Chapter 14
“…Wow. Seriously.”
“Now you get it, Shana. You can’t judge something just by its appearance.”
“So cool…”
“Hm?”
Insane. That’s wild. No, seriously.
“See, Raven? It transformed!”
“…Transformed?”
“It was a tiny little dog! And then—whoosh!”
“…Whoosh?”
“One blink! And it became a pretty older girl!”
“Pretty… older girl…”
“So cool!”
“……”
“Awesome! Amazing! So cool!”
“……”
“What does ‘so cool’ even mean…?” Raven muttered under his breath. “What am I even reading?”
Meanwhile, I only saw a small girl.
She looked about Raven’s age. Long black hair, pale limbs, and sharp black eyes that glinted dangerously. There was blood staining the corner of her mouth.
That must hurt. She must’ve been so badly injured for blood to be there.
I was certain the dog had been injured from a blow somewhere. If her insides weren’t a mess, she wouldn’t be coughing up blood.
Who on earth did this to such a small kid?
Her body, draped in something like rags, was painfully thin. Her hollow cheeks were covered in crusted blood.
“Oh no…”
“Are you okay? Hey, little one, don’t be scared, it’s okay, it’s fine…”
“What do you mean ‘it’s fine’?” Raven snapped.
“Don’t, Raven! You’re scaring her! It’s okay, come here…”
The pale face glaring at us was pretty, but filled with fear and hostility.
I reached out toward her while pushing away Raven’s arm trying to pull me back. He didn’t budge at all. How is a kid this strong?
“Come here, little one…”
“Absolutely not, Shana-nim,” Maria said firmly.
“Maria?”
“That’s enough. I can’t allow this anymore.”
Maria scooped me up without hesitation. At the same time, Ella approached the girl. Bailey spoke.
“Ella, is she poisonous?”
“No. She’s a large canine-type species, but she was a puppy. In human form, there’s nothing particularly different.”
“Weapons?”
“None. But we don’t know what she might do, so it’s better not to approach her in human form. I’ll handle it.”
…Their conversation sounds so professional…
My nannies and sitters seemed to have double lives. So they really were A-rank mercenaries.
Raven shook his head.
“You’re late.”
“We judged there was no danger,” Ella replied.
Raven looked like he had more to say, but stayed silent.
“I can’t tell if you’re overprotective or neglectful,” he muttered.
“If it were Anais, she wouldn’t have allowed anyone to approach at all,” someone replied.
“Oh, right?”
Father… when did he get here?
Ignoring the voices behind me, I reached out toward the girl again from Maria’s arms.
The girl was now kneeling, bound from behind by Ella.
Seeing her up close, she looked even more frail. Ella holding her looked almost like a villain.
Those sharp, hostile eyes made my chest tighten.
“Sha, Shana-nim?! Are you crying?”
“What?”
“Huh?”
Two voices shouted at once behind me.
Raven, why are you even surprised…
“Shana-nim, why are you crying? Are you scared of blood? I’m sorry, I’ll clean it up right away…”
“No!”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t hurt her! She’s my little sister!”
“…Little sister?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to my father. He let out a dry laugh.
“Shana, your mother and I have never had a daughter like that.”
“I picked her up!”
“So you can just pick up a little sister?”
“Don’t hurt her. I’ll be good to her…”
I struggled in Maria’s arms. Maria was incredibly strong—no matter how much I flailed, I didn’t move at all.
Time to change tactics.
“Put me down, Maria. Please?”
“No. Not even with that kind of cute voice.”
“…I’ll be mad at you if you don’t put me down…”
“That’s a problem…”
Maria pretended to think for a moment, then gently set me down.
“Ahh! Shana-nim was so strong I accidentally dropped her!”
“Stop it, Maria.”
Bailey scooped me up again instantly. Yeah, this was ridiculous.
“Shana, give me your hand.”
“Mom…”
The boss has arrived.
I obediently held out my hand. My finger, bitten by the dog earlier, had a wound that was honestly a bit more than “small,” but at least the bleeding had stopped.
My mother looked… extremely dangerous.
“If I could heal myself, I could pretend I didn’t see this…”
Too bad.
Even while that thought passed through my head, I kept glancing at the kneeling girl.
Her injuries had been treated, but she still looked pale and short of breath. Should I have used more healing clay?
“…Shana is really not hurt…”
“You’re saying that even though you were bleeding heavily? Our Shana is tough.”
“She’s tough!”
She didn’t seem angry at me.
“Did the dog just get scared? Is that it?”
“…Can you give me permission to keep her?”
“That depends…”
Mother lowered her gaze. Her long eyelashes lifted, revealing cold green eyes.
Uh-oh.
“The dog that bit my daughter… why should I forgive it?”
“Mom… scary…”
The “dog” part was definitely followed by something worse.
“I came because things were noisy, and Shana was injured.”
Everyone stiffened.
“I thought she was safe with Kyle, but why is everyone just watching?”
Father’s face went pale.
“Your Highness is here as well…”
“I tried to stop it.”
“You can’t handle a single child—how do you expect to be a proper ruler?”
“Your daughter is too difficult…”
Raven clicked his tongue. Is this kid really eight?
“Shana, I’m more afraid of you getting hurt than anything else.”
“…Uhh…”
“But we can’t keep that dog. It might suddenly turn and bite you.”
“It won’t… it won’t…”
“How can you be sure? You just met it.”
“But she’s hurt…”
“In my eyes, she looks fine.”
Right. Because I healed her.
But saying that would only make things worse.
Mother looked more resolute than I’d ever seen her. It meant she cared—but it also meant I was running out of time.
The black-haired girl reminded me strangely of Mina.
If Mina were left like that somewhere, starving and broken…
My chest hurt.
Even if I couldn’t keep her, I wanted to feed her at least once.
“Uwaaaah…”
“Shana?!”
What is a baby’s ultimate weapon?
Tears.
I forced them out awkwardly. Crying felt unnatural when I tried to fake it, but I clung to sad thoughts.
Was Mina okay? She must’ve suffered after I died so suddenly. After Father passed away, it had just been me and Mina for four years…
“Ugh… I want her…”
“Shana, please don’t cry!”
“…I’ll let her stay…”
“Alright! Alright, just stop crying!”
Tears are the best weapon.
The moment permission was granted, I stopped crying instantly. The girl was now within reach.
Ella loosened her grip reluctantly.
I lunged forward before she could run.
And she caught me.
Of course she did.
“Are you okay… don’t worry…”
I patted her back, but my arms were too short.
A trembling voice came from her.
“…Why are you being nice to me?”
“Because you’re cute.”
“…What… is that…”
Isn’t that the most important reason?
Cute things must be protected.
So… can I hug you just once while you’re a puppy? Just one kiss on the nose?
Protect the dog, absolutely.
