Episode 07
In the end, I was dragged all the way into Clements’s room in his hands.
He placed me gently on the desk, his face clouded with worry as he carefully cupped me. His eyes, heavy with concern, were a breathtaking sight—
…but I had no heart to admire them right now.
Tap.
I smacked his finger away with the tip of my wing. Clements frowned slightly and asked,
“Hey, chick. What’s wrong?”
“…Peep.”
“Why are you like this?”
From the moment we entered the room, I had felt unwell. It had to be stress. The anxiety that things might not work out between Bella and Clements was making me sick.
Bella must have already felt discomfort just from seeing him, just like in the original story. By now, she might even be angrier at him.
So this—this wasn’t the time for him to worry about me. He should be worrying about how to fix things with Bella. He should be running to her right now!
Or at least brooding stylishly over their encounter, muttering something like “Interesting…” while replaying the moment in his mind. Or frowning slightly while reviewing documents in that elegant way of his—
That’s what he was supposed to do!
And yet, right now…!
If we could actually talk, it would probably go like this:
“Clements, don’t worry about the chick.”
“What is that?”
“I said don’t worry about the chick.”
“How do I do that?”
…Something like that.
Was he always like this?
I shook my head and flopped over. Ugh, my stomach felt like it was turning inside out.
“Are you sick? Endure it. If you belong to me, you must be strong.”
…As expected of Clements Lesta Düssingen—telling a chick to be strong.
“Peep… (Stop worrying about me and do your job…)”
If only I could say something to Bella. If only I hadn’t been wedged into that banquet as a chick. That important dinner wouldn’t have been ruined like that.
And more importantly—
Why on earth did Clements get angry at Bella?
I couldn’t understand it at all. And now, it was already out of my hands.
If the two of them drifted apart like this—
If they really ended without ever connecting…
“…Then what am I supposed to do?”
In a world that was no longer a sweet, romantic story, what reason would I have left to live?
“Peep… sniff…”
“…Chick.”
Oh my god, he’s still here.
Of course, just because I thought “Go away” and chirped at him didn’t mean he’d actually leave.
Struggling, I pulled myself upright on the desk and glared at him.
“You don’t look well.”
Yeah, no kidding. I’m glaring at you.
“…Ugh.”
Anyway, my resolve only grew stronger.
Tonight, as soon as it got dark—I had to escape quietly.
It hadn’t even been a full day since he arrived at the estate. If I disappeared now, surely he’d return to normal. Back to the original story. Back to the male lead who would love Bella completely.
“Your Highness, it’s Cassis. I will come in.”
As I was organizing my thoughts, Cassis Dupre entered the room. Only then did Clements finally take his attention off me.
“Report.”
As expected of a loyal aide, Cassis began calmly:
“The estate itself is clean. Security is sufficient, and the servants appear to be treated decently. However, the management of the surrounding territory differs somewhat from the reports sent to the capital. Construction is unclear, but regarding taxation… there are signs of embezzlement that narrowly avoid legal issues. Further investigation is required.”
I nearly hiccupped.
Didn’t he just arrive today?
And he’d already figured all that out?
No wonder he was the Crown Prince’s right-hand man.
“What is the Count doing?”
“At this hour, he is said to be reading in his study.”
Real-time tracking too?!
Though there was one thing even Cassis didn’t know.
The Count wasn’t actually reading. He was probably just sitting there, complaining about everything that annoyed him today—to the poor old butler.
…Which meant he was probably ranting about me right now.
“There are also murmurs nearby expressing dissatisfaction that the young lady failed to gain Your Highness’s favor.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Not just me—he was complaining about Bella too?
Who does he think he is?!
“Hah.”
Clements merely scoffed.
“And the young lady?”
“She has sent people to search for her maid.”
Ah—Bella.
Just hearing about her made me feel a little better.
At least… he wasn’t completely uninterested.
“She must value her quite a bit.”
Yes! That’s me!
“Come back soon, Bella…”
“She will return, won’t she?”
“What do you mean?”
“The maid who went into the forest.”
Cassis seemed to misunderstand—thinking Clements was worried about Bella’s maid.
Just like in the original story, he often assumed Clements had more warmth than he actually did.
“It would be good if she did.”
That was it.
If a girl went into the forest and didn’t return by nightfall—
“It would be good if she did.”
That level of detachment.
That was Clements.
That was the distance he kept from others.
From me.
And yet—
“The girl and this chick are the same person… so why is the difference in his attitude so extreme?”
“The chick.”
Cassis finally noticed me.
His sharp red eyes gleamed, then turned serious.
“…Is it sick? It doesn’t look well.”
“It’s been like this since the banquet. I tried to examine it, but it kept swatting my hand away. I was considering calling a physician.”
He looked more serious about me than he did during the political report.
Please. Let that just be my imagination.
Even Cassis was studying me intently.
“…Hmm.”
Well… at least Cassis had worried about me earlier.
I didn’t want to slap his hand away too.
“…What is it, Cassis?”
“Yes?”
“Why does the chick not reject your hand?”
…What?
Did the male lead of this novel really just say that?
“…Hmm.”
Thankfully, Cassis pretended not to hear and examined me anyway.
“Perhaps it has indigestion.”
“Do chicks get indigestion?”
“Most likely. It stayed still while people were watching, but once the atmosphere relaxed, it ate rapidly… like a starving twenty-year-old girl.”
“Peep!!”
Excuse me?!
That accuracy was terrifying!
Cassis prepared a diluted digestive solution with sugar and fed it to me. As I drank, my body gradually relaxed.
…So in the end—
I wasn’t sick from stress.
I had just… overeaten.
Well—anyone would!
If you turned into a chick while starving!
Right?!
“…Yawn.”
Before I knew it, I had dozed off.
After Cassis left, Clements read a few letters and arranged his belongings before going to bed. I tried to stay awake until he fell asleep completely…
…but I ended up dozing off again.
Darkness settled quietly over the room.
And then—
At the exact moment the last light faded—
Whoosh.
My body lifted into the air.
Soft white light wrapped around me.
A faint sound—like something breaking—echoed.
And then—
I landed lightly on the ground.
“…I’m back!”
My fingers, still faintly glowing.
My golden hair falling into view.
Having a human body again—
“…I never knew it could feel this overwhelming.”
