TREQ Ch 4

The quail finally managed to stand up after tumbling onto its backside about three times.

“Peep!”

As soon as it succeeded, the quail proudly lifted its head towards Killian. Its glassy eyes sparkled as if expecting praise. The nerve of it, wanting praise from him! It had no sense of propriety.

As Killian simply watched, the quail waddled towards him on its shaky legs. It seemed determined to be petted.

“Peep, pee-beep…!”

“Oh dear.”

Walking with its eyes fixed solely on Killian, not paying attention to where it was going, the quail stepped into thin air and fell off the nightstand.

“Why are you so much trouble?!”

Killian snapped, easily catching the falling quail. At the loud sound, Hans, who had been waiting outside the door, rushed in.

“Your Highness! What happened?”

Hans’s gaze fell on Killian’s palm. Meeting the eyes of the quail, which sighed in relief, his expression, like the knights’ the day before, turned a mixture of red and blue.

“That, that insolent creature…! Give it to me, Your Highness.”

Hans rolled up his sleeves and approached, ready to remove the clueless quail. But Killian swatted his approaching hand away.

“Your Highness?”

“It’s fine. By the way, this thing is different from yesterday.”

At the loud noise, the quail once again burrowed into Killian’s sleeve. This time, because he was wearing pajamas with wider sleeves, it managed to fit its entire body inside.

“Pardon? What is different?”

“It’s wobbling more than yesterday. Can a bird really have such poor balance? Is something wrong with it? Is it too fat?”

Killian asked with a serious expression. The quail’s body was too round for a bird. Even considering it was a chick, it lacked any sense of agility.

“It does seem plump for the size of its wings.”

“Right? Is that why it can’t fly?”

“But its plumpness seems to be its natural build.”

“Born like a pig? What kind of bird is that?”

“That’s not what I meant. There are birds with short bodies, you know? And quails are small birds to begin with.”

“So?”

“Well, to explain…”

Hans tried his best to defend the quail with a lengthy explanation. But no matter how he tried, there was no denying that the creature was particularly round.

“This one does seem to be particularly short and stout.”

“Exactly! If that’s not strange, what is? And why are you going on and on about it being short and stout?”

“I apologize.”

The quail, oblivious to their conversation about it, wriggled inside the sleeve. The chick’s downy feathers tickled Killian’s arm.

“But perhaps it can’t fly yet because it’s still a chick?”

“It’s excessive.”

Killian frowned. He had started walking immediately after hatching and began flapping his wings three days later. While rapid early development was characteristic of shapeshifters, Killian had been exceptionally fast.

From his perspective, the quail, which couldn’t even stand properly, was utterly incomprehensible.

“Hmm… Then maybe it’s weak from hunger?”

“Hmm.”

Killian rubbed his chin. Now that Hans mentioned it, it seemed plausible. The quail wasn’t attempting to hop around like yesterday, and its cries were weaker. Come to think of it, he hadn’t fed it since picking it up.

Having never taken care of anything in his life, Killian hadn’t even thought about feeding it.

If it was hungry, it should ask for food or find something to eat on its own. Why should he have to bother with such trivial matters?

“Is that why it slept so much?”

“Peep…”

The quail, nestled in Killian’s sleeve, now lay sprawled against his wrist.

“Bring this thing something to eat.”

“Pardon? This creature’s meal?”

Hans’s eyes widened in bewilderment. His lord’s behavior today was incredibly strange. The young prince he served with utmost loyalty was aloof, befitting his status, and equally demanding.

To put it bluntly, he was devoid of empathy and incredibly prickly. He was a boy who had grown up knowing nothing of consideration.

The Killian Hans knew had chased away all the noble children the Emperor had brought in for him to befriend, reducing them to tears.

He was not only sensitive but also picky about everything from food to his preferences. Even now, he was tapping his foot and counting on his fingers.

“Large pieces won’t do. Bring finely chopped meat or plump earthworms.”

“Yes! I’ll be right back.”

The proper princely response would have been to remove the quail from his sleeve and throw it away. But Killian was holding the arm with the quail inside awkwardly aloft.

Hans found this incredibly strange, but as a loyal servant, he refrained from commenting.

“Peep…”

Shortly after Hans left, the quail peeked its head out of the sleeve. As if its purpose was to see Killian, it turned its small head this way and that before looking up.

Its upturned blue eyes gleamed. Indeed, it was somewhat presentable only when its eyes were open. Meeting Killian’s gaze, the quail slowly crept out of the sleeve.

“Clear.”

Its grayish-blue eyes were as clear as a lake on a sunny day.

The feathers on its chest and belly, extending down from its chin, were white, while the top of its head and back were a pale, crescent moon color – darker than moonlight, but lighter than gray. Towards the tips of its wings, the color faded into a light grayish hue, like a drop of ink in water. Its tail was also a light grayish blue, but with a more pronounced blue tint.

“Not bad as an ornament.”

Killian murmured to himself. This insignificant quail somehow met his discerning aesthetic standards. Although it currently looked unimpressive due to its sparse chick feathers and small size, he thought it would make a rather fine ornament if taxidermied after its feathers grew fuller. It would be worth looking at once its downy feathers were replaced by sturdy adult plumage.

“Peep.”

Unaware of Killian’s thoughts of taxidermy, the quail rubbed its head against his wrist. Just as Killian was wondering why this quail was so clingy, Hans returned with a tray.

“I’ve brought the meal you requested…!”

Hans, sweating from his run to the kitchen, placed the tray on the table. Killian also placed the quail on the table.

“Eat.”

“Peep?”

While instinct should have driven it to the food, the quail, indifferent to the tray of food in front of it, was more interested in climbing back onto Killian’s palm.

“Eat, with your beak.”

Exasperated, Killian tapped the quail’s beak and then the tray. Only then did the quail approach the tray, following his gesture.

“Peep! Peep, peep. Peep-!”

However, instead of lunging for the food, the quail cried out in terror. Thinking it might be because of the distance, Killian tried to move the quail closer to the tray, but it struggled and refused.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Killian crossed his arms, utterly perplexed. The quail, having fled to the edge of the table to avoid the tray, looked up at Killian as if pleading for help. It looked strangely determined, like someone standing at the edge of a cliff in a moment of crisis.

“Peep-!”

Unable to fly, it spread its wings and flapped uselessly, puffing out its chest as if trying to intimidate something. Of course, it was still only half the size of his hand.

“Eat.”

“Peep… Peep…”

When Killian nudged the quail’s backside towards the tray, it burst into tears. Tears welled up in its blue eyes. Hans, who had been observing the quail’s behavior, spoke.

“It seems to be feeling distressed.”

“Why? It should be grateful for the food.”

“Chicks cry easily.”

“Do you think I don’t know that? I’m asking why it’s crying even when I’m giving it food.”

Killian snapped and extended his arm. The quail, as if waiting for this, clung to his pajama sleeve with its beak and claws. It was desperate, as if his pajamas were a lifeline.

“Pee-beep.”

After struggling for a bit, the quail successfully landed on Killian’s palm.

“Peep…”

Settled safely on Killian’s hand, the quail nestled against him and let out a long sigh of relief. A sigh from a creature that had just been born? It was ridiculous.

Meanwhile, Hans examined the tray of food. It contained only finely chopped raw meat and earthworms.

The quail peeked at the earthworms from between Killian’s fingers. It squeezed its eyes shut whenever the worms moved. It seemed the problem was the earthworms.

“Perhaps it’s scared of them?”