“Lady Viola, I have something to ask…”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you happen to have a large dog?”
“A large dog?”
Viola found herself momentarily puzzled, not understanding the sudden question about a large dog.
“Why yes, I feel something waiting outside the door, eagerly anticipating its owner’s return.”
“Ah. His name is Tundra.”
“…I see.”
Ersa didn’t know much about Tundra. She had been working as a servant for just about a year, spending most of that time learning her duties as Hera’s butler. Hera was the White Bellato and owner of Terra Merchants, which kept her quite busy with outside engagements.
“I’ve heard his reputation is that of a pet seeking its owner, but I didn’t expect it to be like this.”
She knew about it, but she didn’t realize it would feel like this. The presence beyond the door was undoubtedly that of a pitiful dog.
Ersa tried to sense the presence once more through her mana. Yes, it felt like a large dog sitting, waiting.
“How serious is it?”
Ersa was quite sensitive to mana and had the ability to read the emotional state of others through mana. She called it ‘mana whispers.’
“If I were to interpret the mana whispers directly… “
Ersa closed her eyes to focus even more on the presence outside the door, trying to read its emotions through mana.
“When will you come? Why have you left me alone? Hurry back; I miss you; I’m right here.”
“…I think that summarizes it.”
He was just on the other side of the door but was behaving this way. Viola felt somewhat perplexed. To think that Tundra, a dog, would act like a real dog.
“Are you saying you really heard such whispers?”
“Yes, I did. I heard them clearly. However, the whispers from Tundra are very unique.”
It seemed even Ersa couldn’t fully understand the emotions behind these whispers.
“It’s like… an instinct if you will.”
Viola’s thoughts became increasingly complex. Instinct? He seemed to have emotions she didn’t know about and was just waiting endlessly in front of the door.
“Is this really a dog?”
Tundra’s state seemed truly akin to that of a young puppy, waiting for its owner to go out. However, she had been completely unaware of it.
“Experiencing this energy is quite fascinating. He’s just waiting for Lady Viola so eagerly outside the door…”
Ersa paused for a moment. This kind of whisper was new to her. While she described it as ‘instinctual,’ it couldn’t be solely defined as instinctual waiting.
“Could this instinctual waiting be imprinted deep within the soul, perhaps?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“It’s as if he was born for Lady Viola; like he was made for her.”
“…He’s my dog.”
“No, it’s more than that. It feels ancient, perhaps beginning even before he existed in this world. It feels like someone who was destined to be like that from before birth.”
Viola’s expression slightly furrowed. Tundra bore a strong resemblance to Kang Joon. Hearing someone say that a person with that appearance was destined for her from birth left her feeling strange.
“Your special insights are impressive. However, it’s only been a brief moment and you’ve read such great detail from the presence beyond the door.”
“If it made you uncomfortable, I apologize.”
Ersa slightly bowed her head in courtesy and continued, “But I’m already well aware of this special kind of whisper, so that’s why I mentioned it.”
Ersa knew about this unique form of whisper, the instinctual cry imprinted deep within the soul.
“I also found myself crying out like that, without even realizing it.”
Just as Tundra showed blind affection for Viola, Ersa had felt that she had been waiting like that for her daughter.
Viola chuckled, “My daughter. I love you like this?”
Ersa’s body twitched. It was a phrase she had often mumbled with a happy expression by her sleeping daughter’s bedside. She hadn’t expected to hear the same words from Viola.
“Your daughter must have been happy.”
“Can you hear the whispers of mana, Princess?”
“No, I can’t.”
Even though she could sense the scent, she couldn’t hear the sound.
“But still, I have a rough idea of how you became my sister’s butler. You mentioned knowing about special whispers, and since you said you cried out like that, I could easily imagine what kind of words you said to your daughter, and how you thought of her. You can certainly figure that out, can’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“Anyway, I was sincere. Your daughter must have been happy.”
“I hope so.”
Ersa’s eyes grew slightly redder. She had been busy preparing for a brighter future.
‘Mom hoped you would be happier so she worked day and night.’
She had sacrificed time with her daughter. Can a mom who sacrifices memories be considered a good mom?
“I hope so, but…”
“Your daughter was happy. Having a mom who loves her is more reassuring than anything else.”
Viola shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m not lying. I know it well.”
She had felt it acutely from the first day. While others had moms and dads, she didn’t. Because she didn’t have one, she understood even better.
“You mentioned hearing the whispers of mana, right? Can you feel my emotions?”
Instantly, tears welled up in Ersa’s eyes. Waves of immense emotion seemed to hit Ersa’s chest. The countless hours experienced by twelve-year-old Viola seemed to strike Ersa herself. Twelve years of time that didn’t feel like twelve years. It was much deeper and darker than that.
