Episode 91
I desperately flew around, dodging the arrows, searching for a place to hide. I didn’t know who was so persistently shooting at me.
‘Could it be Prea? No, that’s not possible. Prea said she would come later. And even if the knights told her, she wouldn’t immediately understand that a human could transform into a bird…’
Then, I heard laughter from below.
“Are we playing target practice? Then I’ll have to properly aim.”
I heard the twang of a bowstring. Another arrow flew towards me, aimed at my already injured left wing.
‘I can’t do this anymore. It hurts.’
I couldn’t escape, and I was being cornered. I felt my strength fading, and my body plummeted towards the ground.
‘This is going to hurt.’
Having fallen from the nest once before, I knew how much it would hurt. But there was no way to avoid it.
As I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact, I felt something warm and soft against my back.
“Beep…?”
‘Cesar…?’
I naturally thought of him as the one who would save me in this moment.
But it was Prea standing before me.
“I wondered why you were so attached to an ordinary maid, but you’re a beastkin. Were you that woman’s spy?”
“Beeeep.”
‘Let me go. Why are you here? You said you would come later…’
“I warned you not to be caught if you tried to run away. You should have been more careful. You’re being punished for trying to leave the Marquisate without my permission.”
I didn’t understand what she was saying. Why was she chattering so much when she was just going to kill me anyway?
I felt her hand touch the necklace-shaped artifact.
“This necklace seems a bit too expensive for a mere maid. It made me suspicious, seeing you wear this when you refused even the jewels I offered. And that audacious request? That’s why I gave you false information.”
So that’s why everything seemed to be going so smoothly.
‘I was completely fooled. I could have escaped the Marquisate if I had just flown away. Why couldn’t I leave?’
“But I never imagined you would try to escape as a bird. It’s a good thing I put this pretty anklet on you. I specifically enchanted it so you couldn’t leave the Marquisate without my permission.”
‘So that’s why she was so relaxed…’
She knew I couldn’t escape the Marquisate, so she was toying with me. She gave me false information and tested me, observing whether I would try to run away.
With the intention of killing me if I displeased her.
‘Haha. Truly terrifying.’
But there was still something Prea didn’t know. That I could wield divine power.
I didn’t know if I had the strength to use it now… but I had no choice but to rely on the power that had always come through in times of crisis.
But Prea’s reaction, instead of immediately trying to kill me, was lukewarm.
“What should I do? Beastkin are quite rare, so it would be a waste to kill you.”
I chose to ignore her words, seeing how casually she dehumanized me.
“But since things have gone wrong… I’ll think about it after dealing with that first. You’re quite lucky, Valerie.”
‘I’d gladly give that luck to someone else.’
I didn’t need luck; I just wanted to avoid being kidnapped by the villainess.
“But you might try to run away again.”
A cold hand reached out to my injured left wing and pressed down on the fresh wound.
“Eek!”
The pain was so intense that I couldn’t even flap my wings. Tears welled up in my eyes.
“Now, be a good little bird and stay in your cage, Valerie.”
With those chilling words, I lost consciousness.
The faint energy he had been sensing surged as he left the Veronica County.
Cesar gritted his teeth. The energy wouldn’t fluctuate like this unless there was a serious injury. He didn’t want to imagine what she was going through.
No, he didn’t even want to think about it.
Then, the energy subsided and became calm.
‘The energy hasn’t disappeared, so she’s not dead. She must have lost consciousness.’
He was relieved she wasn’t dead, but his anger wouldn’t subside. His mana surged uncontrollably as he tried to regain his composure. He was worried that she had disappeared again while he wasn’t looking, and the realization that she was hurt made his emotions spiral.
He had never wanted her to get hurt, not even for a moment. He just wanted her to stay by his side.
He had been unsure whether this feeling was love, so he had put it aside. But seeing himself respond to her playful kiss, he acknowledged it.
This could only be called love.
He didn’t want to hurt her. He wanted to see her smiling and calling his name. It was a different feeling from what he had felt for Sylvia.
He no longer wanted to possess her light; he wanted to be enveloped by her gentle warmth. He wanted to see the world through her eyes, to understand how she could be so kind and warm. He wanted to feel happiness.
But…
“Master, you’ve arrived. Uh, why do you look so upset?”
As he entered the Opertum Trading Company, Wilhelm greeted him. Cesar got straight to the point.
“I saw a dark guild acting out of line. Judging by the type of poison they use for suicide, it must be the Black Fang from the third back alley.”
“Should we take care of them?”
“Burn their base to the ground and kill every single member. But their guild leader is quite the slippery snake.”
He would probably escape as soon as he sensed Cesar’s movements.
“Then how…?”
“I’ll deal with him; you take care of the rest.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, and you haven’t disposed of those documents related to the money laundering and gambling operations Lady Seirthe asked us to handle, have you?”
Wilhelm lowered his head at his chilling voice. The sharp prickle of Cesar’s mana made his body tingle.
“Yes. I still have them. But may I ask why…?”
Cesar’s eyes gleamed menacingly as he replied to his hesitant question,
“She’s a nuisance. I need those documents to crush her.”
“But the Seirthe Marquisate is quite influential, isn’t it?”
“So?”
“They’re a core faction supporting His Highness the Crown Prince, the most likely successor to the throne, and they have a good reputation. So, if you’re aiming for their downfall, it might be difficult.”
“Difficult… Do you think I would say this without thinking?”
“N-no, of course not.”
Cesar slowly spoke, seeing Wilhelm’s nervous expression.
“I heard the Crown Prince will be announcing his engagement soon. To Sylvia Veronica, not Prea Seirthe. It seems the rumors have already spread among the nobles.”
“I wasn’t aware of that.”
“We’ll receive confirmation soon. Anyway, thanks to the Crown Prince’s actions, Prea Seirthe tried to harm Sylvia by hiring someone. She failed, but who knows when she’ll try again.”
“Then, His Highness the Crown Prince…”
“He’ll be in a dilemma. Whether to choose a strong political foundation or love. The backlash from the Seirthe Marquisate was stronger than he anticipated.”
Even though the Crown Prince was someone Cesar found repulsive, such feelings didn’t matter to him now.
The important thing was to take back what had been stolen from him, from those who tried to extinguish his light. He wouldn’t tolerate such actions.
“I intend to use this opportunity and offer my support to the Crown Prince. I’ll tell him that I, the head of the noble faction, will side with him if he abandons the Seirthe Marquisate now.”
“Pardon?”
Wilhelm’s jaw dropped at the unexpected words.
Cesar, ignoring his reaction, was preparing to leave.
“But there’s something more urgent right now.”
To infiltrate the Seirthe Marquisate, he needed to understand its structure and bypass its tight security. The fastest way to do that was to contact the guild leader who had recently made a deal with Prea Seirthe.
Although he would probably come looking for him, Cesar couldn’t afford to wait. If Lily died in the meantime, he would go mad, consumed by regret for his foolishness.
But Wilhelm, oblivious, stopped him.
“W-wait a moment! This isn’t like you, Your Grace. Why are you in such a hurry? Didn’t you say the attempt to harm Lady Veronica failed?”
“Why are you bringing up Sylvia? The woman I’m looking for has been kidnapped and is at the Seirthe Marquisate. Her life is in danger.”
So he had no time to waste. Every second was precious.
Wilhelm, looking at Cesar, realized for the first time that even this man could be driven to such desperation. He couldn’t help but ask,
“Are you in love with her?”
Cesar readily answered the question he would normally have scoffed at and ignored,
“…If this isn’t love, I don’t know why I would be acting like this. If she dies, I don’t care what happens to this Empire; I’ll burn it all to the ground.”