18
Chapter 18
* * *
What was that light just now?
It was as small as a millet grain. It definitely came from my body.
…I didn’t have time to worry about it.
“Tiger! I brought it, the Thorn of the Blue Rose!”
[Lee Gae Thorn of the Blue Rose?]
“Yeah! Ah, try this.”
Tiger’s mouth opened wide, and I popped the stamen into it.
Tiger gobbled down the flower’s stamen that I gave him.
I recalled the letters Tiger had written earlier.
‘Thorn of the Blue Rose,’ meaning that eating the stamen of the blue hydrangea would put him in a state akin to death, he had written in crooked letters.
But after 24 hours, he would open his eyes as if reborn.
‘I hope he gets better.’
I stroked Tiger, who was slowly falling asleep.
He fell asleep without even a mumble or a snore, as if he were dead.
‘Good. Now I just have to wait a full day.’
After this death-like sleep, this Tiger will be reborn.
‘He can protect my sister, and we can be together for a long, long time.’
I patted the Black Tiger’s lucky rump.
Then, I left the shed.
* * *
The world is not easy for those without backing or power.
At this moment, the veterinarian Dot keenly realized that reality.
The person in front of her was Theresia’s close aide and a member of the family’s collateral bloodline, Lady Leia.
“There’s a reason why I, Lee Gae, personally came to this shabby, smelly, dirty shed. I wanted to see the Black Tiger Spirit Beast.”
“Ahahaha…”
‘Just to see,’ my foot.
She’s probably trying to get a piece of the credit for discovering the Black Tiger Spirit Beast!
“Well, excuse me, Lady Leia. The Black Tiger Spirit Beast is currently not in good condition, so outside access is prohibited.”
“Don’t you commoners know? I am an Ability user. I can discern not only the joys and sorrows of animals but also of Spirit Creatures.”
“Th-that’s really am-amazing, but…”
“Coco is allowed to come and go, so why can’t I?”
Leia’s Special Ability is ‘Communion.’
It’s a low-grade Special Ability, but it allows her to vaguely sense the emotions of other beings.
With that ability, she became a rumor maker in high society and even secured a position as Theresia’s closest aide.
“Unless you’re a human who can talk to animals, who can surpass me in understanding the psychology of Spirit Creatures? I’ve even received Theresia’s permission, so open the door immediately.”
“Yes, as you command…”
Leia, who succeeded in persuading, no, semi-threatening, stopped before entering the shed.
‘That commoner, Coco, is coming out of the shed?’
The way she was coming out, dancing her hips as if she was excited, was frivolous.
‘…As expected, my ability is better than that kind of commoner.’
She will be the one to save the Black Tiger.
It was when she completely ignored Coco and entered the shed.
There was a rotten smell.
“What is this smell?”
What is it? It smells like a corpse rotting.
She was flustered when she entered the shed.
She could faintly Commune with animals and Spirit Creatures.
But this time it was different.
Communion with the Black Tiger Spirit Beast was completely impossible.
She hurriedly approached the Black Tiger Spirit Beast.
“Why, why.”
Even when she reached out and touched him, he didn’t move.
Breath didn’t flow out from under his nose.
There was no warm body temperature unique to living creatures.
This is like…
“D-dead…”
She was told that the Tiger Spirit Beast was sick.
But it wasn’t to the point where he would die so quickly.
“What, what should I do…”
As if reading Leia’s flustered mind.
Theresia, who had promised to meet in front of the shed, came inside.
“Theresia! The Black Tiger is d-dead… He’s dead.”
She was going to steal the credit for saving the Black Tiger by using her Communion ability, but this was clearly a disaster.
Theresia’s complexion turned pale…
“Wait, it’s better this way.”
She looked down at Leia with a gentle smile.
“According to the report I received before coming here, the baby who was about to be abandoned just met Chloe. And before that, she was alone with the Black Tiger in this shed.”
“Yes, that’s right. I saw it too.”
“Yes. I think the two of them accidentally killed the Spirit Creature.”
Even if there is no definite evidence for Theresia’s words, you have to nod here.
