The spire soaring high into the sky had the same exit and entrance, so if only that one door was guarded, there was no way out. There was only a small window that was difficult to squeeze through.
“It’s not possible.”
“I’m just giving you flowers. Because Sophia wanted to give it to you.”
“Sorry.”
“She said she would only give you flowers.”
There was nothing that would improve the current situation by going in and meeting for a while, but that damn order banning visits was blocking the way. Joshua felt like his hand would strain at any moment, but he knew that the flower Sophia wanted to give him was extremely fragile, so he was careful and suppressed his anger.
“I…”
“Josh, stop. They say no.”
Joshua, who stopped what he was saying due to Benjamin’s dissuasion, let out a small sigh. Here he knows that if he takes a step back he will no longer see his mother. If the day comes when he sees his mother, it will be his mother’s last day. It was about giving up his mother.
“I’ll leave the flowers here, so no one touches them.”
“…”
“That’s okay.”
She left a blue rose in front of the door. There was no saying no. Joshua took a step back from the door and quietly looked up at the spire. Benjamin also raised his head next to him and then lowered it. He covered his eyes with one hand and bit his lip. He looked like he was trying to hold back tears.
“How many days, how many days?”
Benjamin asked with a trembling voice.
A few days. Chase wondered, how many days would their mother be able to survive there?
“…I have to hope for a miracle.”
Like a blue rose. Shortly thereafter, Chase emerged from the spire. That’s it. Chase Ceviche was able to exit the steeple. Even though it was after he died, it was just despairing. Attending Chase Ceviche’s funeral were Benjamin, Joshua, the Ceviche family, and several relatives. He knew Bled wouldn’t be attending, but he was angry. Even more so because he went to the funeral of Benny, who passed away the day before Chase died.
Benjamin and Joshua’s names were their mother’s choice. To remember her, to make her suffer every time she saw and remembered those names, the ones who made her like this. He didn’t know what kind of face he would like to see Sophia. He felt like it would be easier to pretend he didn’t know. But it couldn’t be done.
The child, who faced the deaths of her mother and Chase at the same time without knowing anything, was holding back more tears than they were. The child, who stayed until the end of Benny’s funeral and later heard about Chase’s death, was looking at the garden that Chase and Benny often visited.
“Miss, you can cry.”
“I’m not crying.”
Sophia responded to Ray’s concerns by clenching her small fists and tightening her eyes.
“If I cry, she can’t rest comfortably.”
“Miss…”
“Mom… She told me not to cry…”
So she wouldn’t cry. In her time to grieve, she would say that she liked it and that she was thankful. She would tell them that she would always like it and appreciate it. Could it be that she inherited that bravery that a 5-year-old cannot possess from Benny, who acted as if she had lived longer than others? Joshua and Benjamin assimilated Sophia’s emotions and hugged her small body at the same time.
“Benji, Josh… I’m fine.”
“Huh. Sophia is fine, but I’m a little sad. I want Sophia to cry with me.”
Benjamin whispered and closed his eyes. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Sophia. It’s good to be strong, but I don’t think it’s good to pretend to be so strong that it’s difficult for you.”
It was a rough touch, but paradoxically, a soft hand stroked Sofia’s head, and Sofia eventually burst into tears. The death of loved ones was unbearable and it was impossible not to feel sad. Loray hugged all three of them warmly and secretly wiped away her tears.
Joshua and Benjamin stayed with Sophia after the incident. How could they hate her?
A child who could cry so sincerely in the face of Chase’s death. But that thought didn’t last long. Chase’s death eventually made them fall apart. When Sofia was eight years old she became completely alone.
* * *
Chase Ceviche Roberti’s death anniversary. The day before was the anniversary of Benny Lorancel’s death. Chase’s grave was not located within the castle. Sofia was unable to celebrate the anniversary of Chase’s death due to being buried in the ceviche’s grave. Then she heard about the events of that day from them and from then on she marked the anniversary of her death simply by going to the steeple, laying down flowers and saying a few words. According to what they said, the fault was on her side.
