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IBP 98
“Stop talking nonsense!”
......As expected, Jjek-jjeki absolutely did not believe me.
And here I was, having come after Duke Ardos had offered to attach a hundred maids to me!
“You bad bir—no, I mean, Jjek-jjeki. I’m telling you, I really am Arre!”
“Do you think I’d believe that? Arre is dead, and you’re a human. Even if you can speak the language of birds...... you really take me for a fool, don’t you?”
“......Then how would I know about our memories?”
“Just go. Seriously. Don’t make me lose my temper.”
Jjek-jjeki, your street slang is coming out.......
I reached out to stroke the wings of Jjek-jjeki, who had turned away with a huff, and spoke.
“Listen, I just couldn’t say anything because of certain restrictions. The puppy god told me so at the dog star.”
“What.”
“That because I was a good dog, he would let me reincarnate.”
With that, I unfolded a few more stories from our past together.
Things only Jjek-jjeki and I could know. Like when I saved Jjek-jjeki. Like when I choked and sputtered while eating a bone Jjek-jjeki had brought me.
Even the story of how I barely survived using a folk remedy.
After hearing all of that, Jjek-jjeki began to sniffle, quite unlike a great information broker.
“......You, you brat, are you really Arre......? Do you know how much I missed you!”
“Yeah!”
“I’ve been digging into your death until now. If it turned out you were killed unfairly, I was going to make every single human pay.”
Jjek-jjeki, who had been questioning everything I’d been through, suddenly flew up and pulled out a knife he had hidden near his perch.
I was utterly bewildered to see Jjek-jjeki holding the knife in his sharp beak.
“Jje, Jjek-jjeki, wh-what are you doing.......”
“Dung-zeung geu-neun geul bleuru. Neu geureup-heun eun-geun-deul zeugeu beureul teuneukkeu. (Call the way there immediately. I’m going to kill the humans who bullied you.)”
That day, it took me a good several dozen minutes just to calm Jjek-jjeki down, but.......
“......Well, thanks for coming back. I might have missed you a little.”
Knowing that this was Jjek-jjeki’s ultimate expression of affection.
“I missed you too, Jjek-jjeki.”
So much so that I thought of him the moment I heard about the information broker.
I let out a breathy, raspberry-like sound against Jjek-jjeki’s feathers.
It was something my sister always used to do to me.
Just as I had loved it, I hoped Jjek-jjeki would like it too.
“Ee-eek! What is this!”
Jjek-jjeki recoiled as if tickled and yanked his feathers away.
Because of that, a stray feather tickled the tip of my nose and made me sneeze, but my heart felt a little happier.
“So, is there anything you need help with from now on?”
At Jjek-jjeki’s mutter as he preened his feathers, I remembered the reason I had come today.
“Yes, actually. Jjek-jjeki. Since you’re an information broker, you have quite a lot of information, right?”
“Naturally.”
“Then, by any chance.......”
I whispered softly into Jjek-jjeki’s ear.
Then, he moved his wings with a dignified air and spoke.
“......Very well. I, Jjek-jjeki, shall support you with all my might.”
* * *
“Dahlia and Gillen’s love letters were delivered to the newspaper office?”
“Yes. They say they don’t even know who sent them. They were delivered in a perfectly coordinated manner!”
At the maid's words, Chloe let out a hollow laugh while meticulously reading the morning paper the maid had brought.
“Wow...... not bad.”
The full text of the letters was clipped onto the front page.
The headline read: <An Affair Scandal or a Romance? A Look into ‘That Incident.’>
[......(omitted)...... seems to still be at the mansion. It’s likely because of the risk of a berserk state. I’m so happy that we no longer have to avoid that child’s eyes to meet......(omitted).......]
“People are whispering that the handwriting in the letters in the paper is identical to the social letters Lady Dahlia sends.”
“Since the names were masked, I wonder if she can avoid a lawsuit?”
“Exactly. From Dahlia’s position, she won’t be able to claim that the letters aren’t hers!”
It was a situation where Dahlia could be perfectly cornered.
Chloe felt the situation gaining momentum, like a sail catching a favorable wind.
“I see.”
“Yes, Lady Chloe.”
Resting her chin on her hand, she scanned the newspaper thoroughly again.
Initially, she had planned to pressure Dahlia by leaking subtle rumors.
She thought that leaking subtle rumors would be the point where Dahlia would feel the most anxious, but.......
‘I was planning to spread a more powerful rumor soon anyway, but who on earth did such a cute thing?’
With this one letter, Dahlia had been pushed completely into a pinch.
Chloe let out a bewildered laugh.
It seemed there was someone around her who, whenever she took one step, would automatically take a hundred steps for her.
‘First, it wouldn’t be the Grand Duke Rivera side since they’re digging into Gillen.’
She chuckled and brushed back her hair.
