Bluebird Lady and The White Lion Family

If the original heroine had any feelings for him, she would have said something along the lines of letting him go when the right man came along.

 

Especially after what Ricardo just said…

 

‘You want me to focus on you, what a fox.’

 

Sophina’s pupils dilated. She wondered if this feeling Ricardo had for her was some kind of blind friendship.

 

And if what she felt for Ricardo now was really friendship.

 

Relationships were difficult.

 

‘But it’s a relief.’

 

Without even realizing it, Sophina breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Ricardo, meanwhile, had packed up his things.

 

‘I’m going to find out what she’s hiding in that little head of hers.’ 

 

If there really was another man, we’d better do something about it.

 

‘She has so many friends, and she’s so nice, it makes me nervous.’

 

 

In the same conversation, they were having polar opposite statue dreams.

 

Suddenly, they were interrupted by the voice of their escort.

 “I have brought you what you ordered, little lady.” “Thank you for your service. You may go.” 

Ricardo took the Thenedore from the escort’s hand. 

 

He quickly shooed him away, as if to say,

‘Get out of my way.’

 

‘What was that?’

 

Sophina noticed an odd air current for a moment and blinked. She snatched the Thenedore from Ricardo with a grunt.

 “…You’ll hand it over to me, won’t you?” “Uh. Take it, milady.” 

As they did so, their fingertips gently touched.

 

It’s cold, but why does it tingle?

 

Sophia pondered for a moment, blinked to clear her mind, and walked back to the eagles.

 

The eagles chattered and glanced at her, wondering if she was aware of Ricardo behind her.

 

Sophina glared at them, then released her grip.

 “You’d better cooperate, or else.” 

She glanced slyly at Ricardo. At that unspoken signal, Ricardo made a threatening gesture with his foot.

 “Hic!” 

The second brother let out a strange scream, as if the nightmare from earlier had come back to life.

 

Sophina stepped up to the grate and handed over the Thenedore.

 “It’s simple, I just need you to imbue it with your power.”  

After a smooth infusion thanks to the power of Ricardo’s charisma.

 

Sophina let out a satisfied huff and chuckle as she slipped out of the prison. Ricardo followed protectively behind her.

 

With the hair of her second brother, the body hair of all the eagles, and Thenedore, she could rest easy.

 

If, by some chance, the eagles escape with someone’s help.

 

Chadwick House was heavily guarded in the first place, so escape was impossible.

 

Unless they had an inside connection. So even the dungeon’s security had been changed and strengthened.

 

‘I’m sure nothing will happen.’ 

 

They were suspicious, and it would take a little more time to investigate.

 

That night, it was pitch black with no moon.

 “It’s a cloudless night.” 

A black-haired man wearing a ring that emitted a strange aura appeared in the middle of the silent prison.

 

Clad in a grim black robe, he slowly removed his hat. His black hair was long, falling down to his shoulders.

 

The figure looked like a twin to the one who had pulled the strings during the Autumn Tour.

 

His hazel eyes flashed as he scanned the dank prison.

 

‘There must be eagles in there, and guards over there.’

 

The man pointed toward the entrance of the prison, guarded by knights.

 Thud, thud, thud— 

The unpleasant sound of dragging footsteps echoed. 

 

The knights drew their swords in unison, ready to strike.

 “Who, who!” 

But…

 “Nothing happened.” 

The knights’ eyes went unfocused as the man’s piercing golden eyes locked with their own.

 

The knights remained unmoved and silent, as if they had never seen the man.

 

Domination, is the panther’s natural ability.

 

It was his power. The man twisted his lips and turned toward the eagles.

 

At the sight of the man’s face, the eagles rejoiced as if they had found a savior, but they were cautious.

 

Their fear was palpable.

 

The eagle master summoned up the courage to greet the man.

 “Finally!” 

The man didn’t return the greeting, but the eagle got down to business in a cold tone.

 “What about the goods?” “First of all, this cage…” 

The man pressed his hand to his brow, stifling his voice in annoyance.

 “Where are the goods?” 

The eagle master clasped his hands together and glared up at the man.

 “We’ll have to get out of here first, and then I’ll let you know…well, that won’t work, will it?” 

Of course not. Giving up neatly, the eagle master smirked, trying not to offend the man.

 “I’ll draw you a plan, my lord.” 

With that, he handed the man a fountain pen and paper.

