Chapter 74

To discuss the matter of the branch leader, Kugarugu and I set out to find the prince.

When we reached the end of the corridor, we found a staircase, so we decided to go down for now.

In my mind, I imagined descending lightly with a "tap tap tap tap!" sound, but when I tried to put it into practice, I missed a step and tumbled down with great momentum.

Despite the carpet, I rolled down the rather long staircase and ultimately crashed into the wall at the landing.

"Mi, Milfee!?"

Kugarugu was also startled by my spectacular fall, and his voice rose in alarm.

"Are you okay!?"

"It hurts..."

I'm not okay. I'm not okay at all.

Every bone in my body might be broken. Even my neck might be broken.

I can't see myself, but I feel like my joints are bent in strange directions. It wouldn't be surprising if blood was coming out from various places.

"It hurts...!"

Lying on the landing, I complained about the pain.

In such situations, I don't believe in enduring to avoid worrying others.

Rather, I actively seek sympathy.

"My bones are broken. It hurts."

"Should I go get that one-eyed human!?"

Kugarugu said, flustered.

"Knight of the Order...?"

I blinked.

If Kugarugu goes back to that room to call the one-eyed knight, everyone there will probably come to check on us, including the king, queen, maids, and guards.

However, I still want to look good in front of "those people."

The one-eyed knights have seen me in embarrassing situations, but the royal family hasn't realized how clumsy I am yet.

"Don't call them... I'm fine."

I don't want the royal family to see me half-crying after falling down the stairs.

I managed to stand up and asked Kugarugu:

"Is anything wrong with me? Is there blood on my head? Are my ears missing?"

It was that shocking, but Kugarugu immediately replied, "You look the same as always."

I checked my front paws, but they weren't bent in strange directions.

Hmm, maybe it wasn't that bad.

Strangely, the pain disappeared once I realized I wasn't injured. My bones didn't seem broken either.

"The pain is gone."

"That's good."

It was good, but I felt a bit unsatisfied. If I'm fine, no one will worry about me.

I had hoped to get some sympathy from the one-eyed knight later.

With no choice, I decided to continue searching for the prince.

However, the staircase still lay before me. I had to overcome it to reach the lower floor.

Kugarugu descended the stairs rhythmically, "tap tap tap," but I stopped him, "Wait, don't leave me behind!"

I was afraid to go down the stairs after my previous failure.

But I couldn't stay here forever.

After hesitating for a while, I finally stepped forward with my front paws.

But it didn't work! Going down headfirst was scary.

If I lost my balance, I might tumble down again.

In the end, I decided to go down backward.

I gently extended my right hind paw.

However, my legs were too short, and my toes couldn't reach the next step.

"Just a little more."

Kugarugu told me, but how much more exactly?

I can't stretch my legs any further. My crotch might tear.

Shaking, I stretched my legs to their limit, and finally, my paw touched the carpet.

I took a deep breath and stepped down onto the narrow staircase, then extended my legs backward again.

Kugarugu, who had already reached the bottom, was scratching his head with his hind paw, while I slowly descended the stairs.

We finally cleared the staircase and arrived on the first floor.

I came to the first floor without knowing where the prince was. The only option was to wander around the castle's corridors to find him.

The guards and servants looked at us curiously, but no one stopped us.

We walked through the outer corridor with its white pillars and the wide courtyard with a fountain.

"Ah!"

The prince wasn't in the courtyard, but I found an acquaintance.

A white dog, similar to a Maltese, was walking with two maids.

Her name is Alexia, a one-and-a-half-year-old girl, younger than me.

She is a royal dog, raised by the king and queen.

She was wearing a pink dress with lots of lace and frills, and a ribbon on her head.

I once wore a frilly dress given by the branch leader, but Alexia looked much better in such clothes, which made me envious.

I ran over to Alexia, who wagged her tail when she saw me. What a cute one.

Kugarugu followed leisurely.

"Oh! Spirit!"

The maids, who were in charge of her, greeted me in surprise.

I've only met Alexia a couple of times, but she is like my younger sister.

Since I had never had a younger sibling before, I was happy when I heard the queen had adopted a white puppy like me.

"Alexia, are you well?"

She is a regular dog, so she didn't answer my question.

Instead, she turned her rear toward me, trying to let me smell it.

No thanks.

Dogs greet each other by sniffing each other's rear, but I am a spirit and a former human, so I always refuse this greeting. I don't want to sniff or be sniffed.

"Are you being bullied in the castle?"

