After the Ending, I Received the Second Male Lead as a Gift

“Lena, I told you not to call me by that nickname.”

“Why? Is there anyone who fits that nickname better than our lady?”

“Please, spare me.”

Because of the family business, we once needed the help of the craftsmen’s guild, so I’d given them some modern ideas to woo them. Since then, they’ve been calling me that.

When I heard about it, I nearly died of embarrassment that night, kicking the blankets.

But still, the royalties from those patented ideas were steadily accumulating in my account, even today.

“Anyway, I’m not doing anything today and just resting.”

I wore light clothing and braided my hair loosely. I was dressed comfortably enough to lie back in bed.

Thunk.

“Huh?”

I turned at the dull thud to see Ludwin wagging his tail with a smiling face, having dropped something.

“Lu?”

Whine.

He looked very disappointed, as if he’d been expecting something.

Could it be that he was planning to play with me?

“Lu, I’m going to rest.”

As sorry as I felt seeing his drooping ears and tail, as if the world had collapsed, I calmly turned around.

It was clear that my stamina wouldn’t be able to withstand playing with that big dog.

As I showed signs of heading back to bed, Ludwin quickly came to my side.

Whine.

Raising and lowering his drooping head, he looked at me with earnest eyes, gauging my reaction.

“…I said I’m resting.”

No matter how cute you are, it’s not going to work.

I want to become one with the bed as a retired idle person.

I was turning towards the bed, determined, when suddenly my movement was halted.

“Oh my! Lu!”

At Lena’s surprised voice, I turned to see Ludwin lying flat on his stomach, biting my gown.

” Lu…”

As I made a stern face and told him to let go, Ludwin whimpered with pleading eyes.

‘No? Really no? You really won’t play?’

It was as if he was saying that.

“Ugh.”

His deadly cuteness assaulted my heart.

I thought the only one who could be cute, even as an adult, was Lilian!

I didn’t expect to be caught in such a trap.

In the end, I surrendered with both hands up.

“Haaa. Fine. Let’s play. What do you want to play?”

At my words, Ludwin’s ears and tail perked up like a button had been pressed.

Woof─!

Ludwin let out a short howl of joy, rubbing his face against me.

Then he went to the next room, returning with a frisbee in his mouth.

Holding the yellow frisbee, Ludwin looked like a perfect pet dog.

“Hey, Lu…”

I took the frisbee from him and was speechless for a while.

“Where on earth did you get this?”

I swore I’d never bought anything like this for Ludwin.

I would never buy it. It’s a dog toy.

Woof─!

Ludwin howled and looked at Lena.

“Lena, are you the culprit?”

As I stared at her in shock, Lena smiled brightly.

“Yes. He really likes it.”

“…Alright. If he likes it, fine.”

I was once again worried that my life was becoming more endangered every day.

Unaware of my concerns, Lena admired Ludwin.

“Lu is really like a person. He even brings toys and understands so well. It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

I flinched slightly at her words that hit the nail on the head.

‘Come to think of it, he used to understand words well even before, but now he seems even more evolved.’

Seeing how he behaves these days, he seems like a person who just looks like a dog.

But it’s not as if someone with sound reasoning would deliberately pretend to be a dog.

It’s similar to how it’s not easy for someone with strong rationality to act instinctively.

Of course, for someone like Ludwin, the strongest in the world, anything might be possible, but still, why would he insist on staying in animal form?

‘Oh no! Could it be that he got dumped by Lilian and doesn’t want to live as a human anymore?’

I frowned.

“…Hmm.”

No, I think that went too far.

Just then, Lena held out a large hat.

“Lena, that’s stifling. Can I not wear it?”

“You’ll be attending social events soon, so you can’t have a tanned face, can you?”

Looking outside, the midday sunlight seemed quite strong.

“It’s fine, when have I ever cared about such things? And being a little tanned makes you look healthy, doesn’t it?”

Having retired, I had no plans to attend social gatherings because I didn’t need to manage my network and thus spoke indifferently, making Lena look blank for a moment before she nodded.

“That’s true. A lady brimming with health!”

She quickly put the hat away.

I’m a little worried because it seems like she’s becoming more and more like Lilian as time goes by.

“Then I’ll serve brunch in the garden.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.”

The weather was perfect.

Seeing the white fluffy clouds floating lazily in the bright blue sky, I once again felt fortunate to be alive.

I married off the main characters, my family and I survived, and I opened the flower shop I wanted so badly.

Let’s forget yesterday’s disaster for now.

‘This is what life should be like.’

Feeling a strange sense of fulfillment in the fleetingness of life, I swung my right hand back with all my might.

“Alright! Fetch!”

Imitating the stance of a baseball player I had seen in my previous life, I threw the frisbee with all my strength.

Bark! Bark!

Excited, Ludwin ran toward the disc disappearing in the distance at an incredible speed that couldn’t even be compared to a human.