Otherwise, she will get caught in the crossfire.
“How about this? You said your father is returning after inspecting the North, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Ah, shall I send a message and tell him in advance?”
“Yes. To dare kill a Spirit Creature… We must give them a stern warning. When did His Grace the Duke say he would arrive?”
“He will probably arrive sometime today.”
“Before His Grace arrives, we will need to interrogate the sinners separately.”
“Wh-what do you mean by that…”
“I heard that the sinner maintains a close relationship with my sister, Chloe Ardos.”
In other words, she meant to link Chloe with the death of the Tiger Spirit Beast.
“Yes, I will keep that in mind and interrogate them.”
“After the interrogation, can you finish the additional work?”
“Of course, Theresia. Unintentionally, rumors may spread throughout high society that Chloe killed the Tiger Spirit Beast.”
Lady Leia raised the corners of her lips.
Just a five-year-old child.
As someone who has experienced the ups and downs of high society, she was confident that she could easily handle it.
* * *
Surely, I was just taking a nap in a warm bed until just now!
I fell onto the stone floor with a thud.
A faint bruise began to form on my turnip-like knee.
At that time, the soldier who brought me here whispered dryly.
“Welcome to the basement of the Bastille Annex, little miss.”
The official name is the Bastille Annex, but in reality, it is a prison-like place where collateral nobles who have fallen out of favor with the direct line are confined.
‘I saw it in the future. It’s a place where Theresia imprisons and interrogates low-ranking nobles she doesn’t like!’
The moss-covered stone floor was very cold.
The lamp hanging on the wall flickered gloomily as if it had run out of oil.
The door was locked with sharp iron attached to it, and the window was covered with iron bars.
But I, Coco.
I am clearly different from weak humans.
I perked up my ears.
“What would have happened if Lady Leia hadn’t discovered the dead Spirit Creature in advance?”
“She found the Tiger, I knew it.”
“She’s said to be an ordinary commoner, she’ll be kicked out soon.”
…Ah, they thought Tiger was dead, so they locked me up.
As soon as I heard that, I felt relieved.
‘I hope Tiger comes back to life soon.’
I was waiting for news of Tiger when.
The person who appeared in the cold basement was a woman with gorgeous red hair.
“Who are you?”
“I came under the orders of Theresia, representing the mistress. I am Leia of the Amondt barony.”
Seeing the corners of her lips rising, I jumped up.
That person is a bad person!
I saw it in the future. My sister has been falsely accused of more than a dozen things because of that person.
“Is the sinner’s name Coco? To dare add the crime of killing a Spirit Creature to a lowly commoner. I should say you have guts.”
“I didn’t kill him!”
“How amusing. But it’s true that you were the last one to touch Tiger, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
“We should see that the sinner has confessed to her crime.”
She wore a sneer on her lips as if she was sorry.
“I feel sorry for you, you seem like a stupid kid who can’t tell the difference between heaven and earth. If you hadn’t interfered, you would have quietly returned home.”
“……”
“But there is a way to easily escape this prison, would you like to hear it?”
She smiled bitterly as she took out the Recording Orb from her arms.
“I know that killing the Spirit Creature was not done by your own strength. No one would think that it was done by a mere commoner, a five-year-old without a Stigmata.”
“……”
“Didn’t Chloe Ardos, who you are usually close with, instigate you to kill the Spirit Creature?”
“Um…?”
“Tell me. I’m here to help.”
I instinctively sniffed my moist nose.
‘I smell a lie in the word help!’
But I didn’t refuse outright. Instead, I pondered with my mind racing.
That person.
She’s a bad person who spreads rumors very well…
‘Huh, then isn’t this a good thing?’
Tiger will come back to life soon anyway.
In the meantime, what if the rumor that my sister helped me save Tiger spread from that bad person’s mouth?
‘Then people will look at my sister in a good light, right?’
So, if I use that person in reverse…!
Before I knew it, a happy and warm sweet potato-colored future came to my mind.
Leia’s face, which was only hateful, suddenly looked like a delicious sweet potato.