Chapter 20
***
I opened my mouth in disbelief.
‘You said you had something to say, but this isn’t it!’
Behind my sister, all kinds of things started coming in!
“Bedding, blankets, curtains, and a few magical tools for catching bugs.”
Bugs are my friends; I shouldn’t catch them…
I could hear the soldiers urgently trying to stop her.
“Lady Chloe, bringing a bed into this annex is really difficult…”
“Why? It’s cold.”
My sister looked down at Rus, who was sitting on the cold, damp floor.
“Hey, Rus, move.”
“No way, on this moss-covered stone floor… What’s with this pink silk blanket? Is this the right match, huh?”
“It’s a good match.”
“Really, what kind of crazy person does that…”
About ten minutes passed.
Unable to break my sister’s stubbornness, the prison was now filled with a bright atmosphere.
“How is it?”
I looked at my sister, who asked after finishing everything.
“I’m okay, but…”
I checked her expression again with some concern.
‘Is my sister really okay?’
Is she no longer scared of the unknown darkness?
As I tilted my head in worry, I saw my sister’s lips twist.
“Okay, fine. You said you didn’t cry. But there’s no tear stain.”
“Huh? I didn’t cry at all! I played with my praying mantis and spider friends! And I thought I’d be able to get out of the prison anyway, so I was actually fine!”
“…You couldn’t get out on your own. What would have happened if I had ignored you?”
“But you didn’t ignore me!”
In the end, she came to me.
My sister was silent for a while before she spoke.
“…Aren’t you cold?”
It was the coldest when my sister didn’t recognize me.
Now, she overcame the darkness she used to fear and came to find me.
That’s why I’m happy. I’m not cold at all.
“I’m really warm!”
“Make sure to cover yourself with the blanket carefully. Don’t drop it on the floor.”
I lay down on the bed and wrapped myself tightly in the blanket.
Then, I heard Rus’s voice, teasing.
“If Patricia finds out, she’ll go crazy.”
I didn’t care. My sister whispered coldly to me.
“Now that you’re back to your senses, let’s talk about business.”
“What is it?”
“Did you really not kill the tiger, like you said earlier?”
Looking directly into her eyes, which shone brightly despite the darkness, I nodded vigorously.
“I didn’t kill it! The tiger will wake up soon!”
“Alright, I see.”
My sister turned around and left the prison.
As she walked away, Rus shouted behind her.
“Hey, the tiger’s dead! I saw it! What about you? What are you up to?”
“Why should I share my plans with someone like you?”
“Hey! Where are you going? Answer me!”
***
In front of the main gate of the Ardoth estate.
In the quiet atmosphere, with no dust in sight, Chloe stood firmly.
“Have you all heard?”
“They say Chloe helped kill the tiger spirit beast.”
The voices came from behind the annex mansion’s door.
The soldiers on guard were chatting without realizing Chloe could hear them.
‘They’re so loud.’
People with abilities, like Chloe, have heightened senses.
Especially since Chloe had lost her sense of taste, her hearing was more developed in compensation.
‘Patricia must have intentionally involved me in this situation.’
But it was unusual how quickly the rumor spread.
‘Well, if Patricia had a hand in it, it makes sense it spread so fast.’
After all, she was the one who handed over the hydrangea to me, so it wasn’t a complete lie.
What was more important was my father’s return.
“Why are you standing near the main gate, Chloe?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s waiting for the Duke.”
“…Huh? Didn’t the Duke just leave for the Grand Duchy? Are you planning on standing here for two full days and nights?”
“I don’t know. How could we possibly understand the mind of a shadow master?”
The soldiers underestimated Chloe’s true purpose.
Chloe stared off into the horizon again.
If her calculations were right, her father’s carriage would arrive in 30 minutes.
Exactly 30 minutes later, a black carriage arrived in front of the main gate, faster than light.
It was an unexpected return of the Duke.
Chloe knew.
Her father, Duke Ardoth, wasn’t quite right in the head.
To improve travel efficiency, he had hundreds of small magic stones embedded in the wheels of his carriage.
‘Faster than teleportation scrolls.’
“Duke Ardoth is here!”
The soldiers standing at the gate quickly bowed their heads.
“It’s fine. Why are you greeting me? We can’t even protect a spirit beast properly and you’re wasting time on pleasantries!”
“I’m sorry…”
“Sorry?”
“Y-Yes, truly sorry…”
“You shouldn’t have done something worth apologizing for in the first place.”
The soldiers quickly fell silent, and the air was thick with tension.
Chloe quietly approached her father and greeted him.
“Duke Ardoth, I greet you.”
He didn’t answer her, just looked at her with a displeased expression.
Then, he gestured toward the carriage driver.
Behind Duke Ardoth, the black carriage with hundreds of magic stones embedded in its wheels stood.
It looked like an ordinary carriage, but its windows were covered, as if something secret was being transported.
Duke Ardoth glanced at Chloe and ordered the carriage driver.
“Take the guest’s carriage to the northernmost annex.”
By calling it the guest’s carriage, it was clear that someone important was inside.
Someone who would benefit the family.
Chloe glanced indifferently back at her father.
“I’ll say it again. I greet you, Duke Ardoth.”
“Hmph! After hiding away and becoming useless, you’re out today for what reason?”
“I have something to discuss.”
“Then come inside.”
Chloe straightened her back.
Her father, the great Duke Ardoth, had made the family twice as prosperous as before.
She gazed directly at the man who had never once embraced her as his daughter.
“If you want to be the successor, I’ll treat you like the successor, not my daughter.”
“…Yes.”
“Every gesture of yours will cost lives.”
“I’ll address you as Duke or Lord from now on.”
***
Chloe had always shrunk when standing before him.
But today was different.
Today, she had someone to save.
It wasn’t because she liked the child.
It was because she didn’t want the child, named Coco, to be forcibly broken by someone else’s hands.
“It’s about the Blessing Baby.”
Duke Ardoth’s eyes sharpened instantly.
“The child who caught the tiger, but couldn’t hold back and killed it?”
It seemed he had already heard all the news.
It was clear that Duke Ardoth’s eyes were everywhere.
“I’ll interrogate the criminal as soon as possible, you don’t need to worry about it.”
“No, Father. That child didn’t kill the tiger.”
“Evidence?”
“The child said they didn’t kill it.”
His gaze grew cold.
“Is that all? I thought you were supposed to be the one who was ‘out of it,’ but now your head is in the right place?”
“At least it’s working now.”
“Well, it seems your head’s completely turned. This is not something you should be meddling with, so don’t get involved.”
“When the matter is properly resolved, I’ll step back.”
The tension between the two of them was palpable.
Duke Ardoth stared at Chloe, who was just as stubborn.
“Anyway, you don’t back down even a little… Fine, come with me. I’ll interrogate my child myself.”
“….”
“That’s an order. You’ll observe the interrogation.”
“I’ll do as you say. But before that…”
“…Before that?”
Chloe’s lips twisted into a wicked smile.
