You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 9

“Cheep!”

With a jolt, I suddenly opened my eyes wide. My body instantly stiffened. As I remained still, unable to react, something poked my bottom again.What could this be? It felt quite blunt…

“Peep.”

Don’t poke me.

I wiggled my bottom once, signaling them not to bother me. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I had a feeling that being prodded like this in this situation couldn’t mean anything good. Perhaps they were hinting that I should leave on my own. Feeling miserable, I buried my face even deeper between the cushions. However, as my bottom remained exposed, they continued poking at it.

“Cheep.”

Stop poking me. I’m well aware of how wretched this situation is. I’m sorry for causing this mess, even though I’m not really in a position to say that as the one responsible for it all.

I squirmed again, indicating that I didn’t want to be touched. There was no sound coming from behind me.Am I going to be kicked out now? I’ll probably never get to sleep on such luxurious cushions or eat delicious steak ever again.There were so many things I wanted to ask, but as a bird, I couldn’t speak or write.

Honestly, this feels a bit unfair. I didn’t do it on purpose… I was just curious about what the duke does when he sits there, so I went to check it out. But then, due to a sudden accident, I fell over and got something weird stuck on me, leading to this situation. Even if I explained it like this, no one would understand the heart of a bird.

Resigned to my fate, I lay there quietly when suddenly, the cushions on either side of me that had been supporting my body were lifted away.What’s this about?The sanctuary that had been concealing me disappeared, leaving me dumbfounded.

“Cheep?”

Tilting my head, I looked around. Glancing behind me, I saw the duke towering over me, holding a cushion in each hand.

“Cheep!”

Startled, I tried to get up quickly but got my legs tangled and tumbled over sideways. Just like what happened on the desk, I rolled over and over. The one difference from the earlier situation was that this time, something stopped me from continuing to roll. Collecting myself, I looked to the side and saw a large hand supporting my body.

“Peep?”

Raising my gaze to see the owner of the hand, it was unsurprisingly the duke. Without any intention of fleeing, I stared up at him in a daze. The corners of his mouth were slightly lifted, unlike his usual expression.

“Cheep?”

I tilted my head.Is he… smiling? Why? There shouldn’t be anything to smile about after seeing me in this state.Pondering if there was anything that could make him happy, I froze.Right. Sometimes people let out a wry laugh when they’re utterly dumbfounded or their mind goes blank. That must be what the duke was experiencing right now. That guy, he must’ve been incredibly angry.

Perhaps he would even strike me with those large cushions he had lifted with both hands. Tears welled up in my eyes at the dizzying thought. Terrified, my beak trembled and clattered.

I had grown quite attached to my personal cushion and the warm steak. Closing my eyes, I bid farewell to the things that had brought me happiness. However, for some reason, my eyes grew increasingly moist with sadness, and tears soon began trickling down my body. The teardrops fell onto the duke’s hand that was supporting me.

“Peep. Cheep…”

I won’t ask for much. Just please don’t hit me. If you give me even a single piece of steak, I’ll be sure to repay the favor.

As I wept miserably, the duke carefully grasped me and placed me on his palm. He raised the hand holding me to his eye level, making eye contact with me. I had no choice but to look at the duke’s face. With my eyes brimming with tears, I couldn’t see clearly what expression he wore.Sigh. Feeling dejected, I plopped down.

The duke stared at me without saying a word. Could he be hesitating about whether to throw me out or not? If I keep crying like this, might he take pity on me and continue keeping me? A small glimmer of hope arose in my tiny bird heart. I lifted my head high and looked up at the duke. Finally, he parted his lips that had been tightly sealed.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t given you a name yet.”

“Cheep?”

A name?

Why bring up a name all of a sudden?I tilted my head quizzically. Does he want to name me in this situation? Could he be trying to set up a scenario where he says, “Your name is Get Out. Now, get out.”? I blinked with wide-open eyes.

As I gazed at the duke with curious eyes, he let out a small chuckle. Laughing?I tilted my head to the other side.

