Episode 10
“Oh my. Lily, why are your eyes so swollen?”
“Yeah, what bit you?”
“Beep. Chirp.”
‘No. They’re swollen from crying too much.’
I was so startled when I looked in the mirror this morning that I flapped my wings in the air. My eyes were so puffy from how much I had cried.
The maids who came to feed me were also surprised to see my eyes and brought me something cold.
“Beeeep.”
‘So cold. When will the swelling go down?’
I wondered if my cruel owner would make fun of my eyes again. Just then, Cesar arrived.
The maids, spotting him, quickly bowed their heads.
“Welcome, Duke.”
“Lily’s eyes are quite swollen.”
“Yes. So I put something cold on them.”
“Chirp.”
‘That’s right. There’s a cold towel here. I don’t know when the swelling will go down. They’re so puffy I can barely see.’
“You’re such a high-maintenance bird.”
Saying that, Cesar snapped his fingers. A mystical energy enveloped me, and my eyes felt comfortable.
“Beep!”
“That’s better.”
“Beebeep. Beep.”
‘The swelling’s gone down.’
As I chirped excitedly, Cesar held something out to me. My wariness disappeared as soon as I saw the sparkling jewel in front of me, and I snatched it with my beak.
“So greedy.”
“Chirp.”
‘Hmph. Do you know how important jewels are? I’m going to take all the jewels I’ve collected and run away when I become human.’
I replied curtly and placed the jewel on the cage floor. I planned to hide it in my secret stash when Cesar and the maids left.
‘But why aren’t they leaving? He’d usually leave quickly because he’s busy.’
As I looked at them questioningly, Cesar instructed the maids,
“Let Lily roam freely. She can go to the annex if she wants.”
“Is that alright?”
“If I don’t allow it, she’ll just sneak in and cause trouble anyway.”
“Ah, that’s true.”
I puffed up my feathers at their matter-of-fact assumption that I would cause trouble.
“You seem angry.”
“Chirp.”
As I sulked and replied, he tapped my cheek.
“None of the birds in the books I’ve read were this sulky.”
At his subtly barbed words, I lowered my head submissively. I didn’t want to provoke Cesar unnecessarily.
I had thought he must have eaten something wrong to allow me to go to the annex.
‘It’s the usual Cesar. Sigh. This is my fate.’
I abandoned the thought of being nice to Cesar, which I had entertained yesterday.
‘I can barely take care of myself, so why was I thinking of being nice to him? But since he said I can play in the annex now. Should I change that desolate place…?’
I grinned mischievously at the tempting plan.
“Chirp, Chirp beep…”
Seeing that, Cesar became convinced that his bird was somewhat strange.
“Beebeep. Beep.”
‘The weather is nice, and the breeze is cool.’
I was lying sprawled on the swing, not very bird-like, enjoying the pleasant weather. Since Cesar had given his permission, there were no restrictions on entering, and the annex had become my free-access resting place.
“Lily’s relaxing there again.”
“Yeah. I didn’t know the annex was such a pretty place.”
“Didn’t you see Lily bringing the knights and having them plant flowers?”
“I did. Lily was perched on Sir Lenny’s shoulder, diligently supervising them.”
“Right. The knights probably worked so hard because Lily is adored by the Duke. And the Duke seemed to know what was going on, but he just let it be, as if telling her to make a pretty playground.”
“Yeah. The Duke has a soft spot for Lily.”
I heard the maids whispering and giggling. Ignoring their absurd claim that Cesar had a soft spot for me, I looked at the annex garden.
The annex was nice and all, but it was too desolate and lonely. That’s why I had asked Lenny to plant flowers. Seeing the colorful flowers in full bloom made me happy.
Lying leisurely like this made everything seem peaceful. Though the reality was a daily struggle to survive the dangers approaching in the novel…
‘I’ll forget about it for today.’
Just as I was getting a little bored of lying around, I sat up and picked up a twig. I had remembered the painting hanging in the annex.
Swish. I drew, now a little more accustomed to connecting the lines. I put all my bird-like effort into drawing the sharp eyes and straight nose.
“Chirp.”
‘Yes. Finished!’
As I hopped around on the floor, I saw a silhouette approaching. It was Cesar.
With a triumphant look, I puffed out my chest and fluttered onto his shoulder.
“Beep.”
‘How is it? Did I draw well?’
As I blinked, seeking praise, he looked at the once-desolate garden.
In the meantime, I had asked Lenny to plant flowers in the annex, and I had diligently chirped at the maids to clean up the fallen leaves and the rusty swing.
It was difficult due to the limitations of bird language, but the results were quite satisfactory. The desolate garden he knew had been transformed into a beautiful place with blooming flowers and a gentle breeze.
