Chapter 80

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: The Golden Egg Hatches
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Luciano, Harrison.

Even I was frozen stiff, unable to do anything.

"Isn't that a cracking sound?"

Luciano's cautious tone.

"Does gold crack?"

My mind snapped back at Harrison's dubious question.

"Ugh! My golden egg!"

I rushed over and checked the golden egg.

'No way, absolutely not.'

I frantically checked the source of the sound and my mouth fell open.

'A crack... it's cracked....'

It was quite large and blatant, just like when you drop a watermelon.

If it were a real gold lump, it couldn't crack from falling just that height.

In other words, Luciano's suspicion was right—it was fake.

The shock I felt was beyond imagination.

After possessing this body, I'd scrimped and saved gold coins, even earning a reputation as a gold appraiser.

For me to mistake a fake for real gold and cherish it so much!

I felt so wronged!

I couldn't bear the fact that I'd been fooled.

"It's really cracked."

Seeing me trembling in rage, Luciano came over, checked the egg, and clicked his tongue.

His attitude, as if he'd expected it, only made me angrier.

"No way!"

How could this not be gold?

The texture, the smell, the weight—it was all exactly the same!

If I could've tasted it, I would've.

Anyway, I'd been that confident.

"The place you found it was suspicious from the start."

This must be what they mean by the sister-in-law who tries to stop you being the most annoying.

I glared at Luciano and looked back at the egg.

'How dare you fool me pretending to be gold.'

My stomach churned at the crack that looked like it might split it in half.

The moment I was about to hurl the fake golden egg away in betrayal.

Crack!

The crack spread wide, as if some force had acted on it.

"Eek!"

I let out a shriek at the unfolding scene.

"What is this?"

"Gasp! What is that?"

What emerged as the golden eggshell shattered was a bird the size of my fist.

A real bird, looking pathetic like it had just hatched, with its eyes barely open.

It was limp and listless.

'No, it wasn't gold—it was a real egg?'

And I hadn't known, carrying it around like that?

"I-Is this thing alive?"

"I-I don't know."

Even Luciano stammered in bewilderment.

Just then, the creature that had been limp like it was dead.

Peep!

Asserted its existence and went limp again.

'Eek!'

I wanted to jump around in shock, but held back, afraid of startling the bird.

"W-What do we do with this?"

I quickly held it out to Luciano, urging him to take it.

But he shook his head.

"It's your bird."

Hey!

I wanted to snap at him, but seeing Luciano's trembling pupils, he seemed pretty scared too.

The moment life is born can be wondrous, but sometimes frightening.

"Harrison!"

I turned to another savior.

"Please give it to me."

Harrison swiftly pulled out a handkerchief and held it out.

I placed it on that and jumped back.

My heart was pounding like mad.

"It seems like it just hatched."

Harrison examined the limp bird with difficulty and summarized the situation again.

We'd seen it with our own eyes, but it was so unbelievable that we were all dazed.

I'd bragged about that golden egg everywhere, but no one had guessed it was a real egg.

'Whoa, I even planned to bathe with it. That could've been disastrous!'

Remembering a few days ago, cold sweat trickled down my back.

I'd nearly boiled a life to death without knowing.

It was a miracle it hatched safely.

"It looks like it has no energy because it hatched prematurely."

Harrison was right—it seemed completely drained.

At least now that it was in someone else's hands, I could look at it calmly.

Pink feathers?

It was the size of a chick, hard to believe it came from that big egg.

"If it's premature hatching, shouldn't we take it to a vet?"

Luciano, who'd been silent, offered a pretty good idea.

"Let's do that! We should see a vet first."

We moved quickly.

We found a small basket, lined it softly with cloth, and laid the bird inside.

In the meantime, the golden shell caught my eye.

My mind was racing, but it strangely bothered me.

In the end, I picked up the golden shell.

It was fairly thick, and the more I examined it, the more serious it seemed.

"What are you doing? Don't we need to go now?"

Luciano had refused it earlier, but now he seemed concerned about the bird.

That wasn't the point.

"Hey, you two, wait a second."

I grabbed the two who were about to rush off.

"More urgent than seeing a vet?"

"Is it urgent?"

"Look at this."

I held the shell out to them.

What? Luciano and Harrison wore the exact same expression.

"Look closely. This is real gold. That's why I was fooled."

"Does that make sense? We just saw it hatch."

