13. Then, I Have No Choice But To Look Forward And Run.

“Hey, seaweed punk. Are you suffering much?”

Oscar asked Damien, who was still in his arms. At some point, he was worried about this guy who didn’t even move at all.

It was only natural since they had been together when they were young and were close friends.

As Oscar let out a small sigh and made a marble, the red orb spun around and was absorbed into Damien’s body. He couldn’t help but do this because if he didn’t, Damien might soon stop breathing.

At the same time, he was frustrated. He couldn’t find even the shadow of his master, even though he looked everywhere while holding Damien. In addition, the mansion was very cluttered, so he was very hesitant to ask anyone.

Well, except for Amber, the other employees despised them, who were originally shapeshifters.

“Hey, seaweed punk. Should we go find Miss Amber as well?”

Even though he had seen her earlier, Amber was also busy, so it was hard to meet her.

Still, he couldn’t put it off any longer. It had already been a week since the master disappeared. Of course, even if they didn’t worry, the master’s older brother would have taken good care of her.

Damien simply couldn’t stand it any longer.

And most importantly…

“The melon-flavored candies are all gone. Master…”

Without the melon-flavored candy, which was like a token of love from his master, somehow, he seemed to be losing his energy.

“Ha… I shouldn’t have given him a whole bottle then.”

Oscar muttered as he diligently walked in search of her ember. Seeing the boy with the same hair color as the master looking depressed, he handed the candy to him without even realizing it. But now he realized it was a waste.

“Would I see better from the top of the tree…”

He jumped up as he tried to find Amber among the busily walking employees. Climbing up a nearby tree with a slight gesture, he then focused his attention on the riotous employees outside and inside the mansion.

“Oh, Miss Amber!”

Spotting Amber coming out of the mansion, he jumped and fell in front of her.

In the meanwhile, Amber was moving under the Duchess’ direct command. She was on her way out, carrying treasures that were only passed on to the Duchess in a subspace pocket. As she had been distracted, she was startled when Oscar suddenly fell in front of her.

“…Ugh!”

She was so startled that she couldn’t even scream and sat down, and Oscar, too, was startled and sat down with her.

“Miss Amber!”

“…Please give me a sign!”

“I’m sorry! Though I was in a hurry, too.”

Amber brushed off her skirt and stood up to look at Oscar, and then she saw the falcon in his arms.

“Is it Damien? What is wrong with him?”

When the imperial knights suddenly came to the Duke’s house, Amber felt uneasy and secretly went to her Miss’ room. She, who lived in that room the most after Rachel, saw the room clean and empty.

She couldn’t move for a while.

It felt cold in the room, where not a single thing the Miss had used had been left behind. Having roughly grasped the situation, she cautiously slipped out of the room.

After that, Amber, who had not been able to see Rachel, mustered up her courage to visit Lucian. He just left the words, ‘She’s fine, don’t worry and help organize the mansion,’ and after that, she was immersed in tidying up the mansion under the Duchess’ direction.

She hadn’t even thought about Oscar and Damien because, of course, they were always good without her.

Oscar hurriedly answered Amber’s question and asked back.

“Oh, right. After Master disappeared, he suffered from anxiety and became like this. That’s why, Miss Amber. If you know where the master is, please tell me. I’m worried because I haven’t seen her for too long.”

Amber pursed her lips at Oscar’s words.

She didn’t even know where Rachel was because the Duke had not told her. Even so, she wasn’t worried because she knew the Duke would take care of her.

“Oscar, I don’t know that. There’s no way the Duke could tell me.”

“You don’t know?”

“Yes, but I know that the Duke always takes his meal and goes somewhere. The Miss must be somewhere in the mansion, so don’t worry too much and wait. Since we have to move the mansion, it would be good for you guys to pack your things in advance.”

“Are we moving?”

“Yes.”

Amber continued, recalling what she had heard from the Duchess.

“I don’t think we will ever come to the capital again, so you’ll have to pack your things well so nothing is missing.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Despite Oscar’s clear answer, she gazed at him worriedly and then glanced at Damien and asked.

