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Chapter : 15
Chase stared up at Soren.
He quickly forced a natural-looking smile.
“Ah, hyung. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? How’ve you been?”
“…….”
“Judging by the fact that your dark circles aren’t worse than before, I guess you’ve been doing okay. These days, you’re not married to work, right?”
The more Chase prattled on, the narrower Soren’s eyes became.
He looked Chase over with a disdainful glance before finally speaking.
“When did you get here?”
“Hmm, while you were buried in your office, oblivious to time? Sometimes I wonder if your office even has a clock.”
Chase tilted his head annoyingly and took a sip from his glass.
It was almost as if he and the glass were one entity.
At that moment, Soren seemed to voice exactly what I was thinking.
“Even after all this time, you haven’t changed a bit.”
Indeed, Soren looked at Chase with utter disdain.
How to put it…
“I don’t dislike Chase, but I wouldn’t say I like him either.”
In truth, there was no way their relationship could be smooth.
Their personalities were completely opposite—polar extremes.
Soren Willow, the eldest of our siblings, was both a nerd and prickly.
Extremely type-T personality.
“If we go by looks, you could even tag him with #frailGuy.”
The Soren I had observed all this time seemed born to become head of the family.
“Hyung, what are you doing?”
“Studying.”
“Gom-bu? What’s that?”
“To lead the Willow family in the future, I need to prepare well in advance.”
“Uh…?”
“Siena, don’t disturb me. Go play with the maid.”
He had been studying for the future since childhood and cared only about that.
No wonder he was flawless as a family head.
“So flawless it’s scary.”
The problem was… he was utterly incompetent at everything else.
Especially in matters of romance.
At 26, he had never married and had been single all his life.
Meanwhile, Chase was a renowned Casanova.
Naturally, this made Soren seem pitiable.
“Hyung, maybe going on arranged meetings would be faster.”
“I’m not interested.”
“You’re going to live alone forever?”
“That’s none of your business. Quit drinking first. Then maybe you won’t talk nonsense.”
In short, their relationship was basically an “ugh” kind of bond.
“Well… neither of their glares ever have any effect.”
I greeted Soren with a quiet, delayed “I’m home.”
“Stop wasting time with useless chatter and go to bed, Siena. It seems your sleep hours have been decreasing lately.”
Soren was strict and stern.
But, as one could see, he wasn’t inherently bad.
“He’s just bad at expressing himself.”
Even when speaking coldly, I could feel he cared.
I smiled faintly.
“Yes, I’ll make sure not to trouble you…”
Then came a strange screeching sound: “Kiiiiik!”
“…Huh?”
I stopped mid-sentence and focused on the open window.
“Did that come from outside…?”
Before long, something large flew in through the window.
All our eyes widened.
“What… is that?”
The thing fluttering in the air folded its wings and perched—on my shoulder.
“Wha…?”
I was startled for a moment, then realized what kind of creature it was.
‘That… is a hawk, isn’t it?’
The bird that had suddenly flown into our mansion and landed on my shoulder was a black hawk.
A hawk in the middle of the night? What on earth was happening?
‘Aren’t hawks supposed to live in the mountains?’
Not only was it flying around the city, but now it had intruded into a private residence…?
And it didn’t look like the birds we had studied in science class in my previous life.
Its feathers were unnaturally black, and its eyes glowed golden.
Anyone among us with a fear of birds would have fainted.
I froze, while Chase crossed his arms, alternating his gaze between the hawk and me.
Soren frowned.
“Siena, is this your bird?”
“No…”
It was a complete stranger…
‘And even if I had a pet, there’s no way I would have a hawk.’
I looked at the hawk perched on my shoulder.
Its sharp golden eyes fixed on me.
“Chirp?”
Who are you?
‘Where do you even live to be so reckless as to invade someone’s home?’
But the hawk, locking eyes with me, gently brushed its beak against my cheek.
Once. Then again.
“…Huh?”
It was an oddly endearing gesture.
‘Is it asking for food…?’
This place really was a bizarre world.
Thirty perfect male leads, dukes in the north with red eyes, and now a midnight hawk performance.
As far as I knew, Soren didn’t like animals.
So I didn’t expect the frown between his brows to smooth out.
I hurriedly explained.
“Hyung, this isn’t my bird.”
“……”
“I don’t even know why it’s doing this to me…”
“Siena.”
Suddenly, Chase called my name.
He gave me a strange look and added,
“What did you do with Lian today?”
“…What?”
Why bring up that name now?
“Lian? All of a sudden…?”
“What did you do with Lian?”
“Well… worked, I guess.”
While answering, I suddenly recalled today’s events.
“This way, it’s clear, isn’t it?”
The warmth of Lian holding me.
Remembering it made me feel slightly guilty.
‘Yes, I worked hard… but in his arms.’
Even though I knew he gave signals to every girl, I felt a bit flustered.
“…But I can’t tell my brother that I was with his friend.”
Absolutely not.
Every younger sister in the world would understand my feelings.
I pretended to be casual.
“But why do you ask?”
“Just…”
“……”
“I thought you must have worked really hard today?”
Then he gave the infuriating “Casanova smile.”
‘Fine, the teeth are white and straight.’
Anyway… I had no idea why Lian was brought up here.
Soren sighed, glaring at the hawk.
“…It’s late. Go wash up and sleep.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Also… let that black bird out. Don’t let it ruin the furniture.”
After saying that, he vanished immediately.
Judging by his quick pace, he was probably a little scared of the hawk.
Chase waved at me too.
“Alright, Siena. You must be tired. Go wash and rest.”
Then, noticing his empty glass, he lamented.
“Ah, ah. It’s absurd for Chase Willow to be holding an empty glass.”
He ambled toward the dining room.
‘It’s amazing he’s never gotten sick despite his drinking habit.’
I headed to my room.
Meanwhile, the hawk never left my right shoulder.
Finally, in my room, I turned on the lights and examined the hawk closely.
‘It’s truly eerie-looking.’
And it acted cute with me?
“You… must be nothing like you look or act.”
…A bit like Lian, perhaps.
The hawk stared at me without blinking.
‘As if it has something to say.’
But I’ve never raised animals in either life.
I had no idea what it wanted.
I gently stroked it.
“Who are you really?”
“……”
“You seem used to humans… do you have an owner? Who owns you?”
Of course, no answer came.
“What a bizarre day.”
Succeeded in a ridiculous romantic manipulation request, then a hawk invades my home…
Anyway, my spectacular day ended like that.
The next day, on the way to work.
I stopped the carriage in the city, not in front of the center.
It wasn’t anything else—just Soren’s words about my lack of sleep.
‘Caffeine… I need a caffeine transfusion.’
As I walked to get coffee, I noticed all the passersby staring at me in wide-eyed disbelief.
Why?
“Chirp.”
The crazy hawk that invaded our house yesterday was still perched on my shoulder.
‘Are you an extroverted bird…?’
Why are you acting like this toward someone you’re not even familiar with?
At this rate, the hawk might follow me all the way to the center.
