Episode 24
Fortunately, a soft hand caught me before I fell onto the cold ground.
“What’s happening?”
“Bee…p…”
I saw concerned purple eyes looking at me. It was strange that Cesar, who had always seemed so scary, was now my greatest comfort.
“Chirp…”
‘I’m burning up. I can’t breathe. It hurts. It hurts so much I can’t even scream.’
“Cesar! What’s wrong with Lily…?”
“I don’t know. Lily’s body is burning up.”
My body, cradled in Cesar’s hand, suddenly became feverish. I felt Sylvia’s hand touch me.
“She’s burning up…! She was fine just a moment ago. We need to call a doctor right away.”
“I apologize, but I think we should go back. I need to take Lily back to the mansion.”
As my fever rose and my mind became hazy, I heard Cesar’s fragmented words.
“Chirp…”
‘I’m fine. It’s just that my body feels a little strange. So stay with Sylvia. It’s okay if I’m sick.’
But Sylvia, also with a serious expression, nodded.
“I’m alright. Hurry and take her back to the mansion. Lily mustn’t get sick.”
Her kind words, directed at the one who had ruined the festive mood, made me tear up. But the sharp pain engulfing me made my cries cut short.
Looking at me, Cesar whispered, as if he was about to lose something precious,
“…Lily. Please, don’t be sick.”
His firm embrace held me tightly, as if unwilling to let me go.
“Welcome back, Duke. But why have you returned so early?”
I vaguely saw the familiar scenery of the Dukedom. The pain was intensifying. My body wouldn’t stop trembling.
‘It feels like I’m having a nightmare. I’m scared. I can’t breathe properly.’
“Contact every doctor in the capital, immediately.”
“Pardon? What’s going on?”
“Lily is sick. Even with magic, her condition isn’t improving.”
“Lily is sick? I’ll call a doctor right away!”
I heard the maid hurriedly run off.
It was excessive. Who would care this much for a mere bird? I wanted to laugh it off and flap my wings vigorously, saying I was embarrassed, as usual.
But I couldn’t muster the strength. I missed my mom. I missed my family from before I became a bird so much that tears kept flowing.
The memories I had tried to suppress, focusing only on survival, scattered like mist.
‘I miss them. I want to go back. I don’t want to die. I hate being sick.’
I felt Cesar placing me on his bed. My burning body now felt cold. I was scared, not knowing what was happening.
“Beep… Chirp.”
‘Save me. I’m scared. My vision is blurry from the pain. Mom, where are you? I miss you, Mom. I want to go back.’
Just then, Cesar stroked my head.
“I’m here, by your side.”
At his words, I carefully leaned my face against his hand. His warmth was so comforting that I wanted to stay like this forever.
It was strange that I had become accustomed to his touch, even though I knew it was the hand that might kill me. I was grateful to Cesar for staying by my side, just like I had stayed by his.
Seeing him off, comforting him when he looked lonely, delving into his past. The more I did, the more my feelings towards him changed.
The more I got to know him, the less Cesar resembled the scary villain from the novel. He was like a lonely child, afraid of losing anyone who came close to him.
“Chirp…”
A tear rolled down my cheek. It must have already stained my feathers. The hand wiping away my tears warmed my heart.
“The doctor will be here soon. Just hold on a little longer.”
Saying that, Cesar stood up. He seemed to be leaving me alone here.
I reached out my wing, telling him not to go. His hand brushed against my wing.
“…Beep.”
‘I don’t like doctors. I don’t like strangers. I’ve always been alone as a bird. So don’t leave me.’
“My bird is quite spoiled.”
Cesar whispered to me softly, as if soothing a child.
“I won’t let you be sick.”
His words were as soft as whipped cream and as sweet as honey. The gentle side he usually hid was so kind and warm that it felt like it could even soothe the pain.
Just then, someone knocked on the door and entered the bedroom with several people.
“Duke, I’ve brought the doctors. But they said they’ve never treated a bird before…”
“Ha. Then they’re useless. Send them back. Tell them I’ll compensate them for the trouble.”
The maid, looking at me lying limply, asked with concern,
“Is Lily alright…?”
“She’ll be fine. I’ll watch over her all night. So you can leave now.”
“Understood.”
