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

I mechanically shoveled food at my face, not knowing whether the late lunch was going into my mouth or my nose, while glaring at Ludwin through narrowed eyes.

Woof!

Ludwin, in his dog form, looked up at me, sticking out his pink tongue and smiling.

He had already finished his portion of lunch.

Despite giving him four large beef steaks, mashed potatoes, and salad, it was all gone within a minute.

I chewed and swallowed without knowing what was in my mouth.

‘Swallowing a steak whole without even chewing… Can he digest that?’

I should be used to this by now, but watching the beef disappear instantly down his throat made me wonder if that would be my future.

I held the empty fork in my mouth.

‘I feel like I’ve been steadily accumulating embarrassing moments since Lu came here, but it must be my imagination, right?’

Although I freaked out waking up in the same bed in the morning, on reflection, I was the one who had Jeffrey lay Ludwin in my bed last night.

And it was me who had fallen asleep beside him, tearing at my hair with worry.

‘I must have crawled into bed in my sleep.’

My thoughts inevitably led to wild speculations.

‘No way… he wouldn’t just take care of me because we slept together, right?’

Seeing his cute face when he looked at me, I thought he wouldn’t. R-right?

I awkwardly smiled and turned to Ludwin.

He, as usual, woke up and ate breakfast with me and now was calmly showing off his cuteness next to me.

As if nothing had happened yesterday.

But just because he acted like nothing happened didn’t mean nothing happened yesterday.

Last night, fearing I might not wake up to see the morning, I had fallen asleep trembling in terror.

‘I didn’t expect him to act just like usual.’

If anything, he seemed even more cheerful than usual. Was that just my imagination?

I felt foolish for worrying all night.

With my eyes closed, feeling like I was going to cry, I picked up a bite of food with my fork and brought it to my mouth.

Munch, munch.

‘It doesn’t look like he’s planning to go home anytime soon.’

Stab.

I mechanically stabbed the food with my fork and put it in my mouth again.

Munch munch.

‘Acting like usual, what’s he thinking?’

Hm, hm.

I heard Ludwin whining from behind, but lost in thought, I didn’t notice him coming closer.

Then, suddenly, a realization struck me and I opened my eyes wide.

‘Ah! Could he be pretending not to know and planning to wear me down? Now that he knows I’m Tia, if he eliminates me, only Duke Rivolte will be left! This is a cover-up! Destroying evidence! Murder extermination!’

Just as my thoughts seemed to be heading into dark territory, a shadow loomed over me.

Woof!

Ludwin thrust his large face at me and licked the area between my mouth and cheek with his pink tongue. His hot, damp tongue slid across.

“Aaah!”

Startled by the sudden intrusion, I jumped up from my seat, holding my cheek.

Then I scrambled back, putting distance between myself and Ludwin.

“Wh-what are you doing right now…!”

As I struggled to get the words out, a surprised Ludwin fell off the chair and backed away immediately.

Hm. Hm.

With his ears and tail drooping, Ludwin let out a metallic whine, glancing between the table and me.

“Why is the table… Oh.”

Looking at my place, the area around the plate was a mess. It was the aftermath of my eating absentmindedly.

It was clear that Ludwin, who could not stand to see the miserable situation where half of the food seemed to have been eaten and the other half wasted, licked my cheek to bring me to my senses.

Ludwin approached me slowly, keeping an eye on me. Then he lay flat on the floor and whined.

The moment my eyes met his, I flinched.

Those were eyes that desperately said, ‘I surrender. You’re not going to scold me, right?’

The cuteness gauge inside me soared with a zing.

‘Ah, this is too much.’

It was literally too much.

‘How can I be mad when he’s this cute?’

Feeling a bit defeated, I squatted in front of the flattened Ludwin and chuckled at him, watching him blink nervously.

“Lu.”

When I called him, his head perked up. His two bright amber eyes sparkled innocently at me.

How on earth could this be the same frigid Lord of Rivolte?

Recalling how he seemed to remember everything from his time as an animal, I hesitated, but those eyes soon disarmed me.

Oh, whatever, I thought, holding up my index finger in front of him.

“Thanks for waking me up, but don’t lick my face while I’m eating. Got it?”

He seemed to understand, nodding his head up and down. His head was so big that even his nods felt heavy.

‘Oh, he nodded.’

He had never moved his head to respond before. Was there some change after his transformation last night?

I briefly wondered if I should speak to him more respectfully, like a person, but decided against it to avoid seeming crazy.

Just then, Lena entered the dining room and her eyes widened at the sight of me and Ludwin squatting on the floor.

“Miss, what are you doing?”

“Oh, nothing.”

I awkwardly smiled and stood up. Lena’s eyes widened even more when she saw the state of my eating area.

