The Abandoned Puppy
Loren turned her gaze away from the sight of him, looking as though he might burst into tears at any moment—like an abandoned puppy, or a lover parted from their beloved. “Protecting you is no trouble at all… but I must ask that you remain wary of that child. Unlike Mari, I cannot bring myself to believe he is a trustworthy human being.”
Loren was wary of Marei. No—wariness was reserved for equals or those who posed a genuine threat. She did not even extend that courtesy to him. To put it more precisely, she despised him. Every time her violet eyes fell upon Marei, her brow furrowed and she deliberately looked away, as if his very presence in the same space offended her, as if she wished to deny the existence of the young boy altogether.
She ignored him. Or rather, to be more accurate, she openly displayed her emotions toward Marei. Though Loren said nothing, Marei could feel countless curses and insults pouring from her in silence. Her eyes were filled with such hostility that it was impossible to mistake.
“I can tolerate and overlook your meetings with Mari’s child… but this place, at the very least, should not be one of them. Not with that brat who enjoys the Saintess’s favor.”
“This is my land, and my home. Is it a problem for a mother to bring her child inside?”
“He is not Ran’s child. He is Mari’s.”
Strictly speaking, Loren seemed uncomfortable simply because Marei was present. “I am not playing word games. Loren, if my presence troubles you, I will leave.”
“It is not Ran who must leave. It is that child.”
The conversation was so quiet that, if one considered only the tone and pitch rather than the words themselves, it could hardly be called an argument. Loren let out a long sigh and glared at Marei once more. The overwhelming pressure of her presence made Marei instinctively shrink back.
“Loren. I do not wish to raise my voice to you. That is enough.”
“…You truly refuse to yield?”
“On such an auspicious day, I have no desire to quarrel with you. The child of Mari has merely returned. Why does that anger you so?”
Instead of answering, Loren closed her eyes. A moment later, she opened them again and slowly rose from her seat.
“It is precisely because he is her child that I feel this way. I, too, do not wish to argue with you, Ran. I simply need time to calm myself. Once my heart has settled, I will return, and we can discuss the matter of that child then.”
“I hope you have a safe journey. I will not see you off.”
Still standing, Loren looked at Ran in silence before turning her back. The stockings clinging tightly to her legs traced elegant curves, and Marei found himself staring at them, a sudden lewd thought rising unbidden. He quickly lowered his head.
“Tsk… Labella, that child is…”
Whether she had noticed Marei’s gaze or simply found him distasteful, Loren clicked her tongue loudly enough for him to hear.
“Mind your conduct. My eyes will always be watching you.”
With those parting words, Loren took a step forward. A black line stretched out before her and split open, yawning wide to the left and right.
“I will summon you to the Governor-General’s office on Friday evening. Be prepared.”
Leaving those final words behind, she stepped into the black space and vanished, the back of her black coat—adorned with the image of a roaring green dragon—disappearing last.
The moment the crushing presence that had weighed upon his lungs vanished, Marei’s strength gave out and he nearly collapsed sideways. Ran, who had approached without him noticing, caught him just in time.
“Marei, are you all right…?”
“Ah, yes… I just felt a little dizzy.”
A small hand—truly the hand of a child—gently stroked Marei’s cheek. Ran carefully lowered his head onto her lap.
“Is it not heavy…?”
“Rest a little longer. This is nothing to me.”
Ran was still smiling. Yet through Marei, she seemed to be seeing something. He could not tell what it was, but an emotion rose in her golden eyes like spreading ink, and for some reason he could not hold back his tears.
“Do not cry, child…”
“No, no… I… I…”
“Is it because of what Loren said?”
Marei shook his head. He did not know what to say. He only felt Ran’s emotions flowing into him, making it hard to breathe. The feelings of the small, youthful shrine maiden who had known his mother seeped through her eyes, and his stomach churned. Tears streamed down without end.
“I was sad. So very sad.”
“Because Loren spoke harshly…?”
“No… It was because you were crying, Ran. That made me so sad.”
Ran’s eyes trembled for the first time. She looked down at Marei and smiled faintly—a bright smile like the sun rising at dawn. It was the kind of smile that lifted one’s spirits just by being seen, the kind that made one feel happy simply by being near. But beyond that smile, Marei found himself stained by an unknown emotion. Perhaps “corrupted” was the right word.
“I am not crying. Look, I am smiling like this.”
“I feel dizzy… Please let me go…”
“Stay as you are. You have felt the dragon’s power indirectly. There is no need to push yourself.”
The small hand pressed down on Marei’s shoulder once more. The strength was so firm it could only be called tenacious. No matter how hard he tried, he could not escape it. Under the pressure, like a massive boulder crushing him, Marei’s body sank back down.
“Ran… it hurts…”
“Sleep for a while. You will feel better when you wake.”
The golden eyes continued to gaze down at him. They were the color of molten gold, the irises like jagged fragments of metal haphazardly bound together. Through those cracks, an unidentifiable emotion poured forth without pause. His head grew hazy. Nausea rose briefly, then drowsiness began to creep in. If he closed his eyes now, it felt as though he might never wake again.
Ran’s lap was so soft. He did not want to rise. The small fingers caressing his face were warm. He felt as though he might sleep forever.
“Ran… Ran… Ran…”
“Yes… yes… I am here. I am right here. My child… I am here.”
