Episode 11
I felt a similar energy to the Sylph I met before.
‘Is it a spirit?’
Curious, I stretched out my wing towards the spirit, and the part that touched it became wet.
“Beep!”
‘Cold! My wing is wet!’
As I ruffled my feathers in surprise, the spirit giggled and circled around me. Then, it gestured for me to follow.
“Chirp?”
‘Is it telling me to follow it?’
As if understanding my thoughts, the spirit in front of me nodded.
But I was told not to follow unfamiliar spirits.
As I hesitated and eyed it warily, the spirit started to whimper. Startled by the falling droplets, I straightened up.
“Beep!”
‘No! I’ll go! Don’t cry!’
I hurriedly opened the cage door. The spirit, immediately stopping its tears, looked at me as if urging me to hurry up.
“Beep…”
‘…Did I just get tricked by a spirit?’
Feeling deceived, I considered going back into the cage. But if I refused to go, the spirit might burst into tears again.
Besides, seeing the spirit here, it seemed Heron was looking for me.
Perhaps he had sensed something special about me and had summoned me out of interest. If that was the case, it was better to follow the spirit.
I was worried about Cesar, but I felt like we had become closer, and he seemed to be in a good mood lately. As long as I remembered the way back, I could always return.
Trying to dismiss it as nothing, I followed the spirit out of the mansion. Completely unaware that this single outing would turn the Dukedom upside down.
“Beep…”
‘Just how far are we going?’
Even when I asked, the spirit just smiled brightly and didn’t answer.
As I fluttered after the spirit, not knowing the destination, a large tree trunk suddenly appeared in front of me.
“Beep!”
I flapped my wings frantically, but the solid tree was already right in front of me.
‘I’m going to crash! Crash!’
It seemed I was about to crash into the tree ungracefully. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for the impact.
But strangely, I didn’t feel any pain. As I opened my eyes in confusion, I heard a languid voice, as light as a fluttering butterfly.
“You have to be careful.”
“Beep?”
Flowing black hair filled my vision. I blinked, and mesmerizing red eyes and a handsome face came into view. It was Heron.
“You almost got hurt…”
Heron rubbed my head, which had almost crashed into the tree. I realized my head was resting against his soft palm. Feeling embarrassed, I quickly pulled away and avoided his gaze.
“Chirp…”
“Hmm. Did I make a bad impression back then?”
“Beep?”
‘A bad impression? On whom?’
“I get scolded by my peers sometimes, but I’ve never made a bad impression on anyone.”
“Beep!”
‘Are you talking about me? No. I didn’t dislike you.’
As I vigorously flapped my wings in denial, he smiled playfully.
“I have to stay in the Empire for a while. I’ve become interested in something.”
‘It’s probably because of Sylvia, right?’
Heron was fascinated by Sylvia, who could see spirits. He would approach her, offering to teach her Spirit Arts, and they would become close.
He didn’t get involved in the power struggle between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, but he occasionally appeared to help Sylvia when she was in danger.
He was a peculiar male lead, surprisingly passive even towards the female lead, perhaps due to his easygoing and carefree nature.
‘But does he really not know anything about me? I followed him thinking he knew something.’
As I stared blankly at Heron, he smoothed down my ruffled feathers.
“Lily.”
“Beep.”
“Would you give me some of your time today?”
“…Chirp?”
I was taken aback by Heron’s sudden question, and my train of thought came to a halt.
“The Empire is so boring. I thought it would be nice to have you by my side…”
His beautiful voice, as gentle as a butterfly landing softly, tempted me.
“Since you refused to become my bird, would giving me your time also be difficult…?”
Heron’s smooth, long fingers tickled my eyes. Looking at the beautiful man in front of me, my heart wavered.
“Beep…”
‘I was planning to meet Heron briefly today and then return to the mansion.’
As I hesitated and looked at him, he withdrew his hand.
“I must have asked too much. You can forget about it.”
Heron replied lightly. There was no trace of regret in his withdrawing hand. Even when I was startled and ran away before, he hadn’t tried to stop me.
Heron, who viewed people and the world with indifference, never made a request twice. Even Sylvia, with her vibrant colors, wasn’t an exception.
He liked Sylvia, but he found it bothersome to devote enough time to keep her by his side. His habit of cutting off conversations without hesitation reflected his personality.
Even if I refused him now, he wouldn’t care, but something bothered me.
‘Hmm. Something feels off.’
