“Oh…”

With that, the store manager and other employees brought in the sparkling-eyed puppies one by one in turn.

The whining puppies filled Rowena’s lap as she sat in the  chair. Not knowing what to do, she looked to Killian for help, but instead of stopping them, he watched her and then turned to them as if encouraging them to bring more.

Finally, when there was not enough space in her lap for more puppies, and they started to gather next to her feet, Killian decided to take action. That action, however, was not choosing one of the puppies around; instead, he stood and said that he was going to smoke a cigarette on the balcony.

“What? leaving me in this situation?”

Dumbfounded, Rowena glanced sideways at the nanny and Damian, who stood a few steps away. Killian ignored the situation she mentioned and reached to pat her blonde hair down.

“Pick one before I return, well, unless you’re going to raise all these puppies, which is fine with me too.”

“How could you say that! Your Excellency!”

Her face turned red with embarrassment, but she couldn’t even stand up for fear that the puppies might get hurt. She tried to reach out to his hem to stop him before he could move away, but Killian retracted his hand, turned his back, and started to walk toward the balcony, followed by  Jenok, who was standing by.

“Miss Philone?”

Smiling with anticipation, the manager bent his knees to meet her eye level. Rowena gently turned away from the burdensome gaze and looked in Damian’s direction.

“Young master!”

“Hahaha! That tickles!”

A cheerful laugh was heard, followed by a woof. A dog with shaggy white fur jumped up and knocked Damian down, licking his cheek. Rowena, concerned about Damian, forgot about the situation and almost ran toward her son. To her surprise, Damian comforted her by stopping the employee from trying to take the puppy away from him, then smiled and said.

“Just leave it alone! I’m having fun!”

“I am so sorry!”

The president, who mistook Damian for the nanny’s son, realized his mistake and apologized hurriedly as he bowed deeply.

“Did the child get hurt?”

“No…Thank god.”

Rowena, who examined Damian closely, answered in his place. Relieved that his head could still sit happily on his neck, the store manager sighed and started talking about the puppy.

“We’re really fortunate that the child wasn’t harmed. Actually, this dog wasn’t sold very well, and we planned to euthanize it today, but he still causes so many accidents until the end.”

“Euthan-..? What’s that…Moth-.., Auntie?”

Correcting his slip of the tongue, Damian looked up at Rowena with innocent eyes. Bewildered, Rowena went again to focus on selecting a puppy when Killian, approaching from behind before she knew it, interrupted her.

“Let’s go with that one.”

“What?”

At the same time, four astonished people turned around. Among them, it was the store manager who was the most puzzled.

“No, your Excellency, This dog has no pedigree, is a bit stupid, and didn’t sell well. I’m speaking out of my conscience, but with all due respect, I’d rather if you choose one of the other dogs over there.”

“Jenok.”

“Yes.”

Killian ignored the store manager’s words and deemed it as not worth answering and gave silent instructions to  Jenok, then he gently held Rowena’s hand.

At that moment, those who had been watching the situation with interest around them held their breath.