Episode 90
As soon as I opened my eyes, I checked if my mind was clear. Fortunately, there was no fogginess or nausea.
It had been a while since I was confined to the Marquisate. I didn’t know how long I could maintain my human form, so I couldn’t miss today’s opportunity.
I obediently ate breakfast and waited for Prea. She visited me frequently, despite being busy.
Being trapped in an empty room, waiting for someone… I felt more free as a bird.
At least back then, the cage door was left open. He even made sure I wasn’t feeling stifled.
Hearing the clicking of heels, I erased the wistful expression from my face and put on a smile to greet her.
“Welcome, Lady Seirthe.”
“Yes, Valerie.”
What was this? Unlike her usual perfectly composed smile, her lips were set in a hard line, and she seemed displeased. And the tips of her nails were chipped, unusual for the always impeccable Prea.
She walked in and stroked my hair. As I lowered my eyes obediently, her long nails grazed my cheek.
“Why are people so stupid?”
“Stupid?”
“If they know I’m in a bad mood, like you do, they should just try to appease me. Why do they always make mistakes and ruin things?”
‘Did something go wrong with her plans involving Sylvia? She said something troublesome happened before.’
If I successfully escaped today, nothing serious would happen to Sylvia. With that thought, I desperately tried to appease Prea.
If I made a mistake and she canceled her outing, everything would be ruined.
“You’re right. They’re all so foolish. There would be no mistakes if they just followed your words, beautiful Lady Seirthe.”
A smile spread across her face at my sweet, flattering words.
“If everyone were like you, I wouldn’t have to lock that maid in the basement. Such a shame.”
“The basement…?”
“It’s not a place you’ll ever have to go. I like you. Why would I lock you up in such a filthy place?”
Her gently closing eyes were seductive, but a chill ran down my spine, thinking I would have been locked up and left to die there if I was just a tool to her.
“Don’t be scared.”
Prea, noticing my trembling hands, soothed me in an incredibly gentle and sweet voice.
“I’m not scared.”
“Really?”
Prea tilted her head, pretending not to know. But I could see the satisfaction in her gleaming red eyes, enjoying my fear, and I wanted to escape.
“Thanks to you, I’m in a better mood. Wait for me without causing any trouble. I’ll bring the pretty jewels you mentioned.”
“I’ll be waiting, Lady Seirthe.”
I smoothly told a blatant lie and saw her off.
My plan began after Prea left. Thanks to the clear weather, it was easy to tell day from night, and there were no unexpected events.
Everything was going according to plan.
‘She said she’ll be back at night, so I have to escape before then.’
Prea, in the original story, was quick-witted and intelligent.
It would be best if I could escape without her realizing I was a bird, but if she found out somehow, it could be disastrous.
It was better to be cautious.
‘It’s still daytime. Let’s wait a little longer.’
I had to wait for the perfect opportunity. If I was caught, it would be the end.
I vaguely hoped Cesar would come and rescue me, but how could I just wait, not knowing when the fake maid impersonating me would be exposed?
It was unlikely.
And Sylvia was also in a dangerous situation. I had to handle this on my own.
‘I had a reason for getting close to Prea, but I was too careless. I tried to control the situation by using my life as bait. I didn’t know it would make things worse…’
I would have to apologize to Sylvia when I got back. My silence, intended to prevent her from worrying, had backfired.
I waited for nightfall, hoping to prevent things from escalating beyond the original story.
As I waited, the sun began to set. Soon, darkness would fall. I fiddled with the clean bird doll.
I had carefully washed off the dirt and leaves in the bathroom and dried it in the sunlight streaming through the window, just in case it aroused suspicion.
Fortunately, Prea hadn’t found it strange. She knew I had asked for the doll, but she didn’t seem to know what I had done with it.
‘Thanks to this doll, I could quickly come up with an escape plan.’
Touching the doll that looked just like me, I approached the window.
I only had one chance.
Steeling my resolve, I focused on returning to my bird form. And as soon as I felt my body shrink, I took flight.
The knights stood guard at the door, as ordered by Seirthe. They occasionally observed the situation inside and reported to her.
Seirthe had warned them that they would be held responsible if the woman inside escaped, so they had been on high alert at first.
But after a few days, the knights, whose only task was to observe the woman sitting idly and guard the closed door, became bored.
It would have been less boring if she had at least tried to open the door or cried and begged to be released.
Finally, one of the knights spoke,
“Why is she having us guard this little woman so intensely, as if she could escape?”
“Be quiet. She must have her reasons.”
“But that girl, trembling in fear of Lady Seirthe, doesn’t seem like the type to have the courage to run away.”
The other knight slowly nodded. Her pale face when she dropped the doll out the window hadn’t seemed like an act.
“Poor thing. Having caught Lady Seirthe’s attention, she won’t die peacefully. Remember that servant who Lady Seirthe liked before? What happened when he said he had to go home because his mother was sick?”
“She abandoned him.”
“Abandoned? She killed him.”
“What are you trying to say? Even if you feel sorry for that woman, don’t get involved, no matter what happens to her. Our job is to prevent her from escaping.”
“We can still feel sympathy. Ah, by the way, want to make a bet?”
“What kind of bet?”
“Whether that woman inside will die trying to escape, or whether Lady Seirthe will get tired of her and kill her first.”
“You’re a piece of trash.”
“What else can we do? We’re bored. And I did say I felt sorry for her.”
He shook his head at their giggling.
They were just dogs following their master’s orders; they didn’t feel any guilt.
The fact that they had kept quiet about the doll incident wasn’t because she was trying to escape; they had just turned a blind eye, not wanting to get involved.
“She’s quiet again today, playing with her dolls.”
The other knight shrugged at the words of the knight who peeked inside through a small hole.
“She probably gave up, knowing there’s no point in causing trouble.”
“Perhaps.”
The knight, who had been nodding in agreement, suddenly exclaimed,
“Uh, huh?”
“What? What happened?”
“She’s… disappearing…!”
They hurriedly opened the door and rushed inside, but a bright light blinded them. Clothes fell to the floor, and a small, round object flew up, along with something sparkling.
As they blinked, trying to understand what was happening, the round object fluttered by the window and looked back at them.
Then, it flew out the window and disappeared completely.
They came to their senses and frantically searched the small room, even checking the bathtub, for the woman. But she was gone.
‘I wanted to thank them for keeping quiet about the doll incident. But that would be a luxury in my situation, since I’ll be killed if I’m caught.’
I quickly escaped after seeing them regain consciousness and safely landed on the ground. Fortunately, there were no arrows or traps.
‘Now, all I have to do is get back to Sylvia.’
It was starting to get dark, but the night looked different to a bird’s eyes, so I didn’t think I would get lost. And the path wasn’t unfamiliar, since I had been here once before.
Just as I was about to fly over the walls of the Marquisate, hoping to get back before the knights realized I was a bird,
Clang!
I bounced off something with a loud crash.
“Beep!”
‘W-what is this?!’
Something unexpected happened. My body couldn’t leave the Marquisate, as if bound to it.
‘What’s going on? What did they do to me that I can’t leave?’
I frantically flapped my wings, but I was only pushed back further.
Panicked, I tried to calm down and hide somewhere to observe the situation. But at that moment, I saw an arrow flying towards me from below.
‘Crazy!’
I barely managed to dodge the arrow aimed directly at my heart, but it grazed my left wing.
The pain was far greater than when Prea pricked my fingertip. My body lost balance, but I desperately endured the pain and continued flapping my wings.
“Beep!”
‘You think you can kill me?! I’m not going to die!’