Chapter 13
13
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Then, the little guy proudly flapped his wings and flew to the bed.
It was only a step or two from the windowsill to the bed, but he seemed quite triumphant.
Gabriella chuckled and commented.
"He's small, but he seems to have been born with good health. Just like Your Highness."
"Good job, Peep-peep……."
Carefully stroking his wing lest it hurt, Peep-peep rubbed his head against my palm affectionately.
—Peep-peep…….
It seemed Ea was finally answering my prayers.
'Thank you, Ea…….'
I prayed inwardly again and stroked Peep-peep for a long time.
Gabriella watched me and asked.
"I heard all the cats in the garden were chased away yesterday?"
The guards must have searched the garden thoroughly, so Gabriella and Rosa must have found out.
I nodded, and Gabriella added tentatively.
"Her Highness Rosa seemed upset……."
'Well, that's great!'
I snorted inwardly, but outwardly apologized as if I felt sorry.
"The kitty tore my clothes, so I had no choice. Sowwy."
Then Gabriella quickly waved her hand.
"No need to apologize! It just reminded me of Peep-peep. Her Highness Rosa will forget about it soon."
No, I'd be even happier if she couldn't forget and kept whining!
Suddenly, the morning felt refreshing.
I stretched to hide my grinning lips.
"Yaaawn, I swept well!"
* * *
The next day, at dawn.
Peep-peep made a fuss again, trying to follow us.
In the end, I had to hide him in my arms again, even while watching Gabriella's reaction.
"You have to be vewwy quiet, okay……?"
It was when I arrived at the Separate Palace, hidden in Gabriella's robe as she clicked her tongue.
I was startled by the thin voice I heard as soon as I was placed on the bed.
"Is that him? Is he the reason Joy was chased away?"
Rosa was sitting up in bed, her eyes filled with tears.
Gabriella's voice was faster than my reply.
"Shhh!"
I had tried to punish Rosa several times since becoming younger, but even I had never thought of confronting Rosa with words.
Because talking to each other at this time was absolutely forbidden.
'Rosa never broke this rule before…….'
Gabriella not only gave a stern warning but also raised her hand to block Rosa's lips.
She had been our guardian every other day and had always strictly observed etiquette towards the princess, but at this moment, she seemed to have forgotten everything in her surprise.
Even with her nose and mouth covered, Rosa looked at Peep-peep with tearful eyes.
'What, Joy? Is that the cat's name?'
I tilted my head slightly, feeling bewildered.
The name Joy felt somehow familiar.
'Joy…….'
But because Rosa kept glaring at me and Peep-peep, I quickly forgot the strange sense of déjà vu that the name gave me.
'By the way, she's that upset about a cat being chased away?'
Even though she only played with it once or twice!
'What about what she did to me my whole life!'
After Gabriella hurriedly took Rosa away, I looked down at Peep-peep.
The little guy was sitting still with his head down, as if he had done something wrong.
"……You didn't do anything wwong."
As I whispered in a small voice, Peep-peep cried weakly.
I felt bad that he seemed so intimidated by Rosa's words.
'But I can't leave Peep-peep with Rosa now.'
Suddenly, a memory from the past came to mind.
The memory of when the cat disappeared when we were young.
At the time, I didn't know why the cat had disappeared.
'But I definitely remember Rosa being incredibly depressed for a while…….'
So much so that Gabriella even asked me to pretend to be as gloomy as Rosa.
But Rosa eventually couldn't just be depressed on her own, and after a while, she took it out on the gardener.
'Was that gardener involved with the cat?'
It was impossible to know now.
But the gardener lost his job because of it, and after that, Rosa returned to normal.
Recalling Rosa's face as she looked at Peep-peep with red eyes, a bad feeling ran down my spine.
I quickly shook my head.
'No, I won't be fooled twice.'
Peep-peep is my friend.
So I looked at Peep-peep and made a quiet promise.
"Peep-peep, I will pwotect you."
—Peep…….
Peep-peep cried as if deeply moved and spread his small wings to brush my cheek.
'He seems like a smart little guy.'
Good.
From now on, I will defend Peep-peep from Rosa.
* * *
"Oh my!"
