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Chapter 9
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AT that moment, Pudding’s heart started to thump hard.

Thump, thump, thump!

Her pounding heart tightened and constricted, while the small sun that had shrunk and diminished once again grew larger, enveloping Pudding’s entire body in sunlight.

Whoosh!

As Pudding’s body floated in mid-air, she emitted a blinding beam of light that was almost overwhelming. The beam of light pierced through the approaching monster, which was getting closer to Pudding like a sharp arrow.

Grr, thud!

The huge figure of the monster let out a groaning sound as it fell before Pudding.

‘What just happened?’

Pudding wondered, perplexed. The radiant beam of light that she had emitted seemed to consume her small body, and it quickly seeped into the patterns on her foreleg. The once fluffy foreleg, which had been soft and furry, now displayed the radiant patterns of the sun.

As her blurred vision cleared, Pudding saw her small limbs transforming into a human hand.

‘What? I transformed into a human?’

She already transformed into a human? No way! She couldn’t let Theo catch her in this human form.

Although she was exhausted, Pudding mustered up her remaining strength and crawled onto the back of the approaching bee.

“Let’s go.”

Now, she even spoke like a human child. With great effort, Pudding rode the bee and managed to elude Theo, eventually collapsing near the edge of the valley. She had already used up all her energy.

The fallen figure resembled that of a human child rather than a puppy. It was a small girl with chubby cheeks, a petite and cuddly body, with long chestnut-colored hair that reached beyond her neck. She appeared to be around three years old.

The bee brought leaves and covered Pudding’s body to keep her warm.

How much time had passed?

“There was definitely a light here earlier… Wait, there’s something here.”

Swiftly, a small brown furred creature, which had transform back from her human form, was discovered in the pile of leaves by the Duke Crovache.

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WINTER Castle had only one doctor who cared for lions and raccoons, so it was impossible to call a veterinarian to examine a dog. The doctor delivered the following diagnosis and left.

“Luckily, there are no injuries. She’s just exhausted and unconscious. If you wait, she’ll regain consciousness.”

Trusting the doctor’s words, they waited for 5 hours and 29 minutes, but the puppy still showed no signs of waking up.

‘That foolish doctor. She’s not unconsciousness, she’s just sleeping.’

The Duke narrowed his eyes in thought. Amidst the quiet and cold office, he quietly exhaled his breath, completely preoccupied with the existence lying on the soft cushion before him. At 5 o’clock in the afternoon, despite the time when administrative tasks needed to be done, he could not focus on anything else, captivated by the creature lying on the cushion.

‘This little thing is my daughter?’

The Duke, who first found the puppy in the direction of the light, was genuinely astonished. To be honest, at first glance, she looked far from a dog. She was much closer to a baby animal, hardly resembling a beast.

She received the lineage of the Silver Lion, he at least thought she would resemble a fox or a wolf. But it was neither of those. It was far inferior, a weak little puppy. If not for the assumption that she could resemble a creature other than a lion, and if not for the mention of a puppy dream by the sleeping Luichel… he wouldn’t know.

He wouldn’t have been able to think of this puppy as his daughter.

“She really doesn’t resemble me at all.”

In this unfamiliar place, especially in this cold environment that would be unbearable without being a Silver Lion, the child was peacefully sleeping, tightly curled up in the puppy pose.

His distinctive violet eyes lingered on the puppy for a long time. To him, it was a warm gaze, but to others, it seemed threatening.

She was a small, fluffy creature that looked like a tightly bundled ball of cotton. Occasionally, the brown bundle would twitch, and it was astonishing to see that she had eyes, a nose, and a mouth, all in such a tiny head.

“It’s unbelievably small.”

He murmured to himself in disbelief, holding out his palm beside her. She was no bigger than the size of his palm. She seemed far too insignificant and fragile to be part of the lineage of the Silver Lion. She could be killed with just one finger.

Khalid muttered to himself as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Is this really my child?”

However, the clues provided by Luichel and the priests were accurate. Moreover, he had seen it clearly. Even from a distance, the beam of light was vivid and strong.

“I wonder how this little one managed to survive until now.”

If this child is indeed a Silver Lion, anyone who endangered her and dared to defy their lineage would never be forgiven. He would tear them apart and crush their bones.

Thump. Thump, thump.

The veins on Khalid’s forehead and the back of his hand bulged with anger.

Whoosh.

At the same time, a cold icy aura spread from him. Then, he suddenly realized something. This tiny puppy might not have enough resistance to the cold so he quickly gathered the chill and pulled the bell rope to summon the butler.

Soon, a middle-aged man with neatly styled gray hair entered. It was Butler Elliot.

“You called for me, Your Excellency?”

“Take this child to the Dandelion Palace immediately.”

Elliot immediately understood the order and called for a maid to take the child away.

Just then, the aide Jerus, who had been waiting in the corridor, entered the room. It turned out that the reason no one had been allowed into the study was because the Duke intended to meet with the child.

Jerus asked the Duke, “Your Excellency, what is your plan?”

“What?”

The Duke glanced briefly at the aide with a cold gaze.

“Do you immediately recognize this puppy, or rather, child, as yours?”

“I can’t be completely certain if this child truly shares my bloodline.”

“Then until you are certain, do you intend to postpone informing the temple and the clan?”

“For now, that’s what we’ll do. If the child with the power of the sun, as the priest claims, truly possesses that power, then she will demonstrate it. However, it would be best not to inform the outside world for the time being.”

“Why is that?”

The Duke’s chilly violet eyes grew even grim.

“I don’t want to lose a child once again. Never. Make sure to keep a tight rein on the priests who went out with the search party.”

“Yes… I will keep that in mind.”

Finally understanding his lord’s intentions, Jerus withdrew.

According to the prophecy, if this child is truly blessed by the sun, someone might attempt to harm the child once again. It was necessary to protect her firmly.

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“SHE’S so tiny, she rolled around in the crib.”

“Yes. I’ve never seen a puppy before, but this one is too cute.”

The maids’ chatter echoed loudly. Her little ears, covered in fur, perked up, but she soon dismissed it as a dream. Her whole body felt heavy, like soaking wet cotton. The room temperature was chilly, yet the blanket that touched her body felt warm. Pudding instinctively burrowed deeper into the blanket. It didn’t feel like a dream, but the reality.

‘It’s cold. Did Theo leave the window open? Yes, he must’ve did.’

Pudding extended her head from under the blanket once again. Theo’s embrace was warmer, but she decided to burrow into the blanket. But then, a high-pitched voice reached her ears.

“Oh my, lady! Are you awake now?”

“What do you need?”

As her blurry eyes opened, she saw two beautiful women in front of her. When Pudding tilted her head, the women went into a frenzy.

“Woof? (Who?)”

“Oh no, she’s like a moving doll!”

A tall woman with brown hair and glasses clutched her heart, while a petite woman with silver hair approached Pudding and spoke.

“Oh, lady? I’m sorry, but we don’t know the dog language, so could you speak in the common language of the Empire, excluding the barking?”

“…Woof? (What are you saying?)”

“Well, now that you’re awake, we need to inform the Duke. He’s been waiting eagerly for you to wake up.”

Pudding looked around, swiveling her head as she listened to the maids. Soon, the shorter of the two women left the room to fetch someone. Suddenly, it seemed like so many things were happening at once.

‘I need to sort out this situation for a moment.’

At the moment when she gained the power to fully utilize the sun’s power, she had become stronger and defeated the monster. She had saved Theo. And as a result, she briefly transformed into a human form. Pudding had run away, not wanting Theo to discover her human form, and in the process, she had lost consciousness.