The maid bowed her head and left the bedroom with the people she had brought. Only Cesar and I remained in the room.
“…Chirp, Chirp.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep casting healing magic on you. I can’t sleep at night, so I can watch over you without any problem.”
Tears welled up in my eyes again at his gentle touch.
A faint, clear energy flowed continuously into my body. The clock ticked, and I twitched in pain. I felt his hand continuously stroking me.
I wanted to apologize to Cesar for ruining his time with Sylvia. But I didn’t want him, who was staying by my side, to leave, so I held onto him.
I kept apologizing to him, even though I knew he couldn’t understand me.
As the incessant pain subsided, a deep sleepiness washed over me. With the image of his gentle purple eyes as my last memory, I closed my heavy eyelids.
‘…So bright.’
I stirred and woke up, bothered by the bright sunlight. The intense pain I had experienced last night felt like a dream, and my body felt light.
As I came to my senses, I felt a surge of guilt towards them.
‘They must have been so surprised when I collapsed like that. I’m such a troublesome bird. And I whined so much to Cesar.’
I sighed, remembering his gentle touch that had soothed me throughout the night, even in my fragmented memories.
‘He said he would watch over me all night. He already has trouble sleeping, and I made him stay up all night. Was I trying to overwork him to death, past me?’
As I lowered my gaze, I saw long eyelashes, a smooth nose, and silver hair shimmering in the morning sun. Soft breaths indicated he was sleeping soundly.
‘Seeing him sleep so soundly makes me feel even more guilty.’
I reached out my wing to brush away the dark circles under Cesar’s eyes.
But something was strange. I saw a smooth, slender hand instead of a wing.
‘What’s this hand? Was there someone else next to Cesar?’
Puzzled, I racked my brain. I was certain that only Cesar and I were in the bedroom before I fell asleep. Realizing this, I was startled and tried to shake Cesar awake.
‘Cesar, wake up! There’s a stranger in the bedroom!’
“Wake…!”
‘What’s this voice? I don’t hear the usual chirps. And my eye level seems higher.’
I finally examined my body. Pink hair swayed gently. And the ends of my hair had a faint white glow.
I saw a woman reflected in the mirror in Cesar’s bedroom. As I moved what used to be my wings, the woman in the mirror touched her lips and arms.
“Uh…?”
The sensation of soft skin felt unfamiliar. Only then did I realize that my fluffy wings and small beak were gone.
I had woken up from the agonizing pain, human again.
‘This isn’t a dream, right? …I really became human again!’
If I were still a bird, I would have flown around in circles out of joy.
I looked closely at my reflection in the mirror. Delicate features, a small, upturned nose, snow-white skin, and large, jet-black eyes.
Overall, I looked similar to how I looked as Lily. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I looked… lovely.
Ugh.
“…Thinking like that is embarrassing.”
Feeling self-conscious, I looked around the room, where only Cesar was present.
Touching my flushed cheeks, I looked at Cesar, sleeping soundly. He seemed to be fast asleep, even though it was time for him to wake up, probably because he had taken care of me all night.
“Cesar…”
I traced the lines under his eyes, now with slender fingers, not wings. His skin felt warm.
At first, I was so scared of Cesar. He kept threatening to feed me to monsters and treated me like an insignificant bird. So I tried even harder to follow him around, chirping and acting cute whenever I could.
But as time passed, the true feelings Cesar revealed were like those of a child trying to protect himself, and I couldn’t help but be drawn to him.
I filled the annex, which might have held the shadows of his childhood, with flowers, and I stayed by his bedside, watching over him as if to protect him from the night.
The hand that had been tracing his eyes now cupped his face.
I didn’t know when it started, but I could feel his kindness. The gentle energy and his voice, soothing me throughout the agonizing night, still lingered.
So now, having become human, I wanted to tell Cesar what I had wanted to say as Lily. As a bird, all I could do was chirp and rub my head against him.
An unfamiliar female voice, still strange to me, flowed out.
“Thank you, Cesar. I was so scared and in so much pain, but I was okay because you were by my side.”
But even as I expressed my gratitude, I realized something.
I had decided to leave Cesar, who might kill me, as soon as I became human. And that hadn’t changed.
OMG SHE TURNED INTO A HUMAN 😭