Since it was a good thing for her, she planned to just observe for the time being.
“A bomb is about to go off soon, so it would be good to prepare.”
She also wanted to check Dahlia’s reaction.
More than that, there was one most important thing.
“My baby, no....... What is Coco doing right now?”
“Ah! As for the baby, I heard she was sleeping in the annex. Shall I escort you there?”
“......Coco said we should sleep together today.”
“Would you like to go to the baby’s annex?”
What should I do with this puppy who keeps becoming an adult?
On the contrary, she felt like she was the one who wanted to whine, but.......
“No. I can’t disturb a sweet sleep.”
So, I’ll meet her tomorrow.
She folded the newspaper in half and yawned.
Perhaps the tension had finally released.
A languid sleep, which she hadn't felt in a long time, began to wash over her.
* * *
Meanwhile, there was another person thinking of Coco.
It was Grand Prince Caligo Rivera.
He was a boy who hadn't been able to properly face Coco's face since the day she collapsed.
He sat across from Grand Duke Rivera, coordinating the date to leave the Ardos mansion.
Even as they discussed moving to the Rivera mansion in the capital now that the situation had settled, Caligo seemed unable to focus on the conversation.
“Caligo.”
“Yes?”
“Is something worrying you?”
Grand Duke Rivera’s red eyes sparkled with a mix of concern and curiosity.
“......Yes.”
“Is it a worry that your brother can solve?”
After thinking deeply, Caligo suddenly asked.
“Um, Brother. Is Coco doing well?”
“Yes.”
It was a simple answer.
Caligo looked dissatisfied and pondered for a moment before asking again in a low voice.
“......Then, Brother. About Coco, did she look okay?”
That day, Caligo had seen it through the shadows.
The shocking scene of Coco’s small body collapsing.
Even the sight of that small body trembling, everything.......
“Then why are you just worrying? Go see her yourself.”
At his brother's nonchalant words, Caligo’s gaze sank quietly to the floor.
“.......”
In truth, he was worried that when he went to see Coco again, she might still be in pain.
‘What if she...... disappears, like Mom and Dad did.’
He was worried that the only existence who had saved him might vanish.
‘Since Brother said he saw with his own eyes that Coco is alive, maybe it’ll be okay?’
It was when the boy, having gained a bit of courage, lifted his head.
Grand Duke Rivera grinned and ruffled Caligo’s hair.
“Then go now.”
“Huh?”
“To meet someone you miss, you have to move without thinking, Caligo. If you hesitate, you miss your chance.”
Caligo remained silent, chewing over his brother's words, and then slowly stood up.
......With an attitude as if he would not be afraid of whatever lay before him.
“Right, I have something to ask her anyway.”
* * *
I was putting my head together with the Emperor of Mouse in the annex.
“Did Jjek-jjeki really sneak into the Melomande mansion?”
“Yep!”
“And he secretly stole the letters inside and left them on the editor-in-chief's desk at the newspaper office?”
“Yep, yep! Mouse, Jjek-jjeki is a real genius, right?”
“Yeah. And you, being friends with someone like Jjek-jjeki, are scary too.......”
“But we can’t let our guard down. We have to help Sister more.”
While I was putting my head together with the Emperor of Mouse, I suddenly heard the maid's voice.
“Baby, you have a visitor. Shall I show them in?”
Eh? Is it Sister? Did she come to sleep with me?
I gave a little giggle just as my door opened.
The person visible beyond the door was none other than Caligo.
“Coco.”
“Hmm?”
I sprang up.
I had been meaning to tell Caligo thank you anyway, but since Sister had suddenly become suspicious, I had missed the chance!
‘I should say thank you now!’
However, Caligo had a somewhat urgent expression.
No, he looked a bit sad.
‘Why is Caligo sad?’
So, even as we sat facing each other in the drawing room, I wondered why Caligo’s expression wasn't good.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yep! Thanks to Caligo! I’m really okay.”
I giggled and waved my hand at him.
Looking dissatisfied, he stood up and checked my body thoroughly.
He looked closely at my snow-white ears, my hair, and my cheeks, and even squeezed my fingertips.
“......You really are healthy.”
“Yep, yep! I’m really, really healthy!”
At my words, Caligo took a light breath.
He looked considerably relieved.
Only then did I giggle and look at him.
Then, Caligo looked at me and muttered softly.
“Then, I...... have one last thing to ask.”
“Hmm, what is it?”
After much hesitation, Caligo blurted it out.
“......Are you perhaps a puppy?”
At those words, my body froze like a stone, cracking.
‘Gasp, that’s right.’
My eyes widened and rolled.
‘N-now that I think about it, Caligo must have seen that I’m a puppy!’
......Shadows share vision!
He must have definitely seen me turn into a puppy back then!
The moment that thought hit me, I felt a cold sweat breaking out on my back.
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