Flustered, Formo calmly reflected on the previous night. Until last night, everything had certainly been peaceful. While Serdin had gone to wash up, Formo had entrusted his body to the soft cushion and traveled to dreamland. Yes. That was all. He had no memory of anything after falling asleep.
Could it be that this wicked human had moved his cushion to the bed?
‘What exactly does he think I am?’
Formo shot a sharp glare at Serdin, who had taken advantage of him while he slept to satisfy his own selfish desires. The wicked human Serdin was lying on his side, propping his head up with his arm. Despite receiving such a piercing gaze, he looked completely relaxed, which made Formo twitch his small beak in displeasure.
“What’s wrong, Pipi?”
Serdin, having noticed Formo’s sulky face, asked in a puzzled voice as if he knew nothing. Formo, who had been glaring at Serdin with a pout, didn’t answer and turned his head away sharply. It looked as if he was sulking. Serdin looked at Formo’s tiny head and then gently stroked it.
Formo flinched in surprise at Serdin’s sudden touch but soon fluttered his wings as if nothing had happened.
“Pipi, did you have a nightmare? Don’t tell me…… an eagle was tormenting you in your dream? Is that why you’re in a bad mood?”
“……Peep.”
There was no way he, born with the blood of a valiant guardian, would feel fear from something like a dream. Besides, he could make even an eagle surrender to his fierce wing-beats. Just as Formo let out a small cry in protest and was about to face Serdin—
“Your Highness, are you awake?”
Kert, who had come to check on Serdin’s condition, knocked on the door and asked. Formo, who had been sitting sullenly on the cushion, flapped his wings in displeasure as soon as he heard Kert’s voice.
After all, Formo was unilaterally keeping his distance from Kert. Kert was an extremely bothersome and tiresome person to Formo, so it couldn’t be helped.
Unlike Serdin, who was willful in everything but was reasonably flexible and caring toward Formo in his own way, Kert dealt with Formo with strict adherence to principles.
For example, he would disapprove of Formo’s irregular wake-up and meal times, saying:
‘Pipi-nim, you must become a bird with a regular lifestyle. One person being willful—His Highness Serdin—is quite enough. ……No, actually, His Highness Serdin alone is more than enough to handle!’
Or he would say:
‘Pipi-nim, if you keep eating like that without moving, you will certainly get fat. You need to start managing yourself now to maintain a normal weight. Surely you don’t want to waddle around like a duck?’
And nag at Formo with all sorts of remarks. The timid and faint-hearted Formo, unlike with Serdin’s nonsense, couldn’t ignore Kert’s uncomfortable nagging.
It was common for him to be dawdling and trying to sleep in when he would suddenly wake up remembering Kert’s nagging, and countless times he would be shoving grains or vegetables into his mouth only to quietly spit them out when he recalled Kert’s words.
That said, Serdin didn’t shield Formo either. He listened to Kert’s nagging with indifference and was only interested in what kind of reaction Formo would show.
The problem was that he didn’t bother to hide this behavior in front of Formo. Formo was utterly exasperated by Serdin’s outrageous conduct.
‘Cruel and merciless human…….’
Only when Formo’s small body trembled with a sense of betrayal would Serdin finally approach and gently soothe him. It was truly a case of giving the disease and then the medicine. At times like that, Formo would glare at the hateful Serdin through narrowly opened eyes and then turn his head away with a hmph.
“Your Highness?”
Formo, who had been recalling the unfair events of the past few days, came to his senses at Kert’s voice calling for Serdin again as if breaking through his thoughts, and shook his head. Serdin, who gently stroked Formo’s head, asked quietly,
“Pipi, do you want to sleep more but can’t because it’s too noisy? Should I tell that thing to leave?”
The innocent Kert, unaware that his superior referred to him as “that thing,” knocked on the door and called for Serdin again.
“Your Highness!”
With each successive call, Kert’s voice grew louder. Fearing his eardrums might burst at this rate, Formo urged Serdin with his narrowly opened eyes. It was a look that pressed him to hurry up and disappear outside the room with the noisy Kert.
This lazy human always got into pointless arguments with Kert, who came to fetch him every morning. Every time Formo had to see and hear this beside them, his sleepiness completely fled. Formo, who liked a quiet atmosphere, wished Serdin would just leave on his own before Kert came looking for him.
If that happened, Formo would be able to sleep in to his heart’s content.
