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Clang! Clang!
“Ugh…!”
The iron bars barely missed my head, striking my back and clattering to the ground. The sudden impact made my breath catch for a moment. I steadied myself against the slight wobble in my vision and checked the child cradled in my arms.
“Ah… ah…!”
The child seemed startled by the sudden event, unable to hide her confusion. Trembling and speechless, I first made sure she was unharmed. Luckily, there were no visible injuries. Relieved, I exhaled sharply.
“It’s… okay… ugh… ha… are you… okay?”
The iron bar had hit my back with considerable force. Each breath and word sent sharp pain shooting through me, making it difficult to speak. Glancing at the bars lying nearby, I understood why it hurt so much.
They were thin, but falling from such a height—two of them at once—no wonder my back was in agony. My spine seemed affected; breathing was painful, and my chest throbbed intensely. This was serious.
‘My luck’s really bad.’
In this condition, I couldn’t carry the child to find anyone else. Hopefully, Rek would bring Count Ezack quickly, but we were deep inside, and it seemed unlikely anyone could find us easily.
I wanted to send the child off safely, but she wasn’t in a stable state either. From the way her eyes shook, I could tell she was deeply unsettled, though thankfully she wasn’t trying to run away.
Ha… huu…
I tried to calm my rising panic with deep breaths as the pain worsened. First, I had to soothe the child. If she suddenly panicked and ran again, I wouldn’t be able to follow. I decided to handle the aftermath slowly.
At the very least, it was best not to move further. Even if Rek or others couldn’t reach us, Lucius would surely find us eventually.
‘He might have released the knights by now.’
If that was the case, he would eventually discover me and the child, even if late. I worried about how he’d react to my condition, but for now, I focused only on the situation at hand.
Closing my eyes for a moment, breathing became slightly easier than before. The pain remained, but I seemed to have grown used to the deep ache. The warmth of the child in my arms surprisingly helped calm me.
My body grew colder, sweat forming on my brow, yet my mind slowly steadied. When I opened my eyes, the child was quietly nestled against me. She still looked startled, but fortunately, her trembling had eased.
Blinking a few times through my dizzy vision, I raised a hand and gently stroked her head.
“Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid. It’s okay.”
“…”
“I met Rek and talked with him. He said he wants to apologize to you… said he’s sorry for picking the flowers, that it was wrong.”
“…Rek… was wrong?”
“Yes. He said he was wrong. He was angry because he couldn’t play with you… uh, because he couldn’t be with you… He said he wants to apologize. So…”
I strained to convey Rek’s feelings through the pain, but I wondered if the child even understood. Seeing her head hung low made me anxious. I wished I could explain better, but the pain made it impossible, which frustrated me.
Still, I had to finish. For Rek, for the child, for myself.
“So, let’s go back together. Let’s make up… and then we can all be together…”
“…Niya.”
“Huh…?”
As I pushed through the pain to persuade her, I heard the child mumble something. Her quiet voice made me frown slightly. Despite the pain clouding my mind, I leaned closer to hear her properly.
“No, it’s not… Rek didn’t do anything wrong. I… me and Lena… did something wrong.”
“What?”
“I… Lena… no, I… Lena… ugh, sniff…!”
The child’s trembling lips finally broke into sobs. The torn blue rose in her hands fell to the floor, and she cried even harder. I couldn’t hide my own helplessness.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… sniff… it’s… my fault…!”
“No, no, it’s okay. Don’t cry. It’s okay…”
“It’s… my fault… for Lena… sniff…! I’m sorry, I’m sorry… sniff…”
“It’s not your fault. Really. So don’t cry, okay?”
Watching the child repeatedly apologize and cry, I felt utterly lost. What could she possibly feel so guilty about? Seeing her say she was at fault while calling her sibling’s name twisted my heart painfully.
Whatever the connection to the fire incident, the child was not at fault. She wasn’t. Yet she cried as if she carried unbearable guilt.
