Chapter 36

As the two leisurely strolled along the lakeside, a strange sound echoed from afar.

Their eyes met instantly.

“Did you hear that?”

“You too?”

Sabrina nodded quickly.

“What kind of sound was that?”

“I’m not sure…”

A long, eerie sound echoed again.

Their gazes met once more.

“It sounded like an animal.”

An animal?

A chill ran down Sabrina’s spine as she widened her eyes and looked up at Clayton.

“Do animals live here?”

Clayton answered nonchalantly, 

“It’s nature, after all.”

“Then what do we do? Should we run?”

Sabrina grabbed Clayton’s arm tightly and asked urgently.

Clayton looked down at her with an amused expression. Seeing her so startled and agitated, so unlike her usual composed self, was oddly refreshing.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Though he tried to suppress it, Sabrina caught the grin immediately.

“Are you laughing?”

“I’m not.”

“I saw you laugh with my own eyes!”

At that moment, another loud animal cry echoed from afar.

Sabrina shook Clayton’s arm and shouted, 

“Why are you so calm? This is scary—let’s go somewhere, quickly!”

“Are you scared?”

“Why aren’t you?”

Sabrina’s face was filled with confusion as she looked at the utterly unbothered Clayton.

Clayton, unable to hold back any longer, burst into laughter at her wide-eyed expression.

“There’s no reason to be scared.”

His voice, softened by laughter, continued, 

“From the first sound, I figured it wasn’t a large animal. If it were dangerous, I wouldn’t have left you standing here. Did you think so little of me?”

Sabrina’s expression eased slightly at his words.

“And besides…”

The faint sound of a whimper echoed from afar.  

“Doesn’t it sound somewhat familiar to you?”  

“It does feel a little… like that, somehow.”  

Clayton, who had relaxed his previously tense expression, gave Sabrina a slight nod.  

“Follow me without worry. It seems like there’s something over there that needs help.”  

***

Sabrina bent down toward the source of the sound and gasped.  

“Oh my!”  

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand.  

“It’s a puppy… It must have fallen into a trap.”  

Indeed, what had startled Sabrina so much turned out to be nothing more than a small dog stuck in a pit. The puppy, with fur as soft and light as sand, was covered in mud and trapped in a hole almost as deep as a person’s height.  

Panting heavily, the puppy scratched at the dirt walls with its front paws as if pleading for help.  

Clayton, looking down at the puppy, commented,  

“It seems to be a pup born to a stray in the area.”  

“How could it have fallen in there?”  

“Sometimes, during hunting season, they dig pits like this. Usually, they surround them with fencing, but… the heavy rain over the past few days must have washed it away.”  

Sabrina, crouching in front of the pit, looked up at Clayton and said,  

“We should get it out, right?”  

“I’ll inform the caretaker at the villa.”  

“…”  

“…”  

Receiving Sabrina’s silent yet pointed gaze, Clayton raised an eyebrow and asked,  

“…Are you suggesting I should climb in there myself?”  

“I didn’t say that explicitly.”  

With a sigh of exasperation, Clayton ran a hand through his hair. But without further complaint, he took off his coat, hung it on a nearby rock, and rolled up his sleeves.  

“I can’t believe I’m doing this…”  

Muttering under his breath, he leapt lightly into the pit and landed with ease.  

“Woof! Woof, woof!”  

The puppy, startled by the sudden appearance of a large man, barked nervously but wagged its tail incessantly.  

Clayton gently picked up the muddy puppy and asked,  

“It’s filthy from all the mud. Can you handle holding it?”  

“Of course! Please, hand it to me.”  

With a grunt, Sabrina took the puppy from Clayton. Judging by its face, it still seemed to be a young pup. But its thick paws and the way it filled her arms hinted that it would grow into a rather large dog.  

“Hnng…”  

The puppy, which had struggled to escape Clayton’s hold, immediately relaxed and surrendered itself the moment it was nestled in Sabrina’s arms.  

Its tail wagged nonstop, its nose sniffed busily, and its bright brown eyes sparkled.  

Sabrina smiled and spoke to the puppy,  

“Do you like me?”  

“Woof!”  

Clayton, having climbed out of the pit with ease, observed the scene and remarked,  

“It’s about time you put it down. Your clothes are a mess.”  

At his comment, Sabrina glanced down at herself. The crimson dress she had worn that morning, which had shimmered so brightly, was now stained with dirt in several places.  

Clayton handed her his coat and said,  

“Take this.”  

Sabrina’s gaze dropped to Clayton’s chest. His appearance wasn’t much better than hers.  

“Your clothes are just as messy as mine. Since this is my fault, you should wear it instead.”  

“It’s fine. Just wear it. And put the dog down.”  

Without further argument, Sabrina nodded. As she carefully set the puppy down…  

“Yelp!”  

The puppy let out a high-pitched whimper and tucked its tail between its legs.  

Startled, Sabrina crouched down to examine its paw.  

“It seems like its leg is hurt.”  

“It doesn’t look like a fracture. It probably sprained it when it fell into the pit.”  

“That’s so sad…”  

Sabrina gazed down at the scruffy puppy with a pained expression.  

