Chapter : 3.2

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Derek’s prized collection of books was in a state of flux.

He had an aide do background checks on the authors, then carefully screened them, keeping only the books by proven authors. The rest disappeared in a handful of ashes. Mortal Sullen’s book was most cruelly torn up and thrown into a pile of infernal pyres.

‘No. 1 thing not to do between lovers: “Turn up unannounced at the door and wait”

It couldn’t be more disrespectful. If you want to break up, the first thing you should do is go to his house!

Staying up all night in front of him? That’s like asking him to stay with you forever.

Cheers to your breakup!

‘…….’

Derek clenched his molars tightly.

He was starting from scratch with a new book. It was called, ‘The Secret to Attracting the Sassy Foxes. It was written by a philanderer who’d been with over 1,000 women in his life.

Of course, he never thought of seducing 1,000 women because he was only a dodo. But Dodo’s position might be different.

What if he got tired of them? What if cunning, lecherous men came along and dazzled the innocent Dodo?

‘……they will not be able to close their eyes in peace.’

They would know, for they have eyes. How adorable the dodo is.

But their charms don’t stop there. Their slack-jawed mouths, determined chartreuse eyes, cotton-candy pink hair, and patience with nonsensical rants. Oh, how upright and trustworthy.

‘They’re not going to leave you alone.’

Ouch.

Derek snapped out of his momentary fascination with Dodo’s charms and his eyes glittered.

‘War.’

At this moment, the second war of his life was beginning.

The target was the dodo for life. Until his black hair was rooted out. The enemy: an unspecified number of sneaky bastards. The key strategy is to seduce them.

For now, the most urgent task was to hone your charm. Shouldn’t he be able to capture a dodo who wasn’t a prisoner and tie him up?

‘No way.’

So he would use his charm. A charm so powerful that the dodo would fall in and never come out.

Although the ‘charm’ was a fairly abstract and nebulous concept, it wasn’t all that different from practicing swordsmanship……. As long as you keep going at your own pace every day, the rewards are worth every drop of sweat.

The Best Gift for Reconciliation: Flowers

Flowers are the most romantic of all gifts, and jewelry, clothes, and accessories are commonplace.

Try mixing flowers with things she likes or is interested in.

A pretty necklace around the flowers, or a beautiful piece of jewellery instead of gypsophila.

The important thing is that it exudes the feeling of ‘I care so much about you’.

Think carefully about what she used to like – that’s the first step to reconciliation.

‘Favourite things…….’

Derek’s face darkened.

He’d hit a brick wall from the start.

What did his dodo like? He couldn’t think of anything because he hadn’t paid much attention to it before. All he’d ever seen of it was a cute picture of it sleeping, eating a snack, or sulking after a mistake.

‘What should I give it?

You can’t just spray flowers with sleeping pills just because they’re sleepy, and you can’t just slap a bunch of sweets on them and call it a gift.

‘I want to give something different…….’

He stays up all night thinking about it and decides to give her sugar flowers. She has a sweet tooth, so he coats the edible flowers with the same color of sugar syrup and lets them harden. The glossy flowers will be beautiful. They would also be very sweet.

Derek desperately hoped that the dodo would relent.

But there was something the Duke of Frit hadn’t considered: it was late May, just about to turn into summer.

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A peaceful Monday morning.

Count Kevelson received an unexpected threat from an anonymous assailant.

‘Kaaak!’

‘Lady, get back!’

Audrey’s screams drew a rush of users.

On the porch lay something unrecognizable and hideous. It looked like a basket full of red flowers, but everyone who saw it was horrified.

‘Who the hell would bring this……!’

A sticky red liquid was dripping from the romantic flowers. It looked like it was dripping with blood. The sight was so gruesome that some of them gagged.

‘Oh my god…… ewww.’

‘Get her to safety first!’

‘Miss, come this way, quickly!’

Audrey was dragged by the hands of the users back to her room. Her pale face looked like she was about to collapse at any moment.

‘What the hell…… who…….’

The image of the ugly dripping red liquid kept flashing before her eyes.

