Cook, cook.
“Sia unnie, let’s hurry!”
“You don’t have to hurry me, I’m not going anywhere. Alice.”
“Hehe. Okay!”
Maybe because it rained a little bit yesterday.
It’s not a day with scorching sunlight waiting due to too few clouds, nor a dark cloudy day that’s gloomy and damp.
The sky is perfectly balanced, with just the right amount of clouds and sunlight—my favorite!
In the soft and fluffy hue of the sky, I slowly stepped out the door, following a small hand guiding me.
Tap, tap. I matched my body’s rhythm to the sounds of footsteps.
I was cautiously stepping so that my clumsy strides wouldn’t touch the delicate frame beside me.
Each step I took was filled with utmost care, more than ever before.
And behind me…
Wagak!
“Ugh…! You… Sia…!!”
“Princess Alice, have a good trip~”
“No, why is this my fault…?”
I felt the heated energy aimed at the back of my head as I was about to step outside.
I could roughly guess who it was, but when I reluctantly turned around due to the persistent prickling sensation, there stood Remi Akaia, glaring at me with a mix of jealousy.
Beside her, Tessa was waving toward us, having come to see Alice off at the entrance.
I forced a bitter smile, ruffled Alice’s hair once, and waved my hand back at the two waiting for us.
Jealous, huh?
Uh…!!
But it seemed that even that made them uncomfortable.
“…Let go of this, Tessa. It’s a royal command. I can’t do this anymore.”
“…I serve Tesseria.”
With a kraaak, they were unusually swaying as they said their farewells.
Thinking of Tessa’s unseen arm and the sounds of tussling coming from behind, I couldn’t even imagine how intense a battle was raging behind them.
Tessa, you’re really having a tough time.
I’ll buy you something delicious later.
Something a little cheap.
Bang, bang!
“I want to go too!!”
Huhm.
With a loud noise, a crashing sound followed.
In my eyes, wood splinters that looked like tree chips were falling in large quantities from her hands.
As if to say she’d make me look like that, Remi Akaia pointed to the sawdust and then to her neck with her thumb in a threatening gesture.
Seeing that universal body language, I whispered a prayer for tomorrow’s sunlight in my heart.
How many times have I prayed this already?
Well, still…
“I’ll be off, Remi unnie!”
“Uh, okay! Have a good trip, Alice!”
No mercy in front of Alice.
As Alice turned around and shouted that she was leaving, Remi Akaia’s face transformed instantly into a smile full of affection, as if her previous expression had vanished.
No matter how precious her little sister is, this princess really discriminates against people too much.
Why take out yesterday’s rain on me for not being able to go to the flower garden?
I shook my head at the indescribable unfairness.
Really, so mean.
Exactly forty-eight hours ago,
or in other words, two days ago.
There was a person in the dorm I lived in who had been super excited about going to the flower garden with her little sister after a long time, named Remi Akaia.
But what awaited her was not a happy, delightful time with her little sister, but unfortunately, a gathering of dark clouds gradually approaching.
Not long after, the sky turned darker to the point where not even a star was visible.
The following morning greeted me with ominous foreboding, as a sudden downpour of sleet fell from the sky as predicted.
It was snowing. So what?
It wasn’t a sunny day to go see flowers—she should just stay cooped up inside. The proposal for her to take Alice to the flower garden was rejected with one in favor, one invalid, and two against votes.
Thud, thud, thud. Hammer three times.
“I don’t want to—!!! I’m going to play with Alice!!!”
“…It’s okay, Remi unnie. We can go next time.”
A perfect democracy within the dark medieval period.
Hmm. By the way—
“It feels like the roles of children and adults have switched, or is it just me?”
“I think so, a little.”
Who voted for what and who was against it, I’ll leave to your imagination.
To give you a hint, there was someone who couldn’t bring themselves to oppose out of guilt and therefore had to vote invalid, and someone else who scandalously swung a knife.
Votes should generally be anonymous, you know.
That’s just how democracy works.
Well, anyway.
After all that, how many people were mobilized to stop her from obsessively going out when the sky was thick with clouds, just perfect for a stroll?