‘If I leave it here, it’ll weigh on my mind.’  

The puppy’s round, clear eyes stared up at her, and Sabrina felt her heart tighten. For some reason, she felt an instant attachment to the little creature.  

Sabrina looked at Clayton and asked,  

“Are there any houses nearby?”  

“No, just the Hatchet family’s villa.”  

“Then this puppy doesn’t belong to anyone, right?”  

“The caretaker occasionally feeds stray dogs in the area, but… Wait, don’t tell me you’re thinking of taking it home?”  

Sabrina nodded.  

“Can’t I?”  

“There’s no reason you can’t, but…”  

“Then it’s settled. As you’ve seen, my home has a large garden and plenty of people to care for it now. I want to take it home and get it treated.”  

As if understanding her words, the puppy began licking Sabrina’s hand. She giggled at the ticklish sensation.  

“Since you saved this puppy, Lord Clayton, why don’t you name it?”  

“No, thank you.”  

“Then should I name it after you?”  

Half-jokingly, Sabrina made the suggestion, but Clayton’s reaction was unexpected.  

“…Lay.”  

Clayton’s response was curt.  

“When I was younger, everyone used to call me that.”  

“…?”  

“You said you’d name it after me.”  

She hadn’t expected him to take her seriously.  

Perhaps embarrassed, Clayton’s cheeks turned slightly red. Sabrina stifled a laugh and replied,  

“Alright, Lay.”  

“Yes.”  

Sabrina chuckled softly and pointed at the puppy.  

“No, I mean I’ll call the puppy Lay.”  

“That’s what I meant, too.”  

“Doesn’t seem like it.”  

With a small grunt, Sabrina picked up the puppy and laughed. Though their carriage ride earlier had been awkward, she now felt strangely closer to him.  

Perhaps they really could become good friends.  

“Come visit Lay sometimes. Next time we meet, you could even take it for a walk. How about that?”  

***

A few days later .

“Greetings, Lady Evenheim.”  

Elena had been formally invited to the Imperial Palace. While the occasion acknowledged the special relationship between Elena and Chase, its true purpose was far from romantic.  

It was a meeting to consolidate their findings on Heider.  

“Oh, hello, Aide Sabrina! Please, feel free to call me Elena.”  

“The same goes for me. Call me Sabrina. It’s better to be informal since we’ll be seeing each other often.”  

“Alright! Sa… Sabrina.”  

“Let’s eat first. His Majesty is waiting inside.”  

Before the meeting, a banquet was held.  

Elena and Chase, seated on either side of Sabrina, attentively engaged her in conversation throughout the meal.  

“Eat plenty, Sabrina.”  

“Please, have more!”  

As the meal progressed, Sabrina came to a realization.  

‘There really isn’t any romantic tension between these two.’  

It became crystal clear that neither Chase nor Elena had even the slightest romantic interest in each other. Throughout the meal, they didn’t spare each other even a glance. It was impossible not to notice.  

‘So there’s no chance of things unfolding as in the original story.’  

At that moment, Elena shyly remarked,  

“This is delicious too…”  

She pointed to a cucumber sandwich.  

“You should try it.”  

“Oh, alright. Thank you.”  

Sabrina smiled politely and nodded.  

Then, a low voice from across the table interrupted.  

“Don’t you dislike cucumbers?”  

The voice belonged to Clayton.  

As soon as he spoke, the table fell silent, and all eyes turned toward him.  

“…?”  

Realizing all the attention was on him, Clayton froze mid-bite. He seemed unaware that he had even spoken.  

‘It wasn’t anything significant, but…’  

Since Sabrina hadn’t disclosed her subtle connection with Clayton to Chase, she felt slightly uneasy.  

She instinctively glanced at Chase’s expression. For some reason, his face had hardened.  

Forcing a laugh, Sabrina said,  

“Oh, you remembered something I mentioned in passing!”  

“…Yes, well.”  

“Ah, you have a delicate side, don’t you? Haha.”  

“Perhaps I do, just a little.”  

At that moment, Chase interjected.  

“I thought you two were on awkward terms.”  

His gaze shifted between Sabrina and Clayton.  

“But somehow, you seem to have gotten much closer.”  

Sabrina nodded calmly, acknowledging the observation.  

“Well, we see each other often. It’s only natural to grow closer.”  

“Ah, I see.”  

Chase’s eyes narrowed slightly. With his eyelashes lowered, he stared at the cucumber sandwich on his plate for a moment before speaking slowly.  

“…That’s true. It’s good if you two get along.”  

“….”  

“You don’t like cucumbers, huh? That’s something I didn’t know about you.”  

Chase muttered softly, then smiled at Sabrina.  

“I need to step up my game. I can’t let Clayton know more about you than I do.”  

What was this strange feeling?  

Sabrina sensed a subtle shift in the atmosphere around the table but nodded in response.  

“Yes, Your Majesty.”  

Chase grinned at Clayton and, as if nothing unusual had happened, resumed leading the conversation in a lively manner.  

Sabrina quickly dismissed the odd tension she had felt earlier.  

‘Chase’s expression when he looked at Clayton seemed a bit off… but it must have been my imagination.’