Chapter 2

……That was permission?

Was Baon perhaps rather terrible at reading the room?

Well, the outcome had worked in my favor, so I supposed it didn’t matter.

I rose onto my tiptoes and clung to the woven sides of the basket, peering around the room.

I couldn’t see very well, but judging from the ceiling and walls alone, I could tell that the room was quite luxurious.

I thought back to the man Baon had just addressed as the head of the household.

Being called by such a title meant that he was the head of a family, which also meant this house belonged to him.

Wait a minute.

I belatedly realized something important and froze.

……The owner of the house didn’t like me.

It was a fact I could easily deduce just by recalling Baon’s conversation with him.

The man called the head of the household clearly wasn’t pleased about me staying here.

It was only a matter of time before I was kicked out.

What should I do?

“……Pii.”

I covered my eyes. It felt as though my wings were getting damp.

“Are you crying?”

Baon looked at me and asked in confusion.

“Are you hungry?”

“……Pii.”

I tilted my head, then nodded.

Maybe I was.

I hadn’t eaten anything since hatching from my egg, after all.

The moment I realized that, my stomach growled.

Surprisingly, Baon seemed taken aback.

“Hmm. Come to think of it, what do birds eat?”

No, wait a second.

“Do they eat chunks of meat? No, I think that’s birds of prey.”

Baon muttered to himself as he looked at me, apparently deep in thought.

This wasn’t good. Not with that look in his eyes.

Anxiety slowly crept up on me, and I pressed my beak tightly shut.

No. Absolutely not. I couldn’t let him pry my beak open.

Just as my anxiety reached its peak and a scene I didn’t even want to imagine began forming in my mind, Baon suddenly spoke again, as though he’d remembered something.

“Oh. Do they eat bugs? Insects, perhaps?”

“Piiii! Piiiiii!”

No! That’s not it! Absolutely not!

I shook my head in vehement refusal.

At my frantic reaction, the corners of Baon’s mouth curled upward into a rather malicious-looking smile.

He looked very much as though he was deliberately teasing me.

“I’ll go find some right away.”

“Pii! Piiii! Pii!”

No! Don’t go! Baon!

I watched Baon leave the room and called after him desperately.

What if he really went and brought some back?

I collapsed to my knees and stretched out my hands—or rather, my wings.

My pitifully short wings trembled helplessly.

They said one misfortune followed another.

The future of my bird life looked bleak indeed.

Fortunately, what Baon brought back was a small fruit.

The red fruit gave off a sweet fragrance.

“There weren’t any other living creatures I could find on the family’s private grounds.”

I had no idea what kind of land this was if he couldn’t find a single living creature on it, but I was immensely relieved.

I’d been genuinely worried that he might actually give me bugs to eat.

“Please, eat.”

“Pii!”

I began eating the fruits one by one from the tiny container, which was packed full of them.

At first, I thought it would be difficult, but once I tried using my beak, it wasn’t that hard at all.

As I continued eating, I even developed a knack for it and began devouring the fruit rather quickly.

“Pipipii.”

I’m full.

I patted my round little belly.

Now that I’d eaten, and with sunlight streaming in through the window, sleepiness began creeping over me.

After all, nothing beats a nap after a meal.

How long had it been since I’d last taken a nap?

The thought that I could sleep as much as I wanted without having to keep an eye out for danger felt like a dream.

“You seem sleepy.”

“Pii.”

I nodded and plopped down onto the blanket.

I yawned so widely that my beak nearly split in two.

As I rubbed my body against the blanket and nodded off, I suddenly noticed some fruit juice smeared across my formerly fluffy white feathers.

“Pii?”

When did that get there?

I looked around, then casually wiped myself against the blanket.

If anything, I’d only spread the mess around and made it worse.

“……Pii!”

After rubbing myself several times without any improvement, I angrily kicked the blanket.

“Oh dear. You mustn’t do that.”

Baon scolded me sternly.

Was he going to reprimand me for being ill-mannered?

I glanced at him cautiously, and Baon bent down toward me.

When our eyes met, he spoke with utmost seriousness.

