Chapter 84
Boris had wandered deep into the rose maze without permission. I walked for five minutes and still couldn’t find him.
Worried, I randomly roamed the maze and eventually made it to the fountain at the center—and, just as I guessed, he was there.
It must’ve been hot, because he was splashing water from the fountain all over himself.
As I walked closer, Boris glared at me and said,
“Do you know why I came here?”
“No. I don’t.”
“The sound of the fountain is really loud, you know?”
It really was. Despite being just a fountain, the water pressure made it sound like a roaring stream in the mountains.
Boris sat on the edge and added,
“That means—no matter what happens here, no one outside the maze can hear it.”
“What? Then close your legs.”
“?”
I walked up to him and tapped his left leg with my knee, then sat down next to him.
Boris’s eyes widened in shock.
“Are you crazy?!”
“My legs hurt, so I sat down. Can’t you see my thin, delicate legs? Oh, wait, you probably can’t.”
I was wearing a dress, after all.
I raised my leg and showed him how it barely looked different from my arms.
Boris’s eyes turned red with anger as he growled.
“How dare you sit on the same bench as me?!”
“Ugh, so childish. Why can’t you behave maturely and gracefully like me?”
His mouth dropped open wide enough to fit a fist.
But I didn’t plan to stay here long, so I quickly brought up what I came to ask.
“About Oscar’s puppy. Did you really do that?”
…Ugh, seriously. His hands are so quick!
“Urgh…”
“Hey!”
Boris grabbed my collar and yanked me backward.
“Didn’t you hear what Oscar said?”
If he let go now, I’d fall straight into the fountain.
His eyes flared as he barked,
“I already said I did it. Why are you asking again?”
“Uunng… mmua…”
The noise woke up my half-sweet-potato baby, who had been sleeping peacefully in my arms.
Only then did Boris notice the baby and scowl.
“What is that monster?”
Excuse me?
Did he just call my sweet potato a monster?
“Go look in the mirror, you gorilla!”
I carefully set the baby beside me and yanked Boris’s hair hard.
“Aaaaah! Let go! Let go!”
“No!”
I gritted my teeth and fell backward.
Splash!
We both ended up falling into the fountain.
“Gah! Cough! Ack!”
I was prepared, so I quickly stood up from the water and got out before Boris.
“Gigglegiggle! Mumma! Ummma!”
My baby clapped—well, sweet-potato-clapped—and laughed loudly.
I quickly picked him up and stepped away from the fountain.
“Cough! Gah!”
Boris came up coughing and stared at me with burning eyes.
I stood firm and said,
“You know why people call you a mama’s boy? It’s because of stuff like this. If you really think of yourself as your family’s successor, you shouldn’t be treating me like this. You could hurt the family’s reputation. But since your mom always fixes everything, you feel safe to throw tantrums. And yet, you still get mad when people call you a mama’s boy. Isn’t that so immature?”
“…Hah. I knew it. Just because you made it into the palace, you think you’re someone important now? That’s all you’ve got.”
“Well, at least I’m not a mama’s boy like you.”
“Say that again. I dare you.”
“What if I do?”
I smirked at Boris.
“You said I have nothing, so I’ve got nothing to lose. But you—aren’t you the one with the family name to protect? Then act more responsibly!”
Boris’s eyes turned cold.
Now he was really dangerous.
As he stomped toward me, I touched the red bracelet on my wrist and whispered,
“I’ll give you two gems later. Get ready.”
The bracelet started to glow and vibrate.
At that exact moment, Boris lunged at me—and the bracelet shot out like a spinning top, wrapping tightly around his neck.
“Ummuuaaaaaaa!”
Wait…
It wasn’t just the bracelet.
“What the—?! What kind of monster is this?!”
“Oh no! What’s it doing?!”
Roots started growing from my baby sweet potato.
But instead of going into the ground like usual, the roots stretched out and wrapped around Boris’s arms and legs, completely tying him up.
“Ummmma! Um—Um!”
My baby was so angry, he stuttered while glaring at Boris like he was ready to fight.
With his limbs tied and the bracelet choking his neck, Boris was lifted into the air, his face turning pale.
“What… what are you even carrying around with you?!”
I gently covered my baby’s eyes and tried to calm him down.
“Please. With your nasty habit of grabbing people, do you think I’d come here unprotected?”
“Put me down right now!”
“Why should I?”
I pretended to think for a moment, then walked back to the fountain with my baby in my arms.
Boris, still tied up, floated behind us.
I set my baby in the water, thinking he’d feel better since he liked swimming.
Just as I hoped, his angry expression relaxed, and he giggled happily.
But… he didn’t let go of Boris.
With no other choice, I sat by the fountain again and looked up at Boris—who was now hanging midair in an X shape.
“You looked really hot earlier. Is it cooler up there?”
“Shut up!”
His face turned red and blue as he screamed at me.
I just waved my hand in his face like I wasn’t listening.
“Look, I didn’t ask anything hard. I just asked if you really did that to Oscar’s puppy. Why are you so mad?”
“I said I did it! Why bring it up again?!”
Every time my baby splashed, Boris shook in the air. Finally, he broke down and shouted,
“Fine! Yes! I did it! I broke that tiny mutt’s leg! It was cruel and disgusting. Happy now?! Why do you care so much?!”
He was thrashing around so much that he started gagging.
I sighed.
“Then describe everything from that time, in detail.”
“Detail?! Are you crazy?!”
“I won’t let you go unless I’m satisfied with your answer. And don’t pretend to be calm either. You’re terrible at faking it. Just answer properly.”
I stood up and moved closer to him.
“Seriously. Was it really you?”
“…Are you saying it wasn’t?”
Boris trembled, caught between anger and dizziness. I calmly answered,
“Yeah. I don’t think it was you.”
“…What?”
He froze, forgetting even to shake. His face went blank.
“What nonsense is this? What are you scheming?!”
“Then tell me—how did you find the puppy, how did you break its leg, what did the ground look like, what color were the flowers, were they rainbow-colored, and did shoes grow on the trees?!”
I scolded him while glaring.
“Can’t you take a second to think before you talk? Just once? Be serious for once in your life!”
“…Do you even hear yourself right now?”
Boris mumbled in disbelief. He looked down and bit his lip.
I paced in front of him.
“From now on, think for thirty seconds before you talk. I’m counting in my head.”
“…You want me to clearly remember something from five years ago? You must’ve hit your head or something. Shoes growing on trees? Seriously?”
“Should I cover your mouth for 30 seconds too?”
“I thought it was a dream back then!”
…A dream?
“Did you just say it was a dream?”
Oh, hey, didn’t we hear that the third savior has dream powers?