He picked the wolf plushie up and set it in a corner of his bookshelf.

The stuffed silver wolf found its new home between political documents and records of war.

If Melvin ever saw this toy, he’d probably never let me hear the end of it…

But again, he pictured Laetitia’s happy face as she held the plushie out to him.

This is the only solution, Glenreed convinced himself once more, then turned to begin the paperwork on his desk.