Ethan, who had been standing next to Arsen, asked with a nervous look.
“The condition has improved. The symptoms suddenly eased, and the flow of the ability has stabilized.”
“Piiit!”
Thank goodness.
Hearing Doctor Hern’s words, I let out a deep sigh of relief.
It was as if I had just proven my worth.
And I wasn’t the only one relieved. Color returned to Ethan’s face.
The old butler gazed at me kindly and said,
“It must be thanks to the young lady’s ability.”
Ethan carefully lifted me up.
From his hand, I looked straight into Doctor Hern’s eyes.
Warm, deep brown eyes were studying me.
“She’s the little miss from Raniero. I hear she used her ability to heal the young master.”
At that, the maids standing by the doorway nodded vigorously.
“That’s right, I saw it myself!”
“When the young lady used her power, a green wind filled the room!”
The maids chattered noisily about how incredible my ability had been.
“Yes, she healed me.”
Even Arsen, who had kept quiet until now, chimed in.
“Piiit!!”
I proudly spread my wings wide and greeted Doctor Hern.
He stared at me as if he couldn’t quite believe it.
“This little miss did all that?”
He stretched out a finger toward me.
The rough tip brushed lightly against the feathers on my chest.
Without hesitation, I stepped onto the thick finger.
Somehow, I felt sure he wouldn’t hurt me.
He lifted me up, examining me from every angle, then finally spoke.
“She looks under ten years old… and yet she’s manifested her ability already? How in the world did you manage to bring someone like her from Raniero?”
He sounded genuinely curious.
‘Well, it’s no wonder.’
Receiving treatment from Raniero was harder than plucking a star from the sky.
My father, Asher Raniero, only sent the children of Raniero to use their powers for families stronger than ours, or those allied with us.
Anyone at odds with Asher Raniero—or those who lacked his blessing—could never receive treatment.
And yet, here in the home of the wolves, sworn enemies of Asher Raniero, stood his daughter.
Of course Doctor Hern was shocked.
I understood his thoughts.
He continued to examine me carefully.
“Could you lift your wings, please?”
At his request, I quickly spread both wings and raised them high above my head.
Soft laughter rose from the maids around us.
Doctor Hern went on to check my tail, flight feathers, and even the condition of my beak before setting me down.
I hurriedly fluttered onto Arsen’s chest and settled there.
“How old is the young lady, did you say?”
“She is seven years old,” Ethan answered for me.
Doctor Hern frowned slightly, as though something troubled him.
“The young master’s condition has indeed eased considerably. With just one treatment… there’s even hope for a full recovery.”
At those words, joy blossomed on Ethan’s face, and the maids’ faces lit up as well.
‘A full recovery? Really?’
Hearing such words from someone of the Deer Clan, I felt overjoyed—especially since I hadn’t known how far my power could reach.
“But…”
The room instantly fell silent.
Everyone who had been rejoicing just moments ago held their breath, waiting for what he would say next.
“This won’t do as it is. She’s only seven. No matter how great her innate power, she is still immature.”
Doctor Hern looked at me.
“Piiit!”
“Her flight feathers haven’t even grown in. She likely can’t fly properly. She hasn’t even begun her first molt… For someone this young to already be using her ability—it’s astonishing.”
All eyes in the room turned to me.
From his leather bag, Doctor Hern began pulling out neatly wrapped herbs and medicines.
“What’s more, the flow of her ability is unstable. In fact, her state is worse than the young master’s. What’s certain is this: she mustn’t overexert herself any further.”
“Piiit…”
“If the amount of power you just used were measured as one hundred, it would be best if you only used about twenty at a time. Even at that level, with steady healing, the young master’s condition will improve greatly.”
Doctor Hern’s voice softened as he coaxed me.
His thick fingers carried the earthy scent of herbs.
I nodded without complaint.
“Piiit!”
“The most important thing is to eat well and rest well. Please rest as much as you can, young lady.”
He held out his large finger as if to emphasize his request.
I placed my tiny foot firmly on top.
It looked just like a handshake.
The fresh, woody scent unique to deer tickled my nose.
After instructing both Arsen and me not to push ourselves too hard, Doctor Hern left the room.
The Raniero estate was in an uproar.
“Lady Linci has flown away!”
The one who brought the news was Adele, the maid assigned exclusively to Linci.
Pale-faced, she rushed straight to the master of the house, Asher Raniero, and fell to her knees, reporting that Linci had vanished.
“What do you mean, flown away?”
Asher’s face twisted sharply.
Linci was only seven years old.
And yet—she had flown away?
“She suddenly transformed, then flew right out the window! The servants went searching at once, but she’s so tiny… we couldn’t tell where she went…”
Adele trailed off, carefully gauging her master’s reaction.
But instead of exploding in fury over losing his daughter, Asher gave an unexpected response—his eyes widened with interest.
“She succeeded in transforming?”
“Yes, I saw it clearly with my own eyes.”
Asher didn’t even care that she had flown away.
All he asked about—again and again—was whether Linci had truly succeeded in transforming.
She was only seven.
If she had really done it, then she possessed an extraordinary talent.
At that moment, Asher didn’t think her sudden flight was anything serious.
‘To think she has already succeeded in transformation…’
He laughed in admiration at his daughter’s gift.
It was a shame Linci had been born a girl.
Had she been born into the Lion Clan, where even daughters could inherit leadership, she would have become a proud successor without question.
‘Normally, one doesn’t succeed in transformation until after their first molt, but Linci still has three years to go.
For her to achieve it already… it means her potential is limitless.’
Swelling with pride, Asher ordered the bird-clan knights to comb the nearby forest at once.
‘She couldn’t have flown far.’
At seven years old, her flight feathers wouldn’t even be fully grown.
At most, she would have fallen near the forest edge and be crying there.
But—
“…We’re sorry, my lord. We… couldn’t find the young lady.”
The knights who had searched the forest all returned empty-handed.
Only then did Asher realize something was wrong.
‘She couldn’t possibly have flown far.’
This had nothing to do with Linci’s talent or potential.
It was simply a matter of growth.
And Linci was smaller than her siblings besides.
Her feathers would have grown in even later.
So why was she not in the forest?
Asher ordered a full search of the estate and gardens.
All the servants poured out to look for Linci.
The ever-dark gardens blazed like daylight with dozens of torches.
But all the effort was in vain—not a single trace of Linci was found.
Two days passed since she vanished.
The knights scoured not only the forest but even the nearby village, yet they didn’t find so much as a single feather.
“Where in the world did she go?”
Could she have been abducted after leaving the forest?
No, impossible. On the Bird Clan’s land, no one would dare abduct a child with Raniero’s distinctive golden feathers.
Among the bird clans, Raniero—the only one capable of wielding ability—was both revered and feared, just like every other race that possessed powers.
So then… where had she gone?
As Asher agonized over his missing daughter, a letter arrived from one of his men.
“My lord, a message from the girl.”
Chester, Asher’s adjutant, cautiously handed him the letter.
It was sealed tightly with red wax.
Asher took it in hand.
This man was a confidant he had secretly planted in the Wolf Clan’s estate years ago.
Until now, he had reported little besides news of Arsen Eckhart’s declining health.
‘But a letter, all of a sudden?’
Asher curiously broke the seal and read.
[To the master, from within the Eckhart estate. Lord Kendrick Eckhart has brought Lady Linci into the house. Lady Linci is currently—]
Asher’s eyes widened in disbelief.
‘Linci… is in Eckhart?’
Why?
