After travelling over the highway, located west of the Bara.s.s, and pa.s.sing through the mountains, the city of Kurakaru comes into sight on a vast plain. It is the most flourishing town in the Grandahl region with its agriculture and animal breeding. It is a peaceful yet lively city.
The group of carriages that came into the town of Kurakaru, pa.s.sing through a door which even a carriage could pa.s.s through, they finally came to a stop in front of a building, surrounded by high walls, that looked like a palace.They were greeted by rows of servants there.
“Well, we’ve arrived. We’re going to take care of your fur after getting back to the room you know? Fausta.”
“Woof.”
[What a big house, does every n.o.ble’s house look like this?]
Without influencing the small dog much, Kou, who had let the dog do whatever it wanted during the two day trip, raised his voice in admiration towards the house, in which the owner of the small dog, Alice, lives in.
A lady dressed in an elegant dress came down from the carriage and greets back the elderly man who politely greeted her.
“Welcome back, Milady, young lady.”
“Prepare the purchased items to be used tomorrow. But prepare the artwork in the usual room.”
“Certainly.”
Alice’s mother told the butler what had the be done and then confined herself inside her room, bringing along a maid. Alice, who was standing in front of the door while holding the small dog Fausta in her arms, asked the butler about her father, knowing it was useless to ask.
“Father is?”
“The lord has gone outside with someone of the administrative committee and has yet to return.”
“I see…… He’s also busy today.”
Alice, who went up to the second floor and headed towards her own room, stopped by a room along the way located inside the corridor.
“Welcome back, young lady.”
“Fausta’s fur has become disordered, also, replace his scarf and ribbon, Landon. The rest can be done at night.”
“Certainly.”
A fluffy carpet spread around the large room. Lots of cushions on an expensive looking sofa, furthermore, a small bed with a tent. To think that this room is ultimately a room prepared for Fausta, a dog house. It also had a bathtub for pets.
[Amazing, Fausta-kun, aren’t you a celebrity……. What was a celebrity again?]
While Kou, who was surprised by the way n.o.bles live, was organizing his memories, Fausta was handed over to the caretaker Landon. When Landon carefully received Fausta from lady Alice, Fausta began to bark.
“That’s bad, Fausta you will be good quiet child right?”
After saying that, Alice patted Fausta’s head three times, then she left the rearing room in order to change her clothes.
Fausta, who was waving his tail until the door closed, began to tremble when he couldn’t see Alice anymore. Landon, who was holding Fausta, gently grabbed his neck as if it was normal, and carefully tossed him onto the sofa.
While grabbing the cushion, he fell on Fausta, who obediently became silent.
[What? Isn’t something a little off?]
Seeing how the air around the caretaker had changed, Kou obtained information from Fausta’s emotions and read his mind. From the pieces of information he was able to get, he understood that this caretaker was abusing the pet on a daily basis.
“Tch, how many humans do you think can be fed with all the gold that goes into taking care of a dog’s beauty.”
While muttering curses, he put the tools cleanly in order and began to take care of Fausta’s fur, while Fausta was obediently waiting on the sofa.
This Landon disliked the household he was serving. It can even be said he hated it. Only in appearance did he obediently obey his orders, but on his own, he takes out his anger by abusing the Young Lady’s pet. Because this method only helps him for a short time, he does it every day because of all the frustration he gets.
After a while, Alice, who had changed into a casual dress, dropped by the rearing room. She had planned to have a tea party with her good friend when she came back, and she was planning to bring along Fausta, who was liked by her good friend.
Fausta, who wagged his tail and jumped at Alice, who had come inside, began to look menacingly at the caretaker Landon.
“Landon, Fausta is growling like usual at you isn’t he.”
“As expected he does not like his body to be washed, it seems I can’t get him to like me.”
Landon said while smiling.
“I see…. How troublesome.”
After Alice said that, she went down towards the first floor’s hall with Fausta, who had a new ribbon, scarf, and was brushed.
After taking a seat in the garden where the tea party is prepared, Fausta, who willingly let Alice’s young lady friends pet him, seemed to be delighted. Since he’s from a family of large dogs, it seems to be fun to pet his fur while he was still growing.
[Alice is also cute, but her friends are all beauties themselves.]
Being surrounded by beautiful sparkling young ladies, Kou also began to have fun. ‘Maybe I should pet with Fausta-kun for a lttle~’ just when she thought that, a young lady that was petting Kou’s back, made an ‘ara?’ sound, she squinted her eyes at a part of the fur where her hand had stopped.
“Is something the matter?”
“This part, it seems to be red. Could he have been bitten by a bug.”
“It’s true, it looks rather painful.”
