Episode 48
It was a scorching afternoon.
The clothes were getting thinner, and the heat made me sweat under my feathers.
A languid chirp escaped me.
“Beep.”
‘It’s so hot.’
Exhausted from the heat, my body slumped. I watched my round, white belly rise and fall with each breath.
“Chirp.”
‘I can’t take off my clothes as a human. Being a bird is quite convenient.’
The feather on my head swayed and then stood straight up.
A day had passed since I told the Crown Prince everything.
I had told him everything I remembered, or at least, some of it. After I finished, he spoke,
‘Is that the end of your story?’
‘…Yes.’
‘Can you see anything else about the future?’
I told him my body was unstable and that I would tell him if I saw anything else. It was better to keep the dangerous information hidden for now.
‘I need a safety net, just in case.’
You never knew how things might turn out.
It was fortunate that the Crown Prince promised not to kill Cesar under any circumstances.
I didn’t think he would break his promise. He was cold-blooded, but he wasn’t someone who went back on his word.
‘Phew. I’m glad he’s a normal male lead. If he were a villainous tyrant, I would have been killed after saying all that, and I wouldn’t be so relaxed right now.’
Turning over to avoid the glaring sunlight, I recalled the rest of our conversation.
The part that bothered me was what he said afterward.
‘I’ve heard your story. Now, I have something to say.’
‘What is it, Your Highness?’
‘Yes. I’ve been wondering which temple that mark you showed me belonged to. It looked familiar, like the mark of a temple within the Empire. But I realized it after seeing the Empress. She always wears a brooch with a similar mark, that’s why it looked familiar.’
The Empress.
Although she wasn’t mentioned much in the novel, I remembered reading that the Second Prince’s temperament was identical to his mother’s, the Empress. She had also killed the Crown Prince’s mother, the former Empress, and was constantly scheming to put her own son on the throne.
She was definitely not someone to be trifled with.
‘Why was the Empress wearing a brooch with a similar mark to the one on my body? It wasn’t even the mark of a temple within the Empire.’
I felt uneasy, unable to dismiss it as a simple coincidence. And the Crown Prince’s question lingered in my mind.
‘…Have you heard of the Holy Kingdom? You seem to be from there.’
My body reacted involuntarily to the words “Holy Kingdom.” My heart pounded anxiously, and my fingertips trembled.
I had called it a lifelong servitude contract, but that was just my perspective as a 21st-century human. It was strange for a bird, supposedly belonging to the temple, to react so anxiously.
It would be more natural to feel a sense of comfort and longing.
“Beeeep.”
‘Besides, the Empire is located in the east of the continent, while the Holy Kingdom is in the north, quite a distance away.’
I hadn’t noticed it before because I was so overwhelmed when I first possessed this body, but I had felt a sense of being chased right before hatching from the egg.
‘Did I really run away? But why? Staying in the egg until it hatched was risky.’
One question after another filled my mind.
I had thought I would feel relieved if I learned something, but the piling secrets made my nonexistent feathers stand on end.
“Beep…”
‘Hmm…’
As I was deep in thought, a soft hand pressed down on the feather sticking up on my head.
“Chirp!”
‘Who is it?!’
“Oh, I’m sorry for startling you. You were so cute, I couldn’t help myself…”
Pona was looking at me with a flustered expression.
“Beep. Chirp.”
‘It’s okay. It seems like a lot of time has passed.’
I glanced at the ticking clock on the wall. It was time to read the books and learn how to use divine power. I had secured the promise to protect my owner’s life, so now I had to focus on my own precarious situation.
As I fluttered over to absorb the mana stone, I saw Pona’s excited face.
“Are you more comfortable in your bird form, Lady Valerie?”
“Chirp? Beeeep.”
‘I just transformed because it was hot. I should go back to being human now. Look, it’s hard to even turn pages with these wings.’
I grumbled and turned around in front of her.
Pona covered her mouth and then clenched and unclenched her hands, as if trying to control her excitement.
‘As I felt before, Pona…’
“Lady Valerie, could you stay in your bird form a little longer?”
She definitely loved small, cute animals.
But I was a human. Even if I had spent a long time as a bird, my dignity existed only as a human.
“Beep!”
‘No! I’m a human!’
“Please don’t be angry… I’ll give you this.”
“Chirp.”
‘You can’t bribe me. I’m not interested unless it’s a huge jewel…’
A sparkling jewel fell in front of me.
“You like jewels, don’t you?”
“Chirp.”
‘What do you want, Pona?’
