episode_0134

“Tweet.”

“Shh.”

In a room with the lights off, under the blanket on the bed, Diane put her finger in front of her mouth and spoke.

Actually, I couldn’t see anything in this fire. There were things that gave off light even in the dark, but there was no reason to use something like that in this fire. On the contrary, if I used something like that for no reason and got caught by someone, it would be a big problem.

Ulysses has been doing well since then. They say that common birds cannot be litter-trained, but Ulysses almost always went outside and came back when the window was open, so there were no major problems. Fortunately, there were very few people in the city who would prey on Ulysses. Stray cats There was ramen, though.

To be fair, there was Alexander, but at least from the last time I saw him, he didn’t seem like he would harm Ulysses. Of course, you have to be on guard, but as long as you don’t let Ulysses out alone in the middle of the night, there won’t be a big problem.

Although I couldn’t see anything in this anxiety that covered my head, I was sure to feel the warmth in my two hands. I could clearly feel the fast-beating heart and the bird’s unique high body temperature.

It was a great comfort to have someone by my side right now.

“If you’re too loud, you’ll get caught. People in this house don’t treat animals kindly except those they keep out of necessity.”

Jessie was a great horse, so he was able to stay at home, but if he gets old, sick, or has an injured leg and can’t run, there might be a fate waiting for him.

So when Diane rode Jesse, she drove it carefully and not too fast.

Jesse was very smart, so I wasn’t too worried.

“Ah, Ulysses.”

She felt Ulysses struggling in her hand, so she slightly loosened her hand. Diane was a little worried, thinking that maybe she was in pain because she had put too much pressure on her hand, but then she heard a rustling sound on the bed and felt a feather rubbing near her neck. I felt it.

It was a little itchy, but it was bearable.

“… … .”

Diane felt the sensation for a moment and then opened her mouth.

“Do you know why they called you 2nd generation?”

There was no answer. Maybe he remembered what Diane said a moment ago. However, he stopped moving and took a listening posture.

“There is a large hunting ground in the county. My father liked hunting. That’s… … I think you think it’s a sport worthy of nobility.”

Diane hated hunting because the sight of animals screaming and bleeding was terrible.

If you think about it, that’s not a very aristocratic thought. It may be a ladylike thought.

A nobleman was a noble person, a person who rose to the top. A being who was distinct from those below him.

Naturally, it cannot be compared to all the beasts in the hunting field. To my father, those beings were nothing more than entertainment.

“One time, my father called me to go hunting, and I saw a deer. It was a young deer that had not even grown horns on its head. Now that I think about it, I might have been a female.”

Diane whispered, gently stroking Ulysses’ back with her fingers.

“I was so young that I don’t remember clearly. I became separated from my father, and I think I ended up going into the forest. At that time, I was riding a different horse than Jesse. It was a white horse just like Jesse, and it was a horse that I could ride as a child. Because it was chosen, it was still a foal—”

Oh.

This is a secret story that I haven’t often shared with others, and it started so randomly that it almost got sidetracked.

“Well, if you’ve heard this far, you probably know how the story goes. I met a young deer in the forest and we became friends. Was it because he lost his parents when he was so young? I wasn’t that wary of him either. The child’s name was Ulysses.”

And that ‘unguarded personality’ was the problem.

Ulysses did not live long.

After meeting Diane a few times, Ulysses appeared before her dead from being shot by several arrows.

Count Huber asked Diane, who was sitting down in front of the corpse and crying, ‘Do you think humans and beasts can stand in the same place?’

Also, everything in this hunting ground is there to be hunted, so giving it more justice than that is something that shouldn’t be done.

I also heard on the spot that just like animals, humans also have their ‘fit place’ and should not leave that place.

“… … .”

“Tweet.”

“Don’t worry.”

Diane whispered to Ulysses.

“Because I won’t let something like that happen to you.”

After speaking like that, I lay in silence for a while—

smart.

I heard something knocking on the window.

smart.

