“Well then.”
While Sharon was deep in thought, it seemed Glaque had left the room.
Once again, Zex’s attention shifted to the Little Bird.
Stared at by those deep blue eyes that seemed to see right through everything, Sharon grew anxious, worrying her secret might have been found out.
He was probably suspicious because the Little Bird, who should have been hungry, wasn’t eating anything.
Sharon took a deep breath and whispered to herself, ‘I am a Little Bird, I am a Little Bird…’
She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and brought her beak closer to the food dish.
But just as she did, the wriggling body of a bug brushed her beak, and Sharon instinctively recoiled.
‘There’s just no way I can eat bugs—!’
For now, she decided to drink the water in the other dish.
Maybe because fear and nerves had left her parched, she drank it all in one gulp.
“Won’t you eat the bugs?” Zex’s pure and simple question made Sharon jolt.
If she didn’t eat bugs, he would definitely find it suspicious.
But some things are just impossible, no matter what.
Still, if she didn’t eat, he might truly doubt she was a Little Bird…
Torn between her options, Sharon looked up at Zex with tearful eyes.
Watching the Little Bird’s behavior, Zex moved.
“In that case, how about this?”
He brought over a variety of foods—finely chopped vegetables and fruits, flower seeds, and grains.
Looking over the plates lined up on the table, Sharon’s eyes sparkled.
‘With this, I can eat…!’
To fill her hunger, Sharon began eating, focusing mainly on the vegetables and fruit.
Fresh nutrition flowed through her body that had been starving for so long, filling her with energy.
As he watched the Little Bird finally start to eat, Zex spoke up.
“I thought I knew every creature around here, but I’ve never seen a bird like you. Are you a new species?”
Even though there was no way the Little Bird could reply, Zex continued speaking to her.
From his stern appearance, he gave off a silent impression, but he was surprisingly talkative.
“Your feathers, that rose-red pattern…they’re truly beautiful. I’d love to see them spread out someday.”
Her feathers were the same color as Sharon’s hair.
So it felt as if she herself was being complimented, making her heart skip a beat.
This color, once called ominous like poison, was now praised as beautiful by Zex.
‘It’s just a compliment for the Little Bird…that’s all…’
If she were in her human form, there was no way she would ever be complimented.
Even her own family had regarded Sharon’s hair as a symbol of misfortune, shunning and despising her for it.
As Sharon paused, Zex spoke to her again.
“Are you full now?”
Sharon nodded at Zex’s words.
Her wounds still hurt and she felt tired, so she lay down on the bed just as she was.
“Good girl.” When Zex said that, Sharon felt embarrassed.
Relieved that he hadn’t discovered she was human, yet at a loss for how to react to being treated like a pet, she decided to pretend to sleep.
Zex was the one who had saved her life from the Magical Beast.
She wanted to repay that debt someday, properly.
But since she had decided to leave here, she had to escape before Zex grew attached to the Little Bird.
That would be better for both of them.
“Well then, I’ll have my meal and finish the rest of my work. I’ve entrusted your care to the Handmaid.”
After saying that to her back, the sound of footsteps echoed, Zex’s presence gradually fading away.
Then, just as if trading places with Zex, someone else entered the room.
Sharon gently sat up and turned around.
There stood the Handmaid from earlier, her expression unreadable.
“Nice to meet you, Little Bird-sama. I am the Handmaid, Ella Poory. I will take the utmost care of you, Little Bird-sama.”
‘Ah, the Fried Chicken person!’
The word “Fried Chicken” was quickly becoming a trauma, but surely she hadn’t said it to frighten the Little Bird.
‘That had to be a misunderstanding, right?’
Like Zex, Ella was probably just intense, not actually scary.
As Sharon was thinking that, Ella began inching closer, flexing her hands.
Her cold, composed face was somehow flushed, her breath ragged, her eyes wild and bloodshot…
‘Wha, wh-what is…!?’
“Fuu~ fuu~… So fluffy…”
Mumbling incomprehensible words, Ella approached, clearly excited.
Sharon panicked and backed away.
In doing so, she caught her foot on the water dish and knocked it over.
‘Ah, I’m so sorry!’
Just as she felt bad, Ella caught the dish flawlessly.