As I fretted over this unknown feeling, I saw his red eyes shimmering before me. They definitely held a certain interest.
‘As expected, he seems somewhat interested in me. But he doesn’t seem to know anything.’
After serious consideration, I gripped his collar with my beak.
“Beep.”
“Huh?”
“Chirp! Chirp!”
‘I’ll give you my time today!’
After replying hurriedly, I thought of Cesar’s face and closed my eyes tightly.
No matter how I thought about it, Heron was interested in me for some reason. I didn’t know what that reason was, but if there was a possibility that it could be helpful to me, I had to take it.
With that thought, I fluttered onto his shoulder. I pointed forward with my wing, my own way of communicating. Heron chuckled.
“Beep!”
‘Why are you laughing! This is a life-or-death outing for me.’
As I sulked and grumbled, Heron called my name.
“…Lily.”
“Chirp.”
“I wish I had met you before the Duke.”
I shook my head at his words.
“Why? You don’t like that?”
“Beep.”
‘Yes. Chirping to entertain the languid and bored Heron is no different from chirping to survive Cesar.’
“But I think every day would have been very enjoyable. Just like the Duke cares about you.”
“Chirp…?”
‘Cesar cares about me? …I’d be grateful if he just didn’t kill me.’
Come to think of it, he did give me jewels, tailored new clothes, and now even leaves the cage door open. We’ve become closer, and I’ve even heard him thank me, but…
I still didn’t know. It was hard to believe he wouldn’t try to kill me again. Heron’s words kept stirring up other thoughts.
Suddenly, my head started to ache as if tangled threads had snapped. It was already hard enough to think about Heron’s actions, so I couldn’t continue with more complex thoughts.
It was clear that becoming a bird had also turned my brain into that of a bird.
Just then, he took the blue jewel that was beautifully adorning my chest.
“Beep?”
‘My jewel. Why are you taking my emergency escape fund?’
“This jewel is proof that the Duke cares about you.”
“Chirp?”
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
As I tilted my head, he casually tossed my jewel away. And a wind spirit, appearing from nowhere, blew the jewel far away.
“…Beep.”
I watched my jewel disappear with dismay.
“Then let’s go, Lily.”
An outing that began with the loss of a jewel had begun.
“Are you angry?”
“Beep, Chirp.”
‘A jewel worth a mansion is gone, but I’m not ang… Of course, I’m angry!’
As I continued to puff up my feathers in a huff, Undine, the water spirit who had guided me, circled around me.
As if trying to appease me, the flustered Undine suddenly hugged me tightly. My fluffy feathers became instantly soaked, as if caught in a downpour.
“Beep!”
Startled by my sudden transformation into a drenched bird, I looked at him.
“Oh dear. Sylph.”
As soon as Heron finished speaking, a warm breeze enveloped me.
“Chirp…”
‘That’s better. My feathers are fluffy again. Phew, what a day.’
As I checked the state of my soft feathers, Undine cautiously gauged my mood.
“Beep? Beep.”
‘It’s okay. Come here.’
It was just an accident that happened because he was trying to comfort me, so I was completely fine.
Relieved, Undine circled around me again, and a noticeably different scenery came into view.
“Chirp…?”
‘Is this the center of the Empire, where Heron came from?’
I heard the boisterous voices of people and saw merchants. A few carriages carrying nobles passed by.
As I stared with wide eyes, Heron spoke to me.
“Is it fascinating?”
“Chirp.”
I replied affirmatively. Since I was always at the mansion, I hadn’t had a proper outing. The Imperial Palace, which I had visited with Cesar before, was splendid and fascinating, but it felt too unreal.
My previous life came to mind, and the current atmosphere felt comfortable.
“You seem to be in a better mood now, Lily.”
“Beep. Chirp.”
‘Well, I have a few more jewels at home. I should calm down for the spirits’ sake. They did heal my wing last time.’
Since I was originally a very rational person, I quickly regained my composure, even as a bird.
As we walked through the busy streets, he bought an apple from a merchant, thinking I might be hungry, and offered it to me. As I was pecking at the delicious apple,
“…Found you!”
Three or four men in robes shouted as if they had found someone. Then, they approached us at a frightening speed.
Startled, I urged Heron with my wing to hurry up. But his reaction was strange. He didn’t seem surprised and just sighed, looking at them with a bored expression.
“Oh, how annoying.”
My heart sank as I looked at Heron. I regretted this outing.