Leaving a brief disturbance behind, the group start to move again. Without realizing, Amelie had fallen in love with the magic book. To be honest, it was not that interesting, but it was intriguing to think that she could use the magic in the book.
"It"s hard to practice magic at the palace, right? I have to practice whenever I have time."
In the capital city, witchcraft must be hidden. However, it was not possible for her to give up her magic. No matter what anyone says a witch"s greatest a.s.set is magic. If she knows how to use various magics, she will be able to run away when it is dangerous.
In the evening the party began to slow and prepare for camp. Since Amelie sleeps in the carriage, there was nothing else for her to prepare. She had dinner and waited for all the knights to fall asleep.
Finally, it was quiet outside. Amelie carefully got off the carriage.
At first, she tried to practice magic when they stopped moving. However, whenever she got off the carriage, the knight"s attention was focused on her and she had to give up on practice. She thought Roen had said something bad, but he turned his head hurriedly when his eyes met hers.
It was burdensome to get attention either good or bad, so Amelie decided to secretly practice magic far from the campsite.
Amelie transformed and flew up into the air. She wanted to transform into a bird with bigger wings, but this time she was only as big as a fist.
"When will I be able to turn myself into the animals I want?"
In the book, transformation techniques had a wide range. Old woman, child, man, animal. There"s a lot of things available. However, she could not transform into an animal of her choice, let alone transform into someone else. Fortunately, transforming into small animals was successful, but it was unknown when she would be able to turn into larger animals.
"I want to be a big and cool animal. Like a bear."
It"s not cool now because she"s the size of a palm when she transforms.
"Practice! It"s just practice!"
Amelie flew up with great force. As the small wings fluttered hard, the body moved forward. Fluffy down feathers fluttered about against the resistance of the air. Sometimes this is good too. She enjoyed the sense of flying in the sky.
But then, something grabbed Amelie by the ankle.
“Pyaak!”
Amelie was dragged straight down to the floor. She closed her eyes because of the fast fall.
"I"m going to crash!"
But contrary to her worries, she landed safely on something soft and warm. Somehow, she feels deja vu. Sure enough, she opened her eyes and saw Serwin"s golden eyes. It was more brilliant than the moon.
"This man is really—! He"s pulling people with his sword again!"
Amelie tried to protest properly. But Serwin"s expression was too scary for that. He had the toughest expression she"d ever seen on his face. Normally he had his Emperor-like composure, but he now seemed urgent and nervous. So she was even more anxious.
"Why, I don"t know why you are doing that—but I need to be a bird."
Since Serwin likes animals, wouldn"t he be less angry when she"s in the form of a bird? Although it was thoughtless, Amelie"s calculations were correct.
When Amelie sneaked out of the carriage. Serwin was working on paperwork. He thought he should work at that time because he couldn"t sleep anyway. However, he was not particularly focused on whether it was because it was quiet outside or because of the conversation with Ethan.
If he lets his guard down a little, his thoughts go to Amelie. He immediately noticed Amelie"s transformation because he was always conscious of her.
"Are you running away?"
Serwin rushed out of the barracks. Fortunately, he found her quickly and immediately grabbed her with his sword aura and pulled her down. When he saw a small bird trying to fly beyond human reach, his heart fluttered. If he let her go like this, he felt like he would never see her again.
"I tried to get angry because I told you not to move on your own…"
When he saw the bird in his hand, he lost his motivation to be angry. What are you doing getting mad at this little thing? It didn"t matter that technically she was a 20-year old witch, he couldn"t overlook how lovely she looked with a cute tail huddled up close to him.
Serwin casually stroked Amelie. The bird, accustomed to Serwin"s stroking, tilted her head to let him touch it freely. A soft feather touched his fingertips. Focusing on that sensation quickly calmed his anxiety.
"Nice to see you again, even though I know you"re human."
As he is stroking her, her face begins to loosen and laughter begins to emerge. Serwin strengthened the eyebrows. No matter how cute she is, he should properly warn her.
“If you run away, I won"t let you go. Be careful. You have a family.”
Serwin deliberately spoke more like a villain.
“Pyak.”
Amelie felt wronged. What"s wrong with trying to practice magic and even hear these threats? She was out of Serwin"s hands and released her transformation. With a “Pong!” sound, she returned to her human form in the blink of an eye.
Serwin was very surprised inside. He knew it was a transformation, but it was the first time he saw it in person.
“I didn"t mean to run away! I was going to go far away and practice magic because everyone was sleeping!”
Serwin glanced down at Amelie. Her round mint eyes were full of injustice.
"Even her expression and how she acts is the same."
When Serwin played with her food, she would make that look and then slap Serwin"s finger with a small wing or peck at him with her beak. She is holding in her anger now, holding her hand with a clenched fist. It would be like a tickle even if she hit him, but she has a different form now.
"You"re really the same person."