 

With trembling hands, he produced an unrecognizable, squiggly drawing.

 

The eagle lord had a cunning intent that he could not hide. He didn’t fully trust the black panther to interpret the map.

 “I’m probably the only one who can interpret this map anyway, so I’ll give you directions, so come on—” 

But what the man pulled from his arms were several daggers.

 

The man said flatly,

“It is his command.” 

It was enough to get this much dagger anyway.

 

‘Even I can’t get those bastards out of the heart of the lions.’

Besides, the eagles know a lot about black panthers.

 

It was time to die and shut up. The eagle lord’s face grew grim at that.

 

The other eagles swallowed their fear like wild beasts in a trap.

 

Seeing his children in such a state, Eagle Head protested through clenched teeth.

 “Didn’t you say you were going to help us- to restore our power!” “It’s his rule to discard stallions that have outlived their usefulness.” 

The man pronounced the sentence bitterly.

 “Of your own accord.  

Then he activated the same power he’d used on the guards earlier.

 

The eagles’ eyes blurred into a haze.

 

The rest was history.

 

All of them ended their lives cleanly, leaving only the last of the eagles, the one with the most mental strength, to gaze upon the horrific hellscape.

 

Without hesitation, he picked up his bloody knife and threw it at the man’s throat.

 

The sharpened dagger left a long line of blood on the man’s cheek before he crashed helplessly against the wall.

 

The man covered his face with his palm.

 

It was covered with a thin layer of blood. It didn’t hurt, but he was furious that a lowly eagle he didn’t even consider an enemy had attacked him.

 “You, you little bastard…” 

The man’s face contorted into a grimace, he stomped over to the eagle’s head.

 Clank, clank— 

The man’s sword dragged on the dungeon floor, making an eerie noise.

 “Oh, oh, don’t come! Stay away!” 

Instinctively frightened, the eagle master backed into a dead end and scratched at the wall with his fingertips.

 

A few minutes passed.

 

The man who had mauled the eagle’s head sighed, trying to control his anger.

 “Hah.” 

Soon after, he regained his composure and tugged at the ring on his finger.

 “That sucks. Time’s running out.” 

A creature of the Chadwick family that exterminates creatures that enter without permission.

 

I’d barely managed to sneak in, using the Thenedore’s stealth ability to avoid its eyes for the briefest of moments.

 

Now it was time to disappear without a trace.

 

But he didn’t know that. When the Eagle Master had thrown the dagger earlier, it had cut off his hair.

 

And that just before he died, the eagle had muttered, ‘One of the treasures will never be found.’

  

Shortly afterward, at dawn.

 

The manor was in an uproar. The guardian of Chadwick House had found the man’s trail and sounded the alarm.

 

Knights pounded on the door of the couple’s bedroom.

 

They quickly announced the news to Ricardo.

 “My Lord, we’re in trouble.” “What is it?” 

Ricardo, who was sleeping soundly on the couch off to one side of the room, frowned.

 

He had intended to sleep in the study as he had last time, but had chosen the couch as a compromise at Sophina’s insistence.

 

The knight rolled his eyes at the sight.

 

They looked like a married couple who had just reunited and should have been spilling sesame seeds.

 

Perhaps the Lord of the House had done something to offend the little lady.

 

After a moment’s reflection, the knight returned to his professional duties and reported.

 “The prisoners in the dungeons… have been found dead.” 

The commotion jolted Sophina out of her sleep, and she shook her head and opened her mouth.

 “Huh? What happened?” 

‘What? Someone died?’

 

Sophina stared at the knight with wide eyes.

 

The knight continued to explain,

“I asked the men who guarded the gate, but they said nothing happened.” 

As the story continued, Sophina’s expression grew more grave.

 

Like it or not, it was where I was born and raised, and no matter how much I hated them, I had known them since I was a child.

 “Suicide by knife, so someone came in and out to deliver the weapon.But there’s no sign of anyone else.” 

The knight trailed off, saying that the knights on guard were the most likely culprits.

 

He concluded politely,

“We can’t leave the site undisturbed, so we’ve left it as it is. You may take a look.” 

Sophina rose to her feet, her face grim.

 

Ricardo looked at her worriedly and shook his head.

 “Sophina.” “I’ll go.” 

It was a bloody old family with no sense of decency, but if it was the last time, she should at least see them.

 

She gathered Thenedore and followed Ricardo, just in case.