66. A Beast Touched by Human Hands

“I think I have to leave.”

“What?”

Suren’s eyes widened in surprise, just as I expected.

“Did His Highness say so? That you should leave?”

“He didn’t say it directly, but it was clear he wanted me to.”

Suren, who was staring at me intently, finally spoke.

“You should argue with him. If it was going to be like this, you should have stayed in the North! Since he brought you here, he should take full responsibility. He has a duty to ensure your reputation in society and your future. Even if you were brought here as a blood bag, this kind of treatment is…”

Suren suppressed her anger, her eyes welling up with tears.

I patted her back. It was ironic. Here I was, comforting her.

“Suren, you should stay here and not follow me.”

“What? I told you before, I serve you, not His Highness. Where would I stay?”

“It’s better for you to say you worked in the prince’s residence when you need a recommendation later. And you’ve learned how to serve a noble lady. It would be good practice to stay by Lady Isella’s side.”

“It’s a waste. I’m determined to use everything I’ve learned to serve you.”

Suren choked up.

“Even so, you need to stay here. Once I leave… I may not be able to return.”

I patted Suren’s back. She closed her mouth and said nothing.

As we looked at each other, Suren lowered her head.

“Oh, I almost forgot. You received a letter. I came to give it to you.”

She pulled an envelope from her waistband.

I had sent a telegram to a trusted servant, hoping to say a final goodbye to Elisabeth.

Since parting ways with Count Arin at the hunting ground, I hadn’t heard anything about her.

I had sent a letter yesterday asking to meet, and the reply came quickly.

[Due to health issues, the Count’s household will not be receiving guests for the time being. We ask for your understanding.]

It was a refusal, as expected.

Polite but firm. The concise message showed a clear boundary.

There were no affectionate greetings as there used to be.

Even kind Elisabeth would be reluctant to meet me now.

She is pregnant and her condition is getting tougher.

There are rumors that her only sister fell in love with her close friend’s lover.

And she only hears these rumors through the maids. In her frail condition, she can’t participate in social events or refute the gossip.

She lies helplessly in bed, hearing the spreading rumors, with her imagination running wild.

I understood because I had experienced it too. There were times when I was stuck in a small room, worrying about my situation.

Elisabeth must feel trapped. While it’s good for a vassal to have their lord’s house form a bond, the guilt must be eating away at her.

She must be torn between the two, feeling anxious and conflicted.

Various thoughts must be consuming her.

It was inevitable that she didn’t want to meet me. It was just regrettable.

I wondered if the Count had conveyed my message to his wife.

Considering the lack of response, it seemed he hadn’t.

There was no point in concerning myself with them any longer. I had my own tasks to handle, which were already overwhelming.

* * *

I took a lantern and went into the forest.

I heard rustling sounds in the bushes. The butterflies, which had been sleeping on the leaves, all flew away at once.

In the dark night, only the sound of insects could be heard. The northern nights were always quiet, but the nights in the capital were filled with the sounds of various living creatures.

I chose a sturdy-looking branch and hung the lantern on it.

Then, I opened the birdcage. It was a white cage with a Mochia bird inside. The bird was sitting quietly on its perch.

When I opened the door, the bird hurriedly hopped onto my hand.

I decided to set the bird free. Since I was leaving the imperial palace, the greenhouse would be left unattended, and it would be hard for the bird to survive. Although I would instruct someone to feed it, I doubted the order would be faithfully followed once I left the estate.

Even if the bird died, it had such a short and sensitive lifespan that it could easily be explained away as having died early. It would be hard for anyone to come and check on it. I wasn’t even sure if I could return to the mansion.

The new residence I was moving to didn’t have a greenhouse. The only way to save this little bird was to release it freely.

I opened my hand and let it fly.

However, the bird didn’t fly away. It circled between the branches and then returned to me.

It perched on my head and, even when I tried to send it off again, it landed on the back of my hand. The bird didn’t fly away and just circled around. Eventually, it folded its wings and lay down in my palm, rubbing its cheek against my skin affectionately.

I let out a deep sigh.

“Why can’t you leave even when I open the door for you? If you stay like this, you’ll die in a few days. If I earnestly ask Isella, she might kindly raise you, but who would sincerely take care of the government’s pet?”

Even if what I left behind wasn’t a bird but a child, they would surely be persecuted. In the big mansion, they would have to hide and avoid the eyes of those around them, finding it difficult to come out of their room. At least you, as a pet, can have some freedom.

I opened my hand and tried to let it fly again, but the bird just fluttered once without spreading its wings.

