Instead of explaining, he settled me on his arm and left the room.
Throughout the journey, every servant and maid we encountered shrank back in fear at the sight of Theo, only to steal glances at me with shining eyes.
Yeah, yeah, you've never seen such a magnificent eagle before, have you?
While I was busy patting myself on the back, we arrived at another room.
A large desk was piled high with a considerable amount of documents, but what caught my eye first were the various play structures set up on one side.
The high-hanging perches and swings, and things like beds and nests, were clearly meant for me.
"This is my office. I thought you might get bored being alone in the bedroom, so I had this prepared so you can play in the office while I work. I hope you like it."
A playground just for me. It would be a lie to say I wasn't bored being alone in the room, so I couldn't help but get excited and take flight with a powerful flap.
I climbed onto the perches and swings, lay down in the beds and nests one by one, and then settled into the hammock near the window so I could look outside.
Oh my goodness, this is so great. Everything was soft and comfortable without a single thing out of place, and the wooden structures were well-crafted and smooth, so there was no risk of getting hurt. It was obvious that a lot of care had gone into it.
"Screech- Screech-!"
I really, really love it! Theo watched me excitedly exploring every nook and cranny for a long time, looking pleased, and then after a while, he sat down at his desk and began to look over the documents. It seemed he was getting ready to start working in earnest.
The desk in the office was as large as a bed, but incongruously, a cushion was placed on one side. It was the same as the cushion I had on the bed in the bedroom.
It was soft and fluffy, and my favorite cushion. It was clearly my spot. I quickly climbed onto the cushion.
Just as Theo had watched me play for a long time, I also watched Theo work for a long time, before succumbing to the drowsiness that washed over me and closing my eyes.
The sunlight streaming in through the window was incredibly warm, and the scratching sound of the fountain pen was so pleasant that it felt almost peaceful.
I drifted off to sleep with the sound of Theo's gentle laughter as the last thing I heard. It was simply a perfect moment, like a masterpiece painting.
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When I opened my eyes again after sleeping for a long time, I was in Theo's arms.
The sun had already set, and he must have finished his work, because Theo was carrying me to the bedroom.
I just blinked, not even thinking about getting up after waking up, and then a gentle voice fell over me.
"You were sleeping so soundly that someone could have carried you away without you knowing. So, I made a preemptive strike before anyone else could steal you away."
Yeah, if you're the one stealing me, I don't mind. I rubbed my head against his neck, now accustomed to making jokes.
The sunlight that had been pouring in through the window was nowhere to be seen, and the corridor was shrouded in darkness, with the light from the candles and magic stone lamps illuminating the way.
It seemed quite late, as even the servants who were usually bustling through the corridors were nowhere to be seen.
He suddenly stopped in the middle of the corridor and looked out the window at something.
It was the small greenhouse behind the Imperial Palace, and Theo stared at it for a long time before slowly speaking.
"Do you see that greenhouse? It originally belonged to my mother, but it wasn't anything special, really. It was actually quite unsightly. It was overgrown with nameless weeds that had grown unchecked, without a single flower. It was Empress's warning to the Queen Consort of the subjugated nation who came as a hostage, telling her to stay quiet and tend to that small greenhouse."
He started walking again in the empty corridor, continuing to speak in a soft voice as if singing a lullaby.
He would occasionally look down as if to check if I was asleep, but strangely, it seemed as if he wanted me to hear his story, or perhaps he just wanted it to pass by like a dream as I slept.
Theo's face, flickering alternately in the light and shadow of the lamps, looked all the more unfamiliar.
"But my mother never tended to that greenhouse, not even once. She never even went inside. While the nameless plants inside the greenhouse withered away, my mother chose to wither away alone in her room. Thanks to that, the greenhouse was entirely mine."
I quietly studied his face as I listened to the story. The skin around Theo's eyes, as he spoke of the plants and his mother withering away, was dry and lifeless, as if life had been drained from it over a long period of time.
Those deaths didn't seem to cause even the slightest ripple in Theo's emotions. Perhaps even his own childhood, when he wanted to hide alone in the greenhouse and escape the terrible times.
"After I had established myself to some extent, I had the resources to tend to the greenhouse, but even so, I didn't really touch it. As for the reason... well, I guess it's because I couldn't imagine a beautiful garden with flowers blooming brilliantly, unlike the scenery I was used to seeing, or maybe it's because I thought that withered appearance suited it better. Maybe that's what they were meant for."
How could that be! What's with a gloomy greenhouse or plants that bloom just to wither! Annoyed, I pecked at him with my beak, and only then did a smile spread across his face, which had been hidden in the shadows.
"Alright, don't get angry. I was thinking of fixing up that garden a bit anyway."
You should have done that a long time ago! I huffed and turned my body again, and he gently stroked my feathers even as his gaze remained fixed on the window.
