Solitary Lady

Chapter 2

“Watch out!”

Another beginning after another death.

I inhaled deeply, taking in my first breath of this life. The scent of spring mixed with the aroma of strong tea and grass filled my lungs.

In that instant, an urgent cry rang in my ears. As expected, I had returned to this moment again. The cry was from Ricardo, one I had heard seven times before already.

When I open my eyes, the monster that had escaped from its cage would jump toward Gabrielle and me, threatening to swallow us whole. I did not even need to prepare myself given that I had gone through this so many times before.

I slowly lifted my eyelids. Once my eyes were open, the blazing sunlight blinded me as it flooded my vision.

“Grr, grrrr...!”

And like I anticipated, I saw the huge white beast rushing toward me. I could also see Ricardo doing the same from a short distance away.

I knew this scene. He would rush at me, his neat red hair fluttering in the air, and reach his hand out toward me. But his hand would pass me and grasp at Gabrielle, who would be standing next to me. Without a second’s hesitation, Ricardo would wrap his arms around Gabrielle to protect her and disappear from my side.

“Grrrr...!”

I was left alone in front of the terrifying creature. It opened its enormous mouth, gunning straight for my head. Its sharp teeth were just seconds away from piercing me, but I only looked straight forward, watching the monster with unwavering eyes.

I had once wished that I would just die at this moment. Yet fate had not allowed that to happen.

Whoosh!

At the moment of my doom, I felt a warmth surround me. A deep and sweet floral scent, which was stronger than anything that I had smelled just seconds ago, filled my nose.

Roses began growing beneath my feet and quickly spread out in all directions. I blinked once and spotted numerous pink petals fluttering in the air, filling my sight. The monster that had been about to attack me was now covered in thorns and writhing in pain.

Within the four houses that symbolized the four seasons, there were special powers that were only passed down among members of the family. It was at that moment my dormant power awakened for the first time as though it were trying to save me from danger.

“What...? How...?”

I heard a small, trembling voice next to me. I turned to face the direction of the sound and spotted the two collapsed on the grass together.

Ricardo looked dumbfounded, and the blond-haired girl was trembling in his arms. It was Gabrielle, our stepsister. She must have been stunned by the monster’s attack based on how she was clenching Ricardo’s arm with a pale face.

The sight of them together was quite the contrast to me, sitting down all alone in the middle of the garden. It was hard to tell which sibling he shared blood with.

A rose climbed up the back of my chair and burst into full bloom next to me.

“Hillis, how... How could you have the power of flowering?”

Ricardo must have been startled by what he just witnessed.

It was understandable.

In the house of Inoaden, which symbolized spring among the four noble families, the Power only manifested in the heirs. That was why everyone had believed without a doubt that it would be Ricardo, and not me, who would soon have this power.

“You really are unbelievable.”

I spoke after watching Ricardo’s shock for a while. “If you had a conscience, wouldn’t you be saying something else in this situation?”

He did not seem to understand what I meant at first.

The white creature lay silent, possibly dead, and the roses were surrounding me as if protecting their owner. Ricardo glanced back and forth between them and me, who was sitting calmly in the middle. He then gasped as if hit with a sudden realization, his face swiftly going pale.

Ricardo’s gaze left me and fell upon Gabrielle.

“Ricardo... Oh...” Gabrielle stuttered, her large doe eyes brimming with tears. The moment they met with Ricardo’s, tears fell down her cheeks like glittering diamonds.

Her face looked so frail and pitiful that anyone who saw her would be unable to resist trying to comfort her. Ricardo would have consoled her in ordinary circumstances, but he now stood frozen in place.

The fact that he had turned his back on me to save Gabrielle must have shocked him. What he had done was out of instinct, but it clearly demonstrated how he felt for each of us.

The monster that had caused this scene was a gift to Gabrielle from our father, who had surrendered to her endless whining. She had said that keeping monsters for display purposes was popular among young ladies. She was also the one who had insisted on seeing the monster up close during tea time in the garden when it had not been fully trained yet.

Of course, Gabrielle had not known the monster would break its leash and come after us, but still, she was the cause of all this. And just a moment ago, I had almost lost my life because of her.

Ricardo raised his head again and his mouth twitched several times with a complicated expression. He seemed at a loss for words, but I did not have the heart to wait for him.

In my former lives, I would hide my pain by forcing a smile and telling him it was all right. Sometimes, when I could no longer stand it, I expressed my resentment toward him for treating me so harshly.

But in the present, I knew that it was all meaningless.

“It’s fine. I don’t want to hear your excuses,” I muttered and stood up from my seat. “I’ve always known how pathetic you are.”

Ricardo’s expression was indescribable once again.

However, it was different from the face he had made a moment ago.

He seemed to have noticed that my attitude toward him had changed.

Gabrielle, who had been sobbing loudly next to him, also looked up at me with a startled expression.

“Get out of my way,” I said, walking past them coldly.

People from the mansion who had noticed the commotion were rushing over. I could feel the confused gazes following me from behind.

Whoosh.

With every step I took, pink roses the same color as my hair bloomed, spreading their scent. The ends of my long hair had also turned a vivid red.

Just like that, my eighth life had begun.