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Chloe entered her room.
The culprit who had left flowers by the bedroom door was, if she recalled, the adopted child scheduled for foster care termination.
‘I told them to bring the child to my room in advance.’
The child was nowhere to be seen.
“Did they run away?”
It was understandable.
Every child feared her.
She had heard that the phrase, “If you cry, the dark witch will take you away!” was popular among the public.
Chloe muttered to herself while stroking her hair, which was as black as the void.
“...Even if they ran away, it doesn't matter.”
It was actually for the best if a suspicious child had tucked their tail and fled.
...Since the results of her inspection of those purple flowers showed no particular issues.
She was angry at first, but soon everything became a nuisance.
As she thought this, she suddenly felt something out of place in her well-organized room.
“Sunlight...”
Warm sunlight streamed in through a gap in the open window, accompanied by a gentle spring breeze.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
The maids believed that Chloe, being a dark mage, hated light.
Therefore, they always kept dark curtains drawn over the windows.
But today was different.
Chloe unconsciously headed toward the window.
On the windowsill, lilies of the valley were placed in a small vase.
[There is a superstition that lilies of the valley drive away evil spirits.]
“What is this...?”
At that moment, Chloe heard a sound in her ear—a soft, purring, smacking noise, like someone fussing in their sleep.
‘Ah, Coco used to do that.’
And then...
“Chomp.”
“...”
“Swee... potato...”
Right there, by the bedroom door where Coco used to wait for her lonely every night.
She saw a child lying face down, in a posture exactly like a loaf of bread, just as Coco used to.
‘Is the child asleep?’
She shook the shoulder of the child, who was sleeping in a pitiful position, to wake them.
Perhaps because the image of Coco overlapped, she was unusually flustered. She had even forgotten that she intended to be angry.
“Wake up.”
When the small child barely managed to lift their eyelids.
Finally, her eyes met a pair of violet pupils.
‘My heart...’
It felt as if her heart had plummeted and rolled across the floor with a thud.
‘What is this? Why am I reacting like this?’
While Chloe hesitated, the child sprang up.
“Whoa!”
“...You, what are you?”
There was only one reason why she found herself stuttering.
She had wondered every day what kind of voice Coco would have if she became human.
And the small child before her had shouted cheerfully, in the exact voice she had imagined all along.
“It’s me!”
“...What?”
The flustered Chloe’s eyes wavered.
Then, the little one smiled brightly and waved her hand.
“I’m Coco!”
“...What did you say?”
The child’s eyes quickly turned gloomy.
“Hmph. I’m just being my usual self, and yet... you don’t recognize me...”
“What do you mean by that?”
Not only were the words incomprehensible, but the child also had a sulky expression.
‘I haven't even said anything yet.’
The child was behaving in a way she couldn't understand.
Soon, the little one retracted her pouting duck-lips and bowed her head deeply.
“Hmph. No, it’s nothing. H-hello! I am Coco!”
“...Coco?”
The flustered Chloe’s eyes wavered.
The little one smiled brightly and waved her hand.
“Yes! My name is Coco!”
“...Ah, your name is Coco.”
She recalled the profile of the adopted child.
She had focused on the background and hadn't checked the name.
Chloe murmured dryly.
“I have finished the investigation into you.”
“Gasp, you looked into me?”
...What?
Why is she happy that I did a background check?
Why on earth?
She was wiggling her hips as if shaking a non-existent tail.
And her eyes were sparkling.
‘Until now, no one has ever acted this way toward me.’
She felt as if she were being swept up by the other person.
“Then I shall ask. Why on earth did you trespass into someone else’s bedroom?”
At that, the child squared her shoulders and looked up at Chloe.
Despite meeting her gaze, she didn't tremble.
Instead, she had eyes filled with a surprising amount of warmth.
“Have you not learned the basic etiquette that one must not intrude upon another person’s annex?”
“Hmph... I didn't learn that kind of etiquette...”
The child wore an expression of complete ignorance.
‘What a headache.’
Then again, since she was an adopted child from a commoner background, it made sense that she wouldn't know etiquette.
“Why did you bring the flowers?”
“Ah! The flowers! There were so many of them in the grass nearby, and they were so, so pretty, so I picked them and brought them here!”
“...”
“Hmph, am I not allowed to bring flowers either...?”
The child’s eyes rolled around in panic.
Chloe pressed her temple.
Come to think of it, the purple flowers Coco liked grew everywhere around the annex. Seeing as she had also picked lilies of the valley, she seemed to be a child who simply loved flowers.
