The Empty Spot Where My Baby Once Slept
The spot where my baby had lingered moments ago was now completely vacant.
Only the faint, sweet scent of milk and a trace of warmth remained.
I stared helplessly at the empty air where he had vanished.
In her sapphire eyes swirled profound sorrow and aching maternal love.
“He’s gone…”
She murmured softly and began to turn her body, but her massive frame swayed.
Gasping for breath, her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the floor.
Her chest heaved violently, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
Pain jolted through her head, distorting her face.
“Tsk tsk. I told you to hold on a little longer.”
From the mist, Grandfather White Tiger slowly emerged.
He looked down at his daughter slumped on the ground and clicked his tongue. His words were harsh, yet his gaze held deep paternal worry for her.
“What a stubborn girl… she overdid it just to see his face for a moment. How reckless can you be?”
Normally, for an entity like her carrying such immense power, showing herself to a still-mature child like him would have caused the child unbearable shock. But she had shouldered every single blow her son would have suffered, taking the amplified pain upon herself.
For just one chance to hold her own child, she endured it all.
“It’s fine, Father…”
She forced her head up despite the agony wracking her body, suppressing the tremors.
Even with sweat dripping from her, a faint smile lingered at her lips.
“I wanted to hug him… just once… before he grows bigger.”
“… …”
“If my child has no memories of being cradled by his mother in his baby days… I don’t think I could have endured this…”
She lifted a paw and flailed it in the air as if stroking his chubby cheek.
The soft, warm touch of the baby and the plump feel of his belly still lingered vividly.
“He grew up so well… so spirited… and his belly was so round and soft. He was adorable.”
“Yes, yes. He’s my son. How could he not be? His eyes are just like yours—beautiful.”
Grandfather White Tiger no longer scolded his daughter.
He approached quietly and gently stroked the head of his exhausted child with his huge paw.
He had called her stubborn, but he understood her desire to see her child clearly.
“Rest for now. You won’t be able to stand properly for a while. Tsk, that little rascal… who does she look like…”
“It’s you, Father.”
She exhaled deeply, resting her head against her father’s leg and closing her eyes.
Though her body ached as if it would shatter, the warmth she had felt in that fleeting moment with her son was worth enduring a hundred times over.
“Kyaa…”
I was sprawled in the corner of the living-room sofa, face buried in the soft cushion, motionless.
Normally I would have dashed off for breakfast the moment morning came, but today my appetite was gone.
The hollow ache in my chest was unbearable, like a gaping void inside me.
In my dream, that massive white tiger had vanished. Without his warmth and the gentle tongue, an unbearable loneliness settled over me.
I didn’t even know why, but I was just sad.
It felt as though I was the only one left in the world.
“Blanc? What’s wrong? Are you sick somewhere?”
Kylian hurried over with worry etched on her face.
She carefully lifted me from the sofa.
Normally I would have struggled or burrowed into her arms.
But instead—
Suuuunch—
I didn’t move at all.
When Kylian grabbed my armpit and lifted me, my body stretched like cheese.
“H-hey…? Blanc? Are you okay…?”
Kylian shook me vigorously, but I dangled limply in her hands.
Then her gaze landed on the cushion where I had been lying.
“What… is this?”
A clear imprint of my paw jelly and a small, damp tear stain next to it remained on the velvet cushion.
“U-uh… he cried? Our Blanc?”
Kylian’s pupils looked like they had cracked.
I hung in her arms, gazing blankly into the air with a weak sound.
“Kyuu…”
My tail hung limp, and the empty eyes of my usual self made Kylian’s heart plummet.
“Big brother broke!”
From the side, Lumia, who had been grooming me as instructed, widened her eyes and cried out.
Lumia came over, tugged my tail, and poked my belly, but I remained dazed.
“Big brother, what’s wrong? Are you hungry? Bored? Big brother… are you okay?”
Lumia asked anxiously, but I had no desire to answer at all.
“…Kyuu.”
The empire had declared a national emergency.
The only source of vitality in the imperial palace and the one who had kept the palace alive through its darkest days was now gripped by depression.
The butlers were thrown into total panic.
“Blanc isn’t responding! He’s just like a doll that only breathes!”
