The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 142
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 142
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I blinked my eyes and sat up.
Looking around, I saw Leopold wrapped up in my blanket.
“Wow.”
Fortunately, he was breathing just fine.
“Looks like Alpheus didn’t catch us.”
“The Marquis seems to be sleeping very deeply these days.”
Leopold explained elegantly even in this situation.
“It seems like he goes around training on various mountains alone every early dawn, so he’s probably passed out right now. He pushes his body to the limit every single day.”
“Alpheus is doing that?”
I opened my eyes wide in surprise.
“I had no idea.”
“Of course you wouldn’t know. Harrison sleeps in a lot in the mornings.”
Leopold shrugged his shoulders.
“If Harrison knew, everyone in the Northern Region would have noticed the Marquis’s training.”
But he’s already strong enough, what more does he want to achieve…?
As I blinked with a bitter expression, Leopold continued.
“Anyway, last time when you called out ‘Cheiron’s’ name and fainted, Isabela held you and calmed the wind. You came to your senses about 5 minutes later, so I was just waiting.”
It meant he didn’t panic since this wasn’t his first time experiencing such a situation.
“Back then, Former Duke Backhun was in a state where he couldn’t get dressed, so Isabela held you and rushed out frantically… but with just the two of us here, the situation is much simpler.”
Leopold said while carefully covering his body with the blanket.
I could see his clothes neatly folded in the distance.
I asked blankly.
“But why are you like this without clothes on?”
“In case you want to call out the wolf-dog again.”
It was a reasonable answer.
“Whether it’s a sheepdog or a wolf, if you want to take on any role, I’ll have to transform again anyway, right? You’ve never tried that before.”
Indeed, I hadn’t called out the nightmare again. It was because Delmia had suffered too much.
She was devout enough to give me a handkerchief with biblical verses embroidered on it. On top of that, she had developed trauma from tormenting the territory residents.
But I didn’t want to call them out recklessly just out of curiosity when there was no need.
The same went for Cheiron’s case. Cheiron had been betrayed by me, and Borem advised me ‘not to bother calling him out.’
Just the fact that he called me ‘owner’ instead of ‘master’ was enough for me to notice his antipathy toward me.
‘Well, slaves can naturally hate their owners too. Especially if they feel like they were forced into slavery.’
I understood that feeling, and since I had no particular need to call him out either, I was just leaving it be.
“This situation is like that too, but once you try it once, it becomes easier to handle next time.”
Leopold spoke like a top student at the Academy recommending preparation.
“How about trying it once with me.”
“Huh? Oh. Sure. So that’s why you didn’t bother getting dressed. That’s efficient.”
I agreed immediately. Then I sighed and made a reasonable request.
“But stop covering yourself so much. Even when you’re dressed, at least your neck shows. You keep looking at me with suspicious eyes while wrapping the blanket tightly around yourself, making me feel like I’m some kind of pervert.”
“You should be grateful that I’m not fainting right now.”
Since he had a track record, it was a very effective threat.
“If you were grateful for my comfort earlier, hurry up and change the subject yourself. You could at least repay that much kindness.”
“Change the subject from your nakedness? Hmm, fine.”
Leopold glared at me with gloomy eyes.
Caught teasing him, I rolled my eyes for a moment, then finally couldn’t resist asking.
“Um, so… what does that… wolf inside you call me?”
I’d been curious about this ever since the nightmare called me ‘master.’
The Centauros called me ‘owner,’ so what would the wolf inside Leopold call me…?
“Wait, try having him call me.”
“Hmm.”
Leopold frowned for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
“Grrrr…”
Ah.
The wolf couldn’t speak.
A moment of silence passed, and Leopold let out a deep sigh.
“What exactly were you expecting? My humiliation? If so, you’ve been tremendously successful.”
“L-let me try calling out the wolf-dog first. How do I do it?”
“How would I know? Just try whatever comes to mind.”
“Hmm.”
Nothing particular came to mind, but I had to try something anyway.
I spoke in a reluctant voice.
“Come out, doggy.”
