The night of the day when Snow’s escape incident occurred.
Zex, as usual, put on his leather gloves and held out his hand to sleep together with the little bird.
However, the little bird turned her back on Zex and, astonishingly, entered the Birdcage.
“Wh-What’s wrong…? You always hated the Birdcage, didn’t you?”
Even when he called out, Snow wouldn’t come out.
With no other choice, Zex brought a chair in front of the Birdcage.
“You must be tired today, so get a good night’s rest.”
The little bird sat still, with her back turned to Zex, in a bed fashioned like a bird’s nest.
He still thought her heart-shaped back was adorable, but her distant attitude left him feeling lonely.
‘But… I’m just glad Snow is safe…’
He went outside to see Light off, only to realize Snow’s figure had disappeared.
When he found her together with the White Tiger, he felt as though his own life had drained away.
He hurriedly drove the tiger off with Magic, but ever since then Snow’s attitude had changed.
Snow was small, a frail creature.
If the tiger had attacked her, just like when she was attacked by that monster, and if she’d died…
He couldn’t help but imagine the worst, and regretted using Magic to intimidate the tiger even though Snow was right there.
Still, he’d genuinely been worried.
However, thinking back on it carefully, the White Tiger hadn’t looked like it was trying to attack Snow.
Snow didn’t even have a single scratch, which only reinforced that possibility.
Yet he’d driven the tiger away, so perhaps Snow was angry with him.
‘Back then, what was Snow trying to tell me…?’
She had struggled in his hand, as if wanting to get away from Zex.
‘That bird might want to return to her family, you know. She was originally a wild bird, wasn’t she? If her wounds are healed, you should set her free.’
Light’s words flickered through his mind.
He was the one who had taken away Snow’s freedom.
‘Someone cursed like me… she shouldn’t be at my side… I know that much’
He knew, and yet he couldn’t let her go.
Snow was the first to teach Zex what warmth was.
It was said that small birds had high body temperature, but from Snow he felt a warmth that was more than that.
When he touched her fluffy feathers and felt her warmth, it lulled him into a comfortable sleep.
Waking in the morning, seeing Snow right in front of his eyes—he couldn’t describe how happy that made him.
After Zex fell asleep, Snow could have moved to another place.
Even so, she remained on the same bed—with him.
Moreover, ever since he started spending time with Snow, the progression of the curse had stopped.
He’d never heard of such a thing from his father, the previous head of the family.
To Zex, Snow was nothing short of a miracle.
And through Snow, he began to feel something like a human will.
He should have been treating her as a pet, yet little by little he wanted to know who she really was.
“Snow. If only you were really human…”
If Snow were a human woman, Zex would have proposed to her without hesitation.
A person who stayed by his side without fearing his curse, someone who soothed his heart.
‘Come to think of it, in the myths, the Beasts of the Gods took on human forms to converse with people…’
There are many legends about the Beasts of the Gods left in this land.
Among them, there is a legend that says the Beasts of the Gods would take on human form to bestow power upon people.
‘If Snow were human, she’d surely be a lovely woman—wait, what am I even thinking?’
Surprised at himself for letting his imagination run wild, he felt a pang in his chest at the thought that a woman like Snow could never exist.
However, the curse of the Beast of the Gods was real.
‘If the legends are true… could Snow become human, too?’
Snow sometimes seemed to understand what Zex was saying.
She would nod or shake her head, even answer his questions.
Would any ordinary little bird really do things so much like a human?
“Snow, could it be that you really are human…?”
Thinking that far, Zex covered his mouth with his hand.
His face felt hot.
What he had thought to be impossible suddenly felt real, and Zex’s heart began to pound.
‘Marrying another woman… I just can’t imagine it’
Zex’s heart was already filled with thoughts of Snow.
Even without a miracle, just having Snow by his side was enough to fill his heart.
There was no one else he could feel this much affection for.
Yet, these feelings were entirely one-sided.
‘How does Snow feel about me…?’
Zex looked at the little bird sleeping with her back turned to him in the Birdcage.
If she hated him, the thought was frightening.
“Hey, what should I do for you to forgive me, Snow…?”