Chapter 117
“Donovan had taken shelter under a window to avoid the rain, and that idiot thought he was an injured crow and brought him into his bedroom!”
Anyone who lived in the imperial palace usually kept their guard up around animals, suspecting they might be creatures controlled by witches. The higher their status, the stronger their caution tended to be. A prince would normally never allow an animal anywhere near him.
Unlike someone else.
“Donovan’s leg was perfectly fine. But he still wrapped it in bandages just in case.”
It was a secret Zynie had never reported or mentioned to anyone before. Fay would only worry, and Virelda would probably scold her for doing something so dangerous without being told.
Because it was the first time she had ever shared the story, Zynie grew very excited.
“I guess Donovan thought he was an idiot too. When he left the bedroom, he secretly stole the guy’s brooch and brought it back.”
The brooch was finely crafted and set with a blue gemstone that looked quite valuable. Zynie scolded Donovan for acting on his own like that, but she couldn’t deny that it made her feel a little pleased.
From her perspective, the empire had always been the villains—the ones invading them and stealing their things. But this time, it was almost like she had taken something from them instead.
Zynie kept the brooch in a desk drawer and occasionally took it out to look at it. Every time she did, it made her feel good.
A few days later, Donovan encountered Dorian again. The brooch that had been placed on the table and the injured crow had both disappeared, so it was obvious who had taken them.
Zynie had immediately tried to fly away, but Dorian called out to stop him.
“You seem to like shiny things. I’ll give you this too.”
For some reason, he pulled out a gold coin from his pocket and tried to tempt Donovan with it. Stealing something felt satisfying, but being offered a coin openly somehow felt suspicious.
Zynie tried to stay cautious. But what crow could resist something shiny? Donovan was smarter than most crows, and he even understood the value of money.
Ignoring the witch’s will, Donovan hopped onto Dorian’s shoulder.
“I’ll give you a few more if you become my friend.”
It sounded ridiculous. Even if he didn’t realize the crow was controlled by a witch, asking a crow—who couldn’t even speak the same language—to become his friend was hardly normal.
“He’s a stupid prince. The dumbest among the emperor’s children.”
Zynie snorted.
At first she suspected it might be a trap, but she soon dismissed the idea. He really did treat the crow like a friend, feeding it and even bringing it shiny things like coins.
What proved most useful, though, were the various bits of information he casually shared. For example, she first learned through him that Lynus had been clashing with his younger brothers.
“The foolish prince even seemed worried about it.”
“I have an older brother named Lynus. Recently he’s become very tense because of the matter of succession. It seems he’s started seeing his younger brothers as rivals.”
Dorian claimed he had no interest in the throne and lived quietly, but lately he could clearly feel the way his brother looked at him had changed.
And one of Dorian’s older brothers—the one closest in age to him—had died. No clear cause had been announced, but rumors said he had been poisoned.
“Mister, Dorian says he’s afraid he might be killed someday too.”
If his life meant that much to him, he should just run away.
With a complicated expression, Zynie wrote “Dorian idiot” in the notebook. She didn’t even realize that at some point she had started calling him by his name instead of just “idiot” or “fool.”
“Isn’t that frustrating?” she said, slapping the table with her palm.
Then she paused.
“Fay still hasn’t come out. What’s she doing…?”
Zynie glanced cautiously toward the bathroom. What she was about to say next was something that could get her into serious trouble if another witch overheard.
She had decided to keep it a secret forever. That meant it was a secret even from Fay. Still, as the saying went, no secret lasted forever, and Zynie felt the urge to talk about it.
In the end, she decided to share the secret only with Alnazir. Since he couldn’t understand spoken words anyway, saying it aloud wouldn’t really break the secret.
“A few days ago, I couldn’t hold it in anymore and ended up yelling at him.”
Zynie whispered so that Fay in the bathroom wouldn’t hear.
“It’s just so frustrating! He’s sitting in the garden waiting for the day he dies!”
It wasn’t like he couldn’t walk. From what she had seen, he even trained secretly. If he really tried to fight, he might actually stand a chance against his brothers.
But he didn’t act. He didn’t fight Lynus, and he didn’t even have the courage to run away. How pathetic.
“You coward! If you die like that, I won’t feel sad at all!”
Unable to hold herself back, Zynie had caused trouble.
When a girl’s voice suddenly came out of the crow, Dorian had looked startled.
Realizing what she had done, Zynie immediately ordered Donovan to fly away.
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