Episode 64
“…Are you really okay, Sylvia?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s better than getting hurt later because I didn’t know she was approaching me with ulterior motives.”
Sylvia, who had a somewhat bitter expression, looked at me and then smiled faintly.
“Thank you for worrying about me. I feel much better.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“I’m happy just having you by my side, Lily.”
Saying that, Sylvia brushed my hair aside.
My heart warmed at her considerate gesture and the extra lemon sorbet she prepared, knowing how sensitive I was to the heat.
Since things had come to this, it seemed like the best course of action was to follow Sylvia closely and prevent Prea from doing anything.
I also figured that if I informed the Crown Prince, he would appear dramatically at the critical moment, just like in the original story, and naturally deepen his relationship with Sylvia.
With that settled, I reached out for the lemon sorbet in front of me. But it suddenly melted.
“Huh?”
I blinked in confusion and saw Undine sitting on my lemon sorbet. Undine smiled brightly, seemingly unaware of what it had done, as I looked at my melted dessert beneath it.
“My lemon sorbet…”
As I drooped my eyes sadly, Undine carefully got off the sorbet.
Then, I heard Sylvia’s voice.
“Why is Undine here? It’s not the day for the Spirit Summoner’s visit.”
I touched Undine, floating in front of me, and said to Sylvia,
“It seems like it’s looking for me.”
“Lily, can you see Undine?”
Unable to tear my eyes away from the puddle of melted sorbet, I revealed something I hadn’t mentioned before.
“Yes. Actually, I can see spirits, like you, Sylvia.”
“Oh my, why didn’t you tell me! I would have asked the Spirit Summoner if he could teach you Spirit Arts, too.”
I tilted my head slightly.
They said if you had a high affinity with nature, you could see and contract with spirits, but… I wasn’t confident I could handle the mana consumption.
I might transform back into a bird in front of everyone because of the mana required to summon a spirit. It would be troublesome if I couldn’t maintain my human form while the spirit was summoned.
“It’s okay. I can see them, but I can’t learn Spirit Arts. I need mana to maintain my human form.”
To be precise, I needed divine power, but since I had no way to replenish it, I was absorbing mana stones as an alternative.
Seeing my still sullen expression, Undine, as if realizing its mistake, looked at me cautiously.
‘It’s okay. It’s just lemon sorbet; I can ask Sylvia for more.’
“I’m sorry, Sylvia, but I think I have to go out for a bit. The Spirit Summoner seems to want to see me. He said he would send a message through a spirit.”
“You’re going to see the Spirit Summoner now?”
“Yes. We made a promise before, and…”
I had been expecting a spirit to come since he hadn’t visited because of the rain.
Cesar’s words bothered me a little, but it would be fine since I was just going out for a short while.
But Sylvia suddenly grabbed my hand and spoke firmly,
“Lily, listen carefully.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t let your guard down just because he looks harmless. If he tries to lure you with jewels or promises of showing you something amazing, come back to me immediately. Understood?”
Her serious tone, like a mother admonishing her daughter, made me chuckle.
“Ahaha! What’s that? I’m not a child.”
Of course, considering when I was reincarnated, I was a newly hatched bird. But my body was currently that of an adult. Because of my abnormally fast growth.
And including my past life, I was older than Sylvia.
“But… I didn’t know he would try to do this while I wasn’t around…”
Sylvia’s eyes held a hint of displeasure as she spoke of Heron’s “scheme.”
“He’s also my Spirit Arts teacher.”
“That’s true.”
“It’s okay. I have to switch shifts with Yazel in the afternoon anyway. I won’t be gone long. I’ll be going now.”
I couldn’t delay any longer since Undine was urging me. Heron was probably leisurely waiting for me somewhere.
“Here.”
“Huh?”
Sylvia carefully placed a wide-brimmed white hat on my head.
“The sun is strong, so I don’t want you to get sunburned. Wear the hat I gave you! And come back quickly.”
“Okay. And Sylvia, you have to take me with you when you go to the Seirthe Marquisate. Alright?”
“I was planning on taking you anyway! I feel at ease when you’re with me, Lily.”
We exchanged glances, and I left Sylvia’s room.
