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“Haa… where did they go?”
I had chased after the child who had bolted, but in the end, I lost sight of them. I paused for a moment to catch my breath. Even after reaching the back of the main building of the greenhouse, there was still no sign of the child.
“I need to find them quickly…”
Above all else, I was worried about the child in such an agitated state. The image of them shouting at the broken and trampled flowers, their eyes shaking with emotion, kept replaying in my mind. I had to find them quickly—there was no telling what they might do in this state.
My heels burned from running so fast, but there was no time to care about that. To find the child as soon as possible, I resumed running, this time taking the opposite path.
“Huh? That child is…”
As I scanned every possible hiding spot, I finally spotted a boy sitting under a large tree. It was the same boy who had run off earlier.
“Ugh… sniff…”
I approached cautiously. His face was flushed red as he cried quietly. Watching him struggle to stifle his sobs tugged at my heart. When our eyes met, he wiped his tears on his sleeve.
“…!”
“Ah, wait a moment!”
The boy jumped up in surprise at seeing me and tried to run, so I rushed forward to block him. Startled, he stumbled back and tripped over a stone, nearly falling.
“Ah…!”
“Careful!”
I reached out and caught him just in time, pulling him safely into my arms. I let out a sigh of relief and looked at the child I had caught, still startled but now calmed by being held. As soon as our eyes met, he struggled, trying to break free.
“L-let me go!”
“Wait a moment. Calm down. It’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you.”
I gently released him from my arms, but softly held his hands to prevent him from running. Smiling at his flinch, I smoothed his disheveled hair and clothes.
“I’m sorry for grabbing you so suddenly. But really, I’m not here to do anything bad to you, so don’t worry.”
“……”
“You must have been startled. Take a deep breath and calm down.”
I brushed off the dirt from his pants where he had been sitting. He had a small scrape on his leg, probably from falling. A little blood had seeped out, so I took a handkerchief and carefully cleaned it, wrapping the wound gently so it wouldn’t hurt.
The child, quietly watching my actions, seemed to relax a little. I noticed tear stains around his reddened eyes and gently wiped them. He then cautiously asked:
“Pretty sister… who… who are you?”
…Pretty sister? I appreciated the compliment, but it caught me off guard. I chuckled lightly at the child’s innocent question. Just moments ago, he had been wary and trying to run away; now, his demeanor had completely changed.
Perhaps it was because I treated him kindly. The tension was gone, replaced with curiosity as he looked up at me.
Was this his usual personality? I smiled slightly at how his sorrowful crying had vanished.
“Hmm, I know the director here. I just came to visit for a bit today.”
“Director?”
“Yes. Your name is Rek, right?”
“How do you know my name?”
His wide-eyed curiosity made me laugh as I gently patted his head. Blushing slightly, he accepted my touch, his freckles standing out as he wrinkled his nose.
“I saw you with the director earlier. I also saw you shouting and running off.”
“Ah…”
“You seemed to have a fight with a girl. Why?”
“I didn’t fight!”
Rek exclaimed. Surprised, I looked at him as he poured out his feelings, his face trembling with emotion.
“I didn’t fight with Rina! I just wanted to eat lunch together, but Rina was only looking at the flowers, so…”
“You were annoyed, huh?”
“Yeah… I tried talking to her, but she wouldn’t answer or pay attention to me. She looks at those flowers every day…”
I realized then that it made sense. He wanted to play together, but she ignored him, so he got frustrated. Judging by his reaction, it seemed he liked Rina.
Feeling both the cuteness and sadness of his innocent affection, I held his hands and asked gently:
“Were you very close to Rina before she started just looking at the flowers?”
“Yes. We played together a lot, ate together, played around… but after the accident and when she returned from the hospital, we couldn’t play anymore. Other friends played together, but Rina looked at the flowers every day…”
“I see.”
Having been close before the accident, he must have been surprised by the change in his friend. She probably ignored him, but he hadn’t given up—a sign of his persistence, though I worried he might have seen or done something reckless. Fortunately, his expression and words showed no sign of that.
“So that’s why you picked and threw the flowers she was growing?”
