CHAPTER 07
“Yes, from now on, call me that.”
“Ahem, you might be curious, so I’ll kindly tell you. The origin of the name.”
Excuse me, I didn’t ask.
“That child was small and fragile. You can’t imagine how lovely they looked with their black feathers fluttering in the wind.”
He’s just starting on his own.
The prince wore an ecstatic expression, like someone recounting a beautiful dream.
‘The male lead never had such a bright expression in the novel.’
Watching him smile—such a rare and expensive expression—left me with a strange feeling.
“Every time that child nestled in my arms, it felt like I had the whole world. That child was more precious than anything to me.”
Who is Titi?
There was never any mention of a “Titi” in the novel.
“They were the only one in this castle who gave me unconditional affection.”
As he finished speaking, a shadow fell over the prince’s face.
“Not anymore though…”
“Did something happen?”
The child spoke calmly, emotionless, as if he’d practiced this line many times.
“There was a corpse in the garden. Looked like they died from an arrow that pierced through the body.”
Although he looked indifferent, the redness on his nose hinted he was holding back tears.
“And it just so happened that the one managing the aviary that day made a mistake.”
“Aviary?”
“My Titi was a bird with beautiful black feathers.”
The prince turned his gaze toward me as he finished speaking.
His expression was strange. As if expecting some kind of reaction, his gaze was intense.
‘What is with him?’
So Titi wasn’t a person after all.
Not that it changed much.
“That must’ve been hard.”
“…Is that all?”
“Nothing I say will really comfort you, will it? That bird must’ve been a precious friend.”
His catlike eyes stared at me steadily.
The way he looked at me had changed. It wasn’t fear, disgust, or contempt anymore. It was a burning, unknown emotion.
“Yes… Perhaps you are a gift sent for me.”
A glimmer of color passed through his forest-green eyes.
“Titi…”
After naming me “Titi,” the prince completely changed his demeanor.
But that wasn’t what mattered most to me.
“About what you said… granting peace to a grudge?”
“When did I say that?”
“Does that mean you can send me back to where I came from?”
“You mean, to the side of God?”
“That’s a bit much. Are you saying you’ll kill me?”
“Aren’t you already a wandering spirit?”
“How can you say something so harsh…!”
Oh, come to think of it, I do look like I’m dead.
Seeing my subdued reaction, the boy quickly changed the subject.
“You’re not exactly a vengeful spirit. More like… just a ghost.”
You might as well not have said that.
“In any case, I made a promise. So I’ll ask. What lingering attachment is keeping you here?”
If I had to pick one regret tying me to this world, there was only one.
“If you don’t say anything, I can’t help you.”
Stop the trash the male lead will do to the female lead and second lead in the future?
“Is that mouth just for decoration? Speak up.”
“Well…”
“Are you testing my patience now?”
Excuse me, it’s been less than a minute since you asked!
My insides were boiling, but I held it in. I just managed to start talking with him—I didn’t want to go back to being ignored and lonely.
“Hurry.”
“Uh…”
“Hurry!”
He pressured me so much, I couldn’t think straight.
…What should I say?
“Is it taking that long? I’ll give you time, then.”
“H-Huh? Tha—”
“Three.”
“Why start counting now?!”
What was my goal again? Saying it out loud suddenly became difficult.
Change the novel’s ending? Go back home?
“Two…”
Fix the male lead’s awful personality so Nisha and Armel don’t have to suffer and can live happily!
Was that it?
“One.”
“I want you to be happy!”
The words tumbled out in a jumbled mess.
“W-What?”
“I said I want you to be happy.”
The prince flinched, seemingly caught off guard by my response. Then, regaining his composure with remarkable poise, he said,
“…You forgot the subject. Who do you want to be happy?”
The female lead and the second lead.
But if I said that aloud, I’d probably get exorcised on the spot.
‘If the male lead is happy…’
If he’s happy, he won’t become twisted. If he doesn’t become twisted, the romance won’t derail…
“Yes! You just need to be happy!”
I found the answer!
Hearing my words, the prince twisted his body awkwardly.
“I asked about your lingering grudge, and you’re saying such strange things. Happiness is such an abstract concept…”
“Oh, you’re right. Then just send me back to where I came from.”
“…You change your mind too quickly.”
Well, if I can go back, that’s for the best.
Failed to possess someone, don’t even have a body. Totally screwed.
No matter where I go, I’m just floating around without belonging anywhere.
‘Should I ask him to find the heroine?’
The female lead, Nisha Loren, awakens as a magic user driven by her desire to protect the male lead.
If she becomes an expert in spatial magic, wouldn’t she know how to send me back?
