Kian lay on the bed with his chin propped up, observing Vivianne and An intently.

He had heard from the beginning that the puppy had a good temperament. The breeder mentioned that since the mother dog was affectionate and never left people’s laps, her puppies would likely be the same.

This particular trait had appealed to him when he decided to get the puppy as a gift, which was precisely why he chose it.

Still, he never expected the puppy to cling so tightly, licking and nibbling.

Of course, he brought it so she would like it.

He had used the puppy as a strategy to help her feel less confined to the room, to give her something to bond with and keep her company while waiting patiently.

But looking at them now, wasn’t this… excessive, no, almost pathological?

At this point, he couldn’t tell who was coming between whom. He felt like he’d fallen into his own trap.

“…Do you like it that much?” Kian asked indifferently.

“Yes. I love it,” Vivianne replied without even glancing at him, completely absorbed in kissing An.

“Our A-An is so adorable!”

Who was calling whom adorable? That tiny little thing. She was holding something smaller than herself so possessively.

Couldn’t she objectively see who was more adorable? It was ridiculous.

“Woof!” An barked in response.

Oh my goodness! Honey practically dripped from Vivianne’s eyes.

“Aww, my baby answered me!”

“……”

“Our puppy is the smartest and cutest in the world!”

Such silliness. Her tongue was tripping over itself as she chanted what sounded like strange incantations.

Watching the ridiculous scene unfold before him, Kian heaved a deep sigh.

“Take it easy, will you?”

“Sorry. I’m trying to control myself, but moderation seems impossible.”

Up to this point, he could understand. Kian himself knew something about self-control. Whenever he held Vivianne, he found it difficult to maintain restraint despite his best efforts.

The problem was what she said next.

“I can’t live without An.”

“What?”

Kian’s smooth brow furrowed. Regardless, that thoughtless woman, oblivious to the trouble she’d caused, continued smiling brightly at the puppy.

“I must have misheard. Say that again.”

“I can’t live without An now.”

Vivianne answered with a clear smile.

Her gaze remained fixed on the small puppy named An.

Not an ounce of awareness. Or was she deliberately trying to provoke him?

“Again.”

“Pardon?”

“I said I must have misheard, so say it again.”

“I said I can’t live without An.”

Vivianne repeated more deliberately. His anger rose.

“I must have misheard three times then.”

Kian got up from the bed and approached Vivianne and the puppy. He sat down right next to her on the long sofa and abruptly snatched An away.

“What do you mean by that?”

“If you misspoke, things might get complicated.”

Now that he had taken An away, she finally met his gaze. Vivianne looked back and forth between An and Kian.

“…Say it again.”

Kian breathed against Vivianne’s lips.

“I meant to say I can’t live without Kian.”

Vivianne’s eyes narrowed slightly. That was clearly a look of contempt.

“…That’s childish, Kian.”

“What’s new about that? Did you just now realize I’m a child?”

He knew he was being childish. Well, when wasn’t he?

Particularly when it came to matters concerning this woman, he became especially petty and mean.

Accepting this fact, he kissed her again.

“If you don’t say it, I’ll keep going until you do.”

“Please put our An down. He looks uncomfortable.”

Her sentences had become oddly short. Moreover, she still showed no interest in “Kian,” only caring about “An.”

“Such a tiny thing. Who told you to speak informally?”

“You called yourself a child just now. Since you’re a child, I’ll speak informally.”

He had only pointed it out to tease her. Vivianne stuck out her tongue provocatively. She had become completely emboldened lately after he’d been lenient with her. It was absurd.

Kian laughed dryly, and Vivianne quickly planted a brief kiss on his lips.

“Children should listen to adults… sir.”

Her strange manner of speaking had no proper form. She seemed to have started speaking informally but got scared when their eyes met, hastily switching back to formal speech.

How pathetic. So he was the child, and she was the adult?

Her flimsy attitude made Kian lose his fighting spirit.

“Yes, I will.”

Kian obediently put An down on the floor.

Vivianne tried to pick An up again, but…

“An, sit.”

At Kian’s command, An promptly sat down.

“Good job.”

