Episode 79
“Even in my dreams, this little one kept appearing.”
“So cute. Lily, will you come to my lap?”
“Lily, I was the one you were closest to. Come to my lap, okay?”
Mariette’s last words made my eyes crinkle with amusement.
“Beeeep.”
‘They’re so kind and sweet.’
I chirped and played with the maids, whom I hadn’t seen in a while. Then, I heard the chilling sound of the door creaking open.
My bird heart pounded as I saw menacing, gleaming eyes filled with displeasure.
“You’re already acting cute and spoiled as soon as you return? I ordered you all to do your work; are you allowed to play around like this?”
“W-we apologize, Your Grace.”
The maids hurriedly left, leaving me alone in front of my terrifying owner.
“Lily, you said you didn’t want to be a bird again. But you seem happier than anyone. Is it my imagination?”
“Chirp, beep…”
‘O-of course not…’
I nervously avoided his gaze and feigned ignorance. Cesar sighed briefly.
“Hmph.”
I flinched.
Was I going to be punished? What if he didn’t send me back to the mansion because he was upset?
As I worried, and beads of sweat formed under my feathers, he extended his hand.
“Come here. We should go back; Sylvia will be worried.”
“Chirp?”
‘He’s not going to scold me? I thought he would use this as an excuse to keep me here longer. Why is he acting so rationally?’
I wasn’t used to my owner being kind, let alone rational. The Cesar in my mind was someone who would fly off the handle at the slightest provocation.
As I tilted my head in confusion,
‘It’s a beautiful pink, like flowers blooming in spring. And your eyes are the color of the night sky. Eyes that make me no longer hate the darkness.’
“Beep!”
‘Aack! Why am I remembering that now?!’
As I wondered why he had changed, last night’s events vividly came to mind, and my face burned.
Come to think of it, hadn’t I been completely swayed by his sweet words?
Unlike my annoyance last night, his sugary words kept resurfacing, making my heart flutter.
‘It’s a good thing I’m a bird. If I were human, he would have noticed how I feel.’
I glanced up at Cesar, and he smirked.
“Come here before I change my mind and confine you. You can stay there if you like being trapped in a cage.”
I flinched and fluttered onto his shoulder. He might have become kinder to me, but his threatening nature, befitting a villain, hadn’t changed.
‘Lily, how are you going to handle liking someone like that…?’
It was too late for regrets.
As I sat on Cesar’s shoulder and we walked down the hallway of the mansion, I saw the servants working. I was about to greet the familiar faces when I felt a sharp gaze.
I turned slightly and saw Cesar glaring at me.
‘What! Why! What did I do?!’
I felt wronged, being glared at even though I hadn’t done anything.
Of course, I had been planning on flying over to the servants, greeting them, and chatting. I even considered acting cute and chirping at them.
‘Yes, I was wrong.’
Glancing around, it seemed like the servants were also hesitant to approach me, sensing Cesar’s sharp aura.
I felt a tinge of regret. I hadn’t been able to greet the servants I hadn’t seen in a while or the knights of the Dukedom who had adored me.
I had only briefly seen them at Sylvia’s mansion, so I wanted to properly greet them this time.
‘It’s a shame I can’t do that while Cesar is here.’
But I had to hurry back to Sylvia, who would be waiting for me, so I didn’t dwell on it.
I thought we would be heading to the carriage, but Cesar was going in a different direction. This wasn’t the way to the main gate.
“Beep, chirp?”
‘Cesar, where are we going?’
I thought we were going to the carriage. But he was walking away from the main building.
Flutter. I flew off his shoulder as he walked. I knew this path well. It was the path I had flown along countless times.
A wave of longing washed over me as I flapped my wings. I remembered tending the desolate garden of the annex.
It was summer now. The spring flowers would have withered under the scorching sun, and weeds would be growing rampantly, turning the annex garden into a mess.
So I felt anxious along with the longing. I was worried that the garden might have been neglected in my absence.
‘That can’t be…’
It was a place I had put so much effort into. I had diligently ordered the knights around, creating a beautiful space out of his painful memories.
