Episode 62
My head instinctively shook at the thought. I moved to clear the tea table and noticed a small, beautifully ribboned box on Cesar’s seat.
‘This is Cesar’s, isn’t it?’
The wrapping looked familiar. He used to hand me boxes like this when he gave me jewels as gifts.
I held the small box in my hand and pondered. It was my job to clear the tea table, so no other servant would come here, and I had to return this box to Cesar.
But the lingering unease from our earlier encounter made me hesitant to approach him.
‘Ugh… what should I do?’
He would visit the Veronica County again to retrieve this, even after he left. Then I would have to see him again.
It was just a matter of seeing him now or later.
In the end, the only option left was to find Cesar, who had left with Sylvia.
‘What if he’s already gone?’
With that thought, I opened the door and was walking down the hallway when,
Someone gently grabbed my wrist.
‘The servants at the County mansion don’t usually grab my wrist like this.’
Thinking it must be something urgent, I turned around and saw Cesar and Sylvia standing there.
I parted my lips to speak, but no sound came out. Our eyes met for a moment, and then he spoke,
“Are you stealing?”
Surprised, I asked,
“Pardon?”
“What you’re holding is mine. Were you trying to take it?”
“O-of course not! I was on my way to Miss Sylvia to return it to you.”
“I’ll have to check if the contents have been tampered with. Would you mind untying the ribbon?”
Having unknowingly become a thief trying to steal his belongings, I untied the ribbon without hesitation. It was so easy to untie with human hands.
‘When I was a bird, I struggled to untie this with my beak, and it got tangled around me, so I had to ask Cesar to untie it.’
I carefully opened the box after easily untying the ribbon.
But it was empty. My face turned pale. I could be mistaken for a thief.
As I anxiously fidgeted, about to speak,
Cesar’s hand brushed against mine. The red ribbon fell to the floor.
“You can untie it easily now.”
He lightly tapped my fingertips, as if amused. His large hand completely covered my small one.
My heart, which had been calm, started racing again. I wanted to say something, but my mind went blank as our fingers intertwined. His warm touch made my ears burn.
I managed to stammer out,
“…Let go.”
“Is there a reason you chose the name Valerie?”
He ignored my request and asked what he wanted to know. It was just like my ill-tempered owner.
“It’s just the name my mother gave me.”
“Really?”
His calm purple eyes simmered with intensity.
“…What kind of answer do you want?”
The more I struggled, the more our intertwined fingers became entangled. I wondered what had gotten into him. I saw a subtle flicker of something in his eyes at my question.
Then, he sighed softly and let go of my hand. The warmth of his touch lingered, and I bit my lip.
“There’s no answer I’m looking for. Then what will you answer?”
He dismissed my previous answer as a lie and demanded a choice. He kept trying to provoke me with ambiguous words.
The more he probed, the less I could tell him the truth. He seemed angry, but my life was in his hands. I couldn’t easily reveal the truth.
‘I didn’t run away because I wanted to. I trusted the Tower Master and ended up in the Imperial Palace, where I suffered so much.’
The words I wanted to say rose to my throat and then retreated.
‘And who was the one who kept threatening to throw me to the monsters? He acted all kind in front of Sylvia, but when she wasn’t around, he would turn cold and snap at me.’
Thinking of all the things that made me angry and resentful, I looked up at him. I wanted to say something to that handsome face.
But seeing Cesar’s expression, I closed my mouth.
His usual smirk was gone, his lips set in a firm line. His eyes looked sad, and his usually brilliant purple eyes were hollow, staring blankly at me.
Why was he looking at me like that?
I remembered his hand reaching out and his voice calling me in my dream, the day I left Cesar.
‘…Don’t… go.’
I squeezed my eyes shut and fidgeted with the hand that still held the warmth of his touch.
‘Yes. I’m a truly foolish bird, just like Cesar said.’
I opened my mouth and spoke,
“…I liked the name someone called me. So I decided to keep it, Valerie.”
