Episode 117
The Crown Prince shrugged and said to the Holy Kingdom representative,
“That’s what she said. I don’t have the authority to force her to return if she’s not the property of the Imperial family.”
“Don’t you want Petri back?”
“My foolish brother seems to have lent it to you in exchange for resources, but according to the terms of your agreement, shouldn’t you be returning it?”
The leader of the Holy Kingdom delegation remained silent at the Crown Prince’s sharp words. He seemed displeased that things weren’t going his way.
I tensed up, wary. Since they had come all this way, they wouldn’t back down so easily.
But then, unexpected words came,
“Then we understand. Since the owner, Duke Clovis, doesn’t wish to hand her over, we can’t force him.”
“Beep?”
‘Are they really backing down?’
As I blinked in surprise, pale eyes turned towards me. The eyes, so white that only the black pupils were clearly visible, made me shudder.
A strange memory surfaced.
Was this the memory of the bird I possessed? But it hadn’t even hatched when I took over.
Despite that, the memory vividly intruded into my mind.
‘If you don’t comply, the people here will be harmed. Do you want that?’
The gentle tone felt like a parent coaxing a child.
‘Everyone born here has fulfilled their duty. Do you truly desire freedom so much? You don’t even have the ability to take responsibility for the consequences of neglecting your duty, and yet you’re so greedy.’
The sudden shift to a sharp, accusatory tone made my vision sway. I must have been trembling.
My breath hitched, and my heart pounded so loudly that I could hear it.
‘We are not confining you. We will open the door for you anytime you wish. But you will have to bear the consequences of seeking freedom.’
They said the cage door was always open, but that was all it was. It meant that there was nowhere else for me to go.
He was shackling the bird that tried to fly away.
“Chirp. Chirp.”
‘I feel sick.’
The white space in my memory was filled with people. But were there any among them whom I could call my allies?
The gentle yet threatening words, like brainwashing, continued to invade my mind. It made me wonder how anyone could even think of escaping.
“She seems quite unstable.”
The eyes looking at me softened.
I knew I wasn’t okay. The memories that surfaced whenever I met his gaze made me dizzy.
“She won’t last long in the Empire in that state.”
At his words, Cesar asked coldly,
“What did you just say?”
“I was just informing you since you seem wary of us. I heard that those with divine power are extremely rare in the Empire. But she needs to receive divine power to truly shine. She seems to be barely surviving by absorbing something else, but she will surely wither soon.”
He spoke as if he knew everything about the bird I possessed.
“So we believe it would be best to hand her over to us. We’ll retreat for now, since you seem unprepared, Duke Clovis, but if you truly care for that bird, not just out of possessiveness… we hope you’ll make the right choice.”
“I don’t believe handing Lily over to the Holy Kingdom is the right choice if she doesn’t want it.”
Cesar spoke through gritted teeth. A tense atmosphere, like a drawn bowstring, filled the air.
“You even gave her a name? How touching. Then we’ll see you again, Duke Clovis. And Your Highness.”
As his gaze shifted away from me, I felt like I could finally breathe again.
‘What was that…?’
The memories and the fear weren’t mine, which made it even more unpleasant. But despite not wanting to be involved, I wanted to know how this bird was connected to the Holy Kingdom.
They were retreating for now, but they might act differently if they knew I would never go back.
Well, I wouldn’t go back no matter what they did.
“Beep.”
‘Goodbye. Don’t come back.’
As I chirped softly with that wish, the man in white, who had been turning away, stopped and warned me,
“Such impudence won’t do you any good. Don’t regret not returning to us when you had the chance.”
‘How unpleasant, until the very end.’
I tapped my beak, feeling uneasy, until the Crown Prince finished silencing the knights and organizing the situation.
The story was drawing to a close, similar to the original ending, but there were still unanswered questions and people targeting me.
A few days had passed since the chaotic hunting competition. Cesar, sitting at his desk, looked at me and asked,
“Why are your eyes sparkling like that?”
“So what happened after that?”
I had been spending my days peacefully, eating and occasionally going for walks, but I had been curious about how the Crown Prince handled the aftermath.