“What if you break your leg?”

“……”

“So you mustn’t kick things with your feet.”

I couldn’t possibly let that remark pass without checking, so I stealthily examined my legs.

Wiggle, wiggle.

“……Pii.”

See? They’re perfectly fine.

I showed him my legs.

They were attached just as they should be.

I’d be more careful from now on.

When I smoothed out the blanket, Baon made a strange expression.

Almost as if he were trying to hold back laughter……

It must have been my imagination.

I gazed gloomily at the blanket.

Now I had to classify even a blanket filled with nothing but cotton as a potential threat.

I’d always thought the inside of a blanket was the safest place in the world.

“Someone new will be coming tomorrow.”

“……?”

“Rosaria will help you with various things, so you must be good and listen to her.”

I obediently nodded.

There was no reason to dislike someone who was coming to help me. If anything, it was welcome news.

My goal was to grow up safely and soundly in this house.

And if I could learn how, I wanted to stay here for as long as possible, until I could transform into a human.

In my previous life, I’d died without ever getting the chance to transform into a human.

If I was lucky, perhaps I could learn how to do that from Rosaria, too.

“Hello, little one! You’re even cuter than I was told! My name is Rosaria.”

Early the next morning, Rosaria arrived much sooner than I’d expected.

“Pii, pii.”

I greeted her somewhat awkwardly.

I hadn’t expected her to approach me so kindly.

Anyone could tell that she was treating me with genuine affection.

Feeling a little embarrassed, I looked at her awkwardly.

I hadn’t even received help from the elders of my own clan, so the thought that Rosaria, who wasn’t even a member of my clan, would take care of me made me feel strange.

“Oh my! How polite you are. Did you just greet me?”

Rosaria had thick, wavy red hair and violet eyes. Even at my simple greeting, she covered her mouth with both hands, deeply moved.

What was there to be so happy about?

She acted as though she’d never been greeted like that before.

I had no idea what she’d been through until now, but this……

She was way too easy to win over.

Taking advantage of the momentum, I decided to show her the ultimate secret weapon I’d spent the entire night thinking about.

It was a technique I’d practiced as a means of survival, designed to win over the people of the household.

“Piiii! Pii!”

The one and only method reserved exclusively for little children.

It was called, Pick Me Up.

As I stretched out both arms and toddled toward her, Rosaria clutched at her chest.

“Little one…… How can someone like you be the head of the household’s daughter? I can’t believe it.”

“Pipi.”

“Oh my? You’ve gotten something on your body. Shall we get you washed up first?”

Having composed herself, Rosaria pointed to the stains I’d left on myself while eating yesterday.

I promptly climbed onto her palm, carefully placing my little feet.

It was time to return to my original, fluffy self.

Rosaria held my body with one hand so I wouldn’t fall, but for some reason, her hand was trembling.

“How could anyone even think of sending someone like you outside the territory? Sigh. It’s been so long that I’m afraid I won’t be able to control my strength.”

……I think I just heard something wrong.

Didn’t I?

I nervously turned around, and Rosaria smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry, little one. I’m quite good at controlling my strength. I’m not like those people who draw their swords before they even open their mouths.”

That’s why Lord Baon called me in, of course.

Rosaria spoke proudly.

In stark contrast, my entire body stiffened.

It felt as though every feather on me, from the tip of my tail to the top of my head, was standing on end.

I was pretty sure I’d just heard a statement that threatened my very life.

Rosaria carried me into the bathroom and began filling the tub with warm water.

“I read that since you’re still so young, the water should be just a little warmer than your body temperature.”

She seemed to be recalling something she’d just read in a book.

A wave of anxiety washed over me.

Rosaria looked at me and smiled radiantly with her beautiful face.

The defining characteristic of this family was that every single person was so good-looking that they could make you forget reality for a moment.

I’d been staring blankly at Rosaria when her next words abruptly brought me back to my senses.

“Now, shall we get you in, little one?”

Oh, Mother. I’m going to be okay, right?

For a moment, I desperately wished Baon were here.