Bluebird Lady and The White Lion Family

 “I think I saw something suspicious on the fall tour with Ricardo.” 

What’s the point of keeping this a secret, Sophina thought, excitedly telling her mother everything she could remember.

 

Then, as she carefully closed the door to her office, she felt a strange conviction.

 

There must be something to this,

‘Usually, in Ropan, all these things happen in the dark.’

 

But was there anyone in this novel who could be called the final villain?

 

There was no way the main villainess, who had studied in a foreign country, would have tried to harm her people.

 

Other than that, there were other beast races, such as leopards confronting lions… 

 

Ahem… It’s not a plotless novel with no story.

 

‘And the autumn tour thing, was it from the original?’

 

I don’t know much about the childhood of the lead.

 

My suspicions gradually fell into a labyrinth.

 

While I spent my days worrying about this, the morning dawned on our way to Leche.

  

Jane was helping Sophina pack her things.

 “Little Miss, do you want me to pack this too?” “Yes, put it in the bag.” 

Sophina gazed at her stuffed animal in Jane’s hand and nodded. It was going to be a long vacation, and she had a lot to carry.

 

As she was organizing her bag, she realized she had forgotten something important.

 “Oh, wait.” 

Sophina darted over to her desk and dug deep into the bottom drawer.

 

‘The map from the informant.’

 

I don’t know how she got her hands on a classified military map, but I figured it would be good to have the details.

 

She folded the map flat and slipped it into her pocket without Jane’s knowledge, but then she noticed something strange.

 

‘Huh? What is this?’

 

A strange phrase on the back of the map. It was the handwriting of the informant.

 

「𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓬𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓻 𝓲𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓭𝓸𝓮𝓼𝓷’𝓽 𝓮𝔁𝓲𝓼𝓽?」

 

‘A color in this world that doesn’t exist?’

 

Sophina’s head tilted to the side, puzzled. She was no good at riddles.

 

‘I wonder why she wrote this down.’

 

It was unlikely that the mysterious informant would have written this down as a joke, but it seemed to imply something.

 

Or a hint.

 

Like the inscription on the back of the watch, the informant liked cryptic things.

 “Little Miss. What shall we do with the others?” 

Just then, Jane, who had been wrestling with a rack of clothes, asked whether she had completed her work.

 

Shuffling the map into her pockets, Sophina celebrated.

 “I’ll do it myself now. You can go.” 

She hurriedly finished packing up her things.

 

By the time I looked at my watch, it was almost time to leave.

 

Slinging the bag over her shoulder, Sophina trudged out of the room.

 

In the hallway stood the other Chadwick’s, all ready to depart.

 

Seeing Sophina, Ririela stomped her foot as if to break the floor as she coughed out a mouthful.

 “Aww, she’s cute.” 

She wore a tiny ivory earmuff and a tan coat with a fluffy white cotton collar.

 

The outfit reminded them of a white Christmas.

 

I thought

, ‘Is this too much for a cold area?’

 

Well, Chadwick was located in the south, so it’s warm. We hadn’t even arrived in Leche yet, but maybe I was too excited about my first trip.

 

Sophina shrugged off her earmuffs and unbuttoned her coat.

 

It didn’t matter, she had another layer of clothing underneath anyway.

 

Then Khan smiled out of the corner of her eye and helped her undress with a sweet smile.

 “I see you’re wearing a robe. It looks good on you, but you’ll feel a little hot on the way.” 

Witnessing the scene, Canus burst out laughing.

 — Whoops, sister, you look stupid. 

But even the sarcastic little snake was excited and wrapped himself in a warm woolen shawl.

 “Yeah, you’re right.” 

Sophina was undeterred.

 — I’m just fashion, a fashion! 

And just as they were about to argue, they heard a raspy laugh coming from behind them.

 

It belonged to Ricardo.

 

Ricardo casually picked up Sophina’s garment from the floor and walked out as if nothing was amiss.

 

‘What the hell?’

 

Having been robbed of her clothes, Sophina ran after Ricardo.

 

She got into the same vehicle as Ricardo. Next to them was Canus. She didn’t like the steam engine with her mother and sister Ririela because the atmosphere was rather formal and awkward.

 

Anyway, the vehicle rolled smoothly, making a distinctive old-fashioned noise.

 

Sophina stared blankly out the window at the ever-changing scenery and absentmindedly shoved her hands into her coat pockets.

 

Her fingertips felt the texture of the map she’d surreptitiously taken with her.

