Episode 96
A slightly cool breeze began to blow as the scorching summer heat faded.
The maids of the Dukedom peeked into the garden. A woman was sitting there. They glanced at her and, as soon as they left the garden, whispered amongst themselves,
“Did you see her?”
“Of course.”
“I couldn’t see her clearly. What does she look like?”
“She doesn’t seem like the typical glamorous, haughty beauty popular in the capital. But she’s cute and lovely. It’s understandable why the Duke is smitten.”
A strange change had recently come over the Clovis Dukedom. A mysterious woman brought in by the Duke.
The only woman the Duke was close to was Lady Veronica, and even she didn’t stay at the Dukedom for more than a few days. The servants were surprised by the sudden change.
Where did they meet? Who was this woman?
Speculation and rumors ran rampant. And the moment the servants saw how the Duke treated her, they knew.
He brought the woman he loved!
When they first heard about her arrival, she had been kept hidden, and only a few servants had seen her.
But that didn’t last long. She started appearing in the garden and even talked to the servants.
Although the number of servants who liked her, finding her bright and innocent, increased, contrary to their expectations, persistent rumors and speculations continued.
Someone mentioned seeing her at the Veronica County, then shook their head, watching her pink hair sway in the breeze.
And the woman, who had become the object of everyone’s curiosity and attention, was currently fuming.
“Ugh, that damn Cesar!”
That day, I fell asleep, relieved after meeting Cesar at the Seirthe Marquisate. And I woke up in an unfamiliar bed.
“Beep?”
‘Where am I?’
“You’re awake?”
I heard Cesar’s voice as soon as I woke up. Relieved, I hopped over to him.
“Chirp.”
‘Yes, I’m awake.’
“It would be better if you transformed back into a human so we can talk…”
“Beep.”
‘That’s true.’
There were limitations in communicating as a bird. I nodded in agreement, and he brought a round object.
It was a communication device. I heard a crackling sound, followed by a voice.
[It’s been a while, my disciple.]
‘T-that voice?’
“Beep! Beep beep!”
As I chirped excitedly, I heard laughter.
[Judging by the noisy bird chirping, it seems you found her and brought her back.]
“Chirp! Beep! Chirp!”
‘Is that all you have to say? Tower Master, do you know how much I suffered after you sent me to the Imperial Palace?! I waited and waited for your contact!’
My tail feathers trembled with anger, and the Tower Master seemed surprised.
[My, my… it seems she has a lot of pent-up frustration towards me.]
“I can only imagine what you did, Master. So don’t lie to me.”
[Alright. There’s no point in denying it now that she’s by your side. So, why did you contact me?]
“Do you know how Lily transforms into a human? I contacted you because it’s difficult to communicate with her as a bird.”
Come to think of it, when I transformed back into a bird, I had quietly collected the mana stone from inside my clothes and popped out. And when I transformed into a human, I was sent away after changing my clothes.
It was understandable that Cesar didn’t know how I transformed.
[Give her a mana stone. She’ll absorb it and return to her human form.]
“I understand.”
“Beep!”
‘Wait, I have something to say!’
But my chirps didn’t reach him. The connection was cut.
I had no choice but to wait for another opportunity and obediently accepted the mana stone he offered.
“Beep!”
‘Leave! I need to get dressed!’
I picked up the clothes he had prepared with my beak and flapped my wings, and Cesar left, understanding my meaning.
Having quickly transformed back into a human, I stood in front of the mirror and checked my left arm for any scars. Fortunately, it was fine.
I breathed a sigh of relief and called out to Cesar.
“Cesa…”
‘Oops. I’m so used to speaking informally as a bird.’
“Your Grace, I’m dressed.”
Cesar entered. But there was a subtle displeasure in his expression.
“Why are you calling me ‘Your Grace’ again?”
His words reminded me of a certain incident. I had addressed him casually, which led to playful banter and eventually… a kiss.
I subtly averted my gaze and called out to him,
“Ce…sar?”
Strangely, calling him casually felt awkward now that I was human. It felt unfamiliar.
But Cesar seemed to like it, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
‘He even looks handsome when he smiles.’
My heart fluttered. He seemed completely unfazed, while I was the only one flustered, so I tried to calm down.
“Then, now that we have things to discuss,”
He naturally pulled me onto his lap.
“Let’s talk.”
“In this position?”
“You can lean on me if it’s uncomfortable.”
Leaning on him would mean being in his arms, and I knew my heart would race too much to have a proper conversation.
