The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 74.1
“Come here.”
It was Prince Cassian’s voice from inside the room.
Leslun carefully peeked through the half-opened door. The unfamiliar room’s air was steeped in a gentle warmth and the low glow of sunlight. He stepped inside with a slightly awkward movement, not daring to open the door any wider.
The room was quiet. Bookshelves lined the walls, and thin streams of sunlight spilled through the heavy curtains and stretched across the floor.
Prince Cassian moved with steps as light as wind. His footsteps were muffled by the thick carpet.
Leslun kept glancing back and forth between the hallway and the room, unsure if the prince meant for him to follow all the way inside.
The soft sound of the door clicking shut made him look around the room.
The heavy but soft furniture was neatly arranged, all of it elegant and luxurious. It did not seem like Prince Cassian’s personal taste.
While Leslun stood in the middle of the room looking around, Prince Cassian reappeared.
This time, he was holding something carefully in his arms. A tiny creature that barely filled his palms was perched there delicately.
“This is a bird, isn’t it?”
“Yes. And it’s the one we saved.”
So this was what Prince Cassian wanted to show him. Since they had treated it together before, it seemed he also wanted to tell Leslun that the bird had completely recovered.
“Now it flies around this room as if it is too small for it.”
The little bird perched on Cassian’s palms spread its wings once more, as though yearning for the vast open world. Its thin feathers, light body, and soft sounds made life itself tremble between its fragile bones.
Leslun felt a sudden calm wash over him.
“When will you release it?”
“That is…”
Cassian’s face fell at Leslun’s suggestion that they should release the bird now that it had fully healed.
“After spending time with it every day, it’s hard to let go.”
Prince Cassian confessed that he had grown attached to the bird without even realizing it.
“Then will you keep it in the palace forever?”
At Leslun’s firm but quiet question, Cassian’s lips curved slightly.
“No. I feel stifled in here sometimes too. How must a bird with wings feel?”
Even as he spoke his thoughts aloud, Cassian never held the bird too tightly.
Instead, he carefully spread his fingers so its tiny feet would not slip and its wings would not be bent.
“Still, I am glad we can say goodbye together one last time.”
Cassian’s voice sounded as if he was trying to focus on the bright side.
His expression showed the helpless lingering attachment and disappointment of parting, yet his effort to see it positively was endearing in its own way.
“I suppose we can watch it for a little while longer before letting it go.”
It was a small resolution, as though he was convincing himself.
Leslun nodded gently, his gaze and gesture carrying quiet understanding.
He carefully went down on one knee and held out his hands.
“May I hold it too?”
Cassian readily placed the bird in Leslun’s hands. Seeing the bird lie quietly in his palms, the atmosphere softened warmly.
Knock, knock.
Both Leslun and Prince Cassian turned toward the window at the sound.
On the window ledge sat a small, cute creature.
And that was not all—it blinked its eyes and tapped the glass with its tiny front paw. Its adorableness made it impossible not to open the window.
“Open the window.”
At the prince’s order, Leslun quickly opened the glass window. Even opening it slightly was enough, since Blue was so small it had no trouble slipping through.
Its face brushed against the frame for a brief moment, but Blue stubbornly squirmed its way inside.
Once inside the room, Blue strutted confidently as though it owned the place and looked at Leslun as if telling him to hold out his hand.
Leslun stared at Blue in bewilderment.
“Why has the spirit beast that used to hover around the Crown Prince come to the Second Prince?”
It was not a problem for Blue to fly anywhere it pleased since it did not have a fixed master yet, but something about this unusual situation felt significant.
***
“The spirit beast went to Cassian’s palace?”
Empress Tera repeated the words under her breath.
She was asking again to confirm, but her voice was cool, almost detached.
“Yes, Your Majesty. We saw it enter through the window.”
The knight replied politely.
The Empress swept her gaze across the table. She lifted her teacup, then set it down again.
Her expression was neither pleased nor displeased, which made it all the more difficult to read. She had not misheard.
On the contrary, she had heard it clearly, which was why she asked again.
She had been trying to lure the spirit beast away from the Crown Prince’s palace for some time.
Even after fastening the necklace crafted by Brian, nothing had happened, so she had been preparing her next plan.
“Even if it’s just a brief visit…”
The Empress murmured as if speaking to herself.
She had let Cassian pick up the bird the other day, wondering if it might influence things.
She shook her head, dismissing the thought.
“It does not matter.”
What mattered was that it came.
She rose from her seat and walked to the window. From where she stood, she could see exactly where Cassian would be.
“Spread the word.”
Brian, who had been drinking tea with her, lifted his gaze.
“The spirit beast entered Prince Cassian’s room.”
That alone was enough to tip the scales that had been leaning toward the Crown Prince over to their side.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
