Episode 12
“…Icarus did?”
If my mother was the *sky* of Leella, then Icarus was my mother’s *thunder.*
Lightning.
*‘And just as Icarus is like that, Mother trusts him completely.’*
Beatrice, who had been frozen stiff, finally stammered out a reply.
“Y-yes, Your Highness. It was only possible thanks to Sir Chenelly’s help. If not for him, I would never have approached the cat.”
“…I see.”
Fortunately, Mother’s voice softened a little.
Beatrice would likely be spared further interrogation.
*‘Mother will want to hear the rest directly from Icarus.’*
Looking past Mother’s shoulder, I met Father’s gaze. He looked worried.
*‘Is it time?’*
As Beatrice and I practiced intensely, I closed one eye in a small wink.
I had practiced so hard that the wink made my head tilt to the same side.
Then I spread out both hands, raising all ten fingers.
“Appa, fox, catch teun ten animau?”
(“Daddy, did you catch ten foxes?”)
Father froze mid-step—just as Mother had earlier.
*‘Uh-oh. Was that not it?’*
I was about to look back at Beatrice in panic when Father suddenly curled his lips into a graceful smile and strode back toward us.
Then, twitching at the corners of his mouth and making a strange windy sound, he answered,
“F-fu… Yes, I caught ten. I caught them. Absolutely…”
He walked with us again, though his lips kept twitching.
*A high priest who can’t hold in his laughter…*
The wink practice had been more powerful than expected, and I felt privately proud.
—
The hunting trip was a huge success, so dinner was unusually long and rowdy.
*‘If there were fewer eyes watching, I’d have asked Mother to check Peep-Peep’s wound…’*
There was never an opening, and the banquet dragged on and on.
Sitting beside Mother, I kept yawning.
“Haaam.”
Eventually, Beatrice seized the chance and quietly escorted me out.
Peep-Peep, who had been dozing in my palm during the banquet, lifted his head when I moved.
Then he chirped once and began nodding off again.
“Let’s go wash up, put medicine on Peep-Peep, and sleep, Your Highness.”
“Mhm.”
Talking like that, we arrived at my room.
During warm bath time, someone knocked.
— *Knock knock.*
Beatrice stood up, drying her wet hands with a towel.
*‘I think I saw Father’s attendant through the crack…?’*
But Beatrice blocked the doorway, so I couldn’t see well. I couldn’t hear the conversation either.
She soon returned—hiding something behind her back—and beamed.
“Whad is it?”
“Ta-da!”
What she held out was a basket full of fresh flowers.
“Wooow!”
“Guess who sent them?”
“Um… Mommy?”
Gifts always came from Mother, so I guessed—but Beatrice shook her head.
“His Majesty the King.”
“…What?”
“He picked and gathered them himself on the way back. I told you, didn’t I? His Majesty loves Your Highness *so, so much.*”
As I reached toward the basket, a bud fell off.
Beatrice quickly picked it up so I wouldn’t be disappointed.
“Oh dear, I guess the long trip wore it out.”
Instead of the huge basket, she gave me the little flower bud. I placed it on my palm.
She then tucked the bud behind my ear.
Clapping her hands, she exclaimed,
“It’s the same color as Your Highness’s eyes! It looks perfect on you!”
She held a mirror up. The flower really did suit me.
*‘Has Father ever given me a present before?’*
Not since I was fifteen. Even as a child, he never gave small gifts—only inheritances “appropriate for a princess.”
*‘Anyway, we’re almost done recruiting Dad.’*
My heart thumped with excitement.
“And there’s more,” Beatrice added.
Right—the other hand behind her back.
“Whad else?”
“Ta-da!”
This basket held several large chocolates tied with ribbons.
“Thissh also from Daddy?”
I asked with my lips parted in delight, but Beatrice shook her head.
“Nope. This is from the young master of House Hestia.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes, Your Highness’s new friend. He was going to visit, but because Their Majesties are away on the hunting trip, he couldn’t. He said he’ll come in two nights.”
I laughed aloud.
*‘I completely forgot because of Peep-Peep… The Hestia siblings were supposed to visit.’*
The gift was nice, but what I loved most was the word *friend.*
*Friend.*
I had a friend.
In my previous life, I almost had one, once—but it never worked out.
*‘If I count Peep-Peep… that makes three already.’*
Smiling, I watched Beatrice arrange Father’s flowers in a vase.
“All done. Time for bed?”
After she lifted me from the tub and wrapped me in a large towel, she suddenly burst into laughter.
“You were still wearing the flower?”
She plucked the red bud from my ear.
“Oh? It looks fresher than before. Should I put it in the vase too?”
The bud had definitely opened more.
*‘Did it drink the moisture while I was bathing?’*
When the bud joined the rest of the flowers, only one task remained:
Time to apply Peep-Peep’s medicine.
—
— *Peep! Peep-peep!*
He cried rebelliously, just as expected.
Beatrice refused to give up, reaching for him again and again, but despite his poor flying skills, Peep-Peep was nimble.
“Peep-Peep, listeh to Triss…”
I sided with Beatrice, but Peep-Peep kept pretending not to hear and scurried away.
It was nearly bedtime.
Yawning, I mumbled,
“Aahhm… hurry and sleep…”
Peep-Peep finally looked at me.
— *Peep?*
“I’m sleepy…”
He had already napped during the banquet, so of course *he* didn’t get it.
Sighing, I grabbed him gently with both hands.
“Oh! Hold him like that, Your Highness!”
Beatrice came over with the ointment.
— *Peep! Peep-peep-peep!*
As the medicated hand neared him, Peep-Peep flapped his wings and shrieked dramatically.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”
I dipped my finger into the ointment myself and applied it.
Peep-Peep stiffened.
— *Peeee…*
“This make you betteh fast. Then you fly.”
After I finished, the poor thing went limp.
*‘Was medicine that traumatic?’*
I stroked him gently and carried him to the bed.
Setting him on the pillow beside mine, Beatrice smiled.
“Good night, Your Highness.”
“Night-night, Triss.”
The door closed, but I still heard the distant noise of laughter from the banquet hall.
Placing my palm over Peep-Peep’s belly, I prayed.
*‘Eashia, please heal this tiny friend.’*
My palm felt warm.
*‘He’s so warm.’*
Cuddling the tiny bird’s warmth, I drifted to sleep.
—
— *Peep-peep!*
I opened my eyes to the soft chirping and blinked.
*‘Daylight…?’*
Sunlight looked bright through the window.
It seemed I had been carried to the detached palace again without waking.
*‘What a useless body!’*
Today was the perfect day to yank Rosa’s hair—or kick her in the back—but instead I slept so deeply I didn’t even notice being carried?!
As I berated myself, I sat up. Gabriella’s gentle voice came.
“You must’ve been very tired, Your Highness.”
“Mmm… wheresh Peep-Peep?”
Looking around while yawning, Gabriella sighed.
“While you were sleeping, Peep-Peep kept trying to follow you. In the end, we brought him. I do hope he stays in the detached palace this time.”
— *Peep! Peep-peep-peep!*
He chirped triumphantly, as if saying *“As if!”*
I turned toward the sound—and my eyes widened.
“Peep-Peep, you… you’re flying?”
