Perhaps he wasnāt completely blindāRashid crossed his legs and propped up his chin. But I wasnāt going to feel a prick in my conscience from just that. We hadnāt even started.
āIs that right? Well, I suppose, since that time she sank into muddy water and her entire feathers were soaked. Isnāt that why you might have thought that way?ā
āā¦.Hmmm.ā
āLook here. She has a ribbon.ā
I flauntingly lowered the ends of the pink ribbon to show him, blinking at him.
Rashid, who had been motionlessly looking into my eyes, now made a tiresome face and waved his hand away.
I breathed a sigh of relief at his attitude, which seemed to say that caring about whatever bird this was would be bothersome.
āI knew heād be like that.ā
***
What was I supposed to expect from a man who could barely remember his sisterās age?
At this point, it was pretty surprising he could even distinguish peopleās faces. There had been many animals at the lake that day, and if heād been someone with the delicacy enough to distinguish between them, his sister wouldnāt have been driven out like this in the first place.
āLook carefully, one more time. Isnāt she prettier on a second glance?ā
āā¦.Put it away.ā
[Hup!]
I could feel through the palm of my hand that Selene had been hurt, but I didnāt lose my innocent smile. But if, in the future, this man ended up being pecked to death, I planned to hide the culprit until the very end.
āSorry, Selene.ā
Though I gently petted her neck in an effort to comfort her in my arms, her anger did not disappear so easily.
Up until the moment Iād dragged her to the Emperor, she had only been worrying what would happen if we were caught, but now she had completely turned into his mortal enemy.
āā¦..But do you really have to go that far?ā
āExcuse me?ā
āNot just taking it and caring for it, do you really have to cherish, hmā¦.ā
Rashid furrowed his brows, looking like he was trying to find the right words. He swept back his hair.
I felt his vivid self-deprecation asking why he had to explain such a thing, but I couldnāt let this pass over.
āCherish, you say. This is quite normal.ā
āTying up a birdās head and massaging it like that?ā
āā¦ā¦ā
Oh, Father.
Please let me hit that manās mouth at least once, even if thatās during my next life.
I swallowed the impossible dream down, the corners of my lips quivering slightly.
But then again, having a proper conversation with Rashid over a mere duck could be considered a miracle.
āIām sure this is just the start.ā
After talking to him yesterday, I had concluded that āthis guyās not rotten to the coreā. If only we could fix him up and reuse him, then what could be more reassuring than having a brother for an Emperor?
And she had no less than seven brothersāif I examined them carefully with my eyes wide open, then there might be at least one proper person among them.
āItās not a bad idea to prepare for when my baby returns to being a human.ā
This man gets to be as self-serving as he usually is, and I on my side can discover a good guardian. This was what they called killing two birds with one stone.
No matter how good the male lead was, she needed a dependable family, too.
I decided to walk the path of enlightenment with the desperate hidden intention of finding at least one person.
āYour Majesty, when you are caring for something, itās wrong to just let it into the house and leave it be.ā
āAnd why is that?ā
āBecause it is a life.ā
My response did seem like I was just parroting the same thing to him, but this much was the most truthful I could be. Be it animal or beast, or be it the Empireās princess.
I needed to take this opportunity to astonish this man and tell him the true meaning of what caring for someone was.
āNo matter how small or young, everyone has emotions.ā
āā¦..That thing?ā
āI already told you her name.ā
At this point, I could pretty much assume that this manās world was just filled with āthis, that, and those thingsā.