Anne was trying hard to erase her thoughts about seeing Evan again by immersing herself in work. But then she heard a strange sound from somewhere.

Tap, tap.

Startled by the noise coming from the window, Anne slowly approached to check what it was.

“Beep, beep! (Are you going to open the window or not?)”

“Blue?”

“Beep! (I missed you!)”

With a look of disbelief, Anne opened the window. There, unmistakably, was a bird that looked exactly like Blue.

“You… you! How did you get here? Weren’t you supposed to be with Sir Klein?”

Anne was shocked to see that Blue had flown all the way here instead of staying with his original owner, Ferrell Klein. She quickly checked the bird’s condition, concerned.

According to what Ferrell Klein once told her, carrier pigeons have the ability to find someone by scent within a familiar territory. If they fail to find their target, they usually return to where they were released.

In any case, it was a miracle that this little bird had managed to cross the border and arrive safely where Anne was.

“How in the world did you get here?”

“Bleep, bleep! (It took me forever to find you! Now hurry up and give me some nuts.)”

Anne didn’t understand what Blue was saying, but she was relieved to see that he wasn’t badly injured after lifting his wings slightly.

“Have you eaten?”

“Bleep. (I’m hungry, so give me something to eat.)”

Seeing Blue fluttering around, Anne looked troubled.

Was he hungry or not?

To find out, she needed some nuts, but they weren’t readily available at the moment.

After thinking for a while, Anne suddenly stood up, as if she had come up with a good idea. She extended her fingers to Blue.

Blue lightly perched on her fingers, and she carried him to the indoor garden within the hospital.

After gently placing Blue on a tree, Anne carefully inspected the grass around the tree.

“Bleep? Bleep! Bleep! (What are you doing? Don’t tell me…)”

“Oh, I found one!”

Anne finally discovered a single mealworm. She carefully held Blue and brought him close to it.

“Blue, eat this.”

“Bleep? (What?)”

Blue backed away, refusing to even look at what was in front of him. Although regular birds eat mealworms, Blue had no interest in them.

No.

He absolutely hated them!

Blue fluttered up and perched on Anne’s shoulder, chirping more insistently.

“Bleep, bleep! (I don’t want that! I want nuts. How could you offer me a mealworm!?)”

Anne tilted her head, then nodded in understanding.

“So you’ve already eaten. Okay, let’s go back.”

“Bleep! (No! I’m hungry.)”

Blue, in a sulky manner Anne had never seen before, nuzzled his feathers against her neck.

As Anne felt the soft feathers, she thought about the two problems she now faced.

The first was that even if Blue wasn’t hungry now, she would need to find food for him by the evening. The second was whether Blue could stay here.

‘I can’t let rumors spread about keeping a bird in the hospital.’

“Blue! Where did you really come from?”

* * *

It was two months before Blue reunited with Anne.

At Count Dehart’s castle.

Carly was nervously biting her nails, pacing back and forth. She had returned to the castle in haste after being summoned by her father, but her mind was still in the capital.

Kyle had assured her that he would find a way to locate Anne, so she felt slightly less worried, but the anxiety still lingered.

Two weeks later,

Carly received a letter from Kyle saying that he might have found a way to locate Anne. Without hesitation, she headed to the capital, where Kyle was.

As soon as she arrived at Kyle’s house, she intended to ask if he had found Anne, but the sight of the man emerging from behind Kyle left her speechless.

“…Ferrell.”

Seeing the person she had tried so hard to ignore after their abrupt separation brought tears streaming down Carly’s cheeks.

As if by reflex, it happened without her realizing it.

Kyle stepped between Carly and Ferrell, shielding her tear-streaked face.

“Please, calm down, my lady.”

Carly simply nodded in response to the unusually serious tone in Kyle’s voice.

“You arrived sooner than I expected. Fortunately, it seems Sir Klein has the bird that bonded with Anne. With its help, I believe we can find her. Would you like to go inside and talk more?”

“…Yes.”

Using Kyle’s chest as a shield, Carly wiped away her tears and then entered the house, pretending nothing was wrong.

The house was small but cozy, with a warm scent of wood that reminded her of Kyle.

Kyle pulled out a chair opposite Ferrell, and Carly took a seat.

