Episode 71
“I’ll show you the way. Please follow me.”
“No, that’s not necessary!”
The words tumbled out of my mouth. The spirit beside me looked at me questioningly.
The suspicious man also asked,
“…Pardon? But you said the roof had faded.”
“I had something I needed to buy here. But I noticed the beautiful red roof was peeling, and it bothered me.”
“Is that all?”
“Is there something else I should tell you?”
‘Calm down. Don’t cause more trouble by blindly following the spirit’s instructions. Just wait for Prea.’
“Tsk. What incompetent service.”
The suspicious-looking man clicked his tongue and then smiled at me.
“I apologize. There seems to have been a misunderstanding. What are you looking for?”
“Ah, the doorknob on my door is loose. But you don’t have to find it for me. I’ll look around myself.”
His wary gaze softened as I acted like a maid on an errand.
“You can pay over there after you find what you’re looking for.”
“Thank you.”
After thanking him, I retraced my steps. The spirit, which had been quiet, blocked my path with a gust of wind.
—Why aren’t you going inside? The person you’re looking for is in there.
Its innocent question gave me a headache. I lowered my voice, worried someone might overhear me,
“It’s okay. I’ll just wait outside.”
—But she’s right there. Wouldn’t it be better to go meet her?
“It’s not okay. And I have a question.”
—Ask away. I’ll tell you anything.
“Is this really an ordinary general store? That thing about the faded roof… it sounded like a code.”
—There’s a passage leading to another place. I hear unfamiliar people coming and going. And you have to say those words to go there. Then someone will appear and guide you.
‘I almost got into trouble!’
I let out a sigh of relief, clutching my chest.
Judging by the spirit’s words, it was probably an information broker or a dark guild that handled secret requests. Since Prea frequented this place, it was more likely to be the latter.
She often used such places to get rid of troublesome people.
—I know a few other places like this.
“I’m not interested.”
If a clueless person like me went there, I might be questioned and followed. I didn’t want to deal with such bothersome things.
—Wouldn’t it be good to know, precious little bird?
Being called a bird reminded me of Heron’s words.
He said the spirits recognized me. They knew I was Lily, which is how he found out.
How did they know? Could spirits see souls? Or did they sense something different about me?
“How did you know I was the same as Lily, the bird?”
—How could we not know? Humans might not be able to tell, but how could spirits not recognize such a divine aura? We couldn’t ignore you from the moment we first met.
By divine aura, it must have meant divine power.
But my divine power was only properly activated after I absorbed the mana stone in the carriage. I met Heron before that, so there was a discrepancy in his words.
“What am I?”
It was the question I had been wanting to ask. What was I? I was a small, cute bird, but then I defeated a monster, became human, and could even use divine power for healing.
But Heron hadn’t answered my question about the mark.
The only information I had was that it was the mark of the Holy Kingdom, the mark of a temple bird, and although I had a fragmented memory of the original bird struggling to escape danger, it wasn’t much help.
—I hope you never find out. Because I want you to be free.
“Free…?”
That was what I had been wishing for ever since I was reincarnated as a bird. Even when I broke my promise and ran away to the Tower Master.
‘I want to live freely as a human. I don’t want to die.’
I had said those words.
I didn’t want to live as a bird, chirping in a cage. I didn’t want to live waiting for death.
—You don’t want to be bound again after finally becoming free, do you?
I didn’t, but I wanted to know. I was curious why everyone considered the bird I possessed so special.
Just then, I saw a silhouette emerging from where I had been waiting. The person was wearing a black robe, but I could tell who it was from the glimpse of violet hair.
It was Prea, who had asked me to meet her here.
She also seemed to have noticed me and slowly approached. I lowered my head and greeted her, and a cold voice echoed,
“I told you to wait outside.”
“…I had something to buy.”
As I replied softly, she led the way. Her displeasure seemed to have subsided slightly.
“Then come with me. I have something for you.”
Prea left the general store and started walking. I had expected her to use a carriage. Her relaxed gait suggested she had been here many times.
