I was sure Seth didn't like me.
I thought it could be because we are not the same snake species, but I felt sad in a corner of my heart.
I crouched down.
I couldn't be welcomed by everyone. Still, I didn't like it even if I knew it was inevitable. I hid the colored paper I was going to give as a gift.
"Miss Irene, don't be so heartbroken. You can get along with Master Seth."
"Pii."
"Do you want to be friends with me?"
Seth tilted his head expressionlessly and I poked my head out.
'Will you accept this if I say I want to be friends with you?'
The folded butterfly was a little crumpled, but this was the only thing I had now.
"What a strange kid. I guess you are not afraid of my leaking pheromones."
"That is the charm of Miss Irene."
"Everyone was trembling and busy running away."
Seth approached and held out his palm. I glanced at him and handed him the colored paper.
"I'll take it."
"······Pii."
"But I'm not very happy with you. I don't want you to be seen by me in the future. If you want to keep living."
Rosaria's expression hardened as the atmosphere changed terribly.
"Sir, if you say more than that, I have no choice but to report to the Lord. Please be nice."
"Oh, yes. Then I'll stop here. It'll be hard if my father knows this."
An arrogant smile resembling Cade was painted around Seth's mouth. I kept staring at him in Rosaria's arms, as he was about to take a step back, he looked down on my legs and spoke in a pathetic tone.
"I thought I smelled blood. Looks like it fell and got a wound."
Rosaria took a look at my leg at Seth's words. It wasn't a big fall, so it was only a very small scratch, but she turned white.
"Miss Irene, where did you get this wound······. When did you fall down?"
"Pii."
For some reason, the pain seemed to come back belatedly. Maybe it was because I was relaxed.
"It hurts, Rosaria. Please blow 'Ho, Ho.'"
Seth, who was watching me being taken care of by Rosaria, frowned.
"I don't need a sibling like you with a body that gets hurt from just falling down. You're weak."
With that, I became a weak baby bird.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
That's how the outing ended.
After returning to the room and washing briefly, Rosaria applied medicine to my leg and meticulously put on a band-aid.
It wasn't that long, but it felt like ten million years had passed. I lay on the bed as I hugged the pillow.
"Pii······. Pii."
My voice sank as I was still hurting.
"Miss Irene, are you still very upset?"
Rosaria asked, stroking my head.
I nodded slowly.
The lingering feeling of the intense first meeting that happened in the garden did not go away.
I blinked at the ceiling as I couldn't fall asleep easily even though it was nap time.
"You can't fall asleep? Do you want me to draw the curtains?"
"Pii."
I shook my head. I don't think I would fall asleep just because it was getting dark.
Somehow, the sensation of my whole body seemed to be extremely sensitive. I didn't know if it was because I was affected by the pheromones leaking from Seth earlier, but just the slight movement of Rosaria made me nervous.
I tossed and turned with a grunt.
"Miss Irene?"
Rosaria called me when I made a sudden groan, but I didn't answer and dug into the blanket.
"Pii······. Pii."
The reason was that my heart rate became faster without me knowing why.
What's wrong?
As I tilted my head, Rosaria lifted the blanket anxiously.
"Are you having any discomfort anywhere, Irene-sama?"
"Pii······."
Not really······.
I fiddled with my fuzzy feathers. Somehow, I felt as if a faint feeling was spreading all over my body. I pulled the blanket tightly because I felt like I had to find a comfortable position quickly.
Rosaria patted my back as I rolled around and tossed and turned.
"Would you like a lullaby?"
"Pii."
"Let's go to bed, Miss Irene. For the God in the moon is sleeping too~."
"Pii."
Rosaria lifted the blanket up to my chest. My eyes, which were wide open just a moment ago, fell heavily on the warm texture of my body. I tried hard to keep my eyes open, but it was no use with her patting.
I whined and shook my head.
"Do you not want to take a nap today? Is it because of what happened a while ago? It's time to sleep."
"Pii Pii Pii Pii."
"Yes."
"Pii Pii······."
My mind slowly faded with the patting.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Late at night, when everyone would start to fall asleep, Rosaria looked anxiously at Irene's condition.
Irene has been sleeping all day.
Rosaria, who had prepared the meal in time for her to wake up, was hanging around.
"Why are you sleeping for such a long time? You have to eat dinner, too."
It didn't matter if she slept like this, but she could wake up at dawn and change her day and night routine.
Rosaria was troubled because she wanted to avoid such a situation.
Should she wake her up like this?
"I wonder if she was very tired······. Maybe I should go and visit Hestia."
What if I go looking for Hestia and Irene wakes up?
It was not dangerous to be by herself, but she might be scared to know she was alone at night. If she tried to leave the bed while I was away for a while, something could happen
In addition, Irene couldn't fly yet.
It was actually unexpected.
Usually, as the tail begins to grow, baby birds show interest in flying, but Irene's growth was a little slower.
Environmental problems were also something to think about. Irene might have grown a little faster if she had an original guardian.
"······You have to grow up without any problems."
Sometimes, young shapeshifters do not grow properly and stay in the shape of animals.
There is no doubt that she will humanize because she has already experienced growing pains due to her primary awakening, but Rosaria was still deeply troubled.
This is because one minor mistake could have affected growth.
It was not known what kind of growth the bird clan goes through.
The growth process of each clan was a secret, and the realm of the bird clan was mainly the sky, so there were not many encounters.
"Sigh······. What should I do? If I had known this would happen, I would have befriended more people at the border."
She let out a sigh mixed with regret, recalling the Bird Clan guarding the eastern border.
If she befriended them, she might have been able to ask for help.
Rosaria looked down at Irene, who was asleep in the dark. Irene, who never slept all day, was asleep without moving.
What if this is a precursor to secondary awakening?
All abnormalities before growth should not be overlooked.
Rosaria's brow is wrinkled.
"I can't, I think I'll go find Hestia."
She stood up. Rosaria, who grabbed the doorknob and looked back to leave the room, opened her mouth.
"······I'll be right back, Miss Irene."
She opened the door carefully to avoid the sound of footsteps.
After a while, Irene's sleeping eyes began to tremble.
"Pii, Pii······."
The little body fumbled its wings as if it was trying to find a safe place. She then began to retreat her body in the blanket that she could easily hide in.
A small corner of the blanket above Irene rose convexly. The baby bird, who could be seen through a small gap in the blanket, still hadn't woken up and she was exhaling her breath evenly.
The body, which had been crouching for a while, began to stretch out as if it had never been so comfortable before.
The blanket had only a tiny hole, opened enough to allow breathing, and that was the moment.
A fluffy pheromone wafted out around the small, white body. The scent was so sweet that it tickled the tip of the nose.
It lingered around Irene without leaving her all night long as if protecting her.
Then, Irene opened her eyes.