CHAPTER 93……………………….
‘Why is he here! Why didn’t anyone tell me?!’
Of course.
They were too busy playing around to notice Leonhart’s presence.
When a Sword Master deliberately hid his aura, even spirits would have trouble sensing him.
‘Useless idiots! This is no time to be fooling around!’
“Caw! Caw! Kyaaak!”
“Shh, quiet. You’ll wake everyone.”
Leonhart gently tapped my beak.
Not that I planned to keep squawking for long anyway.
By now, the spirits would’ve heard the noise and figured out what was going on.
Should I fly into the forest? The owls had all been driven out, so it shouldn’t be dangerous.
Just then, Leonhart’s large hand clamped around my body.
Then he stroked me over and over, until the top of my head was practically polished.
That tender gesture only made me more irritated.
Try treating me, when I’m human, even half as gently as you treat this crow. I’d carry you on my back everywhere.
‘You always frown the moment you see me.’
There was a time when I’d thought it was a relief just that Leonhart didn’t try to kill me.
Compared to back then, our relationship had come a long way.
‘Still… I’m not satisfied.’
I couldn’t help it.
I’d experienced firsthand how Leonhart acted toward someone he trusted and loved completely.
“Haha, ah, that’s funny.”
“Adele, what’s so funny?”
“Undine said earlier that she could recognize me even if I were wearing a monster’s skin.”
“That’s funny to you?”
“If I showed up after turning into a beast, he’d probably attack me first. Saying something like, ‘What kind of stinking monster dares come near me?’”
“I’d never attack you.”
“Oh please. If I lost my mind and came charging to kill everyone, you’d just stand there?”
“Yeah. I’d just let you kill me.”
‘And now… Look at him. I can’t help comparing.’
My chest ached.
Because no matter what I did, they’d never treat me the same way they had when I was Adella.
‘I’m going to end up jealous of my own self at this rate.’
People are supposed to know how to be content. Maybe that’s why they say the human heart is fickle.
‘Still, it’s annoying all the same.’
I whipped my head away, dodging Leonhart’s hand.
“Della, why are you sulking? You’re the one who ran away from home.”
‘That’s not my home! This is my home!’
“By the way, what’s your relationship with the owner of this bedroom?”
When I didn’t react, Leonhart muttered,
“That time, when I tried to catch you in my bedroom… maybe I was actually letting you go?”
‘Oh, really now?’
“Come to think of it, the Duke was there the day we first met. After the briefing, she wasn’t feeling well, so I lent her my room.”
‘Think whatever you want… but could you let me go, maybe?’
I was getting bored enough to feel sleepy.
I opened my beak wide and yawned, wiping the tear that formed with my wingtip.
Leonhart ignored it and continued his serious line of reasoning.
“When you escaped from your cage and met the Duke, she acted strangely too. It was like she didn’t want me to find you. Yeah, that’s it. She probably wanted me to give up.”
Leonhart pieced together his imaginary puzzle and looked at me again.
“So the Duke was your master all along. But why didn’t you tell me? Were you afraid I’d be too disappointed?”
For him, that was the most logical conclusion.
“I never imagined you’d have a master. There’s no mark.”
He flipped me this way and that, searching my body for any possible marking.
‘Y–you rude jerk! Where do you think you’re touching?!’
Finding nothing, he sighed deeply.
“This is bad. Even knowing you have a master, I still can’t give you up.”
He glanced toward the dim bedroom, then leaned close and whispered,
“Della, live with me. I’ll treat you well. Please?”
‘Don’t flirt with me! Ugh! Don’t rub your face on me! Wait—did you just KISS me? Are you insane?!’
I shoved at his face with my wings.
But Leonhart didn’t budge. He’d gotten more clingy since I last saw him.
I flapped my wings furiously, pouring all my irritation into the motion.
Leonhart only chuckled softly, like he was watching a child’s tantrum.
“I think we’ve made too much noise. Hold on.”
