Chapter 3
‘And in the end, she lost her temper and killed the love of her life.’
Rather, I thought it would be better to freely talk to the victim to reach her heart and also let her enjoy her freedom.
As time went by, it turned out that my judgement came out correct. Bella was gradually able to control the wildness in her without losing her sanity as a person.
Bella, who got satisfied with just running around the mountains and fields and drinking lake water and chasing fireflies, and was a vicious addicted woman who killed countless people in the past with a single slash of her claws, could not be the same.
At night, Bella would step out of her room and walk towards the back door of the house. To avoid her from getting caught and getting forbidden from venturing out too late, I thought of using medicines to erase the evidence. Of course, it wasn’t meant to harm her life or anything.
The roots of the plant Harville, a powerful sleeping herb and hallucinogen, was harmless to the human body because it acted as a mana. After being taken when finely dried, the herb will help the person fall into a sweet slumber and wake up refreshed the next morning.
A perfect outcome with no side effects. Unfortunately, it was always on me to collect Harville roots that were so hard to acquire. I didn’t want the Count to look for sleeping pills or harmful hallucinogens for the young lady.
So that’s why I am now in the woods, digging for such a herb.
Wrapped in my cloak, I swirled around the misty forest. The basket on my wrist was still empty.
Usually, I could find the herbs in clear areas. But today, I had no choice but to avoid the foggy regions.
“Oh lord. I think I’ve dug up so much that I can’t find them anymore.”
A magical piece of land. In Hornwood, at the border of the human and magical worlds, all life was found to be formed under the influence of magic. They had insignificant shapes, but had a slight charm in their voice. Soon, I found a sign on my neck that seemed to have been made by stamping a small flower pattern with six petals.
This foggy forest, the boundary between the magical and human worlds, was particularly dense with mana, making it easier to gather rare herbs like Harville roots. However, it was dangerous. It was in these woods that Bella was cursed when she met the beast.
“I have to take at least one root.”
What if I run out of luck and meet a beast deep in the forest?
Bella was very pleased to get the curse of transformation, but I could not accept it as a very ordinary human being.
“Ugh, what should I do…….”
I peeked through the dense trees hidden in the thick fog, and suddenly realized.
‘This is fiction, right?’
Bella was cursed because it was reasonable.
For a girl who loved the wild, the curse gave her complete freedom during the night. In addition, the curse of transforming into a Black Panther secretly created a mysterious image about her, which found a meaning later on in her romance with Clementz.
In other words, the curse of transformation on Bella was destined to happen. It was inevitable.
But what about me?
Ophelia Leora was only an accessory to the heroine’s seat. She must be there to look after her and must never stand out.
Which meant, I would not be cursed. As the heroine’s maid, I only had the role to stand calmly beside her and say, “His Highness, the Crown Prince is looking your way!”. There was no way I could ruin the canvas by being caught in a useless curse.
“Heehee! I’ve done all sorts of things!”
As I organized my thoughts, I wasn’t afraid of that fog anymore.
The thick mist felt moist as if a humidifier had been turned on. The sensation of mana was cool.
I hummed as I made my way through the trees in search of the herb.
“Harville~ Where are you~ Oh, there you are!”
I bent down, clasping the handle of my basket with one hand. As I lowered my head, my jaw-length blonde hair fell in front of my face. I tucked it behind my ear and continued on with what I was doing.
“Oh, haven’t you grown up? You’ve grown up after eating a lot of mana fog~ haven’t you?”
Suddenly, I felt a gust of wind. It was more like a smash.
“Ack!”
I was smashed in the face by the wind-carried debris. Covering my face didn’t help much.
If the forest mana was mild so far, it seemed to have suddenly unfurled the seventh level of the storm of hell.
Why?
I boldly drew out my scissors on the thought that ‘If I touch the herb…….’ No, this snobbish world could not be influenced by only a supporting character!
However, to make matters worse, I could hear bone-chilling high and low voices. They grew as time passed. It sounded as if two mad women were quarreling with each other.
Ancient and advanced creatures could speak human language while staying in their human form.
‘I’m doomed. Is it a monster?’
I had walked in with much courage, but in this situation, my body was trembling with fear.
‘I have to hide first.’
My eyes landed on a nearby voluminous shrub. As a maid, I also had to take care of the Harville roots.