This was no ordinary act of vengeance. Moreover, the creepiness of the perpetrator’s initiative was chilling. I wouldn’t have been surprised if a bloody blade had arrived, but look at the care with which they used a flower that would never be taken as a threat, and avoided even the suspicion of its users. It was clear that this was a carefully planned threat.

‘I don’t know anyone who would do this.

Count Kevelson had no particular grudge against anyone, and he had no pretensions to any particular family, but for some reason, the ominous threats had been going on for days.

‘Cak!’

The same basket was delivered to my front door every morning. The only difference was that as the days went by, the basket grew larger and larger until it was overwhelming. The anxiety grew as big as the basket.

‘I was staring at the mansion, half my body hidden by the walls, and-’

‘It was like he was counting the floors.

‘He, he didn’t seem human, he had a very strange aura about him.’

Over the next few days, sightings began to emerge.

Count Kevelson’s worries grew deeper by the day.

‘Perhaps we should move bedrooms, and you should never wander about alone until things are sorted out?’

‘That’s all right, I have my harness.’

Audrey replied cheerfully, but she was afraid.

‘I don’t think this is going to work.

That night.

A tiny silhouette crept around the mansion. It was Audrey, dragging a sack larger than her body.

‘Is it too much? No. This should do.’

One by one, the specially crafted magical tools took root as she trudged along. It was a trap that automatically attacked all intruders except the user and their friends.

Audrey had spent the night digging in the ground around the mansion with an unhelpful seedling shovel. Her hands and clothes were covered in dirt, but she didn’t care.

When he had dug up the last of the tools, he stood up and looked around the mansion with a smile on his face.

‘Let them sleep in peace!’

Audrey fervently hoped that no one would be harmed.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

Wednesday morning.

There were the usual sugar flowers on Count Kevelson’s doorstep.

But unlike usual, there was also a large box. He couldn’t tell when he had left it behind.

‘These are for you, my lady.’

‘Don’t you think it’s better to just throw it away? It’s ominous…….’

‘Yeah, I know what’s in there! I’ll tell James to throw it away.’

‘Mmm. Wait.’

Audrey looked at the box with nervous eyes.

Something wasn’t right. There was no name on the flowers, only a name on the box. The wooden box, which stood as tall as she was, made her wonder.

‘Maybe it’s not from the same person.’

‘Yeah, but it’s a little suspicious that it’s sitting right next to me.’

‘Can we all step back for a second?’

‘What are you going to…….’

Audrey pulled out what looked like a magnifying glass and looked closely around the box. It was a magic tool for detecting danger. She looked in every nook and cranny but found nothing unusual.

‘I don’t think it’s dangerous, Rose, will you open it for me?’

The maid opened the box with a grimace.

But just as she was about to remove the cloth covering it, something jumped out as if it had been waiting for her.

‘Voila! Surprise!’

‘Oh, my God!’

‘……Orabunny?’

Audrey’s eyes widened.

Blonde hair tinged with light pink, familiar blue eyes, and a body so big it was out of control.

‘Audrey, my sister!’

‘…….’

It was Arnold, who was supposed to be in the tower, arms outstretched, grinning like a fool.

‘Your cheeks have grown hollow while I’ve been gone. Did something happen to you?’

‘Nothing.’

‘What’s up with you not calling? Alas, I’ve been given special leave. What a week!’

Arnold was busy squeezing his sister’s cheeks in surprise.

‘Whoops.’

‘It was in the box to surprise you! You’ve only been waiting five hours!’

‘…….’

‘It’s my sister!’

Audrey was devastated.

‘He’s been gone for two weeks?

As excited as she was to see her brother, who she only sees a few days a year, she was already feeling tired. Arnold was extremely lonely.

He couldn’t stand being alone for even a second. Besides, the cold burned him, and even in the middle of summer he never sought human warmth.

‘How on earth does he get along in the pagoda?

To put it simply, he’s a difficult person to excuse, and I was worried that he would die an old bachelor.

‘Phew, that’s right. But aren’t there any good girls in the pagoda?’