CIBYSYH | Ch 19

“Ahem!”
Marquis Slid cleared his throat, quickly returning to his usual grumpy expression.
“Fine! Just like you said, I was being overly suspicious.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
The Count flinched at the harsh shout. He gave the Marquis a displeased look and started preparing to leave.
Standing at the castle gates, the Marquis looked back at the Duke’s residence.
‘Yeah, it really was just unnecessary suspicion.’
He swallowed a sigh and climbed into his carriage.

[Today doesn’t feel right.]
The Marquis tried to kick me out, the Duke lost the jewel he gave me, and everything just felt off.
Is something wrong?
I felt uneasy, so I decided to check the news for the day.
[Aaargh!]
The Golden Scales News Upgraded to Imperial Official Newspaper
Isadora dropped down in shock.
Talk about bad luck.
[Stephan and Sabne Harris are going to love this. Ugh! So frustrating!]
Stephan and Sabne Harris—siblings from the Harris family—had light brown hair and green eyes. Sabne, the editor of The Golden Scales News, was a bitter enemy of Isadora. She would call her things like “long-legged” or “fish eyes.”
“Why did the fallen Baron’s daughter come to the ball?”
“She came to write an article. Opportunist!”
Isadora shot back just as harshly.
The Harris family had a long history of scheming and sowing discord among the nobles, which is why Isadora didn’t hesitate to call them out. Every time she did, Sabne would jump in anger.
“How could you say something so insulting!”
“And it’s fine for you to call me long-legged?”
Even though there was a big social gap between them, Isadora didn’t care. If she did, she wouldn’t have become a reporter in the first place.
Meanwhile, Stephan Harris, who was the same age as Isadora, would always hover around, offering snacks, flowers, and asking meaningless questions.
‘It’s all part of his plan to make me let my guard down.’
Isadora refused to be fooled by his tricks.
Years later, he started showing a side of himself that was just as prickly as his sister’s.
[Everything is so annoying!]
Isadora tore up the newspaper in frustration.
“Stop, don’t do that.”
The Duke snatched the newspaper away, warning her.
At first, he wasn’t good at petting her, but now he was doing it like a pro.
Ever since the bird got sick from eating paper, the Duke had been keeping a close eye on her to make sure it didn’t happen again.
Isadora turned away from the Duke to cool down, but she couldn’t stop her tail feathers from twitching in irritation.
Of course, Leonard found it all cute, seeing it as just a little pout.
The Duke placed the canary on his shoulder.
[Where are you going again?]
Isadora got comfortable on his shoulder.
She had become so balanced now that she didn’t have to worry about falling off.
‘Where is this place?’
This was one of the few places Isadora had never been. The butler had always blocked her from entering.

Bang.
As the door opened, Isadora immediately understood why the butler had stopped her from entering.
[This is the dress-up room, isn’t it?]
The sight of high-end suits hanging in rows made Isadora spring to her feet.
[This is the brand of suits the Karibu Duke wears!]
“Don’t go in.”
[Duke, please let me go!]
Isadora begged, trapped in the Duke’s arms.
However, Leonard set the bird down on a stand and firmly warned her.
“Stay here. If you hide in there, I won’t find you even if I stay up all night.”
It was a very serious warning.
[Hmph.]
Isadora snorted.
He brings me to a place full of newsworthy material and tells me not to investigate?
She glared at the Duke, but he just met her eyes and smiled slightly.
‘Alright. I’ll watch closely to see what the Duke is doing here!’
Determined, Isadora gave him a sharp look.

Thud…
[Ah.]
“…What’s wrong?”
As Leonard unbuttoned his shirt, he noticed the gaze that had been on him was now gone.
Of course.
The canary, who had been glaring at him, was now facing the wall.
“Canary, canary?”
He called the bird again, but it stayed silent.
It looked like an upset child, staring at the wall.
The little head tilted slightly, so it had to have heard its name and the footsteps approaching.
‘Diamond Forty-One, Diamond Forty-Two… Ah!’
While counting the patterns on the wall, Isadora felt the heat behind her and instinctively shut her eyes.
She didn’t need to look to know that the Duke had taken off his shirt and was bending toward her.
Isadora didn’t move a muscle.
She hoped the person who had lost interest would just walk past her.

Swish, swish.
[Stop petting me!]
Isadora snapped at the Duke, who was rubbing her all over.
Why is he so obsessed with touching me?
She poked him in the side.
Of course, his muscled body didn’t leave any marks, but it was still frustrating.
“Why are you hiding your head in the corner?”
[Just trying to keep a little privacy.]
“You’re turning your head again. Are you embarrassed?”
[I’m worried that you’ll be embarrassed.]
“You don’t need to worry. You’re my bird.”
People who have been around animals for a long time can tell what they’re thinking just by looking into their eyes.
Isadora was taken aback by how easily they communicated in this moment.
[Anyway, once you learn my true identity, you’ll probably be upset.]
Her excuse sounded strange even to herself.
The Karibu Duke would never figure out her true identity.
So, she could just pretend to be a clueless bird, gather all the information, and then run away.
‘I never used to care about this kind of thing.’
It was all because of the Duke, who was so different from the rumors she’d heard.
“Let’s go back.”
Isadora looked at the Duke.
In that moment, all the frustration she’d been feeling disappeared.
[Wow! Are you leaving now?]
“Is it alright?”
[It’s a shame I can’t run a story about this right now.]
The Duke, dressed in a sharp black suit with his hair neatly combed back, looked as cool as a finely sharpened sword.
Even though his shirt was buttoned all the way up, the muscles beneath it gave off a dangerous vibe.
‘His face looks like a gray wolf, and his body like a reindeer.’
Isadora admired the accuracy of the title she’d once written.
[Where are you going today? A ball? A meeting?]
Whenever he wore such formal attire, it was usually for something important in the royal capital.
The Duke gently petted Isadora’s head.
“Canary, you’ll be okay waiting, won’t you?”
[What’s going on? Are you going to the capital? Oh, maybe an execution?]
“I was invited to the execution of Count Premier. I’m on their assassination list too.”
As expected, the Duke was going to the execution in the capital.
Isadora felt a little proud that her prediction had been right, but at the same time, her spirits sank.
My scoop… my article…
[If I hadn’t gotten hit by the arrow, I’d be going to write the article.]
“You can’t go.”
The Duke’s sharp reply made her shrink back.
“I know you don’t want to leave me, but this time, you can’t.”
[What are you talking about?]

Lania glared at her brother, who suddenly showed up.
“You want me to take care of your bird for a while?”
“Yeah, just for the week while I’m in the capital.”
“But how am I supposed to handle a bird that can open its own cage?”
Leonard was also concerned about this.
The canary was the smartest bird he knew.
It could sneak around unnoticed and even open simple locks.
It wasn’t long ago that he saw the bird escape from its cage by itself.
After that, Leonard got rid of all the useless cages.
“Why not just take the bird with you? There’s no rule against bringing animals to an execution.”
“That’s true.”
In the Empire, there were even cruel punishments where prisoners were fed pieces of bread for animals to tear apart.
“But the canary would think it’s too cruel.”
[What? I watched the execution of Duke Trista last year and even wrote an article about it.]
“My bird isn’t the kind of creature that should only see good things.”
Isadora couldn’t reply.
But from Leonard’s perspective, the canary, with its beak tightly shut and its eyes rolling, looked so innocent.