Chapter 03 ….
It was the day of a small festival in the village. People lit fires, danced joyfully, and celebrated the end of the year, but Sweetpea’s home was no different from any other day. Mrs. Lauren, who had a heated argument with her husband over a trivial matter, stayed at home managing the household as usual.
The father of the young sisters had gone out to buy gifts at the festival to appease their mother’s anger, and unlike the bustling village, the Lauren household was quiet.
That day, Sweetpea saw it—a massive and terrifying dragon.
“Erica, Sweetpea! Run!”
By the time she realized what it was, Mrs. Lauren was already trapped in the dragon’s flames.
“Mom!”
Just as Sweetpea shouted her mother’s name, Erica picked up her younger sister and started running.
“Sis! Mom, mom…!”
Even as Sweetpea swung her arms, searching for their mother, Erica did not stop her running.
The once peaceful village quickly became a scene of destruction, and people began pushing each other in a frantic escape.
Their father must have been somewhere among them, but there was no way to find him at that moment.
Found you.
At that moment, a vast shadow fell over the two sisters, and a strange voice echoed—not through their ears, but inside their heads. The foot of a dragon, large enough to crush a house, came toward Erica’s head. Fortunately, a savior appeared.
Just as the clawed foot of the enormous scaled dragon was about to snatch Erica, another dragon, flying so fast it was nearly invisible, bit the gray dragon’s neck and tumbled to the ground.
“Arum!”
Erica shouted toward the two dragons struggling together. Perhaps it was the name of just one of them.
“Run, Erica!”
At that moment, another voice echoed in Sweetpea’s head, warmly calling her sister’s name. Erica hugged Sweetpea and hid behind another house’s stable, where the flames were less intense.
“Sis, what about Mom? Can’t we go save her?”
“Sweet, it’s too late for Mom…”
“Ah, let’s ask Dad to save Mom! We can find Dad first…!”
Erica shivered violently as she hugged her younger sister, still believing that their mother, engulfed in flames before their eyes, might still be alive. Only after a little while did Sweetpea realize that her sister was crying.
“I’m sorry, Sweet. I’m so sorry…”
“…”
“I should have left earlier, as he said… but I delayed because I didn’t want to part from our family…”
“…”
“It’s all my fault…”
Even though she was young, Sweetpea could tell. She could understand what her sister meant when she apologized—the same sister who had called out the dragon’s name.
“Sis, do you know that dragon?”
Erica’s eyes trembled as she met her sister’s gaze, like a guilty person caught in her lie.
“Sweet, I… ah, ah…!”
“Sis…? What’s wrong?”
Suddenly clutching her chest mid-sentence, Erica startled Sweetpea, who grabbed her sister’s shoulder.
Like a tower of small stones collapsing, the large stable caved in effortlessly. Frightened horses bolted, and one of them stepped on a girl’s leg trapped under a wooden plank.
“AAAAHH!”
Sweetpea, the youngest daughter, had never felt such intense pain before and struggled, but there was no way to free herself from the pile of boards pressing on her. In the chaos, everyone was too busy fleeing to notice Sweetpea’s suffering.
Everyone, except her sister.
“Ugh… uuuh, Sis… Siiiis…”
Sweetpea desperately called out to Erica, but finding her, trapped under the boards as well, was not easy. Unlike the helpless Sweetpea, the gray dragon approached with a heavy thudding sound and easily lifted the boards to find Erica.
The dragon that had been fighting the gray one was half-decapitated, struggling on the ground.
“No! Sis… Sis!”
Sweetpea called out desperately, but the unconscious Erica did not move. The gray dragon pressed its sharp claw into the left side of Erica’s chest, where she lay motionless beside Sweetpea.
“Sis…”
Dragged out by the dragon’s claw was a bright red heart—matching the color of the blood soaking her sister’s clothes. Sweetpea closed her eyes, silently wishing that when she woke, it had all been a horrific nightmare.
The real nightmare, however, was in reality.
Sweetpea, the only survivor, was rescued by villagers from a neighboring town and taken to an orphanage. Having been trampled by a horse, she became crippled and was unable to be adopted into a good home. Instead, she was sent to Mrs. Margo, almost as if sold off by the orphanage director for a small fee.
‘Let’s stop dwelling on unpleasant thoughts.’
The past is just the past. No matter how much she thought about it, time could not be turned back. Sweetpea wanted to focus on living fully in the present.
“Sweetpea! I’ve put your meal on the table. Eat it and don’t slack off. Be back on time, got it?!”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
As usual, Sweetpea took the meal Mrs. Margo gave her and headed into the forest. Seeing the man, who at least treated her like a human being, gave her some comfort.