With a look of reproach asking if this was the best I could do, Leopold pulled the blanket over his head…
“Grrrr…”
Soon the wolf-dog emerged from under the blanket.
I habitually petted the wolf-dog’s head and marveled.
“Oh… good job.”
The wolf-dog looked at me with an expression that wasn’t particularly pleased. Nevertheless, he slowly wagged his tail for me.
I raised my eyebrows for a moment, then spoke again.
“Come out, Leopold.”
At the same time, the wolf-dog’s front paw covered my eyes.
As I felt the front paw changing into a hand, I heard a low voice.
“If you say something like ‘oh, good job’ this time too, I’ll refuse to transform from now on.”
With my eyes covered so I couldn’t see his face, complaints poured out.
“You probably wouldn’t call out the wolf-dog at all if I just said ‘I don’t want to’ once. It’s not for nothing that I still haven’t earned the ‘pushover’ title from you.”
“Got it. I’ll definitely treat the wolf-dog and you differently. First, move your hand.”
“And one more thing.”
The hand wasn’t removed.
“Until we finish the Northern Region affairs, I’ll have to stay as the wolf-dog, so absolutely don’t tell anyone else.”
While both I and Isabela had revealed our identities, Leopold’s opinion was very firm.
“You, me, and Grandfather. Absolutely no one else.”
Since there were Western Region security issues and his pride was at stake, I decided to honor his request.
“I will. I never intended to tell others about your business anyway.”
The continent’s greatest noble young man becoming a dog and responding to commands like ‘sit’ or ‘lie down’…
Even I would absolutely hate for others to know about it.
“Now call out the wolf-dog.”
Leopold said with a sigh.
“Right now I can’t stand being naked in a girl’s bedroom in the middle of the night.”
The noble boy who cared about etiquette would rather become a dog.
“Sigh… Do I really have to keep doing this? It was unavoidable when I didn’t know, but for a man and woman to secretly stay in the same room. Really, how shameless…”
Since he was suffering so much, I offered him a solution.
“How about sleeping first and suffering to your heart’s content tomorrow? Even if you’re in a panic all day tomorrow, no one will pay attention to the wolf-dog anyway.”
And I immediately granted his wish.
“Come out, doggy.”
It was truly tremendous kindness.
Since I still hadn’t lost the pushover title to Leopold.
* * *
The next day.
Leopold was said to have left for business in the Western Region. At the same time, we made it seem like just Wolf-dog had arrived.
“Leopold sent him at dawn. A servant accompanied him to the warp, and Wolf-dog ran alone from the local warp up ahead.”
I said while stroking Wolf-dog’s head.
Fortunately, Wolf-dog had a track record of finding his way alone to the Southern Region, so no one was particularly suspicious.
“He’ll stay with me in my room.”
Everyone shrugged at my words.
“What’s new? He’s always stayed with you anyway.”
Harrison said while backing away from Wolf-dog.
“Please, I hope you’ll maintain that beautiful tradition for a long, long time. Don’t even think about leaving him with me.”
Alpheus whined with a voice dripping with regret.
“You don’t want to share a room with big brother Alphy, do you, Woof? Huh? Huh? Big brother will play with you every day. Huh?”
Given Leopold’s personality, if it weren’t for that promise to “play every day,” he would have shared a room with Alpheus…
“Big brother can really play with our Woof every single day without sleeping. Right? Big brother has been sleeping a lot less lately. Really. Right? Right?”
Leopold had said that playing with Alpheus was the most tiring part when he became Wolf-dog. That’s why he decided to stay in my room.
At night, he could transform into human form and we could share various information…
‘Knowing Leopold’s personality, he’ll only transform when absolutely necessary.’
Anyway, Isabela, meeting Wolf-dog for the first time, immediately came to a conclusion.
“That’s a wolf. A sheepdog, my foot… That’s definitely a wolf.”
And so my dream of “one dog, two roles” was shattered.
Come to think of it, even in those alien memories that suddenly surfaced, it said “half wolf, half human.” It was proven that I had been wearing rose-colored glasses.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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