‘Lately… I swear the Duke keeps staring at me.’
Before, he only ever looked at her when she squawked too loudly or got in his way.
But now, when she turned around, his blue eyes were suddenly right there, so close her beak nearly poked him in the eye.
[Ack! Careful! I almost stabbed you!]
She backed up, and only then did his face pull away.
He calmly went back to reading documents.
Isadora leaned over to peek.
‘Gold ore discovered on Mount Kentaiya? I thought the North was barren… if this is true, the Duke’s going to make a fortune—’
Rustle.
Suddenly, she felt a light press on the back of her head.
‘…What was that?’
She whipped her head around.
The Duke hadn’t moved. Not a finger out of place.
Just calmly reading.
[Weird. I definitely felt something.]
She glared suspiciously, but he looked cool and detached.
When he flipped the page, her eyes bulged.
[Wait! I wasn’t done reading that yet!]
She shoved her beak into the paper.
‘Yeah, no way. The Duke wouldn’t secretly pet me. Must’ve imagined it.’
…Meanwhile, her twitching tail feathers kept catching his gaze.
He even started talking to her more.
“Why don’t you cry anymore?” he asked one day while walking the hall.
[Because I was worried about your hearing, duh.]
Back when she first arrived, she’d screamed nonstop, partly to drive him crazy until he gave up trying to chase her out.
At first, he flinched. Now, he barely reacted.
She thought maybe he’d gotten used to her.
The truth? His right ear was still half-deaf.
‘So predictable… sword practice in the morning, shower, lunch, then paperwork until six.’
Boring. Readers of the Black Bird Daily would fall asleep at that schedule.
[Ugh!]
She hopped off his shoulder.
In a flash, his warrior reflexes kicked in—eyes gleaming, hand snatching her mid-air.
“Caw—!”
Her tiny heart nearly burst. His reflexes were terrifying.
“Don’t just jump off.”
He clucked his tongue and gently set her down.
“Caw! Caw!”
She squawked indignantly and bolted down the hall.
Her cries echoed all around.
When she looked back, he was just standing there, watching her run.
Lately, she’d been exploring the castle instead of sitting on his shoulder all the time.
Why? Because after a week of observation, she’d realized—
‘The Duke is boring. Nothing juicy to report.’
But today… the castle was unusually busy.
The servants cleaned like their lives depended on it. Not just sweeping floors, but scrubbing under furniture, polishing everything until it sparkled.
[Hey! Is there some big event coming? Someone tell me!]
Nobody answered the noisy crow.
Then it hit her.
‘Wait… a full-scale cleaning? Oh no. They’ve found my stash.’
She shot upstairs.
Sure enough—inside the Duke’s bedroom, a servant stood in front of the wardrobe, holding…
“My lord’s watch?! You nasty little bird, you stole this!”
The pocket watch in his hand was covered in dust.
And under the wardrobe lay coins, pins, and buttons she’d “collected.”
It was crow instinct—hoarding shiny things. And ever since coming here, it had only gotten worse.
Whenever the Duke rolled up his sleeves and took off his watch, she couldn’t stop staring at the gleaming silver.
Too tempting. So she dragged it into her little “treasure trove” under the wardrobe.
[I didn’t steal it! I just… relocated it! Write a correction, please!]
She puffed up proudly.
“Caw! Caaaw!”
The ear-splitting cry made the servant wince.
“Shut up!”
He swung a broom at her.
Whack!
“Caw!”
She slammed into the wall.
[Ow, my head…]
What kind of servant hits an innocent animal?!
But before she could retaliate, the man bent down… and slipped the watch and some coins into his pocket.
Then bolted.
Isadora froze.
[What the—?! He really is a thief?!]
She spotted the Duke in the corridor and screamed louder than ever.
[Duke!]
“Caw!”
Her cry was so piercing that he actually flinched.
She hopped frantically in front of his boots.
[Come quickly!]
“…Now what?”
[There’s a thief! A servant with red hair and freckles! He stole your watch, then blamed me and whacked me with a broom!]
His brows furrowed.
“…Your crying’s worse than ever.”
[Ughhh! This is hopeless. Should I transform into a human just to write him a note?]
She forced herself to calm down.
Then she pecked at his left wrist.
He looked between his bare wrist and the bird.
“…No watch.”
[Exactly! See?! Something’s wrong!]
“Mm.”
He actually nodded.
[Wait… did he really just get that?]
He crouched down and extended his hand.
“Come up.”
[That’s not what I meant! But… fine.]
She hopped up onto his shoulder anyway. She could expose the thief later.
‘Ow.’
Her right foot twinged. Probably from the broom smack earlier.
But it wasn’t bad. A night’s rest would fix it.
She climbed up his shoulder as usual—only to notice he wasn’t moving.
[Uh… why’d you stop?]
His sharp eyes were fixed on her leg.
She gave a sheepish little “caw” and played dumb.
Thankfully, he looked away.
[So… what’s going on? Everyone’s cleaning like crazy. Some VIP is coming, huh?]
He didn’t reply.
[It’s gotta be royalty, right? Prince Aster? Or Crown Prince Ezverren?]
Only someone of a higher rank than the Duke could cause this much fuss.
And meetings with royals were scheduled months in advance.
Which meant—if she got the scoop, it’d be huge.
Her feathers fluffed with excitement.
[I’m definitely coming too! Don’t you dare leave me out!]
“Caw! Caw!”
But the Duke stayed calm, walking into his office.
Then, suddenly, she lost her balance.
“Caw!”
She slipped from his shoulder, flailing.
‘No! I’m gonna smash into marble—beak first!’
She shut her eyes and braced for pain.
Thump…
But instead of stone, she felt warmth.
And a faint scent of winter woods.
She peeked her eyes open.
[Duke?]
His large hands were wrapped around her, holding her safe.
