Bluebird Lady and The White Lion Family

Within a minute of stepping foot in the cell, Sophina regretted it.

 “Ugh…” 

The smell of blood. She reflexively covered her nose.

 

They hadn’t even gotten to the area where the eagles were caged yet, but it was gross.

 

Ricardo put a comforting hand on Sophina’s shoulder, soothing her.

 “It’s okay, my lady.” 

The warmth of his voice made her feel a little better.

 

Then, as they approached, the bodies of the eagles.

 “Close your eyes, milady.” 

Ricardo closed Sophina’s eyes for her with the palm of his hand.

 

So she wouldn’t have to see the horror.

 

‘But I could see it. He’s really dead’

, I thought.

 

Sophina held a short moment of silence.

 

They had done bad things, and they were beyond repair, but such was the weight of life.

 

As Ricardo shielded her, the knight who had been escorting her brought the evidence he had stored away.

 “Here, a hair we found.” “It must have belonged to an intruder, for lions are not born with hair this black.” 

Ricardo examined the hair and gave it a reasonable doubt.

 

‘Another black panther.’

 

Black. There were many animals of that color, but leopards were the only species capable of such boldness.

 

I didn’t know how it had gotten past security, but that was something I would investigate later.

 

Then, blinded but not deaf, Sophina’s ears perked up.

 “?” “Hair?” 

She held out the Thenedore.

 “It’s got tracking, we’ll catch him.” 

Once they were out of the prison, they were ready to go after the suspect in earnest.

 

With that, Sophina activated the Thenedore with its tracking capabilities.

 Beep! 

The Thenedore vibrated, and a white thread was pulled out of it.

 

A thread with an almost sacred glow. It was an intangible, holographic, intangible energy that could be seen but not actually exist.

 

Presumably connected to the killer.

 “If we follow this, we’ll catch him.” 

Sophina told the search party that had quickly assembled.

 “Thank you, little lady.” 

The trusty envoys rushed out of the mansion in unison, leaving a trail of dust in their afterimages.

  

Three days after an unexpected storm.

 

The search party returned. Some of them were wounded, some injured.

 

The knight in the lead fell to his knees in front of Ricardo and apologized.

 “I apologize, my lord. We had a chance to mortally wound him, but things got more complicated than we thought.” “Who is the killer?” 

Ricardo asked, his expression grim.

 “He was a mind-controlling bastard, and several of our allies were killed because of it…” 

A panther. As Ricardo had suspected, the beast was a panther.

 

Ricardo’s eyes sharpened with murderous intent at the mention of it. He softened slightly when Sophina noticed.

 

Still, the frightened knight reached into his pockets and pulled out something.

 “I took this from him instead.” 

It was a strange formula drawn by the eagle master.

 “Huh? This?” 

Sophina’s eyes widened at the sight of it.

 

It was a familiar symbol.

 

‘My eldest sister learned it from my father. She used to brag about it.’

 

It was the eagle’s code, known only to the head of the family.

 

The eldest sister was the tacit heir to the family name, so she knew.

 

Anyway, there were a few times when I was cleaning her room and read the rules of the code on a piece of paper.

 

I was intrigued and made a note of it,

 

‘I wonder if it’s in the bag I brought with me when I escaped from the Eagles?’ 

 

Maybe I should check it out.

 

She opened her mouth cautiously.

 “It’s a cipher known only to the head of the Eagle Family, could you leave it with me for a while?” 

Hearing that, Riccardo nodded to the knight.

 

Eventually, the code was passed to Sophina, and she took Ricardo’s hand with a flourish and sprinted off to her office.

 

Ricardo was dragged along obediently, his eyes narrowed as he glanced at Sophina.

 “What are you doing, my lady?” “To find out what it means.” 

The black panther had stolen from the eagle. He killed them to destroy the evidence, and besides, Ricardo said he had allies in this war.

 

The Eagles were involved,

 

‘I wonder if it’s the Black Panthers who are behind this.’ 

 

Anyway, the eagle lord wrote it in a code that only he and my oldest sister could crack, so it must be very important.

 

It would be a real shame to burn it to the ground before they could find it.

 “Don’t worry.” 

Oh, you do believe me, don’t you?

 

Sophina narrowed her eyes confidently.

