The Duke’s Companion

I spend more time at the window.

I sat by the sun-warmed window, looking out at a man who looked like a sun and was talking to a young man.

Strangely, there was something about him that caught my eye. Something strange, something that makes me want to keep watching and wander around.

But it was hard to see him. Once he leaves the gate, he returns a few days later, and then he leaves again…

“I wonder how he interacts with Mamela.”

I didn’t notice the passage of time as I stared at him quietly.

Everything caught my eye. His golden hair fluttered softly in the wind and even his straight eyebrows occasionally frowned.

There was only one thing that bothered me.

It’s been a while since I’ve stalked Mamela’s family, but I’ve never seen him smile properly.

How can he not smile like Mamela when he has a bright impression?

Obviously, I began watching secretly at first to quell my curiosity, but he gradually piqued my interest.

“Aryl?”

I shook my head at the sound of a voice right behind me.

Mamela, who had left the room, was back before I knew it.

“What were you looking at that you didn’t even know I was back?”

Mamela smiled and stroked my hair, turning her gaze to where I had just been looking.

“Oh, my brother and Ansel.”

“Aryl, were you looking at my brother? Or were you looking at the garden over there?”

“…”

I looked up at Mamela with a blank look. Mamela smiled and started scratching my chin gently.

My eyes closed naturally because I was in a good mood, and I lay down and showed my belly. Her hands, which tickled my chin, were clasped tightly on my front paws.

Suddenly, the corners of Mamela’s lips were in full bloom.

“Oh, my brother should know that Aryl is so cute… Aryl, can’t you wait to see my brother?

“Meow”?

“Oh, so cute. I want to bite you.”

My back was chilled by a delusion. I think it’s because of Mamela’s creepy eyes. I slipped my butt back.

Mamela reached out her hand as if trying to pull me in, but she was interrupted by someone knocking.

“Lady, this is Jonah.”

I hurriedly ran to the sofa, taking advantage of Mamela’s distraction.

In the meantime, Jonah, who politely put his hands together, went to Mamela’s side.

“Jonah, what’s going on?”

“Lady, the headmaster asked you to go out on a picnic.”

‘Out?’ 

‘He said he wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Ah really?”

As Mamela smiled lukewarmly, Jonah said with an unexpected look.

“You’re not very happy about it. You’ve always liked going out with the headmaster before.”

“No, it’s good, but…”

Mamela’s eyes turned to me. Startled, I straightened my back and inflated my body.

How menacing the eyes of Mamela I saw earlier. Even if it was an insignificant amount of cotton, her beast instinct was there.

Mamela looked at me like that and said,

“I can’t leave Aryl behind.”

“Do you want me to take care of Aryl?”

“Um… no. You don’t have to. Jonah is busy, too.”

“Then you’re going to leave Aryl alone? You never know what’s going to happen.”

Mamela shook her head at Jonah’s worried voice.

“No. I can’t leave Aryl alone.”

She smiled brightly enough that I could see it from afar.

“Jonah, tell my brother I don’t think I can make it.”

I glanced at the two people who looked away from me and bit a fish doll.

Jonah said with an unbelievably sweet look on her face.

“You’ve been waiting for this every day. Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Yes, We can go out next time.”

“… Then I’ll tell him as you wish. But, you’ll need an excuse why you don’t want to go out.”

“Oh yeah?”

Seeing Mamela’s face, I missed the fish I was biting.

Because she grinned with the most insidious expression I had ever seen.

“Then tell him that I can’t go because I have too much homework. If I do that, I won’t have to worry about my brother looking for me, and I will emphasize that I have too much homework. Perfect.”

“Yes, I understand. Then I’ll go back and tell him.”

“Yes.”

When Jonah left, Mamela also gave me a snack and went to the desk.

When I heard the rustling pen, I bit the doll again with a relaxed mind. Left foot scratched the sofa as usual.

‘Oh, it’s peaceful.’

Then, suddenly, my foot, which had been scratching the sofa, fell into it and felt soft.

“It’s soft… What is it?”

I shook the soft thing lazily and buried my face in the doll. I could see the white that was shaking while hanging from the toes as if to say hello.

My whole body froze.

“…”

I lowered my gaze slowly. A long torn sofa with cotton sticking out…

The moment I realized what I was doing, I suddenly looked up and looked at Mamela.

Still moving her pen, she didn’t seem to know what had happened yet.

I swallowed my saliva and looked down at the torn sofa again.

‘Oh, what should I do…!’

I was fidgeting and clutching both sides of the randomly opened sofa with my front paws and trying to pull them together.

However, a sofa filled with enough cotton to flatten even with a small hole could not be that way.

On the contrary, as if it were spreading further, I had no choice but to put it on the sofa and look around. There must be another solution somewhere…

It was then that a silk blanket near the toy box caught my eye.

‘Oh, I can cover it with that!’

With my twinkling eyes, I ran and bit the blanket. If you cover it with this and pretend you don’t know it, it’ll be perfect! Mamela must think the sofa is old and torn.

I rolled my little feet quickly and dragged my blanket away. But isn’t a wooden toy car getting caught on the way?

“Don’t block the road!”

I kicked the toy car in the way and exhaled my nose. It was a moment when I used to take a step.

Clang!

Somewhere I heard the tingling behind my back.

“…?”