Episode 10
[“Why do you keep touching me?”]
Isadora twisted her head and grumbled.
The Duke had gotten into this annoying habit of messing with her lately.
At first, when she realized his fingers were brushing her head, she jumped in shock.
‘No wonder the back of my head felt kind of smooth!’
Sometimes she’d even felt a strange heaviness on her head—it wasn’t her imagination.
The Duke had been stroking her.
At first, it was just the lightest touch.
‘I mean… I am sitting on his shoulder.’
So she couldn’t exactly throw a tantrum over a little teasing.
But maybe letting it slide was her mistake.
One small spark can grow into a huge fire, after all.
[“Stop it already!”]
Now, poking her neck feathers with a finger was the least of it.
The Duke went further—running his hot, callused palm down her back, from her shoulders to her tail feathers, like he was feeling the texture of her wings.
Finally, she’d had enough.
She snapped at his hand in frustration.
He didn’t even resist, just let her bite him, which made her even madder.
His hand, hardened from years of gripping swords, was solid like stone.
She couldn’t even draw a drop of blood.
“Caaawwwk!!”
Her angry screech rang through the halls, but the Duke didn’t even flinch anymore.
After all the noise she’d made since arriving, he was half-deaf by now.
For the first time in her life, Isadora felt like she’d met her match.
‘Fine. Just a little longer. Once I’ve gathered enough juicy stories for my paper, and my wing heals… I’m flying back home without looking back!’
That day, the Duke took a different route on his walk.
[“Where are we going?”]
“Shhh—” He tapped her beak.
“We’re about to enter somewhere you need to be quiet.”
Isadora tilted her head. Where’s he taking me?
Looking around, she spotted a small building coming into view.
‘Wait, is that the annex? If so, then inside there should be…’
Sure enough, inside the annex, a woman was lying half-reclined on a bed.
Her face was pale and sickly, but the dark blue waves of her hair gave her a dreamy, almost mystical air.
Her sharp blue eyes were unmistakable—they looked just like Leonard’s.
It was his half-sister, Lania Caribou.
“How’s your health?”
“The same as always.”
“I see.”
That was the extent of their greeting.
But Lania’s gaze soon drifted to his shoulder, where Isadora perched.
“That thing on your shoulder… is it a decoration?”
“Decoration? It’s alive. A crow.”
“It’s just hard to believe, that’s all.”
Isadora’s eyes darted back and forth between the siblings.
‘Wow, this is unexpected.’
Everyone knew the story: Duke Leonard Caribou was Queen Cordelia’s son, the official heir to Tremière.
Lania Caribou, on the other hand, was the illegitimate daughter of the king’s mistress, Pamela.
The queen and the mistress had fought a vicious power struggle.
And yet… here their children were, talking without any hostility.
Even though it was Leonard who had killed Lania’s mother.
“Don’t you think it’s pretty? This bird only listens to me.”
“…You’re joking, right?”
“Nope. She refuses to get off my shoulder.”
To prove it, the Duke leaned forward and tried to nudge her off.
Isadora dug her claws into his coat. No way was she letting go.
“Whoa…”
Lania’s eyes widened. She wasn’t amazed at the bird, but at her usually stone-faced brother, who looked almost… cheerful.
“This is the first animal I’ve ever seen that actually likes you.”
“She even understands words. Recently, she caught an intruder.”
“What? Is this bird that smart? She’s almost like a person.”
‘Yikes.’
Isadora froze. The words hit a little too close to the truth.
“Maybe she was trained somewhere?” Lania suggested.
The Duke turned his head and studied her closely, his sharp eyes narrowing.
What was that supposed to mean? Don’t tell me he’s starting to suspect she’s actually human…
“…No. That can’t be it. She just talks way too much.”
‘Knew it.’
Relieved but insulted at the same time, Isadora plopped down flat on his shoulder.
The Duke absentmindedly stroked her feathers again, which made Lania suddenly serious.
“…Are you really my brother?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know… I can’t believe it. Maybe I should report this somewhere.”
She clapped her hands as if an idea had struck her.
“Yes! I’ll write a letter to the Black Bird Daily.”
[“My newspaper?!”]
Isadora’s eyes went wide.
‘No way. The Duke’s little sister is one of my readers?!’
Her heart melted instantly.
She gave Lania a look full of affection.
But then—
“You’re still obsessed with that ridiculous paper?” the Duke muttered.
[“What?! What’s wrong with my paper?!”]
“Cawwwk!!”
Isadora stomped and squawked on his shoulder.
Lania, backing her up, shot her brother a glare.
“What’s so wrong about that paper?”
For the first time, someone was defending Isadora’s pride! She felt so satisfied she could cry.
But Leonard only sighed.
“It’s too sensational. There are plenty of neutral, objective papers out there.”
“Like which ones?”
“The Golden Scales Daily, for example…”
“Boring.”
Her blunt reply left Leonard speechless.
Lania had been a loyal reader of the Black Bird Daily for years.
Leonard, in contrast, only read “serious” empire-approved papers.
The only reason he even knew of Isadora’s paper was because Lania once shoved a copy at him, saying, “Look! You’re on the front page!”
And what did he find?
<With a face like a gray wolf and a body like a reindeer…>
He’d nearly choked.
<The Black Duke is most beautiful from a distance. Countless young ladies tried to claim him, but…>
The further he read, the worse it got.
Sure, it started off mentioning his broken engagement.
But soon it was spewing nonsense—about girls pining after him, about his supposed “favorite color,” about the brand of coat he wore last meeting.
<According to an anonymous survey in Royal Trend Magazine, the Duke ranked third place as the most aristocratic-looking nobleman…>
The article just went on and on with random trivia.
No conclusion, no proper point.
Leonard had snorted, thinking it was trash.
But against his will, he kept turning the pages, swept up in its flashy style.
By the time he came back to his senses, he was halfway through.
‘Who wrote this garbage?’
He flipped back to the front page.
<Editor-in-Chief: Isadora McDorr>
It was her—the tall crow-woman he’d locked eyes with the other day.
At the time, he’d noticed her because she stood out, taller than the other noblewomen, like how he stood out among men.
Her long gray-black hair, her striking pale face… but what he remembered most were her pale gray eyes, like white paint with a drop of ink in them—sharp, gleaming.
“A woman with a long tongue,” he’d muttered, dismissing her with one phrase.
And now his sister was planning to send a letter to that very newspaper.
“Anyway, I’ll write to them. They’ve never had such a long break before.”
“They’re on hiatus?”
“Yes! And I’m dying here, waiting.”
Lania’s life was boring, and the Black Bird Daily was her only joy.
But the paper had been on break for three whole weeks.
“You should just quit reading it.”
She ignored him completely.
Instead, she started planning what she’d write: a letter to the editor, saying her devoted readers were eagerly waiting.
That evening—
“Oh?” Lania tilted her head at the sight of a crow flying into her room.
“So much for not leaving his shoulder.”
But sure enough, the bird had come alone.
Where was her brother?
Before she could wonder too long, the crow ran across the wall, leapt onto her bed, and—
“Coo-roo, coo-rook!”
It shook its head and cooed strangely, like it was offering affection.
[“To my precious reader, I bring you this gift.”]
“Coo-rook.”
Something shiny dropped from its beak into her palm.
Lania frowned at the object.
“…What the heck is this supposed to be?”
