Episode 50
“And then I realized she had another close friend besides me. I wondered if Lily was such a fickle bird…”
“No!”
‘A fickle bird?! And why does this feel like a competition between the male and female leads over an insignificant bird?!’
“Pardon?”
Snapping back to reality at her puzzled voice, I awkwardly averted my gaze and replied sheepishly,
“I-I said that’s not true. You know how birds imprint on the first person they see as their mother? So she must have liked you the most, Miss Sylvia.”
“Do you think so?”
“Of course!”
“Alright. Then Valerie, when are you coming to the mansion? I can make preparations right away.”
“…I need to finish the handover process. I’ll talk to my master.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting!”
“So you’re saying you’ll work at… Lady Veronica’s mansion?”
I spoke confidently to the person I called my master, aka the Crown Prince.
“Yes. I saw a future where Miss Veronica was in a somewhat dangerous situation. So I want to be by her side.”
“Ha.”
The Crown Prince sighed and glanced at Arenz. I could clearly see his gaze lingering on Arenz’s left hand.
“Will the Imperial Palace be safe if you leave?”
“For now, yes. Currently, it’s enough for Your Highness to observe the Second Prince’s movements. And the longer I stay in the Imperial Palace, the more dangerous it is for me.”
“Knowing the Second Prince’s personality, if someone he tried to recruit doesn’t come to his side, he would rather destroy them than let them be.”
He seemed half-convinced. If I went to Sylvia’s mansion, I could enjoy some peace, at least for a short time.
It was much safer than the Imperial Palace, where I could be poisoned at any moment. Although I had to be wary of the Second Prince secretly sending someone after me…
“Make it clear that you’re under the Tower Master’s protection. Then they won’t threaten you, at least not openly, if you distance yourself from me.”
The Crown Prince’s words eased my worries.
“Has there been any contact from the Tower Master?”
“He knows you destroyed the building, so he wouldn’t contact me to take responsibility. There’s been no contact.”
‘Just you wait until I see you again. I’ll pluck every single hair on your head.’
I gritted my teeth and forced a smile, suppressing my twitching lips.
“It seems the Tower Master is busy.”
“He did send the mana stones.”
Shimmering mana stones were placed on my hand.
To not contact me but still send me what I needed. I wanted to hate him, but I was also grateful, which made it even more annoying.
‘He’s making it impossible for me to curse him!’
The Crown Prince, seeing my frown, spoke,
“Now that I think about it, shouldn’t you be absorbing divine power instead of mana?”
I shook my head.
I now knew that the power I possessed was divine power. And I finally understood what the monster had said.
‘It wasn’t in the Empire. It was somewhere further away, but I couldn’t approach it.’
It must have been referring to the Holy Kingdom.
‘You’re either not that bird, or you’ve been misplaced and haven’t been properly protected.’
Of the two possibilities, the latter was probably correct. I had hatched in the Empire and was found by Sylvia.
And it wasn’t that I hadn’t been properly protected; I had run away and hadn’t learned anything.
Since mana and divine power shared a similar origin, I could still use divine power by absorbing mana, but it wouldn’t be the same as absorbing pure divine power.
But there were no priests with true divine power in the Empire, and I was hesitant to reveal my secret to them. So, for now, the best option was to regularly receive mana stones from the Tower Master.
“It’s fine. This is enough.”
Although it was a bit unstable, the divine power responded to my will. I had already proven it by healing the Crown Prince.
“Lady Valerie, are you really leaving?”
Pona, who had been quietly listening, approached me with a distressed expression.
“I’m sorry I can’t stay longer, even though you’ve been so kind to me.”
She reminded me of Mariette, the maid who had been particularly fond of me at the Dukedom. And she had even given me a beautiful jewel.
It was safely tucked away in my pocket, waiting to be used when needed.
“…No. It’s just… I’m sad that you’re leaving, even though I could have protected you.”
“Pardon?”
‘Protect who with that delicate body?’
As I stared at her with wide eyes, Pona chuckled and took something out from her skirt.
Ta-da! It was a dagger with a sharp blade.
“…Goodness.”
The Crown Prince chuckled at my exclamation.
“Did you think I would assign an ordinary maid to you?”
