CH 7

‘Whoa…’

I had no choice but to open my mouth, no, my beak, and look into the room.

Because it was too fancy for a guest room.

Furniture that looks luxurious to anyone, even blankets that look super soft and pretty toys.

It can only be seen as if they prepared it for someone—.

‘Ah!’

This is a room for his daughter-in-law.

The wolf family seems to have been decorating the daughter-in-law’s room in advance when they proposed an arranged marriage to the bird family.

“You can stay here from now on.”

Ethan smiled kindly and put me down on the bed.

The part of my foot that touched it fell in.

But the problem is—.

‘Isn’t the bed too big?’

The problem was that the furniture was too big, and I was a very small bird.

A small bird was left in a huge, spacious room.

It was a funny picture.

As if this was what worried the old butler, he also showed his displeasure.

‘I can’t even open the doorknob in this form.’

The blanket was so soft and thick that I would have suffocated from the pressure if I got in between it.

The maids exchanged troubled glances.

“We will take measures as soon as possible. For now— I’m going to ask someone to go down to the village and buy some useful things.”

“Chirp!”

“Don’t go into the blanket recklessly, Lady. It seems dangerous.”

The old butler said this as he looked back and forth between the thick blanket and my small body.

I lifted a wing to show that I understood.

“Chirrp!” 

“If you need anything, can you ring that bell?”

I looked at the bell Ethan pointed at.

It was a piece of a gold bell with a cute little pattern engraved on it. The problem is–.

‘I’m smaller than the bell. Phew.’

I flew and landed in front of the bell on the side table.

And after taking a deep breath, I took two steps back. And then—.

I ran to the bell and hit it with all my might.

—Ding.

There was a very faint bell ringing.

The old butler and the maids looked at me in shock.

“Oh, my. Don’t ring the bell, Lady. You’ll get hurt at this rate.”

“…Chirp.” 

I replied sullenly.

“I will tell you to prepare a bell that the Lady can ring.”

“Chirp.” 

“Are there any inconveniences?”

Inconveniences?

Growl. 

I didn’t realize I hadn’t eaten much all day until then.

‘I’m hungry.’

Adele offered me cookies, but I ran away before I ate them.

Thanks to this, I grabbed my hungry stomach and looked into the eyes of the old butler.

He raised his one-piece glasses and watched me carefully.

Growl.

Once again, a loud noise echoed from my stomach.

But I guess I only heard it loud in my ears. The old butler still didn’t seem to notice.

‘I can say it, right?’

…because he asked me to tell him if there was anything inconvenient.

Eventually, I flopped down, rubbing my wings against my stomach.

And I cried with my wings drooping as if I had no energy.

“Chirp…”

‘I’m hungry.’

Then Ethan clapped his hands as if he understood.

“Are you hungry, Lady?”

Ung, ung! 

I positively flapped my wings.

“Chirp!”

“Then I’ll prepare a meal. Rather than in the dining room— wouldn’t it be more convenient to eat here?” 

“Chirrp!”

“Lena, tell me to prepare some food and bring it to her.” 

Ethan ordered the maid.

He put me in the middle of a spacious, fluffy bed.

I put my wings together on the bed and sat politely, waiting for my food to arrive.

Growl. 

In the meantime, there was a constant sound in my stomach.

‘What kind of food can I eat?’

I thought it would be perfect if I could eat salad and a little fish like in Raniero.

‘Or just hard bread would be fine—’

I can eat hard bread by soaking it in water—. There were days in my previous life when I couldn’t even eat it well. 

‘But since I’m a guest, wouldn’t they give me something more delicious?’

Maybe I can eat things like fresh fruits.

I raised my head in anticipation.

And soon after, the maids dragged the tray into the room. I opened my eyes wide when I saw the food on the tray.

‘Oh my, what is this?’

Fruit puddings, chocolate muffins, fresh berries, fruits, and all kinds of fish dishes were on trays.

The maids began to set the table on the low table in the room.

I wondered how much food there was because there was nowhere to put it, and a couple of maids moved the table again.

‘Isn’t that too much?’

I just wanted to get a couple of slices of bread and a couple of cookies.

The amount of food that adult wolves could eat and leave in their stomachs came in one after another.

“Chirrp!”