“Follow me closely. You’re so small that I’ll lose you if I take my eyes off you.”
‘Even when I was a bird, I was treated like a tiny ping pong ball. I guess I still look small as a human.’
My hair and eye color were similar to when I was a bird, as if I had inherited its appearance. My overall physique was also small.
Prea was almost as tall as most men in the novel, so her treating me like this was understandable.
‘But where are we going? I thought she would just have tea with me and extract information.’
I followed her, glancing at the spirit beside me.
She stopped walking and spoke briefly to an employee,
“The usual place. I have one guest with me.”
“Understood.”
I followed her without a word and sat down in an unfamiliar, luxurious room.
“Excuse me, where are we?”
Prea, having removed her robe, smiled brightly.
“Curious?”
“…Is this a tea house? Or a dessert shop?”
“Neither. I thought about what you might like, since you’re helping me.”
“Ah.”
So this was bribery time. Gifts were the fastest and most effective way to win someone over.
“I heard you like jewels. It must be difficult to acquire such finely crafted jewels with a maid’s salary.”
“…That’s true.”
I recalled the time I dreamed of becoming rich, piling up finely crafted jewels in my cage.
They had all disappeared, turned to ashes, because of the tracking spell.
Just then, someone knocked. Prea told them to enter, and people wearing white gloves entered, carrying velvet boxes.
Clink, clink. Jewels of various colors were placed on the table in an orderly fashion.
‘…Is this a jewelry store?’
My eyes widened, and I stared at the dazzling jewels. I saw some jewels I had seen at Cesar’s mansion, but there were also some with shimmering colors I had never seen before.
Prea, calmly observing my reaction, spoke to the nearest employee,
“I came early, and this is all you have?”
“Are you looking for something else, my lady?”
“No. There’s just less than usual.”
Her words, so casual that I almost forgot she was a villainess, were impressive. Prea, frowning in displeasure, pointed to the top right corner of the display.
My heart started to race.
‘Is this it? From here to here—’
“Then from here to here.”
‘Oh my god, you go, girl!’
“Give me all of them. And you can choose one you like as well. I’ll give it to you as a gift.”
My eyes darted between the jewels and her face.
“I’m very grateful to those who help me, Valerie.”
I tried to snap out of it at her sweet words, but my gaze kept returning to the jewels. It must be because I was the epitome of K—Capitalism.
‘It’s human nature to be weak against beautiful people and jewels…’
As I carefully reached for a jewel, I recalled the fate of my previous jewels.
‘Tracking spells. You can put all sorts of spells on jewels.’
I glanced up at her. Even if she knew I liked jewels, I wondered why she would give me something so valuable.
“I’m sorry, Lady Seirthe.”
“What is it?”
“This is too much. If I take this back, they’ll think I stole it.”
Prea would also know that a maid’s salary couldn’t buy such a jewel, even in a lifetime.
That’s why she must have brought me here, to gain my favor and to scheme.
“It’s just a trinket to me, but I suppose it’s different for you.”
I easily understood her words, recalling Cesar’s mansion, where jewels were scattered everywhere.
Prea, born into a Marquisate that hadn’t had a child for years, had been raised with a silver spoon in her mouth. She had everything she wanted, both materially and emotionally. A jewel like this would probably seem like a mere toy to her.
“Still, you must be tempted. It’s not every day you get a chance to own a jewel like this.”
‘Well, it happened quite often.’
I had filled my cage with jewels as my escape fund, and Pona had also given me a jewel as a gift.
And although I liked jewels, they weren’t as captivating as the shimmering mana stones that seemed to pulse with life.
“It’s okay. I don’t desire things beyond my reach.”
I had only come here to talk, intending to leave soon. It would be troublesome if I accepted this and caused more problems.
“It’s kind of you to offer, but… Miss Sylvia will surely be touched by your kindness, Lady Seirthe, for even taking care of her maid.”
As I smiled brightly, like a humble maid, Prea touched her chin with her finger. And the corners of her lips, which had been downcast, curved into a beautiful smile.