 

Suddenly, the question on the map echoed in the back of my mind.

 

‘If I want to know, I’ll find out. Besides, I’ve got a good bet, right?’

 

Sophina called to Canus, who was stretched out on the seat.

 “Hey, Canus.” — What? “I have a quiz for you.” — I refuse. 

The little snake sassily declined, then slapped Sophina’s palm with its tail.

 

Undaunted, Sophina asked,

“What color is there in this world that doesn’t exist?” — Blue! 

Caught it. Maybe it’s because he’s still a kid, but Canus took the bait pretty well.

 

Canus sticks out his thin snake-like tongue and excuses himself.

 — Ahem, it’s instinctive, so stop. 

Having gotten the answer so easily, Sophina was puzzled.

 “But why is it the color blue?” 

‘Why it is the color?’

 — The scattering of light. No, never mind that. Isn’t that a question from the prophecy? “Prophecy?” 

Sophina’s eyes widened. The prophecy was a subject she hadn’t thought of.

 

‘I’m sure the Eagles shunned me because of the prophecy.’

 

I didn’t know exactly what the prophecy was, but I had asked my siblings about it.

 

‘You don’t need to know, they said, beating me with a bunch of honey chestnuts.’

 

It was a bad memory, so I didn’t pay much attention to prophecy after that.

 

But now that I’ve heard about it, I’m suddenly interested in learning more.

 

Meanwhile, Canus watched Sophina’s face with mild curiosity.

 — Well, I don’t want to tell you, judging by the look on your face! “Hey!” 

Sophina snapped. She gently tickled Canus with her finger as if to retaliate.

 

At that moment, Ricardo, who had been standing still, swooped up Canus and flung him out of Sophina’s reach.

 

Then, as if nothing had happened, he spoke to her with a grim face.

 “Rabbits with prophetic powers often ask awkward questions, and this seems to be one of them.” — Oops, I meant it as a joke. 

Canus clicked his tongue in response. Sophina pretended not to hear and turned to Ricardo.

 “What exactly is the prophecy, anyway?” 

But Canus beat her to the punch.

 — What will you do if I tell you? “Do you want to eat your tail again?” — Ugh! 

The little snake squinted one eye in affirmation. Sophina spoke soothingly to the little snake.

 “Aww, my little Canus!” — Hmm? “Get lost.” 

It was a bad ending. Sophina turned back to Ricardo.

 “So, what exactly is this prophecy thing?” 

Again, Ricardo remained silent. Perplexed, Sophina glared at him with her squinty eyes.

 “What is it, why won’t you tell me?” “What would you do if I told you, milady?” 

Ricardo leaned back deeper into the seat and glared at her lasciviously.

 

Ah, the use of the crude. 

 

Sophina grumbled impatiently,

“You’re starting to resemble him, aren’t you?” “I don’t like that.” 

Ricardo instinctively denied it. He hated it, with a passion.

 

Sophina, grinning from ear to ear, spoke,

 “Well, let me know, and I’ll take you out for some fun in Leche later!” “As you wish.” 

In response, Ricardo explained, surprisingly obediently.

 “The rabbit folk are said to be able to see glimpses of the future, and they like to use them to test others by asking vague questions.” 

There was a hint of disdain in Ricardo’s eyes as he told me this.

 

‘Perhaps he had a problem with the rabbit beasts.’

 

Sophina replied as soulfully as she could,

“That’s not very nice.” — Yeah, they’re not good, they’re a bunch of snobs. 

And the response came from Canus. Sophina probed, scowling.

 “Why, did something happen?” — They make their living off of prophecies, and their prophecies discriminate against races and classes! 

Canus added. Usually, he said, prophecies are only given to the highest ranking members of a family at a high price.

 

He huffed and pouted, saying that he was the youngest son and therefore not well-informed.

 

Canus’s eyes suddenly sparkled and turned to Ricardo and said, 

 — Brother, you’ve heard a lot of prophecies, haven’t you? “I don’t really care about prophecies. Perhaps my mother knows about them.” 

But Ricardo shook his head in denial.

 

‘Maybe I’ll ask her later, in private. Why was that prophecy written on the back of that map?’

 

If it’s something that’s only released to the highest ranking of the House in the first place…

 

Does that mean they’re not even considered high-ranking?

 

Spinning her thoughts tightly, Sophina’s cheeks puffed out as she concentrated.

 

Then, Canus’ words interrupted her thoughts.

 — Why did you suddenly go off on this rambling side of the story? How did you find out about the prophecy?