Of course, given that just thinking of Kert’s nagging was enough to jolt him awake, and judging by how things were going, it seemed like this would never happen. When Formo let out a deep sigh, Serdin’s eyes curved gently.
“Alright, Pipi. I’ll take care of it.”
He reassured Formo in a monotone voice and slowly rose from his spot. In doing so, the black nightgown he had been casually wearing slipped off.
‘Gasp……!’
Formo, who had unwillingly witnessed a human’s naked body, drew in a startled breath and used his uninjured wing to cover his eyes. Whether human or bird or whatever, seeing someone’s naked body without their consent was rude.
And Formo was an excellent and mature long-tailed tit equipped with proper courtesy and manners. Anyway, Serdin was a troublesome human who was cruel and merciless, mischievous, and even sloppy on top of that.
Serdin, who had no way of knowing Formo’s discomfort, kicked aside the nightgown that was getting in the way at his feet and walked to the door. Then he flung open the door and looked down at Kert.
“Your High…… Huh, gasp! N-No! Why aren’t you wearing your gown……!”
“Kert.”
“Oh, oh my, Your Highness. Please put on your gown…….”
“Kert.”
Kert was extremely flustered, having suddenly witnessed Serdin’s naked body, and was flailing about. Serdin looked at Kert, who was stammering and unable to keep his body still for even a moment, with pathetic eyes and spoke coldly.
“Get out.”
“Surely rather than the gown, you should change into proper clothes…… Pardon?”
“I said get out.”
“Get…… out?”
Kert swallowed an empty breath and asked, feeling as bewildered as if he had been doused with cold water while sleeping soundly.
“But it’s morning……?”
“Our Pipi says he can’t sleep because you won’t get out.”
“……Pardon?”
“Our Pipi says he can’t sleep because of you.”
“S-So?”
“He says for you to get out.”
Kert, with a dumbfounded expression, repeated things like, “There’s no way the merciful Pipi-nim would say that to me,” and “Wh-What on earth did I do……” Then, meeting Serdin’s icy gaze, he let his shoulders droop.
“……Understood. If it’s an order of expulsion from Pipi-nim, I must comply……. I only hope that Pipi-nim will withdraw his displeasure. And while you’re at it, please maintain a regular lifestyle as well…….”
Kert muttered self-deprecatingly and turned around, trudging down the long corridor. It was because he had lost all will to fight once Serdin himself stepped in. Serdin watched persistently until Kert disappeared at the end of the corridor and then firmly closed the door.
Serdin, who was heading toward the bed with leisurely steps after completing his important mission, tilted his head when he discovered Formo covering his face with his wing.
“Pipi, why are you doing that?”
“…….”
“Pipi?”
When Serdin’s sleek body sat on the bed, Formo’s wing covering his face trembled. Serdin carefully lowered the wing and thrust his face in front of Formo’s nose.
“Peep!”
Startled by the suddenly encountered golden eyes, Formo jumped up from his spot. And as a result, Serdin—
Smack!
—was hit on the cheek by Formo’s flailing wing.
“……Ah.”
He let out a small groan and rubbed his cheek, which felt somewhat tingly, with his right hand. The wing of the tiny bird stung quite a bit. Was this the basis of the confidence that had made him puff up every time he received praise for being valiant?
Serdin let out an empty laugh looking at Formo, who seemed even more startled than himself.
“Pipi, you…….”
Formo broke out in a cold sweat as he watched Serdin, who couldn’t continue his words and only moved his lips silently. It seemed he was so shocked that he couldn’t even speak. He must have never imagined his own strength was this great. Thinking that way, Formo felt sorry for Serdin, who had been struck by his fierce wing.
But he couldn’t apologize and say it wasn’t intentional because they couldn’t communicate with words.
Soon, a breathless silence flowed between them. Formo moved his small beak slightly and swallowed dryly, while Serdin kept his gaze fixed on Formo and only fiddled with his cheek.
It was Serdin who broke the silence first after the long quiet.
“Pipi.”
“……Peep.”
“Are you sorry?”
Formo, who had been rolling his eyes at Serdin’s question, nodded his head slightly. As the tiny head bobbed up and down, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Serdin’s mouth. But only for a moment. Soon, a mischievous light seeped into his golden eyes.
He had thought of something to demand using this incident as an excuse.
“Pipi, if you’re really sorry.”
Formo blinked, waiting for the words that would follow.
“Give me a kiss on the cheek.”
His right index finger lightly tapped his cheek.
