[The Spirit King of ‘■■■■■■’ murmurs, ‘Daffodil’.]
Daffodil?
I scanned the room, but there wasn’t a single daffodil in any of the vases.
‘What could it mean?’
I paced the large room, deep in thought, until I suddenly stopped and looked up. And there…!
“……!”
It was a door with a daffodil embossed into the wood.
It sat right next to the massive bed, so well-hidden I hadn’t noticed it at first. I circled the room again, and there it was.
“Ugh.”
I stood on my tiptoes, gripped the doorknob, and pulled with all my might.
*Creeeak, creeeeaaaak.*
Unlike the pristine bedroom, this door felt as if it hadn’t been opened in an eternity.
It resisted, but… I did it!
“Oof.”
I tumbled inside like a small ball and blinked, trying to adjust my eyes to the dark.
The air here was different—thick and heavy with the scent of stale dust. It looked like no one had touched this place in years.
“Achoo!”
I rubbed my nose and peered into the gloom.
There was only one item in the empty room. A picture frame, draped in a thick, dusty cloth.
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ gently pushes your back.]
[It’s okay. Go ahead.]
One step, two steps.
My heart hammered against my ribs. As if someone were guiding my hand, the cloth slid away.
“…….”
There was a younger-looking Admiral. And Elzen-hyung, looking much younger than he does now.
I hadn’t met him yet, but that tall boy must be Micard-hyung, right?
‘And that lady. I don’t know her name, but…….’
In the arms of a noblewoman with the nickname ‘Aul,’ there was a baby wrapped in a swaddling cloth.
Her eyes were closed, so I couldn’t tell their color, but she had light pink hair. Just like mine.
‘Milady? The Admiral’s wife…? Lady Aul? I don’t know what to call her, but she has pink hair too!’
Her slightly downturned eyes were beautiful. Her gaze held a mysterious mix of laughter and tears, and the tip of her nose and chin were soft and round.
She wasn’t thin, just plump, and her cheeks looked incredibly soft.
Just like me!
‘Oh, but…….’
Staring blankly at the painting, I flinched and stepped back.
*Beep- beep- beep-*
A sudden, sharp notification pierced the air. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
‘Why is it so strange…….’
Someone with pitch-black hair and eyes overlapped with the face in the portrait. It was impossible—I didn’t even know who that was—so why did it feel so familiar?
Why was I suddenly gasping for air?
“Haa, haa.”
I clutched my chest and stumbled backward.
*Thump!*
I collapsed, my head spinning violently.
‘My head, it hurts.’
It hurts!
Countless scenes flashed before my eyes. People in white gowns. Hurried, frantic footsteps. Someone’s chest rising and falling in a desperate rhythm.
*Beep- beep- beep-*
A terrible, detestable sound.
It latched onto my ankles and dragged me down. The very thought of a gray, square building filled with square windows made me tremble.
“A, ah… aaaaah!”
“Crab!”
“Ah-!!”
A beautiful person lay on the bed.
Seeing her struggle to smile despite having no strength left, I tried to cheer her up. I danced. I sang with my hands clasped together.
And I prayed. I prayed so, so much.
*Please, don’t take her to a distant star.*
*Please, don’t take her away.*
“Don’t go, Mommy…….”
*Drop.*
With that single whisper, I collapsed into a firm embrace. A lone tear slid down my cheek.
* * *
‘Remember this song, my beloved daughter.’
A gentle touch stroked my hair. Half-asleep, I struggled to lift my heavy eyelids. I didn’t want to miss the voice of [ ].
‘At the end of the corridor where the wind blows. A hundred steps along the path lit by the moon and stars. Beneath the willow shadow, a pond where daffodils bloom. A small box is hidden at the bottom. It is a gift given to sorrow.’
I didn’t really understand. Daffodil, pond, box.
Remembering only the scattered fragments, I burrowed into the arms of [ ] and rubbed my cheeks against them.
‘Black hair and black eyes are not what we were meant to have. Even if you are alone, do not forget, my daughter.’
*No, I don’t want to be alone.*
*I won’t remember.*
*I’ll forget.*
*I’ll forget it all until it’s pitch black.*
*So please, tell me again.*
“Mommy…….”
*Pause.*
Diegon, who had been stroking the back of the creature no bigger than a baby turtle, froze at the small whisper brushing his ears.
He couldn’t have misheard. The child was calling for her mother.
‘Tsk, she’s only been here for how long, and this is already her second time fainting.’
His violet eyes reflected the small child.
She was a daughter he hadn’t initially wanted, one he’d accepted only because he had no other choice. He had even tried to suggest she be sent to his eldest sister, who had no children, but that had gone nowhere. His eldest sister had flatly refused to raise anyone.
Cecilia, the second-born—whom he loathed to even call ‘sister’—was full of greed and already occupied with three children of her own. His third-born brother was overwhelmed by twin boys and couldn’t be bothered.
So, one way or another, he had ended up in this father-daughter relationship.
He didn’t have an aversion to adopted children, and he had truly intended to find a way to raise her properly. But this child required a different kind of care. She possessed the ridiculous power of the Spirit King’s blessing.
“Micard and Elzen were a handful too, but you are something else entirely. It’s like leaving you at the water’s edge.”
He admitted it. Seeing Shuperti always made his lost daughter come to mind, and it pained him. That was why he kept his distance, except when he absolutely had to see her.
‘No wonder I felt so anxious…….’
But today was different. After training, a maid had reported timidly that Shuperti had wandered into the Daffodil Room. He’d thought it was just childish curiosity and dismissed it, but his nape had been aching throughout his shower. It felt as if someone were calling to him.
When the water droplets running down his spine began to feel like stinging needles, he had finally burst out, still half-wet.
‘And then I found this little one having a seizure.’
What kind of pain is she holding onto in that small body?
“Spit it out if you’re in pain, kid.”
He would take it all for her.
Isn’t that what a father does? Even if they weren’t blood-related, once they became family, Diegon accepted the responsibility. And he had no intention of turning away from it.
“You’re awake. Are you alright?”
Shuperti’s breathing shifted. Noticing it instantly, Diegon stroked her hair gently. As he did, the grip she had on his trousers—so tight her knuckles were white—began to loosen.
‘She really is like a little crab.’
He’d had her examined when she fainted, but there was nothing physically wrong with her. The doctor’s opinion was that the trigger was entirely psychological. It pained him to know they couldn’t find the cause without knowing where the child came from.
‘At least I found out something this time.’
Shuperti missed her birth mother. Perhaps she held memories of her in her subconscious.
“I remembered…….”
“What?”
“Must go. To the pond…….”
Shuperti mumbled, rubbing her chubby cheeks. He was just about to smile—the sight of her still half-asleep was undeniably cute—but she sat up abruptly.
“Must go.”
Whispering with a clarity she hadn’t possessed before, Shuperti stood.
“Little Crab?”
He called out in a low voice, but it was as if she couldn’t hear him. Her eyes were glazed and empty.
The child stumbled away from him, trotting quickly toward the doorway as if she had never collapsed in the first place. Then, she stood stock-still and stared back at him blankly, as if beckoning him to follow.
‘It’s not like some stray cat calling for help.’