 

And then…

 

Frustrated.

 “I can’t even read what was written here.” 

After some searching, she found the notebook where she’d written down the code, but she hadn’t completely solved it.

 

I racked my brain, but there was no answer.

 

All I got was self-doubt.

 “Ricardo, do you think you can figure it out?” 

Sophina looked up at Ricardo, her eyes glazed over.

 

He coughed uselessly. It meant he didn’t know.

 

She pouted her lips in disappointment. Then, as she turned her attention back to her notebook, Ricardo snuggled up next to her and whispered in her ear.

 “Why don’t we try another approach, milady?” “Uh? Um.” 

In the narrow distance, Sophina stared at Ricardo mesmerized.

 

She tried to shake it off and focus. Half a day passed quickly as they practiced each of Ricardo’s suggestions.

 

We held hands, made eye contact, and ate snacks, so it was like an indoor date.

 

‘How did we end up here, trying to crack the code?’

 

Sophina scratched her head.

 

The room was giving off a pink vibe.

 

There was a rhythmic, cheerful knock on the door.

 Knock, knock, knock!Ricardo, “Want to play together?” 

The voice sounded like a pig squealing.

 “Please come out!” 

It was Canus.

 

Canus flung open the door and berated Sophina sarcastically with his usual attitude.

 “Sister, do you have a problem keeping to yourself?” 

Ricardo was no exception to the nagging.

 “What is this, a couple’s chop session? I’m sick of it. Really.” “Huh? Canus! You’re just in time.” 

Sophina smiled at him as if oblivious.

 

Canus stumbled backward at her change of demeanor, which only became fierce when necessary.

 “Why the uneasy greeting…?” “You’re smart, I need you to interpret this.” 

Sophina held up the notebook and the map she and Ricardo had been clutching.

 

Of course, our Tsundere Canus batted it away eagerly.

 “Oh, no, I don’t want to do that. I’m not doing it!” “Just try it. It’s really hard, isn’t it?” “Dude, what’s so hard about this?” 

To no avail. He’s hooked again. Another snake.

 

Raising one corner of her mouth, Sophina broke it off and held it in her hand so as not to offend the little snake.

 

Canus, oblivious to the prank, continued to study intently.

 “It’s a map of encrypted pictures. I can’t tell what the rules are from this, so it’ll take a while. Wait.” 

He asked for a paper and pen to decipher it, as if he hadn’t had enough knowledge in a long time.

 

About 30 minutes later.

 

Canus pulled a pair of fashionable glasses out of nowhere, put them on, and casually fiddled with them.

 “I’ve roughly solved it, but it’s a mess. It’s going to take a while to make it into a legible map, huh?” “Yeah, well, I guess you’ll just have to play hard until then.  

Sophina clapped her hands in unison, her conscience sold.

 “If that’s the way you look at it, you’re a very scary fellow.” 

Canus smirked at her, but stealthily slipped the notebook and the formula into his pocket.

 

Apparently, the studious genius liked it.

 

Just as things were wrapping up on a cordial note, Ricardo turned to Canus with a sour look on his face.

 “But, little snake, what brings you here?” “Oh, I’ve been working on a new nutritional formula from the berries my sister gave me. Big brother, are you jealous?” 

Canus answered nonchalantly, then let out an audible gasp. Then he glanced away and froze.

 “You don’t look like it, but you’re totally jealous.” 

Ricardo fidgeted, unnecessarily avoiding Sophina’s eyes.

 

For some reason, his fingertips are tickling hers, and she responds in kind by slapping his forearm.

 

The topic was quickly changed. She was planning to expand her business into medicines, and she had asked Canus for a favor.

 “So, the supplements, are they finished?” “No. I was going to ask if you could do the rest of the work, since we’ve finished the first clinical trial.” 

The fiery Canus replied chicly.

 

Then, mortified, he said,

“And now I’m the only one with more work. Anyway, I’ll try to interpret that map.” 

And just like that, the story had a happy ending.

  

Meanwhile, inside, a lavishly decorated chamber with an opulent interior lined with all sorts of precious objects.

 

A man in black robes, having narrowly escaped the lions’ pursuit, sits on his knees.

 

His forehead was bleeding profusely, as if freshly beaten, and another man reclined arrogantly cross-legged on the couch before him.