He went over to the terrace window and peered through the half-open door.
‘Hey—what are you doing? Don’t peek into someone’s bedroom!’
If he leaned in just a bit farther, he’d be able to see my bed.
If Leonhart realized I wasn’t in that bed… what would happen then?
‘What do you mean what happens? Chaos, that’s what!’
No matter how I flapped, I couldn’t draw his attention.
He just held me tight in one hand and kept looking inside.
‘Is he trying to check if I’m sleeping soundly?!’
There was nothing I could do. Even the spirits were powerless in this moment.
As long as I stayed in crow form, they couldn’t draw on my magic.
‘Please, please… don’t go inside.’
There was no moon that night, so the room was quite dark.
But Leonhart was a Sword Master—darkness meant nothing to him.
“Hmm?”
He suddenly frowned and stepped into the room.
He must have noticed the empty bed.
‘He saw it? He saw it! I’m doomed!’
My heart pounded so hard my whole little body vibrated.
I could almost see Leonhart’s shocked face, shouting that I’d vanished.
By the time I imagined dawn breaking and myself turning back into Adrian before his eyes, all my feathers were standing on end.
I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to watch.
“Ah… never mind. Thought it was empty, but someone is there.”
‘Huh?’
There’s someone? Who? I’m right here!
I poked my head out and saw a figure lying sideways on the bed, completely covered by a blanket.
“So you sleep with the blanket over your head, huh. Like a little kid.”
Leonhart slipped silently back out onto the terrace.
He checked once more for any hidden assassins, then gave me a faint smile.
“Your tiny heart’s beating so fast. Did something scare you?”
I rolled my eyes, pretending not to hear.
He petted me several more times.
“Della, your master’s not as bad as she looks.”
‘As bad as she looks?’
I couldn’t tell if I should feel offended or pleased—it was a strange feeling.
Then Leonhart whispered in my ear,
“Tell your master this for me: she shouldn’t get engaged to just any man.”
‘Why not? Wouldn’t you be relieved once I finally got engaged?’
“If she’s going to rush it only to break it off later, then she might as well…”
‘Might as well what?’
Leonhart’s gaze drifted into the dark night.
His face looked complicated for a moment, then smoothed over into calm.
“Della, want to sleep in my room tonight?”
Startled, I whipped my head side to side. Leonhart chuckled softly.
“See? Sometimes I swear you can understand me.”
‘…’
“Go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nudged me back into the bedroom and closed the terrace door without a sound.
I stood there for a while, tilting my head.
‘What’s with him? He looked really troubled…’
Maybe it’s because he thinks I won’t get engaged?
Understandable. Honestly, I was starting to worry too.
Out of the ten final engagement candidates, only four had come for interviews.
‘And one of them was an assassin, so really just three.’
All thanks to that ridiculous rumor that Leonhart and I were romantically involved.
And then there was that prophetic painting Piace showed me… whatever that was.
I shook my head hard, banishing the memory.
‘No, no bad thoughts. I’m going to get engaged to that mama’s boy. Nothing else will happen.’
Forcing the thought away, I fluttered up onto the bed.
When I grabbed the blanket with my beak and yanked it off—
The sight that greeted me was… incredible.
Undine and Sylph had formed my head, a pillow served as my torso, Gnome had stretched his limbs to form my thighs, and Salamander made up my calves.
I’d suspected the spirits were pretending to be me—but this? This was too much.
“CAW CAW CAW CAW!”
I rolled across the bed, shrieking with laughter.
– Rian! You’re laughing, aren’t you? You’re totally mocking us!
– Rian, do we really look that funny? Well… as long as you’re smiling, it’s fine, I suppose…
– Damn it! After all the crap we went through because of you, you’re just gonna laugh? Get over here, just one hit—ow, okay, okay, Gnome! I won’t hit her! I won’t!
It was a long time before we finally managed to fall asleep.
And the next morning—
I got dumped by the mama’s boy.
