Saved by Crazy Stepfather!

“Bebe, are you asleep…?”

For some reason, this felt like deja vu.
I was sure my brother came in like that a few minutes ago.
This time, it was Dad.

“Bebe isn’t sleeping.
My brother is here.”

With those words, the Grand Duke entered the room as soft as water.

“You weren’t sleeping, that’s good.”

As if trying to hide something, he quickly closed the door he had entered.

But outside the door, there was already a riot.

Woof, woof, woof!

Instead of a single dog, the sound of a dog was heard one after another.

“It’s fine.
What’s going on?”

Still, he looked at me as if he had not heard anything from my brother, just in case.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s noisy outside.”

At that, he put his fist to the corner of his mouth and groaned and cleared his throat.

“Is it? Hmm… Actually, it’s nothing special… Bebe, you seem to like dogs.”

“I see.”

’

“Therefore…”

Like a child on the verge of opening a present, he smiled broadly and put his hand toward the door.

I don’t know why he looked so excited, but he seemed happy anyway.

Seeing him like that, I shook my head.

“I mean, Isn’t that dog outside that door?”

“Huh?”

“I only like Sylvie.
Dad, didn’t I say don’t misunderstand and bring more puppies?”

“…Ah.”

It was then that the Grand Duke’s face hardened as if he had done something wrong.

“Isn’t it?”

“That’s it… You didn’t like dogs…?”

“Yeah.
I only like Sylvie.”

He looked down at Sylvie in my arms with an uncomfortable expression.

“…What’s the good thing about him?”

“Sylvie? Sylvie’s fur shines like a star!”

“Huh?”

’

“Say it again!”

“…Again?”

“He protected me!”

With every word I said, his face hardened.

‘But you brought the puppies for me.’

No one did anything for me.
As I thought about it, something tickled my chest.

‘Am I still a good person?’

I raised my head and looked at him.
The Grand Duke, who had been scratching his face with a very perplexed face, took a step back as if he had decided something.

“Then, Bebe, I’ll see you later.”

“Are you going to cover it up?”

“I suddenly remembered something important.”

Faster than light, he opened the door and tried to get out.
However, as soon as the door opened, a lot of things rushed in, like water flowing in.

“Woof woof!”

“Woof!”

“Oh, no.
No!”

Objects passed between the Grand Duke’s legs.
They were all dogs, not one or two.
The number that came in alone reached dozens.

’

“Um…”

“C-Come here!”

The Grand Duke, who had only looked at his feet in vain at the sudden event, opened the door and quickly gave orders to his servants.

“Y-Yes!”

There was no end.
The room was filled with puppies that made me wonder, where in the world did he get so many puppies? The servants came in one by one, as if trying to stop them, and hugged the puppies, but that was not enough.

My father, who was bewildered at seeing it, and my brother, who was having fun, and I, who were puzzled, were silent for a long time.

“You must have brought the puppies.”

“…That’s not what I brought.”

In the midst of this, the Grand Duke shook his head from side to side saying that he was not proud.

“…What do you mean ‘no’?! I can’t believe you brought so many puppies! Silly Dad!”

“I’m stupid.”

At first he looked really cool and smart, but now that I looked at it, he didn’t.
His face was still cold, but he was acting like a fool.

“Then what is this? All of these puppies.”

“So… uh.
okay.
Bebe, I brought them here knowing you’ll like it.”

He was too sweet, he was too kind.

’

I didn’t hate it, but since ancient times, it had been said that if a person suddenly changed, one should be suspicious.

“I’m really grateful that my dad thinks of me… but you’ve overdone it by a bit.”

“Is that too much?”

“Yeah! And I like seeing my dad like this for the first time.”

“The first time…?”

Then, as if thinking about something, the Grand Duke let out a deep sigh.

“Yeah, you looked cool before.”

It was natural for his face to harden.
As if he had finally come to a conclusion, the Grand Duke, who had had a bewildered expression just before, changed his expression quickly.

“Are you talking about now?”

“Yeah.
Your voice has changed.”

“Bebe, let me be like this if you want.”

“Yeah! So from now on, you don’t have to keep thinking about what you should do for me.
This is more than enough for me.
Just being here with my mom is enough!”

But the Grand Duke did not agree.

“I still want to do something because you haven’t been able to enjoy many things…”

“No.
It’s okay.
That’s enough for now, really.”

“Didn’t you say they never did something for you?”

I wanted to get out of this situation quickly, so I opened my mouth wide, as I had been refuting his words the whole time.