Recently, the birds and flowers were disappointed that he didn’t care for them, but it couldn’t be helped. If he left this place, Sweetpea would never have another chance to talk to a human. But even meeting someone was not entirely up to her.
“Hey, Sweetpea!”
She happened to run into Chris at the entrance to the wooded path where she intended to meet the man.
“C-Chris…? Why are you here…?”
“I’ve been suspicious of where you disappear to every day, so I followed you.”
Chris strode forward, snatching the bag with her meal and sneering.
“Continue on your way. I’ll go with you.”
“I-I’m fine…”
“Oh, so you’ve hidden a jar of honey or something? Why won’t you listen when I offer to help?”
“….”
“I want to know where you go every day with the meal Mom gives you and who you meet.”
Chris treated Sweetpea like a pet or a toy. Whenever Sweetpea got close to someone, he’d find despicable ways to interfere. And, of course, physically tormenting her was nothing new.
“Hey, why aren’t you talking?”
Chris would surely get angry if she didn’t answer, so Sweetpea chose silence. She didn’t want to burden the man, who always sat listlessly by the tomb, with her troubles.
She simply shook her head, refusing Chris’s demands. As expected, Chris’s face gradually turned red with anger.
“Mom fed and sheltered a cripple like you!”
“….”
“And you disobey me, ungrateful? Meeting someone behind my back? Without my permission?!”
Chris grabbed Sweetpea’s collar, his face as fierce and wild as a bear.
“Why? Want to push me and run like last time?”
“P-Please, don’t…”
“I’ll give you a chance. Take me to the one you’re secretly meeting.”
“N-No…”
“Or do you want to get beaten right here?”
“No, still no!”
Chris raised his hand, face bright red, ready to strike.
‘Ah, this time I’ll really get hit…!’
Sweetpea squeezed her eyes shut.
“AAAH!”
But the person who screamed was not Sweetpea.
“….”
When Sweetpea cautiously opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a mass of fine hair covering Chris’s large face.
“Humans are far weaker than males.”
“AAAH!”
She realized, for the first time, that the man was much larger than Chris—taller, broader, hands bigger.
“I’ll explain it in your language.”
Chris’s hand, twisted and trapped by the man, looked pitiful compared to how Sweetpea had always feared him.
“A gentleman does not hit a lady.”
Despite using brute strength to restrain Chris, the man’s voice was calm, gentle, like a teacher scolding a child.
“Ugh! Who are you! L-Let go! I’ll tell Mom… ugh!”
“Got it?”
“Sw-Sweetpea! Tell him to let go… ugh!”
“I’m asking if you understand,” the man said, pausing with each syllable, showing he had reached the limit of his patience. Luckily, Chris was dumb, but not oblivious.
“Ah, okay! So… let go of this hand!”
“You also have to promise never to come near here again.”
“I won’t! I won’t come back!”
Finally, the man released Chris’s wrist.
“Sweetpea! You’ll pay for this later!”
Even in this moment, cowardly Chris threatened Sweetpea rather than the man and vanished.
With Chris gone, only the man and Sweetpea remained. It was unusual for the man to leave the tomb; Sweetpea knew he never left that place.
“Thank you for helping me!”
The man’s hair, like the night sky, fluttered in the wind. Covering his eyes with cloth, he briefly looked at Sweetpea and frowned.
“Sorry, I didn’t help you. It was just noisy.”
“Still!”
“…”
“Still, thank you…”
Even as people turned away when she was mistreated by Mrs. Margo or saw her beaten by Chris, this man was the only one who helped her, and she was grateful.
“If you’re really thankful, then disappear for today.”
“….”
“Because that loud human male is exhausting.”
Sweetpea nodded. It was about time to return after being harassed by Chris anyway.
“Um, wait a moment…!”
Though always sharp-tongued, the man stood quietly when Sweetpea held onto him.
There was a question she had wanted to ask for a long time but hadn’t dared, as he always told her to go away. But now she felt she could ask.
“What’s your name…?”
Even such a simple question made her nervous. The man looked at her silently for a long moment, then turned away without hesitation, leaving a vague answer.
“You’ve already called my name once.”
She wanted to ask what he meant, but by then, he had disappeared into the dark forest.
‘When did I call his name…?’
At first, it was just a mystery. Then Sweetpea remembered the day she first met him.
The tomb was filled with flowers.
When she spoke the name of that flower…
“Lisianthus…”
The flower took the shape of a person.
Sweetpea smiled faintly, feeling a small joy that the man shared the same name as the flower.
