The Duke had never thought the room he stayed in was large.
‘But whenever the teacher comes, the room always feels spacious.’
The Duke sat by the window. He leaned his forehead against the cold glass.
Neigh!
He heard the sound of a horse whinnying. It was the sound of her leaving.
Why did he become so unbearable whenever he stood before her?
Recalling how she had frozen when he grasped her hair, the Duke let out a sigh.
He wanted to get a little closer to her, and the closer he got, the more he wanted to reach out and touch her.
Carol reacted as if he wasn’t a monster, which only made him feel that way even more.
He had deliberately chosen the perfume as her gift.
As crassly as it may sound to others, he couldn’t stand the idea of her carrying another man’s scent.
Recently, she had monopolized more of his time than anyone else.
So just as she monopolized him, he wanted to monopolize her as well.
Her blunt remark suspecting him of being a philanderer had felt like jealousy, which pleased him.
Even though she only knew his monstrous appearance and had no reason to be jealous.
No matter how sweet Carol’s kindness was, she could never love a monster.
Yet a gossamer thread of hope that she might stay still pierced the Duke’s fragile heart.
“I’m not in my right mind.”
The Duke harshly criticized himself.
A thread had caught on the tip of his claw. After carefully removing it, the Duke caressed the scarf.
To give such a gift to someone already so desperately wanting the teacher.
He had no idea what he was thinking. It was utterly pitiful.
But the Duke had no intention of letting go of her hand.
His throat was parched. No matter how much time he spent with her, it was like pouring water onto dry land – only wanting more.
He needed a little more justification to keep her by his side.
The soft texture of the scarf reminded him of the little friend that had once saved him from loneliness.
He couldn’t just let things lie like back then.
These desperate feelings couldn’t be mere rational affection. This was closer to a survival instinct than a shallow emotion.
“The more so, I must not forget to be cautious.”
The Duke muttered as he splashed water on his face, feeling like a solemn vow.
****
While still a bird during the day, ever since gaining the ability to speak as a bird, Carol had secretly been undergoing special training.
On this weekend when they didn’t have academy classes, Kevin and Dylan watched Carol with worried looks.
“I’ll try it.”
“Sis, don’t push yourself too hard.”
If she could freely transform between human and bird form at will, many things would become easier.
‘To have a sister who makes her brothers worry so.’
She wanted to stop making her brothers worry too.
Carol slightly opened her beak and took a deep breath. Her soft feathers fluffed up fully.
“Hah!”
Recalling the sensation of transforming into a human, she tensed her body with all her might. Her body trembled violently.
“…Hah…Hah…”
Despite straining to hold her breath to the limit, no change occurred at all.
Carol exhaled heavily as she plopped down on the floor.
She kept failing, failing again this time, but she wouldn’t fail forever.
Though she thought that each time, her lack of significant progress inevitably discouraged her.
Seeing her drooping wings, Kevin and Dylan fidgeted as they tried to console Carol.
“Being able to speak is already a big step forward, so don’t be so impatient.”
“That’s right, sis. Even if you don’t lose sleep over it like this, it’ll come naturally.”
“Yeah. But I’ll still keep trying going forward.”
At Carol’s spirited words, their fingers rapidly stroked her head.
“You don’t need to worry about us at all.”
“You can’t keep living like this forever.”
“Okay. I’m going to take a nap since you’re making lunch.”
They shook their heads at Carol’s offer to help. Quite fatigued, Carol returned to her room and lay on the bed.
Perhaps because she had spritzed the bed with perfume before transforming back into a bird, a nice scent lingered in the room.
Rubbing her cheek against the blanket, Carol instantly fell into a deep sleep.
Tap.
Tap.
The constant jostling pulled her consciousness back from her slumber.
The first thing she saw upon regaining awareness was soft brown hair.
“You’re awake?”
Louis was sitting on the floor, leaning his face at an angle towards the bed.
“Why are you sitting there when the floor is cold?”
“I wanted to watch you sleeping.”
