5-4 Mortal Combat
My deadly battle with dogs continued even after I entered the academy.
After all, I had to get used to dogs since I needed to bring them along when meeting the Crown Prince (and the Queen).
However, no matter how many times I fought, I was always one-sidedly trampled, and I couldn’t find a way to win.
I couldn’t keep facing dogs without a strategy. Knowing your enemy is a golden rule in battle.
So, before today’s fight, I decided to invite Louis, who knows dogs best, to my room for consultation.
“Louis, you had a dog before becoming an orphan, and you seem good at dealing with dogs now. Is there any trick to it?”
“Eh? I’m not as good as Lady Selina!”
Shut up.
“…In my case, dogs just come to me on their own, without me doing anything. It’s not the same for you, is it?”
“Ah, I see. Indeed, dogs approach Lady Selina without you doing anything. It’s almost mysterious.”
That’s extremely troublesome.
“Yes. So, how should I put it, I don’t know the proper way to handle dogs. But when it comes to dealing with the royal family’s dogs, I can’t just leave it like this, can I?”
“You’re right, that might be a problem. I understand. If you don’t mind, I’ll teach you how to handle dogs. I’ll bring my dog, so please wait a moment.”
Louis left his seat and soon returned with a dog.
Louis’s dog had no particular features and could be called a standard type.
Recently, dogs stopped coming to me on their own, but I still felt an intense gaze from Louis’s dog. Its breathing seemed a bit rough.
“As expected, it seems a bit excited when seeing Lady Selina.”
Louis smiled as he observed the dog’s behavior. Please, I want that excitement to stop.
“Well, to get along with dogs, the first step would be to talk to them gently.”
“Talk to them? Is there a dog language?”
“…No, there’s no such thing. Human language is enough. However, it’s important to speak gently with feeling.”
“Speaking gently to something that doesn’t understand language? Is it okay to say things like ‘I’ll roast you and feed you to other dogs’ while smiling?”
“Um… Dogs are sensitive to human emotions, so please be gentle not only in attitude but also in words, okay?”
Louis looked a bit troubled. He’s so particular.
“Fine. I’ll try talking to that dog.”
I faced the dog and took a light breath.
“Aren’t you cute?”
“Woof, Woof!!”
The creature, literally turned into a beast, pounced on me without a moment’s delay.
This isn’t what we agreed on!
The dog that jumped on me tried to lick my face, so I desperately avoided it.
“As expected of Lady Selina! The effect is outstanding!”
Louis praised me. No, that’s not it.
“I don’t want such a passionate relationship, I want to start as friends first!”
With Louis’s help, I somehow managed to pry the dog off.
“Well, isn’t it impossible? When you’re liked this much.”
Louis started saying irresponsible things.
“…Is there any other way?”
“The general method is to train them with food. First, you hold food in your hand and teach them to ‘sit’, but…”
Winning them over with food. It’s an effective method for humans too. I had prepared some dried meat just in case.
I took out the dried meat, held it high, and declared:
“Sit!”
The next moment, the dog’s behind flew at my face.
I fell backward from the impact, and in the end, the dog sat on my face.
Moreover, it rubbed its behind on my face. Is there a greater hell in this world?
After a while, the satisfied dog left from atop my head and casually took the dried meat from my hand. What humiliation.
“Dogs are quite skillful, aren’t they?”
Louis patted the dog’s head admiringly. Shouldn’t you tend to your master first? Are you even a servant?
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
I didn’t give up after that.
For some reason, the dogs were well-behaved only when I went to the castle to meet Edward-sama, but I never knew when they might betray me.
I continued to fight with dogs day after day.
And finally, I reached a certain state of mind.
–Humans are wonderful. Because we can communicate with words–
Why had I been so hostile towards Eleanor and my classmates?
They are humans. We can understand each other if we talk.
Unlike those beasts that wouldn’t listen to a single thing I said, whether I ordered or begged.
That alone makes them precious.
I became able to forgive people. Compared to dogs, everything else is trivial.
In fact, I’m getting a chance to redo my life. Isn’t that enough?
However, even so, I continued to spend time with dogs.
I had successfully defeated numerous monsters. I couldn’t let myself remain defeated by mere dogs.
Besides… the dogs were not as energetic as they used to be.
Since they were originally strays, we don’t know their exact age, but they’re probably approaching old age for dogs.
Although they’ve become less energetic, they still don’t listen to what I say, but they’ve become easier to deal with. This made me both happy and sad.
As I had known, the dogs never had any ill will towards me, rather only goodwill.
I just disliked their intense displays of affection. If they had kept a little more distance, I might have liked them more.
I’ve come to think that way.
At the academy, the number of students greeting me at the gate increased day by day.
Looking closely, there were quite a few children of high-ranking nobles. Why don’t the teachers warn them?
The teachers turn their faces away as soon as I look at them, never making eye contact.
Do they think they’ll turn to stone if they see my face?
I wish they would fulfill their duties as teachers a bit more. Even the king doesn’t make his subjects greet him so extravagantly, so it’s a bit embarrassing.
Speaking of royalty, my fiancé Edward-sama is in the same year, but for some reason, he has a weak presence. I think he was more prominent and dazzling in my previous life, and it seems like he has fewer followers now.
When I asked Oscar about the situation,
“Of course. When there’s a truly noble person in this academy, people won’t gather around someone whose only charm is their status.”
Well, that person whose only charm is their status is my fiancé, you know?
And isn’t status important? In my previous life, I thought status was everything.
However, contrary to my thoughts, Edward-sama became less and less noticeable.
At first, he acted like a proper fiancé, occasionally having tea with me, but gradually we grew distant.
When we first got engaged, we often had enjoyable conversations with the dogs, but the frequency decreased around the time I started being sent out to defeat monsters. This is no different from my previous life.
However, according to information gathered by my servants, Edward-sama feels intimidated because, despite being the same age, I have achieved numerous accomplishments while he hasn’t done anything yet.
How small-minded. It’s hard to believe he’s the same person who harshly broke off our engagement in my previous life.
In the end, is he a man who can only act tough towards those in weak positions?
I had vaguely noticed before, but it seems I didn’t like Edward-sama as much as I thought I did.
I was probably just attracted to his position as the Crown Prince.
TLNOTE : While waiting, I implore you dear readers to read other masterpiece novels that also written by the same author :
- When the Monster Meat I Ate Led Me to the Throne
- Who killed the Hero?
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
