My Husband was Switched - Chapter 13

I became a bit anxious.

‘What if Zeno can’t hold back and tells Cedric everything?’

If I stay like this, I might die of anxiety.

I immediately opened the closed window and whistled. Birds flew over and perched on the windowsill.

“Tweet tweet.” (What is it, what is it? Do you have food?)

A sparrow flew over, turned its head sideways, and looked around.

You ate a lot of feed this morning too!

“I need a favor.”

“Tweet.” (There’s no such thing as a free lunch.)

What kind of bird talks like it’s soaked in worldly matters? You’ve only lived in the forest…

In the end, I had no choice but to take out the bread crumbs from my pocket and scatter them on the windowsill.

“Tweet tweet!” (Bread! See, you had something delicious all along!)

“…It’s not good to eat too much flour.”

“Tweet!” (You don’t eat only rice every day either.)

Not losing an argument, are you.

It was funny to see myself arguing with a bird. But this wasn’t the important thing.

I pulled myself together and spoke carefully.

“Go to the Grand Duke’s office and see what’s going on.”

“Tweet tweet.” (…Are you asking me to spy?)

The bird, busy picking up crumbs, flinched and looked up.

“Yes, if Zeno tries anything funny, peck him with your beak.”

I nodded confidently. Otherwise, there’s no reason to call you.

“Tweet tweet!” (Alright! It’s fun to peck that guy.)

The birds, who were reluctant at first, agreed when I said they could peck Zeno.

They seemed to remember Zeno harassing them before, trying to catch them.

I poked my head out the window and watched the birds fly away.

I felt a bit relieved now.

“Then, should I go to the garden and make sure the animals keep quiet?”

Of course, Cedric couldn’t talk to animals, but it wouldn’t hurt to tidy things up just in case.

‘I even treated the injured animals sometimes.’

Knowing this, animals often came to me, which took a toll on my body.

Birds would fly to me wherever I was, so I headed straight to the garden.

As soon as I arrived in the garden, I was surrounded by animals.

A rabbit hopped over and shook its tail. Its round bottom was so cute I couldn’t help but laugh.

It had been wounded after recklessly challenging a leopard, but it seemed fine now.

“Let’s see, you’re hopping well, so you must be healed.”

[No, it’s not fully healed yet. Look at this.]

The rabbit deliberately limped. It clearly didn’t want to go back.

“I see. Then stay a little longer, but you must go back when you’re really healed.”

[Really?]

“Yes, but only when you’re really better.”

It expressed its joy by thumping its feet. See, it’s definitely healed.

But I decided to pretend not to notice for a few more days. It’s not like I had to use my power, so I could just let it stay for a while.

While I was happily watching the hopping rabbit, I suddenly heard a scream.

“Aaah!” (It hurts!)

“Goodness.”

My heart pounded. A deer, bleeding, was crying.

Looking closely, I saw blood flowing from its body.

“Where did you get hurt? The wound is too deep to be from a thornbush…”

“Aaah!” (Someone attacked me while I was sleeping.)

The sound of a deer crying was still hard to get used to. Its voice was so loud it hurt my ears.

“Hold on, I’ll heal you.”

I carefully extended my hand and infused it with power. A deep wound required more strength.

‘I’ll have to eat a hearty dinner tonight.’

I needed to stock up on energy. But surprisingly, I didn’t feel as dizzy as I usually did.

It must be a passive ability I gained from contracting with Zeno.

“Aaah!” (Wow! Claire is the best.)

The deer, feeling much better, ran off immediately.

If I couldn’t communicate with animals, I would have probably broken a rib from its headbutt.

I rubbed my ribs and shook my head.

After treating the deer, other animals, noticing my improved condition, flocked to me.

‘This isn’t what I intended…!’

I came to keep the animals quiet, but I ended up treating them.

Surrounded by cute and warm animals, I continued to heal them.

Cedric entered the office with Zeno.

Startled by the sudden influx of birds, he opened the window, and they perched on Zeno’s head and back.

“What on earth is this?”

Birds even perched on Cedric’s shoulders, tweeting away.

The tweeting from both sides made him feel exhausted. He was about to leave the office when the wolf looked at him and whimpered.

“Hing, hiiing.” (You’re not planning to sneak away alone, are you?)

“Tweet tweet.” (Claire told us to watch you.)

