“What do you mean you’re going to confess?”

I swallowed my saliva.

“You know… I started molt, Betty. You probably know it because you saw it yesterday, but I still want to say it with my own mouth….” 

The voice trembled softly as it went out.

Gulp.

The sound of swallowing saliva was especially loud.

I raised my head and glanced at Betty.

I’ll never forget how surprised Betty looked last night. 

‘She must have been very surprised….’

Well, even if it were me, I felt like I would pass out from shock if a child woke up in the middle of the night and started pulling out her hair.

Betty looked me in the eyes and smiled softly.

“Congratulations, Lady. I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful bird!” 

“U, ung. Thank you.”

Did Betty not see that I was holding the red feather? 

Betty brought a hairbrush and carefully sat down next to me. 

The bed was drooping just as much as Betty was sitting on it. 

“Then, starting today, I will have to brush your hair five times every day.  When you molt, your hair falls out and often gets tangled with your new hair.” 

Betty brushed my hair with a hairbrush as she talked softly.

Handfuls of wheat-colored hair were caught on the comb.

“I’ve known you’ve been losing your hair for a long time. But I didn’t know you’d really molt.” 

“I never thought I would do it when I was seven….” 

Betty brushed my hair and told me when I gave a sad answer.

“It’s one step closer to adulthood, Lady. You don’t have to be afraid. It’s just that everyone goes the same way, just a little earlier.”

“But Betty…” 

“It doesn’t matter what color your hair is. There is no such thing as a myth that the red feather is cursed in the wolf clan. So don’t worry too much, Lady.”

I almost cried again because the words were so sweet.

“Ung, thank you. Really. Really.”

“You’re still this pretty, how much more beautiful you will be when you finish molting, my Lady.” 

“No, pretty… Maybe I’ll look even uglier after I finished molting.”

When I spoke timidly, Betty said firmly with a stern expression.

“My Lady, that will never happen. The Lady is prettier and cuter than anyone I know, so when you grows up you will be the most beautiful in the wolf territory.” 

Betty’s embarrassing compliment made me lower my head and turn red. 

It’s a compliment I’ve heard many times since I came to the Wolf Mansion, but I’m still not used to it. 

“Because it’s true. Will you believe it if I show you a mirror all day?”

“N, no. I believe in you. I believe it.” 

“By the way, speaking of mirrors, the Lord ordered to replace all the mirrors in the mansion. Is there something wrong—” 

Betty muttered in a puzzled voice as she brushed my hair.

At that moment, I remembered what Kendrick had said yesterday.

“You’re ugly? Looks like all the mirrors in the mansion are broken. I’ll have to ask him to buy a new one.”

‘D, don’t tell me it’s real?’

When I turned around and looked at Betty with an eye asking if it was true, Betty nodded.

“Yes, it will probably be replaced from lunch. So, it would be better to hang out in the library or in the garden for lunch.”

I listened to Betty and opened my mouth slightly.

So it really was. 

I thought it was a joke meant to make me happy—.

‘Father… The scale is too big.’

To change all the mirrors in the mansion just because I said I was ugly.

I can’t speak carelessly from now on—.

I was reminded of the lesson that I needed to be careful with what I said. 

And indeed, Kendrick has replaced all the mirrors in the mansion. 

Including the hand mirror.

***

Whether Kendrick’s words were true, the hair lost more and more by the day.

I flew over and sat down on a perch hanging from the wall of my room.

These days, I spend longer time in my bird form than in my human form. 

‘Because…’

Because I need to get my feathers trimmed! 

Maybe because a new feather was growing there, the place where the new feather grew itched.

So these days, I’ve been focusing on getting rid of dead feathers and scratching new feathers with my beak.

“Chirp!” 

I trimmed the new feathers with my head turned back.

Among the wheat-colored feathers, red feathers stood out little by little.

If it had been the same before, I would have pulled it out as soon as I found it—.

“Why? I like your red feathers. It’s like a flower.” 

Arsene looked at my red feather and said calmly.

