The Duke’s Imposter Sister

Suddenly, Brians attention was directed elsewhere. Vianut then knew that the former was referring to the white, small puppy when he said this little rascal.

On the first day it was brought into the room, it walked around the area carefully, barking whenever it noticed something new and smelled the unfamiliar territory. The puppy however, suddenly ran and hid under the bed at the sound of his voice. Vianut doesnt remember ever seeing it after that.

It seemed too much of a scaredy cat to even remember the hand that fed him was Vianuts. The puppy ate so little that he couldnt even tell if it actually eats, for his bowl always seemed untouched and if it came out, it was quite stealthy, avoiding his quick eye.

Vianut suddenly thought of a red-eyed girl, who was similar to the little rascal, and rubbed his eyes with his hands to clear his mind of such unexpected thoughts.

He noticed that Brian then put the bowl of food on the floor and pushed it under the bed. Must have have sensing the treat offered to it, the puppy came out to feast on the bowl. And as soon as its body was visible Brian reached out and then caught the puppy.

I got you, you little rascal! Brian exclaimed triumphantly and cradled the puppy in his arms.

Brian then brought it in front of Vianut.

The puppy in his arms was still trying to break free from his hold and was pushing at his chest with its front paws. Brian laughed at the puppys futile attempt.

You have to rub it alot when you have a chance. That way, it will start to miss the touch of your hand and come to you first. Brian told Vianut as the former stroked the puppys fur. Vianut could only stare as the animal slowly eased into Brians touch.

His Majesty might order you to bring him along when he summons you in the future.

Brian carefully counseled Vianut and held out the puppy in front of the latters chest for him to take. Vianut hugged the puppy reluctantly.

Unexpected heat and softness soaked his cold hands as soon as his palms were buried in the puppys thick fur. He stroked its belly with his eyes narrowed languidly as a pleasant warmth came in through the palm of his hand and spread all over his body.

Vianuts eyelashes fluttered slowly as he looked down on the puppy in his arms. He began to feel overwhelmed by this simple act and was feeling a sensation he never even longed to feel for. Simply because he never even knew that such emotion existed before. He never felt the need to feel this warmth, as the first thing he learnt as a son of a strong knight was to overcome the cold, the loneliness and fear in order to survive in battles.

However, something felt odd. There was a part of him that found the loss of cold a little unpleasant. His grip on the puppy loosened and he soon felt uncomfortable with its warmth.

The little rascal, who was looking at his face, seemed to have noticed Vianuts discomfort and took the opportunity to run away from his arms and hide timidly again.

Vianut looked at the puppys white back as it scampered off and recalled the first instance of warmth he had ever tasted in his life. The red-eyed girl who first gave and taught him that taste of sweetness spread out in his vision like an afterthought in his mind.

He had found the reason for his discomfort faster than he expected he had felt that pleasant warmth not long ago, when he had put his hand under the chin of the fake Yuliana in the garden. And this discomfort stemmed from the fact that he couldnt completely possess the warmth coming from that girl.

Vianut scrunched his forehead and clenched his fist as if he was trying to hold on to the warmth escaping out of his grasps, but he did not understand whether he hated it orlongedfor it. He already knew that he shouldnt long so hard for fickle feelings, as this was something, perhaps, he woud feel everyday once he got married.

He shouldnt be longing for something he could never keep that wouldnotstay.

Brian was once again crouching and was trying to call the scared puppy out of his hiding place, but it was futile as the puppy seemed resigned to hide. He then gave up on trying to call it out and after taking a sigh, he asked Vianut, Did you name it?

Vianut briefly lost himself in thought.

He didnt think it was necessary to give the puppy a name, as the puppy was made to be his hand warmer and when it died that would just be the end of its use. However, he guessed if he named it, it would be easier to tame it, and it would probably be even better if the name matched him well.

From his observation, the puppy was timid and made very little noise. It had a soft warmth to it, and the more he tried to touch it, the more it would run away. Also, Vianut reminds himself that at the moment it stopped playing, its role would disappear.

Just like the fake Yuliana.

He fiddled with his lower lip with his index finger, and then answered softly.

Maria.

The warmth that he had desperately tried to cling unto unknowingly had fully faded away. He looked at his palms that had turned pale against the cold air around him and decided to reward his fake sister. This fake Yuliana that had taught him the limits of his ownership.

The boredom was killing him. He decided he should at least enjoy the look of her face crumbing when she saw her present. Who knows. Perhaps he would be greeted with another sight that of sa smile on her face.

His hand started bizarrely tingling as soon as he thought of that.

Nevevrtheless, he simply brushed it off, as his senses were tired from the lack of sleep last night and so his body was slightly trembling from fatigue. With these thoughts he left the room to find his fake sister.

***

Another bright day came to wake Gris, and yet she attended every class she had half-heartedly. The wife of the teacher, Count Tali, assumed that she was just depressed today because she had lost the handkerchief she was supposed to give to her grandmother. But that was only one reason she was feeling depressed.

Gris was constantly recalling the sight of the poor butterfly being captured right in front of her eyes. She was so ashamed of herself, for she just cowardly watched on the sideline and did not put up a fight to save it..

Whose fault is it that the butterfly was caught? If she hadnt said that she liked butterflies, the butterfly would probably be dancing beautifully in the sky full on flower nectar right now.

With great difficulty and a heavy heart Gris finished todays tasks in a very lethargic state, to the point she was even powerless in opening the door. Her mood was heavily subdued, as she thought that yesterdays event would make her afraid to like anything in the future.

She was lost in her thoughts and she touched her lips mindlessly. She guessed that this was what the Grand Duke wanted, for her to feel this distress. It seemed intolerable for him that a dirty wh*re like her was enjoying nature and liked beautiful things as if she was a human being and he wanted to punish her by killing that butterfly.