BTMLP 13

Chapter 13

Ah, it really sounded like something a villain would say.

Anyway, if necessary, I was ready to at least pretend to tear up the documents. I skimmed through them quickly and picked the one that seemed the least important.

As soon as Cassis grabbed the paper with his darkened claws and tried to hold one corner in his beak, he reacted immediately.

“Y-Your Highness!”

Screeeeek—

“Your Highness! I must move the chick somewhere else for a moment. I’ll also wash its ink-stained feet. I’ll be back in a flash!”

Cassis babbled out his words like a machine gun and hurriedly lifted me up. His hands were trembling. I could sense his guilt.

“…That will have to do.”

Clements quietly looked down at the mess on his desk. Even as Cassis carried me out of the room, he didn’t glance back at me.

Finally angry? Well, that would be good.

Meanwhile, Cassis had packed mild soap for washing my feet, a towel to dry them, and some berries I could nibble on along the way.

“Phew, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have placed you on a desk with such important documents and made it possible for you to make that mistake in the first place.”

Excuse me?

Cassis gently patted me, who was distractedly pecking at the blueberries in the basket.

Wait… he’s saying it’s not my fault even though I ruined a document he worked so hard on?

Dazzling! Absolutely dazzling. Is this… the radiance of a good person? What have I done to deserve someone so kind?

“You didn’t ruin the document to get me into trouble, did you? I was careless and thoughtless. I’ll have to be more careful from now on.”

Oh my… my conscience hurts too much.

It was intentional. I’m sorry. Completely intentional.

I had chosen, without hesitation, the normal functioning of a world over the happiness of an individual within it, and now I agonized over the inevitable ethical responsibility that followed.

What to do? I had acted out hoping Clements would just kick me out entirely.

I hung my head. Suddenly, it felt wrong to meet his red eyes.

If I stayed close to them, more and more situations like this would arise, making me feel guilty toward him.

Either way, the answer was escape.

They couldn’t exactly scold me, but now they must have realized I was not a refined, obedient pet suitable for a crown prince.

I might look cute, but I would cause nothing but trouble. So, even though they told me to stay outside for a while, they probably wouldn’t go searching for me frantically if I disappeared.

Besides, the entire mansion had already been turned upside down earlier in the morning because of the chick.

No matter how much the crown prince’s status gives absolute authority, in the Monahan mansion, I was still technically a guest. There wasn’t enough reason to summon all the servants twice to search the house. Even if the Monahan family had limited power, they were still nobility, and Clements had to maintain face.

This would finally allow me to escape this bad fate.

I’m sorry, Marquis Dupre. If we meet again as humans, I’ll treat you well. For now, farewell.

While he called a servant and gave a few instructions, I quietly jumped down from the basket on the floor.

The chick’s legs were faster than expected. I sprinted and hid behind a pillar, and Cassis still hadn’t finished talking with the servant.

“…Then so be it.”

“I will follow your command.”

Ah, the conversation seemed over. I hurriedly put more distance between us. It was just the right time to ventilate the annex, and I successfully flew and hopped along the windowsill without being seen.

‘Oh.’

Even though I knew the mansion well, I hadn’t paid much attention to the external decorations. Looking closely, the shelves attached outside were wide and sturdy.

Between the windows, there were pillars, and the decorative ledges wrapped around each pillar perfectly matched the height of the shelves. In other words, I could freely move along the windows and pillars.

“Chick! Where are you? Chick!”

Soon, Cassis started searching for me inside the corridor.

“Chick!!”

Finally, he opened a nearby window and called out. I pressed myself against the wall on the ledge between the window and the pillar. Cassis leaned over to look at the ground, as if he thought I had fallen.

“Damn, what am I going to tell the Crown Prince…”

Even from the side, his handsome face was tense. If this were the usual calm, careful Cassis Dupre, he might have glanced around and noticed my little yellow fluff sticking out on the window ledge.

But the flustered Cassis quickly returned to the corridor and moved in another direction.

Where to go now?

