Chapter 99

Chapter 72 Goat Cheese

Flap, flap—

Large wings flapped overhead, creating a gentle breeze.

Then my right shoulder sank slightly, and I turned my head to see the raven tilting its head at me, then opening its beak: “Pepe—”

As expected, it was you, this dead bird.

Impatiently, I pointed in the direction where Edward lay.

“Go away. Your master is over there.”

Then I shook my shoulders sharply, trying to get it off me, but the raven spread its wings to maintain balance, its sharp claws gripping tightly onto my collar, not letting go at all.

“Ah, you’re hurting me, stupid bird.”

I frowned, glaring at it with dark eyes.

The raven, of course, ignored me. It tilted its head toward where I pointed, then said, “Edward, washed?”

…What?!

I was startled. Could this bird really understand that? How smart!

Curiosity piqued, I tried to communicate with it: “Can you, understand what I’m saying?”

Hearing my voice, the raven turned its head back, staring blankly for a moment, then opened its beak wide again: “Idiot! Washed!”

“Can you actually understand?”

“Washed!”

“…Idiot.”

“Idiot—!”

I widened my eyes and poked at it: “You’re the idiot!”

The raven, stung on the wing, stretched its neck to peck at my forehead: “Pepe, idiot—!”

“Idiot idiot idiot—!”

After several rounds of this exchange, I suddenly felt like I really was an idiot, arguing with a bird…

At this moment, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black carriage weave through the crowd and stop not far away. The curtain was lifted, and I turned my head to look just as the exquisite red satin boots came into view.

Madam was the first to step out of the carriage. Before her feet even touched the ground, she began looking around, her gaze sweeping past Lafayette and directly towards me, her expression showing a momentary emotion.

Suddenly, Bella spoke up: “I’ll go check on the prisoner’s condition.”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and left. Her tall and slender figure, illuminated by the flickering lights around, exuded a captivating charm.

I felt a strange sensation.

Obviously, she had seen Madam, who was already lifting her skirt and taking small steps towards us. Under normal circumstances, shouldn’t she have greeted her first?

Why did it feel like she was avoiding Madam?

She always seemed so odd… Forget it, why bother thinking too much about it.

In my line of sight, Madam’s graceful figure was already rushing over.

“Mother.”

Lafayette greeted her, but Madam didn’t acknowledge him at all, merely waving casually as she passed by him without stopping.

Lafayette awkwardly rubbed his nose, then shrugged at me.

In the next moment, a fragrant breeze wafted over.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Even from a few steps away, Madam couldn’t contain her concern, speaking anxiously. I opened my mouth to tell her that nothing was wrong, but she hugged me tightly instead.

“Ga—”

The raven on my shoulder was startled and flew into the air.

“How are you? Did those people hurt you?”

My head was pressed firmly against her chest, warm and soft, and the fragrance of lilac, more intense than mine, rose to my heart. My heart melted.

I gently shook my head in her embrace.

“…Dirty.”

I was still covered in blood. Although due to the frost, not much had splattered on me,

The battlefield was covered in dust and mud, mingled with damp snowflakes. I didn’t need to look in a mirror to know that my face was probably covered in grime.

“Foolish child…” The lady released her grip on me and then held my shoulders, her star-like bright eyes scanning over me, filled with worry. “You say you’re not hurt, but your face is disfigured.”

I was instantly startled.

Disfigured!? No way! Impossible!

My hands frantically reached for my face.

It didn’t hurt or itch… there seemed to be no obvious wound…

I spread my palms in front of my eyes, seeing a dark red bloodstain. I was momentarily stunned.

Then I realized, “This isn’t my blood.”

It must have been the enemy’s blood that splashed onto me… When? I had no idea.

But the lady didn’t care about these details; she began to nag.

“Why did you come over here… A girl, why do you want to show off? Do you think you’re invincible?”

“Couldn’t you tell us? Let your father bring people over, wouldn’t that be better than coming alone… Making everyone worry…”

“But it was an emergency…”

“What emergency? You couldn’t even take the time to go upstairs? Hufu felt something was wrong soon after you left and immediately told me…”

“I didn’t know what was happening… I thought the events from three years ago were going to repeat…”

“Why are your hair curled like this… Look, the ends are burnt…”

“There’s fire…”

The lady sighed. She lifted her head and looked towards the battlefield.

Bella’s hunters continued to tread through blood, moving back and forth on the desolate land. Almost no city guards could escape this hell; they had already dropped their swords, kneeling in the mud, raising their hands in surrender.

The killing had ended, but she still appeared deeply worried.

I knew I was at fault and wanted to comfort her, but I didn’t know how. After hesitating for a while, I could only say, “I’m sorry, next time, I won’t.”

She stared at me for a moment, and when she spoke again, her words carried a hint of resentment.

“Where’s Edward?”

I pointed, “Over there.”

“…Dead?”

“Mm-hm.”

“…Sigh, at least it’s clean.”

A soft sigh, the emotion indiscernible.

On the other side, the duke who had just gotten out of the carriage with the lady did not immediately come over. Seeing our condition, he slightly curled his lips, nodded gently at me, then turned to walk toward Lafayette.

The lady suddenly patted my head.

“Pipi, you’ve grown up.”

“Caw—”

The raven’s hoarse cry echoed again by my ear. This time, it perched on the lady’s shoulder.

I raised my hand again to shoo it away, but noticed that the lady showed no sign of rejecting it. She even reached out to smooth its feathers. The raven seemed quite content, closing its eyes and rubbing its head against the lady’s palm as if in a playful manner.

This scene puzzled me.

“…That raven…”

But the lady said to the raven, “Goat cheese, very obedient~”

Huh?! Goat cheese…

Such a wonderful name… It’s… well, never mind.

I think I understand?

Indeed, the lady’s next sentence confirmed my guess.

“It’s the raven you used to raise. It disappeared with you three years ago, and this morning, it suddenly appeared outside the study window, knocking on the window continuously, scaring me. Later, knowing something was wrong, I guessed its meaning… This place has been abandoned for too long, and it’s hard to find.”

The raven, named Goat Cheese, seemed to enjoy the affectionate treatment from the lady, adding a peculiar touch to the tense atmosphere.