"Woof-woof, woof-"
With her tongue hanging out and a spring in her step, Susie strolled leisurely through the streets of Empress Borough.
Although she was now a talking Spectator dog with extraordinary intelligence, she still genuinely enjoyed being an ordinary dog sometimes.
That carefree, unfettered freedom was something humans could hardly understand.
"Meow~"
A lazy meow, tinged with a strange allure, suddenly came from nearby and caught her attention.
?
"Meow~ Hel-lo~ there~"
"Woof! Woof, woof!" (Who are you? Where are you?)
Susie immediately grew wary. She could sense that "someone" was talking to her, but she could not see them.
She twitched her nose and sniffed the air hard.
Then she raised her head and spotted an orange cat perched in a nearby treetop, looking down at her. There seemed to be the faintest hint of a smile in those amber eyes.
"Meow~"
Meanwhile, inside Councilman Macht's residence.
Over the past two days, the atmosphere at home had finally become less tense than it had been before.
Since Hazel had ultimately agreed to the doctor's examination, the enormous misunderstanding between her and her parents had been cleared up-but not entirely.
The examination proved that Hazel had not taken that "final step," which certainly came as a great relief to Liana.
But as for her and that young man named James Scott being nothing more than friends? Liana did not believe that for a second.
Quite apart from anything else, Hazel still had not explained why she had risked climbing over the wall that night. No matter how they questioned her, she remained evasive, looking as though she wanted to speak but held herself back. Something was clearly going on.
"My daughter, I know you've always had a mind of your own, and I trust your judgment, but-what if you've