When Cordelia went to the canary’s room with water and food as usual, she was terribly shocked to see an empty cage and an open window.

It was a scene she couldn’t have imagined the previous night, when she had fallen asleep contemplating what to say to attempt conversation with the bird the next day.

Cordelia immediately began searching throughout the mansion. She thoroughly examined the canary’s room and all the rooms on the second floor except the young master’s room.

However, she couldn’t find even a single yellow feather in the rooms where both doors and windows had been tightly closed.

Finding nothing on the second floor, Cordelia came down to the first floor. She searched everywhere from the kitchen she frequently visited to the storage room filled with various tools.

As Cordelia kept running through the corridors, several servants approached her asking what she was looking for, but she couldn’t answer.

There was no way she could easily admit that she had lost the bird the young master had entrusted to her, let alone properly care for it.

Meanwhile, time passed mercilessly, and it became lunchtime. Cordelia stopped examining the corridor and headed to Caspian’s room carrying his lunch.

Caspian stared at the child covered in sweat and dust.

“What have you been doing?”

Cordelia flinched as if caught doing something wrong.

「Cleaning.」

Caspian looked at the clumsy handwriting for a moment, then continued eating without asking further questions.

Although one part of her heart felt like it was being pricked by needles for daring to lie to the young master, Cordelia was relieved for now and thought about the next place to look for the canary.

After finishing serving the meal, Cordelia went to search the unused third floor.

As the child peered down the dark corridor full of dust and cobwebs that seemed never to be cleaned, she couldn’t find the bird there either.

Dejected, Cordelia slumped down on the corridor floor. A cloud of dust rose around her.

Now the only room in the building that Cordelia hadn’t searched was the young master’s room. But if the canary were in that room, he would surely have said something when she was serving him earlier.

Cordelia considered the worst-case scenario—what the open cage and window might mean.

Cordelia had never opened the window in that room. Even if she had accidentally left the cage open, someone had definitely opened the window deliberately.

Perhaps they felt sorry for the caged bird and wanted to set it free? If so, she could understand that sentiment. The room was too lonely and desolate.

Whatever the reason and whoever did it, Cordelia had to find the canary. She absolutely did not want to disappoint the young master who had trusted her with this task.

Moreover, Cordelia hadn’t even had a chance to converse with the canary yet.

Whether it didn’t know how to communicate or perhaps couldn’t make sounds like herself, the child still wanted to be friends with the bird.

Cordelia jumped up and dashed down the corridor. There was still one more place to look.

* * *

Jack spat in frustration as he watched Cordelia busily moving around the garden.

The child, who had suddenly appeared saying she was looking for something, was sticking her head among the grass and flowers growing in the garden without explanation.

Even when he offered to help and asked what she was looking for, she just shook her head, so Jack could only watch as the small child struggled.

After about two hours, Jack was startled as he was trying to gauge the time. The child, who had thoroughly searched the ground, now turned her attention to the trees.

“Cordy! You can’t climb up there!”

Jack pulled down the child who was trying to hang onto a tree. Even with her arm held by Jack, Cordelia didn’t take her eyes off the tall tree. Jack sighed.

“You don’t look it, but you’re quite a troublemaker. What if you get hurt climbing up there?”

“Indeed.”

Both of them turned their heads simultaneously at the voice that followed Jack’s admonishment.

Caspian was looking at Cordelia with an expressionless face, arms crossed. Cordelia flinched.

“Would you excuse us for a moment?”

“What? Yes, young master.”

Jack glanced at Cordelia before leaving the garden.

Cordelia raised her arm to wipe the sweat flowing down her face but stopped. Her sleeve was completely covered in dirt.

As Cordelia fidgeted with her hands clasped in front, Caspian approached until he was right in front of her. Her feet, which were retreating hesitantly, bumped into the tree trunk behind her.

“Lift your head.”

Caspian said quietly.

Cordelia hesitated. She felt that if she raised her head to look at the young master now, all sorts of emotions would burst out.

Fear of being rejected by the young master, worry for the canary, indignation about the situation, and above all, hatred toward herself for failing to complete the task entrusted to her—all these feelings rose up to her throat.

When Cordelia didn’t move, Caspian gently lifted the child’s chin with his finger. He wiped Cordelia’s dirty face with a handkerchief.

Cordelia whimpered.

「I’m sorry. I lost the bird.」

Caspian looked down quietly at the child who confessed her mistake even before being questioned. She looked like she might burst into tears at the slightest touch.

「I tried hard to find it, but I couldn’t. What if the bird gets hurt?」

The hand writing the note trembled. Caspian wrapped his hand around hers.

He could roughly guess what had happened. Caspian was aware of the whispering voices in the corridor during the early dawn when he couldn’t sleep, and the maids who were smiling from afar while Cordelia was searching the garden.

He wondered what they had done just to tease this young child—the maids seemed to find Cordelia quite irritating.

“Well. It might be safer outside than here.”

Cordelia, who couldn’t understand his words, blinked. Caspian pulled the hand he was holding and took the child into the mansion.

* * *

Caspian had no intention of finding the canary. Whatever the reason, if it had left, that was the end of it.

Perhaps he even felt relieved. He could finally forget the existence that had been weighing on a corner of his heart like a heavy stone.

However, it was a different matter for this child to feel unnecessary guilt.

“There’s something I’ve lost,” Caspian began vaguely, after having Catherine gather all the maids in the lobby.

“I heard voices at dawn.”

Most of the maids looked at each other in confusion, but exactly three maids hunched their shoulders and remained silent.

“If I find out myself, it won’t end lightly. So come forward on your own.”

The maids murmured among themselves. Caspian stared at the maids who remained silent among them.

There was no need to recover the canary, but he could alleviate the child’s guilt.

Caspian looked at Cordelia standing beside him. The child also seemed to have no idea what he was saying.

At that moment, one maid suddenly jumped forward. She knelt right in front of Caspian.

“I’m sorry, young master!”

“What are you sorry for?”

“Well…”

The maid moved her lips, then suddenly shouted loudly.

“It was Becky! I couldn’t stop her from releasing your bird!”

“Maria, you…!”

“I told her not to do it, but in the end, Becky went through with it… I’m truly sorry!”

Maria prostrated herself on the floor and repeated her apologies. Then Sarah also rushed forward and fell beside her.

“I couldn’t stop Becky either! I was wrong! Please forgive me, young master!”

Becky, who suddenly found herself taking all the blame, turned pale. Caspian looked down at them with tired eyes.

“Who is Becky?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Becky. She stood before Caspian as if being dragged.

“Why did you do it?”

The flat, emotionless voice made Becky shiver. She trembled as she met the cold green eyes.

“I, I, I did it alone…”

“Just tell me the reason.”

Becky’s eyes, trembling like aspen leaves, fell on Cordelia. Becky bit her lower lip hard.

“That arrogant Therion person doesn’t know her place and was getting above herself, so I just wanted to teach her that the Ducal family is not to be taken lightly!”

“……”

“That bird probably couldn’t fly properly anyway, so it wouldn’t have gone far. I’ll find it!”

Looking at the maid who seemed half out of her mind with fear and jealousy, Caspian couldn’t even manage a hollow laugh.

Setting aside the fact that she dared to identify herself with the Ducal family, he was astounded by her audacity in declaring before numerous servants that she had used the young lord’s bird to demonstrate the prestige of the Ducal family.

Yes, “Caspian von Obenhart” was originally that kind of existence—a young lord in name only, disrespected without awareness by a mere maid. Caspian let out a small sigh.