“No way.”

In my opinion, Cecil, who had been feeling eerie herself, shook her head.

Her awareness did not last long. It was because, on her way back after not meeting the birds, she encountered the mistresses in the hallway.

Cecil’s motherly mistresses were much more sinister than the young mistresses.

“It’s been a while, Lady Cecil.”

“When will we be able to assist with your wedding? We’ve been eagerly awaiting that day.”

“What joy could we have in our old age? Telling stories to young ones about how royal weddings were when I was a young lady is all we have.”

Although it seemed like they were supporting Cecil, they were persistently scrutinizing the distorted relationship between Cecil and the bird prince underneath.

‘I should step back; perhaps opportunities will come to their household.’

There was a time when there were many princes in the royal family, but now there were only two. One of them had been driven out to the North after riding a dangerous flame, so ultimately, there was no difference.

‘My family, being half-human and half-bird, can’t use any power, but at least it’s relatively calm.’

If she had leaned towards one faction, she might not have been left alone by the opposing side. However, Cecil’s family had no power, to the extent that even the only fiancée of the bird prince couldn’t join any faction.

‘Maybe they calculated that and chose me.’

Thinking like that, Cecil lifted her head. In the quiet palace, Baekok Palace, where the prince’s wife should be quiet, people were bustling around.

All eyes were on Cecil. Feeling a strange pressure, Cecil approached and asked,

“What’s going on?”

The chief nodded and answered Cecil with his head held high.

“The Princess has ordered to renovate Baekok Palace, so we are in the middle of the renovation.”

“It must have been empty for a long time. Are there new guests coming to stay there?”

“That’s what she ordered.”

It was the first time that the repeated words were irritating like a parrot.

While Cecil was biting her lips in anger, the mistresses chattered without understanding her feelings.

“Congratulations, Lady Cecil. Aren’t you finally considering a wedding date?”

“Well, how long can Hadel, the prince from the North, wait to get married? The one with a match should marry first.”

Not for the reason of delaying the wedding.

Cecil smiled ambiguously. Unable to speak out because the birds hadn’t met her lately and were anxious, she couldn’t be enthusiastic about the mistresses’ words.

As Cecil remained silent, the mistresses’ conversation crossed the line even more.

“Even though the bird prince is kind and waiting for the gentleman who is his match, marrying a monster who could be attacked by anyone from the start…”

The one who stopped their words was the chief of the birds.

“Be careful with your words.”

“Ahem.”

The mistresses, unable to apologize due to their pride, unable to turn their words back, coughed awkwardly and quickly disappeared.
As Cecil walked to the carriage storage, she also thought about Baekok Palace. As she did, her heart began to race.

‘Is she really considering marriage?’

Other than that, there was suddenly no reason to renovate the empty palace.

‘That might be a bit pleasing.’

Although she thought this marriage had no particular significance, now that marriage was imminent, her heart fluttered.

‘Would it be okay to feel a bit empty? For others, it would seem like a splendid life.’

Still, she wasn’t sure what to do, so for now, she decided not to tell anyone.

The excitement of that day became Cecil’s secret.

And four days later, during breakfast, her father burst in.

“Cecil! Have you heard the news?”

“What news?”

“Prince Hadel has come to the capital!”

Cecil couldn’t understand why her father was so excited.

‘Even if Prince Hadel has come, what could change in my life?’

“Is that so?”

Cecil’s nonchalant reply seemed to frustrate her father, who was bubbling with excitement.

“Really? Then it’s probably nothing. If there’s something to worry about, he would have mentioned it.”

Cecil thought the same way.

But contrary to her family’s expectations, Prince Hadel’s return to the capital was going to have a significant impact on her life.

The moment she saw that woman, Cecil knew.

‘It’s her!’

The woman the birds had been mentioning had arrived.

Thanks to spending several days in the carriage, our group finally arrived in the capital.

‘The capital.’

The high castle walls were unfamiliar, but the streets inside the walls were just like my memories. It felt like I had returned a hundred years ago.

‘Nothing seems to have changed from when I was young. Naturally, it’s expected.’

Cities where people live don’t change dramatically. Especially in a capital where people are always abundant, constructing new buildings is not easy.

‘But the atmosphere seems to have changed a lot. Well, back then, there were bookshelves placed everywhere.’