“Grrr.” (Do you really want your neck broken?)

“Tweet! Tweet tweet!” (Says the one who’s tied up!)

Cedric let out a wry laugh at the bird-filled office.

“Is this an office or a zoo?”

Whether they understood his feelings or not, the birds kept pecking at Zeno, provoking him. Anger boiled inside him. If he could transform into his human form, he could catch these birds with one hand.

But that would put Claire in a difficult position, so he decided to endure it.

In the end, Zeno looked at Cedric for help.

“Woof!” (Take me with you.)

Cedric stared at the whining Zeno for a moment, then approached the desk and grabbed the leash.

“Tsk, troublesome.”

He had planned to leave him behind, but if Claire found out he tied Zeno up, she might hate him. So Cedric reluctantly left the office with Zeno.

“Your Highness?”

The startled butler widened his eyes at the sight of Cedric standing with Zeno.

Cedric, who never cared about others, was taking a walk with an animal! This was unprecedented in the Grand Duke’s residence.

‘The Grand Duchess’s presence has really changed the Grand Duke’s residence.’

Having more animals had increased the chores, but the Grand Duke’s residence felt more lively. It was like spring had come to the frozen estate.

Cedric snapped his fingers in front of Butler Vahalla’s face, who was smiling contentedly.

Vahalla came to his senses and adjusted his expression.

“Oh! Your Highness, where are you going?”

“Don’t worry about it, just continue your work. Where is Claire?”

“She must be in the garden, visiting the animals.”

“She goes to the garden every day, it seems.”

“It must be the Grand Duchess’s joy.”

“…Joy, huh.”

Cedric glanced at Zeno next to him. A wolf with birds perched on its back.

It didn’t suit him at all.

“Have you informed Claire about the Emperor’s visit?”

“Not yet.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

Vahalla nodded immediately. Cedric’s face brightened whenever Claire was mentioned.

Having worked in the Grand Duke’s residence for a long time, the butler could easily read Cedric’s moods. He couldn’t hide his pleased smile as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Cedric, with Zeno, headed to the garden but soon stopped.

“Aaah!”

It wasn’t a human scream, but an odd sound he had never heard before.

‘What is that noise?’

He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on Zeno’s leash.

Did he hear it wrong?

Cedric tilted his head.

But then, a louder sound came again.

“Aaah!”

At that moment, he thought of Claire in the garden. He worried something might have happened to her.

But Zeno, recognizing the deer’s cry, didn’t react.

‘She must be treating animals again.’

Next time, he’d have to tell them not to scream. It was a sound that could easily be misunderstood by others.

Zeno, having finished his thoughts, slowly turned his head toward Cedric, who was holding his leash.

Seeing Cedric’s face, Zeno shook his head and stepped back.

“Woof! Woof!” (No, it’s not what you think.)

Cedric didn’t even glance at the resisting Zeno. His eyes were fixed on the direction of the sound, and the tension on the leash grew.

“Claire!”

In the end, Cedric started running towards where Claire was.

In his urgency, he didn’t let go of Zeno’s leash. As a result, Zeno was dragged along.

‘This crazy guy!’

Despite being human, Cedric was so fast that even Zeno, a divine beast, couldn’t keep up without getting tired.

Thinking Claire was in danger, Cedric’s eyes seemed slightly wild.

Running madly, Cedric suddenly stopped in the inner garden. Zeno, barely stopping himself, looked ahead.

There, surrounded by animals, Claire was happily smiling.

Blue trees and animals surrounding her. It was a scene that didn’t fit the frozen North.

“Hah… haah.”

Cedric finally exhaled a rough breath. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, laughing helplessly.

“Oh? Cedric?”

Startled by the presence, Claire turned her head, buried among the animals, and saw Cedric.

Seeing Cedric, drenched in sweat and panting on the ground, she looked dazed.

‘…I’m trash!’

What am I thinking? Finding that sexy and having other thoughts… There’s definitely something wrong with my head.

Claire shook her head vigorously to clear the strange thoughts.

Barely managing to gather herself and compose her expression, she finally got up, struggling as the animals wouldn’t let her go. Claire approached Cedric and extended her hand.

“Are you okay? I didn’t know Your Highness was so serious about taking walks.”

Seeing Zeno look so exhausted…

She thought she should ask Cedric to go for walks from now on.