As soon as I hid myself, I heard the owner of those voices.
“I can’t believe you are my sister!”
“It is so unfortunate that you came out as my sibling!”
“Hand it over to me! It belongs to the day!”
“No, it’s mine! It belongs to the night!”
They were one of the most advanced creatures. Through the leaves of the shrubs, I saw a woman dressed in white and another in black.
One was in paper white while the other in pitch black. They apparently had feet, but it seemed they were floating over the ground. The glimpses of their faces were bizarre.
‘Ah, what is going on……’
Just moments ago, I was sure a supporting character was immune to any misfortune. But, this proved otherwise.
Sure enough, my concern turned out to be real.
They began to shoot magic blasts at each other. They skillfully avoided each other’s white and black clouds of mana, but it sure destroyed the vegetation.
Nevertheless, they were chortling. Were they fighting jokingly?
‘No, wait. They’re using magic in the woods? Then m-my safety is…….’
At that time, I heard a sound, and my view turned white. Then came a crackling sound from around me.
I couldn’t think clearly if I was in trouble. It was so dazzling and painful. It was not until a little while later that I could finally open my eyes.
“Cheep.”
‘Whew, thank goodness. I’m alive.’
Looking around, I saw no one in sight.
“Cheep, Cheep.”
Now, I could take the roots of Harville and return to the mansion. Bella would be worried if I arrived late. I’d also like a bowl of warm soup.
But why was I hearing birds chirping around me?
Something felt strange. The roots that I saw earlier were much larger now. I knew the mana was strong, but was it affecting me this much?
‘Compared to my hands, I’m sure…..’
“Cheep?”
Yellow fluffy wings?
“Cheep…….? Ch-Cheep? (Is this my voice?)”
“Cheep! (Is this a dream?!) Cheep? (I think so?)”
“Chee……(I’m hungry…..)”
Three things happened for sure.
First, I was turned into a little yellow bird. Seeing that my basket and the roots of Harville had fallen, my clothes and belongings seemed to have changed.
Second, whether this was a dream or a reality, I had to go back to the mansion.
Third, the best harvested roots were simply not possible for me to carry.
It couldn’t be.
‘For real? Am I cursed? Now of all times?’
Nothing had progressed as I wished it to be.
I didn’t have the slightest clue as to how I could get back, let alone run errands or play the role of a supporting character.
Fortunately, I knew the directions, but it would be a long walk with these feet of a chick.
Even when I tried my best to flap my wings, I couldn’t fly. Rather, it increased my hunger.
“Chee. (Huff). Cheeep…… (Huff….)”
The worldview of Romance Fantasy where you can’t even avoid an accident when you’re on duty!
Even when cursed, Bella could transform into a majestic black leopard. But a chick?! Why a chick?! Maybe it was what the extra deserved.
Walking through the giant gloomy trees, I felt hopeless.
I knew crying wouldn’t help, but I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t know being a little chick that’d look cute from a human’s perspective could be this saddening.
Why wouldn’t I just wait?
I couldn’t tell how many night creatures, one of whom cursed Bella, and day creatures were lurking through this dense forest.
Just as Bella, cursed by the night beast, changed back to human during the day, wouldn’t I change back at night if I was cursed by the day beast?
But if I had to wait till night, that would be a problem. Ophelia Leora was a civilian who had not learned any self-defense skills and only had a little magical essence to her voice. It was dangerous enough to walk alone through the deep woods at night.
Besides, Bella would be worried if I didn’t return on time. It would be hard for her to go outside alone without someone to keep watch.
“Cheep……”
In the end, I couldn’t help but walk in an endless trail through the deep forest.
Suddenly, I felt the ground shake beneath me. Surprised, I paused. It was the sound of a horse’s hooves thudding on the forest floor. There was someone else in the forest besides me! That must be a human!
“Cheeeep! Cheep…..!”
At that moment, it didn’t matter if he was a bandit or not. If only he could give me a ride through this long forest road to the village.
Flapping my wings frantically, I ran towards the sound. There were two people. They got off by the spring and were now allowing their horses to drink some water.
‘Eh…..?’
I was only facing their back, but their aura felt unusual. The white and black horses who were drinking water were quite elegant looking. Plus, one of the two men had silver hair.
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