Episode 66
‘Why is he provoking Cesar?’
Here I was, stuck in the middle like a sandwich filling.
As I struggled a little, Heron adjusted his hold on me. His embrace was surprisingly firm for someone who didn’t seem like the type to work out.
Cesar’s eyebrow twitched. Hanging in Heron’s arms, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“Excuse me, Spirit Summoner, but I think I should be going now.”
“Why? Are you going to Duke Clovis?”
I shook my head at his question, laced with disappointment.
“No.”
‘Heron is already holding me, claiming a prior engagement; how can I go to Cesar now?’
“I made a promise with you first, Spirit Summoner, so how could I do that? I’m going back to the mansion.”
Both of their gazes changed subtly. I had instinctively moved towards Cesar when he called, but it was true that I had a prior engagement with Heron today.
And it was Cesar who interrupted.
“I don’t know why you’re here, Your Grace, but we didn’t have any appointments. If you have something to say, please do so at the Veronica County’s mansion. And would you mind putting me down, Spirit Summoner?”
My feet touched the ground, and I was released from his firm embrace. A sudden wave of fatigue washed over me.
‘Why am I always stuck in the middle like this? I’m tired.’
I turned around and politely addressed Heron,
“I’m sorry, Spirit Summoner, but I have no intention of going on an unexpected date.”
“How heartless… Will you stay with me if it’s not a date?”
His hand ruffled my hair. Captivating red eyes looked at me, and his soft breaths brushed against my neck.
His actions were confusing.
“What you said earlier… did you say that just because you’re intrigued by me? Or do you actually have feelings for me?”
If I had misunderstood, I intended to apologize profusely. I had seriously rejected what I thought was just a playful remark.
“Well…”
He brushed my hair behind my ear and looked behind me.
‘That gaze from behind is getting more intense.’
“I am intrigued and want to keep you close. And I don’t want to lose you to anyone.”
“…Then should I assume I misunderstood?”
As I looked at him with concern, a low chuckle reached my ears.
“Probably? I didn’t say I dislike you, Valerie. Though I do have some complaints about the Duke ruining our plans.”
Saying that, he slowly turned to me and leaned closer. My eyes had been stinging, so I had been blinking. Perhaps Heron noticed and was about to blow away the dust from my eyes.
Just then, a loud crash echoed. The air between Heron and me seemed to explode, and my frail body was pushed back ungracefully.
I let out a short scream, expecting to fall onto the cold ground, but a firm hand caught me. I carefully turned around and saw Cesar.
“What made you think it was okay to approach him? What were you going to do if something happened to you?”
“What could possibly happen to me here?”
“He was getting too close.”
“Ah, I had something in my eye and kept blinking. You must have been trying to help.”
“You’re so… carefree. And simple-minded. And strange.”
He barged in and called me strange. Did he barge in?
“Why are you here, Your Grace? Did you find a monster nearby? Or did you really come after me?”
He didn’t answer immediately. He opened his mouth, his voice unusually hesitant,
“…I came to check because I sensed a monster nearby. And I saw you, so I came to warn you.”
It would have been strange if he came running, seeing me with Heron, his eyes blazing with anger. He must have come to warn me out of a sense of responsibility as my former owner.
“Thank you. But I’m human now.”
“Humans can also be torn apart by monsters. Do you want to be torn apart?”
“…No.”
That was a bit scary. I shook my head vigorously and then, after briefly enjoying the moment of being close to him, brushed the dirt off my skirt and stepped away.
I shouldn’t make Cesar uncomfortable. He had become kinder, but my owner’s original personality wasn’t very pleasant.
I checked on Heron, who had been pushed back with me, and he was calmly looking at us with his spirits, unlike me.
‘He’s so laid-back. Like when he was teasing me.’
“Spirit Summoner, I’m sorry for misunderstanding you today. I’ll be happy to spend time with you if it’s not for something like this.”
It was easy to make time for him if it wasn’t for a ridiculous date. And I felt bad for Heron, who had played along with my rejection to spare my embarrassment.