He stroked An’s head with his large hand, then took a small treat from his pocket and tossed it to the puppy. Vivianne’s eyes widened, discovering something amazing.

“Wow, how did you do that? That’s incredible!”

“I’m not going to tell you.”

“Please teach me. I want to try too. Please.”

Where was her dismissive attitude now? Her demeanor had completely changed to respectful.

“What would an adult need to learn from a child?”

“I won’t call you a child anymore.”

She was completely self-centered. Kian decided to be generous and teach Vivianne how to train young animals.

“I’ll show you. Try it on Kian first, then on An. Got it?”

“You’ll really teach me properly, right?”

“You must have been deceived a lot.”

“Kian always teases me, so I don’t really trust you.”

Her lower lip jutted out slightly, suggesting she had accumulated many grievances.

“Now, hold out your hand and say ‘Kian, paw.'”

“Kian, paw.”

As soon as the command was given, Kian placed his large hand on Vivianne’s small palm.

“See? Kian is smarter than An, so he gave his paw right away. An can’t do it yet, so you’ll have to wait until he does it by chance.”

“……”

“Then you say ‘good job’ and give a reward.”

“A reward?”

“You need to give a treat. Didn’t you see what I did with An earlier?”

She was suddenly asked for a treat. She obviously didn’t have anything like that.

“I don’t have any.”

“Yes, you do.”

“We cleaned up everything after lunch earlier.”

“Exactly. We had lunch, but I haven’t had my Vivi for dessert yet.”

Hearing his glib response, Vivianne sighed deeply.

“…That’s a bit crude, Kian.”

“Thanks for noticing. Anyway, say ‘good job’ and give me a treat.”

“……”

“Hmm?”

Kian tilted Vivianne’s body toward him. He seemed determined to push until she complied.

“…G-good job.”

Though Vivianne followed his instructions, she felt somewhat tricked and kissed him rather reluctantly.

Regardless, he laid her down on the sofa and skillfully climbed on top of her.

“Is our Vivi such an adult that she speaks informally to a child?”

“What?”

“Saying ‘good job’ and all.”

“But you told me to…”

“That’s right. Because our Vivi is an adult.”

Why was he so fixated on the word “adult”?

His relaxed gaze seemed ominous, but he was the type who needed to see things through once he set his mind to something. It didn’t seem like a situation that could be resolved by trying to stop him.

“But are you really an adult?”

“…What?”

“You seem too small to be an adult. Small hands. Small feet. You don’t look like an adult at all.”

What was he plotting? Kian kept raising strange questions.

“I am an adult.”

“I suppose so. I believe you, but it’s better to be certain. I want to check if it’s true.”

Kian, still on top of Vivianne, untied the ribbon of her negligee.

“You can see, you already know.”

“I’ve forgotten because I haven’t seen.”

“You saw this morning…”

“I need to see at lunchtime too, or I’ll forget. Being a child, I forget things if I don’t see them regularly.”

“What does that have to do with anything!”

Despite her squirming from ticklishness, Kian continued spouting sophistry as he buried his face in her ample cleavage.

“An is here. Kian, this is embarrassing.”

“After doing it all night, now you’re suddenly embarrassed?”

“An was asleep then. An understands what I say. He might understand mating sounds too.”

Loyal An was still maintaining the “sit” position, wagging his tail while looking at Kian.

“Anyway. You argue so much and have so many objections. Our Vivi.”

Kian covered Vivianne with his outer garment that had been draped over the sofa and pulled the bell cord.

“You called, master?”

Shortly after, Richard entered and bowed politely.

“Richard, have you ever raised a dog?”

“Yes. For quite a while when I was young…”

Before he could finish his answer, Kian picked up An and held him out to Richard.

“Say hello to each other. This little one is An.”

“Pardon?”

“I have an urgent matter, so please watch him for a while.”

Richard looked somewhat bewildered, glancing back and forth between Vivianne and An.

“He’s the cutest and smartest puppy in the world, so take good care of him.”

Though aware of how ridiculous he might look, Kian felt the final voyage was approaching. He was in no position to be choosy.