I looked into Alexia's black, round eyes.

She is very gentle and reserved, which makes me worried.

Even when I look enviously at her toys, she offers them to me, saying, "Please, I don't mind."

Such a kind girl, of course, is loved by the prince, and I imagine she might be bullied by some mean noble girl.

Perhaps at a party, someone might say, "Oh, I'm sorry," and spill red wine on her dress.

I sniffed Alexia's dress to check, but there was no smell of alcohol. That's good.

"Please, Spirit, play with Alexia."

The maid took a wooden ring from a basket and rolled it on the ground.

The wooden ring, larger than the maid's hand, is a dog toy.

To use it,

"There it is!"

The maid rolled the wooden ring, which bounced and rolled away on the grass, occasionally hitting small stones.

"Yay!"

Following my instinct, I happily chased after it.

Rolling it on the smooth castle corridors makes it go very fast, but playing outside is fun because of the unpredictable movements.

I picked up the fallen ring, wagged my tail, and returned to the maid.

The maid smiled and rolled the ring again.

"Yay!"

I ran, picked up the ring, and returned to the maid for praise.

On the third try, Kugarugu joined in, and we competed to catch the ring.

Kugarugu got it first, but I jumped on him, and he fell to the ground, allowing me to take the ring.

I tried to return to the maid, but Kugarugu jumped on me again.

We rolled around, forgetting the ring, and our play turned into a wrestling match.

If Kugarugu grabbed me, he would gently kick me with his hind legs, so I had to be careful.

Feeling like I was forgetting something, I looked back and saw Alexia sitting politely at the maid's feet, watching us.

"You're always so energetic, Onee-sama. I'll just watch, so please enjoy."

That was the look she gave me.

"..."

I stopped the wrestling, feeling embarrassed that I was the only one making a fuss while the younger one didn't play.

I tried to groom myself like Kugarugu.

I suddenly felt embarrassed that Alexia was dressed while I was naked except for a necklace.

But the sheep costume was even more embarrassing.

Where did I put that stylish shawl?

Alexia approached, picked up the fallen wooden ring, and offered it to me.

"If you like it, Onee-sama, you can have it. I have many."

She seemed to say.

No, no, that's not right. I can't take a toy from my one-and-a-half-year-old sister. My three-year-old pride won't allow it.

If I ask the one-eyed knight or the knights from the northern fortress, they would probably make one for me from scratch.

As I hesitated, two more dogs appeared in the courtyard with the maids.

A white dog with brown markings, a Jack Russell Terrier-like dog named Trueder, who is nineteen years old.

His mouth has a tuft of fur that looks like a beard.

Trueder is a bit stubborn and doesn't like wearing clothes, so he only had a small gemstone collar.

He used to go hunting with the king and chase prey, and his dignity remains.

His legs tremble, and he walks as slowly as a turtle, but I find Trueder a bit intimidating.

He is very strict with those who break the rules of the dog world. I consider him a dog not to be disobeyed.

Alexia doesn't get scared when she sees Trueder—she has good behavior and has never been scolded—but Kugarugu and I stiffened.

I accidentally sat on Trueder's favorite cushion and received a lecture, and Kugarugu once acted cheeky and was scolded severely.

Seeing Trueder slowly approach, we decided to run in the opposite direction.

"See you, Alexia!"

Kugarugu and I ran out of the courtyard and back into the castle.

We continued searching for the prince inside the castle. We encountered several staircases, but since we weren't going down, they weren't scary, so we kept going up.

After wandering for about thirty minutes, the one-eyed knight came to fetch us.

"Mil, you were here?"

"Ah, Knight of the Order."

"It's time to return to the room. The leader is calling."

The leader?

Kugarugu and I followed the one-eyed knight back to the luxurious room we were in earlier.

Since we had gone up too many stairs, we had to go down, but the one-eyed knight carried me, making it easy.

"I fell down the stairs earlier."

I didn't forget to report this to get some sympathy. I wanted to get some sympathy after all the pain I endured.

"Did you get hurt?"

The one-eyed knight sounded worried, so I acted weak.

"I don't know. My legs hurt... or maybe not."

I lifted my left leg while being carried by the one-eyed knight.

The one-eyed knight supported me with one hand and gently squeezed my leg with the other.

However, I didn't feel any pain where he touched.

"You don't seem to be in pain. There's no swelling, so you're fine."

The one-eyed knight confirmed my reaction and confidently stated.

I put my left leg back under my body.

I won't tell anyone about falling down the stairs anymore.