The Duke's Imposter Sister

Chapter 19 – The Duke’s Unexpected Gift

When he reached to pull off the white cloth covering it, two white furred animals peaked out of the basket nose first. Seeing this, the guests stood up from their seats to get a closer look of what the King has sent them. The civil official then proceeded to place the basket purposefly on the table for everyone to see and then turned to adress the curious crowd.

“These two adorable creatures are called puppies, they are a gift the King himself has sent to us. These are very rare breeds of dogs and are almost impossible to find in other Kingdoms. These type of dogs are very fond of people, and they also make for such nice hand warmers,” the civil official jested, as he ran his fingers against the thick fur coat of one of the puppies, his hand seemed to be engulfed by a small cloud as he did this.

Gris, who had spent the last hour sitting stiffly on her seat, also turned her head and peered along with the crowd. Seeing the animals, she determined that indeed, the puppies were different from the ones she has seen before.

The puppies the King has sent them had big fluffy white fur, that surrounded their tiny bodies and they had two black round specks that made up their eyes, those eyes were quite visible against the milky fur of the puppies.

The crowd exclaimed with thrill at the sight of the puppies. It was widely known that only the royal family were allowed to keep dogs as pets, and for that reason, nobody has had the chance to have seen a dog, especially this close. It was a rarity to be near something so precious.

Gris herself was amazed by the breed too, for she had only seen hunting dogs before. She thought in amazement about all kinds of animals that roamed this world which she herself may not know to exists yet, but her musings were disturbed when the civil official turned and spoke to Vianut.

“If you don’t plan to keep them, why don’t you raise one and only send the other one away? After all, it is a gift from the King himself, sir,” he suggested politely.

Showing disinterest in the dog, Vianut slowly nodded without a word. Then, he looked around the room to find someone to give the dog to. His cloudy eyes scanned the people around.

If gifted a dog from Sir Byrenhag, it won’t be necessary to get the King’s permission to raise it, and this thought ran in the minds of the expectant crowd.

The duke and duchess Ortur, lady Vian, and other guests straightened up in their seats with hopeful looks in their eyes. Paola had whispered under her breath to her companions that puppies would be quite troublesome. Still, secretly she had enjoyed the cheery mood surrounding the room and was also anticipating who will get the chance to own the puppy.

At that moment, Vianut scooped up one of the puppies, it was evident in his stand that he has decided who to give it to. The puppy’s legs hovered in the air as it was picked up, it then squirmed out of fear, but Vianut tightened his grip around the puppy’s ribs.

Vianut didn’t seem to mind that his tight grip might injure the puppy. Appearing to understand his intention to kill it than let it run away, the puppy remained still in his hands.

This was the reason to be wary of those with high authority, for they did not value the life of others–this thought entered Gris’ mind. All that mattered to them was whether they were obeyed by their subjects or were not. If he found out that she was deceiving him, and was pretending to be Yuliana, it will be Gris’ neck in his hands and not the puppy.

Gris bit her lower lip to calm herself. Her quiet musings were disturbed when she felt something drop on her lap, the puppy had fallen on her knees. When she looked up to her side, she saw Vianut smiling down at her.

His smile gave her no comfort.

“Ah, you look like the person that must have a puppy.” He declared as he clapped his hands together.

His low voice filled the air around them, and the crowd applauded at his decision after hearing it.

“Yes, you are quite right, Sir Byrenhag. Yuliana should have the puppy, Paola said as she clapped her hands with a delighted smile on her face. Gris wondered if her smile was genuine. She clenched her fingers tighter on her side.

Bewildered, Gris squished her knees together to keep the puppy from falling out of her legs. She thanked Vianut for his gift, but her mind was troubled. She felt like he didn’t give her the puppy out of kindness and felt wary of this gift.

Why did he give this precious animal to her? What was he hiding behind his generous smile? Why does it feel like a trap?

The party begun quieting down and soon ended after the gifting ceremony. After Gris and Vianut bid goodbye to their guests, the latter headed upstairs to his room to retire, and not once did he turn his back as he went.

Gris also returned to her room, unable to repress away the uneasiness she felt since the gifting ceremony. She had walked into the party alone, but she left it with a puppy held in her arms. The civil official wasn’t joking when he said that the puppies were good hand warmers, this Gris thought as she stroked the puppy’s warm fur as she walked. Her once cold fingertips had slowly warmed up while she held the puppy during her walk back to her room.

When Gris entered her room, she gently placed the puppy down on her bed and observed it as she took a step back. It shifted on her bed, lightly wagging its tail, it paws barely leaving a mark on her bedsheets. Bellin, who had followed her to her room, stood from afar and watched the odd animal too.

For a split second, Gris felt pity for the dog for being treated merely as a handwarmer and as a symbol of royalty.

She remained quiet, but she too was curious of what Bellin thought of the puppy, but Bellin suddenly spoke.

“Did you… decide on a name?” Bellin asked her, and Gris sighed.

Name…a name….

It was a gift from Vianut but it was for Yuliana; thus the puppy was not hers. Therefore, she wasn’t in a position to name it. Giving it a name would be claiming it as hers, and it was not hers.