Chapter 67
Hiding under the soft blanket, Chloe muttered to herself.
I finally have a mom now.
And not just any mom—a mom who loves me even if I’m just a “worm.”
But that wasn’t all.
“Why are you so scared, kid?”
“……”
“Even if it’s a mistake, it’s the adults’ mistake, not yours. Why are you tiptoeing around?”
There was also her little uncle, ruffling her hair with a face full of frustration at seeing her cry.
“Of course, Chloe!”
“This time, I’ll win faster and more surely than before!”
And an uncle who, with just a look of faith from her, tried in every way to win the trial she had asked for.
And most of all:
“It’s okay, Chloe. No matter whose child you are, no matter your lineage.”
“……”
“The fact that you’re my daughter doesn’t change.”
Even though the verdict had declared her a fake, her father promised to protect her.
Sniffling loudly, Chloe couldn’t help but sob under the blanket.
She felt a distant, almost dizzying emotion.
Why do the adults love me so much for something I haven’t done?
I really haven’t done anything at all.
But the brief moment of sobbing over the depth of their love soon passed.
Don’t cry, you fool!
Chloe quickly wiped her tears and gently slapped her own cheeks with her small hands.
The people I need to protect have increased. There are now a hundred more reasons why a war must not happen!
Wiping her nose solemnly on her pajama sleeve, Chloe’s eyes sparkled with determination.
To stop the mastermind trying to sow discord, the first thing I must do…
…is to figure out the identity of the mastermind.
I need to understand why they want a war, and what benefits they hope to gain from this chaos.
To do that, she had to identify the spy who had spread false information to both families.
Chloe nodded decisively.
Tomorrow, I’ll go to my little uncle’s study. There will surely be a hint there.
Satisfied with her plan, Chloe hopped up and quietly tiptoed toward the door.
Tomorrow’s tasks are all set.
She carefully opened the door and peered into the dim hallway.
Now, I have to calm the forces that must never side with others…
Humming to herself, she tiptoed toward the distant door where Zion’s room was. Then, suddenly, she turned back and ran to her bed.
I should at least take this with me, right?
Grabbing a pillow as big as her torso, Chloe turned and walked back toward the door.
Click. The door opened.
Pat-pat-pat. The sound of her small footsteps echoed through the empty hallway, fading into the darkness.
After shooing away the persistent servant who wanted to sing her a lullaby, Zion washed himself alone and glared at the bed with a sullen expression.
Why is the way they treat kids so extreme?
From dressing him to feeding him, the servants of the Liander family interfered in every little thing—it was unbearably burdensome.
Liander family children must grow up without independence, he thought.
Sitting at the edge of the soft bed, Zion glanced at the neatly arranged dolls at the headboard. One caught his eye—the one with the dumbest expression.
A pure white rabbit doll, resembling the only child in the castle.
Who at seven years old still plays with something like that?
Annoyed, Zion pressed the rabbit’s nose, and the soft stuffed toy squished under the pressure.
Watching the flattened doll, Zion gently lifted the squished parts back into shape.
Whether doll or human, a cheerful, silly face was always better than one twisted in tears.
As he stared at the doll, a past scene from the laboratory came to mind.
The white rabbit, even smaller than this doll, had once dashed frantically across the room.
Back then, he’d thought it was just a hallucination from pain, but now he realized it had been real.
After all, Chloe Arus’s true identity was that white rabbit.
The aggressive voices of adults echoed in Zion’s ears.
“A rabbit humanoid? Born between a lion humanoid and a wolf humanoid, a herbivorous animal humanoid!”
“Tell us, Miss Chloe. What can you do with that tiny rabbit body of yours?”
At that trial, Chloe had gone pale listening to those harsh words, but she had tried her best to appear unfazed.
Even though she must have known she would be attacked, why had she still saved him?
It would have been easier to pretend not to know, or to run away.
Even as a rabbit, there was no reason to rush and alert anyone.
The more he thought about why she had done it, the deeper the mystery became.
At the same time, a deep pit seemed to open in his heart.
Into that pit, the tiny white rabbit leapt.
But that was all.
No amount of help from her could fill the endlessly dark pit.
What meaning would it have to understand why she had helped him?
Shaking off the pointless thoughts, Zion looked at the unfamiliar room with resigned eyes.
Rounded furniture. Soft fabrics in warm colors.
These were things only fitting for a soft, doll-like Chloe Arus.
It was a warmth far removed from him.
Well, to prove my worth, I need to head back to the training grounds tomorrow.
He quickly turned off the light, lay down on the bed, pulled the blanket over himself, and closed his eyes.
Beyond the darkness, the white rabbit’s vigorous front paws slowly blurred and disappeared.
And then:
Zion Demos, it’s your fault!
As if waiting for the white light to vanish, black snakes crawled out from under the bed.
Changing locations hadn’t changed the nightmare.
The nightmare followed him from the laboratory to this unfamiliar place.
It’s your fault. You killed me.
The faceless snakes’ illusions slithered up onto the bed, tongues flicking.
The black-scaled creatures all spoke in the voices of the dead from the lab.
Because you weren’t strong enough. Because you didn’t try hard enough!
Amid cries pleading for mercy and words of blame, the last images of unknown people stacked upon the darkness behind his closed eyes.
People with the same hair and eye color as him, dying before his eyes.
A monster that survived by devouring its own kind.
The light blanket felt like a heavy shackle.
He could smell the metallic tang of blood in the otherwise fragrant air of the room.
You’re a disgusting monster. Do you think you deserve to live?
He knew—they were all just phantoms created by his guilt.
Nothing more than illusions.
But as the faceless snakes covered his body, he felt as if a wet cloth was pressed over his nose and mouth.
Die, Zion Demos. Just die, Zion Demos!
In the midst of familiar curses and self-loathing, Zion began to fall into despair.
Then—
Creak. Someone carefully turned the door handle.
Light poured through the slightly open door, and the snakes instantly retreated back under the bed.
Still, Zion remained lying there, eyes closed, as if the snakes were still wrapping him.
Tap-tap. The cautious footsteps of a child approached.
Hesitant at first, the steps slowly but surely reached the bed.
It was obvious—this was no assassin.
An assassin? That thought was ridiculous.
Because the sound was unmistakably that of a child.
“Zion, a-are you… asleep?”
Trying to confirm he was asleep, Chloe peeked several times and carefully reached toward his face.
Sensing the shadow moving gently before him, Zion opened his eyes.
“Oh, so you weren’t asleep.”
The moon in Liander territory was much brighter and larger than the one in Demos territory, at least to Zion.
Otherwise, there was no way the child would have been visible so clearly in this dark night.
