Episode 86
I hoped the fake maid impersonating me would be exposed quickly, but the thought of Cesar finding out made my head spin.
It would be even worse if he thought I had run away.
I had to transform back into a bird and escape before that happened. I couldn’t even find the pouch of mana stones I always carried to maintain my human form.
I must have dropped it somewhere when I was kidnapped.
Lately, I had been able to maintain my human form for longer, about four days if I didn’t exert myself too much, but I wasn’t sure if I could last any longer.
Struggling now would only result in being pricked by something sharp as punishment, so I waited patiently. Soon, I smelled a fragrant aroma.
The door opened, and a maid came in with food. Prea, standing beside her, said,
“Were you waiting? It’s warm soup. This girl will bring your meals, so eat when she comes.”
“Th-thank you.”
I numbly accepted the food. I should be grateful that she was at least providing me with food and a place to sleep.
It wouldn’t do me any good to refuse to eat. And it would be troublesome if I transformed back into a bird earlier than expected because I was hungry.
I ate the warm soup and drank the water beside it. Then, I felt strangely drowsy.
My eyelids felt heavy. Prea, who had been watching me, smiled with satisfaction and left the room.
Her voice echoed in my drowsy mind,
“Then sleep for a bit. There’s no need for us both to be tired if you cause a fuss.”
She must have put something in the food, like a sleeping potion.
‘Seriously?! Help me!’
I tried to fight off the drowsiness, but sleepiness slowly overtook me. I didn’t want to be her pretty little pet bird. She was crazy.
‘To think there would be a day when I would prefer Cesar.’
This was truly a strange turn of events. Everyone who approached me seemed to be crazy, and it was exhausting.
My drowsy body instinctively sought the bed. The only thought I had before falling asleep was,
‘They say a crazy person needs another crazy person to handle them.’
I was worried about the aftermath, but I prayed that Cesar would find me quickly, like when he frantically searched the entire Empire in a fit of rage after I ran away.
Sylvia sighed worriedly.
‘Lily hasn’t been herself since we left the auction house.’
When she returned after receiving the gift for the Crown Prince, Lily was nowhere to be found.
Worried that something might have happened, she searched for her and found her huddled in a corner, far from their designated spot, gasping for breath.
‘I don’t feel well, Miss Sylvia.’
She had been so startled by Lily’s weak voice.
Lily, who always cheered her on and looked after her, was a softhearted girl. That kind heart hadn’t changed, whether as a bird or a human.
She was always so considerate of others that she didn’t show any signs of her own struggles. Sylvia wondered if she had made Lily’s condition worse by thoughtlessly bringing her out that day, despite her not feeling well.
Overcome with guilt, Sylvia confined Lily to her room, telling her to rest.
‘Miss, I’m fine! I was just feeling unwell that d…’
‘I’m not listening. Just rest. You’re not allowed to leave this room until I tell you to. Understood? I’ll be angry if you don’t listen.’
As Sylvia spoke sternly, Lily quietly nodded. But there was something strange.
“Lily has never made such a scary expression before.”
Lily always smiled brightly or chirped and blushed. The cold, hard set of her lips and her sharp gaze, at Sylvia’s words, felt like they belonged to a different person.
But it was undoubtedly Lily’s face.
“…Strange. It’s definitely Lily, but she feels different.”
“Different how, Miss Sylvia?”
The voice was Lily’s. Sylvia wondered why she was out of her room when she had been told to rest.
“I told you to rest. Why are you out here?”
“I was in my room for too long. I missed you, Miss Sylvia.”
Her bright smile was chilling. Sylvia felt uneasy and didn’t think it was a good idea to be alone with her.
“Valerie, where are the other servants?”
She casually twirled her hair and replied,
“Ah, there seems to be a small fire somewhere in the mansion. They’ve all gone there… I don’t know who caused it, but I’m worried it might spread.”
Despite saying she was worried, her expression was devoid of any emotion. Sylvia quietly summoned her spirits.
Lily tilted her head.
“What did you just mutter?”
Sylvia didn’t answer. It seemed like the Lily in front of her didn’t notice the summoned spirits.
