Previously
Mercedes Arontio seethes with jealousy over Irenia's relationship with Caesar and plots against her while reflecting on the Empire's devalued currency. To appease Caesar's obsession with the 'fruit of love,' Irenia has Delfina fetch a common egg and presents it to Caesar as their 'offspring.'
A faint satisfaction lingered on Caesar’s face, carrying a strange certainty I couldn’t quite explain. Then the egg trembled again in my grasp. I didn’t know if my mind was playing tricks on me, but I could swear I heard a tiny noise.
“This can’t be real…”
I blinked repeatedly in disbelief while the faint tapping continued. It didn’t take long for me to realize it was the sound of the eggshell cracking.
Tiny fractures quickly spiderwebbed across its surface, and all at once, a blinding flash of light burst from within.
“What…?”
Before I could even squeeze my eyes shut, a soft tearing sound reached my ears. Slowly, I pried my eyes open.
“Peep?”
Staring dumbfounded at the sight, I couldn’t believe what was happening right in front of me.
What had emerged from the broken shell amid that brilliant radiance was… a tiny yellow chick, standing right on the palm of my hand.
At first, my brain simply refused to process it. I froze stiff, jaw hanging open in utter shock. What was that light? Was I losing my mind?
Right then, the little creature opened its beak and let out a faint cry.
“Peep.”
The sound was as delicate as a sigh. Still unable to take it in, I blinked blankly. Was I still asleep? Or had I finally gone mad?
Yet the weight of the broken eggshell and the damp, pulsing warmth on my palm felt unmistakably real.
This was neither a dream nor an illusion. It was a living, breathing creature. And it cried out once more.
“Pee-peep! Peep!”
I stared at it in stunned silence, then suddenly shrieked in panic:
“What am I supposed to do now?!”
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine an actual chick would hatch. Who on earth could have foreseen this?
Could Delfina have brought me an egg that was already on the verge of hatching? How could it hatch after only a single day? And above all, what was I supposed to do with it right now?
The tiny being nestled in my palm looked so fragile, so hopelessly small. Terrified that a single wrong move might harm it, I flailed in sheer bewilderment, having no idea what to do.
I turned a frantic gaze toward Caesar, who only offered an enchanting smile in return.
“Fruit of Love.”
“Haha… right. The Fruit of Love.”
Hearing those words almost brought me to tears.
“…A fruit, indeed.”
Caesar was laughing, the chick was chirping, and my head spun with utter chaos. I truly hadn’t expected it to hatch. No one could have expected this.
Helpless, all I could do was pace around in frantic circles.
The little chick began rubbing its beak against my palm. Still damp, it could barely keep its head upright. Watching that fragile little neck wobble under the strain, a wave of sheer anxiety washed over me.
“Is it… is it cold? What should I do?”
Caesar chimed in, sounding as though he had struck upon pure genius:
“Shall we put it in the water so it can swim?”
“Aah! No, absolutely no water!”
Good grief, this fool! He had no idea how stressed I was! Ducks swim, not chicks! Chicks don’t swim… do they? Surely they don't…
Then a sudden realization struck me like lightning, and the horrifying truth settled in:
“What am I supposed to feed it?! I know nothing about this!”
I had never raised a chick in my life. None of my tutors had taught me about this, nor had I ever read of it in any book.
Just then, Caesar reached his hand toward the chick. The creature bobbed its head slightly, then waddled clumsily straight into his palm.
“Oh, oh…”
Tense and flustered, I gripped the bedsheet anxiously while Caesar gently cupped the little fledgling in his hands.
“Peep.”
The chick seemed far more settled in his hold than in mine—perhaps lulled by his radiant body heat.
Curling into his palm, it shut its eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Its damp, scraggly down gradually dried, plumping into soft, golden fluff that looked like a tuft of cotton.
“It’s cute…”
It truly was adorable. Round, impossibly small, with little peppercorn eyes and a tiny beak. The creature was utterly irresistible.
It was no wonder both Caesar and I fell under its charm. We spent so long gazing at it that we didn’t even notice Delfina stepping into the room.