“...I hate flowers. And it is not polite to bring flowers to a stranger’s room.”
“A stranger...”
A faint trace of sadness appeared on the child’s face.
But it was only for a moment.
The child looked straight into Chloe’s eyes and smiled as brightly as sunshine.
“I just wanted to become friends with Chloe-nim!”
“Why? It’s useless to pretend to be friendly with me. Your fate is decided by my father and the Council of Elders.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s because Chloe-nim is so cool.”
These were the words of a child who was about to be kicked out of the family.
However, Chloe was bewildered.
It was the first time she had ever heard a child use the word ‘cool’ in such an admiring way.
“...What?”
The child gripped her clothes tightly, her eyes sparkling.
“U-um, actually, I saw it in the newspaper! I think Chloe-nim is a really, really amazing dark mage!”
“That can't be. There's no way the newspapers would speak well of me.”
* * *
Actually, I know it too.
There's no way the newspapers would say nice things about Big Sister Chloe.
“You know, Coco. Actually, my fiancé doesn't like me.”
“Munch munch.”
“...And not just my fiancé, everyone hates me.”
“Mung?”
“They say they hate me because I’m a dark mage. They say Mother passed away early because of me...”
When I was Coco the puppy, I couldn't say a word.
I could only bark, ‘Woof woof,’ as if to comfort her.
But now, I can speak.
‘Sister is the only person who ever reached out to me.’
That’s why I’m not scared of her at all!
I sparkled my eyes with infinite affection.
“I saw the picture in the newspaper! You using dark magic looked so incredibly cool!”
“What on earth is cool about that...?”
“The newspapers keep saying that light is cooler than darkness. But, um, I think the reason warm sunshine is loved is all thanks to the darkness!”
“What?”
“You can only meet the warm sunshine because there is darkness. That’s why Chloe-nim is cool! As much as the sunshine—no, even more than the sunshine!”
Sister stepped back with a bewildered expression.
“...Darkness is just dark.”
The tips of her fingers twitched for a moment, and soon, a pitch-black darkness began to bloom.
Was she doing that to scare me? But I'm not scared at all.
“Gasp! It’s reaaaally cool! It looks like a beautiful night sky is packed right into your fingertips!”
Sister let out a low laugh, asking back with a look of disbelief.
“...Are you serious?”
I looked at her with warm eyes.
And finally, I met her blade-like gaze.
“Yes, I’m serious. Only Chloe-nim can create the night sky with her fingers, right?”
Sister’s expression wavered for a moment.
I looked at her hair bathed in sunlight, and her lips that had always spoken warm words to me.
‘I wonder if Sister now wants to be friends with me too?’
My heart pounded wildly.
But that was short-lived.
“Still, don't come to my mansion.”
Sister looked away.
“I hate meeting people because it’s tiring. I’ll be closing the doors to the Haeguk mansion entirely soon.”
It was a complete rejection.
‘I prepared so, so hard because I wanted to be close with Sister again.’
I worked hard to open the window with my clumsy hands.
I prepared the flowers. I waited in the posture she liked best.
I poured out all those wonderful words...
Is it still not enough?
Unlike a brave puppy, I felt like I was going to cry.
I barely gathered my courage and murmured softly.
“Then, I’ll just stay by your side a little bit, so Chloe-nim doesn't get tired.”
“...”
“I, I can move around well on my own! My hands and feet are really strong...”
I remembered the summer before I died.
‘Originally, I was a weak, burdensome puppy.’
To the point where Sister would massage my body every single day as it grew cold.
‘Sister must have been tired and bothered by taking care of me.’
But now, she doesn't have to give me those bothersome massages anymore.
I pointed to my squishy calves.
“I don't have bulging muscles, but I'm really healthy now, I'm strong, and I can walk much more than before!”
Sister’s expression was still grim.
“A-and I don't have patellar luxation either...”
I didn't really know what it was, but I timidly added the words the vets used to mutter every time they looked at me.
Still, no answer came back.
Feeling even more flustered, I tried my best to observe Sister’s expression.
‘Does she not believe me?’
I hurriedly raised my short hand.
Then, I drew the biggest circle I could.
“I’m this strong!”
I have wonderful hands now that can pat Sister on the back.
I have two healthy feet that can walk hard, even if they are small.
And I have a mouth that can scold the people who say mean things to Sister.
I’m confident I can make Sister smile.
So, please...
“S-so, um. Just sometimes. Just very occasionally, can I come visit...?”
Can't you be friends with me again?
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