‘Wha—she moved faster than my eyes could follow…’
While Sharon was still amazed by Ella’s physical prowess, she was caught again in a flash, at a speed she couldn’t see.
“Pi-pyap!?”
And then she was lifted close to Ella’s face.
Held firmly in both hands, she couldn’t move at all.
And then, in the next moment—
“Ahh~ I can’t get enough of this fluff!”
With a soft, muffled sound, Ella plunged her face into Sharon’s feathers.
She buried her face and inhaled deeply, over and over.
‘N-nooooo! Stop!’
“I’ve been holding myself back ever since you were brought to the mansion, you know? Ahh, you’re so cute!”
“Piyo piyo pii~~! (Sto~p~it~!)”
Ella was thoroughly enjoying the Little Bird’s fluff.
If she were still human, this would be unthinkable, and Sharon was thoroughly shaken by the situation.
“To think such a fragile creature was attacked by a Magical Beast—how pitiful, Little Bird-sama! I’ll protect you, I promise! Fluffy paradise!”
After being thoroughly fluffed by Ella, Sharon was finally released.
She collapsed limply, like a lifeless corpse.
‘S-she’s tough…’
She had just decided to play the role of a Little Bird and look for a chance to escape, but…as long as Ella was here, neither seemed likely.
If she acted like a Little Bird, Ella would fluff her; if she tried to escape, she’d be caught in an instant with superhuman speed.
An uphill battle?
While Sharon gazed off into the distance, lost in thought,
“Oops… I got a bit carried away, didn’t I.”
Ella cleared her throat and returned to her cool, expressionless face.
It was much more than a “bit,” but Sharon couldn’t bring herself to point that out.
With a hint of lingering regret, Ella gently set the Little Bird down on the bed, and then brought something over, her mouth twitching in anticipation.
“Since you’re injured, I can’t let you overexert yourself. So, I’ve prepared this for you.”
In Ella’s hands was a cylindrical Birdcage.
‘N-no way…’
Because she had struggled, the Birdcage had finally been brought out.
Ella placed the Birdcage by the window and opened its door.
‘Nooooooo!’
If she were put in the Birdcage, all hope of escape would be lost.
Sharon turned her back to the Birdcage and tried to run, but was easily scooped up in Ella’s hands.
“Let’s be good until your wounds heal, okay?”
She tried to refuse by spreading her wings wide, but her injury made it impossible to resist for long.
And so, despite her best efforts, Sharon was placed inside the Birdcage.
“Hehe, now I can fluff you anytime I want. Once you’re healed, I can fluff you even more!”
Ella’s blue eyes gleamed mysteriously.
Sharon even felt a bit of fear at how much Ella craved the fluff.
After observing the Little Bird’s fluff for a while, Ella left the room.
Now that the Birdcage was here, there was no need to worry about escape, so perhaps she was returning to her real duties as a Handmaid.
‘Haa~…Ella-san was really something else…’
Overwhelmed by her intensity, Sharon felt utterly exhausted.
With even the will to escape drained away, Sharon lay weakly on the bed.
‘What in the world am I supposed to do now…’
She remembered the cold iron bars of her imprisonment.
This Birdcage had a soft bed, it was bright and warm, but she was still trapped all the same.
And this time, because she was in the form of a Little Bird, she couldn’t even attempt to escape.
“Pipi… (Sigh…)”
Outside the window, it was already pitch dark.
The moon, hidden behind the clouds, cast a faint glow.
For now, until she was let out of the Birdcage—until her injuries healed, at least—she would just have to be cared for here.
‘Why did I become a Little Bird…’
Sharon had no Magic Power.
She didn’t know why she had turned into a Little Bird, but with no other possibilities, it must have been caused by some kind of Magic.
Magic disappears when its Magic Power runs out.
Which means, she could only stay in this form for a limited time.
She would have to leave the mansion before that happened.
But even if she did, where would she go?
‘Where do I belong…where is my place?’
From the moment her family abandoned her—
Even Leona, the one she thought she’d finally found as a place of solace, had betrayed her.
Her whole body ached from her injuries, but if asked what hurt the most, it was her heart, without question.
Inside the Birdcage, Sharon fell asleep, crying.
“Snow…?”
Without noticing that Zex, having come to check on her, was watching over her with concern—