Kylian cradled me helplessly and paced back and forth, her face drained of color.
Lina approached with a grave expression and examined my condition.
“Could it be that somewhere aches? Allow me to perform a diagnosis.”
She gently channeled holy power into her palm and reached out.
Her hand headed toward my tail. Normally she would have lashed out with a warning or swatted at my paw, but I stayed perfectly still.
No reaction came.
She gently stroked my tail and pulled my cheek until it stretched like a steamed bun, but my face remained expressionless.
It was a diagnosis filled with sincere care, yet I had no desire to do anything.
“Oh my… even after touching my tail, he’s still quiet…”
Lina’s hand trembled.
“This… the soul has fled. Severe apathy! Even with my holy power, there’s no reaction!”
“Step aside. I shall try…”
Rosalia appeared with a solemn face, pulling the finest dried meat and a persimmon gifted from the East to wave right in front of my nose.
“Blanc-nim, please look. The finest dried meat and the persimmons you love.”
“…Kyaa.”
I don’t want to eat.
I didn’t even glance at the meat.
The smell was good, but I had no strength to open my mouth.
Compared to the tiger scent from my dream, any meat smell was worthless.
“No reaction…? Blanc-nim… are you all right…?”
Rosalia trembled with shock and collapsed to the floor.
Behind her, Crown Prince Demian stood with arms crossed, furiously drumming his feet on the ground.
His brows were deeply furrowed and his legs wouldn’t stop shaking.
“Where’s the vet! When did I tell you to call the vet!”
“Your Highness, he’s coming! Please wait just a little longer!”
Demian chewed his lip while staring at my limp form.
I felt a little guilty for worrying the butlers, but my heart was too hollow to care.
The living room was thick with despair.
The butlers gathered in a tight circle around me, as if tending to a dying patient, watching me intently.
Even their gazes couldn’t fill the emptiness in my heart.
Then Haetae approached.
Unlike the others, she looked at me with a strangely calm expression.
“You’re not physically ill.”
Haetae said gently.
“Just… your heart feels empty.”
She carefully stroked my head.
Warmth flowed from her touch, faintly reminding me of the licking sensation from the white tiger in my dream.
“You’re lonely, aren’t you?”
My ears twitched at those words.
Lonely. Yes, that was right.
I missed that white tiger. Even without knowing who he was, the longing burned.
“Blanc…”
Kylian hugged me tightly, tears in her eyes.
“I’m here. We’re all here… I don’t know why you’re so lonely, but I love you so much. More than anyone in the world…”
Kylian’s body heat reached me.
It wasn’t the overwhelming warmth of my dream, but her embrace was warm.
I could hear my heart pounding.
Her genuine worry was palpable.
“Big brother! Me too! I love Big brother too!”
Lumia transformed into a fox and bounced up, licking under my chin.
It wasn’t the same as the dream sensation—small, ticklish, and damp. Still not quite the same, but the clumsy comfort slowly filled the emptiness.
“Blanc-nim. We will stay by your side… please don’t be lonely.”
Lina took my paw, her face sad as she spoke earnestly.
“I will always be by your side… please cheer up.”
Rosalia added, offering the meat again.
Demian also looked at me with worry.
I blinked and glanced around at the butlers surrounding me. All of them were watching only me.
Idiots who would break the world over a lack of energy.
The white tiger was gone, but the butlers who loved me were here.
The white tiger might have been saddened to see me like this.
I slowly lifted my head and gently bit Lumia’s ear.
“Kyaa.”
Ticklish, idiot.
“Eh? Big brother moved!”
Lumia cheered.
I wriggled out of Kylian’s arms and stretched with a long yawn.
My muscles loosened. Then I sniffed at the meat Rosalia was holding.
“Kyung.”
I’m hungry. Feed me.
I snatched the meat and devoured it in one bite.
The salty, savory flavor spread through my mouth.
Now… I finally felt like I had woken from my dream.
“He ate! Blanc ate!”
“Thank goodness… really, thank goodness…!”
The butlers let out relieved sighs amid cheers.
Kylian squeezed me so tightly I thought I might break, rubbing her cheek against mine.
I chewed the meat while peeking out the window.
The bitterness remained, but the meat in my mouth and the warmth of the butlers made it bearable.