She had lost her sibling, and nearly her own life in that accident. Whatever had happened, she was a victim too. Seeing such a small child unable to lift her head, as if she had committed an unforgivable crime, made me both ache with sympathy and frustrated with myself for not being able to soothe her.
‘I couldn’t even protect this little one…’
No matter the charitable works or support from behind the scenes, her emotional wounds wouldn’t heal so easily. Clenching my lips, I looked down at the mess of torn blue rose petals scattered on the floor. They mirrored her injured state, and I frowned.
Could I stop her tears somehow? Struggling through the intense pain, I held her closer and noticed a small pouch on my wrist.
‘Ah… maybe this…’
Inside was the item I had brought instead of a talisman. A glass bottle containing blue rose petals. Dried petals, but better than the torn flowers—perhaps enough to capture her attention. It might not stop her tears completely, but it was better than nothing.
With my weak hand, I struggled to open the pouch and took out the bottle. Inside, neatly stacked blue rose petals, and atop them, a slightly larger red petal.
Checking their vivid color and pristine state, I held the crying child’s hand and called her name.
“Rina.”
“…”
“Rina, do you want to see this?”
At the first time I had called her name, Rina flinched but slowly looked up. I gently wiped the tears from her cheeks and placed the glass bottle lightly on her open palm.
“…!”
Seeing the petals, her expression changed. She stopped crying, staring at the bottle with wide, shimmering eyes. The light slowly returned to her once-dull gaze. Though I was quietly overjoyed, I continued speaking.
“These are blue petals—the ones you grew.”
“…”
“And the blue roses you and your sibling gave me back then—I kept them safe. If we process the roses like this into petals, just like these, your and your sibling’s flowers can remain forever.”
The petals in the bottle had been processed by Baron Evitt for use in tea. The blue roses the two children had given me long ago had been dried carefully, keeping their color and scent surprisingly well.
If we asked the Baron to process the blue roses, we could turn them into petals too. Time had passed, but it wasn’t impossible.
“Even if they’re cut, torn, or damaged… the flowers you nurtured can live on in a new form. The same goes for the flowers your sibling grew. You’re taking care of them beautifully on their behalf…”
“…”
“So your and your sibling’s flowers will last forever. As you nurture them and share them with others… you and your sibling… ha… can continue together.”
Rina continued growing her sibling’s flowers. Not exactly the same, but she was following her sibling’s method. I could help ensure these flowers would thrive and even be sold widely in the future.
As an investor, I could formally propose a flower tea menu to Baron Evitt, or consider other culinary uses. The flowers could also be appreciated in their natural form. There were many ways to preserve the children’s flowers.
“I’ll make sure to do that. So you and your sibling can stay together… ugh…”
Considering her fragile state, this might not have been the best approach. It could strengthen her obsession with her lost sibling or prolong the trauma.
But even so, seeing a child tormented by guilt over a sibling she couldn’t save, I felt giving her hope was the priority.
Even if she couldn’t forget or meet her sibling, I wanted to give her a chance to cherish the time they had together. Even if it was just a faint hope, it might help her start to heal.
‘It might be selfish… but it helps ease the guilt…’
It could be a selfish way to cope with failing to save her sibling, yet I wanted to believe it was for her too. Her now-clear eyes, focused on the petals in the bottle, were proof.
“Ha… so let’s go back together.”
“…Mm…”
“…! Rina, hey…”
She held the bottle tightly and nodded in a small voice. Though my vision blurred from the pain, I could clearly see her soft smile.
Had my heart reached her? I wanted to be sure, but the pain overwhelmed me, and my eyes slowly closed.
“…Tiana…!”
I thought I heard Lucius calling me from afar. I struggled to stay conscious, but my strength failed. I collapsed, still holding the child, as Lucius’s voice drew closer.
“…I’ll… do it. I’m sorry…”
Rina’s small voice whispered in the fading light of consciousness before everything went dark.
