Chapter 7 :

Chapter 7

His hand was very white.

It seemed almost as white as hers.

And it had a very elegant and beautiful shape.

Thalia, who had unconsciously been about to reach out toward him, felt the bird crouched in her hands twitch its wings and hurriedly shook her head.

“No. I’m holding something right now.”

Beneath the hood that sagged after soaking up rainwater, she could see the boy’s eyes narrow.

He lowered his gaze to her hands, which she had gathered over her chest.

“Is it important?”

After hesitating for a moment, Thalia shook her head.

“It isn’t important.”

“Then throw it away.”

At the words she spat out in irritation, a crease formed between the boy’s smooth brows.

He seemed to be growing annoyed.

For a moment, she thought he might simply leave her there and go.

But the boy once again did something that did not suit his cold-looking features at all.

He bent down in front of her and lifted her body, filthy with rainwater and mud, clean off the ground.

At the unexpected action, Thalia let out a small scream.

Then the boy held her struggling back firmly and said bluntly,

“Stay still.”

Thalia immediately obeyed his instruction.

While she loosened her grip and carefully checked the bird in her arms so it would not be hurt, he moved his legs steadily and climbed the softened slope.

His gait was swift, like a cat’s.

But even though he escaped the mire so nimbly and quickly, it seemed he could not prevent his clothes from getting dirty.

He looked down at his ruined trousers, boots, and the hem of his robe, then furrowed his brow.

“This is the worst.”

“...It happened because you were helping me, so I’ll compensate you. I can buy you something much more expensive than the clothes you’re wearing now. Actually, I’m the daughter of a very, very important person. I’ll tell my attendant to give you a generous reward separately too.”

She had said it out of guilt, but for some reason, he seemed offended.

The boy took a few more steps to avoid the piles of dirt around the pit, then said bluntly,

“You’re quite arrogant for something so small.”

Thalia’s face reddened.

Normally, she would have slapped the face of the boy who had spoken so insolently.

No one was allowed to speak that way to the Emperor’s daughter.

But for some reason, she could not say a single word.

Even though cold rainwater was striking her forehead and cheeks without pause, her face burned as though on fire.

The boy stopped beneath a large tree that Senevier had not yet managed to pull out.

Just then, the bird let out a faint cry.

The boy, who had been bending as though to set her down, paused and lowered his gaze to her hands gathered over her chest.

“What are you holding?”

It seemed he had only then grown curious.

After hesitating for a moment, she carefully opened her hands.

“A bird?”

He muttered as though doubtful.

It was understandable.

The tiny baby bird, with its unsightly wings drooping under clumps of mud and the pink flesh of its chest exposed, looked closer to a sewer rat than a bird.

Thalia’s cheeks flushed red.

The one that was horribly shabby was the bird, yet for some reason, she felt as though she herself had become miserable.

“It fell into the muddy water. Originally...”

It might have been prettier.

She stopped herself before saying that.

The bony brown bird did not seem as though it would have been particularly pretty even originally.

It was probably just an extremely common starling, the kind that could be seen anywhere.

But the boy seemed inclined to show kindness to that pitifully shabby, ugly bird.

Holding her up with one arm, he drew the hand on which the bird rested inside his hood.

Thalia opened her eyes wide.

The skin that touched her fingers was warm, like the light from a fireplace.

Seeking warmth, the bird pressed itself close beneath the boy’s collarbone.

“Your fingers are like ice. How long were you standing there?”

The boy, who had been silently looking down at the bird beneath his chin, turned his head toward her.

Thanks to that, Thalia could look straight into the blue eyes beneath his dark, rain-soaked lashes from right before her nose.

Seen up close, his eyes were extremely unusual.

They were like small pieces of silver scattered across a clear winter sky.

Thalia stared at them and unconsciously muttered,

“You know... there’s a silver crown in your eyes.”

The boy’s eyes widened a little.

His lips parted slightly as though he were about to say something, then closed again.

Thalia realized that this nameless boy was also looking into her eyes.

What did he find inside my eyes?

As Thalia thought that, a familiar voice came from afar.

“Young Lady!”

It was the nanny.

Since the word “Your Highness” had not yet become familiar to her tongue, she often called Thalia that way and was scolded by her mother or the other maids.

But it seemed the habit still had not been corrected.

From afar, her desperate voice echoed through the air.

“I have to go now.”

Thalia murmured softly.

She did not know why, but she hated saying those words so much.

Perhaps this boy also hated hearing them.

He stood still without moving for a long while, then slowly set her down on the ground as though reluctant.

When his arms left her, Thalia could feel a chill seep all the way into her bones.

Only then did she realize how warm the boy’s embrace had been.

After hesitating, she held the young bird out toward him.

“Will you take it with you?”

Because my hands are too cold, and you are warm.

She had been about to say that, but he bent down and carefully accepted the bird.

Then he brought it against his plaster-white cheek and pulled his hood forward as though to shield it from the rain.

Thalia looked up at him intently and asked,

“That bird... will it live?”

“...Yes.”

The blue eyes holding a silver crown lingered on her face for a long time.

“It will live.”

The boy’s face was expressionless, but for some reason, Thalia thought he had smiled.

Soon, she turned around and began running through the rainy garden.

How long had she run between the uprooted rose trees and shrubs, and the piles of dirt stacked like little graves?

When she turned her head as though drawn by something, she saw him standing still beneath the large tree.

Why is he not leaving?

Perhaps he was waiting for the rain to ease a little more.

Perhaps he was watching her leave.

Suddenly, Thalia was seized by the urge to go back to where he was.

She wanted to take shelter from the rain with him.

She also wanted to sit side by side with him in front of a warm fireplace and watch the bird recover its health.

But while she hesitated, the nanny suddenly popped out from inside the building.

Perhaps because she had been looking for Thalia for quite a long time, her round face was flushed red with anger.

“Where on earth have you been! Do you know how much Lady Senevier has been looking for you?”

The nanny tightly grabbed her hand with her plump one and roughly dragged her into the annex building.

“And what is this state you are in! You have to go meet His Majesty soon, so how could you dirty your clothes like this?”

“...I fell while taking a walk.”

“Goodness, what do you mean, a walk in weather like this!”

The nanny shouted in disbelief and began striding toward the corridor connected to the detached palace.

Thalia was dragged along by her hand and looked back.

But he was no longer visible.