Chapter 53

He didn’t even look at it and responded moderately.

It was just a bird—who cared if it was duck or swan.

Instead of looking towards the lake, Rashid fixed his eyes on her face, as she continued to squeeze her eyes shut.

“Urgh…..”

She looked grief-stricken somewhat when she clutched her chest like she was in pain somewhere, but that wasn’t his problem. In fact, he thought this much of a reaction was better than when she had been doing her best to not even make eye contact with him.

If you asked why that was better, well….

‘Because then I will find clues.’

No other reason could possibly exist.

Rashid fiddled with his sword idly. He examined his surroundings, as if it wasn’t a person he was trying to cut down, but his own heart.

“….”

But no matter how much he looked around carefully, all he could see was the lake and the identical-looking birds.

Big and small—that was all that could be differentiated between the birds. Which was why the woman’s reaction was that much more incomprehensible.

Or, wait. What if.

“Your, Your Majesty!”

“……”

Along with her shrill call, Rashid burst out from behind the tree as if he had some kind of inkling about something.

With the resolution that he would definitely find out if that woman had a different reason she was so preoccupied for, he took long strides towards the lakeside.

“Your Majesty! Where are you going! Please stay here! You said you’d stay here, didn’t you?”

“….Haa.”

Despite the way Catherine held onto his arm, belatedly surprised, Rashid’s eyes found the baby swan anyway.

A bird, and at most a baby bird. That was all.

Other than the red ribbon she must’ve tied around its neck, he couldn’t find anything else special about it.

Looking at the bird he couldn’t even find worth sneering at, Rashid stopped in his path.

“…..”

But even still.

For some reason, it felt like that baby swan was also looking at him.

Because of the loud sound, all the birds floating on the lake inevitably turned their heads towards him, but that ungainly baby swan’s reaction was different.

Its alert eyes, like it was really staring at a person, seemed to rapidly shake before it sank right into the water.

“……”

What the; that wasn’t a doll.

The baby swan sank gurgling down so fruitlessly that it wasn’t even funny. He couldn’t help but make a bitter smile as he watched it go down.

He’d thought maybe it was somehow special, since that witch was supposedly keeping it.

Rashid couldn’t understand why she was so attached to a bird that, as young as it might be, couldn’t even swim properly that it ended up sinking.

As he’d expected.

He extended his hand out intending to tell her to look at that wretched sight clearly, and turned to look at Catherine by his side.

“If the Duchess has eyes to see, then she will know…”

“KYAAAAAAAAA!”

All of a sudden, her scream echoed out into the entire lake.

Move! After harshly throwing his offered hand away, Catherine ran for the lake.

“MY BAAABYYYYY!”

***

Oh my goodness, what do I do!

The moment I saw Haniel sinking right in front of my eyes, my entire world had snapped. I hoisted the ends of my dress that wrapped around me cumbersomely up to my knees.

“Move, everyone move!”

[Madam! Be careful!]

“My baby, where did my baby go!”

Even before I entered the water, my breath was short.

Selene, who waddle-ran up to me, tried to stand in my way perhaps to stop me, but I easily jumped over her. There was no way anyone who tried to stop me would be able to.

“Haah! My baby!”

She just sank into the water with a splash, you know! She didn’t even come back up!

The water that surrounded my knees coldly wrapped around my legs.

Where did you go!

I wouldn’t stop walking until I could see my child with my own eyes.

“Haa, haa!”

As a black swan, I hadn’t been able to feel the chill of the lake in wintertime, but it now penetrated my whole body. But if I had the ease of mind to feel this small amount of pain, I wouldn’t be a mother.

“That b*stard!”