Worried it might fall, I closed my hand. If I dropped it from a high place, it would instinctively spread its wings, but this small life knew I couldn’t let go. It trusted me completely.

There was nothing I could do. A beast that has already become accustomed to human hands cannot leave its nest.

Inside the cage was a makeshift nest made of straw and small twigs. I hung the cage next to the branch where I had hung the lantern.

When I opened the door wide, the bird went inside as if it were its home. Seeing it huddle inside with its wings folded over its head, I sighed deeply.

For the time being, I decided to leave the cage hanging here with the door open. Then, when it got hungry, it would go out on its own.

I left the iron door open. The bird, oblivious to everything, was sound asleep.

* * *

“Rioni.”

The greenhouse door opened. Warm air flowed in through the gap in the door.

A man stepped up the stone steps laid in the greenhouse.

Strong sunlight shone through. The man squinted his eyes and then approached me.

“Philip.”

It was Philip’s face I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“It’s been a while.”

He put down his bag and took off his gloves. Although he took off his thin coat and hat, he did not open the bag he had hung on the chair.

“I’m sorry. I failed to cast the mold. Unfortunately.”

He spoke in a crawling voice as if he was genuinely sorry.

“You must have waited a long time. I feel ashamed.”

It was useless anyway. I had already discarded the gun.

The gun would be somewhere in the imperial forest. It might have been burned as an insolent object held by a criminal.

I nodded indifferently.

“Was today the last day you were coming?”

“Yes.”

“There’s nothing left to buy anymore.”

Philip responded to my murmured words.

“If given more time, I might succeed. How about buying a large amount of fertilizer for the flowers to place in the greenhouse? That should buy you some time.”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to come anymore. Thank you for everything, Philip.”

At my firm words, he stood up abruptly.

“Is it because of money? If you want, I can create a secret ledger. When the prince gives me funds, I can transfer them to you in cash later. It might be good to have some money on hand in case something happens. You might need money from an unknown source too.”

“It’s a good idea, but… I think I have to decline.”

“Why?”

“Because I have to leave the mansion.”

“You? He’s letting you go?”

Philip’s eyes widened. The freckles on his cheeks twitched.

“Not completely. I just have to leave the mansion.”

“Why?”

“Because… he is about to get engaged.”

“Leaving you behind?”

Philip’s mouth dropped open.

“I can’t understand the noble world. Does he not need you anymore? Sorry. I should be comforting you, but I’m too shocked. The reason you stayed in the imperial command wasn’t just for some trifling love.”

“Shh, keep your voice down. Someone outside might hear.”

Isella sometimes passed by the greenhouse and garden while being introduced to the mansion. If we raised our voices, she might hear about the blood.

“Perhaps he’s been considerate enough until now. Considering he treated me well for a tool.”

Compared to the previous blood donors, my treatment had improved. I acknowledged that.

How long would his strength last without drinking my blood?

I counted the intervals when Deon drank blood. When he had the personal team, it was frequently, after the contract, three times a week, and in the capital, once a week.

Could he endure without me?

“Philip, what did she tell you?”

“What?”

“The famous antique shop in the capital. You went there too, didn’t you? What did the woman tell you? Didn’t you get any additional information?”

What did the head maid tell Philip before she lost her tongue?

Philip frowned.

“Huh? I’ve never been to an antique shop.”

“Wasn’t she working in an antique shop then? Short hair, around her 30s. You must have talked to her, and she had a problem with her tongue.”

I gestured to show the approximate hair length.

Philip stared blankly at my hand moving in the air, his mouth open. He seemed not to understand what I was saying.

“I don’t know. Not at all.”

“Didn’t you ask her…? No. How did you know I was going to the duke’s territory for blood?”

I felt uneasy.

“I knew you were going north from the letter you left, but I never heard from anyone else. I didn’t ask either.”

“Then who?”

Sweat trickled down my back.

Only one name flashed through my mind.

Azanti.

How much does he know?

Was that why he floated a crystal ball in the forest?

Because the only way to survive the pouring monsters was to crave blood. To capture evidence of taking blood.

If I assumed that, everything that happened in the forest made sense.

But he missed one thing. I was no longer forcibly bound to Deon but had become his person. Contrary to the thought that I would be forcibly held and my blood taken, I had been pretending.

It might not be Azanti who broke the oath and made the maid speak.

But in any case, there was someone outside who knew about the existence of the blood.

TL/N: So guys I edited the old chaps and I just found out the 2nd prince name is indeed ‘Azanti’ and I have been calling him crown prince that was wrong for me cuz crown prince is not decided yet so no one is CP here.