He caught it gracefully in mid-air before it hit the ground and returned straight to me.

Before my stamina could even recover.

“Haha. You’re so fast, Lu.”

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and smiled brightly.

He circled around me, looking up as if begging for me to throw it again.

He seemed to be having the time of his life.

Meanwhile, I felt like I was dying from exhaustion.

“You know, I think we’ve done this like ten times already…”

Before I could finish my sentence, he pushed the frisbee in front of me, his eyes sparkling, seemingly asking, ‘So what?’

Pretending not to understand only at times like this—what a sly dog.

Woof!

Seeing his lively eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to say I was too tired to continue.

Where did the person who said she was tired and wanted to rest go? I gathered up my fighting spirit and picked up the disc once again.

“Okay, Lu. I’m going to throw it really, really far this time.”

Woof!

Ludwin’s tail was wagging excitedly.

“Okay, this time…”

I spun in place like a discus thrower.

“Fetch!”

With all my might, I planted my left foot on the ground and threw the frisbee.

“Oh?”

Suddenly, I felt my body pitch forward.

The disc flew as far as I wanted.

It was a new record.

But when I threw it, my foot caught on something and I fell forward.

“Ahh!”

Even though I was on grass, I closed my eyes tightly because I felt like I was going to fall face first on the ground.

“Huh?”

But it didn’t hurt as much as I thought.

No, it wasn’t painful at all.

Coming to my senses, I found myself draped over Ludwin’s back.

Whine! Whine!

“Lu?”

Apparently, he hadn’t chased after the frisbee.

Woof!

Ludwin, perhaps startled, barked softly and glanced at me with his big eyes. He seemed quite alarmed.

“I’m okay. Thanks, Lu.”

I started to get up but felt his fur brushing against my fingers.

I flinched at the sensation passing between my fingers.

‘…What is this?’

Had I suppressed it for too long? Other thoughts vanished like a surprised person facing a sudden attack.

I gently rubbed his fur with my fingers.

Ludwin flinched, seemingly startled by my tentative touch.

But I was so caught up in the feel of his fur that I didn’t even notice.

Soft, soft, soft.

‘What is this? Isn’t it dog fur? Why is it so soft?’

Though I had some idea from how often he rubbed against me, feeling it now was shocking.

Just touching it felt somehow healing. It was as if all my fatigue was melting away.

‘No, it’s not a feeling, I think it really is. Is this the power of a supporting male lead? What should I do? I shouldn’t be touching him. No, just a little is fine, right? After all, he’s been asking me to pet him all this time… Just once…’

My body and mind were acting separately.

Ludwin, who’d been hesitating, seemed to have given up on something and lay flat to make it easier for me to pet him, making my hesitant hand become more daring.

Warm, soft fur.

A subtle, faint smell unique to a dog.

In addition, the solid muscles can be felt underneath.

‘This must be heaven!’

For some reason, Ludwin seems to get stiffer the more I pet him. Maybe it’s my imagination, right?

They say being with animals has positive psychological effects, and indeed, I felt like serotonin was sparking in my brain.

‘This feels so good. What should I do? I shouldn’t be touching him.’

Perhaps because I’d been suppressing it for so long, my hand wouldn’t stop.

I felt like I’d never get tired of stroking fur like this for the rest of my life.

‘I wish time would stop here.’

Just as I was about to lose myself in a timeless moment, a scene flashed before my eyes.

 

‘You’re the first person to pet me like a dog! I guess you’re prepared for the consequences, right?’

 

Suddenly, I saw the blackened supporting male lead laughing wickedly ​​while holding a gleaming sword.

“Gasp!”

The hand that was stroking Ludwin finally stopped.

The smile that’d been on my face faded as cold sweat ran down and my sanity returned.

It was only then that I realized what a terrible mistake I’d made.

‘What have I done…!’

Looking down, I could see the clear traces of my petting him.

“Haha…”

Feeling a chill run down my spine, I pretended nothing happened and withdrew my hand. Ludwin’s head immediately turned to me.

His innocent amber eyes seemed to ask, ‘No more?’

I broke out in a cold sweat and laughed.

‘Surely he wouldn’t kill me just for petting him once? After all, I’ve fed and housed him…’

Claiming that would be hard since I’d made him work a lot in the flower shop and pampered him…

As a dog.

‘…Am I done for, now?’

Feeling defeated, I was thinking of escaping in the night when I heard a commotion from the front gate.

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Enjoy my translations? Check out some of my other novels!

• Reasons to Protect the Witch’s Son
• I Found a Husband When I Picked up the Male Lead
• The Contract with the Lord was a Trap
• I Became The Mother Of the Male Lead Who Lives With An Adulterous Man
• By the Time You Came Around, It Was Already Too Late
• After the Ending, I Received the Second Male Lead as a Gift
• Unveil the Truth