Beatrice was so happy to see Peep-peep flying that she jumped up and down.
I had thought she was only taking care of the annoying bird for my sake, but it seemed she had grown fond of him in her own way.
Peep-peep flapped his wings, excited by Beatrice's exaggerated praise.
"Peep-peep, be gentle. It huwts……."
I tried to stop him, but it was no use.
If he could fly far away like this, I wouldn't be surprised if he started performing acrobatic flights.
In any case, thanks to the healthier Peep-peep, our morning started energetically.
"Are you going to do the Bun hairstyle today?"
"Uh-huh!"
I tied my hair in a style that my mother liked, and for my father.
"A wink practice too?"
I winked.
"Kyaa, Your Highness is the best!"
Beatrice was so happy that I was briefly confused about who I was practicing for.
It was after I had finished preparing with effort and went to the audience chamber.
"Mom!"
As I called out as usual and entered, my father jumped up, gave me a distorted wink, and disappeared out of the audience chamber.
'I even practiced winking…….'
I pouted and walked with small steps, feeling deflated, and my mother quickly dismissed everyone around.
Then she explained.
"Rosa was in a very bad mood yesterday because of the kitty. Rosa cried so much in front of your father that he's avoiding her in case she cries again."
"Ah……."
I sighed deeply.
Well, my father thinks we are one person, so it will be difficult to get close to him by myself.
'But I don't think Rosa will cooperate…….'
As I was lost in thought about my father, my mother cautiously spoke.
"Honey, Rosa is looking for the kitty so much, maybe……."
I shook my head reflexively as soon as I heard that.
"N-no! I scawed of kitties!"
This time, it wasn't acting, but genuine fear.
That black thing rolled its black eyes and scratched me without hesitation.
Such a small me!
'And it even bit our Peep-peep until he was steaming(?).'
My mother sighed briefly at my reaction, but then nodded.
"That's right, honey……. We can't keep a creature that scratched you close. It's better to persuade Rosa this time."
I quickly nodded along with my mother.
In any case, I felt uneasy about that cat.
'Joy……. Her name was Joy.'
It gave me chills to think that Peep-peep, who could now fly, might encounter that thing again in the garden.
'If we hadn't gone back, Peep-peep might have died that day.'
My mother playfully bit my rounded hair.
"Amnomnom, my delicious black bread today!"
She must have been worried about my gloomy face.
I forced a slight smile, and my mother winked at me.
"Hestia's siblings are coming again today. You can handle greeting guests well, right?"
I recalled the chocolate basket from a few days ago and finally smiled sincerely.
"Uh-huh, Mom. I can do it."
Father…….
First, I'll try to win over Hestia's kids, then meet him again in the evening.
* * *
When I returned to my room after breakfast, Silvia was already inside, sitting across from the desk.
She stood up to greet me and asked immediately.
"Your Highness, you brought the bird with you today?"
Come to think of it, Rosa might have told the teacher about Peep-peep?
'I should have told Rosa about the book.'
I replied with a little regret.
"Yes, Teachah. He keeps wanting to follow me……."
Unlike my reflexive excuse, Silvia responded with an unexpected smile.
"It's okay as long as he's quiet like last time. But Your Highness, I took some time on my day off to look for books……."
As she said that, she opened an incredibly thick and large book.
'Sun God Shamash and a picture of a red bird…….'
I chuckled and looked at the picture.
The red bird, carefully drawn by an unknown artist, was very beautiful, but I didn't know that Silvia would be so obsessed with Peep-peep.
"Um……."
As I was wondering what to say, the teacher turned the page.
"Look at this, Your Highness. There's a picture of this bird when it was younger."
Come to think of it, the bird on this page was much smaller and had a short tail.
'Since the tail is short and the eyes are black, it does look like Peep-peep.'
Silvia took her eyes off the picture and concluded, looking at Peep-peep.
"This bird must be a good omen, Your Highness. It means it's a very good bird."
"A vewwy good bird……?"
The teacher nodded her head greatly.
"Yes, Your Highness. Since you have obtained a good omen, good things will happen to you."
It was more wishful thinking than reality, but it was still a good story.
I smiled brightly at the teacher.
"Thank you, Teachah."
