Episode 65
As any reincarnated heroine would, I had unknowingly seduced the male leads of the original novel.
‘Honestly. I’m not the villainess, nor the heroine, just a small, extra bird. I don’t know what I was thinking.’
I chuckled at the thought.
I had enjoyed the sorbet I wanted, so I figured I would entertain him for a bit longer and then return to the Veronica County. Just as I was about to get up,
“Valerie.”
“Yes? Did you need something?”
“My request from earlier.”
“Yes?”
“It was a date invitation.”
My heart leaped at his words. His captivating red eyes made me speechless.
‘Since when? He didn’t show any signs of that.’
“…Suddenly?”
As I asked, my eyes wide with surprise, he replied in his usual languid voice, without a hint of embarrassment,
“It wasn’t that sudden. And I felt like I would lose you if I didn’t ask now.”
“Lose me?”
“I asked you to be my bird before. I knew Lily wouldn’t come to me because she already had an owner, so I accepted it, even though I was disappointed.”
His gaze, which had been briefly directed to the side as if reminiscing, returned to me.
“But you’re not Lily. You don’t have an owner right now.”
“I’m staying at Miss Sylvia’s mansion…”
“You won’t be a maid forever. You’ll need a proper identity, funds to become independent…”
“I, I have other things to do…”
My words were jumbled, and Heron chuckled, seeing my flustered state. He summoned spirits.
Small wind spirits fluttered around me, tickling my skin. I held my hair down with both hands to prevent them from playing with it.
As the spirits disappeared with giggles, I let out a small breath. The hat Sylvia gave me was now in Heron’s hand.
“Valerie.”
The red ribbon decorating the hat came undone. My gaze followed the ribbon and then landed on him as he called my name.
“Will you give me your time again?”
His gentle voice, laced with warmth, was asking for another date.
‘What should I do… I didn’t expect my ridiculous premonition to be right.’
And Heron was clearly differentiating between me as Lily, the bird, and me as Valerie, the human.
His words, saying he desired me as a human, walking freely, might have been considered romantic. Everyone seemed to implicitly want me to be Lily, the bird.
I had enjoyed being a bird, but I didn’t want to be a bird trapped in a cage, chirping endlessly. His words, appealing to my shallow desires, were enough to sway me.
‘…But I like Cesar.’
My heart wasn’t fluttering at Heron’s words. I was just surprised, flustered, and a little intrigued.
Having recently met Cesar, the stark contrast in my emotions was clear. Even as I watched the ribbon unravel, I was recalling my time with Cesar, as if lovesick.
“What if I refuse?”
Heron never asked twice. If I drew a line, he would probably just tease me a little and then act as if nothing happened.
“Refuse? Then I suppose I’ll approach you when your heart is directed elsewhere…”
Muttering that, Heron stood up. And everything seemed to slow down.
I was confused. Wasn’t it his personality to give up on things he found bothersome?
As I stammered, bewildered by the discrepancy between his words and actions, he took my hand.
“I refused, but… you’re not giving up…?”
“You seem to know me well, Valerie. Yes, I usually give up on things I find bothersome. But this time—”
I might make an exception.
He lifted me into his arms. Everything happened so fast, and as I struggled, telling him to put me down, I heard a loud crash behind me. It sounded like a door had been blown off its hinges.
Heron glanced back and spoke,
“Silape. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
‘Leave the rest to you? And not Sylph, but a mid-level spirit, Silape…? What? What’s behind me?!’
As I tried to look back, his hand covered my eyes. My vision was plunged into darkness.
A voice filled with disappointment whispered in my ear,
“I wonder why she rejected me. I’m confident I wouldn’t treat her so roughly.”
“Get your hand off me!”
“No.”
His firm refusal frustrated me. He was also quite stubborn. The thought I had impudently entertained when I was a bird came out as a shout.
“I said get off! Heron!”
Heron chuckled, as if giving in. I could feel the slight tremors in his body.
“You’re so entertaining.”
I was being serious. Heron’s face was probably filled with amusement.
Seeing me sulking and not saying anything, he said in a soothing voice,
“I’ll let go when we arrive.”
