Episode 3
I remained silent, saying nothing.
‘What if he kills me for chattering beside him?’
“To think I’d be jealous of a bird.”
“Beep…”
“Should I just kill this one and get a new bird?”
At the shocking words, my body froze. I felt a sticky, stinging killing intent. It hadn’t been long since we met, yet I couldn’t count how many times my life had been threatened.
I desperately tried to think of behaviors Cesar liked.
He disliked people who needlessly stood out and showed off. He hated being disobeyed and looked down upon.
‘No, I can only think of things he dislikes.’
I nervously twitched my tail feathers. Then, a good idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
“Beep! Beep!”
I strained my beak and claws with all my might to open the cage door. And as soon as the cage door opened, I spread my small wings and took flight.
“Are you running away? This is annoying. Should I really kill you?”
A chilling voice filled the air. My tiny heart trembled with apprehension.
“Beeeep…!”
“Huh?”
As if shouting for him to wait, Cesar looked at me with a puzzled expression at my cry.
‘Don’t kill me! I’m not running away!’
Landing nearby, I hopped into the bushes. And I diligently pecked at a flower stem with my beak.
Soon, I held a fallen twig and a flower in my beak.
“Beep!”
As I appeared with the flower and twig in my nimble beak, he looked at me with questioning eyes.
“What are you doing?”
I placed the flower beside me and began to draw something with the twig in my beak. The lines, which would have been straight and curved if drawn by a human hand, were crooked and uneven.
After drawing two parallel curves and a curve below them, I put down the twig.
‘Phew. I’m done.’
Having finished everything, I chirped happily.
“Beep!”
Cesar liked people who knew their place. He didn’t dislike those who were quick-witted and knew how to cater to his mood. And he loved Sylvia’s radiant blonde hair as it flowed beautifully between his fingers.
I offered him a flower of a color he couldn’t possibly hate, exchanging glances. Along with a clumsily drawn picture of a smiling person.
“Beep.”
‘Please take good care of me, Cesar.’
Then, a look of intrigue appeared in his eyes.
“Just like Sylvia said, it’s like you understand words. But it’s just a flower and a strange drawing.”
“Beep…”
My dejected chirp echoed.
‘Didn’t he like it? Am I really going to die now?’
My vision seemed to blur. I didn’t want to die as a bird like this.
As I lowered my head in fear, he called me.
“Get back in the cage. And don’t think about running away.”
‘Huh? Did it work?’
As I hesitantly went back into the cage, he locked the latch.
“Let’s go, Lily.”
I blinked. His voice, calling me Lily, sounded strangely gentle.
Soon, the carriage waiting for me came into view. The deer in the center, seemingly the Clovis family crest, and the two swords crossing it were clearly visible.
I looked back at the main gate of the mansion where I had been with Sylvia one last time. Thinking about the life at the Duke’s mansion that lay ahead, I boarded the carriage with him.
Screech. The carriage door opened with the sound of the carriage stopping. As if waiting, the servants bowed their heads and greeted Cesar.
“Welcome back, Duke.”
“Yes.”
“But what is that bird?”
“It’s a pet I’ll be raising.”
“But the bird’s condition…”
“Beep…”
I replied in a dying voice. Seeing that, Cesar sighed.
“What a nuisance.”
Before getting into the carriage, I was worried about how to survive at the Duke’s mansion. But as time passed after boarding the carriage, I realized,
‘I have motion sickness. I think I’m going to throw up.’
I was sprawled out half-dead inside the carriage, barely managing to chirp.
Even under Cesar’s contemptuous gaze, I remained motionless. The maid looked at me, pale as if dying, with worried eyes.
“Duke, should I call a doctor?”
“No. It will get better if you let it rest.”
“Understood. However, while you were away, we received a message from the Opertum Trading Company. They said they had something urgent to discuss with you.”
“…Ha, this isn’t the time for them to contact me. Alright. I’ll go separately.”
Cesar’s mood visibly soured. But even as I watched him, I was groaning from motion sickness.
“Beep…”
As I lay sprawled out, making dying sounds, he frowned. Startled, I cringed. Even as I groaned, I deliberately held my breath, and he averted his gaze.
Soon, Cesar handed my cage to the maid.
“Take it to my office.”
“To your office?”
“Yes. I need to go to the Opertum Trading Company now.”
Still dizzy, I thought I should at least see my owner off and flapped my wings. The maid looked at me, seemingly bewildered.
“Beep.”
Cesar, who was about to turn back, stopped at the sight.
