CH 61

“The dessert shop is close to here, would you like to walk?”

Ethan asked. I pondered for a moment, and then shook my head. 

“I want to go with the carriage.”

If we walk, all those escorts will follow us on foot.

Then it was obvious that the attention would naturally be focused on us.

‘I don’t like it.’

I can already see a carriage with Yeckhart’s name on it.

I don’t want to show myself to wolves who hate me.

Then Ethan said yes, and lifted me up and put me in the carriage. 

“I can do it alone.”

Arsene refused Ethan’s touch and climbed into the carriage alone.

“Let’s go.”

When Ethan finished his words, the coachman drove slowly.

The carriage soon arrived at the Roselle bakery where I went with Kendrick last time. 

“Be careful getting off, Lady.”

Ethan carefully put me down so I wouldn’t get caught in the hem of my dress.

“I can get off alone.”

Arsene stubbornly refused Ethan’s touch, saying he was quite big now.

Arsene and Ethan naturally stepped into the bakery.

“Welcome! This is Roselle’s bakery!”

“Give me a quiet seat on the second floor.”

Ethan coughed a lot and said.

The waiter looked at Yeckhart’s seal on Ethan’s clothes and at Arsene and me. 

And then.

“I’ll show you right away!”

Smiling brightly, the waiter led us to a sunny seat on the second floor.

The partitions were spread out in all directions, making it such a wonderful place that I even thought it was an independent space.

“If there’s anything you want to eat, order as much as you want.”

Ethan showed me and Arsene the Roselle Bakery’s menu.

It was made for customers who sat down and ate.

Except for the cookies, I ate earlier, I ordered a piece of cake, an egg tart, and warm milk.

“Ethan sit here too. The desserts here are really good.”

“Right, Ethan didn’t even eat the cookie earlier. let’s eat together.”

“It’s alright.” 

We invited Ethan, who was stubbornly standing next to us, to sit down and order dessert, but Ethan flatly refused.

Not long after, the waiter came up on a tray with what we had ordered.

I had a cheesecake, and Arsene had a chocolate mousse cake that looked incredibly sweet. 

Next, freshly baked hot egg tarts and white milk with sugar came out.

“Wow—!”

I immediately grabbed my fork and scooped out some cheesecake.

My eyes open as soon as I put them in my mouth.

“It’s really delicious…I think eating at the store tastes better. Arsene, right?”

“Ung, it tastes better.”

Arsene nodded his head as he ate the chocolate cake.

After taking a sip of the warm milk, I took a bite of the still-warm egg tart.

The soft custard cream that fills the mouth is like a work of art. 

“Wow, it’s really delicious. Ethan, eat it.”

“Hoho, I’m fine. Eat a lot, Lady.”

Ethan politely declined.

I took another bite of the egg tart.

Arsene wondered if I really enjoyed the egg tart, so he picked up an egg tart and put it in his mouth.

Then.

“….!” 

“It’s delicious, right?”

Arsene opened his eyes and chewed the egg tart slowly. 

We both finished dessert in less than thirty minutes.

‘It’s really delicious.’

It was a little difficult to match the dress in the dressing room, but the fatigue was fading away.

“You shouldn’t eat this much…” 

Ethan looked at us like he was in trouble and then smile. 

“Isn’t it supposed to be delicious?”

“Ung, it was really delicious.”

I wiped my mouth with a napkin and nodded.

Then I casually turned my eyes and looked outside. 

But.

“…Huh?” 

In the crowd, there was a person staring at the second floor of the Roselle bakery.

A man wearing a black hood was standing tall and staring at us without even moving.

I looked around in bewilderment.

‘We are the only ones nearby.’

So now that person is clearly staring at us.

“Shall we go now?”

Ethan asked cautiously. I answered with a sullen look on my face.

“Ung…”

“Do you want more dessert?”

Ethan raised an eyebrow and asked carefully.

I shook my head.

“No, I was full.”

“That’s a relief. Let’s stop and go now.” 

“Yees.” 

I replied obediently and glanced out the window again.

