CHAPTER 42…
Flicker, flicker.
Piazzé blinked as she stared into the air, having just woken up.
She’d been lying there for over an hour, but sleep refused to return.
‘I’m bored…’
Eventually, Piazzé got out of bed and turned on the light.
‘Should I go down to the kitchen? Maybe there’s a snack I can bring for the Duchess.’
She was worried about the Duchess, who had skipped dinner.
‘Yeah! If I sneak a snack into her room, she’ll be so happy!’
Quiet as a mouse, Piazzé tiptoed her way to the kitchen.
“Huh… There’s nothing here.”
The kitchen had been thoroughly cleaned.
Looked like the chef had taken all the leftovers.
She hoped there might at least be some dessert.
But the chef never made anything the Duchess didn’t like.
“Sigh…”
Just as she let out a disappointed breath—
The lights suddenly flared on, and the chef appeared, scratching his round belly with one hand, a bundle of fruit in the other. His expression turned sour.
“Hey! What are you doing in here?”
“Eep!”
Chef Oliver was the only servant in the mansion who spoke informally to Piazzé.
He never showed it when the butler was around, but when alone, he was openly harsh toward her.
The other staff knew about this, but said nothing—because Oliver was second only to the butler in the household hierarchy.
Oliver had always disliked orphanage kids.
He constantly muttered things like, “Kids without parents are always trouble.”
To him, Piazzé was a thorn in his side.
He hated that he had to prepare food for a child from an orphanage.
Piazzé, perceptive as she was, knew he disliked her.
That’s why even just hearing his rough voice made her shrink back.
“M-Mister…”
“I asked what you’re doing sneaking into someone else’s kitchen like a stray cat! What are you trying to steal?”
She only came looking for a snack for the Duchess—she never once thought about stealing food.
“W-What? N-No! I wasn’t—!”
“Then what are you doing here at this hour?”
“I-I just… I wanted to… bring something for the D-Duchess…”
“Don’t you dare use the Duchess as an excuse!”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Don’t tell me dinner wasn’t enough for you. You know that’s food you’d never eat in your whole life. You get that, right?”
“Y-Yes… I-I know…”
Already terrified, Piazzé just nodded.
If she talked back now, he’d only get angrier.
“You should be thankful, and instead you’re stealing?!”
“P-Piazzé isn’t a thief! I-I didn’t!”
“Didn’t? This is why kids without parents are hopeless. No sense of gratitude!”
“…”
“Get out of my kitchen! If I catch you sneaking in again, you’ll regret it. Got that?”
“Y-Yes…”
As she turned to leave, the chef muttered irritably behind her.
“Ugh, gross. Who knows what she touched… I’ll have the staff deep clean this place tomorrow.”
Piazzé quietly left the kitchen.
She felt terrible for causing a fuss in the middle of the night.
With her tiny shoulders slumped, she climbed the stairs—then stopped.
“Huh?”
The butler was standing in front of the Duchess’s bedroom door.
She didn’t know how much time had passed.
Drifting in and out of sleep under the effect of the medicine, I suddenly snapped fully awake.
‘…What was that?’
There was a strange feeling in the air. Strong enough to cut through the lingering effects of the drug.
‘An assassin?’
I focused my senses—but I didn’t feel any killing intent.
Still, my senses could have dulled from the medication.
Then I heard a faint sound. Without moving, I rolled my eyes to the side.
The window—opened wide and tied to the wall—was swaying gently.
The ribbon meant to keep it still had come loose.
‘So that was it.’
Not an assassin, thankfully.
Relieved, I glanced out the window.
It was still dark.
Had midnight passed?
As I tried to guess the time by the moon, my eyes widened.
There was no pain.
It wasn’t that the medication dulled the pain—my body had healed completely.
And it wasn’t an injury that should’ve healed so quickly.
‘Did Piazzé heal me?’
Still confused, I blinked.
That’s when I noticed something strange on the pristine white sheets.
A black feather, shimmering with violet light.
‘…’
I had transformed into a crow again.
‘W-What the hell?!’
My head felt like it had been smashed—it went numb.
‘It wasn’t just one day?!’
I was so sure it would end after just one day…
But today, once again, I was a crow.
That meant I had to rethink the whole “transforming into a magical beast at midnight on the full moon” theory.
Sitting blankly on the bed, I tried summoning the water spirit.
‘Undine.’
No response.
‘Sylph?’
Still nothing.
‘Gnome? Salamander? Anyone?’
None of them came. My mana wasn’t moving.
Then how were they still around yesterday? They had stayed summoned.
Granted, I hadn’t been able to use magic then, either.
‘I must’ve needed to summon them before transforming. What now?’
A wave of anxiety hit me.
Even if they were useless, having the spirits around was a huge comfort.
Now I was just a powerless crow.
The realization made me feel small.
Even though I knew nothing dangerous would happen tonight.
‘N-No need to panic. It’s not like I’m leaving the bedroom or anything…’
I forced myself to calm down and crawled under the blanket.
Now I had two nights where I was completely defenseless.
And I had a feeling this wasn’t the end.
How many nights would this double life continue—human by day, beast by night?
There was no way to find out except by living through it.
‘Ugh, I’m going crazy.’
I began pecking at the sheets with my beak out of sheer frustration, when I heard muffled voices outside.
“Miss? It’s quite late—why are you out of bed?”
“I-I guess I s-slept too much earlier. I-I can’t sleep now.”
Piazzé?
“Still, you shouldn’t wander around at night. What if the Duchess finds out? Please return to your room.”
“W-Where is the Duchess?”
“She’s sleeping, of course. You can see her tomorrow.”
“C-Can I just… peek at her for a moment…?”
“I said no.”
“I-I feel like I could b-breathe if I saw her…”
Come to think of it, I’d been too busy with the plaza proposal lately to spend time with Piazzé.
She must’ve missed me a lot for her shy little self to beg like this.
“Miss Piazzé…”
The butler’s voice turned stern.
“C-Can’t I? P-Pretty please?”
“…Sigh. No, you cannot.”
His voice was starting to tremble.
That guy is strict with everyone—except Piazzé. That’s the problem.
‘I’m the same, honestly…’
“P-Piazzé behaved well and ate a-all her food today! I’m a good girl!”
“I know. My lady is the sweetest, most wonderful girl in the whole world.”
“Y-You said good kids always get r-rewarded…”
“My lady…”
It was over.
The butler was going to open the door himself and even stand guard for her.
He probably thought I was knocked out cold from the medicine, so nothing to worry about.
‘Is this why Adrian never let Piazzé into the bedroom?’
Sweat trickled down my back.
This back-to-back crisis was getting ridiculous.
Panicked, I scrambled out from under the blanket and ducked under the bed.
‘What the—?!’
It was way too spacious under here. Anyone who looked inside would lock eyes with me instantly.
Especially someone as short as Piazzé—she’d see me for sure.
Under the sofa was too cramped.
I tried to squeeze in, but my belly got stuck, and I almost couldn’t move.
The wardrobe was no good either—I couldn’t grip the handles with my beak.
“You may look at her for a moment, but then you return to your room immediately. Do I have your word?”
“Y-Yes! I promise!”
‘…!’
I flapped and darted across the bedroom floor, desperately searching for a hiding spot—but panic clouded my thoughts.
And then…
The bedroom doorknob turned slowly.
