Chloe (Part 2)
Last night.
The quiet hours just before dawn.
Crouched in a corner of the dark attic, Chloe’s fingertips trembled faintly.
“……Who came in?”
Chloe had a habit of stretching thin, nearly invisible mana threads across the windows and along every inch of the hallway like a spiderweb.
She couldn’t see them with her eyes, but the faintest vibration would reach her fingertips if anyone brushed against them.
Ding, ding.
The rhythm of the vibrations suggested more than one intruder. And the steps were heavy, deliberate—nothing like the light footsteps of the orphanage kids.
“……Bandits?”
Chloe held her breath and peeked through a gap in the old wooden door.
Sure enough, five burly figures in black masks wandered the hallway, weapons in hand.
“……I’ll just wait here quietly until they’re gone. I don’t want to get dragged into anything.”
Chloe hugged her knees and thought that way.
She had no desire to step out and end up tangled in someone else’s mess. As long as she stayed hidden and survived until morning, that was enough.
But.
“Huaaang……! Please save me……!”
“Shut up, you little rats! Before I slit your throats!”
The words spilled from beyond the door gap, and Chloe’s eyes widened.
The bandits were waking the sleeping children, shoving them into one corner, and threatening them. The cries of the kids struggled to escape, muffled and choked.
‘Oh, seriously! Where are those guard uncles anyway!’
Chloe bit back a curse and squeezed her eyes shut.
She wouldn’t go out. This had nothing to do with her.
Thud!
“Ouch!”
At that moment, the sound of a slap rang out as one bandit slapped the cheek of a crying child.
“……!”
That noise made Chloe’s body shoot upright on instinct, ready to bolt outside.
But one memory rose to the surface.
The voice of her only guardian—the grandfather who had raised her—and who had since passed.
『Chloe. That mysterious power of yours is only a source of fear to ordinary people. So never show it to anyone, understand?』
Grandpa had always warned her sternly.
‘If you use this power, you won’t be able to live like a normal person.’
『But…… life isn’t always smooth. If it’s really necessary, then only when your life is in danger.』
The warm hand of her grandfather stroked the red hair of young Chloe.
‘When your precious friends are in danger, don’t hesitate—go save them.’
Friends.
Chloe bit her lip.
Outside, the children trembled before the bandits’ blades.
She had always been cold and pushed them away whenever they came near, calling them childish.
But when she was curled up alone in the corner, these silly, kind-hearted kids would cautiously approach and talk to her.
“……Damn it!!”
Chloe finally kicked open the old attic door with her foot and dashed out into the hallway.
“Huh? What’s this little red-haired brat……!”
One bandit spotted Chloe and instinctively raised his sword.
But before he could swing.
“Stay back!!”
From the tips of Chloe’s fingers, long mana threads shimmering with moonlight shot out.
Shuush!
“Kyaak?!”
Invisible threads wrapped around the bandit’s wrists and ankles like snakes.
Chloe flicked her fingers, yanking the threads back. The huge man floated in midair before slamming into the wall.
“W-what is this kid! What the hell are you?!”
The startled other bandits charged at Chloe in unison.
Chloe’s heart pounded as if it would burst, but she gritted her teeth and crossed her arms.
Clang! Clang!
Weapons clashed against the taut mana threads and bounced away.
“Kyahaaaak!!”
Tougher than steel and sharper than blades, the threads pierced the bandits’ limbs. Blood sprayed as the men screamed and tumbled to the floor.
“Hah… hah…”
In the blink of an eye, the situation ended. Chloe panted, her hands still shaking from the first time she had ever fought like this.
‘I… I did it…! I really did it!’
Chloe smiled brightly with relief, turning her head.
Like the heroine in the fairy tale she used to read, she imagined the rescued children cheering for her as their hero.
But.
“…….”
The children’s reaction was nothing like she had expected.
They clung to each other, blood pooling around the fallen bandits, and stared at Chloe with faces drained of all color.