I hurriedly flew over and landed gently on the swing. The midsummer sun was scorching.
But the sight before me made the heat more bearable. The swing ropes were entwined with blooming flowers, and the garden, neatly trimmed, was lush and vibrant.
Hearing footsteps approaching, I excitedly raised my head feathers.
“Beep.”
‘You took good care of it, Cesar!’
“Were you worried I would have left it a mess?”
I hesitated and then nodded slightly.
He sat down on the swing. I hopped onto his lap.
“There’s no way I would. You decorated the desolate garden so beautifully.”
His hand, stroking my head, was as comforting as warm water.
I couldn’t help but smile, touched by the fact that he had cherished the garden. He was showing me even more kindness than he had shown Sylvia, and it made me want to stay by his side, not as a bird, but as a human.
I felt a desire to be more than just a cherished pet, to be his lover.
His whispered words, as if sensing my feelings, were like a sweet, forbidden fruit.
“Stay at Sylvia’s mansion for a while and then come back. It will take some time to resolve the issue of you being involved with the Crown Prince.”
“Beep?”
‘Come back?’
As I blinked my black eyes blankly, he smiled, his face captivating.
“You’re such a clueless bird. I’m saying I want you to come here, to my side.”
He poked my beak, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He made a tempting offer to me, who had only sought freedom.
“I have countless jewels, so I’ll give you as many as you want. And I’ll prepare a place for you, as a human, at the Dukedom. So don’t leave anymore.”
Because your place is here, by my side—.
Behind his endlessly gentle words was a sharp warning, a threat not to run away, a promise that he wouldn’t let me go.
The necklace around my neck shimmered in the light.
I didn’t know what I was thinking as I returned to the County mansion. When I came to my senses, Sylvia, her eyes downcast, was standing before me.
“Lily, you don’t know how much I missed you while you were gone.”
I forced myself to focus and replied to her slightly teary voice,
“…You only spent a day at the Dukedom, Sylvia.”
“How can you be so heartless? Didn’t you miss me, Lily?”
I chuckled at her pouting, her eyes narrowed playfully. I apologized and soothed her, and her expression softened.
Sylvia’s soft hands cupped my face and examined me.
“You don’t seem to be hurt. But why do you look so pale? Did Cesar do something to you?”
I smiled awkwardly at her question, as if I was a child who had been captured by a villain. I was pale for a different reason.
Cesar had cast a small spell on me, so I could return without being noticed, but I almost died from motion sickness.
‘I thought I was over motion sickness since I was fine as a human. Who knew I would get so dizzy as soon as I turned back into a bird? Sigh.’
“It’s okay, nothing happened. He treated me well, just like you do, Sylvia.”
I smiled brightly, but her eyes narrowed.
“You’re not… going back to the Dukedom, are you?”
“Huh?”
“You’ll leave me and go back to Cesar’s side again?”
Her pleading eyes, like those of a wet puppy, made me break out in a cold sweat.
Both Cesar and Sylvia were strangely possessive of me.
‘If a strange person becomes interested in you, just accept it, since it’s partly your fault.’
Why did Prea’s words come to mind?
I had already been entangled with enough strange people. Normal people becoming strange because of me wasn’t something I could control. It was better for my mental health to just give up.
Still, it was comforting that Cesar was choosing a different path than in the original story, and I didn’t have to struggle to survive, bound by the novel’s plot.
Feeling relieved, I spoke to Sylvia,
“Of course not. I’ll be staying by your side for the time being. And we’re friends. Friends who can see each other whenever they want.”
“Lily…”
Sylvia’s cheeks flushed as she held me tightly. With her ears perked up like a cute little bunny, she said,
“Lily, don’t get too close to Cesar, okay? The way he looks at you is suspicious.”
“But he was my owner when I was a bird, and I lived there.”
“It’s different now! You have to be careful around men! You’re so cute and adorable. What if he tries to snatch you away?!”
Again, I wondered if this was something a heroine would say. A heroine being wary of the sub-male lead…
I finally realized how much the incidents I caused had changed things.