When I woke up, the entire manor was in an uproar because they hadn’t been able to find me all night.

“Ugh…”

The muscle soreness had returned right on schedule.

Still, compared to yesterday, I felt much better.

Whether my body had adapted overnight or I’d simply taken it easier before dawn, I couldn’t say.

On the other hand, my voice was completely shot.

That was thanks to my desperate fight with the owl.

“Ugh… I scraped my ankle too…”

The injuries I’d sustained as a crow had remained even after I’d returned to my human form.

‘I’ll have to be more careful.’

After checking my condition, I immediately drew on my mana.

“Come on out, everyone…”

Before I’d even finished speaking, the spirits came pouring out and crowded around me.

• Rianne! Are you okay? Nothing happened before dawn, did it?
• Miss Rianne, did anything happen while we were gone? We were terribly worried.
• Damn it! Do you know how scared I was? I thought something had happened to you! Right, Gnome?
• (Nod!)

For some reason, the spirits seemed to know what had happened before dawn.

Before I could even ask, they all began talking over one another, eager to tell me what had happened in the Spirit Realm.

• We got back to the Spirit Realm, and the King looked at us and said, “I thought you’d all be glued to your Pactmaker’s side. What brings you here?”
• We thought something felt off, so we asked him why. Then the King said, “Your Pactmaker is going to be a crow for the next fortnight. I assumed you’d be fussing over her every step of the way, so I’m surprised to see you here.”
• Then he goes, “Though I suppose it’s just as well. She can’t use her powers anyway, so you’d only get in the way.” Do you have any idea how badly that freaked us out? Right, Gnome?
• (Nod!)
• Honestly, the King just doesn’t understand us at all! If we’d known you were going to be a crow for half a month, do you think we’d have gone back to the Spirit Realm?
• We overlooked the fact that you wouldn’t be able to use mana while in your crow form, Miss Rianne. We deeply regret our carelessness.
• If you can’t use mana, you can’t summon us. And unless our Pactmaker summons us, we can’t cross over into the human world. Damn… that scared the hell out of me.

“W-Wait a second.”

Pressing a hand to my forehead, I cut off the spirits’ frantic chatter.

The spirits, who had been vividly reenacting the conversation—even imitating the Spirit King’s manner of speaking—fell silent.

“So… you’re saying I’ll be turning into a crow before dawn for a fortnight?”

• Yep! Thirteen days left!

“I thought it’d last three days at most… A fortnight?”

• A dark sorcerer spends half the month as their familiar. We only found out because the King told us.
• How did he put it again? From the full moon, when demonic energy is strongest, until the new moon? Gnome, is that right?
• (Nod.)

Half of every month…

I’d have to spend it as a crow.

‘In a few days, I’ll be cooped up in the laboratory with Ruspell…’

Granted, I was only an advisor, so I wouldn’t have to be there every single day.

But sooner or later, there’d be a day when my attendance was unavoidable.

And if I suddenly turned into a crow in the middle of it…

The thought alone sent a chill down my spine.

As I stared blankly into space, something suddenly came back to me.

The ability that that hack author had given me during that ridiculous “Part Two Serialization Event.”

First: Unmatched beauty.

Second: Spirit magic.

Third: Classified.

The problem was that mysterious third ability.

‘Don’t tell me… turning into a crow was the ability?!’

My jaw dropped.

Not because I was impressed.

Because it was so utterly absurd.

Being a demon’s phantom beast didn’t grant me any special powers.

I was no different from an ordinary animal, and with my mana sealed away, I couldn’t even borrow the spirits’ power.

And this was supposed to be an ability?

“You lunatic! The least you could’ve done was let me transform whenever I wanted! What kind of bullshit ability is this?!”

I finally snapped and shouted at the top of my lungs.

The spirits quietly backed away and began whispering among themselves.

• Look at Rianne… She’s talking to herself again. The shock must’ve been too much. Poor thing…
• She seems even worse than when she was Miss Adel. Do you think it’s another side effect of the Soul Transference?
• Maybe she’s just lost it? I mean, if I had to spend half of every month as some tiny bird, I’d go crazy too. What do you think, Gnome?
• ……

“I swear I’m going to lose my mind.”

Half of every month.