The duke, who was always expressionless, laughed in a way that seemed genuinely amused, not just a wry smile. It wasn’t loud, but it was audible enough for any living creature to hear.Why is he laughing?Earlier, the corners of his mouth had only slightly lifted, but now he was actually making a sound.

What’s this about? Is he unwell somewhere?

“Peep.”

I looked at him with a hint of concern. The tears that had filled my eyes had somehow disappeared without a trace. Unaware of my thoughts, the duke simply smiled gently and spoke softly.

“Right. Since you’re chirping and crying, Peep would be a good name.”

“Peep?”

What? What are you saying?

“From now on, your name is Peep.”

“Cheep?”

What? What!

“Cheep!”

Taken aback by the pet name that sounded like it came straight out of a children’s cartoon, I cried out again, but he seemed to think I was responding and only displayed a gentle smile. His mouth and eyes, forming a subtle arc, held the affection one would have when looking at a clever pet.

It’s a misunderstanding. Even if I shook my head vigorously to indicate I didn’t like it, this person started calling me Peep.

🐤

The moment the duke opened the door to the office, he was rendered speechless. Even Claude, who had been following behind him, lost his words and gaped with his mouth wide open. A small gasp of astonishment could also be heard.

Slightly tilting his head at the unprecedented state of the office, the duke looked towards the desk. The documents that should have been neatly stacked in a pile had vanished. Slowly lowering his gaze to the floor, he could see the pitiful remnants of where those tall stacks had gone.

What was even more unbelievable was that on top of those scattered documents, black ink had been artfully drawn like a work of art. In short, those papers were now nothing more than useless bundles of paper. Behind the duke, Claude, who had been trying to make sense of the situation, let out a small groan and spoke.

“This is…”

His voice was trembling slightly. It was unclear whether it was trembling due to anger or the dread of increased workload, or perhaps both.

“Your Grace, what in the world…”

Claude gulped and called out to the duke. The duke raised his hand, silencing Claude’s quivering words. Fortunately, he still had his wits about him and closed his mouth at the duke’s signal.

The duke pondered what kind of situation this could be as he surveyed the office. Could someone have broken in? But if it were an intruder, there would be no reason for them to make such a mess of the desk.

As the duke calmly scanned the room, he noticed something peculiar. Small footprints on the desk. It seemed that the culprit who had caused this chaos had gotten ink on their feet. Those tiny footprints led from the desk down to the floor, leaving small strides. Curious as to where they ended, he followed them and found that they stopped at the sofa.

The duke raised his head and looked at the sofa. Sharpening his senses, he felt the presence of a living being there. Upon closer inspection, he spotted a small, round bottom and a cute tail wedged between the large cushions of the sofa. Whatever commotion had occurred, the white bottom was stained with black ink here and there.

Could it be hiding?

The duke couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurd situation. The bird was holding its breath, unaware that it had been discovered. Listening closely, he could hear the rapid beating of its tiny heart. The duke quietly moved his feet, taking slow, careful steps to avoid startling the bird that had only hidden its head.

As he approached the small bird, its adorable bottom wiggled slightly. It seemed that the bird could instinctively sense his approach. How interesting, sometimes it’s so clever, yet seeing it hide only its head suggests otherwise. The duke bent his legs, bringing himself to the same height as where the bird was hiding. Extending his finger, he gently poked the bird’s bottom that was peeking out from between the cushions.

Twitch!

“Peep!”

As the duke lightly touched it with his hand, a cute chirp was heard simultaneously with the bottom’s large movement. The way the round object swayed up and down was truly amusing. That motion made the person who poked it want to press it again.

Without hesitation, the duke poked the bird once more with his finger.

“Peep.”

When would this bird come out from its corner? Despite the culprit responsible for the office and documents being in front of him, a smile naturally formed on his face. He repeatedly poked at it with his index finger as if tickling it.

“Cheep.”

The bird only wiggled its bottom and showed no signs of emerging. Left with no choice, the duke lifted the cushions on either side that had been cradling the bird. The round bird remained still for a moment, then looked around with trembling eyes. Then, upon noticing him holding the cushions, it froze.