Logically, a bird couldn't hatch from solid gold.

Luciano took the shell from my hand and examined it closely.

And the more he looked, the stranger his expression grew.

"It is weird."

"It's real gold?"

"I can't say for sure it's gold. But it's not just a shell either."

As Luciano and Harrison put their heads together to inspect the shell, I shared what I'd sensed.

"This bird's identity is suspicious."

"It does look unusual at first glance."

"We should be careful."

"Should we skip the vet and just leave it?"

"No. Of course we go. But let's get our story straight. We found a bird that fell from a tree. Got it?"

"No need to mention it first."

Luciano and Harrison agreed readily.

But we didn't need to discuss it like this.

"Oh, wait, you can't go out, right?"

Luciano was restricting his outings as much as possible.

"...Right."

"And Harrison, you'll stay with Luciano?"

"...Yes."

"I'll be right back."

Since neither could leave the palace, I went to the vet alone.

"Is it a bird you were already raising?"

"No, we found it."

"It's a species I've never seen. Well, how would I know all the migratory birds? It just hatched, so it's weak. It'll be fine after some time."

The vet was disappointingly uninterested in the bird.

I'd thought he'd be intrigued by the rare species, but there was no sign of it.

I later learned he wasn't a researcher but a practitioner focused on livestock for a living.

Jaded by work, with no passion left?

Anyway, thanks to that, I could take care of the bird without any fuss.

On the way back, I stopped by a jewelry store to appraise the shell.

"Yes, it's pure gold."

"It's really pure gold?"

"Yes. It is. But how did it end up like this? That's strange."

'See? I couldn't have been wrong about gold.'

My appraisal skills hadn't failed me.

My judgment was spot on, and my pride soared sky-high.

"Would you like to sell it? The shape is odd, but we can melt it down and recast it."

It was tempting.

"No thanks. Not selling."

I still needed to figure things out.

No urgent need for money, so no reason to sell now.

I took the shell back to the palace and told the two waiting for me.

"It's a bird, confirmed."

"So you thought it wasn't?"

Hey, it was suspicious.

"And this is real gold too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I went to a jewelry store and had the manager confirm it."

"So a bird really hatched from gold?"

"Ever heard a story like this?"

"No. First time, obviously. Sounds like something from a legend."

"If things like this were common, all the birds around here would be in human hands."

It really was unusual.

I'd thought maybe in a romance-fantasy world, it happened often.

So, that must be it.

'Protagonist buff.'

The bird's true nature was probably some divine beast.

From discovery to birth, it was all too extraordinary.

"You two curious about what it is?"

Both nodded at once.

"Then help me investigate. There must be clues somewhere."

"We should check animal books too."

"I'll visit the palace library."

They were just as curious, not grumbling at all.

The shell the bird hatched from was real gold.

If it happened before, there'd be records.

Wait.

"I just thought of an amazing hypothesis."

I shouted urgently at the sudden idea.

The two, eager to find books about the bird's identity, stopped.

"What?"

"Think about it. A golden shell is straight out of a legend."

"Right."

"So the bird itself must be special."

"What's your point?"

"If it's that legendary, maybe it poops gold?"

"!"

They seemed to find credibility in my hypothesis, their eyes widening hugely.

It might be far more precious than the egg.

Suddenly, we had every reason to care for it diligently.

* * *

I brought the bird back to the mansion.

"Oh my, miss, what's that?"

"I'm going to raise it from now on."

"You're raising a bird? Suddenly why?"

The nanny was surprised, but.

"It just happened."

She couldn't stop me.

"Espin. Raising a bird out of nowhere—what happened?"

Of course, my parents showed slight concern.

"It's a golden egg."

"Huh?"

"The golden egg cracked and a bird came out. I have to raise it."

When I showed them the shell, they were flustered.

"R-Really?"

"It actually hatched?"

They knew how much I'd adored that golden egg.

"Yes. It wasn't a gold lump but a real egg. I'd poured so much love into it. My golden egg!"

In the end, genuine lament poured out.

I'd thought it was solid inside, but only the shell remained!

"Y-Yes. Raise the bird then. But take good care of it. Raising a life comes with responsibility."

Seeing me on the verge of tears, Father hurriedly permitted it but warned firmly.

"Yes. Don't worry. I'll take really good care of it."

It might poop gold, so of course I would.