The young ladies were brushing aside the fur looking at the part that was red. It seemed like it was tickling to Fausta. Kou, who was with Fausta, already knew that it is because Landon roughly brushed him, but he was lost as to how he should tell Alice about the abuse.
“…… Let us have a vet rub some ointment on it later.”
Alice, who was petting the part that was swollen because of inflammation, lightly sighed.
The tea party eventually ended, and Alice and the others went to the mansion’s first floor hall. While she was chatting with her good friends who were preparing to go home, Fausta, who had been lying in her arms suddenly jumped and began to run.
“Otototo, It’s dangerous if you jump like that Fausta.”
“Ah, Zerodo. Is it time for the garden’s maintenance?”
“Yes, young lady. it is time to plant the seeds for the next season.”
Zerodo, a young servant who takes care of the garden. Although a little thin, Fausta still had taken a liking to this young man with a kind and simple air around him. Eventually, the carriage’s preparations were done, so Alice left Fausta in his care and went to see off her good friends.
“Woof, woof.”
“Alright Alright, I’ll lift you up in a minute so wait a little.”
Fausta was standing on his back paws and leaning with his front paws of Zerodo’s knee, wagging his tail. So Zerodo took the usual treat out of his pocket. The reason why Fausta likes him this much, is because he always gets a treat if he does this.
“It’s a secret from the Young Lady okay?”
“Woof—— Woofwoof.”
[“…… Hmm? Wasn’t it bad to let a dog eat it.]
Seeing Fausta eating the raisin filled candy, Kou thought about the ‘things that dogs may not eat’ inside his memories. Even so, the memories he has are from a different world. The common sense of this world may be different. However—-
[What might it be? Even though you look so happy, Fausta…..]
Zerodo’s eyes, that were looking at Fausta who was eating the candy, looked like those of the caretaker Landon’s eyes.
Thinking that, Kou let out his spirit body and focused his mind on Zerodo’s words. The words of this world are understood by Kou, who understands the will behind the words said, he can read the faint thoughts that are emitted together with the words that come out of one’s mouth.
“Is it tasty?”
Zerodo gently whispered that. The feelings that came with those words, he picked up the spilled thoughts from them.
—–You’re still alive and kicking, even though I mixed it with something that was bad for a dog’s body…….. I guess I’ll have to put some more in it—–
[……]
The true intentions he read from Zerodo were that since he can’t disobey the young lady and the earl, he decided to direct the hate he feels, towards the young lady’s pet.
Actually, it isn’t just him or Landon, during the tea party, he was able to feel the hate of the servants towards the young lady, Kou found it strange. All servants say the things they think in secret.
He couldn’t find anything particular to hate about the young lady Alice during the tea party with her good friends or during the two day trip from the town of Bara.s.s.
Fausta saw off Zerodo, who petted his head and went to the garden after eating the treat, afterwards, the young lady had returned to the hall and he looked at her.
[Hmm, Maybe the fault lays at the parent?…….]
The young lady Alice picked up and Kou, who was inside Fousta again, who folded his arms and began to growl.
Around the evening.
Because of lessons, lady Alice had to drop Fausta off at the rearing room. Fausta was wagging his tail in front of the door. Kou can feel his will to appeal to Alice not to leave him.
“Well then, I’ll leave his dinner to you.”
“Certainly.”
However, Fausta’s intentions weren’t transmitted, and the door was heartlessly closed. Fausta began to tremble more and more when the sound of footsteps became fainter. Landon had dropped his smile and expressionlessly looked down on him. And when he slowly pulled his foot behind him—-
“Well then—— Get moving.”
When he said that, he kicked Fausta’s side. With a small whimper he tremblingly began to walk, then he was once again kicked on the a.s.s and was sent flying to the bed, he hid inside the blankets as if to hide himself, trembling in fear.
“Hmph.”
Then Landon began to prepare the food after snorting his nose once. That made the trembling Fausta’s ears and nose react. Eating high cla.s.s food, it seemed like the fear from the abuse he got was gone for a moment because of the food. His gaze was glued on the silver food plate. He rang a bell that the food was ready.
Since the time he was being taken care of by lady Alice alone, he was thought that this was the sign that the food was ready.
Fausta began to eat in a hurry. When Landon pa.s.sed him while he was eating, he began to instinctively growl at him. Maybe because that annoyed him, Landon lightly sent him flying. However, Fausta, who didn’t like his meal being disturbed, began to menacingly growl at him.
“Don’t growl you f.u.c.king dog and eat already.”
Landon, who clicked his tongue, said that, and kicked him again. Then Fausta’s echoing scream resounded.
“Ha, What’s wrong.”
He got hit on a wrong place. At Fausta’s sight after he got kicked, he saw his front paw was missing a nail. The result, the nail broke at the base.
Landon was panicking because of Fausta’s cries.
“What happened all of a sudden, even though something like this never happened before.”