It actually took an hour just to suppress her tantrum to take Alice to the flower garden.
Not until Alice ruffled her head to calm her down did she relent at the door.
By the way, on the very next day.
“Why!?!”
“…Wow, awesome.”
On the morning when my turn to go out with Alice finally came, the clouds that had been overhead lifted as if they were just lying.
Tap, tap.
“Yes~♪ Yes, yes~♬”
“………..”
After many twists and turns, we managed to set off on our walk.
Alice was happily humming a tune, delighted to be visiting the flower garden again.
For Alice, who had only seen the flower garden occasionally from afar after reuniting with Remi Akaia, this was like a flower viewing event she hadn’t had for a month.
“Hehe. We’re going to see the flowers~”
“…Let’s see them as much as you want today, Alice.”
What could she possibly want to see?
Holding my left hand tightly with her right, and quickly moving her legs, she walked toward the flower garden.
The joy of going to a place she wanted to go was reflected in Alice’s innocent excitement, just like any other child her age.
Yeah.
She was just a child who was happy to go where she wanted, overflowing with happiness just from the fact that she could go.
“Mm~♬”
“…….”
Maybe it was because I was caught up in such dark thoughts, constantly chasing after Alice’s figure.
The wind blowing from across left my vision filled with fluttering pieces of fabric.
“…….”
Whoooosh, cutting through the wind.
Similar to a balloon dancing in the street, Alice’s loose left sleeve flapped idly.
That long sleeve, which seemed to require bending it seven times to reveal her bare skin, likely concealed a wrist that had become a hollow reminder due to a trusted person whom she relied on the most.
Now, hidden beneath her clothes, her exposed skin must hold cruel scars that could never be revealed to others.
The scars resulting from a single moment’s wrong decision based on impulse.
But because of that, it felt even more bittersweet and agonizing.
Just a small trigger.
If only that had existed, her life would have been filled with happy days.
That fluttering sleeve seemed to curse her path, declaring that the words “normal” and “happy” could never exist for her.
It was like chains that would not break were wrapped around the child’s ankles.
I simply could not take my eyes off Alice’s hazy figure.
In this world where curses can be cast upon unnamed individuals, and deadly poisons can be conjured at will,
where strange monsters summon themselves, and creatures crush swords with bare hands while roaming the towns—
Ironically, there was no gentle something that could make this tender, kind child happy anywhere to be found.
How long had those few seconds, which felt like a lifetime, passed?
Suddenly halted, I felt a small shift in weight, and our steps came to a stop just before we reached the flower garden.
“Huh? Is something wrong, Sia unnie?”
“…No.”
“Uuwu…! But it doesn’t seem like it. Are you really okay?”
Did she realize I was struggling with something?
Alice, who had been leading the way, halted and looked up at me with a worried expression.
In her pure turquoise eyes filled with concern for me, there was a shadowy figure of a woman visibly deep in thought, struggling with her worries.
“……..”
With a smile, Alice asked me if I really had no troubles at all.
That sight was so tranquil, it was hard to believe she was the same child who had cried and screamed just days prior.
Alice. You’re really not okay, are you?
Alice. You’re hiding your pain, aren’t you?
It was only natural for such thoughts to swell within my chest as I had noticed.
But in the end, all I could manage to say were those empty, irresponsible words everyone uses.
“It’s nothing.”
“…..? I understand, unnie.”
Really.
Truly, it’s nothing.
As I swallowed the words that had reached the tip of my tongue, I could only whisper that it was nothing—meaningless words without any real substance.
“Hehe. I’m looking forward to the flower garden.”
“…..Right.”
“I’m really looking forward to it.”
So the both of us hid our true feelings from one another.
And step by step, we slowly entered the flower garden, where the flowers awaited us.
“I have to do it…!”
What was heard were the sounds of sword and stone grinding against each other.
“I have to, to save the one by the side of that horrible monster…!”
What was heard was someone trying to get a grip on their weak heart.
“This is something only I can do….!”
Tap.
In the darkness, the shimmering blade of a small lantern held the glimmer of a blade.
Within the flesh of that weapon, green hair swayed violently.