I started moving along the window ledges and pillars in the direction farthest from Clements’ room. It was like a scene straight out of a spy movie…

The problem was that the one navigating the building so stylishly and stealthily was a chick, not an actor. But even if I looked funny, I was serious.

At this rate, I’d have to hide in the annex until night. If I went back to the main building, the servants would immediately take me to the Crown Prince.

Then I heard a familiar voice.

“Finally, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has come to me. And yet, nothing is going the way I want.”

It was Count Monahan.

Why is he in the study at this hour? He should be in his office in the main building.

Probably stressed from things not going his way, he decided to slack off here. By “things not going his way,” he meant Bella being shown to Clements, benefiting him indirectly.

Ugh, and he’s supposed to be my brother?

I stopped and listened at the open window. This is the true meaning of “walls have ears.”

“Bella… she was so pretty as a child, everyone had such high hopes. But as she grew, she did nothing but strange, mischievous things. And she ignored all the things she should have been interested in as a woman.”

He says it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but all he does is complain about his sister’s looks!

I guessed this, but hearing him really go after Bella made me angry. In a way, he was the one who isolated her, leading to Clements’ death in the original story.

It would feel good to tear out a few strands of his hair before breaking the curse.

“Isn’t that right, Alfin?”

“U-um, well… I just hope both the lady and the Count remain unharmed.”

As expected, the noble Count doesn’t gossip alone; he makes someone relay it. Every evening it would usually be the butler, but now it’s Alfin. He probably got caught while passing by after being summoned by Clements.

Unable to insult the Count’s daughter or contradict his master, Alfin received a lecture instead.

“Foolish boy! Safe? Calm? You should hope they get a life-changing opportunity in situations like this!”

“Y-Yes… I… I hope they get the opportunity.”

Poor Alfin.

“In any case, I must take drastic action. Even the Crown Prince seems unmoved by Bella’s appearance. I must make him see the charm only she possesses, different from the women in the capital…”

What mischief is he planning now? Ah, this will change the original story again.

“It’s all because of…”

Bang!

The Count slammed the desk and shouted.

“All because of that arrogant, ugly chick!”

What?!

Ugly? Clements and Cassis said I was cute…

More importantly, he was this angry at me? I remembered the Count staring at me during the banquet as if trying to burn me with his gaze.

“That insolent creature distracted Your Highness! You would’ve already fallen for Bella if it weren’t for it!”

Well, I agreed with that part. I had been reflecting on it. But…

“I saw that wretched yellow thing at the banquet ensnaring Your Highness with my own eyes. Not an ordinary chick! Surely a witch is using some trickery.”

Uh… actually, the witch is your sister, not me.

And how exactly did I, a “wretched yellow thing,” ensnare Clements? Is this really “that girl hit on my (future) man!”?

Poor Alfin must want to quit immediately, having to listen to such nonsense.

My attention snapped at the next shout.

“That’s not all! From morning, I had to overturn the entire mansion to find the chick after being summoned by Your Highness!”

Gnash. I could hear the sound of teeth grinding beyond the window.

“Because that stupid chick crawled away! This is an insult to me, Seleucus Amesite Monahan, and to the Monahan family’s 300-year history!”

Right. The Count was called earlier because the chick had gone missing. The proud Monahan Count wouldn’t stay silent.

“I, Count Monahan, will never forgive this insult! Alfin, will you endure your master’s humiliation?”

“Y-Yes? O-of course… A servant should not endure their master’s humiliation, but… it’s just that…”

“Do not endure it!”

“Yes, sir.”

What will happen if he doesn’t endure it? Is he planning to retaliate… against the chick?

I peeked over the windowsill. The Count gestured for Alfin to come closer and whispered:

“When a lowly creature commits a crime, it must die. If you find that arrogant chick, quietly kill it.”

“Eh? B-but she’s the Crown Prince’s chick!”

“Foolish one! Whose servant are you? The Crown Prince’s? Or Count Monahan’s?”

“W-well…”

Alfin hesitated, and the Count placed a hand on his shoulder, coaxing him.

“Make sure every servant hears this. The moment the chick separates from Your Highness, twist its neck and kill it. Heh heh…”

A chill ran down my spine.