Chapter 55

Chapter 55

“Can I take a closer look at that ring?”

“Of course,” the owner answered happily, taking out the ring and wrapping it in a soft cloth before setting it down in front of her.

It was thin and made of silver, unadorned by any large jewels or showy ornamentation—rather plain at first glance. There was also a subtle discoloration on its inner surface.

“Did your ancestors also make this ring?”

“Probably not. Most customers do not like such simple designs. Unique and colorful designs are more popular, so… This is probably a remnant of a batch that was purchased in bulk from someone.”

Olivia stared down at the ring. It looked old; even if she was intending to be insincere, she wouldn’t have called it pretty.

But strangely, she was drawn to it.

“I’ll take this one.”

“Yes? Are you talking about… this ring?”

It seemed that the owner couldn’t believe that she’d chosen that ring over all the other gorgeous pieces. Lennox, too, disagreed with her choice.

“Isn’t that too shabby?”

“But I like it.”

She was the one who would wear it anyway. No matter what other people saw, as long as she liked it, it was enough.

By the time they paid for the ring and left the store, the sun was already setting, their shadows lengthening.

“You really like it?”

“Yeah.” Olivia slipped it onto her left ring finger alongside her wedding ring. “Look, Lennox, it fits me perfectly, almost like it was made for me.”

The fact that she was able to find a ring that she liked in a small store, and that it fit her perfectly, was amazing.

Lennox grumbled discontentedly, “How can you put your wedding ring on the same level as an antique? Aren’t you being too mean?”

“Don’t say that. Doesn’t it look pretty good on me?” She raised her hand and splayed its five fingers.

The two rings twinkled in the soft afternoon sunlight.

“It’s really pretty.” Olivia tilted her head towards her husband and smiled. “But of course, not as much as the wedding ring you gave me.”

His eyebrow’s twitched. He kept silent for a bit, then sighed and rubbed his face. “I’m glad you like it.”

“You’re not offended, are you?” she asked cautiously.

“I’m not so narrow-minded so as to feel offended because of a ring purchase,” he replied cheekily, wrapping an arm around her waist, a stabilizing presence.

Olivia nudged him in the side.

“Let’s go back to the villa.”

“Alright. I’m about to go hungry as well. I can look forward to dinner tonight, right?”

“Obviously.”

“Apple pudding is a must.”

“It’ll be piled up on a plate like a mountain,” he replied.

The couple looked at each other, giggling as their third day in Elysium drew to a close.

[Olivia! Why are you so late?]

As soon as they returned to the villa, Olivia looked for Ash, and when he saw her, he flew over, whimpering like a pet waiting for its owner.

“Did you have fun with Ashuna?”

[What do you mean, ‘fun’?]

Ashuna stepped in and closed his beak with her thumb and index finger. “As you can see, we had a very enjoyable and informative time,” she said with a smooth smile.

[Ouch! Eugh!] The bird cursed out with his eyes, but all of his hostility was neatly ignored.

“Thanks to that, we now have a deep friendship.”

“Ashuna, you weren’t the only one who had a good time, right…?” I sent her suspicious glances, to which she responded with a benevolent smile.

“Indeed. Although my room was destroyed to the point that there’s nothing in it left untouched.”

[…] Ash stopped struggling.

“Ah, I think there was probably a vase that I bought with a year’s worth of my salary among the broken items…”

He rolled his eyes. [Yes, I had an accident and broke some things.]

Ashuna sighed.

[And I pecked the back of her hand about a hundred times, but that’s normal.]

“What? Let me see.” Olivia held up Ashuna’s hand.

The skin was peppered with tiny cuts.

“What, isn’t all of this the price of having fun together?” She smiled broadly, but the spine-chilling element to it was unmistakable.

Olivia quietly called for Ash.

Although his beak was now left free, he closed it tightly.

“If you don’t answer, you will have to stay in a cage the whole time while we’re here in Elysium.”

[You can’t do that!] he yelled urgently. [I only did it because I didn’t know it would make her hand look like that!]

“Does it make sense that you didn’t know that someone would get hurt after being pecked like that?”

The bird’s excuse was like one that a drunk driver would say after an accident.

Tears welled up in his eyes. [I thought the wounds would disappear just like they did with the duke.]

“Ah, so he’s done this before?” Ashuna narrowed her eyes and smirked.

Ash completely lost his will to argue and mumbled an apology.

“You should apologize properly.”

He meekly bowed his head. [Sorry, Ashuna.]

Why had he done that when he was going to apologize so quickly?

Olivia sighed. “I’ll pay you back for the items he damaged, so can you organize a list and let me know?”

“It’s fine, Madame…”

“You said that one of your vases was worth a year of your salary, though.”

“…Well. My back will break if I want to buy all those items again, so… As soon as the list is cleared, I’ll bring it to you!” She bowed with a booming cry and ran out of the room.

And Olivia, left alone with Ash, put the bird on her lap. “Why did you do that?”

[…]

“You were supposed to have a good time with her. Why did you suddenly do something so unlike you?”

There was no way that he would’ve done such things for no reason.

“You don’t like Ashuna?”

[That’s not it.]

“Then what is it?”

The bird hesitated for a long time before opening his beak. [She’s okay, but there are times when being alone is better.]

“Why?”

[She’s too observant.]

“What does that mean?”

[You know what it is. Ashuna noticed that I can communicate that morning.]

“That’s because she pays attention.”

[Is that all it takes to discover my secret? Neither you nor the duke told anyone about me, and I hadn’t made a mistake either, but she found me out.]

After listening to his explanation and thinking about it, Olivia was intrigued. “But that doesn’t mean Ashuna will harm you…”

[That’s not what I’m worried about.] Ash rubbed his face with his wings, then met her gaze determinedly. [My secret is directly related to my survival.]

To summarize his explanation, there were four important points.

First, Ash had many secrets. Second, revealing all of them would lead to a loss of existence. Third, some secrets would lead to his death as soon as they were exposed. And last, his secrets’ value was determined by the time, place, and the person who wanted to know.

“You’re telling me all this because of the fourth rule?”

[Yes.]

“Why, exactly?”

[That’s a secret.]

Olivia pressed on her temples, feeling a headache coming on. “At this point, I’m not even sure who you are.”

[I told you, I’m just an ordinary bird.]

“What does that even mean? I’ll believe you’re truly ‘ordinary’ if an ordinary rat can tap dance,” she snorted.

Ash suddenly widened his eyes. [By the way, what is that on your finger?]

She set down her hands and looked at them, at the finger he was looking at. “Oh, you mean the ring?”

[Can I take a look?]

Before she could answer, he flew and landed on the back of her hand. He then pushed his face close enough to the ring that he almost touched it.

[Where did you buy it?]