Bluebird Lady and The White Lion Family

Normally, dungeons are for the guilty and captured prisoners.

 

The original dungeon would be here, too.

 

The knights guarding the dungeon saluted at Sophina quickly.

 “Greetings, little lady!” “Good day. I need to check on something for a moment, may I come in?” 

Sophina smiled broadly and greeted the knights with encouragement.

 

Then one of the knights asked a cautious question.

 “Are you here for a relative?” “Relatives? My relatives, the eagles?” 

There were people from the fleeing Eagle clan fighting in this war.

 

We weren’t exactly on the best of terms, so I was intrigued. Well, it wasn’t like the entire eagle race had rebelled, so I didn’t feel threatened,

 “Of course, my mother was right to be concerned.” 

She said she would definitely kill them if she caught them this time.

 

Well, it looks like they made it out alive and were taken hostage.

 

Sophina’s face grew a little sour, and she returned to her original purpose.

 “I have no intention of meeting the eagle, but rather the heir of the deer family. I heard.” “Uh… Yes, she was captured during the war, but Lord Rihentheon is probably escorting her, and only the eagles were selected first by order from the Lord.” 

But the answer that came back was quite disappointing.

 

They had not yet arrived.

 

‘But isn’t it the male lead’s job to bring the female lead? Why is young Master…’

I wondered.

 

Surely, it was a rule in Ropan novels that the protagonists usually became involved from the first meeting.

 

So it would be normal for the original heroine to be drawn to Ricardo.

 

‘Strange.’

 

Ricardo’s reaction to hearing the deer heir was unmistakable.

 

While Sophina was deep in thought, a familiar shout assaulted her eardrums from inside the cell.

“I can’t take it anymore! I can’t stay in this filth!” 

It was my oldest sister’s voice, the same voice that hadn’t changed over the years.

 

The prison grates creaked and vibrated. Her dirty temper was still there, and she was furious.

 “When the hell are they going to let us out?” “Be quiet, please!” 

The voice that berated her was her father, the former head of the family. The man who had been so good to his children must have been quite loud.

 

But something else caught Sophina’s attention.

 

The sound of her eldest sister being interrupted by the eagle lord.

 

No matter how bad the prison was, the eldest sister wasn’t a person to scream. She was the epitome of weakness and stupidity, but she had a way with words.

 

If she needed to bribe the guards, she did, but she wasn’t the type to be mean.

 

And those guys?

 

‘I smell something…?’

 

I’d seen them for over a decade, since I was a kid. My experienced sense of smell told me something was wrong.

 

‘I’m not that slow of an eye,’

 I thought.

 

So why did the people of the fallen Eagle Family get involved in the war?

 

To avenge the burning of their mansion and the loss of their position within the Eagle Race?

 

That’s what I thought when I first heard it.

 

It was the most plausible explanation.

 

But…

 

It could have been any of her siblings, but not Eagle Lord, who was technically her father.

 

The Lord was more sophisticated than that. This was evident in the way he sent Sophina to the lions as a bride.

 

He probably figured she was a weak bluebird and wouldn’t last long among the lions.

 

Then he would hold them responsible and extort compensation.

 

Such a man would not have gone to war without thinking.

 

‘Did he think he had a chance of winning this war?’

 

To risk being captured as he was?’ Well, it was a war of many races against many races.

 

It was a fight that lasted a long time, even against the lions, the king of the beasts,

 

‘I get it, but I’m not feeling it.’

 

How to survive in the world of Ropan by being sure to check!

 

Sophina said to her escorts,

“I’d like to greet the eagles for the first time in a while, if I may?” 

After all, the tables had turned. There was nothing to be afraid of.

 

She took a step forward.

 Plop— 

The sound of dripping water echoed through the large dungeon.

 

The chill of the blue-green mossy stone walls made Sophina unnecessarily brush along her forearm.

 

Goosebumps rose and fell on my skin.

