Episode 56
Cesar and Count Veronica continued their conversation in the central lobby after Lily left.
“How will the monster extermination proceed?”
“We’ll divide the area and search. Since it’s raining and the ground is muddy, the monsters will likely stay in this vicinity.”
“Understood. I’ll lend you our knights. Please let me know once you’re done.”
“If there are any injuries or damage to the buildings, the Clovis Dukedom will compensate for everything.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
After their conversation, Cesar ordered his reorganized knights to search the area.
As he stood there after everything was settled, Sylvia, who had been helping with the situation on the first floor, approached him.
“Cesar. Are you done talking with my father?”
“Yes. It seems I’ve caused trouble near your territory because of me.”
“It’s alright. I trust the knights of the Dukedom and our County.”
Seeing Sylvia smile brightly, saying no one would get hurt, Cesar smiled back. Then, his gaze briefly shifted to where the maid who had fixed his clothes had disappeared.
“Sylvia…”
“Yes?”
“I think there’s a new maid I haven’t seen before. Your family doesn’t usually hire new people.”
Sylvia realized he was talking about Valerie and smiled awkwardly. Knowing that Valerie was uncomfortable around Cesar and didn’t want to see him, she was hesitant to say anything more.
“Ah… yes. We recently hired her.”
“Really? Does she work at your mansion permanently?”
“Probably. I think so.”
Hearing her confirmation, Cesar touched his collar where Lily’s hands had been.
‘So this was the last place you ran to, Lily?’
It wasn’t difficult to compare the hair he plucked at the Imperial Palace with Lily’s feathers using the magical tool. The results were so immediate that he almost laughed.
A match.
Cesar scoffed at the results, thinking that the Imperial Palace was a poor hiding place.
He had been wondering how long she could hide from him within the Imperial Palace when he heard that a new maid had been hired at Sylvia’s mansion.
His bird was wary. Even if he pretended not to know, she would change her hiding place just because she had seen him.
Just as he was thinking about when he should go after her, there was a setback in the task he had been putting off because of his search for his runaway pet bird.
‘Duke Clovis. It seems some of the monsters we were exterminating have crossed over to the Veronica County.’
He couldn’t ignore that. Even though it was raining heavily and the ground was muddy, he didn’t hesitate.
He immediately gathered his knights and headed to the Veronica County.
He briefly considered using teleportation magic due to the urgency, but it was impossible to teleport so many knights at once.
Moreover, he didn’t know how dangerous the monsters that had crossed over were, so he needed to be careful and look for any traces they might have left.
As he anxiously got out of the carriage upon arrival, he felt a strange gaze and looked up. But there was nothing there.
‘Was it my imagination?’
As he turned his head, he saw Lily looking at him with wide eyes from a window in the mansion.
Seeing his prediction come true, he wondered if she missed him. She had heartlessly left him and returned to Sylvia’s side.
He glared at her, feeling resentful, and sensed her flinch in fear.
She was reacting like this just because he was a little upset after coming all this way out of concern.
Cesar sighed briefly and lowered his head. He had things to do, so he summoned the Veronica County’s knights, a nagging feeling in his heart.
He let his knights rest, as they must be tired from the journey, and was about to summon the Count to discuss the monster extermination when,
A familiar figure, head bowed, approached him.
‘Duke Clovis.’
His gaze naturally fell on the maid with wavy, light brown hair.
She was actually his runaway bird, disguised as a maid.
‘You must be thirsty from your journey. Please have this.’
He didn’t like the way she was pretending to smile despite being clearly scared. So he decided to tease her a little.
He felt the soft skin of her cheek, not the familiar touch of soft feathers. He sensed her freeze in surprise.
It was a small reaction, but it somehow eased his frustration. He wanted to tease her more, to see more of her reactions, and the anger that had been simmering within him began to melt away.
It was different.
If she were still a bird, he would have confined her in his hand and growled at her not to run away. But seeing her small face, with her clear eyes blinking as she looked up at him, she felt both familiar and unfamiliar, even though she was his bird.
Her habit of glaring at him whenever she had the chance was still the same.
A smile played on his lips, and a single thought came to mind.
‘Lovely.’
It was a sweet thought, like melting sugar. It was a strangely soft thought for someone looking at an insignificant bird.
