CHAPTER 55…………….
I moved with Leonhardt to the study.
The study was in disarray.
The desk was cluttered with scattered documents, and several reference books were stacked up.
Leonhardt walked over to the desk and rifled through the papers.
“Have a seat. I’ll show you the construction guild support documents.”
[Stage 3: (with a scoff) Surely you don’t mean to review all of them.]
“Surely you don’t mean to review all of them.”
Because of me, the presentation had already been delayed, and now if I said this, anyone would get angry.
Sure enough, Leonhardt shut his eyes as though holding back his temper, then opened them again.
“Are you joking with me right now?”
“I only meant we should focus on the guilds Your Highness already had in mind as candidates. We don’t have much time, after all.”
“…If you had said so from the start, we wouldn’t have had to waste words.”
‘You think I want to talk like this?’
When I kept quiet, Leonhardt let out a sigh.
“The final candidates total five. The list is as follows…”
[Stage 3: (as if annoyed) Just give me the documents first.]
“Just give me the documents first.”
“…”
“Ah, and remove the guild names before handing them over.”
“You think I’ll suspect you of bias?”
[Stage 3: (with a scoff) Isn’t it obvious? Your Highness doubts my every move.]
…Were the Stage 3 instructions increasing? Or was it just me?
“Isn’t it obvious? Your Highness doubts my every move.”
Leonhardt braced both hands against the desk and stared directly at me.
“Do you resent my help so much? If so, then let’s stop right here.”
He looked as if he couldn’t believe I was picking a fight after volunteering to help.
But what could I do? The Stage 3 prompts kept coming.
I sat on the sofa and offered an excuse.
“I have no complaints, so please don’t misunderstand. Concealing the guild names is only to ensure a fair selection process.”
“…”
Leonhardt sat across from me and handed over the nameless applications.
“The duke has a strange habit.”
“What habit do you mean?”
“Your manner of speaking.”
“…”
“At first it sounds as if you intend to offend. But if you keep listening, there’s always another meaning. Why do you speak that way?”
I had nothing to say. I couldn’t exactly confess it was the author’s doing.
“If you only rearranged the order of your words, you’d be misunderstood far less often.”
[Stage 3: (glaring) You should worry about yourself.]
So it wasn’t my imagination. Stage 3 prompts really had increased.
‘Is it because I haven’t been following the author’s will closely enough?’
Not all the instructions had shifted to Stage 3, but the unease lingered. I obeyed anyway.
“You should worry about yourself.”
Leonhardt pressed his lips together and fell silent. I lowered my eyes to the documents and muttered softly.
“I’m aware my manner of speech is odd.”
“…”
We reviewed the applications without another word. Only the sound of paper turning filled the study.
After a while, the chamberlain entered with a tea set on a trolley.
‘Grandpa Robert—been a while.’
Robert had always been fond of me. He even kept beer stocked in the palace just for me, knowing I liked it.
I, in turn, had liked him because he reminded me of my father.
I smiled unconsciously at the memory, when Leonhardt suddenly asked the chamberlain,
“What about Della?”
“W-well…”
The chamberlain hesitated awkwardly, and Leonhardt frowned faintly.
“You still haven’t found her?”
What was this about? …Wait. Were they looking for me?
I quickly composed myself and focused on their exchange.
“We searched every corner of the palace, but not a feather could be found. Perhaps she has already flown back to her nest?”
“You expect me to believe Adele escaped the cage on her own? That’s your explanation?”
“That would… be hard to accept.”
“Not hard—impossible. Did you search properly?”
The chamberlain’s white brows drooped in grievance.
“Of course, Your Highness. By your order we mobilized all palace staff.”
“And yet this is your result?”
“…M-my apologies.”
“Search again. Bring her to me.”
“Yes, Your Highness…”
The chamberlain departed, shoulders slumped. I sipped my tea while watching Leonhardt.
He was always the type to pour his heart into what he cared for. And he preferred animals over people.
Naturally, he wouldn’t let a missing raven go.
That was precisely why I had left while he was asleep.
‘But still… he’s still searching?’
I thought he would give up quickly.
“Hm… Do you keep a bird, then?”
“Yes. I treasure it deeply.”
Anyone overhearing might think he’d had it for years.
“Did it disappear?”
“Yes.”
“That’s all you’ll say?”