 

The sound of slow, hollow footsteps filled my head. As I followed the guards to the far end, I saw some familiar faces.

 

They were the family I knew from my family register, looking shabby from their imprisonment.

 

They were lying on the ground, apparently exhausted from their rampage.

 

Likewise, they got up quickly at the sound of my voice.

 “It’s been a while, everyone.” 

Sophina spoke softly, looking listless.

 

The eagles squinted at her at the coldness of her voice.

 

Soon, they were rubbing the corners of their eyes in disbelief.

 “Sophina?” “You, you—”  

They recognized her now. She nodded slowly in affirmation.

 “Yes, that’s right, Sophina.” 

The eagles’ faces grew even more grim and rotten at that admission.

 

Especially the face of the oldest sister, the one who had tormented Sophina the most.

 

The bluebird she’d thought would wander off in shame was doing quite well.

 

Sophina smiled broadly and scanned the eagles.

 “I see you’re all surprised, I’m doing fine, but apparently you’re not.” 

A dirty-looking creature, her cheeks smeared with grime as if she hadn’t washed in days.

 

My eldest sister was embarrassed to see me like this and grabbed me by the scruff of the neck.

 

Then I realized what was hidden in her clothes.

 

A sapphire necklace? I thought the land documents had disintegrated into thin air and the mansion had burned down.

 

Well, they were the most powerful eagle family in the realm of the birds, so they must have had some money.

 

While Sophina was assessing the eagles’ condition, her second brother, who was in a bit of a temper tantrum, yelled at her.

 “Are you here to poison us? Get the hell out of here!” “You destroyed the land documents back then, you said it was all your doing. Is that how you repay me for raising you?” 

The eldest sister followed suit and criticized Sophina. She even said some untrue things.

 “How dare you, Sophina, when it was thanks to my father that you were able to marry into a lion’s family and live a good life!” 

‘Oh, come on.’

 

Sophina was furious that she was being spoken to by a man with no conscience.

 

At the same time, it was equally unyielding in its repayment.

 “How can a bird talk crap?” 

The bird’s eyes were innocent and sincere. The eldest sister seemed embarrassed by Sophina’s unusual counterattack.

 

Laughing at her disbelief, Sophina sneered, mimicking the behavior of her master teacher, Canus.

 “You’re so stupid, you’re stuck in a dungeon because you dared to attack a lion. How pathetic.” “You, you—” 

The eldest sister, understandably annoyed, pointed her index finger at Sophina and grabbed her by the back of the neck.

 

They’d never broken into the mansion, except to send a message secretly behind a door.

 

Chadwick’s entire manor was protected by a creature with detection powers that made it difficult to break in.

 

Unless they had something that could destroy it.

 

Sophina was momentarily distracted when her eldest sister spoke up, her eyes glowing with venom.

 “…You wait and see. If you ever leave this place, I’m going to crush you first.  

The venomous determination in her tone made Sophina shake her head in rejection at her escort, then paused for a moment before continuing.

 “…You speak as if there is some way out of here.” 

The determined tone of her eldest sister’s voice suggested that she believed something.

 

Sophina’s eyes suddenly sharpened. Sensing something was amiss, she probed further.

 

The eagle lord, who had been watching the situation closely, quickly interrupted the eldest sister.

 “Stop!” 

Turning his attention to Sophina, he proceeded to play a little more trickery.

 

The last time I saw her, she was dying, but her voice sounded better than it had in years.

 “I raised you with the utmost devotion, despite the prophecy, and now you’re so ungrateful and arrogant!” 

I guess the people in this household haven’t changed.

 

Prophecies and all.

 

Sophina snorted and fired back.

 

No more of this gaslighting.

 “Is that so? I do not know what the prophecy says—” 

At that moment, the second brother, who had been pacing beside the eldest sister, burst in.

 “The prophecy says there is no such thing as a bluebird! You’re cursed!”