I’d have to spend every pre-dawn hour as a crow until this novel finally ended.

At this rate, the spirits might actually be right.

It felt like that lousy author was standing beside me, poking me in the ribs.

‘How about this? Still hanging in there? What about this one? Bet this’ll make you quit.’

‘You really think that’s enough to make me give up?’

Up until now, I’d tried my best to play along with that lousy author’s game.

Stay in the background, avoid changing the story whenever possible, help the protagonist, and bring this godforsaken excuse for a novel to an end.

That had been my only goal.

But if this was how he wanted to play…

Then maybe it was time I changed my approach.

“Even a worm will turn if you step on it enough.”

‘Lousy author… you picked the wrong person.’

• See? There she goes again, talking to herself.
• The shock must’ve been awful. We’ll have to take especially good care of Miss Rianne.
• Of all people to swap souls with, it had to be a dark sorcerer… You’d have to be spectacularly unlucky for that to happen. Think she was a traitor in her past life or something? What do you think, Gnome?
• ……

Pretending not to hear their conversation, I gave the bell cord a sharp tug.

The spirits immediately caught on and disappeared.

A moment later, the bedroom door flew open, accompanied by hurried footsteps.

“Master!”

It was the first time I’d ever seen the butler wear his emotions so openly.

Relief, anger, and utter disbelief all warred across his face.

“Where have you been? We searched for you the entire night! Where on earth did you go?”

“The laboratory.”

“The laboratory? In your condition, you went all the way there without even taking a carriage? Then… did you walk back as well?”

“I did.”

“How did you manage that distance…? And what happened to your voice?”

“No idea. I might’ve caught a cold.”

“Yesterday it was muscle aches, and today you’ve come down with a cold? Master, didn’t Dr. Benjamin Ractor insist you get complete rest?”

“I know.”

“Then why would you push yourself like this? You know you’ll only make your condition worse!”

It seemed Adrianne had done this before—working through illness until she only made herself sicker.

So that’s why the butler had caused such an uproar before dawn.

This wasn’t the first time she’d given him a scare.

“If I’m not in my bedroom from now on, assume I’m in the laboratory.”

There was no telling how many more times something like this would happen.

Better to lay the groundwork now.

“…Very well.”

The butler let out a weary sigh.

“I’ll send for the doctor at once. Please get some rest in the meantime.”

“Before that, I have a few orders.”

“Of course, Master.”

“First, drive every owl out of the forest.”

“…Owls? There are owls living in the forest?”

For half of every month, I’d be spending my nights as a crow.

It was best to eliminate my natural predators in advance.

“Yes. Start today.”

“…Understood.”

Even the butler seemed utterly baffled by that order.

He acknowledged it, but he couldn’t quite hide the puzzled look on his face.

“Second, don’t let Fiache into my bedroom again. My patience ends here.”

The butler’s eyes widened.

Then he lowered his head deeply.

After a long silence, he spoke in a subdued voice.

“I’ll accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate for my failure. However, the young miss has done nothing wrong. I swear it won’t happen again, so please… spare her…”

“When did I ever say I was going to punish Fiache? Why do you insist on making me waste my breath correcting you?”

“…My apologies. Please continue, Master.”

At least for a while, Fiache wouldn’t be able to wander into my bedroom without permission.

‘She’s going to be heartbroken.’

Still, I had to make myself perfectly clear.

I couldn’t risk another incident like last night’s.

“Third, replace the head chef.”

“…Oliver, you mean?”

“Do I employ another one?”

“Oliver has overseen the kitchen for the past fifteen years. No one knows Master’s tastes better than he does. Rather than dismissing him, perhaps it would be better to give him another chance?”

A crooked smile tugged at my lips.

“Fine. I’ll reconsider if the head chef has ever made dessert for that child. Even once.”

“…Well… since Master has never cared much for sweets, I imagine it simply never occurred to him to make any. So he never did.”

“No wonder she treasures a single cookie enough to nibble away at it for days. And that’s a child of House Ivrante…”

For the first time, the butler’s usually composed expression cracked with surprise.

“Miss Fiache… really did that? She rationed a single cookie…?”

“So the moment the child came into this house, he should’ve known how to treat her. Do I really have to spell out every little thing?”