“It’s okay.”
“That’s a shame.”
His voice, so close, was too seductive. It was difficult, being casually seduced by my owner, who already had women flocking to him.
And he kept playing with my hair as if he wasn’t even interested in talking.
His fingers twirled my hair, creating curls. My hair color had returned to its original pink.
“Do you really want to talk? I’m quite worried about Sylvia.”
“If you’re worried about Sylvia, it’s fine. I caught the spy impersonating you and kindly had her imprisoned when I arrived. She’s unharmed.”
That was good news. I didn’t have anything else to worry about as long as Sylvia was safe. Prea would be dealt with by Cesar, but I was a little concerned about…
“They found out I was a bird at the Marquisate. Is there a spell to erase memories?”
“There is, but I’m planning to handle it in a faster way.”
“A faster way?”
“Do you want to know?”
I didn’t really want to know. It probably wouldn’t be good for my mental health.
“I’m sure you’ll handle it well. It’s okay!”
“There’s no way I would neglect your matters.”
His gentle tone was like that of a lover.
My heart fluttered. But this was the time to talk, so I suppressed my feelings and continued,
“I was locked up in the basement, but Sylvia’s spirit came to me. Thanks to that, I escaped and was able to meet you, Cesar.”
“You were locked up in the basement?”
“No, originally, it was a nice room… well, it’s strange to call it a nice room when I was kidnapped, but… she seemed to like me, so she put me in a decent room.”
I decided not to mention the drugged food and my suffering. His eyes hadn’t fully returned to normal yet, and I was afraid of what he might do if he got even angrier.
“Then I transformed into a bird and escaped, but Lady Seirthe caught me… well, actually, my wing was injured. She shot an arrow at me while I was escaping. I think she was aiming for my heart, but it missed and hit my left wing several times…”
It hadn’t bothered me much back then, since I was desperately trying to survive, but explaining my injuries to him felt awkward. I didn’t want him to worry.
“I’m completely fine now! See! It’s a good thing I dodged and it didn’t hit my heart…”
“I’m sorry.”
“Pardon?”
His sudden apology surprised me. I was the one who was tricked and kidnapped. And I was the one who offered to be the bait.
“W-why are you apologizing, Cesar?! It’s my fault…!”
“Why is it your fault? Is it your fault that you were kidnapped and suffered?”
“…I was the one who was fooled.”
“Lily, this is clearly my fault. You were worried about her retaliation, and I reassured you, saying I could easily handle a Marquess’s daughter. But I failed to act in time, and you were kidnapped and suffered. I’m truly sorry.”
“I’m really okay…”
My voice trailed off.
Everything was resolved without anyone getting seriously hurt, so it was fine. There was no reason for me to be upset.
But his words kept echoing in my mind.
“There’s no way you’re okay. You were in so much pain.”
He stirred up the emotions I had been trying to suppress.
“I thought you would resent me. But you smiled when you saw me. Lily, please… you can rely on me when you’re hurting. Tell me about your pain.”
His words, asking me to tell him about my pain, reminded me of when I was first reincarnated.
Everything had been so confusing back then. I had run away from him, desperately trying to survive, focused only on the immediate situation.
I had been constantly threatened and faced with danger… I had resented Cesar, the people around me, and even the gods, but I knew dwelling on it would only make things harder for me, so I tried not to think about it too much.
Sometimes, I missed my family from my past life and wanted to go back and seek comfort, but I knew the me there was already dead, so I tried to forget. I didn’t want to face the pain.
So, actually…
“You’re right. I’m not okay. Perhaps… it was a little difficult.”
His hand, which had been playfully teasing me, now gently stroked my hair. It felt so comforting that I couldn’t help but chatter like I did when I was a bird.
“I didn’t want to face the fact that I would never see the people I missed again. I was scared of everything that was happening to me, but I knew crying wouldn’t solve anything, so I pretended to be okay.”
The more I spoke, the more the emotions I had bottled up spilled out.
“You see, at first, my life was the most important thing to me. That’s why I ran away from you, Cesar, but… I’ve grown attached to you, and now, I don’t want to see anyone get hurt. I would rather be the one who gets hurt… and I blamed myself, even when things went wrong.”
Because I was a reader who knew the plot of this novel.
I thought I had to take responsibility if things went wrong because of my intervention.
“But perhaps… my thoughts were the ones causing others pain.”
“They’re worried because they care about you. It’s not your fault.”
His gentle words of comfort warmed my heart.