Rather than lavishly decorated, the bedroom had been furnished with functionality in mind, its layout carefully planned for ease of movement.

This wasn’t Leonhart’s tent at the Grand Plaza.

It was his palace.

‘How did I end up here? I was only planning to let Owen heal me and then make a run for it…’

It was entirely Leonhart’s fault.

That completely unexpected kiss had left my mind utterly blank.

After that, Leonhart had simply taken my frozen, wooden-statue self to Owen for treatment…

…and then brought me straight back to his own palace.

I glared toward the bathroom through the bars of my cage.

‘And now he’s in there leisurely enjoying a bath?’

After going to the trouble of finding a birdcage in the middle of the night just to lock me inside it, no less.

‘Thorough as ever.’

Fortunately, there were still about two hours left before dawn.

‘I’ll escape before then.’

Otherwise, I’d end up turning back into Adrianne inside a birdcage.

‘…Sigh.’

I opened my beak and let out a long sigh.

Just then, the spirits’ telepathic voices flooded my mind.

• Aww, this is so boring. Miss Rianne, how much longer are you going to stay there? Shouldn’t we head back soon?
• Were you perhaps trying to figure out how to open the cage? If so, all you have to do is undo the latch.
• Heh heh. You think our Pactmaker can’t open a birdcage? She’s just sitting there pissed as hell, waiting until Leonhart falls asleep so she can peck his mouth.
• Oh my, Miss Rianne! Is the fire lizard telling the truth? You’re really planning to get revenge on Leonhart? Because he kissed you?
• I approve. A kiss without consent is no different from an assault. Leonhart was terribly rude earlier.
• What a load of bullshit. What kind of lunatic asks a crow, “Excuse me, would you mind if I kissed you?” before rubbing beaks? If anybody did that, that would be the crazy one. Right, Gnome?
• …

‘For the love of God, stop saying “kiss”!’

Unable to send telepathic messages myself, all I could do was sigh.

Opening the cage would’ve been easy.

I didn’t even need the spirits’ help.

But if I escaped now, Leonhart would surely come looking for me.

‘He only just got back. He must be exhausted… I’ll leave after he falls asleep. That’ll be soon enough.’

I shook my head at the spirits before taking a drink of water.

I opened my beak and lapped it up with my tongue when I suddenly heard the door.

Soft footsteps followed, bare feet padding across the carpet.

‘Looks like he’s finished bathing…’

I absentmindedly looked up…

…and froze.

The water I hadn’t yet swallowed trickled from the corner of my beak.

“Della, were you drinking?”

‘Y-You… y-you… are you out of your mind?! W-Why are you walking around naked?!’

Leonhart wasn’t wearing a single stitch of clothing.

The only thing covering him was a towel wrapped around his waist.

‘Y-You lunatic!’

He walked toward me, droplets of water falling from his body, carrying the fresh scent of soap with him.

“Why’d you stop drinking? Go on.”

I swear, I had absolutely no desire to watch the droplets running down from his neck, across his broad chest, and disappearing into the grooves of his abs.

I truly didn’t want to know how broad and solid his pectorals were…or how beautifully carved his waist looked.

‘It’s not my fault my eyesight’s so good…’

I buried my head beneath my wing.

Leonhart’s gentle voice drifted down from above.

“Sleepy?”

‘Would you be sleepy if you were me?’

“Should I turn out the lights?”

‘Please… just put some clothes on…’

Turning his back to the cage, he walked off somewhere.

I cautiously lifted my head…

…only to whip it away again.

As Leonhart walked, he untied the towel wrapped around his waist and casually tossed it aside.

‘Gah!’

The moment I reflexively swallowed…

Click.

The bedroom went dark, and Leonhart returned wearing a nightgown.

He slipped a hand into the cage and gently stroked me.

“Sleep well, Della.”

Then he locked the cage again before lying down on the bed.

A short while later, Leonhart’s breathing settled into a slow, steady rhythm.

I remained perfectly still for quite some time before cautiously raising my head to look at him.

I even deliberately made little lap, lap noises as though I were drinking water again, and tapped the bars lightly with my beak.

Leonhart didn’t so much as stir.

He must’ve been exhausted, because he seemed to be fast asleep.

‘Finally… I can get out of here.’

I poked my head through the bars and nudged the latch upward with my beak.

The hook slipped free at once, and the little cage door silently swung open.

Without making a sound, I flew over to the window and perched on the sill, glancing back at Leonhart one last time.

I watched him sleeping peacefully for a moment…

…before slipping out through the open window.

Resolving to take everything that had happened tonight with me to the grave.

***

Just before dawn, I returned to the estate and fell asleep almost immediately.

I was simply too mentally exhausted.

I’d been asleep for quite some time when I finally woke late that morning.

