You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 27

Once the lord and the knights had left, only the woman and Karhan remained in the room. Flipping the envelope in his hand and examining every corner, Karhan chuckled and said, “You made it well.”

“Haha. Our guild’s craftsmanship is quite good, isn’t it?” The neat woman with brown hair said with a smile. What Karhan had requested when he left the guild’s reception room was none other than a fake letter stamped with the imperial seal. He intended to use it only in very urgent situations. Arbitrarily copying and producing the imperial seal was viewed as a serious crime of disrespecting the imperial family, and the punishment was not light.

Despite having committed a crime that would not go unpunished if caught, the woman covered her mouth and laughed softly. Unlike before, she seemed more daring.

“I didn’t expect you to be a guild member.” Karhan had only thought of her as an inn employee.

In fact, he had been slightly surprised when she entered through the door. He wondered why the employee who had brought them meals at the inn had come here. Only after receiving the fake letter with the imperial seal that he had requested from the guild did he realize that this woman was a guild member. No wonder the guild leader had spoken as if he had directly heard about Peep at the inn.

“Can I be forgiven now?” the woman asked.

“For what?”

“For trying to touch the bird without permission back then.”

She shrugged her shoulders and continued, “I told you, didn’t I? That I would assist you when you needed help. Of course, I came because you alerted me with the mana stone, Your Excellency… But I thought this was an opportunity to make up for that mistake back then.”

Hearing those words, Karhan nodded slowly. He recalled the incident a few days ago when this person had tried to touch Peep without permission. Although she had admitted her mistake and apologized immediately at that time… If Peep hadn’t been generous enough to forgive her first, he wouldn’t have let it slide easily either.

Who would have thought it would come back in this way? It was a good thing. Karhan smiled slightly and said, “Then I’ll give you more opportunities to make up for your mistake.”

“Yes. What would you like me to do?”

“For now, this fake letter might be able to divert attention. We need to get the real one before the lord comes to his senses.”

Karhan raised the letter and tore open the sealed opening. What came out was a single sheet of paper with only the imperial seal faintly stamped on it, without any content.

The lord was so distracted by something that with a little pressure, he couldn’t properly discern the situation. Even the recent incident could have been thwarted if he had only asked to visually confirm the arrest warrant, but he didn’t press further. He kept muttering about “that guy” without any intention of resolving it himself. Perhaps even now, confined to his room, he was desperately searching for him.

Before he regained his senses, they needed to quickly obtain a real arrest warrant stamped with the imperial seal. However, until the imperial investigation team arrived, Karhan had to keep an eye on the lord himself, so he couldn’t leave his post. Karhan handed an envelope he had prepared in advance to the woman.

“Go to the communication tower and transmit this letter. Sending it to the ducal house should suffice.”

The woman, who was both an inn employee and an information guild member, received the letter Karhan handed her. After glancing over the outer envelope, she carefully placed the letter in her inner pocket and asked, “Is that all I need to deliver?”

“Yes. Since I can’t leave my post, I’m entrusting this to you.”

“Understood. Leave it to me.”

Smiling brightly, the guild member bowed to express her respect and turned her back to the duke. Now, all she had to do was leave this place and go to the communication tower to complete her mission, but… A question arose, making it difficult for her feet to move. The woman hesitated for a moment, then turned her head and asked, “By any chance, is that cute bird not here now?”

“Peep… I should go and find it.”

Only now did Karhan remember Peep. With the thought that he needed to find it quickly, Karhan raised his hand to the woman looking at him, signaling her to leave. She seemed slightly crestfallen, perhaps because she couldn’t see the bird before leaving. However, she quickly erased her expression, bowed once more, and left the room.

Left alone, Karhan approached the window. In the middle of the dark sky, the moon shone with a soft light, illuminating the world. Seeing the full moon approaching, Atlena’s 3rd day was drawing near. The day when the natural energy, the mana, would fill this world.

Karhan put on his outer garment and stepped outside. Having tied up the lord’s feet for quite a long time, he now needed to bring Peep back. The matter would be nicely resolved if Doel could just bring the ledger without being noticed by anyone.

Walking outside the building and making a large circle around the minor lord’s mansion, he noticed a warehouse in a dark corner. Tilting his head slightly to the side, he saw Doel sitting awkwardly and something shining in a white, no, silver color. That something was wrapped in a dull robe, but for some reason, it captured his eyes.

With a sudden ominous premonition, Karhan suppressed his presence and slowly approached. He saw thin, silver strands of hair that resembled threads.

“What are you doing there?” Karhan asked, stopping a few steps away. Only now noticing his approach, Doel raised his head and looked at Karhan.

“Your Excellency? How did you get here…?”

