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Having sprayed the perfume on my body in advance, I did not immediately approach him. Instead, I stood a little further away and glanced at Cadis.
“Grrrr… nngg.”
Seeing me, he growled involuntarily for fear of me before whimpering when he noticed his own voice. Then, he soon sniffed into the air, and confusion was displayed in his eyes.
I spoke loudly so that Cadis could hear it.
“The dungeon will be stuffy, so I’ll give you enough time to go up to the ground one by one and take a walk to see the sunlight.”
I knew that magic scent was the simplest kind of magic, so it did not have a very powerful effect on its own. Rather, it was just a temporary and auxiliary effect, so I must tell him what I wanted to say before the effect went away.
“I intend to return you and your companions to your master, His Majesty the Emperor. I’ve no intention of fighting your majesty, so I’m going to treat you with the respect you deserve.”
“….”
“I’m responsible for convincing my husband, the Duke of Blois, so please don’t cause trouble. I’m going to try to provide you with the best possible environment, though I can’t help you if you don’t cooperate.”
“….?”
He looked up at me with suspicious eyes. It seemed that he was curious why I was so nice to him.
“Is there anything you want to say? I’m also willing to listen to simple requests.”
“….”
Cadis did not open his mouth as if he did not believe me.
‘If I loosen his guard a little more, he might open his mouth.’
It was a pure look in his eyes, revealing everything he was thinking. Still, I stood quietly like a doll so as not to approach him prematurely or to make any gestures that could provoke him, trying hard to show that I had no intention of attacking him.
“You know you could have died in the battle with the Duke of Blois. It was me who stopped him and suggested that we bring you and your companions here.”
It was all true.
Dimitri tried to kill the hounds as if it were natural. In order to save Cadis, I had brought the hounds alive by proposing to threaten the Emperor while diamond mines were secondary.
‘Regardless, he’s the male protagonist, so no matter what Dimitri did, he would have survived and escaped dramatically.’
The main character never dies.
It was the villain’s fate to miss the main character again and again. And, in the end, is it not the main character, who barely survives and punishes the villain while sharpening the blade of revenge instead…?
I wanted to stop that.
“After I ask the servants later to confirm that you’ve been obedient, I’ll gradually increase your walking time.”
Finishing my words, I then ordered the servants to take him on a walk before leaving the place. This was so that Cadis could enjoy the walk with a piece of mind.
‘…I don’t know if there’s anything else dogs might like other than food and a walk.’
Even if I did not think of him as a shapeshifter, there was not much I could do for a hostage, even a slave who used force against me.
‘I wonder if this is the best thing to do? I can’t treat him notability, too, because then, Dimitri wouldn’t let him go…’
Sitting on the terrace of the mansion, I watched Cadis from afar, who was wearing his leash, as he enjoyed a walk with the servants.
‘He’s obedient.’
Although he seemed nervous, he remained calm.
I do not know if it was because he was aware that the other subordinates were functioning as hostages or because he believed that I was trying to be nice to them.
‘…Perhaps the former.’
As long as I treat them well during his stay, he will be able to go back with the memories that were not painful.
‘Even though he won’t be able to forgive Rowaine for the rest of his life, at least, he might still remember that there was a time when it was not distressing, and there was a good time.’
Well, that was somewhere.
‘If the person who abused you suddenly apologized, saying that they were reflecting on their past, it would only have the opposite effect… This is the best I can do.’
With that thought, I breathed in the smell of soil and grass. I observed with pride while Cadis’ tail fluttered as he wandered around the garden without knowing that Sasha was aiming for him in the grass near him.
I found her just before Sasha, who was hiding her body in the grass, bravely ran towards Cadis.
‘Huuk! Why is Sasha over there?!’
As soon as I found the kitten’s body covered in cream fur, I jumped up and ran towards her.
‘I’m sure I left her to the maids…!’
It was expected that if Coco or Sasha ran into any dog shapeshifters roaming in the patronage, they would feel threatened or consider them to be an intruder, stressing them out. Because of that, I made sure to tell the maids to keep an eye on the cats, but what happened?
“Haak!”
“Mrruh—!”
Naturally, Sasha’s front paws touched Cadis on the nose faster than I could reach for her. Astonished, he growled and identified his opponent, Sasha puffed up her body and raised her hair to a bristle.
“Wh-what…!”