At that sound, I popped my head out of the blanket, looked toward the window, and—

“Aaaah!?”

Diane screamed without realizing it and quickly covered her mouth.

Then I quickly got up from my seat, went to the window, pulled back the curtain, and went back to bed.

At the perfect moment, the door to Diane’s room burst open.

“What’s going on?”

The maid who had been taking care of Diane since she was young asked that question.

“Oh, no, I just had a nightmare.”

“… … Yes.”

The maid closed her mouth and thought for a moment,

“Would you like me to bring you some water?”

I asked that.

“No, that’s not it. It’s okay.”

“… … I see.”

The maid bowed without saying anything, then stepped back and closed the door.

“… … Phew.”

Diane put her hand on her chest and sighed in relief. She quickly got up from her seat and stood on her feet. She walked with as little noise as possible, then went to the window again and pulled back the curtain.

There was a pair of brightly shining eyes.

It was a unique eye for an eagle owl.

Because it flew in in the middle of the night and was outside the window, only the eyes appeared to be floating in the air, reflecting the faint moonlight.

“Alexander?”

“Boo.”

I could hear Alexander crying quietly through the window.

and-

Next to it was a sparrow.

It was one of the four sparrows that Amelia raised. Now that I think about it, I haven’t heard its name yet.

The sight of an eagle owl and a sparrow standing side by side looking up at Diane through the window was somehow strange yet cute. It was a sight of a predator and prey standing side by side in friendly harmony.

I carefully unlatched the window and opened the window as quietly as possible, and Alexander and Sparrow put one foot forward at the same time.

Both birds had white cloth wrapped around their legs.

At first glance, it looked like a bandage, but there was no need for the birds to show the bandages on their legs. There was no reason for them to come here and ask to change the bandages in the first place.

“How did you know about this place?”

When Diane asked that, Alexander and Sparrow tilted their heads at the same time.

… … Well, they weren’t the kids who could answer questions.

Diane carefully untied the cloth from the two birds’ legs. Perhaps because of their size, the cloth tied to Alexander’s legs was much larger. It was smaller than regular stationery, though.

“Boo.”

“Tweet.”

“Oh, wait a minute… … ”

Diane moved silently this time, went to the side of the bed, and opened the first drawer of the nightstand.

There was millet for Ulysses.

I came back with a little bit of it in my hand and showed it to the two.

The sparrow flew right onto Diane’s palm and used Diane’s thumb as a perch to peck for food, but Alexander just stared at the hand with an arrogant expression.

“… … As expected, don’t you eat vegetarian?”

“Boo.”

“I’m sorry. This is all I can give you right now… … .”

“Buu buu.”

Then there is nothing we can do.

Alexander’s expression was exactly that.

“Tweet.”

The sparrow, which had pecked at the millet a few times, flapped its wings as if it had had enough.

“Are you going?”

I asked that, feeling a little regretful.

“Boo.”

“Tweet.”

The two birds made a sound as if they were greeting each other, then spread their wings and flew up.

“Goodbye.”

And leaving Diane’s greeting behind, I flew high into the sky.

Diane quietly looked up at the pair of birds moving away against the night sky, and only after the two had disappeared into the darkness did she close the window.

“Then… … .”

Diane returned to bed and turned on the light on the nightstand.

A faint but warm light brightened the room.

First, I opened the letter that must have been from Amelia. It was about the size of a ribbon rather than a letter, so it didn’t seem easy to write.

[Sometimes it’s better to be honest – Amelia]

Diane looked at the ribbon with that written in clear letters for a long time.

“Tweet.”

After stroking the head of Ulysses, who was crying softly next to her, with her fingers, Diane opened the next letter.

It was much larger than a ribbon, but it was still the same size as a handkerchief cut in half. At least there was a lot of space on it to write, so unlike Amelia’s letter, which only had one simple sentence written, it contained something that could properly be called a ‘letter’.

[Dear Diane]

The letter started like that.