“W-What is that?!”
Spinning around, I found Delfina staring at us in sheer astonishment. For a moment, I felt like a child caught red-handed playing with something forbidden.
“Ah, well, you see…”
Unable to snatch a tiny creature straight out of the Prince’s hands, Delfina seemed utterly at a loss.
How could I possibly explain this to her? I could hardly claim it was… the fruit of our love.
“Don’t tell me… from yesterday?”
She seemed to catch on immediately. Having brought the egg herself, it was only natural she connected the dots.
Not wanting Caesar to overhear, I hurriedly pressed a finger to my lips, waving for her to keep quiet. Fortunately, she caught the hint right away.
“Ah, right. So, what is it, then?”
“Well, this is…”
I had no idea where to even begin. As I stammered, Caesar answered with unwavering confidence:
“The Fruit of Love.”
A chill ran down my spine, as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over me. A heavy silence settled between us.
Then, Delfina nodded vigorously.
“Ah, so it’s the Fruit of Love, then.”
The response was so absurd that I couldn’t help but blurting out:
“D-Do you actually believe that?”
“You two make such a wonderful pair, don’t you?”
She gave me an innocent smile. Defeated, I couldn’t manage a single word and merely let my head hang.
“Mhm…”
For some reason, she and Caesar seemed to share an unspoken understanding as they both looked down fondly at the little chick.
A headache began to throb behind my temples. The entire situation felt thoroughly detached from reality, and a dozen urgent questions rushed into my mind.
“What do we feed it?”
“A newly hatched chick… doesn’t need to eat right away.”
“Really?”
She whispered that her family had kept chickens when she was young. Fortunately, she possessed some practical knowledge. We kept our voices hushed, keeping an eye on Caesar as we spoke.
“But how could it hatch so fast?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the chick was fully formed inside all along.”
She shook her head with a troubled frown.
“Still… that shouldn’t be possible.”
She explained that she had chosen a freshly laid egg, assuming I needed it for cooking or cosmetic use.
“Delfina, do chicks ever hatch this quickly?”
“Impossible.”
She told me a hen had to brood over an egg for twenty days for it to hatch; it could never happen overnight.
And that wasn't the only suspicious thing.
I had forgotten in the heat of the moment, but I was certain a brilliant flash of light had burst from the egg as it broke. Was something like that even natural?
“Peep! Peep!”
Right then, with a sudden flutter, the chick came hopping and flapping about. Just moments ago it had barely been able to lift its head, yet now it was bursting with energy.
“Delfina, do chicks fly like that?”
“I… I don't know either.”
In an instant, the little creature clambered up Caesar’s clothes and perched boldly on top of his head, nesting among his hair and puffing out its tiny chest with pride.
“Peep!”
It looked as though it were trying to proclaim something. Yes, the chick.
“I don’t even want to know anymore.”
With so many bizarre things piling up, I felt my sanity slipping away.
So, I decided to just accept this peculiar chick as it was.
Fine, it was just a chick. A slightly strange, suspicious little chick, but above all… it was utterly adorable.
“Peeep.”
The little creature let out a peep the moment our eyes met.
“It looks like it needs a name.”
“Peep, peep.”
I couldn’t bear the thought of Caesar introducing it to everyone as the ‘Fruit of Love.’ We needed to name it as soon as possible.
“Let me think…”
I reached toward the yellow chick perched atop Caesar’s head, and it lightly hopped down into my palm.
I had never imagined a day would come when I would have to name a chick.
“Hmm… Peepy?”
“Pee-eek!”
“Then… how about Yellow?”
“Peep, peep!”
It clearly didn’t care for my suggestions. Was it just my imagination, or was this tiny creature glaring at me in reprimand?
“Peep peep! Peep peeep!”
It even spun around in a circle, chirping toward Caesar as if appealing for help. Was I truly imagining all of this?
And to top it off, Caesar nodded and murmured back, as though holding a genuine conversation with it!
“Peepy suits it just fine…”
I grumbled under my breath, right at that very moment.
FADE OUT