As he was about to leave the kitchen and return to his room, Zex suddenly stopped.
“Come to think of it, Snow, you haven’t seen the inside of this Marquisate Estate yet. I’ll give you a quick tour.”
The only place Sharon knew was Zex’s private room.
If she didn’t know the layout of the estate, she would get lost even if she managed to leave her room alone.
Having someone guide her was a relief.
‘I should remember this well, in case I need to leave this place.’
Sharon braced herself.
Even if she couldn’t use magic, she was good at remembering things.
They left the kitchen and walked down a long hallway, soon reaching an area decorated with portraits.
“This gallery displays the portraits of successive heads of the Halbügen Household.”
There were more than twenty portraits in all.
Sharon trembled as she looked at them.
‘Are all the Margrave of Halbügen supposed to look so scary…?!’
All of them had furrowed brows and sharp eyes.
Each one seemed to glare as if they held a grudge against the painter.
Without noticing the trembling little bird, Zex stopped in front of a particular portrait.
“This is my father, Gairy.”
He had the same black hair and deep blue eyes as Zex.
Like the other former heads, he glared down with a severe expression.
Zex, too, looked as if he was glaring back at his father.
His profile looked somehow lonely and sad.
‘Did something happen between them…?’
Every family has its issues.
Sharon herself was the ‘Outcast of the Sdulc Family’, so she couldn’t say much about others.
Beside it hung a portrait of Zex himself.
If his portrait was displayed here, then Zex was indeed the head of the Halbügen Household.
Though he was only in his early twenties, he had succeeded the title—that must mean he had the capability.
But then, Sharon suddenly noticed something.
‘Huh? But all of the others seem to have only portraits from when they were young.’
Every portrait showed its subject at around twenty years old.
And each wore the same red ring Zex was wearing now.
Did the heads of the Halbügen Household change quickly from generation to generation?
‘Where were Zex’s parents now?’
As Sharon wondered about such things, Zex turned his back on the gallery.
“If you go straight ahead, you’ll reach my office. But there’s nothing interesting to see there, so let’s skip it.”
With that, Zex headed down the hallway.
“Next is the Garden.”
He opened the door leading to the Garden, and a freezing cold air swept in.
‘S-So cold…!’
The Garden of the Halbügen Household was covered in pure white snow.
In this frigid season, few varieties of flowers could bloom.
But Sharon couldn’t care less about whether there were any beautiful flowers to enjoy as a garden.
‘Outside at last~!’
She was finally outside the estate.
Who would have thought the perfect chance to escape would come so soon!
Zex had given her a name with affection, but she couldn’t stay by his side while hiding the truth.
‘…I don’t belong here.’
Resolute, Sharon spread her wings from Zex’s hand and tried to fly off—only to fall to the ground with a soft thud.
Thanks to the fluffy snow, there was no pain, but she was buried and couldn’t move.
She tried to flap her wings, but the bandages got in the way and it wasn’t going well.
‘I-I have to escape quickly…!’
She tried hopping, jumping again and again to escape the snow pit, but only sank deeper.
It was like a sand trap.
Her tiny body was working against her.
“Snow! Are you alright!?”
Rescued by Zex, Sharon managed to get out of the snow.
‘Haah, haah… I thought I was going to die.’
Why couldn’t she fly at all?
Even if she used to be human, she was now a little bird…
‘A bird that can’t fly is just an ornament…’
Useless as a human and as a bird—she loathed herself from the bottom of her heart.
In any case, her escape plan had failed.
She should think of some way to deal with the snow for next time.
Winter in the northern part of the Crusell Kingdom was said to be long and harsh.
Even when the sun was out, the snow didn’t melt.
She’d learned this time how difficult it was to walk through snow.
‘I have to find a way to fly…’
On Zex’s palm, Sharon spread her wings once more.
“Hey, don’t push yourself. You’re still not healed.”
Saying this, Zex gently pressed her outstretched wing back with his other hand.
No wonder Zex was worried.
Just moving a little was enough to make her body cry out in pain.
She knew she should rest.
Still, the frustration and helplessness were overwhelming.
‘If only I could fly through that sky…’
While resisting Zex’s hand, Sharon looked up at the blue sky.
“Well… I suppose you’re right. Birds are meant to be free. Of course you’d want to fly…”
Seeing the little bird gaze longingly at the sky, Zex spoke.
His expression was somewhat lonely, and Sharon meekly folded her wings.
‘Zex-sama…?’
Their eyes met—his deep indigo gaze fixed on her.
Zex furrowed his brow, his face clouded with worry.
“I have no right to take away your freedom. But even so…”
He faltered, seeming to struggle with something.
“Will you… stay here—with me…?”
Zex’s eyes pleaded earnestly.
Seeing that look, Sharon gasped.
‘…I know that look all too well.’
It was the same look she used to have before meeting Leona.
Denied by her father, insulted by her mother, scorned by her brother, and looked down on by everyone at the Academy.
She had wondered if she had any place in this world at all.
Tormented by deep loneliness, she still wished, trembling, for someone to stay by her side.
Sharon understood those feelings all too well.
In her case, nobody even looked at her, and so she was left with nothing but emptiness engraved in her heart.
To do the same thing to Zex…
She couldn’t.
She didn’t want to.
‘But I can’t stay here. But I don’t want to hurt Zex-sama either! What am I supposed to do…?’
Sharon was terribly confused.
It was like being confronted by her past self, and pushing him away was unthinkable.
‘Just for a little while.’
Maybe, just for a little while, it was alright to stay by his side.
She had nowhere else to go, and she still hadn’t decided what to do next.
She didn’t know when she’d become human again.
If she ran off without a plan, she’d probably just get attacked by monsters.
Maybe it was better to wait until she’d figured things out before running away.
Besides, she hadn’t even repaid the favor of being rescued yet.
“Pi.”
Rubbing up against Zex’s gloved hand, Sharon signaled her agreement.
At that moment, Zex caught his breath.
“Snow…! Is it really alright?”
Zex’s voice fell from above, sounding relieved.
When she looked up, Zex’s eyes were shining.
It was the first time he’d smiled like that—
‘Just by being here, I can make someone so happy…’
Sharon’s chest grew warm.
This was a feeling she’d never known before.
She, who had never been needed by anyone, was finally needed.
It felt like, just a little, the pain of her despairing, battered heart had softened.