“W-Well… Oliver has never had much experience with children—”

“So because he doesn’t know how to deal with children, he called a little girl a thief instead of giving her something to eat when she came to the kitchen looking for food?”

“…Pardon?”

The butler’s lined eyes widened.

He looked genuinely blindsided, as though the thought of the head chef treating Fiache that way had never even crossed his mind.

‘Hmph. Looks like that old fool only showed his true colors when the butler wasn’t around.’

All the anger I’d bottled up since before dawn finally came pouring out.

I slammed my fist down on the table.

Bang!

“How dare you stand there making excuses for that kind of behavior?!”

“…My… my deepest apologies.”

“You didn’t even know that the child under my patronage was being treated like that? And you still call yourself the butler of House Ivrante?”

“I have no excuse, Master.”

“There’s nothing more to discuss. Dismiss the head chef immediately.”

“It will be done at once.”

“Children need desserts just as much as proper meals. There are nutrients a meal alone can’t provide. I’d prefer the new head chef to possess at least that much common sense.”

The butler bowed his head respectfully.

“I’ll remember that.”

“My last order.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Announce that I’m looking for a fiancé.”

A betrothal was the quickest way to clear up Leonhart’s misunderstanding.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought of it before.

I’d simply assumed that lousy author wouldn’t let me do whatever I pleased.

‘But now I’ve decided to stop playing nice.’

If I made the first move, cleaning up the mess would be the lousy author’s problem.

‘Go on, lousy author. Let’s see you tear your hair out for a change.’

“…Forgive me, Master, but would you repeat that?”

“I said, announce that I’m accepting applications for a fiancé.”

I fell silent and waited.

Surely the lousy author would interfere.

But no system prompt appeared.

‘…What’s this?’

‘As long as I don’t reconcile with Leonhart, I can do whatever I want?’

“…May I ask… whose fiancé you’re recruiting?”

“Whose? Mine, obviously.”

“…You intend to recruit a fiancé… publicly?”

“Well, it’s not like I’m going to date first.”

“…”

The butler said nothing.

Apparently, even he couldn’t picture Adrianne dating anyone.

“The application period will run for one week starting today. Applicants must submit both a résumé and a personal statement. Those who pass the document screening will qualify for the written examination. Successful candidates will then proceed to a personality assessment and an in-depth interview. The final candidate…”

I paused with a satisfied smile.

“…will earn the privilege of becoming my fiancé.”

The butler stared at me, utterly dumbfounded.

‘Believe me, old man. I never imagined I’d be recruiting a fiancé like I was hiring for a major corporation, either.’

“Master… are you planning to marry?”

“If my fiancé performs well during the internship—”

I caught myself.

“—I mean, the adjustment period… then perhaps.”

“Why the sudden decision…? Could this have something to do with adopting Miss Fiache?”

‘What is he talking about?’

When I simply stared at him, the butler continued.

“You originally intended to adopt the young miss, did you not? But under Imperial law, only married couples are permitted to adopt a child, so you were forced to give up the idea. I assumed…”

Adrianne had wanted to adopt Fiache?

‘…Why?’

That lousy author really had come up with the strangest backstory.

“You don’t seriously think I’d get engaged just to adopt a child, do you? I simply decided the time was right.”

“I understand. I’ll see to it at once.”

That very morning, Oliver, who had been strutting about the kitchen as though he owned the place, received his dismissal from the butler.

Protesting that he couldn’t possibly be fired like this, he struggled the entire way, but the butler dragged him out without so much as batting an eye.

The household staff merely watched as Oliver was hauled away.

Apparently, he’d treated more than just Fiache poorly.

Not a single person pitied him.

And so, the incident of my mysterious disappearance before dawn was officially explained away as a trip to the laboratory.

I spent the rest of the afternoon reviewing proposals for the servants’ quarters and selecting a construction guild.

Then, the moment midnight struck, I turned into a crow.

‘Honestly… what a life.’

I’d already braced myself for it, so it didn’t come as much of a shock.

I just wanted to wring that lousy author’s neck.

I flew to Fiache’s bedroom and spent the rest of the night with her.

At the time, I had no idea.

That the lousy author’s silence was one of the benefits I’d been granted.