The Puppy That Spoke
The graduation ceremony venue, which we reached after being guided by an academy staff member, was a spacious, multi-tiered space divided by peerage rank. It was clearly designed to cater to the picky tastes of nobles who hated any outdoor activity except for parties. Seeing it, I clicked my tongue inwardly at how inefficiently the space was being used, then let out a long sigh when we were led to a rather high floor reserved for marquess families.
“René. Are you tired?”
“No. I’m not weak enough to get tired from something like this.”
When René blinked and asked if my sigh meant I was struggling, I smiled and answered. Then I shook my head at the way the higher we climbed, the narrower and more cramped the space became, yet they had still arranged the seating so each family unit could sit comfortably without feeling inconvenienced. Still, I didn’t want to seem like I was complaining while enjoying the benefits, so I kept my expression neutral and briskly walked with my family to the seats prepared for all of us.
“René, René. Even if you can’t see well, you mustn’t stand up from your chairs, understood?”
“Yes. I’ll stay still.”
“Don’t worry.”
After we reached our assigned seats, we sat on the chairs padded with soft cushions. While nodding reassuringly at our mother, who looked worried just in case, my sister and I watched the stage bustling with final preparations for the graduation ceremony. As we scanned the other guests who had come to observe, I spotted Duke Wintersong and Irene not too far away. They had parted ways with us when we entered earlier.
…What? Did she fall asleep already?
I blinked, watching the supposedly frail girl already sound asleep, when an announcement came that a small issue had arisen and the ceremony would be slightly delayed.
“How on earth did they prepare for this…”
“Our time is more precious than gold…”
Complaints rose from various places after the announcement, but since we had already come all this way, no one could simply leave. Everyone grumbled but stayed obediently in their seats.
As I thought it would have been nice to have brought a book since the wait had grown longer, a small puppy’s whimper tickled my ears. When I turned my head in surprise, my eyes met those of the white puppy Irene had been holding earlier, not too far away. It tilted its head as if telling me to follow, and remembering what she had said before, I carefully told my mother I was going to pick some flowers.
“Then I’ll come with—”
“René.”
Mother, who had been nodding at my words, called out to stop my sister who was trying to follow me. Seeing the meaningful look Mother gave her, René made a pouty face but gave up. I told her I’d be right back and stood up, following the puppy that led the way.
The academy staff, who had been standing at a distance in case of emergencies, glanced at us. But since the puppy wore a collar clearly indicating it had an owner, and I had reached an area only permitted to those of verified status, they didn’t say anything.
“This should be far enough.”
After walking quite a while and reaching a secluded spot, the puppy that had been leading suddenly spoke.
Startled by a dog speaking human words so casually, I stopped in my tracks. The puppy stopped too, turned its head, and told me not to be too surprised before revealing that it was Irene.
“…Irene? Are you really Irene?”
“Yes. It’s really me.”
When I asked again, she let out a small laugh and bowed her head in apology for startling me. Seeing an adorable puppy bow its head made something inside my chest twitch, but I pushed that aside and asked her to explain what was going on first. Irene kindly told me everything.
“I said I’d come find you, but it seemed difficult for me to meet you in person.”
So she had temporarily transferred her consciousness to her familiar to create a place to talk. I stroked my chin, then asked how that was even possible. Hearing my question, she said it was a good one and proudly explained that thanks to the blood of the Winter Witch flowing through the Wintersong family, she had received it strongly. Although it caused her to suffer from frequent illnesses as a child, it also gave her so many talents that none of her peers could possibly match her. But when she noticed my eyes gradually growing cold, she cleared her throat belatedly and wrapped up her words.
“How can a puppy even clear its throat…”
“Ahem, I’m still young. This body is a northern wolf pup…”
“Never mind that. Let’s skip the small talk and get to the main point.”
I told her I couldn’t stay away for too long and urged her to get to the point. She readily agreed and asked me to tell her how I had come to this world and what my life had been like from the moment I opened my eyes here until today.
