Bluebird Lady and The White Lion Family Chapter 40

 

🐾

If we could just water and manage them with a robot, they would grow well.

 

Then I wouldn’t have to suffer from labor problems like now.

 

I asked the shopkeeper about it, but all I got was the answer that it was a trade secret.

 

‘I think I saw it in the original story.’

 

Something struck me.

 

But I couldn’t think of anything, and I passed it over and picked up a large, cute stuffed lion.

 

It was a gift for my sister Ririela, ‘Surely she won’t use it as a punching bag?’

 

Ricardo said it was a better choice, so I picked it up, but I was skeptical.

 

Meanwhile, Canus looked up at Sophina as he curled his tail around a stuffed snake that looked exactly like him.

 

— I’m only seven years old, this little boy!

 

She giggled at the thought. Canus nailed it to the wall.

 

— I like it,

 

“Why are you looking at me?”

 

— Why?

 

Sophina wasn’t a little girl asking her mom for a toy at the market, but Canus’ insistence finally won out, and she bought him a doll.

 

‘I’ve got some money thanks to the Roneache flowers, so I’ll splurge just once.’

 

While she was at it, she also picked out other things for everyone else.

 

Instead of a doll, she got her mother an antique handmade brooch, and Ricardo a little white lion.

 

Ricardo meekly accepted the doll and laughed, “Are you telling me this is me?”

 

“Why not? It’s cute.”

 

“Someone would say it’s a cat.”

 

Ricardo said nonchalantly but held the doll tightly in his arms as though he didn’t like it.

 

The duplicity of it all made Sophina’s expression puzzled.

 

‘The white lion doll looks a bit like a cat.’

 

Suddenly, I remembered Ricardo’s words from the other day. He had asked me if I had ever rescued a lion from the forest.

 

‘Oh, no way.’

 

That’s the way it’s supposed to be.

 

For some reason, I felt a twinge of annoyance, but I paid the bill and left the store.

 

‘It’s been a long time, but it’s a shame to leave.’

 

Sophina looked at Ricardo and smiled brightly, inviting him to play.

 

So they bought sandwiches from a nearby bakery and laid them out on a mat on the riverside.

 

Sophina sat down with a stuffed blue bird in a pink apron and Ricardo with a stuffed white lion in a yellow apron.

 

They looked like a pair of children out for a picnic.

 

The river breeze gently tickled their cheeks.

 

The smell of fresh sandwiches and vegetables wafted through the air.

 

With her head held high, and her eyes closed, Sophina spoke.

 

“The breeze is so cool. Isn’t it?”

 

“Yes, it is.”

 

Ricardo gave a brief affirmative, a cool smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

 

‘I think we can honestly call each other friends, don’t we?’

 

We go out together, we chat all day, we eat snacks like this?

 

What’s more, Ricardo’s reactions these days have been much more favorable than before.

 

‘Maybe we could pretend to be more friendly?’

 

Sophina pursed her lips with a twinkle in her eye.

 

Canus interjected innocently.

 

— I never knew buying a birthday present for someone could be so much fun.

 

He’s so clueless.

 

Sophina grumbled inwardly but agreed, “I know.”

 

Canus was so happy, wrapping his stuffed snake around himself, it was hard not to notice.

 

— I always get books for my birthday, but I guess a stuffed animal isn’t so bad!

 

As Canus talked about his birthday, he suddenly asked Sophina a question.

 

— But when’s your birthday? Orchid spring has already passed.

 

Sophina replied sourly, “Birthday? I don’t know?”

 

— Why don’t you know?

 

Canus retorted innocently, with no malice in his face.

 

‘Because I don’t even have parents.’

 

A child of the eagle family doesn’t have a birthday.

 

It was still a mystery which bluebird had left the eggs among the great eagles.

 

It’s also puzzling that the bad-tempered eagles would accept a small bluebird into their clan rather than abandon it.

 

‘Perhaps they needed someone to bully.’

 

Sophina let out a small breath and dismissed the thought.

 

Perhaps Canus hadn’t told her about this.

 

‘He didn’t know, and I can’t blame him.’

 

She didn’t feel all that bad.

 

I’ve been living without a birthday for 14 years now.

 

Sometimes, when I saw my siblings celebrating their birthdays in grand splendor, I felt a pang of envy, but that was it.

 

“I really don’t care,” Sophina repeated, adding a blunt remark, “At least I know it’s fall.”

 

‘Because that’s when my father said I was born, according to the family register,’ Sophina finished, taking a big bite out of her sandwich and pulling her knees up to her chest.

 

Ricardo squinted at her, feeling a little sullen.

 

His blue eyes held a small sliver of a gleam. Ricardo scolded Canus in a voice that seemed more turbid than usual.

 

“Stay away from my wife, you little snake.”

 

— When is her birthday, then?

 

“I don’t know.”