The moment the bewildered servant shouted, the tension exploded at once, and the two shapeshifters were about to face each other again.
“Sasha!”
I threw myself and grabbed Sasha in the air.
“Mmrrrrrr!”
Agitated Sasha did not recognize me and scratched me, churning all four of her paws.
I could feel the eerie sting on the skin though I held her tightly in my arms, turned my back from Cadis, and curled up. So, even if he lost his mind and rushed in, he would not reach Sasha. I shut my eyes tightly in preparation for an attack from behind. However, suddenly, a short scream from Cadis was heard from behind.
“Eanng!”
What followed was the voice that was now familiar.
“This bastard.”
As I raised my crouched body to Dimitri’s voice, Sasha quickly pulled away from me, valiantly poised and landed on the floor. Looking back, I found a black mist emanating from Dimitri’s shadow, curling around Cadis’s body. Meanwhile, Cadis was lying on the floor, struggling with his body tied up.
Dimitri gazed down at him coldly and kicked his tail with his shoes.
“Where do you dare rush towards? Do you think you’re a real beast just because you’re in shapeshifter form?”
Then, he came up to me and glanced around me.
“Rowaine, dog shapeshifters are crazy. If they lose their sanity, all they can do is run until they end their opponent’s life.”
It was a word that contained his extremely subjective feelings.
He then kicked his tongue and lifted my chin gently.
“Look at this. Are there any wounds under the chin? That’s why I said they’re dangerous. What would have happened if I hadn’t come?”
“It’s a scratch from Sasha’s claws, so I’m okay…”
“It’s that dog who’s the culprit anyway.”
He just did not like Cadis.
Meanwhile, Sasha, who stood bravely, gazed at the red scars on my body and Cadis alternately before surging fiercely, “Why?! Why did you stop me? I was trying to beat that stinky bastard, mwiss! Hey, where are you from…!”
I quietly touched my forehead. When I saw Sasha rushing to Cadis, I was so startled that my heart was still pounding.
Sure enough, Sasha was in the form of a kitten and Cadis was a large dog.
Even if he did not attack with all his might, Cadis could have broken or torn any part of Sasha’s body if he was surprised and accidentally bitten her by mistake. It was good that she was valiant, though she needed to be able to keep an eye on situations and opponents. In addition, Sasha was still too young.
“I’ll explain it to you later.”
Dimitri understood my concerns and whispered.
“Please.”
“I think taking care of your wounds is more important than that.”
I do know how bad it was because I did not look in the mirror, but I could feel tingling all over my body. However, the cat claws’ scratches were not a serious injury. For me, who took care of a local cat, it was tolerable and insignificant.
Even domestic cats sometimes scratch their guardians, so how about dealing with stray cats that are not as familiar with human touch as house cats?
There was a time when a sick cat was caught, and I put him in a cage to take him to the hospital. The frightened cat struggled and scratched sixteen parts of my body in the blink of an eye. This was nothing compared to that.
“I’m fine.”
I said nothing and squatted in front of Sasha, glancing around her body.
“Sasha, are you okay? Are there any injuries?”
Nonetheless, Sasha, who did not answer my question, widened her eyes before muttering something quietly back.
“I…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“…I’m sorry, Rowaine… I-I didn’t mean to hurt Rowaine…”
Hesitantly, she then glanced at Cadis and swung her round paws in the air threateningly before raising her voice, “He broke into our house! We’ve to chase him away! I’m going to make him surrender!”
I hurriedly stopped Sasha, fearing that Cadis would attack again.
“Sasha, that beast is my guest.”
“Huh…? Guest?”
“Yes. I’m sorry for not telling you in advance. They aren’t going to be staying for a while, so I didn’t think it was necessary to introduce Coco and Sasha.”
In the first place, Cadis was a hostage, and he would only go out for a walk from time to time from the dungeon. I have ordered my employees to keep Coco and Sasha in their annex during the dog shapeshifters’ walks, in case the kittens feel threatened or something unexpected like today might occur.
‘It happens as soon as I do this.’
Seeing me at a loss, Dimitri opened his mouth disapprovingly.
“Rowaine is too gentle.”
Then, he grabbed Sasha’s back and brought her to eye level before whispering something I could not understand. After he was done, he lowered her as if throwing her, and Sasha walked back towards her annex without saying anything else.
“What did you say…?”
“I’ll protect my territory, so don’t overdo it and just stay locked up.”
“….!”