“Oh my, did Lu interfere with your meal? The table’s a mess.”

Woo─!

Ludwin howled in protest, but I only laughed and looked away.

Lena cleaned up the area and set down the tray she brought.

“Today’s dessert is cheese tart.”

“Oh, my favorite!”

Being more of a dessert person than a meal person, I grinned widely and returned to the table.

Lena poured tea into my cup then approached Ludwin.

“Ludwin has already finished everything. Hmm, I wonder if he even chews?”

I was actually curious about that too.

As I took a bite of the rich and sweet tart, I replied.

“He seems fine since he hasn’t had indigestion so far, right?”

“That’s true.”

Now that she knew Ludwin wasn’t so fierce, Lena nodded and stroked Ludwin’s head.

He shook his head, as if slightly annoyed and asking her to stop.

I was quite envious of the growing bond between the two of them.

‘Lucky. I want to pet him whenever I want, too.’

The sensation of his soft fur wrapping around my fingers was just that addictive.

“Oh! Miss, a letter has arrived from the Marquis of Leon.”

“Marquis Leon?”

I wondered why they would send a letter from so far away, but something came to mind, and I nodded.

“Got it. I’ll check it in my room after I finish eating.”

Having finished off the dessert, I stood up.

In my room, I immediately opened the letter.

As expected, it was an invitation to the Dilucia family for a hunting competition set to be held next month.

‘Now that I think about it, it’s almost time for the spring hunting competition.’

This hunting competition, held in rotation among the hunting grounds of five noble families selected by the reigning emperor, was a special event that marked the beginning of the social season each year.

This year it seemed to be Marquis Leon’s turn.

In fact, this hunting competition was a large-scale event sponsored by the imperial family, so getting an invitation was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

However, our Count Dilucia family received a direct invitation wheneveer the Marquis of Leon hosted it.

I had a bit of a connection with that family a few years ago, and thanks to that, we’ve maintained a good relationship ever since.

After confirming the date, I folded and put the letter away.

‘Should I go this time?’

I had attended the hunting tournament a few times when I was younger, but each time I had seen a lot of things I didn’t like, so I didn’t have many good memories.

In recent years, I had been happily sending Tibon instead, making excuses about being busy.

But it would be more appropriate for me to attend Marquis Leon’s hunting tournament rather than Tibon this time.

Moreover, my father wouldn’t be able to go due to other territorial matters.

“Oh.”

Then something came to mind.

I spread out the map of the Rem Empire that I had kept in the drawer.

It was an illegal military map obtained through Laplace Garden.

I checked the location by placing my finger on Marquis Leon’s territory and frowned.

‘It’s close to the Drew estate.’

The Gu Kai Mountain range and Barren River, which extended from the La Sente Mountains, also passed through Marquis Leon’s territory.

 

‘Lately, they’ve been trying to cross the border, so Margrave Drew requested someone capable of suppressing them by force.’

 

Jeffrey’s words from a few days ago came to mind.

‘I might be able to gather information about Ludwin if I go.’

The imperial family, of course, will be in attendance, as will nobles from territories bordering the Drew domain, such as Ruidra and Sham.

It would be a great opportunity to gather firsthand information about Ludwin’s encounters with the beastmen.

I wrote a reply accepting the invitation to the spring hunting tournament.

After finishing the wax seal and looking up, I met Ludwin’s eyes, who had been watching me.

‘Come to think of it, should I take Ludwin too?’

Suddenly, last night’s events came to mind.

The robbers who attacked us last night had a strange way of speaking and peculiar eyes.

Moreover, they had targeted not only me but also Ludwin.

 

‘Tyria Dilucia.’

‘Found.’

‘Ludwin Rivolte.’

‘Found.’

 

Their pronunciation was awkward, but those were definitely our names.

‘They’re targeting both of us?’

Being high-ranking nobles, both Ludwin and I had probably made enemies, but to target both of us together?

Since we met again, we lived without making any outside contact at all, so no matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.

“Lu, do you know anything about the people who attacked us yesterday? …Huh?”

But then, before I could finish asking, Ludwin snorted, fell to the floor, and rested his head on my thigh. Then he stared up at me.

“No, about yesterday…”

I trailed off, speechless.

Ludwin’s large amber eyes sparkled brightly.

‘Pet me!’

He was clearly saying that.

Seeing me frozen, he made an even more active effort, blinking or rubbing his face against my hand to showcase his cuteness.

His assertiveness left me momentarily flustered.

‘W-why are you suddenly like this?’

He succeeded in placing my palm on top of his head.

Woof!

And then he barked demandingly.

“…You want me to pet you like this?”

Woo─!

Ludwin let out a short howl.

Yes, that’s it.