“Yeah. I already answered you!”
“W-w-wait a second!”
With a loud thud, Thunder jumped back in surprise and quickly scrambled to his feet again.
“L-l-let me ask again. Can you really hear me? I mean, not just as a ‘Neighhh’ sound?”
“Yep, I can hear you perfectly.”
Well, I am a pretty amazing former puppy, after all.
At those words, Thunder’s previously dull, lifeless eyes suddenly lit up with excitement.
“You’re not a fool—you’re a genius! Please, please! You have to help me! I’m in pain!”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Where does it hurt?”
Thunder, now wide-eyed and sparkling with energy, stuck out his tongue and said,
“Thrs a thrn hr! (There’s a thorn here!)”
I barely see it though…
So this so-called good horse is actually a crybaby, crying over a tiny thorn stuck in his tongue.
‘Luce must have really loved him.’
I carefully pulled out the tiny thorn that was almost invisible to the naked eye.
“So you stopped eating hay, carrots, and even drinking water, and you started bothering people, all because of this thorn?”
“Yeah! I was so stressed because of this stupid thing! But those so-called veterinarians couldn’t even find the thorn. Completely useless!”
Well, that’s because you kicked at anyone who tried to get close to you…
But that’s not the important part!
As I gently stroked Thunder’s magnificent mane, I asked,
“Anyway, all good now, right? So tell me! What does it mean to make a ‘gong’?”
“Ahem, ahem. Treating a magnificent horse like me is also a form of making a ‘gong’, you know!”
“Gasp! So pulling out a thorn is considered making a ‘gong’!”
“Exactly. But hey, kid—did you say you were adopted? Someone’s probably gonna steal your ‘gong’. This family’s not exactly nice to kids without anyone backing them up.”
“No way! I have to make a ‘gong’ so I can meet my sister!”
I grabbed my head with both hands and furrowed my brows.
‘How can I stop them from taking my ‘gong’?’
In my life, my number one priority is my sister. Number two is sweet potatoes.
When it comes to those two things, my usually slow brain kicks into overdrive.
* * *
Patricia, the veterinarian who had taken over for Dot, casually opened the barn door.
And then… Patricia was faced with a truly shocking scene.
“Hey, are you crazy?!”
There was a little kid—someone she had never seen before—freely stroking Thunder’s mane.
‘There’s no way an outsider could have gotten in. The barrier should’ve kept them out. How did this child get in?’
That could only mean… the child was from within the family.
Patricia was about to scream, but stopped mid-breath.
‘And more importantly… Thunder’s condition looks amazing.’
He wasn’t irritable, and he was calmly letting the child touch his mane.
Flustered, Patricia cautiously approached the unfamiliar child.
“Y-you… Who… who are you?”
“Me? I’m Coco!”
“Coco…”
When the baby puffed out her round little belly, something suddenly clicked in Patricia’s mind.
‘Oh, isn’t this the commoner kid who’s about to be sent back? What’s she doing here?’
With an annoyed look on her face, Patricia carelessly picked Coco up.
“I don’t know how you ended up in the barn, but for now, just stay here, little Miss.”
But the most important thing was Thunder’s condition.
Patricia quickly looked around.
Fortunately, there were some animal diagnostic tools stored in the barn for emergencies.
“My goodness…”
The result of checking Thunder’s condition was astonishing.
Even after examining his eyes, front teeth, legs, and more, there was nothing wrong.
On top of that, he didn’t even try to kick—he was completely calm.
He even let out a long, lazy yawn, as if he were genuinely content.
Patricia smiled as she gently brushed Thunder’s mane.
“You’re pretty good, aren’t you?”
“Huuh?”
“How did you manage to calm such a sensitive horse?”
Thunder, the renowned steed most cherished by Luce, a direct heir of the family, had fully recovered.
The reward for this would surely be something unimaginable—far beyond what a mere child could even dream of.
If that’s the case…
“Anyway, I should report this immediately. I’ll say I was the one who treated Thunder, the noble horse.”
“Huh? But I healed him. You just said I did a good job…”
“Oh no, I misspoke. On second thought, it seems I actually healed him just now using those tools over there.”
Patricia quickly took control of the situation with her words and shrugged, acting like it was nothing.
‘Well, the kid doesn’t know anything anyway. Besides, there’s no way a child like that could have actually healed Thunder.’
There was a widely known rumor that Coco was just a regular person who hadn’t even awakened a divine mark.
‘Must’ve been just a coincidence. Good timing, that’s all.’
Patricia sneered inwardly.
“Little Miss, you should head back to the annex now, okay?”
“Huh? B-but wait, I still have something to say…”
“Hurry up. I’ll call a maid to escort you, so please go now.”
Her tone was forceful, like she was trying to quickly brush off an annoying child, but so what?
‘The kid’s going to be kicked out soon anyway.’
Humming cheerfully, she effortlessly lifted Coco into her arms.
“Let’s go, little Miss.”
She even took the trouble to close the barn door with her other hand.
‘Aah, I can’t wait to meet Young Lord Luce. I wonder what kind of reward I’ll receive.’
* * *
“It’s really you, Patricia… you’re the one who treated Thunder?”
“Yes, I did it.”
Veterinarian Dot had returned after hearing Patricia’s report.
After personally checking Thunder’s condition, his eyes widened in shock.
“Incredible. How did you manage it?”
“Haha, it was nothing really.”
Light praise continued to follow when—
Suddenly, the barn door slammed open with a loud bang.
“I heard Thunder has fully recovered. Where is he?”
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
The one who carelessly flung open the barn door was Luce Ardoth.
A man with short black hair and sharp, clear eyes.
His very presence was enough to overwhelm those around him, and on top of that, he possessed the rare supernatural ability to control wind.
However, despite his impressive public reputation, the opinions within the family were far less favorable.
He had long been dismissed as a potential heir and was widely regarded as nothing more than a reckless man obsessed with his own pleasures.
“I just couldn’t focus on anything else, you see. So, what was the diagnosis?”
Dot, now under Luce’s cold gaze, wiped the sweat from his forehead and mumbled,
“W-we haven’t identified the illness yet.”
“You don’t know what the illness was, but somehow you managed to cure our Thunder?”
Patricia, her cheeks flushing, quickly cut in.
“Ah, yes! I noticed Thunder seemed to have some digestive discomfort, so I cut his carrots into smaller pieces than usual.”
“Hmm, that’s all? Sounds a bit suspicious.”
Luce’s words made Patricia awkwardly reach out to stroke Thunder’s mane, trying to prove her point.
“See? He’s completely comfortable with me now—”
But at that very moment—
“Neighhhh!”
Thunder, who had been calm and gentle just moments before, suddenly reared back and kicked violently.
His body language was an intense, unmistakable rejection.
“…Comfortable with you?”
“A-ah, ha ha ha… W-well, I mean… Why is he acting like this…?”
As Patricia’s flustered expression deepened, Luce narrowed his eyes and stared sharply at Thunder.
Just then, Thunder stopped kicking. With elegant steps, he trotted in Luce’s direction.
“Hmm? Thunder, if you wanted to come to me, you should’ve just—”
…But Thunder calmly walked right past Luce.
With graceful ease, he slipped through the slightly open barn door.
“…Thunder?”
All eyes followed as Thunder made his way to the sign that read ‘Barn’ and stopped in front of it.
And there, standing by that sign…
“Ah, Thunder!”
A child with silvery hair like starlight, chubby cheeks, and soft iris-colored eyes came running toward him.