[Ding!]

[The third ability hidden within < I’ve Ended Up As the World-Saving Saint > is…!

Guardian Beast Transformation♥

Now you’re unstoppable! Shall we charge straight toward the ending without anything standing in your way?]

Just as I’d expected, the final ability was transforming into a guardian beast for half of every month.

The first two at least deserved to be called abilities.

Being the most beautiful person in the world wasn’t exactly useful, but it was better than nothing, and spirit arts had undeniably been a tremendous help.

‘But turning into a crow is a handicap, isn’t it?’

How was transforming into a powerless guardian beast supposed to help me?

How could anyone call that an ability?

I simply couldn’t understand the way the lousy author’s mind worked.

“‘Unstoppable,’ my ass. How is this supposed to be an ability…?”

As I grumbled in disbelief, the spirits drifted over.

• You’d stopped talking to yourself for a while, and now you’re doing it again.
• You’re right. And first thing in the morning, too. I’m really starting to worry.
• Hey, at least she’s not acting completely insane like that little human yesterday. She’s just talking to herself. What’s the big deal? Right, Gnome?
• (Nod.)

Listening to the spirits chatter, a strange thought suddenly crossed my mind.

The fact that I hadn’t been talking to myself meant there hadn’t been any commands.

Come to think of it, hadn’t I been wondering why they hadn’t appeared for so long?

“Guys, do you know when I stopped talking to myself?”

• Hmm… I’m not exactly sure… Sylph, doesn’t it feel like about two weeks?
• I think so. I’d been wondering why you suddenly stopped talking to yourself after you started turning into a crow.
• Holy shit! So that’s why it’s starting again! You’re not turning into a crow anymore starting today! Damn, that’s wild. Right, Gnome?
• (Nod.)

The period during which the commands hadn’t appeared almost perfectly matched the period I spent transformed into a crow.

‘Wait… does that mean the lousy author deliberately left me alone whenever I was transformed…? Huh?!’

My eyes widened.

What had started as an idle thought suddenly seemed surprisingly plausible.

‘Think about it.’

Not a single command had appeared for two whole weeks.

The lousy author had stayed silent while I openly recruited a fiancé, and even when I confronted Bianca.

‘Everything fits if the lousy author simply can’t interfere while I’m transformed into a crow.’

All the pieces suddenly fell into place.

If that was true, then turning into a guardian beast really was a valuable ability.

No…

Depending on how I used it, it might even be more useful than spirit arts.

‘It means I can act entirely of my own free will for half of every month.’

Still, something about it bothered me.

Why would the lousy author give me an ability like this?

What if I spent those two weeks doing things that completely derailed the story?

‘It’s definitely not because he felt sorry for me… Ah… is it because I’m only a supporting character?’

A supporting character could only influence the story so much.

Maybe he’d decided it was safe to loosen the reins because of that.

I was tilting my head, still unconvinced, when—

[Chapter 3: The Birth of Evil]

[Level 3: Adrianne hurriedly finished getting ready for the day and called for the butler.]

‘Judging by the chapter title, I guess Bianca really is the final villain.’

So my hunch had been right after all.

Then again…

That explained why she’d tried to burn a living crow alive.

Even now, remembering the bright smile on her face as she’d said I’d “burn for a long, long time” sent a chill down my spine.

Because it meant…

…it wasn’t the first time she’d done something like that

I quickly got ready for the day and summoned the butler.

“You called for me, Master.”

[Level 2: Have the interview schedules been sent to the fiancé candidates?]

“How are the interview schedules for the fiancé candidates?”

“They’ve been arranged two days apart, beginning with the first candidate ten days from now.”

“Let’s not do that. Schedule them all for the same day.”

“You intend to meet all ten candidates in a single day?”

“We’ll start after lunch. Thirty-minute intervals should do.”

“…Understood.”

[Level 3: (With an exasperated sigh.) The additional construction guild for the Grand Plaza project. When was the selection supposed to be made?]

“The additional construction guild for the Grand Plaza project. When was the selection supposed to be made?”

“This afternoon. His Highness the Third Prince has summoned the heads of the construction guilds to the palace. From what I’ve heard, the decision will be announced publicly once everyone has gathered.”

“Fabius will be participating as well, I assume?”

“It’s currently considered the strongest candidate.”

[Level 2: Find out the exact time.]

“Find out the exact time.”

“Do you intend to attend?”

[Level 1: (Haughtily.) How could I, the project’s advisor, possibly miss such an important decision?]

The prompts appeared one after another, almost as though they’d been waiting for this moment.

Just as I thought. The lousy author definitely doesn’t interfere while I’m in my crow form.

“I’m attending. Make the necessary preparations.”

“Understood, Master.”

Once the butler had left, I called for Sylph.

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