“I was planning on visiting Lady Veronica anyway, so I’ll see you then. I hope we can spend time without being interrupted next time, Valerie.”
With a casual farewell, he turned and left. He was truly a man without any lingering attachments.
“Your Grace, I’m going back to Miss Sylvia’s mansion now. Are you going there as well?”
“Didn’t you call me Cesar earlier?”
To nitpick about that. I snorted at my owner’s pettiness. But considering my precarious situation,
I put on a pitiful expression and said,
“…I’m sorry. I misspoke.”
“It’s fine. More importantly, are you planning on meeting him again?”
That “him” must have been referring to Heron.
“If you mean the Spirit Summoner… yes.”
“Didn’t I tell you not to go to someone else?”
“Well, I didn’t go, did I?”
Cesar’s eyes seemed to gleam even more menacingly at my nonchalant reply.
I was puzzled. I hadn’t left as he asked, and I hadn’t been swayed by someone else’s offer of jewels.
Did he still think I was the same clueless Lily?
I still liked jewels, but I was human now. No, I had always been human.
“I’m right here beside you, Your Grace. So please don’t confine me or kill me. Please think about it a little more, okay?”
I naturally placed my hand on his.
I didn’t dislike the current situation. I had run away because I was scared he might kill me. So if Cesar wouldn’t kill me and treated me like before, I wanted to stay by his side.
Perhaps it was because I had gotten to know his hidden side while spending time with him since I was reincarnated. Whether as a bird or a human, Cesar was precious to me. I wanted to stay by his side and feel his affection.
I blinked at him, my gaze sincere. If I were still a bird, I would have chirped and acted cute, but it wouldn’t suit me as a human, and Cesar would probably dislike it.
My hand, resting on his, was neither pushed away nor held, in a strange limbo.
Then, Cesar held my hand tightly. His hand, that of a mage and a knight who wielded a sword, was calloused and firm.
“Don’t casually offer your hand like that.”
“I don’t offer it to just anyone. I offered it to you, Your Grace.”
“…Because it’s me?”
I nodded at his question, a smile playing on his lips.
I felt the distance between us shrink, as if Heron was about to blow away the dust from my eyes. No, closer than that. I could see Cesar’s Adam’s apple bobbing.
My throat suddenly felt dry. I stammered,
“We’ve spent quite some time together… I initiated contact first, a-and I slept by your side… so…”
I hesitantly stepped back. His expression, a mixture of amusement and something else, made me want to distance myself. He caught my retreating hand.
“I was trying to pretend I didn’t know. Why are you rushing things?”
“…What did I do?”
I had just asked him to think a little more.
I wondered if I had offended him in some other way. I didn’t dislike this moment of closeness, but his demeanor was different than usual, and I wanted to keep my distance.
His hand, grabbing my retreating ankle and pulling me closer, wasn’t entirely gentle.
“You ask what you did?”
My actions flashed before my eyes. I had acted brazenly and then run away. And then I hid my identity, desperately pretending not to know him, deceiving him once again.
I gulped. I wondered if this was the moment I would die.
But his words were different.
“Your every action bothers me. I searched the entire Empire, worried about you, and it was the first time I was so anxious about someone’s disappearance.”
“Your Grace?”
“You, as a bird, brought comfort to my heart. That’s why I wanted you to stay by my side.”
His hand slowly reached out and gently touched my trembling eyelashes.
“But you ran away. Even after I felt this way, you still left me.”
His every word felt like a sharp needle piercing my heart. Cesar’s eyes flickered with pain, as if recalling the time when I broke my promise and ran away, leaving him alone.
“And then you appeared before me, completely changed, still lingering around me like you did when you were a bird. What am I supposed to do?”
I saw a flicker of hurt in his eyes. I hadn’t noticed it before, focused on his nonchalant demeanor.
I had only imagined him being angry and trying to kill me; I hadn’t imagined he would be hurt.
An apology stammered out,
“I’m sorry for running away after promising to stay. For leaving you alone, when you said you hated the night… I was worried about you after I ran away. Truly.”
“Then why didn’t you come back?”
His eyes, as if about to shatter, were fixed on me.