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Chapter 40
Tap, tap.
At first, she thought the sound tapping on the window was rain. Iva reached for the curtains to block out the noise, but it wasn’t the sound of rain.
“Huh? What’s that?”
A bird, about a quarter the size of the windowpane, was tapping its beak against the glass.
It was a raptor with glossy brown feathers and a sharp, gleaming beak.
Though Iva’s bedroom was on the second floor and small birds sometimes rested near the window, this was the first time she’d seen one this large.
More bizarre was the fact that it stared straight at her while tapping.
Tap tap!
The bird, seemingly frustrated by Iva’s lack of response, knocked harder with its beak.
“Are you telling me to open the window?”
Dumbfounded by the boldness of this strange bird trying to break into her home, Iva got out of bed and hesitantly approached the window.
Of course, she didn’t open it immediately. Instead, she tapped on the glass herself, trying to scare the bird away.
“Shoo. Go away. This is my bedroom. Go back to your nest.”
There was no way she could open the window so carelessly. If it flew in and pecked her head, it might be more than a simple scratch.
What terrified her more were its piercing eyes.
“I said go away. You’re not coming in.”
Even after repeated knocking, the bird showed no intention of leaving. It just kept staring at her.
Why does it look like it’s annoyed?
“…Am I being hated by birds now too?”
Iva scowled. When she showed no sign of opening the window, the bird finally turned around.
She thought it had given up and was about to fly off—but then she noticed a small piece of paper tied to the back of its neck.
“Huh? A note?”
The bird turned its head, as if saying, “You’re just now noticing?” and wiggled its tail, urging her to take it.
Flustered, Iva slowly opened the window. She feared it might fly inside and attack—but thankfully, the bird kept its back to her and remained still.
“Is this letter for me?”
The bird wore a small necklace with a ring, and the note was tied to it like a charm.
Wait.
A sharp-beaked bird with brown feathers, fierce eyes, and a ring necklace carrying letters?
She was sure she’d never seen it before, and yet… it felt familiar. Her eyes shifted as she tried to recall—and then she exclaimed.
“Oh! You’re Gigi from the original story!”
When she called its name, Gigi lifted its neck proudly and fluffed its feathers.
Gigi was the messenger bird who played a major role in the love story between Rai and Julian in the original novel.
When Rai had been forced into war by Claude, he had written heartfelt letters to Julian, unable to go himself. Gigi had been the one to deliver those letters.
It was their personal courier of love.
“Wow. I thought you were smaller based on the book, but you look amazing in real life.”
What she’d assumed was just a random bird now looked completely different.
“I thought I’d never get to see you, but here you are.”
In her first life, Iva too had written letters to Rai when he went to war. Of course, she never received a reply, so this was her first time seeing Gigi—in her third life.
Bitterness stirred as she remembered. She glanced at Gigi with faint resentment, and the bird inched closer.
It felt like it was saying, Now I’m here, so don’t be too disappointed.
“Wait, does this mean Rai sent me a letter?”
“I even sent a letter because I thought you might misunderstand,”
she recalled Rai saying. So this must’ve been that letter, sent through Gigi.
Iva looked at Gigi and asked softly, “Did you get lost?”
Gigi tilted its head.
“In the original, you never got lost and flew faster than any other bird. So maybe not?”
It had been written that Gigi never lost its way after memorizing a route.
“Well, even monkeys fall from trees, right? You could’ve just—ah!”
Gigi fluttered its wings indignantly at her teasing.
Though it was a small movement, Iva flinched hard.
“Sorry! My bad. I apologize.”
At her quick apology, Gigi calmed down again.
What was this bird—cat or hawk?
Gigi wiggled its tail again, urging her to take the letter already.
With a nervous hand, Iva carefully untied the letter from the ring and unfolded the small note.
To Lady Iva.
“He really did send it.”
Having read Rai’s letters countless times in her past life, she instantly recognized his handwriting.
I’m sorry for pressuring you today. I think I became upset, expecting you to understand how I felt without showing it properly.