“I let you do as you pleased, but honestly, I can’t keep up.”
“Chirp!”
‘Why! Don’t you like it?’
Surprised by Cesar’s ambiguous words, I raised my tail feathers.
He chuckled. I had seen his lips curve into a smile before, but… the soft, melting smile he gave Sylvia was detrimental to a bird’s heart.
He wasn’t called a sub-male lead for nothing. I was momentarily captivated by his blindingly handsome face.
“Thank you, Lily.”
‘Did he just thank me?’
I wiggled my toes in disbelief and felt my cheeks flush. Thankfully, my feathers hid my blush, and I replied softly,
“Chirp.”
Honestly, he was the owner who would kill me in the future, but… I couldn’t just ignore him looking so lonely. It was as if I could see the young Cesar, all alone, right in front of me.
It was pure selfishness. It was something I did for my own peace of mind, but I was glad he was happy about it.
I wondered if this had brought me a little closer to Cesar.
Cesar was looking at Lily, sleeping in her cage. She was a bird full of surprises.
Even though her tears had dampened his hand, he didn’t feel bad. The way she rubbed her head against his hand afterward felt like a gesture of comfort, and it made him feel strange.
When pink petals scattered in the breeze, his heart strangely fluttered. He couldn’t understand why she had filled the once-desolate place with blooming flowers or why she had cleaned the rusty swing he used to sit on as a child.
He also couldn’t understand why he had uttered such uncharacteristic words of gratitude. Everything was beyond his comprehension.
“…Are all animals like this? Or is it just birds?”
Soft feathers brushed against his fingertips. He recalled what his master had said when he requested various books about birds.
‘Raising an animal can bring a lot of comfort to the heart. They act as if they truly understand your feelings.’
He had scoffed at those words, but…
“Understand my feelings…”
Did she cry back then because she understood his feelings? Did she take the initiative to tend the place he had neglected because she understood his words? It wasn’t a particularly tear-jerking past.
But looking back, he wondered if he hadn’t cleaned up the annex because he still harbored a lingering attachment to it, even unconsciously.
Truly, there would be no other bird that would so brazenly delve into someone’s past and offer comfort like that.
‘Beep.’
And there would be no one else in his life, besides this bird, who would greet him and wait for him in a place where no one had ever waited for him.
Color seeped into his colorless memories. He could almost see the chirping pink bird beside the swing where he used to sit alone.
Perhaps it was because she was such a foolish, endlessly cheerful, and constantly chattering, insignificant bird that he found himself telling her things he wouldn’t tell anyone else.
“Is it irritating? Or…”
Is he concerned about this bird?
“Lily.”
“Beep…”
Lily answered drowsily to his call. Her voice was barely audible.
His train of thought shifted from the idea of discarding or getting rid of her whenever he wanted. Now, the thought of doing so felt unbearable.
“You’re so unpredictable, you don’t listen to your owner, yet you occasionally show me things I never expected. And I…”
Don’t dislike it.
His gentle voice resonated softly in the greenhouse.
“So don’t leave my side.”
He had to possess anything he considered his, and he hated it when they left his side. So he couldn’t tolerate this unpredictable bird leaving him either.
“I really hate it when someone leaves my side.”
There was a clear and strong warning in his words.
I had a busy day again, going back and forth within the Clovis mansion. The servants I had become close to also initiated conversations with me.
As I was curiously watching the maids carrying teacups, my stomach rumbled.
‘I’m hungry. Come to think of it, they said they would give me delicious food if I went to the kitchen.’
“Lily, are you leaving already?”
“Beep.”
‘Yes! Even enjoying the beautiful scenery is secondary to filling my stomach! I’ll stop watching and go eat.’
I flew towards the kitchen without hesitation. I could already smell the delicious food. The life in the Duke’s mansion was scary, but I really liked being able to eat delicious food.
After enjoying a hearty meal in the kitchen, I returned directly to my cage in the greenhouse for once.
“Chirp.”
I could see my plump belly. It was a life constantly threatened, yet somehow peaceful.
‘I’m full. And sleepy. I shouldn’t fall asleep…’
Returning to the greenhouse, the warm temperature and the sunlight made me drowsy. My eyes fluttered closed.
Thanks to recent events, my guard was down, and with time remaining until the next event in the original story, the Spring Festival, my heart had softened.
‘Just for today, I’ll sleep peacefully. Just for today…’
Just as I was about to drift off with half-closed eyes, cold water dripped onto my beak.
“Beep…!”
‘Ah, cold! What? I’m in the greenhouse.’
The cold sensation chased away my drowsiness. As I blinked to assess the situation, I saw something in front of me.
Something resembling a fairy, made entirely of water, was floating in front of me.