At Irene’s request, I thought back on my memories for a moment before summarizing the key points. In the original story, the René I had cheered for met the worst possible ending. After leaving a comment about it, I lost consciousness, and when I opened my eyes, I was in the body of René—the twin sister of the original René who was supposed to have died at birth. Since things had turned out this way, I decided to change everything the way I wanted. I explained how I had reshaped the Lorelei family in ways very different from the original and ended up here. She listened quietly, then stuck out her tongue and licked her own nose in astonishment.
“Ah, sorry. It’s like a habit of this body… I did it unconsciously…”
“It’s fine… But there aren’t any side effects, right?”
“Nope. I’m okay.”
She answered confidently that the last time she had stayed like this for half a day, the only issues were a strange emptiness at the base of her tail and some awkwardness walking on two legs. The words “that’s not okay at all” rose all the way to my throat, but instead I asked her the same question she had asked me.
When I asked how she had come here and what her life had been like until today, she blinked slowly and began her story.
“I also left a comment full of curses—no, malicious comments—because I was unhappy with the ending.”
Just as I had cheered for René, she had supported Bern Wintersong, who in the original story held the position of the protagonist’s rival and bad friend. She liked how he would help when needed and fight when necessary, giving him his own charm. But in the ending, he simply became “understood the protagonist and became friends,” so she had been typing insults when the bus suddenly braked, causing her to fall and faint. When she opened her eyes, she was Irene Wintersong, a cousin about eight times removed from Bern Wintersong.
“…After that, I worked hard to smooth out Bern’s prickly personality a bit.”
And just like me, while supporting him and fixing his personality and various other things, she had lived her own life. She had come here to see the stage of the original story and ended up meeting me like this. I let out a small chuckle. If this was fate, then it was fate. Irene chuckled along with me and said that since we were in similar situations, we should get along well.
“Yes, well… If we meet at the academy, let’s be good to each other.”
“Yes. Let’s get along nicely then.”
For now, we decided we were satisfied with simply knowing of each other’s existence. We promised to meet again someday and went our separate ways.
“René. Why were you gone so long?”
“Ah, I went a bit farther than I expected… I’m sorry for worrying you.”
Mother scolded me for returning later than expected, but before she could say more, the graduation ceremony began right on time and drew her attention. Relieved that I had avoided an immediate scolding, I sat down, straightened my clothes, and felt René’s narrowed eyes scanning me from head to toe.
“What are you doing?”
I asked, puzzled by her strange behavior, but she didn’t answer. Instead, she kept searching with her eyes until she found white fur clinging to the hem of my coat. She immediately demanded to know why I had fur from the white puppy we had seen earlier on me.
“René. Did you really just go to the bathroom?”
“Of course I did.”
“Then what is this white fur? Why is it on you?”
“That’s…”
I licked my lips to moisten them and lied, saying that when we entered earlier, the wind must have carried it over and it stuck to me. I added that the wind had been blowing from the direction of the Wintersong young lady toward us, and that puppy fur was light and easily carried by the breeze. René quickly accepted my explanation and let it go.
“Both of you need to be quiet.”
“Sorry.”
“I’ll be quiet.”
With Mother speaking in a deliberately stern voice as well, my sister and I quietly watched the academy’s graduation ceremony that had just begun. The ceremony was quite splendid, but since I didn’t know much about it, it felt like a mix between a military training completion ceremony and a school graduation.
“Haa, our Arlan only got second place…”
Still, watching Arlan receive his award for graduating second in the academy was incredibly cool. I smiled beside Mother, whose eyes had grown misty, and clapped in congratulations.
After that, awards for outstanding students from each department were given, and the graduation ceremony ended successfully.
“Congratulations on graduating, brothers!”
“Congratulations on second place too.”
“Thanks. Both of you.”
After the ceremony, our family met up with Arlan and Aran and personally congratulated them. We also offered congratulations to Lady Shelton, who happened to be passing by. Startled at first, she soon smiled beautifully and thanked us, exchanging glances with Arlan as her cheeks flushed. When René and I reflexively turned our heads away at the sight, Aran put on an indifferent face and growled that if we said anything now, neither of us would leave with our cheeks intact.
“This time, I won’t let it slide.”
At the hint of sincerity in his words, my sister and I wisely kept our mouths shut and stayed silent.