Odette's hands, which had dug the pit with all her might, were covered in wet dirt. The condition of her clothes and shoes was the same.
Odette calmly shook off the dirt, knowing that it would do no good. Bastian approached her while she stood up and collected her soiled clothes. The frightened puppy grunted and hid behind Odette.
"You seem to have a taste for misery, don't you?"
The corners of Bastian's lips tilted crookedly as he scanned Odette from top to bottom and bottom to top again.
"There's no way you have a taste for playing in the dirt in the middle of the night when it's raining. What are you doing?"
"… I'm sorry if I've caused you concern."
Odette faced him with a face devoid of emotion as much as possible. Bastian was wearing a dark blue raincoat, like part of the night.
He looked drenched in the rain, but not a bit shabby. Odette lowered her gaze and hid her soiled hands behind the hem of her skirt.
"The sick stray dog that I used to feed from time to time has died."
Struggling, Odette first delivered the most important business.
At the foot of the forest, where she had chased after the puppy, she found the mother dog lying on the cold dirt floor.
Its body stiffened as if it had already stopped breathing. All Odette could do was close the dog's empty eyes that were open to the sky.
The dog she saw up close for the first time had a much smaller and skinnier body than she thought. This fact only added to Odette's sadness.
"So?"
Glancing at the place where the mother dog was buried, Bastian asked blandly. Odette calmed her weary heart with a quiet deep breath.
"I thought it would be eaten by other animals if left alone, so I collected it and buried it."
"You yourself?"
"Yes. I didn't want to cause you the inconvenience of having to ask for help with something like this."
"Are you okay with the nuisance of a hostess who's staying out late and not coming home?"
"Looking back, I think I made a rash decision. I will be careful not to let this happen in the future."
Odette apologized without any excuses. Her extremely polite attitude seemed rather disrespectful.
Bastian was stunned and burst into laughter. He seemed to understand the woman's anger.
She was a ferocious wolf, but it was more tolerable than behaving like a spoiled child.
"How on earth did you dig a pit for a dog by yourself?"
Bastian was even more perplexed as he took stock of the situation. Odette faked a vague smile, but the answer seemed to be clear enough from her appearance, which looked as if she had undergone ranger training, and from the remnants of broken branches scattered here and there.
The sound of rain falling on the lush foliage permeated the returned silence.
Feeling uncomfortable with Bastian's gaze, Odette eventually turned her head first. As she looked at the humble tomb she had made with her own hands, her vision blurred again.
Odette couldn't bear to turn and left, leaving the dead mother and the young cub hovering by her side. She felt like everything was her fault even though she knew the dog mother was in poor health from the start.
If only she had come a little sooner. If only she could have provided better help than the food given out as if it were good enough. If she couldn't do that, then she should have never bothered in the first place.
In the midst of meaningless assumptions, raindrops began to be heard. The puppy was sitting by its dead mother, looking up at Odette. Odette could not turn a blind eye to those eyes full of absolute trust.
What happened after that remained only a hazy memory.
She wrapped the dead dog in her shawl and crossed the dark forest. To a sunny place. She was looking for a place where it would not be lonely, and she came to this place before she knew it.
The raindrops were quite thick, but Odette did not hesitate. She first found a land with soft soil and gathered a bunch of thick, sturdy-looking tree branches.
She couldn't throw the dead dog as food for wild beasts, and there was no other way to ask for help, so she had to do it herself somehow. It was a familiar despair and hope.
When she finally managed to control her emotions and raised her head, she saw Bastian still standing there. When their eyes met, he let out a long sigh.
That was all it took for Odette to suddenly realize how unattractive she looked. It would be nice if she could tidy up her hair, but it would be even more ridiculous if she hastily put her dirty hands on it.
Looking around in despair, Odette hurriedly approached the trunk of the tree and picked up her purse. Bastian approached at the moment when she was upset that her frozen hand didn't move as she wanted. Startled, the belongings spilled out of the bag and scattered on the dirt floor.
Odette picked up the bag that had fallen while trying to suppress the resentment of the worst situation. She hoped that Bastian would ignore her, but he bent down and helped her.
Handkerchief. Pocket watch. Mirror.
The moment she was relieved by the relatively decent items, chocolate wrapped in colorful wrapping paper caught her eye.
At the moment when she hated her past self for storing such things, Bastian grabbed the pocket knife next to it. The corners of his eyes slowly narrowed as he unfolded the folded blade.
"Please tell me this is not for self-defense."
Bastian asked as if it were absurd. It was a worn-out, useless knife that didn't even stand properly. Odette said nothing, but took it from him instead.
Having packed all her belongings, she raised her body as if nothing had happened and opened her handkerchief. While she was meticulously wiping her hands, the puppy that had been hiding behind her peeked out.
"Have you been looking for someone to replace Count Xanders?"
Bastian's forehead wrinkled as he looked down at the messy bundle of hair (the puppy).
"I thought so, but unfortunately it turned out to be a female."
With a folded handkerchief and bag slung over her wrist, Odette stood upright in front of Bastian. She seemed to be making an effort to pretend that she was unaffected, but that made her sad face stand out even more.
