“Miss. Are you awake?”

The nanny entered the room after knocking.

“Your clothes are too thin. What will you do if you catch a cold again?”

As soon as she entered, the nanny saw her thin nightgown and meticulously wrapped a shawl around her shoulders while scolding her. Perhaps because she had fallen ill with a cold last year and remained unconscious for a year, both the nanny and Sage would make a fuss if she showed even the slightest sign of being cold.

“Hmm… It’s not even winter yet.”

“Winter is right around the corner.”

“I’m indoors. I’m not cold at all.”

“What are you saying? Look at how pale your neck is.”

“……”

She seemed ready to scold even her naturally pale complexion.

Saena obediently adjusted the shawl and changed the subject.

“Remember there was something I asked you to look into before? About a mother dog who lost her puppies.”

“Oh, is it about this one?”

“Yes.”

The nanny bent down after noticing the puppy. While examining the puppy, the nanny spoke.

“I wonder where this one came from? There doesn’t seem to be any mother dog around.”

She said she had looked everywhere but found no such dog.

“Originally, animals shouldn’t be kept without permission.”

She said servants rarely keep and care for animals unless the master wants them kept.

Only expensive horses in the stable, hunting dogs, or messenger birds, she said. Or livestock raised for slaughter.

“Hmm. So there weren’t any cases of secret keeping either?”

“No. I looked into that possibility as well, but there were none. I really can’t figure out how this one slipped in.”

The nanny also tilted her head while looking at the puppy.

“Then that’s settled. I’ll keep it officially.”

Though she wasn’t sure if she could have willingly sent it away even if a mother dog had been found, this outcome was rather reassuring.

Saena smiled as she took the creature back from the nanny.

“Then… you’ll need a name, won’t you?”

At first, Saena deliberately avoided thinking about it since she wasn’t sure if she could keep it permanently, but now it seemed appropriate to give it a name.

The creature wagged its tail again at her question.

“Is that a yes?”

Another wag wag.

“Alright. Then um, what would be good?”

Wag wag.

“Poppy? Pippy? Doggy?”

The creature’s movement stopped. Looking down, not only had its tail stopped moving, but it was looking up at her with its mouth slightly open in what somehow seemed like an expression of disbelief.

“…You don’t like those?”

This time it even seemed to sigh with a ‘poof’ sound. No, surely there must be something wrong with my eyes?

“…You really do understand what I’m saying, don’t you? Hm?”

At Saena’s question, the creature suddenly became docile. Then it abruptly turned its head and began wagging its tail excitedly.

If I say that behavior looked exactly like someone trying to avoid the subject out of guilt… would that be impossible?

“Hmm. Right… That’s impossible, isn’t it?”

“……”

“No. Something’s strange here.”

Saena turned the creature’s body so its turned head faced her directly. The creature then turned its head the opposite way.

“……”

Saena narrowed her eyes as she supported the gray creature’s bottom and held it up by its scruff. The creature had no choice but to meet her eyes.

Warm sunlight streamed in through the large terrace window on one side of the reception room. That light reflected and sparkled in the creature’s eyes.

Violets bloomed in those eyes.

“…Yuri…”

A name burst unexpectedly from Saena’s lips.

Because the creature had violet eyes, the same color she always saw in her mirror, the same as Yuri’s.

The moment she discovered the violet color in the creature’s eyes, Saena was overwhelmed by a strange feeling.

It felt deeply nostalgic yet relieving, lonely yet lovely, sad yet hopeful…

While experiencing these contradictory yet varied emotions, Saena felt time stop briefly and had an odd sensation of being in another world.

Until the creature blinked and closed its eyes.

When it opened them again, that color was gone. When the violet disappeared, Saena felt suddenly thrown back into reality.

“Ah…”

What was that just now?

Though not exactly the same, it somewhat resembled the strange feeling she felt when first seeing Morev at the parade recently.

Saena continued examining the creature as she set it down on the sofa, but the lost feeling did not return.

Knock knock.

“Miss. We’re ready to prepare your morning wash.”

The maids had come up and knocked on the reception room door.

“Come in.”

The maids entered in a group and opened the bathroom door connected to one side of the reception room, beginning preparations for Saena’s wash. When they’re finished, they came out to guide Saena. Meanwhile, they noticed the creature on the sofa and their eyes widened.

“Oh my, how cute!”

One maid exclaimed while stomping her feet in delight at seeing the creature. The other maids who had been in the bathroom also came out and their eyes grew round when they saw it.

“Oh, so this is the puppy.”

“It’s really cute.”

“Miss, may we pet it just once?”

The maids asked Saena with sparkling eyes.

Judging by how the creature’s tail thumped against the floor, it didn’t seem to like the attention.

Finding its reaction amusing, Saena couldn’t help but smile.

“I don’t think it would like that very much.”

The maids immediately pouted at Saena’s response.

“It looks so fluffy.”

“Oh, I really want to pet it.”

“Better not risk getting bitten by touching it without permission.”

Though it seemed unlikely to bite despite showing its displeasure, Saena deliberately said so.

“Have you named it yet?”

“Name?”

“Yes, this puppy’s name.”

A name. Earlier she had simply thought about naming the creature, but…

When Saena gazed at it intently, it perked up its ears and looked up at her, seeming to feel her gaze. The creature’s eyes now appeared gray. A silvery gray that looked black in darkness. The violet color was no longer there.

Even so…

“Yes. I have.”

Yes. This name is perfect.

“Yolly.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll call it Yolly.”

It reminds me of Yuri. The name ‘Yolly’ that she sometimes used teasingly came naturally to mind.

Swish.

As if pleased with its name, the creature made a slow wave with its tail and lay down on the plush sofa. Its closed eyes looked peaceful, and its gray fur appeared fluffy in the sunlight.

* * *

“Miss. Did you have a good lunch?”

Nanny Martha entered carrying a rectangular box.

“Ah, yes. Did you eat too?”

“I did.”

Martha set the box down beside Saena and opened the lid.

Inside was an array of various envelopes. They appeared to be invitations and letters.

“Why are there so many?”

“It’s because our Miss had such a fantastic debutante ball, and recently attended the final ball so wonderfully.”

Martha smiled broadly, looking proud.

“This is all after already sorting through them. Please look through them quickly.”

Besides the correspondence she had handled as acting head of household in her previous life, this was her first time receiving so many personal letters. Rather than feeling pleased, she only thought ‘When am I supposed to reply to all these? How annoying.’

“I’ll read from the front. Nanny, please check from the back. Just set aside ones that are simple invitations where we only need the family name and title, and separate out the ones I need to read personally.”

“Oh, shall we?”

Even though these were already sorted, there were too many to review alone, so she enlisted the nanny’s help. The nanny seemed too pleased about Saena receiving so many letters to find it bothersome.

Though not perfectly organized, the important letters were likely placed toward the front. Saena grabbed a suitable handful from the front.

Among the colorful envelopes, one plain white envelope stood out precisely because it was too ordinary.

“Hmm?”

[Bellua Antiquarian Bookstore]

“…It’s been a while.”

Once very familiar, now it felt strange. Before her regression, she visited so frequently she had nearly worn down their threshold…