Even after running away, I was still a foolish, sentimental bird, making such a stupid choice.
“Then what are you going to do?”
I was about to look at him defiantly but flinched at his sharp gaze.
‘Yes. I’m scared. Despite my racing heart, I’m terrified that he might kill me!’
Trembling, I subtly averted my gaze. It was frustrating that even after becoming human, the power dynamic between us was still the same as when I was a bird.
Then, I heard a voice laced with amusement.
“I don’t think I’ll do anything. It depends on who that “someone” who called you that name is.”
My owner was being childish, asking even this.
“…There is someone. Not a kind and gentle person, but a bad owner.”
As I emphasized the word “bad,” his eyes curved into a satisfied smile.
“That’s a good answer.”
I had expected him to call me impudent, but he seemed pleased. His mood swings were unpredictable.
“Really?”
“Yes. I like your impudence.”
His way of making me feel at ease and then making me tremble with anxiety hadn’t changed.
“Are you planning to continue working at Sylvia’s mansion?”
“Probably?”
“You should give me a definite answer.”
I immediately gave him a concrete answer.
“I’ll be staying here for the time being.”
“Is that so? Then don’t disappear. I’ll be visiting often.”
“Pardon?”
“I remember the mistake you made today. So don’t quit without my permission. It would be difficult for me to deal with you then.”
‘Is that a euphemism for “I’ll make you pay?”’
As my heart sank, the empty box was transferred to his hand. Surprised, I called out to him,
“…There’s nothing inside.”
“There was nothing inside from the beginning.”
“Then why did you ask me to check…”
I stopped mid-sentence. He had said, watching me untie the ribbon, that I could untie it easily now.
It meant he remembered the time when I struggled to untie ribbons, and that was when I was Lily, the bird, not a human. So Cesar…
I hesitated for a moment and then slowly called out to him,
“Your Grace.”
“What is it?”
“…You already know about me, don’t you? Then why are you pretending you don’t?”
He paused at my question.
There was no way he couldn’t know. I was certain Cesar knew I was Lily.
But he didn’t try to kill me or drag me back to the cage. That was strange.
Then, his eyes curved into a gentle smile. A soft hand cupped my cheek, and the scent of musk filled my senses.
And a scorching voice, as hot as the midsummer heat, reached my ears,
“I’m still pretending not to know.”
“…”
“You’ve changed so much that I haven’t decided what to do. Whether to confine you, kill you, or cherish you and keep you by my side.”
What do you want?
His question, asked as casually as if he was choosing a lunch menu, made my knees weak.
But I knew he would have already killed me if he wanted to. He would have grabbed me by the throat without hesitation. He would have taken my life, even if I begged him to let me go.
That was the kind of cold-blooded, ruthless person he was, the villain of the novel and my owner.
‘Would he cherish me if I asked him to?’
The thought crossed my mind. But I couldn’t ask him that. If he cherished me as a bird, I didn’t want that life.
Though it was surprising to hear such a word from him.
In the end, unable to choose any of the options, I gave a vague answer, avoiding all of them.
“…Nothing.”
Even after replying, I nervously looked at him, worried I might have offended him.
As I flinched and pulled away from his touch, both familiar and unfamiliar, he gathered my hair in his hand. A low growl, laced with warning, reached my ears.
“Don’t run away.”
I had no intention of running away if he wasn’t going to kill me. Every moment with him had been terrifying, but I also knew he had a gentle side.
I nodded.
“And don’t even think about going to someone else.”
‘Someone else?’
The image of Heron, who had sent a spirit to tempt me at the Dukedom, flashed through my mind.
Come to think of it, he was supposed to send a spirit soon. We had promised to spend time together.
‘Well, that’s just for a short time, and I’m currently at Sylvia’s mansion anyway.’
“Answer me.”
At his urging, I replied curtly,
“Yes.”
His dark purple eyes gleamed. Seeing the upturned corners of his eyes and his relaxed expression, my heart ached.
It seemed I had fallen for him more than I had realized. There was no other explanation for my trembling body.