Chapter 119
Ishuel and Cheshire stared in surprise at the small white flower.
The flower floated gently in the air, scattering a soft glow.
As they watched the sparkling flower, they suddenly whipped their heads toward each other at the same time.
Both their eyes were trembling.
Their hearts sank with a thud.
‘The twins don’t know I’m a fairy!’
Secrets, by nature, ceased to be secrets the more people knew about them.
Kierne had only told Belzeon, the heir to the Basilian County, about Cheshire’s secret.
It wasn’t meant to be kept forever; he would surely tell the twins later.
But right now, they were participating in the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly within the Holy Empire, so for the sake of secrecy, only the minimal number of people shared the truth.
Thus, Ishuel, knowing nothing, was suddenly confronted with the situation where his younger sibling’s body glowed and a flower popped into existence.
“…!”
Ishuel, who had frozen in shock for a moment, hurriedly pulled Cheshire into his arms.
It was to hide the light emanating from her body.
He didn’t know what was happening, but he instinctively sensed that it wouldn’t be good for Cheshire to stand out.
However, Ishuel’s small body couldn’t cover Cheshire completely.
That’s when it happened.
Hata opened his mouth wide with a woof.
Then, with a snap, he bit the flower and gulped it down.
With the glowing flower gone, the surroundings plunged back into darkness.
Both Cheshire and Ishuel stared at Hata with dumbfounded eyes.
“Woof!”
Hata barked indifferently, putting on a prim puppy expression as if nothing had happened.
Unfortunately, eating the flower yielded no benefit.
Soon after, as if to prove it, pop pop pop—flowers bloomed again.
This time, there were as many as three.
They were flowers as white as the divine power used by Hilderd’s holy priests and holy knights.
A fragrant floral scent pierced through the monsters’ toxic aura.
The flowers, overflowing with vitality as if freshly bloomed, seemed like they would ooze moisture if touched.
Ishuel, gazing at the fresh blossoms, suddenly murmured.
“…So those flowers back then were made by you too.”
At the banquet hall, when Ishuel’s clothes had been covered in juice stains.
Cheshire had created flowers to cover the stains on his formal attire.
Thanks to that, Ishuel had actually become the star of the banquet.
Realizing anew the truth tied to that past event, Ishuel slowly closed and opened his eyes.
His long platinum eyelashes fluttered along with his moving eyelids.
His trembling lips let out a small whisper.
“You’re a fairy.”
“What are you idiots doing! Planning to stay here all night?”
Karha shouted angrily as he approached.
He seemed frustrated, having told them to find Kierne but finding them just standing still.
Karha, running over with a fierce expression, sword in hand dripping with monster blood, widened his eyes in surprise.
“Wh-what… Flowers?”
Teo, who had followed Karha, also opened his eyes wide in the same way.
Ishuel didn’t have time to explain anything to them.
Immediately after, flowers began blooming one after another.
Before she knew it, Cheshire was holding an armful of white flowers in her embrace.
Hata, buried in the flowers, flailed his front paws.
Karha roughly cleared the flowers from Hata and urgently asked.
“What’s with the flowers? Did the baby make all of these?”
Cheshire was so bewildered she couldn’t give a proper answer.
The flowers had appeared on their own without her using fairy powers, which confused her.
That’s when suddenly everything went quiet.
The rampaging monsters all stopped moving at once.
The ear-piercing shrieks cut off abruptly.
In the eerie silence, the monsters all turned to look at Cheshire in unison.
Teo panted for breath, looking around in dismay.
“The monsters… This can’t be…”
Unlike him, who kept muttering to himself, the twins kept their mouths firmly shut.
They just stared at Cheshire with hardened faces.
“……”
Clutching the sparkling bouquet, Cheshire met the gazes of the monsters staring at her.
The pouring stares from the monsters were creepy enough to terrify anyone.
But Cheshire wasn’t afraid.
Because those eyes felt less like they held murderous intent and more like a plea for help.
In this vast Holy Empire, only Cheshire could sense the monsters’ emotions.