I know it’s shameless, but I’d like to meet and ask for your forgiveness.
That was all.
Since Gigi couldn’t carry large paper, the letter was short.
But the weight of his emotions came through clearly in the carefully written words, with the pressure marks showing where he had written and rewritten parts on different sheets.
“Since it talks about yesterday… it means it wasn’t an old letter.”
Even if it was sincere, she didn’t fully understand what Rai meant.
Maybe this was his first attempt at apologizing—maybe that was why he used Gigi instead of speaking directly.
“…What the hell.”
Her heart unsettled, Iva couldn’t tear her gaze from the letter.
Tap, tap.
Gigi gently tapped the window with a claw.
Time had passed, and it now wanted a reply.
After a moment of thought, Iva reached toward Gigi’s beak.
She mimicked what Julian had done in the story when she sent Gigi away without a reply.
As she stroked its beak gently, Gigi leaned into the warmth of her hand and nodded.
Then with a few powerful wingbeats, it soared off into the night breeze.
“Young lady? Were you feeling warm?”
Jane, sensing movement, came into the bedroom to check on Iva.
“Why did you open the window? It gets chilly at night.”
“Oh, I had some champagne. Got a little warm.”
“I’ll bring some cold water. You’ll catch a cold from the night air.”
As Jane shut the window, Iva quietly slipped Rai’s letter into her drawer.
She didn’t want to be swayed by small things—especially now that she’d made up her mind to leave for the countryside.
“Whiieeeet!”
Late at night, Rai stood alone in the training yard and let out a loud whistle.
Circling above, Gigi swooped down and landed gracefully on his armored arm.
“Did you have a good trip, Gigi?”
At the low, gentle voice, Gigi affectionately rubbed its head against Rai’s hand.
He checked the ring necklace and found no letter attached.
“So you delivered it. Good job.”
Rai gently stroked the bird’s whole body before tossing a piece of raw meat into the air. Gigi caught it mid-flight and soared off toward its nest.
“…As expected, no reply.”
The memory of Iva’s cold, dismissive gaze after their argument returned, tightening his chest.
He raised a hand to it out of habit, hoping the pain would ease—but it felt sharper than ever.
“No… I should be grateful she even accepted the letter.”
He couldn’t stop thinking about Iva, who had warned him not to show up again.
He wanted to go to her estate immediately and apologize, to explain everything.
But for the first time, the palace—his supposed home—felt like a prison.
He still had six days of confinement left.
“This is the first time time has ever felt so slow.”
As captain, his days were typically filled to the brim with training knights, overseeing royal drills, and managing other duties.
And personal guard duty for Julian was exhausting in a different way.
She never let him leave her side.
Meals, tea—she insisted he accompany her for all. She even clung to his arm while walking.
It didn’t feel like guarding royalty—it felt like being her doll.
He couldn’t wait for this punishment to be over.
As he made plans to visit Iva the moment his sentence ended—
“Captain. Her Highness is asking for you.”
The voice of Julian’s lady-in-waiting came from behind him, causing his brows to furrow instinctively.
“She’s already in bed. Why would she need a guard now?”
“Her Highness has requested you.”
The maid repeated the phrase like a parrot.
Rai turned to her, ready to refuse—but then a memory flashed in his mind.
“You want to send a letter? Where to?”
“To my estate.”
“A letter to your butler?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll send it for you. How could I refuse a request from Rai?”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
To send a letter to Iva, Rai had first addressed it to his own estate.
He had written two letters each time—one for the butler, and one that instructed him to deliver the second to the Blanche estate.
He hadn’t wanted to ask Julian directly to send a letter to Iva, fearing it might cause more misunderstanding.
But maybe that was a mistake.
“A letter? There’s never been a letter delivered to my estate.”
Iva had looked genuinely unaware.
Which meant the letter must have been intercepted.
And the most likely person to have done so… was Julian.
He had to find out: Had she ever sent the letters? If not—why?
“I’ll go now.”
With slightly heavier steps than usual, Rai headed for the western palace, where Julian was waiting.
