“When did you get this close again?”

I had felt relieved when he moved away, but at some point, he was close enough to embrace me. I pushed his face away with my palm and said,

“Are you not turning into a woodpecker now? So, could you stop interrupting me all the time?”

Let me talk too!

In response to my complaint, Hadel frowned. His expression exuded displeasure.

“I kissed you in case you might turn into a woodpecker.”

Hadel sighed softly. Then, as if grabbing my wrist, he took hold of my wrist, and as his lips brushed against the inside of my wrist, I shivered and my shoulders trembled. Having noticed that fact, Hadel, seemingly mischievous, lightly bit the inside of my wrist.

“Hadel.”

Not long ago, he wouldn’t even let me watch him take a shower, so why is he being so affectionate now? I pouted my lips, displeased, and Hadel whispered in a low voice, as if murmuring,

“I want to kiss you.”

I wrinkled my nose.

“Do it.”

“Do what?”

“With someone else, not me.”

“Marian.”

This time, Hadel seemed annoyed. I clenched my fist and gripped my chin.

“Why do you want to kiss me?”

“Don’t you really know why I’m asking?”

You’re the one who seems not to know. Didn’t you forget that I said I’m the original woodpecker? Where can you find a human kissing a woodpecker?

“…”

Hadel, who didn’t know my true identity until recently, closed his mouth as if stuck, and the sparks in his eyes clearly showed his failure to understand my words.

I was honestly perplexed.

‘No, when did he become so sincere?’

Was there such a sign… or not, really?

‘I did think he might like me.’

Looking back, it wasn’t Hadel who was trying to overcome the situation, but it was me. At first, I was the one who stole Hadel’s lips.

‘Ugh, at that time, I really thought I was helping Hadel! It was a rescue mission!’

But after that?

I’ve never seriously considered my feelings, and now that I’m reflecting on my unexamined emotions, my face turned red on its own. What’s more embarrassing is that Hadel, realizing my change, was staring at me with interest.

Belatedly, I fanned myself with a hand fan, pretending to be calm.

“Geez. I may be a cute and lovely woodpecker, but I didn’t know I could melt even Hadel’s cold heart like this.”

“That’s right. I was surprised too.”

It was a remark meant to dispel awkwardness, but because Hadel immediately affirmed it, it became even more awkward.

I looked at Hadel with my shoulders tense. His unwavering red eyes were completely focused on me.

The meaning in that gaze wasn’t dull enough to be misunderstood.

“Uh, um, Hadel.”

“I like you, Marian.”

Whether he noticed that I was about to change the subject, Hadel brought up the main point straightforwardly. It was a blunt statement that couldn’t be dismissed as a misunderstanding.

‘Confession!’
How could he confess like that? My mouth was dry, and the back of my hands was sweaty. Afraid that the pounding sound might escape my lips, I bit my lips tightly.

Hadel, standing by my side in such a situation, eloquently confessed without a hint of change in his expression.

“You, with ears pricked up in white fur, are cute, but I’d like you to stay by my side as a human.”

“T-That…”

It felt like my head was in complete disarray. Amid my frantic lip-biting, I abruptly lifted my head and asked Hadel again.

“Do you like me? Me?”

“Yes.”

“So, in that romantic way between a man and a woman?”

“That’s right.”

Even with my persistent questioning, Hadel answered without hesitation. In the end, I was the one who let out a loud scream.

“It’s unbelievable!”

“Why?”

It’s funnier to think that this makes sense. If it were some other playful guy, I would have thought it was just a joke and laughed it off, but I knew Hadel wasn’t the type to make such jokes.

I slapped my chest with my palm and said loudly,

“I don’t even know when I might turn into a woodpecker! Besides, you don’t know anything about me. I don’t have a family or a home now.”

“I’ll be your family.”

“Hadel.”

He doesn’t understand what I mean. It’s not about me being lonely because I don’t have a family or home. It means I can’t stay by his side under those conditions.

‘Ugh, why do I have to say this with my own mouth.’

Feeling self-loathing, but thinking about Hadel made it necessary for me to say it. I made a strong effort and persuaded him.

“I need to find someone more suitable for me than a woodpecker lady. A family can still be a woodpecker.”

If I welcome a lady who can also love a woodpecker as the crown princess, according to my subordinates’ words.

The moment I spat out those words, a corner of my heart reacted as if pierced by a needle, but I deliberately ignored that pain. I thought it was genuine advice I could give for Hadel’s sake.

Hadel’s brow furrowed. He tilted his head slightly and responded.

“Lately, I’ve spent a long time alone in the North just to meet you.”

The strangely slowing tone sounded as comfortable as a lullaby. It seemed to convey that my feelings were flowing along. However, I vigorously shook my head. I shouldn’t be swayed.