17
Chapter 17
“Huh? What is it?”
Tiger told me about a food that other tigers used to eat when they got ‘black soot’ on their paws.
[But I’ve never actually seen it before, so I don’t know what it is…….]
“Tell me. I’ll get it for you!”
[Thorn of the Blue Rose]
……Something’s off.
I blinked several times and mumbled ‘Thorn of the Blue Rose’ through my teeth, then exclaimed.
“Thorn of the Blue Rose, right?”
Tiger’s black pupils widened.
[If you eat the thorn…….]
Then he wrote something small.
After reading all the letters, I nodded.
“I don’t think it matters. I’ll be back!”
“Little Miss, where are you going?”
To save Tiger!
I dashed out.
* * *
After the social gathering, Theresia secretly called Leia.
“Duke Ardos has ordered that we prepare to commend his especially cherished Spirit Creature, Tiger.”
“Haa……. Well, even if he’s old, he’s still a Spirit Creature. And I heard he can turn invisible. I thought he was just a normal tiger, but to have such a Special Ability.”
“Exactly.”
“But Theresia, don’t worry. I checked with the Council of Elders, and there’s no possibility that he’s a Blessed Baby.”
“Is that so? Well.”
But even as Theresia said that, she looked uneasy.
That child had frequented Chloe’s mansion several times.
There were even rumors that he was close to her full-blooded brother, Ruth.
“……But Chloe’s condition is strange. If it were the old days, she would have called the head maid to check the situation closely, but it’s a shame.”
Chloe had fired the head maid who managed her detached residence after a year.
Because of that, it was impossible to properly grasp Chloe’s movements.
Irritation filled Theresia’s golden eyes.
“Anyway, that Tiger is staying in Ruth’s shed?”
“Yes, I heard that if Tiger returns to his original cage, he becomes agitated, so Dot the veterinarian is taking care of him until Duke Ardos returns.”
“So, Tiger’s condition is still bad, is that it?”
“Yes.”
“Then we still have a chance to take the credit.”
To be a little more precise.
A chance to steal the credit for ‘saving Tiger’ before Duke Ardos returns.
* * *
I came to find the Blue Rose, humming a tune.
Actually, I don’t know what a Blue Rose is or what its effects are.
But, the Blue Rose is definitely!
‘It’ll be in the field where I always took walks with my sister!’
Duke Ardos’s residence, the field right next to my grave.
That field is the best field in the world.
There’s no way there won’t be a Blue Rose!
‘There are so many wildflowers blooming, and I know almost all their names!’
Sometimes there are tasty ones too.
‘But my sister never let me pick them up and eat them!’
Still, that vast field where I always sniffed around and took walks!
……But.
At the bench in the middle of the field, where I had run while humming, I encountered an incredible person.
“Heok, Unnie!”
“……Why are you here.”
Heok, again.
That pouty, ugly expression she makes when she sees bad sisters!
“Why aren’t you at home? Why are you wandering around.”
“Um…….”
I wondered how much to say, so I decided to get straight to the point.
“I came to get a Blue Rose because Tiger said he wanted to eat it! Um, does Chloe know about Blue Roses?”
“……What rose? Blue Rose?”
“……?”
“Do you know what the flower language of the Blue Rose is?”
“I don’t!”
My sister tilted her head towards me.
“Impossible.”
My eyes widened.
My sister said to me with a slightly playful expression.
“There are no Blue Roses in this world.”
……What?
No way!
I plopped down on the ground.
* * *
‘How pure.’
Chloe chuckled softly and swept back her hair.
It had been a while since she had laughed.
“Actually, there are.”
“Heoeok!”
The feeling of seeing a child cry and laugh at her words was, well…….
“Follow me.”
……It wasn’t bad.
After walking for about five minutes, she pointed to a small flower garden covered in blue waves.
“Is that it?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not a rose, it’s a hydrangea…….”
How can she be so transparent?
She’s looking at Chloe as if she thinks she’s an idiot.