Her complexion was pale as a sheet of paper, and her cheeks and lips were morbidly red. Looking closely, her thin shoulders were also trembling slightly. The large and small scratches on her hands must have been medals left by her tenacity and in digging the ground with branches.
The autumn rain that fell in pursuit showed no sign of stopping.
Bastian let out a sigh and took off his raincoat to cover the shivering Odette.
"Don't be unnecessarily stubborn."
Bastian grabbed Odette, who was backing away in surprise, and carefully buttoned the raincoat.
"Let's go back."
Bastian, who had tightened the waist strap tightly, held out his hand.
Odette looked at the outstretched hand with a feeling of helplessness. In the meantime, the body heat remaining in Bastian's raincoat seeped into every part of her cold body. It was a sensation that reminded her of a time that was actually very sad and sorrowful.
When she heard a voice calling her name from behind, Odette was actually glad. She was even though she knew it was the ugly man who had hurt her.
She was glad that he had come, and as much as she was happy, she hated him.
The memory of that moment, evoked by Bastian's warmth, made Odette retreat. It was a hard enough life even now. She didn't want to add to it even the weight of hating him.
"Please let this cub come with me."
Odette grabbed the puppy that was hovering at her feet.
"She lost her mother. It's so small and young, it won't survive if left alone."
"So?"
Bastian raised his hand in refusal and swept his rain-soaked hair.
"If you want to have an animal, get a proper dog instead."
"I don't need another dog. I'll make sure it won't cause you any trouble. I'll raise it quietly and I'll take it with me when I leave, so please, for as long as I am here….Please have mercy only for that amount of time."
Odette looked up at him with desperate eyes as she carefully held the soiled puppy in her arms. She seemed to have an exceptional attachment to the poor thing.
"Please, Bastian."
At the moment when the feeling of being treated worse than a stray dog became dirty again, Odette begged once more.
Bastian's laughter as he stared blankly at the red eyes filled with stubborn determination became white breath and scattered.
That was the only answer he could give.
***
"I heard they picked up a dog?"
The servants exchanged questions like morning greetings. By the time dawn broke, rumors had spread throughout the mansion.
The master, who had gone to look for his missing wife, somehow came back with a puppy.
According to the servant who witnessed the scene, the master had cherished the lady and the dog she picked up like a treasure.
Thanks to this, the speculation that a serious quarrel broke out between the two was lost in less than a day.
"But doesn't the master hate dogs?"
One of the maids heading towards the kitchen nodded her head.
"He wouldn't even want a common hound. I heard that he was bitten by a dog when he was little and seriously injured. So, the previous master hadn't had a dog since he brought his grandson home."
"Ah. Did he? I didn't know."
"I wonder if he likes his wife enough to put up with a dog he doesn't like? I don't know if they'll have to find a nanny sooner or later."
The excited chatter of the maids stopped the moment they turned the corner leading to the kitchen. All in all, it was because of the encounter with the inflexible butler.
"Shh."
Lovis, who was staring at them, gave a warning by raising his index finger to his lips. The maids, who were watching, shook their heads in unison and then scattered to their respective positions.
When Lovis, barely relieved, entered the common room, the call bell rang. 3rd Floor. It was the hostess' bedroom.
"The caller coming at this hour must be the master. I'll go."
Lovis stopped the head maid and hurriedly left. His heart almost stopped when he learned that Bastian had brought a dog, a stray dog from the forest.
Didn't the accident that led to Carl Illis taking his grandson away from his son-in-law also originated from a wild dog living in that forest?
Of course, the hound that attacked the child at that time was said to be as big as a wolf, so there would be a big difference from that little pet dog that Odette had picked up, but a dog was still a dog.
By the time the conclusion was reached that it would be better to speak to the madam, Lovis arrived in front of the bedroom on the third floor. As he knocked, he heard Bastian's voice as expected.
Lovis sighed and opened the closed door.
The blue morning light still lingered in the bedroom, where only one bedside lamp was lit. Bastian was reclining on the bed, looking down at his sleeping wife.
"Did you call, Master?"
When he asked quietly, Bastian slowly turned his head.
"I think we should contact Dr. Kramer."
Bastian quietly rose from his bed and gave an unexpected command. Lovis was startled and approached his master.
"What's wrong, Master?"
"No. Not me. Odette."
Bastian's gaze returned to the bed.
"She's running a fever. She's sick. Tell the doctor that the patient is in no condition to come to the hospital, so please tell him that you are asking for a house visit."
"Yes, master. I'll contact Dr. Kramer as soon as he arrives at work."
"And what happened then. I don't want my wife to know."
"If then you mean…"
"What you are thinking right now is probably right."
Bastian chuckled as if it didn't matter. Lovis, stunned as if he had read his true intentions, was unable to open his mouth.
"But the master has a dog…."
"I don't hate it."
Bastian gave a calm answer before the objection Lovis had barely raised was over.
"… I just don't like it."
Bastian turned around at the end of an extravagantly added word.
"Yes, master. I will."
Lovis, who was looking at that stubborn back, stepped back from there.
"I'll also make sure the servants keep their mouths shut."
It was a morning with a premonition that the maids' disrespectful chatter might become a reality.