“I said it disappeared because it disappeared. What else should I say?”
“…Didn’t you just criticize my way of speaking?”
How dare he, when his was even ruder?
Leonhardt looked a little sheepish and added,
“Well… I woke up, and it was gone.”
“Perhaps it ran away. That happens often with birds, I’ve heard.”
“I kept it in a cage. Impossible.”
“Maybe you accidentally left the cage open.”
“I locked it myself with the clasp and even checked. I’d know. The cage was secured.”
“…Then how did it escape?”
“Someone must have opened it and stolen Della.”
“Would anyone want a bird enough to steal it from your chamber?”
Leonhardt set down his teacup with a sharp clink. His black eyes glimmered with displeasure.
“If you’d seen Della even once, you wouldn’t say that.”
“Most people consider crows ominous—that’s why I said it.”
“Superstition.”
“Even if it is superstition, crows aren’t ornamental. Their feathers are pitch-black and their caws too loud.”
“Della is different. Her voice is pleasant, and her feathers are beautiful—mystical, even.”
My face flushed hot in an instant. I fanned myself with the documents.
“You must be very fond of animals.”
“No. If anything, I’d say I dislike them.”
‘Liar.’
Back when we pursued the Demon King, we once came across a puppy about to be devoured by a beast.
Leonhardt had been the first to leap in to save it.
‘Still pretending he doesn’t care, when he clearly does.’
His lack of honesty stemmed from his upbringing.
He wasn’t the only prince bullied, but his tormentors destroyed anything he cherished.
So Leonhardt avoided attachment. Raising an animal was unthinkable.
Even when asked, he would claim he disliked them.
“No matter how bold, who would dare steal a raven from Your Highness’s own chamber?”
“…”
“I think it escaped on its own. Crows are said to be quite intelligent.”
Leonhardt answered in a tone of deep displeasure.
“Della is intelligent.”
“See? That proves she escaped the cage on her own.”
“…”
Leonhardt tilted his head slightly.
“Strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“How did you know Della was a crow?”
“…!”
I quickly averted my gaze and replied,
“Y-you mentioned it earlier. While talking to the chamberlain, just in passing.”
“…Did I?”
Before his suspicion deepened, I changed the subject.
“At least it’s summer. In winter, so many animals die for lack of food.”
“The harsher problem in winter is not food but water. When water freezes, animals dehydrate and cannot even hunt.”
“Then how about building water dispensers for them to drink from in winter?”
“Water dispensers?”
I flipped an application over and sketched a design.
It was like a small fountain, with water trickling out of a hole at the top.
“Think of it as a miniature fountain. Flowing water doesn’t freeze easily—that’s the principle.”
Leonhardt studied the drawing carefully.
“And how is the water replenished?”
“By using moisture-absorbing magic. Winters in the Empire are damp and snowy, so it wouldn’t be hard.”
“A good idea… but I doubt we’d find a mage willing to build it. There’s no profit.”
“Make it ornate and sell it to nobles with pets. Or adapt it into a humidifier.”
“Humidifier?”
“A device that raises humidity so the air isn’t dry. Very useful for those with health issues, especially asthma.”
Leonhardt, who had once experienced the benefits firsthand thanks to me, gave me a steady look.
“You’re different today.”
“…I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean, for once, your opinion isn’t bad. We should proceed.”
[Stage 3: (with a haughty expression) I’ll pay for the production cost.]
It was suspicious, coming from Adrian, who didn’t care for animals—or even people.
Of course, Leonhardt would doubt my intentions. And that was exactly what the author wanted.
I read the prompt flatly.
“I’ll pay for the production cost.”
“…Do you like animals?”
“You don’t like them either, yet you’re still building a dispenser.”
“If animals die, pests like bugs and rats will swarm the corpses. That could spread disease to humans.”
Leonhardt’s explanation was unusually long. His ears flushed faintly red.
“So in the end, your concern is for people’s welfare.”
“…Correct.”
“I feel the same way, Your Highness.”
“…So we actually agree. Unexpected.”
“I find it surprising too.”
We gazed at each other.
It was the first time we’d exchanged such a warm look.
‘…When should I look away?’
Leonhardt’s eyes were becoming too hard to ignore.
I wanted to break eye contact, but feared ruining the mood.
Just as my pupils began to waver, he unexpectedly turned away first.
“Let’s… get back to work.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
