“Come on, you need to eat properly.”
Sharon trembled in fear as she stared at what had been set before her.
Piled high on the plate were insects—moths, caterpillars, and the like.
“Bigyaaaaaaaaaa! (Noooooooooo!)”
Sharon absolutely hated bugs.
Worse, some of them were still twitching.
There was no way she could eat something like that.
She was determined to refuse.
When Sharon flapped her wings with all her might to show she didn’t want to eat, Zex furrowed his brows.
“That’s strange. I was told birds like these things…”
If this continued, she would have to eat bugs as bird feed.
Even if it was for survival, that was unbearable.
Wasn’t there some way to let Zex know she was actually human?
If she managed that, maybe she could get a proper meal.
“Pi, pi, piyo! (I’m a human!)”
He was even someone who had introduced himself to a little bird.
Surely he would understand her intentions.
Since words wouldn’t work, Sharon used her uninjured left wing to gesture with all her might.
“Could it be that this isn’t enough…?”
‘No, that’s not it!’
She shook her head vigorously, but Zex stopped her.
“If you move that much, your wound will open. Stay still.”
Because Sharon had moved, her bandage had come loose, and Zex rewrapped it for her.
Through a hole in his clothes, she could see several red scars on his arm.
‘Did I do that when I pecked him…?’
She hadn’t just put holes in his clothes, but even injured him.
Yet, Zex didn’t get angry and kept taking care of her.
Sharon pointed at his scars and lowered her head in apology.
To Zex, it must have sounded like nothing but cheeping, but she wanted to express her remorse.
“Are you perhaps worried about these wounds?”
When she nodded earnestly, Zex laughed.
“Compared to a monster’s counterattack, this doesn’t even hurt or itch. It’s nothing.” As he spoke, Zex gently patted Sharon’s head with his finger.
‘He really is a kind person…’
When was the last time someone stroked her head like this?
After her family learned she had no magic power, they stopped cherishing her.
She was shown neither affection nor kindness, and of course, there was no more physical warmth.
Feeling Zex’s kindness, Sharon’s heart slowly grew warm.
“Excuse me.”
Just then, there was a knock, and a man who looked like an assistant entered.
He was a large man with short brown hair and a rugged face.
He looked to be in his early thirties, with a large scar on his right cheek.
Honestly, he looked more like a mercenary than an assistant.
“So that’s the little bird you found in the forest? What a terrible injury.”
His deep green eyes landed on the bird.
‘Eek, is there no one but scary people in this mansion…!?’
His intimidating presence made Sharon tremble.
First the maid, now this assistant—everyone in this place was intense.
“Glaque, you’re scaring the little one. Don’t turn that scary face this way.”
“M-my apologies.”
Zex glanced briefly at him before turning his eyes back to the bird.
If scary faces were an issue, Glaque thought, Zex was no better—but of course, he didn’t say it out loud.
“So, what is it?”
“A report from the fort. It seems the person scheduled for exile from the Foren Kingdom is delayed in arriving.”
“I see. Was there trouble during transport…? Well, as long as they haven’t crossed the border, it’s not my concern. Unless they’re trying to enter Crusell Kingdom illegally to escape punishment.”
Zex’s cold tone and imposing presence made Sharon feel as if she were encased in ice.
That was because she had all too much reason to be worried by that topic.
Sharon had escaped during transport and just happened to be taken in by this mansion in the form of a little bird.
‘Wait… does that mean this is the Crusell Kingdom!?’
She should have realized the moment she was picked up in the Forest of Evil.
The Crusell Kingdom was the great nation neighboring Foren Kingdom to the north.
Its vast lands were one-fifth covered by the Forest of Evil.
Because of that, monster attacks were common, and the kingdom was well-known for its advanced monster-slaying techniques.
Among them, the Marquis of Halbügen was said to be the strongest.
Though she didn’t know as much as she did about her own country, she had learned about other nations in the academy.
‘Ah! He introduced himself as Zex Halbogen! …Ugh, how did I not realize?’
Zex had introduced himself politely, but she’d been too distracted to notice.
Now, Sharon was being sheltered by the prestigious Halbügen Household, famed for monster subjugation.
As the key to national defense, they were charged with protecting the kingdom from the monsters that appeared so frequently.
They also handled a great deal of classified information about the kingdom and monsters, and leaking it to other countries was absolutely forbidden.
What would happen if it became known that Sharon—a fugitive from another country, no less—was hiding here in the form of a little bird?
‘If they find out I’m actually human, will I be killed…!?’
Though the incident with Leona was pure false accusation, Sharon had, unintentionally, entered Crusell Kingdom illegally.
Moreover, albeit not on purpose, she had transformed into a bird.
They might well suspect her of being a spy.
Now she understood why Zex and the servants had such an overwhelming presence.
They dealt with monsters every day.
There was no way someone like Sharon—a human (bird)—could stand a chance.
‘I can’t stay here any longer…!’
She was grateful to them for saving her, but if her true identity was exposed, it would all be over.
Zex was kind to her because she was a bird, but if he learned she was a criminal who had entered illegally, he would surely change completely.
Besides, she had no idea why she had transformed into a bird in the first place.
She didn’t even know when she’d return to her original form, and she couldn’t hide out in the Halbügen Household forever under these circumstances.
‘I have to get out of here before they find out I’m really human…!’
For now, all she could do was play the part of a bird and wait for a chance to escape.