He had a dazed expression, unlike his usual self. It could have been because of his awkward posture, but Karhan shook his head. It seemed as if something major had happened. Just seeing the person in his arms soaked in red, it couldn’t have been an ordinary incident. Regardless, he had to answer the question, and there was something he was curious about, so he opened his mouth.

“The matter has been resolved well. But who is that?”

He tilted his head, indicating the person lying down. At his question, Doel’s expression became even more peculiar. He didn’t know why Doel was looking at him with such an expression, but it strangely made him feel uneasy. As Karhan pressed his lips together and looked down, Doel spoke.

“Did you not know…?”

“What are you talking about?”

Doel hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

“This child… is Peep. An Avian tribesman.”

An Avian tribesman? Peep? He wasn’t sure if he had heard it correctly. What does that mean all of a sudden? They had only gone out for a short while and briefly walked around the castle, but Peep had abruptly turned into a human.

With an expression unable to hide his confusion, which was unlike him, Karhan looked down at the one called Peep. Though he hadn’t noticed from afar, their condition seemed quite serious. All the exposed parts outside the robe were covered in dried, sticky blood.

If all that blood belonged to Peep, a considerable amount had been lost. They couldn’t be left like this. The breathing and heartbeat reaching his ears were very faint, and it was uncertain when they might cease. Karhan knelt down, slid his hands under Peep’s shoulders and knees, and lifted them into his arms with all his strength. He had to lay them on the bed first and then think.

“Doel. Have the attendants summon a physician.”

“Ah, yes. Underst–“

Karhan didn’t even wait for Doel’s full response before turning his back and running towards the room. He looked down at Peep, who was taking shallow, fragile breaths in his arms. Despite being soaked in blood, strands of beautifully shining silver hair could be seen in between. Even in an unconscious state, their brows were furrowed as if in pain.

Faint groans of agony could be heard. Unknowingly, his heart fluttered, and he opened his mouth.

“Shh, we’ll arrive at the room soon. …Endure it a little longer.”

Did he hear his words? Or was it his imagination? For a brief moment, he felt as if he had met transparent black eyes through the long eyelashes.

***

Chapter 3

The world was dizzying. It felt like standing on the edge of a high cliff, looking down at the bottom, causing a sense of vertigo. I didn’t have the strength to open my eyes, but I heard a faint mumbling sound near my ears, so I perked up and listened.

A familiar voice and warm body heat were felt all over my body. In the midst of my flickering consciousness, I wanted to see the person in front of me.

My eyelids were as heavy as a thousand pounds, but I tremblingly lifted them to look ahead. What I saw was Karhan, with deep navy-blue hair that reminded me of the deep sea. His strangely warm silvery-gray eyes were looking at me.

Karhan.

Without even the strength to utter a single word, I merely blinked my eyes and closed them again. Just before releasing the tension in my heavy eyelids, I felt his eyes were filled with perplexity as they met mine. It was slightly surprising to see him, who was usually so composed, looking perplexed. With that thought in mind, I let go of the consciousness I had been barely holding onto.

I dreamed for a very long time. Standing alone in a dark space with no one around, memories from before I entered this world unfolded before my eyes in black and white, like watching an old movie. Scene by scene, although for a very short time, they deeply ingrained themselves in my mind as I stood there in a daze.

The memories flashing by weren’t particularly pleasant scenes. They were from my childhood when I had to eat with caution, unable to rely on anyone. Just as a corner of my heart started to feel uncomfortable, I felt someone stroking my head. This feeling was both familiar and unfamiliar.

I raised my hand and touched my head once. It felt like someone had stroked me here, but… Suddenly, I remembered the gentle hand that used to caress me. Following that, a fluffy and warm sensation also came to mind as if I could grasp it. But who was it?

Perhaps because it was a dream, I couldn’t recall clearly. Nevertheless, feeling that I must remember, I sat down, holding my head in my hands.

As I tightly closed my eyes and tried hard to remember, something abruptly pulled me down to the ground. It was like falling into a black hole, continuously descending lower and lower, and just when I thought I would keep falling forever…

My eyes snapped open. A familiar ceiling came into view.

“Ah.”

Huh? I heard a voice I had never heard before. Thinking someone might be next to me, I turned my head to look, but no one was there. Thinking I should get up first, I tried to exert strength in my body, but it felt like I had undergone intense training the day before, and a piercing pain was felt all over my body.

“Ugh.”

A groan involuntarily escaped my lips due to the terrible pain. Frowning in agony, I suddenly came to my senses.

Could I speak words other than chirping? Could I make groaning sounds like a human?

In the midst of this bewildering situation, I gaped and blankly stared at the ceiling. The room was filled with a warm atmosphere, as if the sun was high in the sky, and the chirping of birds chattering outside reached my ears.

“…What is this?”

It clearly sounded like my mouth was moving and my voice was coming from my throat, but… Could I speak human language?