My human dignity was sold for a jewel. Sparkling jewels were precious to a penniless person like me.
‘My reward was confiscated; I’m a penniless, beggarly bird, and a jewel just falls into my lap. I should quickly take it and hide it.’
It was a little strange for an Imperial maid to have such a valuable-looking jewel, but I took it anyway.
“Jewels are nice whether you’re a human or a bird, right?”
“Chirp.”
‘Obviously.’
I carefully tucked the shimmering jewel away and fluttered onto Pona’s shoulder.
I had spent months chirping and acting cute to survive. This much was child’s play.
I rubbed my head against her approaching hand and saw her eyes soften.
“Such a small, cute bird.”
I blinked my black eyes at her hand, gently touching my beak. As I accepted her touch, Pona hesitantly spoke,
“Would you… perch on my hand?”
“Chirp.”
‘Sure.’
I fluttered from her shoulder and landed gently on her hand. A strange sound came from her, a sound of delight.
“It’s amazing that such a creature exists…”
“Beep?”
‘Aren’t all birds the same?’
I tilted my head, perched on Pona’s hand. My soft, pink feathers brushed against her skin.
Pona smiled and spoke softly,
“You know, I thought you were adorable from the moment I first saw you.”
“Beeeep.”
‘Where would the charm of a small, lovely bird go?’
As I nonchalantly agreed, Pona smiled.
“And when you’re a bird, I feel this urge to protect you. You see, Lady Valerie, I knew the Second Prince would visit that day, when you went to the Imperial Library.”
“Chirp?”
‘What do you mean?’
“His Highness is very wary. He’s looking for someone who won’t be swayed when the Second Prince approaches.”
“Beep. Beep…!”
‘So my encounter with the Second Prince that day was half-intentional?’
“I apologize. I deserve to be scolded and even punished.”
I saw Pona’s downcast eyes.
She was, after all, one of the Crown Prince’s people. It would have been difficult for her to disobey his orders.
It had been strange that I was suddenly sent to the library after being discouraged from going out, and the preparations, with the robe completely covering my face, had been a bit excessive.
I had known I would eventually encounter the Second Prince, but the fact that the Crown Prince had orchestrated it all made me feel resentful.
But it was in the past, so I decided to let it go. Thanks to that, I had met Cesar and solidified my resolve.
‘So, looking back, did I pass the Crown Prince’s loyalty test?’
I had rejected the Second Prince, saying he couldn’t give me what I wanted, and pledged my allegiance to the Crown Prince.
My wavering had ended, and Cesar didn’t recognize me, so I just had to be careful.
Of course, there was one more thing that bothered me. I remembered the Second Prince’s words when I chose the Crown Prince.
‘If you refuse, I’ll kill you.’
Both brothers were unpleasant.
“Beep…”
‘Sigh… My difficult life.’
As I sighed and patted my tired body, a dejected voice reached my ears.
“Lady Valerie, are you disappointed in me?”
“Chirp?”
‘Huh? Why are you whimpering?’
“…To be a disappointment to such a small, cute bird… I don’t deserve to be your maid. Even though His Highness assigned me to you.”
“Chirp!”
‘Don’t cry! I don’t like seeing beautiful people cry!’
Flustered, I flapped my wings and then threw myself at Pona’s face.
“Ouch. Lady Valerie?”
“Beep.”
‘Don’t cry. It’s okay.’
Just because the Imperial Palace was a cold, heartless place didn’t mean I should have treated her as just the Crown Prince’s maid and watchdog. I had been too wary and guarded.
This kind of emotion was undeserved.
“Thank you. You’re so kind, Lady Valerie. Your owner must have adored you.”
“Beep. Chirp.”
‘That owner didn’t even recognize me after I became human. He probably doesn’t even know that I begged the Crown Prince to spare my life.’
I shook my head, thinking I was too good a pet bird for such a foolish owner.
As I was comforting Pona,
The curtains fluttered, and the carrier pigeon I had sent returned. Since I was in my bird form, I stayed put, and Pona untied the note from the bird’s leg and showed it to me.
I hopped down and read the note. The opening lines, asking if I was doing well, made me smile. It also mentioned when she would visit the Imperial Palace, saying she wanted to see me again.
My tail feathers wagged happily.
“Beep.”
‘I also had something to discuss with Sylvia. It’s good that she’s coming at such a perfect time.’
“Beep. Chirp beep.”
‘Good. Everything is going smoothly.’
As I chirped and laughed, leaving a bird footprint on the note, the carrier pigeon beside me fluttered away, avoiding me.