‘Sigh. I’ve been so busy lately.’
Returning to my room, I changed from my maid uniform into casual clothes and left the mansion, following Undine.
As we descended, I saw the territory managed by Count Veronica and people coming and going. The weather was hot enough to be considered midsummer, and the long walk made me sweat.
It would have been much faster if I could fly as a bird.
Humans were so inconvenient. Wearing layers of clothes in this sweltering heat. I missed the freedom of being a bird.
“How much further do we have to go?”
Undine, stopping at my question, tapped my nose. Cold water droplets trickled down, and a refreshing coolness spread through my body.
The spirit spun around once, as if telling me to be patient, and then continued forward.
‘Cute.’
Small, cute creatures were so endearing.
Encouraged by Undine, I continued walking and then stopped. I turned around, following a strange feeling that ran down my spine.
‘…Is it my imagination?’
I felt a heavy, slimy energy, similar to what I had felt when I was near the monster before.
Come to think of it, wasn’t the reason Cesar visited the Veronica County because he was worried that more monsters might be lurking nearby?
Undine, seeing me stop, floated in front of me.
“Sorry, I’ll be there soon.”
Thinking I should tell Sylvia about this unsettling feeling when I returned, I continued walking towards where Heron was waiting.
The path Undine guided me to was a small, secluded trail. I imagined him lying against a tree somewhere, leisurely passing the time.
Just as I took a step with that thought, Heron suddenly appeared.
“Oh my, you startled me!”
Judging by the leaves on his clothes, he must have been lying against a tree, probably taking a nap.
“You were startled?”
“Of course, I was. You suddenly appeared out of nowhere.”
I wondered if he was joking. I raised an eyebrow, and he chuckled softly.
“Why did you call me? You don’t like spending time with people.”
“That’s true. Except for special people.”
He was speaking as if I was that “special person.”
Heron was acting unusually friendly towards me, as if he had been possessed.
“Let’s go. I called you, so I’ll buy you anything you want.”
His words reminded me of the melted lemon sorbet.
“Lemon sorbet… I didn’t get to finish it.”
“Then shall we go to the dessert shop?”
Completely forgetting Sylvia’s warning, my mind filled with thoughts of lemon sorbet, and I nodded.
I took Heron’s outstretched hand and walked towards the dessert shop, unaware that someone was watching us with a smirk.
Visiting the dessert shop and enjoying a lemon sorbet was quite nice. I could avoid the scorching sun, and the sweet and sour, refreshing taste was satisfying.
As I diligently ate, my mind cleared a little, and I stared intently at him.
‘I still don’t understand why he called me. We could have met at the mansion…’
Considering his languid, almost lazy personality, I couldn’t understand why he would go through this much trouble.
And his answer to my direct question had been,
‘That’s true. Except for special people.’
And…
I was a special bird, but was I special enough to draw Heron’s attention like this?
Even in the novel, although he approached and pursued Sylvia because he was interested in her, he didn’t try to win her back after being rejected; he was too apathetic.
I poked at the remaining sorbet in the glass bowl and sighed softly. His gaze, now that I was done eating, felt burdensome.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Can’t I look at you?”
“You can, but… do I look that strange?”
Was it strange for a bird to become human?
But when they talked about different races at the Imperial Palace, they had said that beastkin, though rare, did exist.
Heron, who learned all sorts of things through spirits, would have heard about beastkin, so I didn’t understand why he was so interested in me.
Of course, I seemed to be a different case from ordinary beastkin.
I fiddled with the necklace that concealed the mark and waited for his answer.
“I was intrigued.”
His answer was as expected. But his next words made me question my hearing.
“But now, being with you is… entertaining.”
“Entertaining, you say?”
His long, black hair swayed, and his captivating red eyes looked at me.
“Yes.”
His simple reply sounded strangely seductive.
‘Hmm… he’s definitely intrigued by me. He also said he finds me entertaining… And I don’t think this will harm me.’
Heron was, after all, one of the easygoing male leads. I didn’t know what about my actions amused him, but gaining his favor wasn’t a bad thing.
I breathed a sigh of relief. I had a thought, a ridiculous assumption even to me.
Could it be that Heron liked me?