Episode 10
The soft chirping of a bird woke me.
I must have fallen asleep while petting the bird and praying for it last night, lying face-down on the table.
Did I cry in my sleep…?
My sleeve was damp. I must’ve had a bad dream, worried the bird might die.
— Pii.
It was still dark, so I couldn’t see much, but the baby bird’s chirping sounded clearer than it had the night before.
“Thank yoou…”
I was grateful it survived, even though I couldn’t heal it.
Pip pip, the bird cried again.
“Are you… hungwy?”
It wasn’t like the bird could answer.
Just then, I heard someone approaching. Gabriella entered the room.
She spotted the bird, and confusion flashed in her blue eyes—while the clueless little thing chirped again.
— Pii.
I tightened my lips and held the bird firmly.
Gabriella shook her head and silently protested, but I pretended not to see and hid the bird deeper in my arms.
“Birdy, be quiet… just a bit.”
I whispered, but of course it didn’t understand.
After setting the sleeping Rosa down, Gabriella sighed as if giving up and picked me up.
Only after we moved to the detached palace did she ask Icarus, who followed us:
“Sir knight, do you know where this bird came from?”
Normally, Mother would’ve informed her of something like this, but she wasn’t here today.
Icarus answered with his usual expressionless face.
“Yes, nanny. We rescued it from the greenhouse after it was bitten by a cat, and had a palace physician treat it. The physician is not entering the palace today, and there is no one else involved.”
I stared at Icarus in surprise.
This lunatic… is actually competent?
But who knew what he’d do if something went wrong. I had to stay cautious.
Gabriella didn’t know what I was thinking and let out a relieved sigh.
“Oh goodness, you startled me.”
“My apologies. I thought Her Highness wanted to save the bird…”
Gabriella’s eyes widened.
“Wait— cough—are you saying you personally rescued it, sir?”
It definitely wasn’t the kind of thing that suited him.
“… My apologies.”
He repeated himself, and Gabriella nodded, dumbfounded.
“Yes, well… I’ll talk to Her Highness about the rest. Thank you.”
After Icarus returned to the main palace, Gabriella shot me a prickly look while I pretended to innocently pet the bird.
— PII!
The bird, quiet until now, suddenly cried loudly.
“How ‘bout your name is… Pip-Pip?”
— Pip! Pip-pip!
It must have loved it.
I grinned at Gabriella.
“Pip-pip. Bird fwend.”
Her sigh echoed through the spacious room.
“As long as you’re happy, Your Highness.”
While we were sharing breakfast with Pip-pip, Gabriella asked with another sigh:
“Even if you’re keeping it only until it recovers, it needs a place to stay. Either the main palace or the detached palace. You can’t carry it back and forth every time. Understood?”
I knew that much too.
I nodded.
“Tomorrow, leave here. But if Wosa scares him… what do?”
Gabriella shrugged.
“Her Highness Rosa likes animals anyway.”
“But… the cat Wosa likes bit Pip-pip.”
“Oh my. Is that so?”
Gabriella clicked her tongue sympathetically and nodded.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’ll take care of the bird. But once it’s healthy enough to fly, you have to release it into the garden.”
“Okaaay, Gabi.”
I promised sincerely.
At the time, I didn’t yet know the supremacy of egg yolks.
By afternoon, Pip-pip had regained noticeable energy.
All that from pecking a few bits of egg yolk?
I stared at the tiny bird, barely bigger than my palm, amazed.
“Feeling bettew…?”
— PIIIIK!
There was only one downside to its recovery:
It got loud.
So loud…
I shook my head and tried to persuade it.
“Pip-pip, no screamy too much.”
— Pip-pip! Pip-pip!
“If you keep doing that, I’ll take you to the garden. What if the cat bites you again?”
— Piii…
It couldn’t understand, but the cry suddenly sounded pitiful.
Right. Threatening a baby is rude.
I was the bad one.
“Just be quiet, okay… Gabi will scold me. Cat might bite again, hmm?”
— Pii…
“Don’t pretend to be pitiful.”
I held Pip-pip and checked its belly wound.
I couldn’t tell if it was healing well or not.
“We pwobably need to see the doctow again…”
— PII! PII!
It struggled as if clearly refusing.
Gabriella watched us and smiled.
“Her Highness Rosa will love it.”
— PII! PIII!
I shook my head at the flapping bird.
“Don’t move so much, it huwt…”
— Piiiiii…
What a noisy little thing.
What if Rosa hates the bird because of the noise?
I had worried it might die — now I was worried it was too loud.
But the next dawn, just as Gabriella prepared to take me to the main palace—
— PIIIIIIIII!
Pip-pip squirmed into my arms, flapping desperately.
“Huh…?”
— Pii! Pii! Pii!
“Oh dear… this is bad.”
Gabriella let out a sigh heavy enough to crack the floor.
“I think the baby bird believes Your Highness is its mother. This is… troublesome.”
We were completely unprepared for this.
Leaving it behind was impossible — it was a bird.
Even while injured, it tried to flap after us.
At that point, it was quieter just to take it along.
Gabriella muttered after thinking a moment:
“We do need to show the physician again anyway…”
“Mm-hm…”
When I agreed, Gabriella looked at Pip-pip sternly.
“It needs to stay quiet and unseen.”
— Pii…
The bird tucked its head against my shoulder, pretending to behave.
Oh, come on.
“Haaah… let’s go.”
Gabriella wrapped us in a large cloth.
I expected Pip-pip to cry again, but it was surprisingly quiet.
“From now on, be really quiet. Or you can’t come with me again.”
I whispered, and Pip-pip actually nodded.
Did… did it just nod?
What was I even thinking.
Still, Pip-pip stayed miraculously quiet all the way.
Maybe it’s secretly smart.
I should get it more egg yolk once we reach the main palace.
“Oh my!”
Beatrice burst out when she entered my room that morning.
I was sitting there, petting Pip-pip on my palm.
“It can sit up now! It healed a lot, didn’t it?”
“Uh-huh. Vewy nice.”
I answered proudly, and Beatrice smiled as she brushed my cheek.
“If you ask me, you’re the one who’s very kind, Your Highness.”
Then she gently rubbed Pip-pip’s head with a fingertip.
“Still, I’m glad it woke up and didn’t make you worried.”
Pip-pip twisted away like it disliked the affection, but I beamed at Beatrice.
“His name… Pip-pip.”
“Pip-pip?”
The bird chirped twice—pip, pip—as if confirming.
“Wow, it really seems to understand.”
“He smart. When I scold, he be quiet.”
“Really?”
“Yesh. For weal.”
Excited, I told her we needed boiled eggs.
Beatrice ordered a maid to prepare egg yolk.
A little later, the maid returned with mashed yolk on a small dish.
But Pip-pip didn’t even look at it.
“I guess it isn’t hungry.”
Beatrice said so, but Pip-pip looked… offended?
“Here, look…”
I scooped some onto my palm and mashed it like yesterday.
Only then did Pip-pip peck at it.
“My goodness…”
Beatrice laughed.
“To think it only eats food fed directly by Her Highness… it’s the most spoiled animal in all of Leella.”
— Pip-pip!
Pip-pip cried indignantly as if saying, mind your own business!
“Be quiet, I said.”
Instant silence.
Beatrice’s eyes went round.
“It really listens?”
“I told you. It’s weal.”
