Theo laughed out loud, finding it endearing that I was hiding behind him and showed no sign of coming out.
Ben, on the other hand, looked like he was being strangled. Theo was always kind to me, but considering his public image, he was nothing short of a tyrant.
Even taking into account the rumors inflated by the Empress's schemes, his original nature wasn't exactly gentle, and his methods were so cruel that he was far from being a benevolent ruler.
To put it bluntly, Theo had a sinister reputation for beheading anyone who displeased him, and if that didn't quell his anger, he would walk over piles of corpses.
So, when the Second Prince showed such affection to an eagle, it was only natural to think that if Ben displeased Theo, he would also lose his head, not to mention how surprising it was.
"L-Lord Shuian, you need to come closer so I can examine you..."
"It's alright, it's not to hurt you, but to look at your wound."
Theo gently stroked under my chin, soothing me as I remained silent.
Far from being annoyed by my shyness, he seemed pleased that I was clinging to him, his voice filled with satisfaction.
"If he upsets you in any way, I'll get rid of him immediately."
Uh... I mean... that doesn't mean getting rid of him from this world, right? Ben, witnessing the cruelty masked by kindness, turned as pale as if he had been soaked in bleach.
I felt sorry for him... As I slowly slipped out to the side, Ben's face brightened a little.
Hesitantly approaching, Ben forgot his earlier fear and began to stare at me as if he were a child witnessing something wondrous.
"Such a color..."
It seemed that my silver eyes and feathers were beautiful to him as well. Feeling proud, I stretched my neck out.
"Truly beautiful... It's a color I've never seen before. I've never seen such a mysterious color in any animal..."
It was true that people who deeply studied one thing were a little eccentric.
Ben, having forgotten his fear, was pacing around me, observing me, and seemed ready to dissect me if left alone.
As people often do when they see something they like, he reached out to touch my silver feathers, but Theo was quicker to snap at him.
"Doctor, if you don't want to live the rest of your life as a cripple, you'd better not touch it carelessly."
"Eek... S-Sorry...!"
Orca squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead. No wonder the sinister rumors never stopped... His groans were a bonus.
"Then, I'll begin the examination..."
At his subdued voice, I discreetly spread my injured wing.
It was a familiar sight to Theo, who had almost had a conversation with me, but Ben seemed about to faint from surprise.
Someone should close his jaw for him...
"Lord, Lord Shuian... could it be that you understand human speech..."
"You're surprised by that? Our Shuian is very smart."
Theo looked even more proud at Ben's admiration.
Ben, purely admiring at first, then realizing how he should act, nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
I'm the one who's smart, so why are you guys making such a fuss...? But I didn't mind Theo being proud, so I stayed still while Ben unwrapped the bandage.
"The wound hasn't completely healed, so there will still be some pain. You should refrain from using your wing as much as possible until it's fully healed. Rehabilitation may be necessary even after it's healed, so it would be good to check its condition again later."
"There's still pain? Shuian, should I ask him to make you some medicine if it hurts a lot?"
Theo asked with a worried expression at the mention of lingering pain, but I quickly shook my head.
I hated medicine even when I was human! It wasn't for any particular reason, but I didn't like going to the hospital or taking medicine, so I would usually endure at home unless I was seriously ill.
So, I especially refused the medicine here. It might be prejudice, but it seemed like it would taste even more bitter and terrible.
"Good, you're brave."
"Screech-!"
Ben carefully re-bandaged my wing. He seemed very anxious not to touch even the tip of my feathers, as if he thought his hand would be chopped off in an instant if there was any unnecessary contact.
As soon as the treatment was over, I quickly went back behind Theo and hid.
After that, Ben asked Theo about my eating habits and tendencies, and his expression changed subtly as he listened to the answers.
He seemed worried that Theo would get angry even if he explained that I was different from ordinary eagles or birds.
You can just tell him, Theo will like that I'm special.
So, what about lunch? Ah, did I say this earlier?
ê•¥
After Ben left, Orca rubbed his forehead once more. He was dizzy looking at Theodore's carefree expression.