"There's a greenhouse in the Imperial Palace called the Sun Garden, and all the invited nobles rave about how beautiful it is. They even call it the Garden of Heaven, which is a presumptuous nickname. Those who have never even been to heaven, that is. But I don't really find it that beautiful. It was the same even when I saw the flowers blooming in profusion."
I knew about the Sun Garden because it was the place where the male lead confessed to the female lead in the original story.
Unlike the First Prince, who visited every time the Empress had tea, Theo only managed to go there after he had established himself as the Second Prince.
"So, let's make it even more beautiful than that. Let's plant the big tree you used to climb in the forest, and transplant the herbs and fruits you brought me. It would be nice to plant your favorite flowers next to the clear river where you can clearly see the fish swimming. Our garden, completed in that way... maybe it will look beautiful even to my eyes."
The beautiful garden he was imagining resembled the forest where we first met. Even though it didn't seem particularly special to me.
Don't worry. No matter what you do, the garden that your hands have touched will be very pretty, and you'll soon have a favorite flower too. Not those nameless weeds that wither away.
"So, let's take a walk together when the garden is finished. This time, I'll pick the prettiest flower for you."
Just like you brought me this and that in the forest. Theo smiled again, remembering the memories of the forest where I was busy flying around bringing him herbs and fruits.
I'm glad. Even if the memories of his childhood don't cause even the slightest ripple in his emotions, it seems that the time we spent in the forest is worth at least a brief smile.
It seems that the two days in the forest, where he had accidentally arrived while fleeing from pursuers, were not so bad for Theo.
However, the fact that a mere eagle bringing herbs and fruits could make him smile, and that he could recall the small forest where he wore rags and prepared fish and rabbits with his own hands as a beautiful landscape, meant that the time apart from those two days must have been difficult. That made me feel sorry for him.
"It wouldn't be bad to ask Orca to learn how to make flower crowns."
Ah... Poor Orca has one more thing to do. But I wanted a flower crown, so I ignored the vision of Orca crying and pounding the ground in sorrow due to the excessive workload and answered with a Screech.
While Theo was washing up after returning to the bedroom, I carefully groomed my feathers, which had been ruffled from being held the whole time.
Then, I looked around the room to see if anything had changed while I was away.
Since I could distinguish poisonous plants by smell in the forest, I thought I could tell if the Empress had used another trick to bring in poison.
Fortunately, I hadn't found anything unpleasant enough to trigger my senses yet. Hmm, nothing unusual today either! After finishing the check, I returned to the bed, and Theo came out of the bathroom just in time.
He familiarly lay down on the bed and patted the cushion as if to put me to sleep.
He had developed a habit of putting me to sleep next to him because he had to turn my body to the opposite side whenever I kept turning over to the side with my injured wing while sleeping. But instead of lying down on the cushion, I climbed onto the windowsill.
"Are you going to look out the window?"
No, I slept well earlier and received a lot of gifts, so I'll put you to sleep today! To convey my intention, I went back down to the bed and gently pulled on Theo's pajamas with my beak.
Theo looked puzzled but obediently lay down on the bed. I spread one of my wings over his chest, which was slowly rising and falling as he breathed, and patted him as Theo had done to me.
Anyone could see that I was putting him to sleep, so I believed he would understand this time too!
"...Are you going to put me to sleep?"
"Screech."
The Empress periodically sent assassins to Theo. It was even more frequent during the hours when everyone was asleep.
It wasn't that she really thought the assassins could take care of Theo. She just wanted to take away his peace of mind in any way she could.
In that way, the Empress wanted him to be unhappy every moment. So that he would be overwhelmed by the horror and fall out on his own.
She wanted to gnaw away at him and tear him down from the unseen places.
Perhaps he slept more comfortably in the forest. Even if I protected him as I did in the forest, he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly in this room where he never knew when an assassin might break in, but even so, I hoped he could rest at ease, even if only for a moment.
Because that seemed like the greatest gift I could give, now that I could no longer bring him herbs and fruits or gather firewood.
"Screech-."
Close your eyes quickly! I heard that even if you're not sleeping, just closing your eyes has the effect of resting.
I patted his chest a few more times with my wing, and Theo, with the corners of his lips raised, obediently closed his eyes. I was glad he seemed to be feeling better.
Feeling proud, I grabbed the blanket with my beak and pulled it up to cover Theo's neck, then climbed back onto the windowsill.
Theo chuckled for a moment, having been forced to cover himself up to his neck even though it wasn't particularly cold, but he didn't take it off again.
Theo didn't fall asleep for quite a while, but instead rested comfortably with his eyes closed the whole time, and I watched out the window, hoping that Theo could rest a little more peacefully. Fortunately, nothing disturbed our rest until the day was completely bright.
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