But that doesn’t happen until a few years from now.
“It’s nice you wish for my happiness, but what about meeting a priest?”
“A priest? There’s really one?!”
As my expression brightened, the boy puffed his chest with pride.
But before long, his face turned pale.
“Wait, no, I take that back—”
“I want to meet them!”
A priest!
The prince, who had shown off his knowledge with such confidence, now looked like he was second-guessing something.
“If I say this, won’t that thing disappear…?”
He mumbled something, but I was too excited to hear it.
“Yes! Let’s go!”
“…You’re awfully enthusiastic all of a sudden.”
The prince’s expression turned sullen.
“What’s wrong, are you sad now that I’m going?”
“Don’t call me that. And w-why would I be sad! What is there to like about someone so insolent!”
He turned his head away in a huff, but his reddened ears told the truth.
‘So scared before, but look at him now.’
From our first meeting, where he nearly fainted from fear, our relationship had come a long way.
‘Ah, this isn’t good…’
That tiny prince was starting to not look so annoying anymore.
It hit me—just how easily people fall for appearances.
“Where are we going now?”
“I said we’re going to find the priest. Is your brain just for show? What a waste of a name.”
Oh! He’s saying I’m dumber than a bird, huh?
‘Why, you little punk!’
I swung my fist at the top of his head, but of course, there was no impact.
“By the way, isn’t it dangerous for you to walk around alone?”
“What’s the purpose of this question?”
“What if an assassin comes around again like that night? People in high positions shouldn’t travel alone.”
“Are you implying I’m too lowly to have guards?”
Why is he so twisted?
“I’m just worried about you.”
“W-What?”
His sharp gaze immediately softened, and his ears turned red.
Seeing him blush in real time, I leaned in closer.
“Ugh! Don’t bring your face so close!”
“Pfft, hahaha…”
Seeing me laugh while floating in the air, the prince’s face turned bright red, like it might explode.
“How rude!”
He clenched his fists, full of shame, as I continued to laugh.
“But hey, Your Highness. If you talk to me in public, people will think you’re crazy.”
“What?”
“They’ll think you’re talking to yourself in midair.”
Still blushing, the boy finally looked around.
“…I forgot.”
How does a kid like him grow up to become such a tyrant?
“Hey, Your Highness, can I say just one more thing?”
“I permit it.”
“Don’t grow up like that. Live kindly, peacefully.”
And don’t kill anyone. Though I kept that part to myself.
Feeling insulted, the prince raised his finger again.
Watching him fume beside me washed away all the frustration in my chest like a breath of fresh air.
***
We arrived at our destination.
Before opening the door, the boy’s expression changed. In an instant, it turned cold.
“Do you have a moment?”
“Ah, of course.”
Soft light scattered like fragments through the curtains.
This room, where even the ticking of a clock felt slow, seemed to exist in its own flow of time.
A priest dressed in white stood to greet us, bathed in light.
Silver hair flowed past his shoulders, glittering under the sun. Blue eyes gently curved behind glasses.
‘A beauty…’
I instinctively straightened up.
“How can I help you?”
The prince clicked his tongue at my dazed face and stepped to the side.
Now exposed, I stood there with a stupid expression on my face.
‘Can he see me?’
A strange hope rose in my chest. For a moment, time stood still.
But the priest’s gaze didn’t reach me—it followed the prince.
With a warm smile, the priest tilted his head.
“You’re truly a priest, right?”
“I am.”
“Do you really not sense anything?”
The priest tilted his head again.
The frustrated prince pointed straight at me, as usual.
“You can’t see this?”
“This? I am a person, you know!”
Unlike me, who was fuming, the priest remained calm and looked toward the prince’s finger.
“Can you see me?”
“I do sense a strange presence. Things feel a bit blurry.”
After adjusting his glasses a few times, he wiped them clean and looked my way again.
Though not perfectly focused, he was definitely facing me.
“I think you should close the door properly.”
“Whoa!”
He walked right through me, closed the door firmly, and returned to his place. I stared blankly at his back.
“Watch where you’re going! I’m standing here!”
The prince looked genuinely shocked, as if he hadn’t expected that.
“Let me ask again. You don’t see anything? Look carefully.”
“Hmm. I do feel something strange, but it’s too faint to make out clearly.”
“You’re not lying to me, are you?”
“How could I lie to Your Highness?”
As the prince’s face twisted in frustration, the priest’s eyes started to shimmer with the hint of tears, looking pitiful.
Seeing my sad expression, the prince’s gaze wavered.
“Purify…”
“Sorry?”
“Try purifying it.”
“Your Highness, what do you mean by—”
“Try purifying it!”