Serwin came to his senses. Come to think of it, it was the first time seeing the bird and Amelie in quick succession. Pink hair, mint eyes, and a frequent change in facial expressions were the same.
He suddenly thought of Ethan"s words. Ethan had said that if Amelie was uncomfortable because she is a human, he should think of a new pet and how he would treat it. At that time, he wanted to keep warning her but when he saw her, there seemed to be a better way.
Serwin slowly raised his hand, this time consciously, and patted her on the head. The riotous hair was similar to touching the soft feathers of the bird. She didn"t feel as plump as a bird, but he liked the feeling of stroking her hair with his palm.
"It"s a bird."
A bird, not a human. Wouldn"t it be okay to show a little bit of weakness?
“Amelie.”
Serwin carefully called her name. She was back in the form of the young lady of Dellahaim, and he didn"t know how heartbroken he was. But right now she"s his bird.
Amelie looked up in surprise. Serwin"s voice was a low whisper, but it was infinitely soft. Serwin"s quiet laughter deepened when he met her eyes.
"Uhm…"
The smile of a handsome man is no joke. Her heart was pounding as if what she had been scared of just now was a lie.
“You said you"d help me, didn"t you?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Then let me sleep.”
“Pardon?”
Serwin hugged Amelie"s shoulders. He buried his nose into her neck and took a deep breath. Slowly, his tension eased, and his mind became distant.
Amelie stiffened while standing upright. When it became known that she was a person, he changed his att.i.tude completely. But now he smiles at her as if she is cute. It was like when he saw her transformed into a bird.
"What"s wrong with you all of a sudden?"
Without knowing what Serwin thought, Amelie was just embarra.s.sed by his sudden change. But there was something more urgent than that. She quickly noticed when Serwin fell asleep because his weight struck Amelie.
“Aah!”
Amelie couldn"t beat his weight and stumbled, and eventually fell. A short scream spread far away.
“What"s wrong!”
“What"s going on?”
The knights popped out with their swords. Ready to fight, what they found were Amelie and Serwin entangled together.
“What are you two doing there?”
Ethan asked.
"Ugh, I"m embarra.s.sed."
Amelie wanted to run away even if she turned into a mouse right away. Should she transform and run away? Amelie was genuinely troubled.
"But if I change now, I feel like I"m going to fall onto Serwin"s body—"
The knights were speechless in their own way at the unexpected scene. The cool-headed master is lying down hugging Amelie, who should they save first and who should they attack? The fallen master? Or Amelie who frowned at the master?
“Well—”
It was Amelie who broke the silence. With his whole body being supported by her, Serwin was heavier than expected. She feels like a pile of rocks is falling on her because his body is so hard and heavy. She spoke in a voice that sounded like she was unable to hold out anymore.
“Please help me. His Majesty, I"m so—”
“Ah!”
“Yes!”
The knights came to their senses and took Serwin"s arms. They tried to lift him with force, but he wouldn"t move. He struck out at the knights as if he didn"t want to be apart from Amelie and clung back onto her. He acted like a sleepy kitten but was really as threatening as a giant leopard.
Eventually, Amelie was a.s.sisted by the knights and moved to the barracks with Serwin hanging off of her. The knights left the barracks with Serwin and her alone in bed. The intruder was determined to disappear quickly.
“Ha..”
Only Amelie sighed in the quietened barracks. She covered her face with one of her remaining hands. She"s going to die of embarra.s.sment.
She clearly remembered the situation a while ago. Serwin and Amelie were unintentionally hugging each other. Amelie clearly saw Ethan"s devastating look at the two of them saying: “Is this it?” The knights were sneaking back, tucking in their swords.
"Aah! I"m embarra.s.sed! What the h.e.l.l did he think!"
Amelie trembled with embarra.s.sment.
The mistake was made by Serwin. Was there a warning that he would sleep in advance? Why couldn"t they have moved to the barracks or carriage! Why did he hug and sleep on her with everyone there? You have to think about your own weight too!
However, the real cause of the accident was asleep as if he had pa.s.sed out. His face was so serene that it was like he had lost all his strength.
Amelie sat down by the bed. Serwin kept sticking his body to her. As he tried to stay a little closer, his large body was pitifully curled up. Only heavy fatigue remained on his face where his usual somewhat haughty expression had disappeared.
Clearly, Serwin is a cruel and scary man. He deserves notoriety as a tyrant. Nevertheless, she was not disappointed to see him like this. This is all because of the disaster.
"Phew, come to think of it, I feel sorry for him, too."
What would you do if you became an emperor and ruled over people? He can"t sleep well because of the disaster. Ordinary people would die the next day if they can"t sleep for even a day, and his insomnia has lasted for twenty years. Is sleep the only thing he gave up?
Amelie patted Serwin on the back. Between Serwin"s languid breaths, the regular patting mixed with his steady heartbeat. Looking at Serwin quietly, Amelie also felt sleepy.
Inside the lighted tent. The two lay side by side and fell asleep until morning.