Anna’s skillful hands were busy fixing my hair and clothes, and I sat there absentmindedly with my head spinning from tension.

After a while, Anna took out a hand mirror and showed me my appearance.

“It’s all done. Look.”

“…Yeah, it looks neat. Thank you.”

Even in my distracted state, I could clearly see that my appearance reflected in the mirror was perfect.

“You’re welcome.”

Smiling brightly, Anna put away the mirror, and we soon started walking towards the main building of the Fieren Duchy.

The gardens here and the building at the heart of it were incredibly beautiful, but there was no time to purely admire them.

“Let’s do well, myself!”

I have to sell the cameras!

After walking for some time, we were about to arrive at the main building.

“There are a lot of people…”
“Besides me, people attending today’s event were bustling towards the hall entrance; they all had partners or came with friends.

…Sigh… Suddenly feeling lonely. I miss our wolf.

‘But let’s go bravely!’

I’ve come this far; I need to recoup my investment! I raised my head, straightened my posture, and walked confidently. No one can stop me… Huh?

“…?!”

Whoosh!

Thunk—

‘What, what is it?’

Startled and almost stumbled due to the sudden surprise, I managed to regain my balance.

On my palms were— a pink bird.

‘…? …??’

It fell from the sky right into my hands, but what is this? Why did a bird suddenly fall…! And it’s pink! I’ve never seen a pink bird before!

“Piiit…”

The pink bird trembled on my palms, its tiny body wriggling.

As I observed closely… it looked exactly like a magpie. …Are there pink magpies in the world? Anyway, why is it doing this? Is it hurt?

“Piiit!”

“Pfft…!”

The pink magpie suddenly stood up with a loud squawk. Roaring with a fierce cry.

Already shocked twice to the point my heart dropped, I stretched my arms, keeping as much distance as possible from the pink magpie.

Unable to place it on the ground, as it is too small and might get stepped on by people passing by.

‘What on earth is this? What are you, little magpie? …Could it be… a supernatural being…?’

The magpie blinked its round eyes and stared at me intently. Perhaps due to its pink feathers, it looked like cotton candy or strawberry-flavored pongpong. At first glance, it seemed like a harmless creature…

“Piiit—!”

Its high-pitched voice was no joke.

It could be a bird with a strong personality, I thought.

“Piiiiiit—!”

Please, calm down…! The pink magpie jumped up, flapping its wings wildly. Then, it soared into the air, circling around me.

At this point, I started to feel frightened.

‘This is the first time I’ve felt fear from such a small bird…’

Is this a world where smaller creatures become more aggressive? Like April?

“Pii—it!”

The magpie,
“A face as white as snow, adorned with a rosy blush. Round and gentle eyes, large and deep double eyelids, a nose with a beautiful curve, and moderately plump yet small lips…

In short, summarizing it, she was a very beautiful person.

The heart of a beauty enthusiast would undoubtedly flutter.

‘Wow…’

Was she not a fallen magpie but an angel from the sky? To have such a lovely appearance and a voice so high-pitched! Is she like this even when in human form?

“Thank you for saving me! Lady!”

I see. Even in human form, she seems to be a person with high energy. Nevertheless, thank you for saving her?

“Oh, I didn’t do anything…”

“You caught me as I fell! Thanks to you, I survived! You’re my savior, Lady!”

I just happened to catch her by chance…? A savior of her life? Was it more serious than I thought?

“I have low blood pressure, so I sometimes faint like that… It could have been really bad this time. Thank you.”

“…?!”

Wait, what? Low blood pressure?! Is it okay for her to be like this? Don’t we need to administer emergency treatment?

In bewilderment, I examined the lady—whether she was a magpie or a lady, I couldn’t tell closely. …Seems fine… Is she okay…?

“By the way, I forgot to introduce myself…! My name is Bianca Fiorenza!”

The magpie lady smiled brightly as she introduced herself. I still nodded my head in confusion. Right, Bianca Fiorenza… What?

‘Fiorenza? If she’s Bianca Fiorenza… Could it be, Fiorenza, the Duchess of Fiorenza?!’

The Duchess of Fiorenza… was a magpie?!

I, with my mouth agape, recalled the events from a few days ago.

‘Let’s see, Duke Fiorenza is a griffin beastman… and the Duchess of Fiorenza is also an avian beastman, it seems.’

Before attending the social event, I gathered information about various nobles, including the Fiorenza couple. I had judged, without giving it much thought, that the Duchess of Fiorenza might be an avian beastman like a griffin or something similar.

‘But as it turns out…’

A magpie…

Magpies are small birds of the crow family. There are many differences in size compared to griffins.

‘…A mysterious world of beastmen that is unknowable and inexplicable. Hahaha.’

In this world, where there are snake beastmen marrying blue magpie beastmen, there might as well be griffins marrying magpies.

I put on a polite demeanor and extended my hand for a handshake to the Duchess of Fiorenza.

“It’s the Duchess Fiorenza. I apologize for not recognizing you.”

“Oh my, not at all! What is the lady’s name?”

“I am…”

…Ah, this is it. Once again, the timing to say, ‘Yes, I am the infamous villainess.’ Even if the attitude of the Duchess Fiorenza towards me changes, there is nothing I can do. So, with determination, I opened my mouth again.

“I am Gloria Ainsworth Salisbury.”

Then, the sky-blue eyes of the Duchess Fiorenza widened in surprise.”