I shuddered and, struck by a sudden question, blurted out,
“Your Highness, what would you have done if I had sided with the Second Prince?”
But the answer came from Pona, whose true identity as a maid was now questionable, not the Crown Prince.
“Of course, I would have been disappointed, but I would have… taken care of you myself, Lady Valerie.”
Swish! The dagger flew and embedded itself in the wall.
“Like this. I’m glad it didn’t come to that.”
And she said she had never seen such a cute creature before…!
I should have known from the moment she casually gave me a valuable jewel. I needed to get to Sylvia’s mansion quickly.
So much for kindness!
Perhaps I had become accustomed to life in the Imperial Palace, or perhaps I had become somewhat indifferent to the constant threats. I walked towards the Imperial Library without hesitation.
After realizing that even the maid attending me wasn’t an ordinary person, I felt like I was playing a survival game, constantly aware that a blade could be at my throat at any moment.
‘One wrong move, and it’s game over…’
Just then, I heard a rustling sound from the bushes.
I flinched, and something flew from behind me and embedded itself in a tree. It was a dagger I had seen before.
Pona strode over and effortlessly pulled out the dagger, hiding it in her skirt. Now that her true nature was revealed, her actions were bold and unrestrained.
“What was that…?”
“Did something happen?”
Seeing her cheerful smile, I shook my head.
“It’s nothing.”
“I see. You’re so cute…”
She was clearly looking at me with adoration. But I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling that the dagger might have been intended for me.
‘I made the right choice siding with the Crown Prince. If I had gone to the Second Prince, I would have been killed.’
She had thrown the dagger playfully, but the sound of it embedding itself in the wall lingered in my ears. Her words had also been a genuine threat. The Crown Prince wasn’t the type to joke about such things.
As I stepped towards the library, Pona called out to me cautiously,
“Will you be alright alone, Lady Valerie?”
I nodded. I knew the Second Prince would probably approach me as soon as I entered, but even the maid who had been attending me wasn’t ordinary.
My heart couldn’t shrink any further, and it was safer for me to pretend to distance myself from both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince.
A place for me at the Veronica County’s mansion should be ready by now, so all I had to do was leave.
Inside the quiet Imperial Library, I walked towards the shelf to return the book I had borrowed. It was highly likely that he would be here, if I had to guess.
As I placed the shimmering book on the shelf, a shadow fell over me under the bright light. Swamp-like eyes were looking down at me.
“Your Highness…”
“I thought I might run into you here. Was I right?”
His gentle tone was relaxed, yet cold, as if he would cut me down with a sword if I didn’t give him the answer he wanted.
“Yes. I have something to tell you.”
“You’re bolder than I thought.”
“No, that’s not true. As you said, Your Highness, I’m always looking for a chance to escape. So I’m thinking of running away.”
“Where to? Do you have anywhere to go?”
His hand stroked my hair. I instinctively recoiled, feeling a chill, a disgust unlike when Cesar touched me.
“I have no intention of going to the Crown Prince, nor do I intend to join you, Your Highness. I value my life.”
“You don’t seem to value it that much. Have you forgotten my warning that I would kill you if you refused me?”
“…The Tower Master summoned me. You remember that I came here on his behalf, right? He must have taken pity on me, saying I have nowhere to go even though I want to leave.”
“Ha. The Tower Master.”
The hand that had been touching me ruffled my hair. I saw the veins bulging on the back of his hand, as if displeased. His eyes narrowed, and his voice turned icy.
I shuddered at his low, menacing warning.
“You’re like a rat.”
‘Calling me a rat. What a terrible personality. A rotten, green tomato of a man.’
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“Get lost. If you’re just going to run away, don’t appear before me and annoy me.”
‘I was planning on getting lost anyway. He’s saying what I was thinking. Sigh.’
“Then I’ll be going now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Your Highness.”
Maintaining a polite demeanor until the very end, I forced my trembling legs to move and left the library. Only after seeing Pona waiting for me did the tension in my legs release, and I collapsed.
Pona hurriedly helped me up and asked cautiously,
“Lady Valerie, are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”
At least one burden was off my shoulders. I could relax for a while.
‘Phew. This will be the only time I can be at ease as a bird. I should enjoy it while I can, before I leave.’