"Miss, miss! The apples are on sale! Please buy some!"
The morning market in the middle of the city centre was bustling with life, and the air was clean and fresh as if the fragrance came from the soil itself. Due to the storm activity last night, some farms in the lowlands were damaged and a few businesses closed for a day, including the restaurant where Violet worked.
The puppy peeked out from the basket she was holding. He carefully looked around, but soon returned under the cover like the busy street was not to his liking.
They wake up in the morning looking at each other. The dog was a bit startled, but at least didn't try to run away from her. Instead, he sticks to her like an inseparable half, making her ponder what changed overnight. Seeing him being alive again, she breathed a sigh of relief, but Cassiel still refused to eat.
She tried to feed him some of the food in the kitchen, but he rejected them all after sniffing around. He couldn't be seriously ill if he could afford to be so picky. After receiving the news about the restaurant not opening today, she decided to fetch her ingredients to cook some meal, but wondered, where to put the reluctant pup.
He decided for her as he followed her every step. In the end, she hid him in the basket and took him along.
"Shh, shh, calm down, we will be back soon," she soothed the little one. Despite being stubborn about going out with her, it was clear that Cassiel didn't like the strangers and public spaces.
"Don't you think there are a lot of knights on the street today?" She asked one of the vendors.
"They are from the duke's manor… seems like they are searching for something," the seller pointed at the insignia on their clothes.
Just as the old lady said, it was clear to Violet what was going on. Something valuable from the castle was lost, and the entire city was turned inside out. And that certain something was hiding in her basket right now. But what could she do? Set him free? Maybe after seeing familiar faces, he would voluntarily return home.
"D-duke?!"
Violet almost dropped her basket. A carriage was parked near the restaurant where she worked, and the tall proper gentleman was leaning against it as he looked in great distress.
The disappearance of certain someone caused panic in the castle and even the lord had to make his way out to oversee the search. His honey-coloured brown hair shone under the sun, while his beautiful green eyes were half-covered by the hand as he looked on the verge of despair.
Seeing the distressed man, Violet's first instinct was to shove the basket to his face as she wished to return the little tyrant as soon as possible, but at the same time, she was afraid they would look at her as the kidnapper.
However, before she could think of any alternative, the puppy peeked out once again and barked loudly at the nearby man like he was unhappy with his presence.
"Miss! Did you just hear the dog, right now?" The sound caught the duke's attention immediately and he hurriedly looked around, only the find the single girl standing nearby.
Violet sighed. There was no point in trying to hide right now. She came closer and held the basket with outstretched arms.
Since it came to this, it would be better to return Cassiel home as soon as possible. Hopefully, he won't remember anything from yesterday when he grew up, and she can return to be the background mob who was lucky enough to have their name mentioned in the story.
"Did you lose your puppy, mister? I found this one yesterday at the back of the restaurant where I'm working."
Nathaniel reluctantly lifted the blanket, trying to not be very hopeful in case it was a different dog. But after witnessing the star-shaped mark, he breathed relief.
"Yes, this is definitely my bro… I mean, my family's pet."
Cassiel's ability to transform was still kept secret.
"Then please, take him. The puppy hasn't eaten anything since yesterday…"
Violet urged him, as her stretched arms started to hurt. The young duke looked at her like she was a saintess and nodded, reaching his hand to take the Cassiel with him. But as he approached, the little one gnarled and bit the man, showing his dissatisfaction.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? Isn't this your bro… I mean, master?" She admonished him, but the puppy showed no remorse.
Instead, transformed Cassiel jumped up from the basket to her arm and hid his face under her shirt. The blouse she was wearing had some loosened buttons as she hadn't had time to fix them yet. Under the pressure, the buttons flew out, allowing the pet to put his head straight between her breasts.
…
…
"Ah! This…!" Duke's face flushed immediately, and he quickly covered his eyes.
Violet was dumbstruck. Cassiel did all kinds of things to Ophelia when they dated, but she never thought he was such a pervert attacking her chest with such urgency. But on the other hand, he was still only 12, he might not even know what he was doing.
"That's fine…" Violet clenched her teeth and tore the puppy from her bosom. She held the dog by the neck and waved with him before the duke.
Just please take this little tyrant and go home, already!
But breaking free, Cassiel jumped down and hid under the long skirt she was wearing.
…
…
"I think he doesn't want to return home with me…" Nathaniel looked like he could die of embarrassment any time.
"Yeah, don't think too much of it… Children can be rebellious sometimes…" She tried to comfort the dejected man.
"Then, would you please mind taking care of him for a few days?"
"What?!"
Violet was unsure if she heard correctly.
"I will compensate you well!" The duke begged. It was undignified of him to ask anyone in this manner, yet you couldn't care less.
The puppy, who seemed to be satisfied with the arrangement reluctantly left his hiding place and waved his tail happily.
And this was how the hot potato ended up in Violet's lap again.