The monsters didn’t want to kill humans.
What they desired was simply the peace of death.
Her heart pounded wildly.
A certain thought kept stirring in her mind.
That she could grant the monsters peace…
No, that she must grant it.
It wasn’t a thought born from mere pity or compassion.
This was a duty.
A duty that Cheshire had to fulfill.
A duty that only Cheshire could fulfill.
“Monsters…”
Before she even realized it, Cheshire moved her lips and spoke.
“I have to save the monsters.”
The words that slipped out took on a clear shape.
Her hesitant voice gained conviction.
“It’s what Chesha has to do.”
But the twins didn’t respond.
A shadowy aura lingered in Basilian’s red eyes.
“…Does it have to be you?”
Ishuel, who had asked in a low voice, bit his lower lip hard.
He bit it until it turned pale from the lack of blood, then continued.
“Other people can do it too. Father and Big Brother are killing monsters, and the Holy Empire’s priests and knights are dealing with them as well.”
Ishuel looked like he might burst into tears at any moment.
His voice, laced with moisture, asked resentfully.
“Why does it have to be you?”
The twins must have instinctively sensed it.
That right now, Cheshire stood at a crossroads of change, and once she chose, there would be no turning back.
“Ishuel.”
Karha called Ishuel softly.
But Ishuel shook his head vigorously.
Hugging Cheshire a bit tighter, Ishuel muttered to himself.
“What if my little sibling disappears like Mom did.”
“That won’t happen. We’re family.”
“But, if it’s known that you’re a fairy and have this power…”
Ishuel’s breathing sounded off.
He was on the verge of hyperventilating.
Karha tossed his sword aside carelessly and covered Ishuel’s nose and mouth with his hand.
Ishuel squeezed his eyes shut and regulated his breathing.
His chest, which had been heaving rapidly, slowly settled.
After checking his condition, Karha chided him briefly.
“You’re such a weakling.”
Ishuel, who had fortunately recovered quickly, glared at Karha.
Ignoring that, Karha, having removed his hand, met Cheshire’s eyes again.
Karha pursed his lips for a moment.
He twisted his mouth into a triangular shape, then let out a deep sigh.
“Do what you want, baby. Well, Kierne and Belzeon might not like it, but I’ll protect you no matter what you do.”
The boy kissed his young sibling’s forehead.
“I took up the sword for you.”
The eyes holding the small baby were serious.
Soon, Karha glanced at his twin brother and added.
“And Ishuel… He learned magic for you.”
As an older brother, that’s the least I should do, Karha said in a joking tone.
“Actually, no matter what you do, Kierne will stop it, right? Father has that much power.”
“…Yeah.”
Ishuel, who had been just listening, quietly chimed in with a small word.
Karha paused for a moment, then whispered while staring at Cheshire.
“So just promise you won’t leave.”
Cheshire rolled her lips inward.
If she didn’t, she felt like she’d say something strange.
Instead, she slowly nodded.
Karha smiled wordlessly, then picked up the sword he had set down.
Cheshire quietly extended one hand.
The white flowers that had filled her arms scattered like fireflies in the midnight.
Flowers bloomed wildly from Cheshire, and her body floated lightly into the air.
Butterflies began to flutter their wings around Cheshire, who stood atop the flowers.
The fairy’s power pierced through the darkness and spread out.
There was no turning back now.
The fact that the Basilian family’s adopted child was a fairy would be known to the world.
But Cheshire was prepared for that.
Cheshire whispered softly.
“Chesha will protect the family too.”
If they were expelled from the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly, and Basilian turned its back on the Holy Empire.
She would steal if she had to, to bring the Fairy Queen’s crown to Kierne.
As the fairy Lichesia, she would fulfill her duties.
But as the youngest, as Cheshire Basilian of the family, she would also fulfill her duties.
Cheshire unleashed her power in an explosive burst.
Thousands of pure white blossoms appeared in the night sky.
A dazzlingly beautiful rain of flowers began to fall.