As if looking at a monster.
“H-huaaang……!”
Some kids cried louder than they had when the bandits were threatening them.
The moment she saw that, the smile vanished from Chloe’s lips.
And now.
“The children were just sitting in the corner, fidgeting with their fingers, but the bandits are all lying there covered in blood…!”
The guard’s voice echoed across the orphanage courtyard.
The guard’s trembling fingertips pointed straight at her, and the exact same scene as last night unfolded.
Even the giant knights and everyone in the yard stared at her with a mix of caution and fear, as if she were an incomprehensible monster.
Chloe crouched in the corner of the stairs and crunched on the candy in her mouth.
‘……Yeah. I knew this would happen.’
Her heart ached.
Even filling her mouth with sweetness couldn’t erase the bitterness.
Grandpa had been right. People would only fear her and treat her like a monster if she used her power.
‘Why did he tell me to save them? I could’ve just stayed hidden and lived my own life. Grandpa, you idiot, you fool…….’
On the outside, her face stayed stiff and ticked, but inside, she was the kindest child who loved and gave warmth more than anyone.
The loneliness that felt like it came from being cut off from the world pressed on her small shoulders.
No matter how hard she tried, her eyes stung and her nose burned.
‘Don’t cry. If you cry, you really lose.’
She scolded herself and stared at the floor when someone laughed mockingly and stepped forward.
It was the prince from yesterday.
He scratched the back of his neck and glared at the guards and Hexion with irritation.
“Yo. Seeing all this ridiculous stuff since the moment I arrived.”
“………….”
“Big, loud adults were snoring away like mice didn’t even notice the bandits breaking in. But this tiny brat just wiped out the entire bandit gang and saved the whole orphanage!”
Kael pointed at the kneeling bandits.
“You could’ve kneeled and bowed thanks a thousand times over, but instead you just stare at them like you’re looking at a monster and spout nonsense?”
Hexion and the guards fell silent like they had been silenced by honey.
“No, what’s wrong with what I said? If it weren’t for this little brat, those kids could’ve been stabbed to death by those guys!!”
The usual vulgar tone, but the logic behind it was irrefutable.
Giselle’s eyes widened in surprise at Kael’s words, then she gave a tiny nod.
Because his words were right a hundred times over.
“…….”
Chloe stared blankly at Kael.
She had always mocked him as “trash from the capital.”
And yet this man was now her greatest shield.
Eventually.
“……Chloe.”
A hesitant voice.
Chloe turned her head, and the largest boy among the orphanage kids stepped forward cautiously.
It was the child who had looked at her with the most fear last night.
He approached Chloe and folded his hands, bowing his head.
“……I’m sorry I was scared. You…… protected us.”
Tears welled in the boy’s eyes.
“Thank you for saving us, Chloe. Thanks to you, we’re alive.”
Starting with his apology, the other kids standing nearby gathered courage one by one and approached her.
“I’m sorry, Chloe! I should’ve said thank you earlier!”
“I’m really, really sorry for glaring at you like that…….”
“Yeah, yeah! You’re our orphanage’s ultimate hero!”
The children smiled brightly while offering sincere thanks.
Chloe’s eyes grew wide.
The candy in her mouth stopped rolling.
The warm welcome and words of gratitude poured over her—the hero treatment she had never once received in her entire life.
The cold wall inside her chest crumbled like a landslide. Her nose stung, and her vision blurred.
“……W-what. Acting so grand with something so obvious.”
Chloe forced her voice steady and ticked, but her cheeks flushed red as apples.
To hide the redness in her eyes, she buried her face in her knees.
Watching her, Kael smirked and poked Giselle’s shoulder.
“Yo.”
“……What?”
“The situation’s pretty much sorted out. Let’s talk to this little redhead.”
Kael pointed at the red-haired girl and added,
“We should figure out what to do with her from now on.”