Chapter 17
“Huh? What is it?”
The tiger told me about a food it had heard other tigers eat when they had ‘black soot’ on their paws.
[But I’ve never seen it, so I don’t know what it is…]
“Tell me, and I’ll go get it for you!”
[The thorns of the blue rose…]
…Something’s off.
I blinked several times and muttered the phrase “thorns of the blue rose” before suddenly exclaiming.
“Blue rose thorns, right?”
The tiger’s black pupils widened.
[If you get them…]
It then wrote something small on the ground.
I read it all and nodded.
“It should be fine. I’ll go get it!”
“Baby, where are you going?”
To get the tiger!
I ran out quickly.
***
After the social gathering, Patricia secretly called Lady Lea Amond to speak with her.
“Duke Ardoth has given orders. He wants to reward the tiger spirit beast, which he cherishes dearly.”
“Hmm… Even if it’s old, a spirit beast is still a spirit beast. And it’s supposed to have invisibility powers. I thought it was just a normal tiger, but it actually had such abilities.”
“Exactly.”
“But don’t worry, Patricia. I checked with the Senate, and they said there’s no possibility that the child is the Blessing Baby.”
“Really? I see…”
But even as she said that, Patricia looked uneasy.
That child had visited Chloe’s mansion multiple times and was close with her stepbrother, Rus.
“…But Chloe’s condition is strange. Normally, she would’ve called the maid to check the situation, but now she’s too far gone for that.”
Chloe had fired the head maid of her mansion a year ago, making it difficult to monitor her actions.
Patricia’s face showed irritation.
“So, the tiger is staying in Rus’s barn?”
“Yes. When the tiger went back to its original pen, it started rampaging, so until Duke Ardoth returns, Doctor Dot has been taking care of it.”
“The tiger is still in bad condition, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then there’s still a chance for us.”
More specifically, there was a chance to steal the credit for ‘saving the tiger’ before Duke Ardoth comes back.
***
I hummed happily as I ran to find the blue rose.
Honestly, I had no idea what a blue rose was or what it could do. But, naturally!
‘It has to be in the field where my sister and I always walked!’
The field near the Duke Ardoth’s mansion, right next to my grave.
That field was the best field in the world.
There had to be a blue rose there!
‘There are so many wildflowers, and I know almost all their names!’
Sometimes, I even found edible ones.
‘My sister never let me pick them, though!’
But still, that vast field where I used to sniff around every day with my sister!
…Except, when I reached the bench in the middle of the field, I ran into someone unexpected.
“Ah, Welm!”
“…What are you doing here?”
Ah, again.
That annoying look I get when my sister sees me doing something wrong!
“Why aren’t you at home? Why are you wandering around?”
“Umm…”
I thought about how to explain it, but I decided to just get to the point.
“I’m here to get a blue rose because the tiger wanted to eat it! Chloe, do you know about blue roses?”
“…What’s a blue rose?”
“…?”
“Do you know the meaning of the blue rose?”
“No!”
My sister tilted her head toward me.
“Impossible.”
I blinked wide-eyed.
With a playful expression, she said mischievously, “There’s no such thing as a blue rose in this world.”
…What? No way!
I slumped to the ground in disbelief.
***
‘So pure.’
Chloe chuckled softly and brushed her hair back.
It had been so long since she smiled like that.
“Actually, there is one.”
“Huh?!”
Seeing a child cry and laugh at her words felt… quite strange.
“Come with me.”
…It wasn’t bad at all.
After walking for about five minutes, she pointed to a small garden covered in blue hydrangeas.
“Is that it?”
“Yep.”
“That’s not a rose, it’s a hydrangea…”
How transparent could she be?
She looked at me as if I were a fool.
“Yes, people call the pistil of a blue hydrangea ‘the thorn of a blue rose.’ It’s a metaphor.”
…Now her gaze turned to one of a genius.
“Wow, how do you know that?”
“Well…”
“Sister, no, Chloe, you must be a genius!”
I smiled brightly like a little child.
Chloe unconsciously thought about why she knew so much about this field.
She used to run around the vast field, laughing with dust all over her body, with her sparkling black eyes.
It was because of little Coco, who she had loved so dearly.
She had a tightness in her chest.
She sat down in front of the field filled with blue hydrangeas and spoke casually.
“Coco…”
“Coco!”
“Not you, our Coco.”
The child pouted and stuck out her lips.
Chloe turned her head and mumbled.
“…Coco loved this place.”
“Right!”
“That’s why I keep the field the same as it used to be.”
“Ah…”
“Which is why you shouldn’t come here anymore.”
There were three circles on the ground in front of the field.
She whispered softly.
“When you run around, you ruin the grass. Coco’s footprints are still there, from when she walked here.”
“Ugh…”
“If human feet touch it, Coco’s footprints will fade away.”
“…Che. So, can I pick the hydrangeas here as long as I don’t touch Coco’s footprints?”
Seeing Coco sulking, Chloe picked one of the blue hydrangeas.
“Here.”
She handed me the hydrangea, and I began to pull off the pistil, struggling with it.
She thought to herself.
She was feeling a bit shaken, even with the child she had only met recently.
Just like the first time Coco met her in the bedroom and their eyes locked.
***
While I struggled to pull off the pistil of the hydrangea, I sniffed.
‘It smells like sadness!’
I looked up at Chloe, who was still near me.
I noticed her eyes were slightly red.
‘Did I make her sad by talking about Coco?’
I hesitantly asked, “Are you sad because you miss Coco?”
“I don’t miss her.”
“Che. So blunt.”
I slouched my shoulders.
‘I crossed the Rainbow Bridge and came back just because I missed her!’
Chloe stared at me quietly, then picked another blue hydrangea.
She silently selected only the pistil and handed it to me.
“I don’t miss her. I want to meet her.”
“….”
“Just looking at her is not enough. So, just once…”
She turned away.
“Just once, I want to meet her and hug her. Our Coco’s heart beats twice as fast as a human’s. So she’s twice as warm.”
“….”
“I had to trim her fur before she died. I wonder why I did that.”
That’s right. She was so warm!
“It must have been cold.”
It wasn’t cold at all.
She always hugged me, so I was always warm!
But my lips shut tight, and I couldn’t say anything.
‘Maybe I can’t say I’m Coco yet.’
It’s because my bond with her isn’t strong enough yet…
I watched Chloe sadly when she suddenly spoke.
“I must have done something wrong. She doesn’t even appear in my dreams.”
Chloe quietly stood up.
“I guess she’s forgotten all about me and is happily living her life.”
No. I’m here with you!
But I couldn’t say that, so I only pouted.
“It’s fine. It was just a thought. Well, you got the thorn of the blue rose, so that’s good.”
“…Uh…”
“Do what you need to.”
Before I could reply, she quickly left, her face cold as the wind blew.
But as I watched her leave, I instinctively sniffed again.
The salty, bitter smell filled the air.
I suddenly thought to myself.
‘Sister must have cried a lot. Because I wasn’t there…’
I watched her walk away, then looked down at the blue hydrangea thorn, or rather, the blue hydrangea pistil, in my hand.
It’s okay.
We’ll have a future together.
‘I’ll make sure she recognizes me. I’ll work hard.’
I won’t let her cry alone anymore.
And in that moment, a small shimmering light appeared at my fingertips.