“Is he not returning to human form at all? Has he been a hawk all this time?”

“After the master disappeared, he still walked around in a human form uneasy for two days, and from then on he has been in this state. He can’t even fly, he just stays in this position… I am taking him around.”

Oscar responded by raising his chin. Amber gently scratched Damien’s brow, who was still closing his eyes, with her finger.

“Is he sick?”

“Hmm, I don’t know that either. It’s not like I can distinguish the colors of magic like this guy. But since he looks like this, doesn’t he look like a chicken? He doesn’t fly and his wings are rolled up, so he’s like a fat chicken…”

Oscar was excited to have a conversation after a long time.

While talking incessantly, Damien suddenly reveals his pale wooden eyes. The pupils of the suddenly opened eyes rapidly narrowed, and soon his wings flapped.

“Huh? What’s the matter?”

As the startled Oscar spread his arms, Damien flew up into the sky in an instant.

“Oscar, why did Damien suddenly…”

Even before Amber could finish her words, the shocked Oscar also flew in an instant.

As the two shapeshifters disappeared, Amber only blinked her eyes. Then, an employee came over and spoke to Amber.

“Miss Amber, the Madam is looking for you.”

“Understand. I’ll be right there.”

After answering, she traced the empty spot with her gaze. She was concerned because of those who kept disappearing without a sound.

“Miss…”

Especially since she didn’t see Rachel, whom she used to see every day, her heart skipped a beat like she had lost a younger sister.

In the meanwhile, Oscar followed Damien, stomping swiftly on top of the tree. He apparently heard it, too. He heard it later than Damien, but it was the whistle that their master used to call them. The shapeshifters, whose hearing was more developed than humans, were able to distinguish minute differences in tone and pitch.

Oscar stepped on the balcony and climbed onto the roof. Landing lightly, he was able to find Damien pecking his beak somewhere on the roof.

“Hey, seaweed punk!”

Although he felt sorry for Damien as he was still in poor physical condition and pecking his hawk-beak, that wasn’t the point.

“Is she here?”

Damien’s gaze came down from there, and he turned at Oscar’s question.

“Obviously I heard it, too, but where is this place?”

The space, which seemed new to him, was a place with a feeling of something foreign. He could see the beautiful rose window, but the inside was just white, so he couldn’t see what was inside. Damien poked the middle of the rose window with his beak.

Realizing what he was asking for without saying anything, Oscar pressed his finger into the very center of the rose window and asked.

“You mean we can break this place with a magic orb?”

If Damien, who could distinguish the color of magic power, had pictured this place, it would definitely be the place where this foreign energy was weakest.

Oscar was assured that the master was here.

A faint but still regular whistle could be heard from down here.

Oscar’s red lips curled up in anticipation of finally meeting his master. As he reached out his finger and pulled out his blue marble, an incomparably greater amount of magic than the one he had taken out so far spun around his fingers.

He slammed his palm on the spot Damien had pointed and exploded his orb.

Creak—!

If it was ordinary glass, it would have shattered right away, but seeing that it was only cracking, his red eyes burned even more red.

“Hoo.”

He took out a much stronger blue marble than before and hit the window again.

Crack, crack, crack—!

Then, the glass began to crack in all directions, riding on the cracks that were already there. Oscar didn’t wait and took out the blue marble again and hit it hard. Soon, fragments of the broken window panes began to fall like hailstones.

Oscar, who was standing on top of it, fell down without panic and landed lightly. Following him, Damien rushed down before changing into a human form.

“Oscar, Damien!”

The moment he heard the voice he missed, Damien ran faster than Oscar and lay down in front of Rachel.

“Aahh, Master…”

Rachel, after quickly pulling Lucian away upon witnessing the shattered window, found herself sitting on the floor, her eyes fixed on Damien as he gently kissed the top of her foot. Tears welled up in her eyes, streaming down her cheeks, as she lifted her gaze to meet Oscar’s proud figure standing on the bed.

Though she didn’t believe she had been gone for a significant amount of time, the sight of Oscar filled her with immense joy.

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