“You can just read the Imperial newspaper, Lily.”
“This?”
I shook my head, looking at the headlines.
“This only says that the heroic Imperial Knights bravely exterminated the monsters.”
The true culprit was the Empress, and revealing what she had done would only bring shame to the Empire. That’s why the newspapers, meant for the commoners, only praised the Imperial family’s heroic deeds.
“What’s the atmosphere like among the nobles? And I’m also curious about what His Majesty did.”
“You’re full of questions.”
“Call it curiosity.”
The scratching sound of his quill stopped. I perked up my ears, thinking he was finally going to tell me.
“The atmosphere among the nobles is predictable. They’re all scrambling to gain favor with the Crown Prince. The rumors about the Empress being behind the incident at the hunting competition have already spread among them. No noble would cling to a sinking ship.”
His reply was quite cynical.
“So there’s no chance for them to turn things around. What about the Empress and the Second Prince? What happened to them?”
“The Empress will be stripped of her title. It would have been more complicated if she were the Empress, but since she’s just the Empress Consort, it will happen soon. There might be some nobles pressuring His Majesty to take another wife… but with the succession ceremony coming soon, I doubt he’ll take another Empress.”
“Succession ceremony? So His Highness the Crown Prince will ascend the throne?”
“Yes. That’s why the Second Prince’s punishment was swiftly decided. He was executed after being found guilty.”
With the Empress losing her power and the Second Prince dead, there was no one left to challenge the Crown Prince.
Cesar didn’t elaborate, but the Crown Prince would have dealt with the Second Prince’s remaining followers.
‘So this is the happy ending…?’
After the succession ceremony, he would confess his eternal love to Sylvia and they would get married.
So everything had followed the original ending. Except for one person, the man sitting before me, alive.
I unconsciously reached out and held Cesar’s hand, as if to confirm that he was real.
“Why are you holding my hand? Do you have more questions, Lily?”
“No. Just…”
How could I say this? I couldn’t just say I was overwhelmed because the person who was supposed to be dead was alive and well in front of me.
“Are you feeling uneasy?”
“Pardon?”
I looked at him, surprised by his sudden question.
He wasn’t joking. His lips were set in a firm line.
“It’s alright. I won’t let you regret staying by my side.”
“Ah.”
So Cesar had been dwelling on the words spoken by the man in white.
“I think the delegation from the Holy Kingdom is still here.”
The Imperial newspaper had an article about the delegation from the Holy Kingdom healing the injured Imperial knights with their divine power. They had said they would stay longer to help.
And they also had to resolve the issue with Petri, so it was natural for them to stay longer.
“But I’m not worried. My place is here. I promised to stay by your side, Cesar, so don’t even think about letting me go. And if I disappear, please come find me, like you did before.”
Even if, as the Holy Kingdom delegation had warned, my power weakened and I couldn’t maintain my human form, there would be other solutions.
I knew running away out of fear wasn’t a solution anymore.
I was here, by the side of the person I loved, and I could whisper words of love as a human; there was nothing more I could ask for.
“I won’t let you go. I’ll hold onto you even if you want to leave.”
A possessive glint shone in his eyes. His intense gaze, as if he would use any means necessary to keep me by his side, was a little scary.
But I was the one who had agreed to this, and I knew his gentle side, the side he only showed to me.
“Yes. Please hold onto me.”
Realizing I was in Cesar’s arms, I couldn’t help but smile.
There were still things I had to figure out, but I was happy with my current life.
Back in my room, I finally turned my attention to the small, pink bird fluttering around.
“Beep! Chirp!”
‘Yes, that’s it.’
The thing I had to figure out.
I sighed briefly and asked the mysterious bird,
“What are you, exactly? You don’t seem to be visible to Cesar or the other servants at the Dukedom.”
“Beep?”
It tilted its head cutely, even though it clearly understood me.
The bird that had appeared right before I tried to defeat the dragon-like monster had been lingering around me since I returned to Cesar’s mansion and woke up that morning.
‘What do you want? Should I go to the Tower Master?’