 

He shrugged lazily and mouthed the same answer as Sophina.

 

Sophina stared at him blankly, then batted her eyelashes.

 

‘So this is what you call being friends?’

 

It feels weird because it seems like I’m taking sides.

 

— You’re both mysterious, you know.

 

Canus rolled his eyes at the strange atmosphere and grumbled unnecessarily.

 

Ricardo shook his head and gestured to Sophina.

 

“Why don’t we just leave that one here?”

 

“It’s certainly tempting.”

 

She agreed cheerfully.

 

Then, leaving Canus alone, she stood up and tugged on Ricardo’s sleeve.

 

— No! Don’t throw me away! I’m sorry!

 

Canus whimpered and scrambled after them.

 

The long outing was over. And Ririela’s birthday was just around the corner.

 

🐾

 

The afternoon, a day before Ririela’s birthday.

 

The atmosphere at the mansion was strangely restrained, but boisterous.

 

‘Ririela hasn’t celebrated her birthday in the mansion in almost seven years,’ Jane told me.

 

It was odd that an outcast would even celebrate a birthday.

 

There was a reasonable suspicion that something was going on with the House of Lopan, after all, and Sophina, who was wrapping a doll for Ririela, pursed her lips and muttered, “Something is wrong.”

 

The relationship between her mother and her sister Ririela was strange, even for a pretender.

 

They seemed to be watching each other too closely.

 

Too cautious to be family after a long time.

 

As if something had happened in the past.

 

Sophina leaned back against the desk in her office and puffed out her fluffy cheeks.

 

Tomorrow morning would be the birthday, which made her even more curious.

 

Ricardo seemed to recognize the familiarity of the situation.

 

‘I’ll be having tea with my mom soon, should I sneakily ask her?’

 

No. She told me not to mind other people’s business.

 

Let’s focus on my work.

 

After pushing her thoughts away, Sophina brought a gift box from the corner of the room.

 

She put a doll tied with a pretty red ribbon and a cute card inside.

 

‘And a letter decorated in colorful crayons!’

 

She planned to impress Ririela and get to know her.

 

After the banquet, we chatted for a while, and she didn’t seem like a bad person, even if she was a little scary.

 

Just then, there was a knock on the door and a familiar voice pierced through my head.

 

— We’re here!

 

It’s the master bedroom of a very lioness house.

 

Sophina clicked her tongue and opened the door.

 

But Canus wasn’t the only one standing in the doorway.

 

“…Hello, Sophina?”

 

Ririela was with her, looking even more eerie in her dark indigo-blue outfit.

 

— Ririela, I’m going to hang out in Sister’s room tonight, do you want to come?

 

It’s like having friends barge into your house unannounced.

 

Do I have the option to say no?

 

Without warning, Sophina opened the door with both hands and feet.

 

“It’s okay if it’s just for a moment…”

 

Conscious of Ririela, Sophina awkwardly raised her voice and tugged on the doorknob.

 

They entered curiously, looking around like they were newcomers to a friend’s house.

 

“Wow.”

 

It was a genuine exclamation from Ririela, -What, the interior looks strangely different, more organized.

 

It was a compliment of her own.

 

The two of them chatted in unison as if they’d grown close.

 

— I’ve never seen this furniture before. They must have paid attention to the details. It’s going to bring in a lot of money.

 

“Yeah. It’s girly. Cute.”

 

Sophina let her mind wander as she watched the scene.

 

‘I see, it’s the beast playing with the beast.’

 

Canus wondered how she could talk to Ririela without being overwhelmed by her charisma.

 

It was understandable, though, given her quick wit and easygoing personality.

 

‘Should I offer her tea since she’s a guest?’

 

Sophina pulled a fast one and asked Jane to set the table.

 

As the hastily arranged table was being set, Ririela, with her fierce eyes, took an interest in the gift box.

 

“But what’s that?”

 

A large box, colorfully wrapped and oversized, as if it were a gift.

 

The muscles in Ririela’s face twitched uncontrollably.

 

“My gift?”

 

She bit her bottom lip to keep the smile from spreading.

 

The sharp lion’s fangs crushed her lip and drew blood.

 

“Ugh.”

 

Sophina sucked in a short breath. It looked like a vampire.

 

— Wow, what a life.

 

Even Canus, who’d been cackling fearlessly, was surprised.

 

‘It feels good.’

 

But Ririela was in high spirits. Her lips curled in a humming, purring motion.

 

Then, suddenly, she blurted out in embarrassment.

 

“I haven’t gotten a birthday present in so long…”

 

Ririela lowered her gaze and flashed a gap-toothed grin.

 

She said she hadn’t really done much for birthdays in the past.

 

‘What was it like in the original?’

 

Ririela added, just as a strange sense of déjà vu was taking over Sophina’s mind.

 

“It was nice.”

 

A short sentence, echoing in her husky voice.

 

Ironic, wasn’t it?