BSBD | Chapter 15

~Chapter 15~

A long time ago, when the very first head of the Claudian family made a ring for her beloved husband—

She found the most expensive and beautiful sapphire to form the band, and surrounded it with the finest diamonds, like building a wall around it.

Then, she breathed a part of Claudian’s power into it.

A single, weak breeze from the raging storms.

A single, tiny droplet of water.

A single, quick spark of lightning.

Because of that, Claudian’s power could never attack the one wearing the ring.

Why? Because the ring was made from the weakest, smallest parts of the storm.

It was a ring created out of love, pieced together with fragile things meant to be protected.

And now, after all that time, that same power of Claudian gathered once again in Clover’s hands.

The summoned beasts of the Claudian bloodline, who had long turned into water and rain and fallen asleep inside the Claudian fountain—

From their powers, only the gentlest, weakest parts, the ones that needed protecting the most, gathered in Clover’s small palms.

Flash!

A burst of blue light shot out from her hands like lightning.

Clover, still held tightly in Khalid’s arms, just stared blankly at her palm.

She didn’t know what was happening.

But she could feel the warmth spreading through her hand, telling her clearly:

“This isn’t a power meant to hurt you.

We’re not here to harm you.

We’re here to cherish you and protect you.”

“Clover… is this the first time you’ve ever seen something like this…?”

Clover mumbled dazedly.

But no one could answer her—because none of them had ever seen anything like it either.

Still, they didn’t need words to understand what was happening.

The water and wind swirling in Clover’s palm slowly spun to the left… and then seeped into her skin.

Slowly, but surely.

Claudian’s power, meant for protection, was being absorbed into four-year-old Clover’s body.

It was a blessing.

The same blessing the first head once gave her beloved husband—

Now, after so much time had passed, it was being given again by Claudian’s ancestors, Khalid, Arwin, and Damian, all together.

A glowing blue mark of Claudian’s crest appeared on Clover’s wrist.

Spark.

It shone one last time before her eyes and then everything vanished.

The sky cleared, bright and clean.

***

“…This is truly a miracle.”

Claudian’s personal doctor, Shina, said after examining Clover.

The girl had a few scrapes and scratches from being tossed around during the storm, but nothing was broken.

And now, even sitting right next to Khalid, she felt no pain, no nosebleeds.

All thanks to Claudian’s blessing. That power was protecting her.

“How could something like this even happen…?”

“So, is it safe for her to live here or not, Shina?” Arwin pressed impatiently.

Shina adjusted his monocle and nodded.

“It should be fine. She can safely stay here without worry.”

At those words, Clover, who had been tense this whole time, melted into Khalid’s arms and let out a soft smile.

“Thank goodness…”

She really wanted to stay here.

Being sent back to the Demper house would be worse than death.

And being sent to some other family? She hated that too.

Lucky had told her long ago: Home is where you can be safe.

And for Clover, this was home.

So she wanted to stay here, under Claudian’s protection, always.

And now… I really can.

She didn’t have to tremble in fear anymore, wondering if she’d be sent away.

Just that thought alone made her so happy she could burst.

“Daddy, isn’t it great? I can stay here, right?”

Clover tilted her head up at Khalid.

“Yes, Clover.”

Khalid hugged her tightly.

Her small body, a little warmer than an adult’s, heated him all the way through.

“Yes, it’s wonderful. You did well.”

“Hehe.”

Clover beamed proudly at his praise, her little shoulders lifting in delight.

“But Clover, I want to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

“How did you know the ring was in that fountain?”

Because Khalid had searched it himself once.

Records had hinted it might be hidden there, so he had combed through every inch.

But he’d found nothing.

And yet Clover did.

“Umm…”

Clover fiddled with her fingers before answering.

“Kitty told me.”

“Kitty?”

“The kitty that smells like Daddy.”

At Khalid’s signal, the North Wind Lion suddenly appeared at his side.

Massive body, flowing mane, claws sharp and terrifying. It glanced briefly at Clover.

And then—

…

With a quiet shift, it dropped its fearsome image and padded over to Clover as a cat.

It even reached out with its paw and tapped her cheek gently, like checking if she was okay.

Damian and Arwin stared, jaws hanging open.

“What the hell… is it pretending to be cute?”

“Father, wait—can a summoned beast even pretend?”

The same lion that normally roared and threatened anyone near Khalid was now cuddling against Clover’s cheek like a kitten.

For the brothers, who used to cry daily from being bullied by that very beast when they were little, this was unthinkable.

“Is this really the same cat?”

But Khalid wasn’t shaken like them. He simply pointed at the “cat.”

“Yes, that’s the one.”

Clover’s smile brightened. She threw her arms around the “cat’s” neck, and the beast snuggled right into her hold without complaint.

As Clover happily stroked its soft fur, she explained:

“It woke me up at dawn and told me where the treasure was.”

“…It talked to you?”

“Yes.” Clover nodded firmly.

The room went silent.

“…Really… talked?”

“Yes. It spoke.”

…Was she not supposed to say that?

Clover shrank a little, peeking at Khalid nervously. Maybe she’d done something wrong.

But Khalid’s shock wasn’t because of that.

Arwin muttered under his breath.

“A summoned beast… spoke with someone else…?”

Normally, summoned beasts could only communicate with their master. And even then, not with words—through a bond of shared feelings.

Because a summoned beast was just part of its master’s own power.

So if Clover could talk to someone else’s summoned beast… that meant she could tap into another person’s power.

Which was… very dangerous.

Other power-users outside the family would never tolerate someone interfering with their powers.

“No, Clover, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Khalid calmed himself and stroked her head.

“But we’ll need to check—see just how many summoned beasts you can talk to.”

Clover thought for a bit, then held up two fingers.

“The kitty and Lucky. Just those two. I never tried with any others.”

“Not even back at the Demper estate?”

“No, I was too busy running away whenever I saw summoned beasts there…”

After all, her mean aunt’s beasts were nothing she wanted to deal with.

“And Lucky said talking to beasts should stay a secret.”

Clover glanced up at the golden four-leaf clover who had been watching silently all this time.

Then Damian asked, curious:

“If it’s supposed to be a secret, why tell us?”

“Because…” Clover nodded seriously.

“Lucky said, at home, you don’t need secrets.”

Home is where you live freely, without rules or secrets.

And now Clover finally had a home. So she could say it.

With a bashful little smile, Clover whispered—

“I’m so happy I finally have a home…”