The man was still staring at us, hiding from the crowd behind the outer wall of the building opposite. 

In an instant, a chill and goosebumps erupted, and my body trembled.

And then,

“…That?” 

From the man’s body, I could see the same black air current that I had seen from Ester’s body the other day. 

“Huh? Ethan, Ethan!”

I grabbed Ethan’s sleeve and waved his hand urgently.

“Yes? What’s going on?”

But. 

After a carriage pulled by an old dark brown steed passed by. 

The man wearing a black hood was gone.

“Lady, what’s wrong?”

“…Huh?” 

“Linsy?” 

I answered with a bewildered expression, with my mouth slightly open.

“No…Apparently I saw someone over there staring at us…” 

“Who was staring at you?”

“Ung? Who?”

Ethan looked out of the window, raising his only glasses. I got wrinkles between my eyebrows.

“Well, the one in black. But…” 

At that time. 

Black smoke rose in an instant and covered the windows on the second floor of the Roselle Bakery.

“Whoa—!”

It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have time to react.

Pong–!

“Chiirp!!” 

I was so startled that I ended up turn into my bird form. 

I flapped my wings and flew over Ethan’s shoulder, inhaling.

‘W, what is that?’

Then, after rubbing my eyes with my wings, I looked out the window again.

But. 

“…Chirp?” 

There’s nothing.

The windows were clean. There was no black air stream, not even dust.

Did I see it wrong?

‘But it was really…’

I took a deep breath and grabbed Ethan’s shoulder with my claws.

Ethan turned his head to look at me with his worried look.

“Lady, are you okay? If you are not feeling well—” 

“Chirp…?” 

I still shook my head and looked out the window again.

But there was also nothing.

Besides. 

“Linsy? What’s going on!” 

“Lady, what’s the matter? Anything outside the window—” 

Arsene and Ethan were unaware of the black air current that covered the window in an instant.

“Chirp…?” 

What is it?

At that time, the outside of the partition was noisy.

The sound of the transformation, followed by bird sounds, seemed to attract the attention of the guests on the second floor. 

Arsene naturally held out his index finger to me.

I jumped on Arsene’s finger and swept my fluttering chest with my wings.

‘Really… What is it?’

Come to think of it, Ethan hadn’t seen the black stream flowing out of Ester’s body the last time too. 

I cried and dug into Arsene’s arms.

‘I want to return to the mansion soon.’

There was a feeling that something bad was going to happen.

When I went outside, another man in a black hood appeared, and felt like he was threatening me.

“Linsy, do you want to go home? Did you see anything strange?”

Arsene asked with a rare, hoarse voice.

Then he opened the gap in his jacket and gently put me in it.

There were a lot of wolf customers in the bakery, so it was a small consideration to hide me so that I wouldn’t be surprised. 

I cried a little to thank him and stuck my head between Arsene’s clothes.

“C, chirp…” 

I want to go home—.

Oddly enough, I couldn’t control my emotions well if I only turn into my bird form.

I’m obviously a 12-year-old kid, but I felt like a seven-year-old or younger.

Sniff.

I was so startled that tears began to fall down over and over again.

As I cried, Ethan held out his handkerchief, bewildered. 

“Ah…Have you seen anything scary? It would be better if we back soon.” 

Ethan said with a worried look on his face.

“Chirp…” 

I replied with a nod.

Fortunately, the black stream was no longer visible.

But I crouched down as much as I could so that I couldn’t be seen from the outside.

This is because I didn’t want to be caught in bird form by other wolves.

But to transform to human form again—.

Sniff.

‘It’s scary…’

Arsene’s arms were warm and cozy, so I didn’t want to transform into my human form again. 

Arsene took steps, covering my beak that stuck out with a handkerchief.

Ethan and Arsene took me back to the carriage quickly.

The coachman hurriedly set off the carriage, and the constant sound of the hooves of the horses riding by the escorts could be heard. 

I put myself in Arsene’s arms and thought, holding my breath.

‘Really… What is it?’

Is it Ester? 

Somehow, I had an ominous feeling.

It feels like bad things are about to happen.