Chapter 18
18
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My mother took my hand, kissed the back of it.
"I'm the one who's sorry. I'm sorry."
"Hngh..."
I looked back and forth between Peep-peep and my mother, finally bursting into tears, but my mother silently wiped away my tears, not giving me any more leeway.
When my tears finally stopped, my mother rose from her seat.
"Don't be too sad, my dear. Now that the cats are gone, the little bird can live in the garden. Maybe you'll even meet outside."
Instead of answering that I understood, I placed Peep-peep on my hands.
—Peep-peep...
The little thing chirped quietly, as if testing the waters, but my mother drew a clear line.
"Just spend today together. When you move to the Separate Palace tomorrow, you'll leave the bird in the garden."
My mother stood by the door, waiting for an answer, so I had no choice but to nod.
"...Okay, Mom."
After my mother left, Beatrice came into the room, looking more upset than I was, her eyes red.
"It's okay, Your Highness. Peep-peep is almost healed now... You can meet in the garden, as His Majesty said."
But Beatrice knew very well how unlikely that was.
'That's why she looks so sad.'
I stroked Peep-peep, sniffling again, and ended up falling asleep with one cheek buried in the pillow.
* * *
"You're going to abandon me?"
I woke up with a start, blinking my eyes, as if I had heard a strange voice in my sleep.
But only Peep-peep was around.
'Where did Beatrice go...?'
I was looking around the room, thinking that.
Then I heard the voice again, closer.
"I asked if you're going to abandon me?"
I looked towards the sound, then rubbed my eyes, thinking I must not be fully awake.
Then Peep-peep shrieked.
"Hey!"
I couldn't help but frown.
'Did... did Peep-peep just talk?'
Suddenly, how?
Did Rosa hide some kind of interspecies communication ability among my powers?
'Did such an ability even exist?'
I stared in disbelief, and Peep-peep shouted, sounding frustrated.
"I'm still sick! I can't even fly properly! And you're just going to abandon me anyway!"
Peep-peep's attitude was so confident that I forgot my surprise and answered dumbly.
"N-no..."
Then Peep-peep spread its wings wide and shrugged its shoulders slightly.
"Right? You won't abandon me, will you?"
"Uhm, I want to stay with you, but..."
I answered, reflexively looking at the closed door.
I felt like this absurd dream would end if Beatrice opened that door and appeared.
But Peep-peep spoke again.
"Hey!"
It was even more absurd the second time I heard it.
"'Hey!' Seriously..."
I am a princess.
This country is not a defeated nation yet, so I am a legitimate princess of a perfectly fine kingdom.
'So the only person who can call me "Hey!" is Rosa, holed up in that Separate Palace.'
But Peep-peep, oblivious to my bewilderment, sighed deeply and continued to say what it wanted to say.
"I hope you're not some stupid kid who's going to scream and gather people, claiming a bird is talking. Though I suppose you could."
It was so rude that I wanted it to shut its mouth right away, but when I thought about it, it wasn't wrong.
'Today has been long enough...'
I didn't want to cause any more commotion, and if Peep-peep shut up again after all the fuss, I would only be at a loss.
'Everyone will think I'm hallucinating because I'm sick.'
Imagining my father's anger made me shudder with horror just thinking about it.
So I quietly lowered my voice and asked.
"...You, you could talk? Since when?"
Peep-peep's beady black eyes looked up at me with disdain.
"Since when could you talk?"
It was a confident retort, as if to say, why couldn't it do what I do?
I asked again, dumbfounded.
"...So all this time, you understood what I was saying and nodded in response?"
Then Peep-peep nodded carelessly, as if it were a bother.
"Then why with the cat back then..."
Why would such a great bird that could talk get bitten by a cat in our castle garden?
But as soon as I brought it up, Peep-peep burst into anger.
"Don't even mention cats! Just make sure that thing doesn't come near here, like now!"
Seriously, why is its personality like this when it's only the size of my four-year-old palm?
I stared at Peep-peep for a moment and asked.
"Peep-peep, how old are you? Aren't you a baby?"
"A baby, what a joke!"
Peep-peep flapped its wings in a frenzy this time, really agitated.
"Hey, be quiet..."
I warned it, thinking of Beatrice, who might be nearby, and Peep-peep finally seemed to calm down and landed back on the bedside.
Then it said in a displeased voice.
"...Yan."
"What?"
"My name is Yan. I will no longer tolerate being called by that rude two-syllable onomatopoeia."
What is it even saying?
I blankly listened to the crazy talk of Peep-peep, who was insisting on being called Yan.
'Am I really sick? Did I collapse because I was sick?'
Thinking about it made my head hurt for real.
"Hey!"
Peep-peep, no, Yan, called out for the third time.
"Your teacher Silvia Pavel gave you plenty of hints! Show that book to your father, High Priest Baha!"
Is this thing daring to call my father 'High Priest Baha'?
'No, before that, how did it know my father was a high priest? And Silvia's name?'
I was full of questions, but Peep-peep continued to say what it wanted to say in a shrill voice that I couldn't tell if it was male or female.
"Your father is a high priest. He can't just abandon me, who might be a bird of the Sun God Shamash."
But at this point, I couldn't help but ask.
"Are you really a bird of Shamash?"
Then Yan shouted again.
"How dare you! Shamash!"
But didn't it just say 'Shamash' itself?
And that's not all.
A little while ago, it also referred to my father, Nigel's King and Ruelle's Prince Consort, as just 'High Priest Baha'.
I was wronged, but I was startled by Yan's forcefulness, so I corrected my words for now.
"No, I mean... are you really a bird of the Sun God Shamash..."
Yan spread its wings wide again, then folded them neatly as if tidying its feathers, and answered.
"Who said that? But since I look like one, just use that as an excuse until I get better. Or are you going to leave such a weak, pitiful, and cute thing like me in that garden? In a cat paradise?"
...To be clear, our garden is not a cat paradise.
'In fact, all the cats have already been chased away.'
Not only that, but for something so weak, pitiful, and cute, Yan's way of speaking was really awful.
'But I can't just abandon this thing...'
When I nodded, Yan shamelessly added.
"Oh, and don't talk to me so much normally, it'll be troublesome. I might end up answering without thinking."
"...Okay."
Yan spoke again.
"And I like sleeping in your hand. Beds are uncomfortable."
No way!
It was an absurd request, but I felt like I had to end this conversation quickly.
'Beatrice will be back soon.'
The moment a third party intervenes, it will shut its mouth tightly.
"O-okay..."
When I answered vaguely, Yan made one last request.
"Lastly, protect me from your twin. Until I get better, promise me you'll protect me."
Only then did I nod sincerely.
"I already pwomised you that. I'll... pwotect you."
Yan opened its small beak and let out a sigh, then fluttered onto my palm.
The weight of the thing, still only the size of my palm, suddenly felt significant.
Just then, as if on cue, there was a small knock.
I quickly closed my eyes and tried to calm my pounding heart.
'Show the book to Father, it said...?'
I hoped that, as Yan said, my father would be on our side.
* * *
"Your Highness..."
Soon after, I heard Beatrice's voice.
I wanted to pretend to be asleep a little longer, but it was hard to resist the savory smell of food.
'I couldn't even finish my meal this morning because I suddenly collapsed...'
When I slyly opened my eyes, a worried pair of olive-green eyes was looking down at me.
"Your Highness, where does it hurt? You couldn't even eat your breakfast properly, so I thought you should eat something now."
As she said that, a tray with a bowl of soup was placed on Beatrice's lap.
I nodded and gently stroked Yan in my hand.
Beatrice said in a pitiful voice.
"Peep-peep will be fine, Your Highness."