The voice whispering by his ear was so faint. Like the hazy memory of being held in his mother’s arms. That thought brought him comfort. He felt peaceful, as if it would be all right to close his eyes now. Even keeping them open was becoming difficult. His vision blurred until nothing was clear.
The sensation of golden hair tickling his cheek made him want to nuzzle against it.
A strange scene unfolded before him. Marei was being held in a woman’s arms. The woman walking forward glanced down at him from time to time, smiling before continuing on. “Mother…?”
It was Mari de Pawen. She looked younger than Marei remembered—more like a girl than the mother in his memories. His fading consciousness struggled to surface once more.
“Sleep a little longer. Everything will feel better when you wake. Surrender your body to the vision.”
At Ran’s voice, his hazy mind sank deeper beneath the surface. Even if he tried to wake, the immense pressure trapped him, and no words would come.
The scene shifted again. His mother was seated in the shrine—the very place Ran had brought him. Marei had been staring blankly at a passing insect when someone grabbed him from behind and lifted him gently. Startled, he looked around and, upon seeing the golden-haired woman’s face, broke into a wide smile.
She was a mysterious shrine maiden with several tails swaying like Ran’s. No—instinctively, he knew it was Ran. Her beauty was impossible to look away from. She was breathtaking. Countless poetic descriptions flashed through his mind, yet all thought vanished like a candle flame, leaving only the sight of her.
Marei could only stare at her in a daze. She was neither the girl he had first seen nor the childlike form she wore now. She appeared as an adult. Held in Ran’s arms, the infant Marei smiled. Ran smiled back. But Mari did not smile. She watched the peaceful, nostalgic scene with a sorrowful expression, as though something had gone terribly wrong.
“You named the child Marei. I will tell him the meaning when he comes of age…”
“Master,” Mari said, shaking her head. She shook it as if to deny everything. Unlike the past, when she had smiled at the sight of her child and her god together, she now sighed softly and looked at Marei and Ran.
“Why do you wander through this past?”
“What are you saying, Mari?”
“Poor one. Pitiful one. Our mother. Our teacher. Our god… Why do you swallow our memories once more while tracing the child’s time?”
“Mari?” Ran called her mother again. Mari closed her eyes, her face on the verge of tears. A faint voice slipped through lips that had shut like a door.
“Awaken from this old dream, Marei.”
At the same time, his eyes opened. Ran stared at him with wide, startled eyes. Her lips moved as if to speak, but no words came. Only a soft breath escaped her nose and mouth, brushing slowly across Marei’s cheek.
“What… Mari… You…”
“Ran?”
Ran’s voice trembled violently. It sounded as though she might sob. Marei felt she had done something to him, yet he was not angry. He only felt as though he had glimpsed a nostalgic scene he could not quite recall. Still, he thought he had heard his mother’s voice.
“I am sorry… Yes… I… I…”
“Ran. Do not cry… Please do not cry.”
Ran was no longer smiling. At the young boy’s comfort, she covered her face with both hands without a word. Yet no tears fell. Her tightly furrowed expression spoke of pain, but it seemed her tears had dried up. She could not cry. Somehow, that felt true.
“Can you stand?”
“Ah, yes. I feel as though I had a pleasant dream.”
Marei carefully sat up. Unlike before, Ran did not try to lay him down again. Kneeling properly, Marei studied her expression. When he blinked, something had changed. He could not say what. A sense of satisfaction filled him, like the feeling after releasing himself deep inside Labella and falling into a sweet nap wrapped in her fragrant body. Though he had only dozed for a few minutes at most, it felt as though he had slept soundly.
“Now, look at me, Marei.”
Following her words, Marei took in the sight of Ran seated neatly before him. She was a small child with the form of a beast. White fur peeked from the tips of her pointed, fox-like golden ears. Though her body was small enough to be called a child’s, it was clearly not human—merely a miniature adult. A strangely sweet scent drifted from her. It was so sweet that simply breathing it in made him swallow. The fragrance was dizzying. It was so pleasant he wanted to grab her by the neck, bury his nose in it, and inhale until his lungs could hold no more. The urge to chew and lick her delicate body until he possessed every part of it was overwhelming.
He was hungry. Insanely hungry. The scent pouring from her small body stirred not only lust but a ravenous appetite. Ran remained seated, an air of sensuality radiating from her that did not match her tiny frame. No—she was sensuality itself. Marei stared at her, unaware that his member had grown painfully hard beneath his trousers, already leaking.
Ran met his gaze with an expressionless face. Her slender, delicate body somehow conveyed an embrace one could lean into. Though her frame was small, her unchanged clothing slipped slightly, revealing pale skin. Even her meager body aroused in Marei a desire far greater than anything he had felt before. It was an overwhelming hunger that dwarfed even the lust he had experienced when Philia had fed on him.
Without realizing it, Marei stood and approached Ran. He grasped her shoulders and slowly pushed her down. At a distance where their breaths mingled, Ran continued to watch him. Her strange eyes—resembling no beast or person—drew him in with irresistible gravity. Marei carefully climbed atop her and licked her lips. Sweet. So sweet. He licked and licked at her lips with a greed that could only be called ravenous. Not satisfied, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, then traced a wet path down her throat with his crimson tongue.
“Mm…”
At the sight of Ran twitching as if tickled, Marei grew rougher, stripping her clothes away with haste. Finding nothing beneath, he licked her snow-white skin without restraint and gently bit her small, pink-tinged chest. Finding her squirming adorable, he nibbled at the soft flesh with his teeth. Her tiny body trembled violently.