‘Mother…’
She was not sure whether to consider it fortunate or unfortunate that all her memories from that time before she was 12 were blurry. Sophia got up to celebrate the anniversary of her death as she always did, and then she lay down again. It was still morning. Since the twins would be at the spire, she wanted to avoid meeting them because their paths overlapped.
12-year-old Sophia knew nothing about the events of that time.
“Flowers…”
She rolled her eyes, looking for a flower to take. A vase placed nearby caught her eye. A blue rose that was said to have bloomed miraculously by a flower wizard. Night came, and Sophia, with her clumsy skill, left only one of the flowers in the vase alone, and gathered them all together and tied them with her string. The ribbon was really bad. It always was like that. Sophia didn’t know how to do anything right. So much so that it feels like she’s talented in her lack of talent.
Originally she wouldn’t have taken a lantern, but she decided to take one this time. Because she fell down dozens of times because she couldn’t see properly at night. She didn’t want to fall and get hurt again, so she prepared a lantern this time. Holding the flowers, she headed to the spire without hesitation. Someone’s gaze, noticing her movements through the brightly shining light, turned to Sophia Benny.
“…Why are you walking around now?”
* * *
A place surrounded by a night sky full of stars and a dark, dark forest. It wasn’t that difficult to get to the front of the spire that stretched towards the sky like a sword raised high. She brought a lantern so she didn’t get lost or fall, and she had long since memorized the way to the spire.
Sophia stood in front of the steeple gate and placed the flowers she had brought in front of her. It was a pale flower that matched the night.
“…hello.”
She still didn’t know what to call it, so I omitted it. What did they call it before? She couldn’t remember. As she rolled her eyes and gave an awkward greeting, the flower placed next to her caught her eye. The same blue rose. Benjamin and Joshua probably left it behind. Was Chase’s hair color the same as this rose? Or eye color? If not that too… Was it her favorite flower? Even if she went to the portrait room in the castle, Chase’s portrait had long since been disposed of, so as Sophia, who couldn’t remember the past, all she could do was make predictions.
The twins had no color inherited from their mother.
“Sorry.”
She knew that it’s not okay to apologize instead. Sophia was young at the time, and she still had no memories of that time, so she couldn’t confirm what was true. She was not the kind of person her mother would be, so she couldn’t be certain, and she was not the kind of person her mother should be, so she couldn’t be certain. However, she thought that at least there were people who remembered what happened at that time, and if they named the cause as ‘Benny’, should be in this position as the successor to that name.
Dead people probably didn’t want to see themselves. Sofia let out a light breath and picked up the flower she had put down again.
“I’ll take the flowers back. I’d be in trouble if they found out I was here…”
Crunchy- rustling-
Huh? At the sound of the grass shaking, Sophia’s gaze turned in that direction. She thought it was the sound of the wind, but a strong wind blew as if it turned it into certainty. The hair that Sophia, not Lorey, had tied up herself was undone as if it were very natural. It was tied clumsily, so there was no way the ribbon string could withstand the wind.
She just looked in vain at the black ribbon string flying away with the wind. She wished she had a life where she could fly away like that without anyone catching her.
That won’t happen.
“…I wish I could die.”
What was regression? It keeps turning back time so you can’t die. Wasn’t it right that people should die when they die?
What on earth was stopping her from dying? She ended up tying her hair and having strange thoughts. Sighing briefly, Sophia ruffled her hair more and left the spire behind. The day would never come when Sofia returned to this place. There would be no more guilt. Today was just her last visit to shake everything off. Sophia quietly went back into bed without being noticed and fell asleep under the warm blanket.
In her sleep, she heard someone open the door and come in. Judging by the rustling sounds and mumbling voices coming and going, it seemed like the servants were secretly leaving behind a birthday present. They said it wasn’t necessary so she wouldn’t have to prepare. In times like this, it would be better to pretend not to know, so Sophia didn’t pay much attention and let herself lose consciousness.
In an instant, the morning of this unexpected birthday dawned.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on May, 11.
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