Landon, who was looking at Fausta’s body while panicking, thinking that he shouldn’t have kicked him so hard, noticed the broken nail and clicked his tongue. Then lady Alice came running after hearing the cry. Besides the servant maid, and butler, there were also two male guards that came along.
“It seems like he got hooked somewhere, the nail seems to have been broken……. I am sorry.”
Landon lowered his head while explaining it like that. Fausta tremblingly put his front paw in front of him towards lady Alice.
“In other words, it means that the reason is because of the maintenance that had occurred.”
“…….. I apologize.”
Alice, who silently watched the bowing Landon, looked back at a servant in the hallway and ordered ‘bring a vet now’. The maid lowered her head and left, also she ordered a butler to bring some tools.
“Tools…… You say?”
“Yes, something like a hammer will do.”
Fausta, was whimpering at Alice’s feet, and Kou inside of him was wondering what she would need a hammer for. While questioning himself, he was watching his surroundings. Then when the butler came back with the tools, lady Alice says that Landon has to pay the price for the nail that hurt Fausta and ordered one of the guards.
“The right hand’s middle finger okay.”
“….. Huh, Milady!”
The stalwart guard restrained Landon. It means that he’ll hammer his finger like the broken nail. Landon began to beg for forgiveness with a pale face. The butler who had brought the tools, brought the hammer to the stalwart guard.
[Aaaah, is this the cause of it all?]
When Kou goes inside Fausta to possess him, he raised his other front paw and did as if he had a hard time moving and went toward where Landon was. He went toward the hand that was held to the ground and began to bark in protest.
“Fausta?”
“Kyu~un.”
Towards that action, everybody in this place found it weird. As if all emotions had left her face, Alice who looked like a doll, because of her looks and cold air, looked into Fausta’s small round eyes.
“Isn’t the reason why your nail broke because of this caretaker Landon’s negligence?”
“Ky~un.”
“Are you saying I should forgive him?”
“Woof.”
While being surprised at Fausta who was reacting as if he was understanding her words, Alice could feel her emotion emerging from her coldness.
“….. I see, if Fausta says it.”
The guards, the maids, the butlers were all surprised at the small dog Fausta’s actions, but the one that was surprised the most was Landon. It has been more than a year since he began taking care of him. He was suspicions whether Fausta really did that in order to protect him or not, but the small dog hadn’t taken an action like this before.
Eventually, the maid came over to inform them that the veterinarian had arrived. While she showed a confused face over the strange air in the room, the butler whispered what had happened to her.
“Be thankful to this child.”
Alice who had picked up Fausta said that to Landon, and then left toward the parlor. Landon could only watch them leaving while being dazed.
After being healed by the vet, ‘the pain will fade in two or three days’ is what he told them after he had removed the nail and bandaged it so he won’t lick it, then together with Fausta Alice returned toward her own room.
[So this is Alice’s room.]
As expected of the young lady’s room the luxury and s.p.a.ce couldn’t be compared with the rearing room, Kou thought that while admiring the room. The maids that are on standby in the waiting room appear in order to take care of her, but Alice dismissed them and goes inside the bedroom.
In the midst of this large mansion this was the only place she could calmly think about things. Sitting on the bed and putting Fasta on her knees Alice breathes out a small sigh.
“Is your paw alright?”
“Woof.”
“….. You, you are Fausta right?”
“…. Woo~oof.”
To the appearance of the small dog who let his gaze wander, Alice made her eyes go round and lightly laughs. It was an angel like smile. She looked at herself thinking that she was probably tired. That she was already, since long ago tired mentally.
In fact, lady Alice knew that her pet was being abused, she also knew what most of the servants thought of her in the shadows. She still hasn’t noticed that the young gardener had been giving bad treats, but she knows that he hates her father who is his boss.
“Did you know Fausta, that I had steeled my resolve for today?”
Against the servants that harbor malicious intent toward them, they will forgive them if they make a simple mistake, but if they make a mistake when they like today when they were abusing the pet, it is decided that they would be punished in a similar manner, today she had resolved herself for that.
Fausta’s broken nail was supposed to be the trigger for her to start punishing them.
The girl that was still in a young period, she could no longer put up with the ill intent and maliciousness towards her and her parents and act as if she hadn’t noticed it. She also couldn’t think of living like her mother, locked up in her room all day long.
Then, she thought that the only way was to make them understand where they stand.
[So it was like that.]
Kou, who had understood Alice’s true feelings after her inner monologue, somehow wanted to do something for the girl who was isolated inside the mansion. With the knowledge cultivated together with the adventurers in the town of Bara.s.s and his memories of the other world, he began to think what the he and the small dog Fausta could do.
[First I’ll have to find an ally for Alice inside the mansion, him I guess.]