"Your Highness, it's already strange enough that an eagle follows a person. But an eagle with silver feathers and silver eyes, who can distinguish herbs and has the intelligence to understand human speech? Moreover, it eats cooked meat, sleeps lying down, and its claws can be hidden? Do you think this makes any sense?"
"What's so nonsensical about it when you've seen it yourself?"
"That's what I mean, it's strange."
"It is strange. It's the first stroke of luck that's ever come to me, who's never had any luck in life."
Perhaps the first and last. At the words added indifferently, Orca stopped what he was about to say and shut his mouth tightly.
Theodore's life had generally been like that. Life should be blessed just by being born, but for him, who was born with black hair and blood-red eyes, every moment was just a curse.
Because imperial descendants inherited a strong affinity for fire, so even for the people of Artes, who had excellent physical abilities, giving birth to an imperial descendant was a great strain on the body.
Therefore, successive emperors often had imperial descendants from hostages. Theodore's mother was the same.
She was dragged in as a hostage. Her body ruined by being forced to bear an imperial child filled with the power of fire, she felt no maternal love for her child, dying a lonely death in the cold palace for the sin of conceiving something evil.
From the moment she left her country, she had foreseen from the beginning that she could not love anything in Artes, and that included her own child.
Even in the moment before her death, she never called Theodore's name.
In fact, even all trivial things had names, but no one called the name of something that had no affection and was useless.
To her, Theodore was just a terrible Artes bloodline, a seed of the devil, and a cursed thing that had stolen her life.
The fact that he was born with martial prowess and the energy of fire that was no less than that of the successive emperors was also not luck.
If he had been born sickly like the First Prince, he could have lived his whole life in a corner of the cold palace as something evil and weak.
He could have lived carefully, as if he didn't exist, receiving mockery and mercy because he wasn't worth killing.
But because he was born so outstanding, he caught the eye of the Empress and had to overcome countless brushes with death from a young age.
From the moment he was born, even the life that was naturally given to everyone was something that Theodore could barely sustain by struggling tenaciously, and from a little older, it was a struggle that he could only endure by taking something from someone else.
So, Shuian, whom he met in the forest, was the first stroke of luck in his life.
It was luck because it was not a precious thing obtained through effort, and that was why he did not want to miss it even more.
He had never properly obtained what he wanted despite his constant efforts, but he was not a stupid human being who would let go of what was in his hands.
He knew what Orca was worried about. According to records, there were also demons with very high intelligence who spoke the languages of humans or other races, so Orca's suspicion was valid.
In a way, it might be more reasonable to suspect Shuian of being an ominous being imitating a divine beast in mythology than to think of him as just a very clever eagle.
But Theodore didn't want to. Even if it was an existence that would cut off his breath in an instant someday.
He was sick of believing in something, but he wanted to believe just one more time. In his luck that had suddenly flown in one day.
So, his eagle, who was stamping his feet and getting very angry at seeing his sunken face, didn't seem like he would bring misfortune.
If he heard his true feelings, Orca would say he was crazy. He might even say that he was firmly bewitched by a demon.
Theodore chuckled and gently stroked Shuian's feathers.
"Shuian says not to bother me. Right?"
"Screech-!"
"See?"
Whether Orca's expression was rotting or not, Theodore didn't care at all and shamelessly stroked under Shuian's chin as if to soothe him.
He kept the feeling that this child would always be on his side in one corner of his heart.
It was because if he took that out as well, he could clearly picture himself collapsing helplessly when he was really betrayed later.
"Shuian has a bad temper, so if you bother me, he'll get very angry."
"Screech."
Shuian screeched in agreement, then turned his head sharply, realizing something was wrong.
Judging from the way he even opened his beak, he seemed to feel deeply betrayed. Theodore finally burst out laughing.
"Screech-! Screech!"
He didn't know what he was saying, but it was clear that he was protesting.
Theodore carefully, as if he were treating something very precious, but firmly, as if he would never let go, hugged Shuian tightly.
He was more pleased than ever to hold his bird in his arms, who was very angry but never used his claws in case he got hurt.
Luck is very warm and something you never want to let go of once you hold it in your arms. Theodore, who had luck for the first time in his life, concluded that way.
"It was a joke. Shall we have lunch now? I'll ask for lots of your favorite meat."
"...Screech-."
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