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IBP 35
“Why did you do that?”
“.......”
“Even a one-year-old knows that you die if you go near someone going berserk. Why are you so reckless with your own life? Do you think doing this will make people tell you how amazing you are?”
“.......”
“I'm asking if you're so desperate for someone to acknowledge you as amazing.”
My shoulders slumped.
My vision began to blur slightly.
I didn't do it to be treated as amazing by other people...
I don't know if Big Sister knows, but I did everything just to try and save her.
I guess I did something really wrong.
I thought I had become close with Big Sister, but maybe we're drifting apart again.
Thinking that made it feel as if someone had crumpled my heart into a ball.
It was while I was staring intently at my toes with my head hanging low.
Big Sister's rough fingertips slowly brushed against my cheek.
My cheek stung, just like my heart.
“......Your cheek is scratched.”
“I... didn't know that...”
“You don't have to go that far. In this family, it doesn't matter how hard you struggle or what you try to do.”
“.......”
“You'll only be treated as the nail that sticks out.”
Feeling upset, I looked down and gripped my cheeks tightly with both hands.
My cheeks were still very plump and round.
“......No, I'm not. I'm not a nail. I'm very round.”
Big Sister must have bad eyesight.
It was when I looked at her worriedly, my eyes reddened, that she let out a deep sigh and muttered.
“......I'm not originally good at saying things nicely. I'm sorry.”
“Huh?”
“I was worried.”
“.......”
“I wondered why you suddenly ran off while we were playing with the ball. Then I hear you got caught up in a berserk state crisis, and that you cured the Grand Prince...”
My eyes widened.
“There are plenty of people who will like you even if you don't try that hard.”
“.......”
Then, does that mean Big Sister has come to like me a little bit too?
Just as my eyes sparkled, making my previous tears feel meaningless...
“Just look at the good things like a child should. Don't do anything this dangerous from now on. Understand?”
But I couldn't nod to those words.
I managed to save Big Sister this time.
But there are still many bad people around her.
Still, I felt I had to say this.
“But, I didn't think this was dangerous.”
“Why wouldn't you think that?”
Partly because I could see the future.
Partly because my brain had become incredibly smart, unlike the other puppies.
But the most important thing was...
“Because whenever I'm in danger, Chloe always comes to save me.”
My body had changed and time had passed.
When I hit the head maid.
When I was thrown in prison because I was misunderstood to have killed a tiger.
And now, after saving the Grand Prince.
Big Sister always comes to save me.
“......Why would I go to save you? I have no intention of doing that.”
“But you came this time too!”
I tightly grabbed Big Sister's hand as she avoided my gaze.
She didn't shake off my hand.
The moment I realized that.
A faint, whitish light flickered at my fingertips and then vanished.
A light that wavered and blinked through the gaps of our hands before disappearing again.
But now, I think I know what that light is.
'I think the light appears whenever Big Sister feels an affinity for me.'
Perhaps by the time that light becomes as warm and bright as the morning sun...
Will Big Sister be able to recognize me?
If so, I decided not to shed any more tears.
Instead, I smiled brightly and shook the hand I held with her.
“......Um, can we play with the ball again later?”
“No. You have to see the doctor first.”
“Then you can just throw the ball to me.”
“No. After you've recovered your health.”
But it was okay.
Because Big Sister didn't shake off my hand.
“Then, you can't go anywhere.”
“.......”
“You have to stay right next to Coco!”
But why do I keep feeling dizzy...
I leaned my body against hers, as if overlapping myself with her.
“Come here. You need to go get treated too.”
Big Sister lifted me up clumsily.
'Heehee, she smells like Big Sister.'
I felt like I had been praised even though she hadn't said a word.
Cradled in her arms, sniffing her cozy scent, I left the place.
The last thing that entered my field of vision was...
“Ugh, do you know how much, how much I worried about the Young Lord!”
“.......”
...The sight of the nanny making a fuss beside Caligo, who was receiving treatment.
And the sight of people around her praising the nanny for being amazing.
* * *
“Grand Prince Caligo, are you feeling much better?”
“Of course. He recovered in an instant.”
“Ah, it is all thanks to the nanny. Because she provided such devoted nursing by his side...”
The nanny struggled to keep the corners of her mouth down to hide her smugness.
“We still need to monitor him. He emerged from a very perilous place, after all.”
“Nanny, you are truly amazing.”
“You supported him diligently even while the Grand Prince was on the verge of going berserk. There is no one like you.”
“Ah... you are all far too kind. Haha.”
After Caligo safely escaped the berserk state.
People who admired the Grand Duke Rivera's household came to curry favor with the nanny.
The nanny accepted the bribes they offered while pretending to be humble.
“Well then, if you'll excuse me. The Grand Prince is looking for me again.”
On her way into Caligo's room.
As usual, she attempted to feed Caligo Parapo fruit juice.
It was a drug that made a person's mind hazy.
That way, it was easier to manipulate the other person's mind.
“Ah, Young Lord. Say ah.”
“.......”
“Young Lord?”
“Leave it. I don't want to eat it right now.”
This was a first. Both that cold expression and the uncomfortable attitude.
She stroked Caligo's forehead.
“You know, don't you? I am the only person who has been for you until now.”
Caligo remained silent, but there was no need to be anxious.
Caligo did not cast her away.
It likely meant he still relied on her heavily.
“......While escaping from the subspace, there was something I was curious about.”
“Yes?”
“I wonder why they did that.”
Muttering words with an unknown meaning, he smiled slowly.
Feeling a sudden sense of suffocation, the nanny stepped back.
“Ah, when is His Grace the Grand Duke arriving? I hope he arrives soon.”
For a moment, Caligo's gaze became sharp.
“He'll be here soon. Wait.”
* * *
After a day had passed.
A reward and punishment meeting was held regarding the 'Grand Prince Caligo Rivera Berserk Incident.'
Those in attendance were the direct blood relatives of the family, including Chloe.
And Grand Prince Rivera and his nanny.
“I have sent my daughter, Theresia, who caused a danger that threatened the Grand Prince's life, to prison. Grand Duke Rivera will personally interrogate her to determine if there was intent in that act.”
Theresia's current state was truly like a candle in the wind.
The same went for her mother, Lucrezia, who had protected Theresia.
Lucrezia was guilty of falsely claiming that her daughter could treat Grand Prince Rivera.
Thus, she could not exert any influence in this matter.
“What is the condition of Grand Prince Rivera?”
The nanny, standing beside the Grand Prince, spoke in his stead.
“It was nearly a disaster. It is truly a relief that the imprinting was successful.”
The sound of the elders whispering to one another could be heard.
“Come to think of it, isn't that nanny quite amazing?”
“Ah, now that the Young Lord has recovered, that nanny will likely enjoy a golden age.”
But right then.
Caligo spoke slowly.
His gaze was somewhat trembling, yet his eyes were clear.
“There is someone who has not yet been properly punished.”
“......Grand Prince?”
“There is a bad person who has tormented me until now.”
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