Thanks to Arsene and Kendrick and the kind servants of the mansion, I am no longer afraid of my red feathers.

And.

‘It might be better!’

Now that I have a red feather, Raniero might not want to take me anymore. 

In my previous life, I was imprisoned because birds with red feathers were cursed. 

So—.

‘I might be safe from Raniero.’

Thinking about it made my heart swell with anticipation.

Then when I was trimming myself with my small beak for a long time.

Knock, knock. 

Someone knocked on the door.

I sat on the perch, looked toward the door, and shouted bitterly.

“Chirp!” 

Come in! 

As if he had understood my words, the door opened slowly, and Ethan entered the room. 

“My lady, you were picking out your hair.”

I flew and landed on the floor right in front of Ethan.

And. 

Chirp, chirp! 

After jumping in place a couple of times, light green smoke quickly rose from my body. 

And soon, the vision suddenly increased. I looked at Ethan and smiled.

“Ethan? What are you here for?”

“Hello, Lady. The Lord is looking for you. He’s also waiting for you, Young Master.” 

“Ken, Hmp. No, you mean father?”

“Yes–”

Hoho. Ethan looked at me with smiling eyes.

These days, I’ve been having quite a headache because the title of father doesn’t stick well in my mouth. 

‘I’d like to call him Father if possible.’

Kendrick had built a riding arena and dug a reservoir in the mansion as a wedding present for me.

But the only thing I can do in return is to call him father.

I have to practice hard for this.

I clenched my lips in determination. Then Ethan laughed.

“He is waiting for you in the office. Shall we go together?”

“Ung!” 

I held Ethan’s hand tightly.

His hands were large and warm. Ethan walked slowly, matching my pace. It wasn’t difficult to follow.

Knock, knock.

Ethan knocked on the office’s door and heard Kendrick’s voice telling him to come in.

I grabbed the doorknob, turned it, opened the door, and entered carefully. 

“Did you call me?”

“Yeah. You can leave, Ethan.” 

Kendrick gave an order, and Ethan, who was standing by the door, bowed and left. 

I walked in and sat down next to Arsene.

“The reason I called you guys today…”

Kendrick paused for a moment without speaking immediately.

Arsene and I sat side by side and rolled our eyes.

“There is nothing to be nervous about. I called to talk about the wedding.”

“Aah.” 

I just nodded. Arsene also sat down next to me and nodded his head. 

“Because of the last banquet, I’d like to have a small wedding. I was wondering what you guys think.” 

“I want to be small.”

As soon as Kendrick finished his words, Arsene answered coldly as if he had been waiting.

And he glanced at me once.

I also nodded.

“It’s better to keep them small.”

I didn’t have any good memories of the banquet, so I wanted to avoid mixing with so many wolves as much as possible.

‘I can’t avoid it forever, but….’

But I’m still scared.

“But Kendrick, no, father. Is it okay to keep the wedding small?”

Usually, the wedding of the head family was a festival for the entire clan.  

Especially if it’s a successor.

I heard that making it as big and wide as possible symbolizes the status of the successor.

I was worried that Arsene might not be able to enjoy all of his rights because of me. 

“It’s okay because it’s an early marriage. You can do whatever is convenient for you. Then it would be better to hold it in the mansion on a small scale.”

Later, when you become an adult, you can do it grandly.

Kendrick added something, but I couldn’t hear it because the carriage rattled outside.

‘Huh?’

I tilted my head for a moment.

Kendrick seemed unwilling to repeat it, and he continued.

“Is there anyone you would like to invite to your wedding?”

The person I want to invite—.

At first, it seemed like I should call Leona.

“Linsy, we are friends!”

I smiled spontaneously when I thought of the lovely orange-haired girl holding my hand and laughing.

If I call Leona, I’ll have to call Cain too—.

I glanced at Arsene.

It was because the two people seemed to bother Arsene the last time. 

Arsene, perhaps noticing that I was worried, shrugged his shoulders and said.

“I don’t mind calling anyone.”