Even the spirits, usually eager to be near Lily, were just warily circling her, keeping their distance.
‘This is definitely strange.’
A strange premonition washed over Sylvia. Something must have happened to Lily at the auction house.
She had said she was unwell, so perhaps she was under some kind of mental magic? Or was the person in front of her not the real Lily?
Either way, it wasn’t a good situation.
Sylvia thought of Heron, who wasn’t here when she needed him, and inwardly complained.
‘I told him to stop bothering Lily, and now he’s not here when I need him.’
For some reason, Heron hadn’t visited the Veronica County mansion recently. He was a free spirit who appeared unexpectedly, so she had been checking for his presence, but she couldn’t sense any other energy besides her own spirits.
“I asked you what you muttered, Miss.”
‘She might be the real Lily. I just have to restrain her without hurting her.’
Sylvia summoned a strong gust of wind to block her path, and she heard the sound of grinding teeth.
“Sigh, what are you doing? This is Valerie, your most cherished maid. I don’t know what this sudden whim is, but you’ve scratched her cheek with that strong wind.”
Sylvia hurriedly dispelled the spirit, startled by her words, and the backlash hit her. Enduring the pain, she looked ahead and saw Lily smiling.
“It’s truly difficult to cater to the whims of a delicate noble lady. That’s why other noble ladies dislike you.”
“…Did you say they dislike me?”
“Yes. Isn’t that right? You can’t do anything on your own, and you just drag men around, playing with their hearts. Which noble lady would genuinely like you and open up to you? Even I don’t truly like you.”
Her mocking words and sneer made Sylvia’s heart sink.
Why had she even considered, even for a moment, that this person might be the real Lily? It couldn’t be.
“What did you do with Valerie after taking her?”
“I am Valerie. What nonsense are you talking about?”
Sylvia smiled, looking at the woman nonchalantly lying.
“The real Valerie would never say anything to hurt me. She’s kind. She doesn’t even tell me when she’s struggling, always trying to protect me. She always smiles, even when she’s suffering alone.”
That’s right. Lily was always kind and gentle.
Even as a small bird, she had comforted her with her small gestures, and after becoming human, she had become a true friend, chatting and laughing with her.
She had even warned her about Lady Seirthe’s intentions, worried that Sylvia might be hurt.
“This is so frustrating. If you hadn’t been so overprotective of this damn maid, I could have just kidnapped her and thrown her on a ship to the harbor, as planned.”
Despite the chilling words, Sylvia wasn’t scared and demanded to know Lily’s whereabouts.
“…Where is Valerie?”
“Is this maid that precious to you? What’s so important about a maid’s life?”
“Just tell me.”
“I don’t know. Even if I’m going to die for failing the mission, why would I tell you?”
Sylvia frowned at her answer.
So there was someone behind this. And it was highly likely that it was Lady Seirthe.
“Let’s just end this peacefully. I’m scared of fighting with a pretty noble lady like you.”
“Why did you come to me? Who sent you?”
“I told you to end this peacefully, didn’t I? I’m already on the verge of death for failing the mission. And they told me not to kill you. Why is this so complicated?”
Sylvia listened carefully to her grumbling. If there was any information about Lily, she would use it to find her.
“You’re experiencing this because you’re meddling in matters that are already decided. Getting involved with dirty people like us.”
“I’m not meddling in anything.”
“Hmph, still denying it. Being practically the Crown Prince’s fiancée, a scar or two won’t break off the engagement. Should I give that pretty face of yours a nasty cut?”
Her gaze, scanning Sylvia’s face, was menacing. This fake Lily might resemble her in appearance, but she didn’t have an ounce of Lily’s loveliness.
As Sylvia nervously tried to calm her churning stomach and summon her spirits again, the woman in front of her suddenly gasped and fell to her knees.
“I… I can’t breathe… gasp… cough!”
As Sylvia blinked, wondering what was going on, the closed door opened, and a chillingly cold voice she had never heard before echoed,
“I came because I heard Lily was sick, and this… this vermin is impersonating her?”
I’ll kill her.