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IBP 62
Chloe closed her eyes while lying on the bed in her room.
A cozy cluster of light embraced her from head to toe.
‘It’s warm.’
She could feel the muscles in her face softening.
She felt a child giggle and nuzzle their cheek against the back of her hand.
“Goodnight, Big Sister!”
The cozy light felt as if it were healing her.
That day, Chloe met Coco in her dreams.
“Sister, it’s me, Coco!”
Not the image of her dying with stiff legs, but a small, lively, and energetic puppy—Coco—running toward her.
It was a dream so sweet it brought tears to her eyes.
Because of that, Chloe didn't know at the time.
She didn't see the child's face, who was holding onto her and pouring out the light, twisting in repeated agony.
* * *
‘How did I end the conversation with Sister?’
My memory was hazy after seeing Sister close her eyes peacefully.
‘I pushed myself too hard...’
Because my desire to heal her quickly was so great, I acted too excessively.
I tried desperately to pour all my healing power into Sister's mana circuits...
‘Did she actually get healed? I’m not sure.’
Sister would know best, but she seemed to be sleeping so soundly that I couldn't bring myself to speak to her.
I barely managed to return to my annex and gripped the wall tightly.
Pain surged up from my stomach in waves, making it impossible to stand straight.
The ‘Emperor of Mouse,’ who had been lounging in my annex, added a few words with a worried tone.
“Are you alright? Huh?”
“Yeah...”
“You little thing. You look like you're struggling.”
“But, my sister can't make it without me.”
It's okay if I hurt a little.
I'm someone who will be leaving in five years anyway.
The most important thing is for my sister to become happy within that time.
Swallowing those words, I simply gave a faint smile.
“How wonderful would it be if our Coco were human.”
“Muung...”
“If she were a human who could tell me where it hurts, or who made her hurt.”
“...”
“Sister would scold all the bad guys and make all the pain go away.”
Thinking of Sister's voice made me smile, but then those thoughts occurred to me.
‘Even if I become human, I won't be able to tell Sister that I'm hurting.’
Because if I say I'm hurting, she'll worry too much.
‘So, from tomorrow, I'll be the brave and spirited Coco again.’
I saw it in the future. The day Sister takes my arm and goes for a walk in the Imperial Palace.
The day we look at the lake and go to the exhibition.
That day is coming soon.
So I'm happy, and everything is fine.
I pressed my face into the pillowcase and let out several long sighs.
But it was right then.
Within my slowly blurring vision.
I saw a small clump of fur moving back and forth at my fingertips.
‘Huh? Why is there a clump of fur on my hand?’
I'm not a puppy anymore...
I've become human.
Why do I see fluffy puppy fur on my hand?
‘Am I imagining things?’
While I was thinking deeply, the clump of fur before my eyes disappeared.
And then, a small puppy's voice echoed in my ears.
“Coco, do you remember the promise you made with me? You must remember me... I can only say this for now. Please remember me.”
It was different from the hallucinations that usually tormented me.
‘This... is my friend's voice.’
Is it Cherry? Or Choco?
But I was in too exhausted a state to recall anything in detail.
My entire body had become heavy, like a cotton ball soaked in water.
And so, I fell into a sleep that felt like fainting.
* * *
After receiving Coco's healing, Chloe went straight to see Duke Ardos.
“There is no longer a risk of a berserk state. Please let me participate in the investigation of the spirit creature hunters.”
“Chloe...”
Duke Ardos looked at his daughter with an expression as if he had been struck by a bolt from the blue in the middle of the night.
After using his supernatural ability to check his daughter's condition several times, he looked bewildered.
“There has never been a case where the risk of a berserk state was properly overcome. Is this not a facade, but are you truly healthy?”
Despite his words, he could feel that Chloe's previously unstable condition had improved significantly.
“Shall I show you the dark magic?”
In an instant, the entire office was dyed in pitch-black darkness. It was so intense it felt as if one had gone blind for a moment.
Withdrawing the form of the black darkness, Chloe spoke.
“...Will this suffice as proof?”
Her breathing wasn't labored in the slightest.
There was no trace of instability.
“...Since you were young, Chloe, you always achieved what you wanted. Very well. As it happens, Grand Duke Rivera desires your dark attribute detection ability.”
A dark attribute detection ability.
It was a power that could thoroughly read the hideous inner nature of a human.
“He desires quite a demanding ability. Even by generous standards, it is a precious ability that can only be used five times a year.”
“Yes, which is why we must choose the person who examines the inner self carefully.”
Duke Ardos spoke as he tossed a piece of parchment with a roughly compiled list to Chloe.
“Here is the list of suspicious individuals. Most of them are socialites, so you will have to appear during the social season.”
“That won't be difficult.”
Was the ability called <Painting>?
At the top of the list was Lady Miru, whose artistic skills had reportedly improved rapidly over the past year.
“There may be those who received help from buff-type abilities, and there may be those who grew through actual education or effort. Therefore, you must not jump to conclusions.”
“...”
“And you must not let them discover that you are chasing the spirit creature hunters. Those who have stolen and eaten the abilities of others become greedy in nature.”
“...”
“If there is someone among them who has extorted another's ability, they will be completely different from the person you knew. They will have become strong like monsters. You must never ignore their desires.”
...Yes, that could be the case.
“But would they be as bad as a woman blinded by revenge?”
“Revenge?”
Chloe spoke coldly.
“Don't worry. I'll be going now.”
* * *
She had clearly carved revenge into her bones.
Yet, upon returning to her mansion, the tips of her fingers trembled slightly.
It was because she saw Coco's grave.
After Coco died, she had been half-mad and unable to think straight, most likely.
“Coco, why did Sister do that?”
How stupid.
She hadn't even considered the possibility that Coco had been murdered...
“When I put a flower in Coco's ear, you're the prettiest in the world, right? You're so pretty... why did it have to hurt so much?”
“Muuuung...”
“Coco, my baby. In a little while, it won't hurt anymore...”
Even while helplessly watching Coco die...
Why had she not thought that the death was artificial?
When all the veterinarians said Coco was dying, that it was a natural death.
‘I should have suspected it.’
Why hadn't she had a single shred of doubt?
Chloe felt as if Coco's early death was her own fault.
Sitting close to Coco's grave, she stared silently at the mound and murmured.
“Coco, are you getting along well with the other puppies?”
She hoped her Coco knew nothing and just ran around happily.
Not knowing that bad people killed her.
Forgetting all the pain and unhappiness of her life.
She hoped Coco would just be joyful, possessing only happy memories...
“Sister is so sorry, my baby...”
Chloe gazed silently at Coco's grave.
She thought of Coco, who must have left without even knowing the reason for her death.
She recalled once more the sensation of that tiny body turning stiff after being kissed by the God of Death.
Then, her resolve hardened.
So that the foolish but dearly loved puppy who only followed her around could rest in peace.
“I promise that when we meet again in the distant future... I'll be able to tell you that Sister beat up everyone who bullied our Coco.”
Looking at Coco's grave.
Chloe finally decided to stain her hands with blood.
Walking calmly away from the gravesite, Chloe saw a large silhouette standing in front of her annex.
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