He briefly questioned the unfamiliar emotion, but then he thought it didn’t matter since she wasn’t a bird anymore. Just like his brazen bird, who was drawing a line between them now that she was human, he also had to find a new way to interact with her, now that she felt different.
‘How should I treat you?’
Even if he asked her directly, the woman in front of him wouldn’t answer.
Lily simply approached him, maintaining an indifferent expression, and offered to fix his clothes.
And Cesar seized that opportunity.
He intended to grab her if she showed any signs of running away. He wanted to see her worried expression, afraid of being discovered, a petty revenge for making him search so frantically.
But her hands, skillfully fixing his clothes, made him pause and observe. He lowered his gaze and saw her long eyelashes fluttering and her green eyes focused on her task.
Cesar found it a little absurd. Judging by her lack of nervousness, she clearly didn’t realize that her owner hadn’t recognized his runaway bird.
‘You’ve completely let your guard down, thinking I don’t know.’
His chirping bird had always been wary, yet careless in some aspects. Like a meticulously crafted frame with a few loose threads.
Then, Lily’s hand, which had been diligently moving, paused. And she subtly tried to pull away.
Cesar covered her hand with his and held it. He didn’t like the way she kept trying to distance herself from him. And once he held her hand, she didn’t pull away.
Cesar couldn’t understand what she was thinking. She would run away, then linger around him, then flinch and retreat.
He had intended to make Lily anxious, but he was the one feeling anxious. He knew everything, yet the one he wanted to see flustered was calm and collected.
He looked at the round, light brown crown of her head near his neck. Even as a human, she was still small.
Then, he felt the warmth of her touch. He felt Lily’s soft breaths against his skin.
His gaze fell on Lily’s hand, awkwardly touching her ear, and then on her earlobe, briefly visible between her fingers.
Seeing her flushed ear, Cesar almost unconsciously reached out to stroke her hair. He was about to ask why her ears were so red, if she was feeling unwell, his voice laced with concern.
But Count Veronica’s appearance stopped him. By the time their conversation ended, Lily was gone.
“Cesar.”
Sylvia’s voice snapped Cesar out of his thoughts.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
Sylvia’s smiling face looked subtly different than usual. As if she was trying to hide something.
“No reason. I’m always curious about you.”
Even as he replied, Cesar felt a strange disconnect.
He was certain he loved her clear blue eyes and beautifully shimmering blonde hair, yet he wondered if he had even thought about Sylvia since arriving here.
His attention was solely focused on Lily, now a maid here, with her soft, wavy, light brown hair and her habit of acting as if she might disappear at any moment.
“Ah, I see.”
Sylvia was relieved by Cesar’s usual response. It seemed like Valerie wouldn’t be in any trouble. But his next words made her tense again.
“But Sylvia, I think I’ll have to visit the Veronica County often even after the monster extermination.”
“Why? Do you think more monsters will come near the County?”
“Since they’ve already crossed the border, it’s also my responsibility.”
“No. It’s the Veronica family’s responsibility for not properly defending our territory.”
“Still, I can’t let that happen. Someone precious to me is here. So I hope you’ll allow me to visit often. Is that alright?”
As Cesar made his undeniable request, he thought about what Lily might be doing.
He had no intention of letting her settle comfortably in her new nest.
Whether she was a bird or a human, Lily’s place was by his side.
Heavy rain pounded against the window. Even after Cesar left, having exterminated the monsters hiding in the Veronica County, the rain showed no signs of stopping.
“When will the rain stop?”
I asked Sylvia, looking out the window. Even though it was the rainy season, the constant downpour made the air humid and uncomfortable.
“I know, right? I hope it stops before the tea party. I’m worried.”
Sylvia’s cheeks flushed as she mentioned the tea party, her eyes filled with anticipation.
Then, she paused, seemingly lost in thought.
I tilted my head curiously. I wondered if she was thinking of visiting Heron, who might not come because of the heavy rain.
‘Sylvia seemed to enjoy learning Spirit Arts in the novel, so she might be disappointed.’
Although, unlike in the novel, there were no romantic feelings between them, and they seemed to be more focused on competing for my attention.
The mere thought made me feel tired.
“Valerie.”
“Yes?”
As I responded to her hesitant voice, Sylvia gulped.
‘Why is she so nervous?’
“…My friend… no, I heard this from someone…”
‘It’s about Sylvia, then.’