Would it be better to entrust the duck to the hands of the palace historian and chancellor? Or should he hand it over to the veterinarian who had formally studied animal science? Caenian placed the two men on the scales in his mind.

“Your Majesty, have you forgotten? I am a beastman. Birds of a feather flock together, as they say. Leave it to me. I can cure this young duck right away.”

─ Quack? Quack? (Beastman? In the palace?)

At that moment, as Duke drove in the wedge, Caenian’s face hardened. It was rare for Duke to reveal his true nature. It meant he was truly sincere. Bestia was just surprised. Her yellow beak fell open.

“Perhaps the chancellor does know better. Being a black pelican beastman, and all.”

That’s right. Duke was the only beastman who had survived Ruvan III’s anti-beastman policy. There were a few beastman families in the Delta Empire who had received the title of count. Now, only the Schubien count family of black pelican beastmen remained.

“Chancellor, how about 10 minutes?”

“Your Majesty, please give me 30 minutes. It also needs time to stabilize.”

The answer came immediately to the question that broke the heavy silence. Duke bowed to Caenian and held out both hands. It was a gesture asking to hand over the duck.

“Hmm.”

Caenian couldn’t shake off his doubts until the very end. His sharp gaze turned to Duke.

“30 minutes, 30 minutes……”

He felt uneasy, but the difference between three days and 30 minutes was significant. It would probably take about 30 minutes for the veterinarian to prepare the medicine anyway. It was worth taking the risk.

“Alright. No more, no less, exactly 30 minutes, Chancellor. Handle it carefully. It’s a duck I’m quite fond of.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

─ Quack…… (I’m scared……)

“Now then, shall we go, little duck?”

Bestia was transferred onto the wrinkled palm. Duke stared intently at her, trembling with fear.

“This is my office.”

Duke’s office was modest. Books were piled high on the floor, suggesting a shortage of bookshelves. Still, sunlight streamed in well through the large window.

─ Quoack……? (What about my motion sickness……?)

Bestia still felt dizzy. She looked at Duke with a dumb expression. Duke met Bestia’s gaze.

“Little duck, about your motion sickness. Your sense of balan……”

“Chancellor Schubien! It’s an emergency!”

─ Quack? (Who’s that suddenly?)

“Malcolm! How dare you enter without knocking.”

Just as Duke was about to start his explanation, someone burst into the office. He was in such a hurry that he didn’t even close the door properly. Duke furrowed his brow sharply. Bestia tilted her head.

“I-I’m sorry. But please look at this document first. It’s urgent!”

“Good grief. Malcolm, do you realize that half the times you come to see me are like this? Let me see… Oh my……”

Duke was clearly about to get angry. He wanted to send Malcolm away because the curious duck beastman was beside him. The documents could be looked at later.

But…

“No! How can there be a difference of tens of thousands from what we reported to His Majesty earlier!”

“That’s what I’m saying! If this goes up as it is, aren’t we all dead?”

“How did this… It seems the reports from each region were wrong from the start. We need to recalculate immediately!”

─ Quoack? (Did they forget about me?)

It seemed to be a real emergency. Duke couldn’t take his eyes off the document. Bestia pouted her yellow beak. After receiving so much attention until now, being ignored was quite disappointing.

─ Quaack. (This might be my chance to escape.)

But the disappointment was brief. Bestia quickly turned her thoughts. She had almost forgotten that she needed to go home. The two men were absorbed in the document. It was an opportunity.

Bestia jumped off the chair and slipped through the open door.

─ Quoack! (Duck on the run!)

What followed was a mad dash. She ran regardless of where the exit was. Her duck feet were on fire.

“Oh my! What’s this!”

“Mommy!”

“Good heavens!”

She changed direction every time she encountered someone in the vast palace. She passed by men in armor, maids in uniforms, and several people whose roles she couldn’t even guess.

─ Quack… Quack! (Huff… huff… I’m out of breath!)

How many minutes had she been running like this? Bestia soon stopped running. Her heart felt like it was about to burst. Her vision was spinning, so she leaned against the wall with her small wings. Looking around, she realized she had entered some kind of hall.

