There were always tiny, fingernail size gems in the pouch and odd bits of gold that seemed to have been removed from somewhere. From Claude's point of view, they were destitute things that no one would have, no matter who gave it to them.
The intruder seemed to have not even noticed that the pouch they had buried in the soil were no longer in their original position. I wonder, you're not distressed about it intruder, are you?
Moreover, they seemed to have tried to bury the treasures with all their heart, but the finish is sloppy.
This was the case with bumpy ground that were not flattened properly, the mother-of-pearl shovel that were always hidden in the same place, and the footprints that huddled around the pouch.
Like a child playing house.
......Children?
"Your Majesty. What's wrong with you?"
Claude's steps stopped at the sudden flash of thought. It seemed as if something came in to mind again, but soon it sank quietly to the bottom.
Do you know what you're asking behind the scenes? A moment later, Claude replied briefly to Felix.
"Nothing."
I didn't want to dig it out. I didn't want to think about anything, everything was annoying.
"I found pouches on the emperor's office for the first time. What the hell was it?”
Then, asked Felix, who was walking behind Claude, wondering.
"I found the pouch very cute, just like that of a little baby's I saw at my aunt's house when I was young. The design on the outside was a flower with a white petal with a yellow center, right?”
"Was that a flower?"
"Wasn't it?"
"I thought it was an egg."
This time, instead of moving to where Claude is heading, Felix stopped.
"Your Majesty...... was there a person who embroiders an egg on their pouch?"
But already, Claude was walking as far ahead as where he was, so Felix gave up pointing that out and just walked behind Claude.
"It must have found the wrong nest."
Claude said, recalling the twinkling things in the pouch. But unable to see the contents of the pouch, Felix tilted his head suspiciously at his words.
Oh, are you just bored again?
Claude's steps were directed toward the South Gate, not the preface he normally used.
For a few days the unexpected emergency seemed a little interesting, but it also became annoying.
"Your Majesty, in front of...."
"I know."
At first, I was just going to ignore it. But now I want to stop it.
No, is the reason really just to end it?
Isn't the true end for Claude de Alger Obelia is to completely cut off the last vestige of attention by turning a blind eye to what's in front of you?
But now, he's walking after something that feels far away.
As if something invisible was pulling at him.
Step step
And where he finally arrived, Claude met the intruder.
A bright blonde, shining white in the sun. A strangely dainty yellow flower ornament, decorating its head. The lace, which turned out to be beneath the inflated white skirt, fluttered along in an upward movement. A pinched pink ribbon was visible in front of the waist.
Was there a creature like that in this palace?
Claude was in a curious mood as he looked at the back, gradually getting closer.
At a glance, she looked small, vulnerable, smooth, and could die without even a single word from his hand. Isn't she even as small as the angel next to her?
Claude's strange mood deepened when the little creature suddenly opened her mouth and bit the angel's butt.
Claude tilted his head sideways and opened his mouth.
"How long have you lived in my castle like this?"
Then the child, holding the angel's heel and biting it's shiny butt in front of her, looked back at him with a startled look?
She faltered back in a near reflexive response.
"Hic."
A strange noise came with a strange expression.
Two steps. Changgrang!
Something fell and could be heard scattered on the floor, but Claude didn't take his eyes off the face that finally came to view.
"That face."
No, to put it more precisely, I was right not to take my eyes off.
"I think I've seen it somewhere."
It was surprising that a child who could never be on his palace appeared out of nowhere, but it was all the more strange because her face was strangely familiar.
Suddenly, my head ached. Come to think of it, sometimes I'll be like this ever since I tried to think of a certain something in my head.
I don't think I want to remember this delicate feeling.
There was a beep, a noise that sounded like someone was pushing the latch that had been tightly locked. And finally, a shadow of a rare memory appeared through the cracks.
"Yes. Was the wench from Ziodonna? You look like that girl."
Come to think of it, there was a person who made his heart flutter, and she looked like the child in front of him.
"But it doesn't matter who you are."
Why does it matter now? It was a long time ago anyway. If I had forgotten, it would have been better. There was no need to remember it again now.
Suddenly, he saw a small white flower visible on the child's hair. It was the same kind of flower he found not long ago beside the footprints of the intruder.