It had been so long since they last saw each other.

She had thought she would feel nothing but anger if they ever met again, but now, seeing him safe, she felt only relief.

As the two sat in silence, unable to speak, Kyle poured tea into their cups.

Just as Kyle was about to excuse himself to give them some privacy, Ferrell spoke up.

“…It’s been a long time.”

“Yes.”

“Have you been well?”

“…Yes. How about you, Ferrell?”

“I’ve been well, too.”

Kyle, feeling the awkwardness between them, started to leave with the teapot, but Carly grabbed his sleeve.

“Stay here.”

Kyle worried that staying might lead to a misunderstanding and hurt Carly’s feelings, but surprisingly, Ferrell remained composed.

Kyle pulled out a chair and sat down, then asked,

“So, could you explain how you plan to find Miss Anne?”

Ferrell took a sip of his tea before answering.

“It’s simple. Blue, the carrier pigeon, has a keen sense of smell, so within a small city, it can search for her. We’ll travel to places where Anne might have gone and keep sending Blue out to search.”

“You mean wherever Blue goes, that’s where Anne is?”

“Yes. If Blue returns with his beak full of nuts, it means Anne is likely in that area.”

“With nuts? You’re going to determine it with nuts?”

Kyle questioned the unusual plan. Ferrell, seeming a bit embarrassed, cleared his throat.

“…This bird really loves the nuts Anne gives him. I’ve tried offering him nuts from other people, but he doesn’t seem to like them as much. I don’t know why, but it should help.”

Despite the strange plan involving nuts and a bird, Kyle couldn’t help but smile at the thought of being able to find Anne.

In truth, half of the reason Kyle sought out Ferrell Klein was out of curiosity, wondering if their connection through Anne might lead them to him.

The latter turned out to be wrong, but curiosity was satisfied.

‘So it was just a brief connection after all.’

Kyle couldn’t quite understand why Ferrell was so indifferent to Carly, who clearly hadn’t forgotten him, but he knew it wasn’t his place to comment.

“Are you willing to help with this? If we’re going to send Blue out…”

Ferrell looked troubled as he replied.

“Blue is friendly with everyone, so it’s okay to take him for a while. And you don’t need the owner to release a bird, especially when it’s on the way to Anne.”

Ferrell smiled inwardly.

As the bird’s owner, he knew better than anyone how much Blue had missed Anne, now that the bird had returned to a healthy weight.

“…So, you’re not coming with us. Is it because it would be uncomfortable for you? Are you worried I might ask you to come along?”

“……”

Ferrell finished his cold tea in one gulp and answered.

“No, I have other pressing matters to attend to.”

“……”

Ferrell added one last thing.

“When I was younger, I could travel around freely, but now I’m at an age where I need to find a place to settle down.”

“I see.”

Kyle quietly observed their faces.

He couldn’t understand how Ferrell could speak so calmly to his ex-lover, who still hadn’t forgotten him.

“You should forget about me, Lady Carly, and find someone good for yourself.”

“……”

Carly lowered her gaze, sitting as still as a statue. But Kyle, seeing Ferrell’s eyes, realized that Ferrell didn’t really mean what he said.

‘You still love her.’

Ferrell touched the long scar that ran across his face and said,

“I’ll come back to get Blue soon.”

With those final words, Ferrel left Kyle’s house.

As the two remaining sat in awkward silence, it was soon broken by Carly’s sorrowful sobs.

“Hah.”

Kyle’s low sigh was drowned out by her crying. He wanted nothing more than to embrace her, but he held back.

Kyle felt a deep pang in his heart at the thought that having feelings for Carly might lead him down the same path as that man.

“Please, stop crying.”

“Kyle… Kyle…”

Carly clung to Kyle’s arm and lowered her head, seeking comfort in his presence.

That pitiful gesture shook Kyle’s resolve. Finally, he crossed the line he had set in his mind and pulled Carly into his arms.

At first, Carly flinched, but then she wrapped her arms around Kyle’s waist and sobbed, hiccuping as she cried.

“Hic… Hic…”

Kyle gently stroked the back of Carly’s head repeatedly and said,

“Just cry your heart out. It’ll be better that way.”

TL NOTE: Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories