Why Are you Obsessed Even Though you're Dead ?

 

Chapter 17

The hunting dog that had lunged at me only grabbed the bread bag I was holding and ran off into the distance.

“Hey, you! Stop! No! Wait!”

Tom, taken by surprise, hastily spouted various commands and chased after the dog. I watched Tom’s awkward figure running, trying to grab the dragging leash. Then, I looked down at the torn paper bag that remained in my hand.

‘My bread….’

I had been pickpocketed by a puppy.

“Leah, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I wasn’t even attacked.”

“Then, do you want to go back to the bedroom first? Tom is slow at running, and we need to call someone to help him! Sorry, Leah!”

Celie hurriedly ran off, shouting. I nodded, recalling the moist sensation of the hunting dog’s nose on the tip of my fingers.

“Wondering… I can even read the memories of animals.”

In an instant, when the nose of the hunting dog touched my hand, I could see the past of the hunting dog.

In its previous life, it had never taken off gloves, and in this life, I hadn’t touched an animal even without gloves, so I didn’t know.

“Could I always read the past of animals? Or did the ability to read recent past develop while using it frequently?”

I couldn’t know for sure, but it seemed like I might know where that hunting dog that ran away had gone.

And why it was so fiercely seeking something.

I turned away from the direction of the bedroom.

“It seems like the exhausting day is not over yet.”

As I turned, a voice from behind, sounding regretful, spoke.

I stopped my steps to go forward and turned my body halfway.

“Lord Marquis, by any chance, are you stalking me?”

“Such a dangerous and scary remark.”

Laches, who let out a wry laugh, walked towards me with long legs and stood next to me. A gentle breeze brought a sweet scent.

“I didn’t see you in the restaurant earlier, so I thought I’d look after you.”

“…Are you really stalking me?”

“Hmm,  Let’s just say I take good care of people.”

Laches replied lightly, smiling as if it didn’t matter.

“So, where are you going now? Isn’t work over?”

“Work is done, but there’s a place I need to go…”

I stopped abruptly and looked at Laches, I needed to go all the way to the west entrance, and it would take too long to walk.

“Lord Marquis.”

“Yeah?”

“Could you extend that consideration you often use, just one more time.”

“My request?”

“Please take the carriage,  To the west entrance.”

Laches frowned as if questioning the request without any context.

“Do you think I’ll fulfill that request?”

“That’s why I asked for your consideration. If not, we’ll have to walk all the way from now on.”

Without further explanation, Laches did not ask any more questions.

Then, he commanded towards the butler who was following from a distance.

“Tell the stable to bring the carriage,  Right now.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

What kind of master easily grants the endless request of a servant?

“…I saw the hunting dog you brought from the den.”

“Ah, that troublesome one.”

With crossed arms, Laches nonchalantly replied while waiting for the carriage to arrive.

“If it continues to be aggressive, what will happen to the hunting dog?”

“A hunting dog that doesn’t recognize its owner and doesn’t show loyalty is unnecessary,  And in the Fortress of Violethus, we don’t keep unnecessary things.”

The tone was still indifferent,  It wasn’t a deliberate cold response; it genuinely meant he felt that way.

I didn’t ask any more questions and kept my lips sealed. After a while, the stableman brought the carriage, Laches naturally got in.

Since it was clear that going alone was not an option, we headed towards the west entrance together.

Due to the vastness of the garden, it took quite a while to reach the west entrance by carriage.

“But why are we going to the west entrance?”

“To catch the hunting dog.”

“…What?”

“The hunting dog escaped earlier.”

“What?”

Fearfully, the carriage came to a stop as the conversation ended,  After expressing gratitude towards Rachess, I descended from the carriage. Rachess followed suit.

“You came to catch the hunting dogs? What kind of nonsense is this?” achess questioned.

“They’re over there,” I pointed.

As I stepped down from the carriage and took a few more steps, I saw guards standing by the western entrance, confronting hunting dogs that had not been allowed to leave, Tom standing firm, and several knights.

“I greet the Duke.”

The individuals who noticed Rachess greeted him politely,  lachess scratched his head, bewildered by the sudden encounter.

“What’s going on here? I haven’t been reported anything.”

“I-I made a mistake, The leash slipped suddenly while trying to escape.”

Tom explained, bowing to lachess,  Rachess chuckled as if finding the situation amusing.

“Well, you should have reported it to me first.”

“You were absent, sir…”

I glanced at laches,It seemed that he had left his position to wait for me, considering the specially prepared dinner earlier.

Why was he treating me so specially?

“Ah, there was an important matter. What about the injured person?”

A knight answered lachess’ question.

“There’s none,  But the dog is still agitated, so we are currently on standby.”

The hunting dog, holding a piece of bread it had taken from me but not eating it, drooled with its mouth closed. The threatening sound of growling echoed between its sharp teeth.

Even when Tom hastily threw snacks and food, the hunting dog paid no attention.

Its body remained stiff, ready to charge at any moment.

The knights were all tense, as if they were ready to kill the hunting dog if it posed a threat.

I couldn’t directly communicate with animals, but at this moment, I felt like I understood the dog’s emotions.

“…It’s okay.”

Unconsciously, I murmured softly towards the hunting dog. The eyes of the hunting dog, which had been vigilantly scanning its surroundings, turned towards me. The eyes were fierce with hostility.

“I was trying to help you.”

As I tried to approach, Laecus, the knight who had been conversing, hurriedly came forward and grabbed my wrist.

“Do you want to die? It’s an untamed hunting dog. I heard it encountered Tom. Have you forgotten since then?”

“I remember.”

“It’s not a dog trained by humans; it grew up in a den of monsters, so wild instincts are still alive.”

“But we can talk…”

“Do you see the change in your eyes when the full moon rises?”

Laecus furrowed his brow deeply, The knights, gathered to protect me as a mere maid, looked at me with surprise.

“Exposed to the aura of monsters for a long time, it’s already beyond an ordinary hunting dog, It’s halfway to being a monster.”

“But it was due to environmental factors, If it had truly become half a monster, during the journey here, or while staying here, it would have attacked or bitten someone. But that never happened.”

“Just because it hasn’t happened so far doesn’t mean it won’t in the future,  Hope is what it is.”

“The dog didn’t run away to escape.”

I turned my head to look at the hunting dog, still growling and on guard.

There was still untouched bread in the dog’s mouth.

“It’s because of the abandoned pups.”

“What?”

Laches responded in disbelief to my words.

“It has pups,  The dog came from the monster’s den with its pups.”

When Laecus, who had attacked the monster’s den, brought the dog he happened to find, the dog resisted, looking elsewhere.

A small puppy that barely survived with all its might.

Out of the five born, only one managed to survive, barely making it through, and even that one had to be left outside in the dangerous world.

The memories seen through the eyes of the hunting dog were solely focused on protecting its own offspring.

“It’s not that it’s half-mad because it’s ferocious, but rather, it’s rebelling because it had to leave its pups outside. It’s like the reason it’s biting the bread without eating it.”

Laches turned his head sharply to look at the hunting dog,  The dog continued to growl, glaring at us.

“Tom!”

At Laches’ shout, the startled hunting dog, Tom, hurriedly ran over.

“Is there a possibility that the dog gave birth to pups?”

“There were traces of a full belly, and the milk hasn’t dried yet, so there is a possibility that it gave birth. However, there’s no chance that small pups survived near the maws’ nest, so naturally, they must all be dead…”

“Ha.”

Laches cut off Tom’s words and let out a deep sigh,  He lightly swept his dry face with a large palm.

“Even if there were surviving pups, there’s no guarantee they would still be alive, We sent an investigation team and confirmed the area around the maws’ nest, and there was no response from any living creatures.”

“Lord Duke is correct, However… that dog will never know that.”

I looked at the hunting dog, If only wild instincts remained, it would have already bitten or harmed a person and fled.

But that animal didn’t do that.

“Animals and humans have different languages, so they can’t convey meanings to each other, That’s why we need to let them know more so that we can understand each other better.”

“If it’s a dog that the Duke wants to save and try to tame, all the more reason to bring it and try.”

While it was said that they couldn’t be tamed through words and if they were not needed, there was no reason for them to exist in the castle, the memories of that hunting dog were different.

Laches brought the hunting dog he found at the mausoleum nest and checked its health, despite it being a dog that didn’t really need such attention. He even commanded Tom to somehow tame it, as if trying to create a reason for it to stay here.

“If it becomes a hunting dog, then it can stay in Violeintus Castle legitimately,” he reasoned.

He released my hand that he had grabbed. I approached the hunting dog, revealing its fangs as I passed by Laches.

“…No one knows there are pups.”

It seemed like this dog could understand my words.

“I tried to help you; I didn’t intend to separate you from your pups.”

“Growl.”

I slowly reached out my hand, Tension-filled breaths were audible around us. My hand, extended slowly, touched the hunting dog’s forehead.

“I wanted to save you.”

The hunting dog, once again, did not bite me. Perhaps because it had absorbed some of the mausoleum’s energy, the dog was intelligent.

It knew well the person who helped and the one being helped.

The hunting dog gently placed the bread it had in its mouth on the ground, then slowly lay down. It concealed its bared teeth and closed its eyes tightly.

As if trusting me.

“Yeah, Everyone hopes you’ll be safe.”

The hunting dog’s past unfolded slowly. It showed where the puppy hid.

However, that didn’t mean it had survived until now,  It was not an easy task to send people out to rescue a puppy whose fate, alive or dead, was unknown.

I slowly petted the hunting dog. The dog, as if understanding all my conflicting emotions, accepted them in silence.

Until now, I had thought of this ability as merely reading the past, but it was more than that. It was another form of communication without words.

I turned my head while petting the dog, and everyone gathered was strangely looking at me.

“Form an investigation team.”

Laches, who had silently observed the situation, muttered quietly.

“…!”

Surprised, I widened my eyes, and Laques, with a smile and a raised eyebrow, swept his hair as if saying it was ridiculous.

“Your Excellency! It’s dangerous!”

“Trying to rescue a dog can lead to even greater danger!”

Ignoring the worried words of the surrounding knights, Laches approached me.

“I’m telling you in advance, I’m not going out because of you.”

“Your Excellency.”

“These lives are my responsibility because I brought them.”

“But.”

“I’ve already cleared out all the wild beasts, so if we quickly search and return, it won’t be a dangerous area. It’s more unsettling if we don’t confirm.”

Laches, giving a reasonable explanation to alleviate my guilt, sat in front of the hunting dog and petted its head.

Whether Laches’ sincerity got through or not, the hunting dog was quietly receiving Laches’ affection.

“…Can you find where the puppies are?”

“Woof!”

As if understanding Laches’ question, the hunting dog, which was lying down, suddenly stood up and barked, then circled in place.

“Alright good, Let’s go then.”

Standing up, Laches looked at the knights around him.

“I’ll go personally,  Only those who can keep up with me should follow.”