Chapter 139

unedited

[Whew. You didn’t know how surprised I was! I thought we would have gone to heaven at this rate!]

Quack quack, Selene said she would only come back to her senses after downing a bowl of hot soup, warming up her stiffened body as she threw her wings back. It was only after she had turned her neck and wings simultaneously that she returned to her talkative self.

[My vision turned white after seeing that whole grilled bird on the table, ahh.] Recalling that scene made Selene almost tear from her tearless eyes as she flapped her wings by them.

[Sobb. If I had known, I would have at least confessed once. How long would one live anyway? I should live without regrets in this… But what’s wrong with the both of you?] Selene finally sensed the weird tension in the air after filming her own monologue and turned towards us.

Haniel and I lay in the middle of the living room beside each other, feeling as though we had been stripped naked from our feathers, very much like that grilled bird.

[Mommy, Haniel can’t sleep.]

“…Yeah, mommy too.”

Whew, as I flipped on my side, Haniel followed me and struggled as she flipped to her side. Uneasiness crept all over our bodies as the face of a certain man surfaced in our minds.

[Mommyyy, Emperor brother, he.]

“Yeah, your Emperor brother.”

[….]

Sharp breath.

Neither of us continued our sentences. Haniel touched the ribbon tied on her head, and I touched the pin on mine. ‘What was he trying to do.’

I should be thankful that he had changed to be more humane but this was getting awkward.  Just like when he touched my cheeks, such reckless and meaningless actions make me…. ‘Wait, do they really mean nothing?’

“Ridiculous!” That made me feel even more uneasy and sat up immediately. If he’s a tyrant, he should act like one. He’s not even the male protagonist, was he allowed to do ‘whatever’ he likes?

It shouldn’t, even if it meant anything. I sat back down with a hand supporting my chin as I entertained the complicated feeling.

[Hng! Nooo!] Haniel too, followed me, albeit a while later. Of course, her concerns were much simpler as compared to mine.

Seeing her torn over whether to undo the ribbon on her head, I fanned to cool down her head before it could explode. “It’s alright, you can keep it on.”

[B, but. Emperor brother, he.]

“He wasn’t strangling you. He didn’t poison you either.”

[…Really?] Laughter soon found its way back on her small face, and Haniel stood up with confidence. Though she frowned slightly at the sparkly jewel hanging on one end of the ribbon, she skipped happily as she dragged it along the floor, happy to hear the sound it makes.

[Mommy, look! It sounds pretty!]

“Yeah, our princess is really pretty!”

[His Majesty is generous in weird aspects, giving a young child such an expensive gift.] But Selene continued muttering under her breath, still finding it weird. It was indeed an exorbitant gift for a child, but I had thought differently.

“What’s wrong? If Haniel was treated well in the palace, she should be given things like that all the time.” Of course, she must continue the same standard of living in the future as well.

As I watched Haniel enjoy the things I couldn’t give her, it made me bitter and worried. The young and sensitive Haniel came running towards me as she saw the look on my face and shook her head. [I’ll give this to mommy.]

“Hmm? Why me?” I shook my hands in refusal as she gestured to take the ribbon off from her head. Who would refuse such a huge and beautiful jewel? However, it was never mine, to begin with, thus I’ve decided to not be greedy over that. I’ve also been returning gifts sent my way when others found out how close I was getting with His Majesty.

I’ve learned from my past life that with greed comes great disappointments. Had I taken the child’s items by force and shown it off, his reaction would be….

“Ugh, no.” He would just raise his eyes sharply regardless if it was a feather accessory or a pearl pin. I might have become accustomed to most things, but I was still human, and I could still be hurt from such issues like, ‘because of this man.’

“This is Haniel’s, His Majesty personally tied the ribbon on you.”

[Nooo. This is Haniel’s, and this is mommy’s.]

“Huh? What do you mean?”

[Yeah, this is Haniel’s. And this is mommy’s.] This child!

Haniel sat down on the ground with a thud, dizzy from pointing at back and forth on the same ribbon with her beak.

What a cutie.