Chapter 26
Froy prayed earnestly for her not to leave and kicked his legs. But he had no wings. He could only flail helplessly towards Hermie’s receding figure. Hermie flew higher and higher. Until eventually, she was out of his sight.
“Froy? Froy! Wake up!”
“Ah…….”
Froy awoke from sleep and wiped his eyes. The back of his hand was damp.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Froy turned his head to check beside the bed. Hermie was looking at him with an innocent face. Seeing Hermie trapped inside the cage, he let out a sigh of relief. His anxiously pounding heart calmly settled down.
“Yeah, I had a bad dream.”
That dream of warm sunlight and a brilliant sky was a dreadful nightmare.
“You were groaning, so I was worried.”
“I’m fine now.”
Froy sat up and then reached his hand out to Hermie. Hermie rubbed her cheek against the finger that had entered the cage. The ticklish, soft sensation filled his emptiness.
“It’s morning.”
“So it is.”
“Hurry up and get up.”
“Are you bored?”
“A little. I want to go for a walk. I’m curious what the weather is like outside.”
Seeing Hermie whine again today, Froy smiled faintly.
He wanted to take her out of the cage. He wanted to see her running around excitedly. But at the same time, he also didn’t want to let her out. He wanted to keep her locked up forever so she could never leave his hand.
Froy picked up the cage and left the room. Hermie looked up at Froy with a slightly surprised face.
“Are we really going outside?”
It was the first time she was being taken beyond the room. Froy, who would always cover Hermie with a cloth to hide her whenever a servant entered the room, was now taking her out.
“Don’t get your hopes up too much. We’re just going to look around the garden.”
“That’s still good!”
Hermie’s face lit up. She was finally going to breathe outside air. It was her first outing in a full 38 days.
“Hermie.”
“Yeah?”
“Get into the hiding-hut. Come out only when I tell you to.”
Hermie obediently went into the hiding-hut. She didn’t want to act up for no reason and lose this hard-won chance to go out after 38 days.
The sounds of others walking through the hallway could be heard.
“Good morning, Marquis.”
“Yeah.”
They must be servants working at the mansion. Marquis Froy received the greetings with a stiff, cold voice. It was worlds apart from the voice he used when whispering to Hermie.
‘Is that his usual voice?’
Hermie thought it was strange and wiggled her finger.
‘I thought he was a total pushover.’
Seeing how he acted towards others, that seemed to have been Hermie’s misconception.
As they crossed the hallway and went down the stairs, the air gradually changed. The scent of grass ripening in the sunlight was strong, and she could feel a gentle breeze blowing. She wanted to go out quickly and look around.
“Hermie. Come out.”
Almost as soon as Froy spoke, Hermie slipped out of the hiding-hut and looked around. They were under the shade of a green zelkova tree.
Froy placed the cage down in the shade. Hermie reached her hand out through the bars to touch the grass.
Is this how a prisoner who escaped from jail feels? She had never been so happy to see the outside world.
“The weather is nice.”
Summer was passing. The intense heat had subsided, and a cool breeze was blowing.
Hermie closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the air. Since she didn’t know when she’d get to smell the outside air again, she was determined to breathe in as much as possible when she had the chance.
The wind blew, ruffling Hermie’s hair. Seeing Hermie happy just to be outside made Froy’s heart feel uneasy.
After watching that sight a little longer, Froy got up from his spot.
“Let’s go back in now.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. People might come.”
“If people come, I’ll hide quickly. Just a little longer.”
“We can come out again next time. Come on, get in now.”
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