“Yes. I hated that she only looked at the flowers.”
“But those flowers were important to Rina. Doesn’t it feel wrong to just pick them and throw them away like that?”
“Well….”
“If another friend destroyed something important to you, you’d be really angry, right?”
“…Yes. I’d be very angry. Ugh… sniff… I’m sorry…”
Rek admitted his wrongdoing and lowered his head, crying. Seeing him acknowledge his mistake, I could tell he was naturally a good-hearted child.
He just wanted attention from the one he liked, wanted to play together, and his feelings came out in the wrong way. Whatever frustrations he had been holding back had erupted. I sighed lightly, feeling it was all from his pure heart, and patted him gently.
“It’s okay now.”
“Yes. That’s good. You’re a good kid.”
Holding him for a moment, he calmed down faster than I expected. Now that I understood what had happened, I needed to find Rina. Since he said they were close, maybe he knew where she might have gone. I gently wiped the tears from his reddened eyes and asked:
“After you ran off, Rina ran away too. I looked around but couldn’t find her. Do you know where she might have gone?”
“Where Rina might have gone… probably the greenhouse.”
“The greenhouse? The one where the accident happened?”
“Yes. Rina stayed there every day except when she looked at flowers.”
“I see.”
The greenhouse where the accident had occurred… I hadn’t gone there on purpose, worried it would trigger trauma. But it seemed that was exactly where she would be. Maybe she didn’t want to leave the place where her sibling had died. I swallowed a sigh of mixed feelings and said to Rek:
“Okay, thank you. I’ll go check it out. Could you go back and find the director?”
“Can’t I go too? I want to apologize to Rina.”
“She might still be crying. If she’s really angry, reconciling with you will be hard. I’ll go first and talk to her. Can you come with the director? Both you and Rina ran off suddenly, and the director must be worried.”
“The director… okay! I’ll go with the director.”
Rek nodded decisively, smiling brightly. He clenched his fist as if determined to find her, and it made me chuckle.
“Good. Be careful not to fall.”
“Yes!”
I patted his head, and Rek ran off. Watching him go, I hurried toward the greenhouse as well.
Perhaps Viscount Ezack or someone else had already gone ahead. Even if I found Rina, there might not be much I could do—but I had to try. I felt I couldn’t wait any longer.
“I hope… she’s safe… I hope nothing’s wrong.”
I clenched the small pouch swinging from my wrist and ran toward the greenhouse.
“Haa…! Where… are you?”
The greenhouse I arrived at was under heavy reconstruction. Though it was lunchtime and the workers weren’t around, materials were scattered everywhere. No one else seemed to have come yet.
Among the high stacks of construction materials, the child was nowhere in sight. I panted as I weaved through the cluttered space, but still saw no shadows of anyone.
“…It’s me… why…”
Then, from behind a pile of materials stacked high at the far end, a small voice called out. Though faint, I immediately recognized it—it was Rina.
I wanted to run to her, but worried she might bolt, so I approached cautiously, moving quietly and peeking from behind the materials.
“…!”
I held my breath, covering my mouth with my hand to check her condition. She was sitting with her knees drawn up, leaning slightly against the pile. Thankfully, she seemed calmer than before. Holding a torn blue rose, she stared off blankly, muttering to herself. My heart ached, and I hesitated to approach.
“Why… Rina…”
“……”
“Why… Rina…?”
The name she kept repeating—Rina? It must be the name of the sibling she lost. Seeing her endlessly mutter the name, I bit my lip.
Her desperate longing for her sibling pierced my heart. Her empty gaze was so different from when she had been looking at the flowers in the greenhouse earlier. I wanted to run and hug her immediately but couldn’t.
Creeeak—
“…?”
I was conflicted about what to do when an unsettling noise came from above. Looking up, I saw two thin iron rods precariously placed on top of the stacked materials.
The crossed rods wobbled slightly, appearing as if they might fall. She must have heard it too, because when she looked up, the rods started to fall.
“…! No!”
Startled at the rods falling directly toward her, I instinctively ran forward and caught her in my arms. The rods struck above us, sending a sharp impact through me.
