The next day.
A ray of sunlight pierced through the curtains, spilling over Aurora.
She turned over, her closed eyes facing the golden light.
“Mm…”
A sleepy, dreamlike whimper escaped her lips as her tightly shut eyes slowly began to open.
“A strange ceiling…”
She sat up, the silver silk nightgown slipping off her shoulders, exposing her fair, fragrant skin to the air.
After rubbing her sleepy eyes, she looked outside the window…
It was already bright.
She didn’t know what time she’d finally fallen asleep last night, but judging by her current exhaustion, it was definitely past midnight.
Suddenly, she sniffed the air.
“The scent… has changed.”
The fragrance in the air seemed a bit different from yesterday.
The scent she’d smelled last night had made her feel anxious and uneasy, but now, what she inhaled filled her with comfort and peace, just like being near her own little sister.
She thought, maybe it was this scent last night that finally let her sleep—otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have slept at all.
She pressed one hand to the sheets, ready to get out of bed.
But as soon as her hand touched the sheets, her body froze.
Her hand seemed to have touched something soft—and it was breathing.
She slowly lifted her hand and looked at her palm…
Her palm was dusted with sparkling pink powder, and then she heard a soft whimper from under the sheets…
“Gula…”
“Ah!”
Thud.
Aurora was so startled that she fell straight off the bed.
She scrambled to her feet and put some distance between herself and the sheets.
She stared wide-eyed at the spot on the bed, seeing something pink squirming underneath.
“Wha… What is that?”
A pair of dragonfly-like wings emerged first, then a tiny pink hand…
That thumb-sized hand forcefully pushed aside the sheets, and a pair of pink eyes finally peeked out.
It glanced around the room, as if searching for something.
When those adorable pink eyes landed on Aurora, they lit up with joy.
“Gula!”
It cried out excitedly, then wriggled itself free from the sheets entirely.
Its whole body was pink, with antennae on its forehead that looked like flower stamens, and it seemed to be wrapped in a cherry blossom petal.
But as soon as her hand touched the sheets, her body froze.
Her hand seemed to have touched something soft—and it was breathing.
She slowly lifted her hand and looked at her palm…
Her palm was dusted with sparkling pink powder, and then she heard a soft whimper from under the sheets…
“Gula…”
“Ah!”
Thud.
Aurora was so startled that she fell straight off the bed.
She scrambled to her feet and put some distance between herself and the sheets.
She stared wide-eyed at the spot on the bed, seeing something pink squirming underneath.
“Wha… What is that?”
A pair of dragonfly-like wings emerged first, then a tiny pink hand…
That thumb-sized hand forcefully pushed aside the sheets, and a pair of pink eyes finally peeked out.
It glanced around the room, as if searching for something.
When those adorable pink eyes landed on Aurora, they lit up with joy.
“Gula!”
It cried out excitedly, then wriggled itself free from the sheets entirely.
Its whole body was pink, with antennae on its forehead that looked like flower stamens, and it seemed to be wrapped in a cherry blossom petal.
“Did you bump into anything?”
“N-no, I didn’t.”
“Rather than that, let’s figure out what’s going on with this little spirit first.” She pointed at the pink spirit still nuzzling her nose as she spoke.
Seeing the little creature rubbing so unabashedly, Lorabelle couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.
She grabbed the little creature’s wings and plucked it off.
“This is your familiar, sister. Did you forget?”
“Familiar?” Aurora wiped the fluorescent powder from her nose and tried to recall the word ‘familiar.’
Suddenly, she remembered—she had indeed signed some sort of familiar contract with a pink spirit while in spatial magic.
But in her memory, that spirit had always been asleep, never as lively as it was now—it was like a puppy shrunk several times over.
And after she’d signed the contract, the familiar never woke up, and she didn’t even know where it was placed—so why did it appear on her bed this morning?
Aurora looked closely at the little spirit, studying its appearance.
The little spirit clearly disliked having its wings pinched, squirming constantly between Lorabelle’s fingers, trying to break free.
“You little spirit, behave yourself.”
Sensing the grip on its wings loosening, Lorabelle pinched even tighter.
Suddenly, a cloud of cherry-pink powder puffed out from around the spirit, enveloping Lorabelle’s face.
Caught off guard, Lorabelle instinctively let go and covered her mouth and nose as she retreated.
The little creature, finally free, flew straight back to Aurora and clung to her delicate nose once again.
“It really seems to like my nose…”
“Achoo! This spirit is so lively (sniff), even though it’s supposed to be a Flower Spirit.”
Lorabelle sneezed again, then continued, “Sister, this spirit will be your familiar from now on.”
“She seems to really like you.”
“Mmm… I can tell.”
She sat on the edge of the bed, gently touching the spirit on her nose.
The spirit seemed to listen to her well—feeling her intent, it let go and obediently sat in her palm. “A familiar, huh…”
Although she didn’t know much about the word ‘familiar,’ she figured it was basically the same as ‘pet.’
Which meant, this little spirit was now her pet.
“My sister said it’s a Flower Spirit… right?”
“Yes, and Flower Spirits with this color are very rare.”
“Those with unusual colors like this are usually caught by poachers and sold to nobles.”
“Sold to nobles…” Aurora’s eyes dimmed, as if she was remembering something unpleasant.
She used her thumb to gently stroke the spirit’s head.
To her surprise, the spirit’s cherry-colored short hair was incredibly soft, like petals after rain, reflecting a unique shimmer under the warm glowstone.
Seeing her sister seem to like the spirit as well, Lorabelle felt a pang in her chest.
She couldn’t help but regret being human.
If she weren’t human, then the one to sign the familiar contract with her sister would have been her, not this pink little thing.
To be both her sister’s sibling and her ‘pet’—to Lorabelle, that would be just like marrying her sister.
Just picturing her sister scolding her, Lorabelle’s face turned the same cherry pink as the little spirit.
She swallowed, pushing down her restless feelings.
“Sister, give it a name.”
“A familiar with a name is much easier to command.”
“A name, huh…”
Aurora stared at the spirit in her hand, thought for a moment, and said, “How about… Gula?”
“Gula!”
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