Chapter 7
That evening, dinner at the mansion was as dry and dull as always.
After the meal, Chloe returned to her room.
The maids had told her that the one who left flowers at her door was the adopted child who would soon be disowned.
She had ordered them to bring the child to her room in advance.
But the kid wasn’t there.
“Ran away, huh.”
It wouldn’t be surprising. All the children feared her.
Rumors even said: “If you cry, the Dark Witch will come and take you away!”
Chloe brushed her jet-black hair and muttered:
“Even if they ran away, it doesn’t matter.”
In truth, when she examined the purple flower, she found nothing strange. At first she was angry, but soon everything just felt tiring.
Then, something in her perfectly tidy room felt out of place.
“Sunlight…?”
The spring breeze and warm sunlight were coming through an open window.
‘Why now?’
Normally, the maids always kept the curtains closed. Everyone thought Chloe, the dark magician, hated the light.
But today was different. Chloe found herself walking toward the window.
There, on the sill, stood a small vase with lilies of the valley inside.
A messy note was stuck there:
“There’s a saying that lilies of the valley chase away bad luck.”
“What’s this…”
Just then, Chloe heard a familiar sound by her ear—like soft chomping, almost like a puppy whining in its sleep.
‘Coco used to do that…’
And then—
“Nom nom…”
“…?”
“Sweet… potato…”
At the door, just like Coco used to wait for her every night, a small child was lying flat on the floor like a puppy.
‘Asleep?’
Chloe bent down and shook the child’s shoulder to wake them. For a moment, Coco’s image overlapped with the child’s face. The thought made Chloe forget her anger.
“Wake up.”
The little one slowly opened their eyelids.
At last, Chloe saw those bright purple eyes staring back at her.
Her heart dropped with a heavy thud.
‘What is this feeling? Why am I… like this?’
Before she could regain her composure, the child suddenly sat up.
“Wow!”
“…You, who are you?”
Chloe stammered. There was only one reason—
She had always wondered what Coco would sound like if he could talk.
And now, this child’s cheerful voice sounded exactly as she had imagined.
“My name is Coco!”
“…What?”
The child grinned and waved their little hand.
“Coco! That’s me!”
“…Did you just say Coco?”
The kid’s smile faded. Their lips pouted sadly.
“Oh no… Even though I stayed near you all this time… you don’t recognize me…”
“What are you talking about?”
The words made no sense. The expression did too.
‘Wait, I didn’t even say anything yet.’
Such strange behavior.
The child quickly straightened up and bowed politely.
“Sorry! I mean—hello! My name is Coco!”
“…Coco.”
Chloe repeated blankly.
“Yes! Coco, that’s my name!”
“…So your name is Coco.”
She finally remembered—the adopted child’s profile had a name, but she hadn’t bothered to check it before.
In a flat tone, she said:
“I’ve already investigated you.”
The child’s eyes widened in delight.
“Really? You looked into me?”
…Why was this child happy about being investigated?
He wiggled like a puppy wagging its tail. His violet eyes sparkled like jewels.
‘No one has ever reacted to me like this before.’
Chloe felt herself being dragged along by the strange mood.
“Then answer me. Why did you sneak into my bedroom?”
The child straightened his back and looked up into her eyes, without the slightest fear. His gaze was strangely warm.
“You know it’s bad manners to enter another person’s house without permission, right?”
“Uh… I never learned that…”
The child tilted his head, looking clueless.
‘Of course. A commoner’s child wouldn’t know noble etiquette.’
“Why did you bring flowers then?”
“Oh! Because there were so many pretty ones in the field outside! I thought they were beautiful, so I picked some and brought them to you!”
“…”
“…Wait, was I not supposed to bring flowers either?”
The child’s eyes darted nervously.
Chloe pressed her temple. Now that she thought about it, Coco had loved purple flowers. And this child clearly loved flowers too.
“I don’t like flowers. And leaving them in a stranger’s room isn’t polite.”
“…A stranger.”
The child looked hurt for a moment. But almost immediately, he looked up again and beamed like sunshine.
“I just wanted to be friends with you, Lady Chloe!”
“Why? Pretending to be friendly won’t help you. Your future is decided by my father and the council, not me.”
“That’s not it.”
“Then why?”
“Because you’re amazing, Lady Chloe!”
Chloe froze.
No one had ever told her she was “amazing.”
“What…?”
The child clutched his shirt and his eyes shone.
“I saw it in the newspaper! They said you’re an incredible dark magician!”
“That’s impossible. The papers never write anything good about me.”
***
Actually, I know that very well.
The newspapers only ever insult Chloe.
But back when I was a puppy, I couldn’t speak.
I could only bark to comfort her.
Now, I can finally say it out loud.
‘She’s the only one who ever reached out a hand to me. She was my whole world. How could I be scared of her?’
I looked at her with all the love in my heart.
“I saw the picture in the paper—when you used your dark magic. It looked so cool!”
“What could possibly be cool about that…”
“The papers always say light is better than darkness. But I think the sunlight is only loved because the darkness exists.”
“What?”
“You can only meet the warm sun because night comes first. That’s why you’re amazing, Lady Chloe! Just as amazing as the sun—no, more amazing!”
Chloe took a step back, visibly shaken.
“…Darkness is just dark.”
At her fingertips, shadows swirled and rose. Was she trying to scare him? But he didn’t flinch.
“Whoa! That’s awesome! It looks like you’re holding the night sky in your hands!”
Chloe gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
“…Are you serious?”
“Yes, I’m serious. Only you can create the night sky with your fingertips.”
Her expression faltered.
I looked at her black hair glowing in the sunlight, her lips that had once spoken kind words to me, and thought—
‘Maybe now she’ll want to be close to me again?’
My heart beat fast with hope.
But Chloe soon looked away.
“Still, don’t come to my mansion again. Meeting people tires me. I plan to close the gates soon.”
It was a clear rejection.
‘I prepared so hard just to get close to her again…’
I had opened her window with my weak hands.
I had brought her flowers.
I had waited in her favorite position.
I had even prepared all these “cool” words to tell her.
But still, it wasn’t enough.
Tears threatened to spill, but I gathered my courage and whispered:
“Then… I’ll stay just a little, so you won’t get tired.”
“….”
“I can move well on my own now. My hands and feet are strong!”
I remembered the last summer before I died.
‘I was just a weak, troublesome puppy… She had to massage my stiff legs every day…’
‘It must have been exhausting for her.’
But now things are different.
I patted my small legs.
“I don’t have big muscles, but I’m healthy now! I can walk much more than before!”
Chloe’s face stayed unreadable.
“And… I don’t even have that ‘patella problem’ anymore.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but vets used to always whisper it about me.
Still, she didn’t reply.
Nervously, I lifted my little hand and drew a big circle in the air.
“I’m this strong now!”
I have hands to pat her gently.
I have legs to walk beside her.
I even have a mouth to fight anyone who says bad things about her.
I can make her smile again.
So please…
“That’s why… maybe… sometimes… Can I come visit you?”
My voice trembled.
“Can we be close again, like before?”
