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nChapter 40 – Queen’s Favorite

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nWhat was wrong? Prince Heinley looked as if he were caught by surprise, his purple eyes darting around the hall.

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n“Prince Heinley?”

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n“Queen’s busy right now. No, I mean, Queen’s quite shy. He’s bashful whenever there are two or more people in the room with him.”

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n“What?”

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nThat Queen, the one who played with my ladies-in-waiting? I stared at him doubtfully, and Prince Heinley flushed. For some reason he didn’t want to see Queen with me.

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nAh. Perhaps it was too forward if Prince Heinley came into my room or I went into his, or if we spent time together at the garden in the evening.

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n“I apologize. I made an unreasonable request.”

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nWe had decided not to be friendly in public. Prince Heinley groaned and placed a hand on his forehead.

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n“No, it’s not that…anyway, what do you want to ask about Queen?”

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n“His favorite—”

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n“The Empress.”

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n“What?”

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n“Queen’s favorite is the Empress.”

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n“…”

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nWhy was his face so red? He looked quite embarrassed. Was it childish to say that the bird looked like his human? I smiled from the charming image, but that was not what I meant to ask.

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n“Then please tell him thank you.”

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n“I will.”

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n“And I want to know what his favorite food is.”

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n“Oh…food.”

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n“I usually bring water to my room, but I’d like to give him something to eat.”

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n“Queen will love anything you give him.”

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nI thought Prince Heinley was responding too much from his own perspective.

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n“Still, there must be something he likes.”

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n“No, he’s a good bird, so he’ll eat anything.”

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nHe suddenly tightened his lips and turned his head sideways. His jaw was clenched as if he were trying to suppress laughter.

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n…Was Queen a big eater? Or was he saying that as a joke?

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nBefore I could ask him anything else, Prince Heinley turned away to leave, saying he would send Queen.

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n*

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n*

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n*

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nWhen I returned to my room, I opened the window so Queen could enter when he arrived.

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nWhen Prince Heinley first brought up Queen, I only wanted to hug the warm bird, but as we talked more I decided I wanted to give Queen some delicious food as well. I consulted Sir Artina on the subject.

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n“What kind of food do birds usually like, Sir Artina?”

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nThe imperial guard had their own messenger birds, and I surmised that Sir Artina had more knowledge of birds than I did. As expected, he answered without hesitation.

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n“Birds like insects.”

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n“Insects?”

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n“Caterpillars, mosquitoes, moths…”

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n“!”

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n“What is it?”

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nThis would be more difficult than I thought…

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n“I thought I’d give Queen something he’d like to eat.”

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nAs my guard, Sir Artina was often with me and had known about Queen.

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n“Ah. Since he’s a large bird he might like large insects.”

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nWhen I didn’t reply, Sir Artina gave a soft chuckle.

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n“We have caterpillars meant for the messenger birds. I’ll get you some.”

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n“Are you sure?”

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n“Queen might not eat if them if they’re are served on a plate. If he’s doubtful, you can feed him with tweezers.”

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nI felt sick imagining picking up a caterpillar with tweezers, but I nodded for now. I had promised Prince Heinley that I would take care of Queen, and I couldn’t back out simply because I was squeamish.

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nFinally, Sir Artina returned with a wooden plate and set it down on the table. It was full of plump, squirming larvae.

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n“Are you alright?”

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nI nodded automatically, but as soon as Sir Artina left, I immediately backed away from the table. I was afraid they would crawl out of the plate at any moment.

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n‘Queen is going to eat that…’

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nI sat hunched on the bed and peeked at the table about five or six times to check whether the caterpillars had wriggled off the plate.

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nAt last, Queen arrived. Instead of landing on the window sill, he flew gracefully through the open window and circled the room in a glorious sweep, his eyes on me as if to confirm that I was watching his majesty on display. After a brief circuit, he landed on my knee. I stroked his neck and back, and he gave a loud cry and wiggled his tail.

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n“You’re incredible, Queen.”

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nQueen raised a wing at the compliment, and I thought it was now a good time to prepare the caterpillars, nervous as I was. Once again I brushed his back and hugged him.

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n“I wanted to give Queen something to eat.”

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n– Gu?

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n“Your master says you’ll eat anything…”

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n– Gu!

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n“I think he’s wrong.”

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n– …

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n“So I prepared something that big, nice birds like the most.”

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nQueen nodded enthusiastically. I picked him up and brought him to my desk.

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n“Here are some caterpillars, Queen.”

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nFortunately, the larvae were still on the plate, and I set him right in front of it.

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n– !

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nQueen pulled away, his eyes blinking wildly. Sir Artina had said that Queen might be doubtful if I fed him like this, so I stroke the bird’s back again and picked up a plump caterpillar with a pair of tweezers. I could feel the fine hairs on my body rise as I came near the plate, but I steeled myself for Queen’s sake.

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n“Come on, Queen. Let’s eat.”

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nThe bird, however, drew even further backwards and refused to eat.

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n“Try it, Queen. It’s okay.”

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nI jerked my hand and got the caterpillar right in front of Queen’s face. The caterpillar suddenly wriggled, then slipped from the tweezers and landed on Queen’s head.

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n– Guuuuu!

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nThe bird leapt up with a shriek.

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n“Queen?”

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nSurprised, I tried to catch him, but he was hopping everywhere like crazy. Queen leapt out the window, caterpillar still attached to his head, and flew away and finally disappeared.

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n*

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n*

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n*

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nWas it the wrong kind of caterpillar? Sir Artina’s birds ate them and were fine. Was it because Queen was a different species of bird?

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nI worried about Queen all night long and slept uneasily. It was him that eased the hurt caused by Sovieshu. I was heartbroken by the distrust in Sovieshu’s eyes, but as soon as I remembered Queen, the image of Sovieshu was pushed away.

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nThe next day, I left my room as soon as I finished breakfast to see Prince Heinley. I couldn’t visit his room, but I would likely run into him around the southern palace.

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n‘I need to ask if Queen returned safely.’

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nHowever, as soon as I left the palace, I discovered Prince Heinley leaning against a pillar and staring at the building.

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n“Prince Heinley.”

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nHe turned to me, omitting the greeting bow and immediately speaking.

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n“I answered wrongly yesterday. He doesn’t eat raw food.”

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n“Well, then I can give him cooked larvae—”

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n“He doesn’t eat that. He doesn’t eat insects at all.”

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