─ Quack? Quaack? (What’s this? Why are there portraits?)

Bestia didn’t know that this was where the imperial family’s portraits were kept. She just thought she’d catch her breath before leaving. That was until her eyes met a certain portrait hidden behind a large pillar.

A woman with shining silver hair, green eyes, white skin, and a faint smile. Just as she felt a sense of familiarity, Bestia’s eyes widened.

“Mother, I have finally come of age.”

Caenian was in front of the portrait. He probably hadn’t seen the duck right away because she was leaning against the pillar.

─ Quack? (Why is the emperor here?)

After running away with all her might, she ended up in front of the emperor again!

It felt like all the blood drained from her body. A sense of fear overwhelmed her, feeling trapped in a maze. Her body suddenly felt hot and her vision turned white.

Poof!

“Ah!”

At that moment! Bestia let out an involuntary quack. A dazzling light enveloped the yellow duck.

Whoosh!

“Who came in here?”

When Caenian, sensing a presence, quickly turned around, the duck was nowhere to be seen. There was only a blonde girl in a white dress.

“Who are you?”

“Well… Huh? Am I me?”

“What?”

There was a woman in front of him saying things that didn’t match the question. Caenian’s eyebrow twitched. The appearance of the strange woman was perplexing. It happened to be just when he had tears in his eyes while looking at the former empress’s portrait.

This was the ‘Memorial Hall’ he visited whenever he felt unsettled, and he had stopped by briefly after seeing the duck he had picked up on the street, feeling empty inside. He had come here to find peace of mind during the 30 minutes he had given Duke for the duck’s motion sickness treatment.

A woman of unknown identity had seen a side of him he didn’t want to show anyone. Caenian, quickly wiping his eyes, narrowed them.

“How long have you been here?”

His voice was full of thorns. He was anxious about rumors spreading that the emperor had shed tears. Although he had no intention of ruling through fear like the former emperor, tears were different. He didn’t want his authority to plummet. An emperor should maintain a lofty dignity befitting his position.

“Hey, answer me. Can’t you hear my words?”

Caenian asked sternly, furrowing his brow.

“Do you dare ignore the emperor?”

He asked once more. But both questions were ignored.

“Ha!”

Caenian roughly ran his hand through his red hair. The woman in front of him was strange somehow.

“Did I just change? Do I have fingers? Five on each hand, ten in total! Right?”

She was muttering to herself, staring intently at her own hands. Caenian’s gaze followed suit. Her slender, snow-white fingers were extremely beautiful. Beautiful enough to want to hold them.

What? What am I thinking? A strange thought flashed through his mind for a moment.

“Am I going crazy? To want to hold the hand of such an un-noble-like woman… What?”

Caenian quickly turned his head. Facing this strange woman seemed to have affected him.

To think I’d mutter to myself like that foolish woman!

“Legs? What about legs? So I really have changed? Really?”

Incomprehensible words pierced his ears again. Caenian frowned. Her voice was truly beautiful. Her face, which he had glimpsed, was pretty too. It’s just that her words were a bit strange…

Wait, pretty? Did I think she was pretty?

His head turned involuntarily. His eyes met with the mentally unstable woman. At that moment, he remembered what he had forgotten.

“You. Do my words not sound like words to you? I asked who you are.”

“Ah! Emperor… Your Majesty…!”

Bestia finally grasped the situation. The clearly displeased tone snapped her to attention.

It seems I’ve really returned to my original form! Then I need to escape!

Her mind knew, but her body wouldn’t listen. She felt awkward in her human body again. Her feet wouldn’t move. Words wouldn’t come out properly.

“I, I am…!”

“Enough.”

Caenian cut off her words. Along with a distorted smile. He had long forgotten the thought that Bestia was pretty. He was angry again. Pretty or not, it was the first time he had met a woman who didn’t answer his words.

Moreover, thinking about it, the emperor didn’t need to hear an answer. A person who does as he pleases. Isn’t that what an emperor is?