‘Like… Tundra.’
It felt very similar to Tundra. Just as Tundra seemed to have been waiting for Viola for a very long time, Viola also seemed like someone who had longed for her mother for a very long time.
Both of them. As if they had experienced different lifetimes, their emotions ran deep and fervent.
“I didn’t exist with him from the beginning, but your daughter is different. When you were by her side, she must have felt infinitely secure, and when you left the house for a few days, she must have been infinitely frightened. Being there and not being there made her life harder and happier, I believe.”
“…”
“Your daughter must have been scared and lonely at times, but beyond that, she must have been happy and joyful. That’s what I think.”
Hera watched Viola and Ersa’s conversation with her arms crossed. Initially, Ersa had taken the lead in the conversation, but somehow the initiative had shifted to Viola.
Viola spoke again.
“It’s a strange thing. Yes, strangely coincidental.”
Viola casually remarked with an expressionless face.
“Sir Hickson lost his daughter, and Ersa lost her daughter too. Their cases are somewhat different, but even Jeremy, Jackal’s son, was kidnapped.”
Kidnappings and human trafficking in the slums or places with poor security were quite common. However, the cases of Hickson and Ersa were somewhat different.
They didn’t live in the slums, and they didn’t live in remote mountain villages like Tundra.
Furthermore, Hickson and Ersa were exceptional mages.
“Just… like that.”
* * *
After Viola rode away in the carriage, Tundra stood there in a daze.
“How long are you going to stand there?”
In reality, Tundra was truly dazed. The butler was going with her, and even the aide, Sebastian Marcos, was going along.
‘Why can’t I go with them? I want to go too. If I say I’ll go with them now, will Lady Viola dislike it? I don’t want Lady Viola to dislike it but I want to go with them. Where am I? Why am I here?’
Subconsciousness ruled over consciousness as he stared blankly at the horizon where the carriage had disappeared.
“Hey! Can’t you hear your teacher?”
His teacher could only have been waiting for 1 or 2 minutes but he was acting like he had been waiting too long.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Teacher. How much time has passed?”
“One hour and twenty-two minutes.”
It seemed like a longer time than he had thought.
“Like a dog that endlessly stares at the place where its owner left. If I hadn’t spoken, you would have stood like that all day, wouldn’t you?”
“This phenomenon is called separation anxiety. I read about it in a book.”
“I see. Are you familiar with it?”
“When will she come back?”
“Don’t you know? She’ll be back soon since she’s going to buy clothes and jewelry.”
“They say the mountain roads are very treacherous.”
“Are you really worrying about that?”
Tundra nodded.
From Hickson’s perspective, it was mind-boggling.
“You’re worried about Viola? She’s turned into a White Bellato, so if she just makes up her mind, she can easily handle someone like you. What’s the big deal about the treacherous mountain roads?”
“That’s true, but…”
“Pull yourself together, kid.”
Hickson smacked the back of Tundra’s head.
In truth, Hickson understood Tundra’s feelings quite well. He had secretly obtained a book called ‘A Comprehensive Guide to Canine Psychology that Every Companion Should Know (Triple Manual)’ and was reading it.
[Chapter 7. Inner Thoughts of a Companion Dog. A companion dog always worries about its owner. When the owner goes out, the dog waits for them endlessly. It’s the nature of a dog to be anxious and worried about what might happen outside.]
Recalling the content, Hickson’s head throbbed.
‘What kind of real dog are you?’
Hickson asked, “Hey. Are you perhaps reading the Triple Manual?”
“Yes. It’s the book I’m reading. I learned about separation anxiety from there. It’s a splendid manual that perfectly describes my psychology.”
Hickson closed his mouth like a bee that had tasted honey.
Meanwhile, Viola and her party traveled by carriage for three days heading south. Ersa guided them.
“From here, we’ll leave the carriage and move through the transfer gate.”
After they moved through the transfer gate, they arrived in the small city of Epier, near Parr Viscounty.
“Tomorrow, after resting here for a day, we have a meeting with the magician. I will guide you to your accommodation.”
At 9 o’clock the next morning, after resting at the arranged accommodations, Hera and Viola descended to the first-floor lobby. They were scheduled to have a meeting with the magician there.
“Hello. I’m Crimson, who belonged to the 12th department of the 6th Mage Tower under the guidance of Grand Magician Merun…”
He was a man who wore his robe inside out and held a crystal staff in his right hand. The man flipped the edge of his robe back and forth as if he was bewildered. He was around 40 years old and apart from being a magician, he appeared to be an ordinary man with nothing particularly distinctive about him.
“Hey. Butler.”
He turned his gaze towards Ersa.
“Aren’t those supposed to be the famous Bellato mistresses? What’s with these little kids?”
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
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