“I don’t know what you’re going to like, so I think it’s better to bring out everything. I heard that the bird family enjoys eating fish dishes, is that right?” 

“Chirp!”

Ethan smiled as I spread my wings in happiness.

He put each piece of food on an empty plate and set it in front of me.

“If you want something to eat, point it to me with your wings.”

I put the food in front of me in my mouth first.

A small cherry was cut into pieces, and the juice burst in the mouth.

The fish dish sprinkled with lemon juice was easy to eat because it had few bones, and the juice that came with it was also incredibly sweet.

‘Is this heaven?’

“Chirp…”

“Have some of this pudding, too.”

Ethan gave me a light pink pudding with strawberries in front of me.

I pecked the pudding with my beak.

“Chirp—”

Wow, this is the best. 

There was food that I had never tried before in Raniero.

Raniero’s children had a limited diet in the name of being “managed.”

Of course, food was piled up like a mountain only at the meals they had together with the head of the family, but more than half were thrown away simply because it was just for show off. 

Thanks to this, we couldn’t even taste it and had to swallow our saliva every day.

When I ate in a hurry, Ethan put a small napkin in front of me.

I wiped my beak thoroughly on my napkin.

“….?”

But why is the surrounding so quiet?

I slowly raised my head.

Ethan and four or five maids were looking at me with their eyes sparkling, holding their breath.

“Chi… Chirpp.”

‘What’s with this burdensome stare—’

Everyone was watching my meal without breathing.

As expected, did I eat too much?

Now that I am in a situation where I have blindly followed the wolf’s territory, I should have eaten while being conscious of the wolf’s territory. 

This was obviously my mistake.

I crept a step back from the table.

Then the maids looked disappointed.

Did I see it wrong?

‘Hmm?’

Then, one of the maids hurriedly offered me a plate.

“Try some of this too, Lady!”

What she handed me was a small cake with nuts stuck in it.

‘—Are they not angry because I ate too much?’

I scrambled near the cake, keeping an eye on the wolves.

‘It’s not polite not to eat when you’re told to….’

Because I was a polite bird, I took a bite of the cake then my eyes widened. 

“Chirp?!”

The cake was so delicious that it made my eyes open! I looked up at the maid with emotion.

She was smiling as if proud.

In the end, I ate the cake, forgetting my resolution to eat just a little.

******

Steam rose from the pink bath water.

Light pink petals floated on the water, and the water smelled good.

‘It’s really nice.’

Wolves bathe in good water.

I murmured with my eyes closed, soaking my beak in warm water.

“Chirp…”

The wolves faithfully carried out Kendrick’s orders to ‘wash and feed’ me. 

Thanks to this, I was able to have time to reflect on my future plans while immersed in warm water.

First of all, I succeeded in getting to the wolf mansion. 

But I couldn’t be sent back to Raniero again unless I was “married” to Arsene.

That way, I won’t be kicked out until I reach adulthood.

Wolves only have one companion for the rest of their lives.

So I can’t ask for marriage, and I don’t want to.

‘But there’s one exception.’

If I marry early, regardless of my intention as a child, I will be given the opportunity to divorce after coming of age legally.

In other words, it means that I can be protected as a wolf’s companion until I reach adulthood.

So I had to get married.

‘And they’ll want me to marry him too.’

So, he will be able to get better from the disease as soon as possible.

When I get married, I become a member of the wolf family.

Then the wolf family can do whatever they want with me, but it’s more likely that they won’t do anything stupid and will treat me with respect.

‘Of course, in my previous life, Schville did some stupid things, but—’

I’m not her! 

I was confident that I would treat Arsene with all my heart when I got married.

So, if I want to get married and heal Arsene, I must first win the favor of the wolves—.

I let out a sigh.

Actually, it didn’t have to be me for the wolves. 

‘If it was the daughter-in-law of the bird family,’ it wouldn’t matter to anyone who could heal Arsene. 

So I can’t get to their wrong side. 

‘If I get on their wrong side, they might send me back to Raniero. And they’ll bring a new daughter-in-law!’ 

And the daughter-in-law would be Schville. It was obvious even if I didn’t see it. 

So let’s be polite.

I will give the impression that I’m a child who doesn’t need much attention because I have to win favor. It’s good to give the impression that something costs less to eat.

That was originally my plan.

…but it’s already ruined.