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere secluded? I can’t let you cause a scene in public.”
‘A scene?’
I wondered what was going on.
Then I remembered the strange sensation that ran down my spine on the way here and the heavy, slimy energy of a monster.
“Did a monster appear?”
It couldn’t have been a sound made by an ordinary person, so I naturally assumed it was a monster. There was no other explanation for such a loud crash, like a broken door, in a shop that was open for business in the middle of the afternoon.
“You could say that.”
“If it’s a monster, you don’t have time to be so leisurely. The people in the territory will be in dan…”
“Calm down. It’s not a monster.”
I heard the sound of us landing. Then, my vision brightened as he removed his hand.
“Where…?”
I tilted my head, seeing the dense bushes.
It was certainly secluded. But it was quite a distance from the busy streets. He had carried me all the way here in an instant. He was a renowned Spirit Summoner for a reason.
‘Well, all the male leads have high specs.’
As I stepped onto the ground, leaving his arms, I was about to ask what that loud crash was.
“So are you going to tell me what that noise was?”
“You’ll find out soon.”
“But if it wasn’t a monster, who…!”
“You.”
A sharp voice cut between Heron and me before I could finish my urgent question.
“Who said it was a monster?”
That cold voice, filled with displeasure, was undoubtedly my bad-tempered owner’s.
“…Cesar?”
“I never allowed you to call me by my name. You seem to have gotten quite brazen.”
It was the middle of summer, but seeing Cesar made me feel like I was standing in the dead of winter. I rubbed my arms, which had broken out in goosebumps, and nervously looked around.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“I don’t think that’s what you should be apologizing for.”
‘Then what should I apologize for? I haven’t done anything wrong to Cesar.’
“You left my cage and now you’re with him again. This isn’t the first time, is it?”
I glanced at Heron, and he was smiling leisurely.
“I just needed Lady Veronica’s maid for a bit, so I’m with her. I don’t know why Duke Clovis is here, making threats.”
Cesar clicked his tongue at his words.
“Ha.”
“Do you know each other, Valerie?”
Two pairs of eyes were fixed on me, trembling pathetically. I desperately wanted to go back to Sylvia.
‘Why does this happen every time I go out with Heron?’
Sweat trickled down my forehead. I had to defuse this situation somehow.
“We do know each other… but… Your Grace, why don’t you calm down first?”
I knew the cause of the earlier crash was Cesar, standing before me with a menacing glare.
I didn’t understand why he was so angry. And his words were a confusing jumble. I hadn’t left as promised, and I was staying at Sylvia’s mansion, just as he asked.
‘Why is he glaring at me like he’s going to kill me?! I’m scared!’
The memories of being a bird, groveling and acting cute to survive, felt like yesterday. My survival instincts kicked in, urging me to make eye contact and appease him.
“Calm down, you say.”
“Yes! You seem to be overheating from the summer heat, so why don’t you have some cold water…”
“I don’t want to.”
His cold words, sharp as a blade, cut me off.
“Pardon?”
I had spent months as his professional pet bird. I could easily read his emotions from his expression.
He was clearly displeased and irritated by the current situation.
‘He’s being difficult again.’
“Why don’t you calm down and talk thi…”
“There’s nothing to talk about as long as that Spirit Summoner is here. So stop staying by his side and come here, Valerie.”
‘Sigh. Am I a bird that comes and goes as he pleases? Well, it’s not entirely wrong.’
And my body reacted involuntarily to his words, which I hadn’t heard in a while. I saw myself taking a step forward.
‘I’m such an obedient bird, flapping my wings whenever I see my owner.’
I cursed my heart, fluttering at the sight of him.
I took a deep breath and composed myself. First, I had to appease Cesar, who had appeared out of nowhere in a fit of rage.
I was sorry for Heron, but the peaceful promise was broken.
Besides, a date with Cesar, though unexpected? My heart was already racing, and I had no intention of going anywhere else.
As I cautiously approached Cesar, a soft hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me back.
“I’m sorry, but I have a prior engagement. Don’t I, Valerie?”