Still not fully awake, Carol asked in a groggy voice at his affectionate answer.
“…When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
A glance outside showed it was still daytime.
She must have slept lying on one side, as only the feathers on that side were ruffled.
Seeing Carol’s disheveled appearance, Louis burst out laughing.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Your feathers are all mussed up on one side.”
After shaking her body vigorously, Carol lifted her legs to smooth out her feathers.
“I must not have slept very well.”
Carol gave Louis a sidelong glance as she stretched her wings out fully. She must have been in an awkward position, as her wingjoints felt stiff.
‘If I transform like this, my shoulders will probably be stiff too.’
As Carol diligently stretched her small body, Louis, who had been watching resting his chin on his hand, suddenly spoke up.
“I still can’t get over you being able to talk like this.”
“Is that why you came here?”
“You got angry because I laughed?”
“A little?”
From outside, a shout could be heard – “I told him not to go in, but he just went in!” – indicating they had realized Carol was awake.
“They’re the ones who let me in though.”
“I know.”
This wasn’t the first time the brothers had fooled Louis. Clicking her tongue at the duped Louis, he wrinkled his nosebridge.
“Oh right, I decided to leave after Founding Day.”
“Didn’t you say you were too busy to leave before then?”
“Well, that’s true but…”
“Hmm.”
Seeing Carol’s dubious green eyes, Louis pondered for a moment.
He had traced the servant Carol had chased, but all he found was that the servant had sold something, not bought it.
He had a bad feeling. If only he could have acquired what that servant sold.
He missed getting the item, unable to even bargain for it.
All he managed to find out, by paying a hefty sum, was that the item had been immediately resold as soon as it came in.
‘Maybe they urgently needed money since they came in such a hurry… But it’s suspicious they chose a miscellaneous goods store instead of a jeweler.’
Margaret had probably raised a huge fuss by now. He had placated her gently, but Margaret seemed to want Carol gone from her sight immediately, while Carol was still working at the Duke’s Mansion.
So Louis couldn’t leave the north yet. He’d probably lose sleep for a while after returning, but he couldn’t go back in such an uneasy state.
“Come to think of it, it seemed sad to spend Founding Day cooped up in a carriage.”
“That’s a good idea, brother!”
Kevin and Dylan stuck their heads in from outside, joining the conversation.
“So can I come over and spend it together at your place?”
“No problem.”
“Should we have an all-night gaming session or something?”
“The brothers would love that.”
“Does that mean you wouldn’t?”
Carol hesitated at Louis’ words.
“I already agreed to work that day, so I can’t stay long.”
Louis raised one eyebrow. “They’re making you work on Founding Day?”
“I was originally going to have it off, but I requested to come in instead.”
“But you were on sick leave. They’re asking you to work on a day you were supposed to rest.”
“I’m the one who requested to come in first.”
Carol wasn’t stupid. She vaguely sensed Louis’ feelings towards her went beyond just being friends.
“I want to spend it together with you.”
“That will be difficult.”
However, having never dated before, Carol couldn’t easily discern if this was a familial feeling or romantic interest.
It wasn’t a conversation she wanted her brothers to overhear. Carol flew low towards the door and used her beak to gently push at the partially open door. The previously unmoving door was quietly closed by Louis coming up behind her.
“Carol, I can take responsibility if you quit.”
“Responsibility for what?”
Louis hesitated at her pointed question.
“Responsibility for what? Obviously I mean taking full responsibility for your food, clothing and shelter.”
He had swallowed those words back then, but couldn’t now. The weight behind the word “responsibility” felt so vastly different.
Carol flew past Louis and perched on the bedside table.
“We said we would help other beastmen live amongst humans like Elais did.”
“I can help with that too, no problem.”
“The situation is different.”
No matter how close, Louis was human while Carol was a beastman.
It meant that while the Langers might be saved in dangerous situations, others could be readily abandoned.
And the other shapeshifters would be well aware of that.
“I want to do it with my own abilities. The only one who can take responsibility for me is myself.”
That’s why the weight of responsibility had to be different.