“Yes, people call the stamens of the blue hydrangea ‘Thorn of the Blue Rose.’ It’s a metaphorical expression.”
……Now she’s looking at her as if she’s a genius.
“Heoeok, how do you know so much?”
“That’s.”
“Sister, no, Chloe must be a super genius!”
The child smiled brightly.
Chloe thought unconsciously.
There was a reason why she knew so much about this field.
The reason why she roamed this vast field.
The reason why she laughed with dust all over her body…….
It was all thanks to the little Coco she loved.
Her face looked as if she was choked up.
Then she sat down haphazardly at the entrance to the field full of blue hydrangeas and said.
“Coco.”
Coco’s eyes sparkled.
“Coco!”
“I mean, not you, but our Coco.”
The child pouted.
Chloe turned her head and muttered.
“……Coco liked it here.”
“That’s right!”
“So, I keep this field in the same condition as before.”
“Ah…….”
“So, don’t come here anymore.”
Three circles were stamped on the front of the field.
She whispered softly.
“Because when you run around, the grass is damaged. I even engraved paw prints along the path Coco used to take for walks.”
“Heop…….”
“If people step on it, Coco’s footprints will wear away.”
“……Tch. Then can I not step on Coco’s footprints and pick the hydrangeas here?”
Chloe, looking at Coco, who was pouting a lot, plucked a blue hydrangea.
“Here.”
The child received the hydrangea she gave her with both hands and struggled to pluck the stamens.
She thought.
She felt like she was being swayed by a child she had only met a short time ago.
Just like the day she first made eye contact with Coco in the bedroom.
* * *
I sniffed, plucking the stamens of the hydrangea with my paw-like hands for a while.
‘I smell sadness!’
I lifted my gaze from the hydrangea to my sister.
Then I saw that my sister’s eyes were a little red.
‘Is it because I talked about myself? Is that why she’s sad?’
I asked carefully.
“You know, is it because you miss Coco?”
“I don’t miss her.”
“Tch. You’re so firm.”
I drooped my shoulders.
‘I miss my sister so much that I worked hard to cross the rainbow bridge!’
My sister, who had been watching me silently, plucked another blue hydrangea, called the Blue Rose.
My sister quietly handed me only the stamens and said.
“It’s not that I miss her, it’s that I want to meet her.”
“…….”
“Just seeing her is too impersonal. So, just once…….”
My sister turned her gaze away.
“Just once, I want to meet her and hug her. Our Coco’s heart beats twice as fast as a human’s. So, she’s twice as warm.”
“…….”
“Before she died, I gave that warm child a haircut…… I wonder why I did that.”
That’s right. It was so good!
“She must have been cold.”
I wasn’t cold at all.
My sister hugged me all the time, so I was very warm!
But my mouth was shut tight, and no words came out.
‘I guess I can’t say that I’m Coco yet.’
It must be because my intimacy level is low…….
I was looking at my sister gloomily when.
“Is it because I didn’t treat her well? She doesn’t even appear in my dreams.”
My sister quietly got up.
“I guess she’s forgotten me and is having fun. That’s a relief.”
No, I’m right next to my sister!
But I couldn’t say these words, so I just pouted.
“Okay. I was just talking to myself. So, I got the Thorn of the Blue Rose, so that’s it, right?”
“……Yeah…….”
“Do whatever you want.”
My sister left quickly without me being able to catch her.
With a cold expression, as if the wind was blowing.
But as I watched my sister’s back as she left, I habitually sniffed.
Again.
Again, I smelled a salty smell like salt.
So, I suddenly had that thought.
‘My sister cried for a very long time. Because I’m not there…….’
I looked at my sister as she walked away, then stared again at the Thorn of the Blue Rose in my hand, no, the stamens of the blue hydrangea.
It’s okay.
Because we have a future together.
‘I’ll work hard so that my sister can recognize me.’
I won’t let you cry alone anymore.
The moment I thought that with all my heart.
A small shimmering light sparkled from my fingertips.