“What? Did you touch the bird wrongly?”
“N-no, sir.”
Seeing my owner about to scold the innocent maid, I shook my head vigorously.
“Beep. Beep.”
‘That maid did nothing wrong. I’m seeing you off. Seeing you off.’
I hopped closer to him with my short legs. Even so, it was no different from taking one step forward, since I was still in the cage.
Seeing me like this, the maid replied with a kind smile.
“Perhaps the bird is trying to see you off, Duke?”
“Beep.”
‘That’s right. Seeing you off.’
As I answered briefly in agreement, he laughed as if in disbelief.
“Ha.”
“Beep?”
‘You’re not going to kill a bird that’s being this cute, are you? You shouldn’t do that if you have a conscience. I’m even enduring motion sickness to see you off.’
But then, unexpectedly, he reached out his hand.
“Seeing me off…”
I rubbed my face against the back of his hand as it approached the cage. Surprisingly, Cesar’s body temperature was very warm.
He soon withdrew his hand, and I dejectedly lowered my tail feathers.
“Beeeep…”
He stood silently for a moment. Then, he abruptly replied curtly.
“You were slumped over just a moment ago. Now you’re perfectly fine.”
“Beep…!”
‘No! I endured motion sickness to see you off.’
Seeing him speak so heartlessly, it felt like I had taken one step closer to a death flag. I wondered if I had done something unnecessary. My head was dizzy, and I was reaching my limit.
In my hazy state, his voice, speaking to the maid, sounded broken.
“Mariette.”
“Yes, Duke.”
“It seems Lily is feigning illness. Move her to the greenhouse, not my office.”
“Understood. But by Lily, you mean…?”
“The bird’s name.”
Cesar called my name. I wasn’t faking it. I felt unjustly accused. I had endured the threat of death and motion sickness to see him off, only to be called a faker by my owner.
“Beep…”
As I chirped a little grumblingly, Cesar disappeared after saying his last words.
“Change the cage, in case it tries to escape. I’ll be back.”
He was annoying until the very end.
‘Phew. Can I survive with an owner like that?’
A sigh escaped me as reality slowly sunk in. I looked at the maid, who seemed relatively kind.
She murmured with a surprised expression,
“He said he’ll be back. That’s a first.”
Her words made my heart sink. An owner who didn’t even say he’d be back… My future seemed even bleaker.
Cesar’s head throbbed at the message from the trading company.
Since it was a company he ran secretly, direct contact was rare. In other words, unless it was a VIP he had to deal with personally, they wouldn’t contact him like this.
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue at the predictable situation, Cesar snapped his fingers with a grim expression. He didn’t prefer teleportation magic, but greeting the waiting party was his priority.
The scenery changed, and a familiar door appeared. Opening the door, a person Cesar knew well was sitting there. He was waving his hand playfully, just as usual.
“What is it, damn Master?”
“Oh. My disciple, it’s been a while.”
The current Master of the Magic Tower, and the one who taught Cesar magic, was sitting there.
He was undoubtedly much older than Cesar, but his appearance hadn’t changed at all from the last time he saw him. Long blue hair and aqua-blue eyes. The appearance of a handsome man.
But no one knew if that appearance was real.
“That small fry is now running a secret information network like this.”
Even after showing up uninvited several times, he acted so nonchalant. Cesar replied with an exasperated look.
“Just get to the point.”
At those words, the Magic Tower Master erased his playful smile and brought up the main topic.
“I hear you’ve been having trouble with the monsters descending from the Estero Mountains in the north of the Empire recently.”
“That’s right. It’s not something I can’t handle on my own. Why are you bringing this up?”
“Tsk. Scolding your old master after he visits you after so long? You’ll be punished later.”
“Just get on with it, before I drop the formalities.”
“I’ve just come to give you some advice. I know that the Empire’s struggle for the throne has begun behind the scenes. Don’t be blinded by jealousy and join hands with the Second Prince. The surge in monster activity seems to be connected to the Second Prince.”
The current Clovis Dukedom maintained its position as the head of the noble faction, supporting neither the Crown Prince nor the Second Prince. Therefore, it was irrelevant to Cesar.
“That won’t happen.”
Despite the firm answer, the Magic Tower Master shook his head like a parent with a foolish child.
“Sigh. You’ve always had a strong possessiveness over things you considered yours. I didn’t want to interfere in my disciple’s love life, but seeing what you’re doing… Don’t you have a feeling?”
“No.”
At the blunt reply, the Magic Tower Master sighed, wondering what to do with this hopeless disciple.