Claude unconsciously reached for it.
"Your Majesty."
A voice of alarm rang out from behind. Some people died of indigestion with a single gesture of his hand, so Felix was worried that he might be trying to harm the child in front of him.
But it was an unnecessary concern. Claude did not reach out to kill the child in front of him. It's only because that white flower, which seemed to be a common wild flower, somehow gave him a familiar impression.
'Princess Athanasia is your only flesh and blood.’
At that very moment, a sharp piece of memory poked deep into his consciousness as if it was waiting.
'It's the only trace left in this world by..... Would you regret it, if you removed it with your own hands?’
His hand stopped in midair.
"I remember.”
One day in the past, when I was full of bitterness, It seemed to unfold before my eyes again.
"Your name that the girl gave you. It was definitely Athanasia."
The baby he was determined to kill that day but in the end, he turned around without killing it.
"It was blood that could have held me back."
Why'd you want to kill her? And why didn't you kill her? The memory that seemed to have been torn to pieces was in a mess and could not easily be pieced together.
"You've grown a lot."
My head was numb as if I hadn't slept in days, and I felt a little stuffy as if a haze was blocking the air.
Tack! Tack!
But the moment he heard something falling on the floor, Claude quickly came to his senses.
When he lowered his gaze, what came into his view was a pouch that looked similar to what he had dug from the ground. Only this time it was different, it had a carrot-eating rabbit embroidered on it. With it in front of him, the child was at a loss.
Claude approached the child impulsively and lifted up her small body. Then, I felt the child breath in surprise.
"What? I thought you have really chubby cheeks, but I didn't think you would weigh so much."
The cheeks that looked soft, the little lips that opened in amazement, and the eyes in shock as if they were about to fall, were clearly the same as those of that person, as if they are the same creature before him.
"But what are you doing in my palace?"
The thoughtless question hardened my grip. She sneaks into my palace and buries her strange poches on the ground, then she shows a strange behavior by biting the angel's butt. Doesn't it seem like an animal type of thing to do?
"You thought it was a like a toy."
He said, when he saw the clear marks on the angel's round hips.
"You must have lost your way playing in the Ruby Palace."
Now I remember. The white flowers attached to the child's head were grown in a flower garden located between Ruby Palace and Garnett Palace. Come to think of it, it was Ruby Palace where he tried to kill his child with blood on his hands.
"Felix."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Listen,"
Claude handed the child he was holding to Felix. Then after facing each other, he walked first, leaving behind two bewildered people.
"I'll have some refreshments with my guests.”
* * *
I could see the quiver of her eyes.
Claude was looking at the eyes of her frightened face while the fragrant tea and cakes his child might like were on the table.
Claude sat opposite of her and observed the restless child for a while.
It was quite interesting when I brought my child with me on the spur of the moment, but after a while, the memories began to rise again in my mind.
'Is that the name, Athana? Athanasia?'
When I see her with a shaky face, I began to think of the memories that I had forgotten.
For some reason, I can't remember, but it happened right after I killed all the courtiers in Ruby Palace with my own hands.
'That's funny. I wonder if It can survive as tough as that name.’
That day he tried to kill the baby that was apparently his biological daughter, but he turned around and didn't.
"I didn't know you can't speak.”
"Hiccup."
Shortly after the courtiers, who were setting up the refreshments, leave the room. Claude lifted the teacup to his mouth. Then the child had a startling hiccup.
"It's so quiet that it's no fun."
It was fun to have a small, palm-size face change expressions from time to time.
"Can't you tell me the anything?"
"Athy can talk."
After saying that, the child smiled a bit awkwardly.
"Now I finally heard your voice. Why haven't you opened your mouth until now?"
When I asked her persistently, she looked helpless as if she was forcing to laugh.
"Your Majesty, I heard that infants of her age are shy of strangers."
"Really?"
The answer came from Felix, who was standing next to me.
When I heard that, I thought it might be possible. From the standpoint of a child, it was scary and disturbing that the first person she just saw was going to pick her up and kidnap her.
Claude looked at the child from the other side once more.
But the moment their eyes met, the child smiled with a speechless look on her face again. Somehow, there's a subtle feeling with that smile.