“That’s enough for now. Let’s talk about the rest when we go back.”
I couldn’t find a pen in the study, so I had to use the charcoal from the fireplace.
The blunt piece of charcoal filled up the paper quickly with just a few lines. While wiping my blackened hands on my skirt…
Bang! Bang!
“Canary! It’s gotta be here!”
Isadora jumped up in shock from her chair.
“Did you check everywhere else?”
“Yes, I looked everywhere, but not a single feather was found.”
“Then the only place left is the study.”
The door shook like it was about to break. From the sound of it, I could tell the Duke must have been close to losing his mind.
“We need to hide the letter!”
Luckily, the door had a latch. While the Duke searched for the key, I hurriedly tried to hide the letter somewhere appropriate.
Thud!
A massive arm burst through the door. A wild, sharp gaze peeked through the broken door frame.
“No one’s here?”
He reached through the gap, unlocked the latch, and barged in.
“Canary!”
The bird, wide-eyed, was frozen on the desk. Leonard let out a relieved sigh, holding the canary in his hands. He was relieved, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that it didn’t quite make sense.
“Why was the study door locked if no one was here?”
“The latch has been old lately, so sometimes the door locks by itself when it closes…,” the maid explained hesitantly after finally finding the key.
“Tsk… Replace all the doors in the annex with new ones.”
The Duke clicked his tongue and gave the order. The study, long since cooled after the fireplace was put out, was as cold as the outside air. If they hadn’t found the canary in time, it would’ve been a disaster.
Then Leonard suddenly noticed his blackened clothes.
“What were you doing here?”
The canary had a piece of charcoal stuck to its foot. There were bits of paper scattered on the desk, too, with something scribbled on them.
“Were you drawing something?” Leonard wondered.
Was the canary that smart? His confused face suddenly turned calm. It almost seemed like something the bird might do, and he smiled to himself, thinking it was silly.
“I wonder what you drew.”
The paper was torn to bits, and it was impossible to make out what it was. Maybe the bird chewed it, because there were bits of paper all over the floor.
Leonard painstakingly tried to piece the scraps together, but all that was left were incomprehensible lines.
His head tilted in confusion.
“There’s a piece missing.”
The paper he pieced together had a big hole in the middle.
“Where did the rest of it go?”
Isadora, sitting on the desk with her stomach on it, started to wonder too.
Leonard thought to himself that the canary’s belly looked strangely round today. The bird had skipped a meal, which was unusual for it—especially since it usually never refused food.
Leonard’s mind started racing.
“Is there something wrong with you, Canary? Tell me if you’re sick!”
[I’m full.]
It was the first time Leonard had ever heard the canary refuse food.
Leonard was facing a pile of documents that was bigger than a mountain.
“Ugh…”
After bringing the bird back, his workload had been piling up. Today, he got distracted taking care of the canary, so once again, his paperwork piled up.
Leonard, who used to handle tasks on time every day, was now struggling with the stress of catching up.
[I don’t want to read this.]
Normally, Isadora would have devoured the documents with sharp focus, but she, for a completely different reason, was refusing to deal with papers today. She had eaten a letter after all, and now all paper seemed disgusting to her.
But here in the office, everywhere he looked, there was paper scattered all over.
“Ughhh!”
In the middle of this, Isadora spotted that day’s newspaper and nearly had a heart attack when she saw the headline.
Breaking News: Assassination Attempt on Royal Family Foiled. Execution of Mastermind Ordered.
Last night, an assassination attempt on the Ardoer royal family was foiled. The mastermind was Count Proud along with five other nobles. They planned to kill Emperor Carlos and Prince Aster, and if successful, they were going to install Prince Kael O as the new emperor…
It was a bright golden sheet of paper—obviously from The Golden Scales News.
[Ahhh! That was supposed to be my scoop, mine!]
“Canary!”
Rolling on the floor in frustration, Isadora cried.
[If only I had dodged the arrow, this would have been my story to report for the Blackbird News!]
“What’s going on? Are you hurt?”
[Yeah, my stomach hurts! They say if you hold it in, it’ll become poop. Ouch, my belly, ouch!]
Isadora cried out, rolling in agony.
But it wasn’t just talk.
That night, her stomach pain became unbearable.
“Grrr.”
The canary threw up a ball of paper, its insides scribbled on with charcoal.
Leonard finally realized that the bird had swallowed some paper in the study and banged his head.
“Where’s the vet? Why hasn’t anyone contacted them yet?”
“We sent a letter urgently, but it seems they haven’t seen it yet…”
“Ugh…”
Leonard was boiling with frustration as he watched the canary writhe in pain. If they didn’t get a vet soon, the bird might die before Cliff arrived.
“Contact all the vets around here. Get someone to come, no matter what!”
The canary lay motionless, struggling to breathe. Its wings lifted and fell, only to collapse again.
“What are you thinking, Canary?”
Leonard whispered, gently brushing its trembling body.
Isadora was having a dream, the first time she ever flew.
[Spread your wings wide and jump when the wind is right!]
Her mother, flying in place, shouted at her. Isadora passed by Edgar, who was too scared to move.
She leaned over the cliff, gazing down at the ocean waves crashing below.
At that moment, an intense gust of wind swept through.
She instinctively knew it was the wind that would let her fly.
Without any fear, Isadora leapt into the air.
[Woooah!]
She soared, catching the wind beneath her wings, and shouted with joy.
The beautiful sunset, the ocean tinted with golden light, the sharp smell of the sea in the breeze.
Her mother’s encouraging voice was behind her.
[Hey! Isadora, come with me!]
Edgar, still stuck at the cliff’s edge, looked on as she flew farther away.
Her mother shouted at her too.
[Isadora! You need to fly with us!]
Ignoring her mother’s call, Isadora flew on, teasing Edgar, who couldn’t keep up.
[Coward Edgar! I’m leaving you behind!]
[Come back to mom! Let’s all fly together!]
Her mother’s voice grew fainter as Isadora kept flying toward the horizon, thinking maybe she would find a treasure island like in fairy tales.
But the sky that had been so clear quickly darkened.
Dark clouds gathered, and the wind grew fierce.
Boom!
Isadora flew through a dangerous storm, dodging lightning.
Then, suddenly, Edgar was beside her, flapping his wings in panic.
“Don’t go! Come back to us!”
[Come back! Hide in the cave from the lightning!]
[You told me we have to stay together! Why are you flying alone?]
[Don’t worry! I’ll be back soon! We’ll all meet again!]
But her mother, flying behind, started falling behind.
She looked back at Isadora before turning around and heading for the storm-covered island to rescue her husband.
[No, no! I’m coming too—Aaah!]
Screaming, her mother disappeared, her head aching from the fall.
Edgar, feeling desperate, hit her in the back of the head to snap her out of it.
[What are you doing?!]
[Didn’t you hear mom? Don’t stop flying! Keep going!]
[We need to go back, together! We can still save dad!]
[Shut up! Keep flying forward. Don’t look back! I told you, don’t look back—Isadora!]
[Edgar. I don’t want to go! Let’s go back to mom and dad, okay? Edgar! Edgar!]
But Edgar didn’t answer.
He just kept nudging her, making sure her wings didn’t slow down.
Tears welled up in Isadora’s eyes.
[Why does our family have to be torn apart like this?]
