The owl standing on the pointed roof opened one eye and looked down, sounding surprised.
This was a bit beyond its understanding of the swamp monster.
In the room, Meili had just put down the book of fairy language and was about to rest when she suddenly saw a few tiny birds dive through the window toward her, crashing into her body and turning into light, drifting feathers that fell onto the quilt.
Meili: “!!”
She picked up those feathers, suddenly realizing something. She lifted the quilt and rushed to the window, pushing it open—
Below the tower stood a tall and thin silhouette, looking up.
It was the swamp monster!
He really came!
Meili’s eyes stung in an instant, and the corners of her lips lifted uncontrollably. She felt an immense surprise and a settling sense of relief.
Seeing her, the swamp monster also seemed very happy. He pressed against the tower wall, stretching out his arms.
Unfortunately, although he was very tall, facing this tower room, he still couldn’t reach Meili. Seeing him stretch his hands toward her in vain, Meili stepped onto the window frame, almost jumping down without a care.
Fortunately, she remembered just in time that the height could kill her, so she stopped, only leaning out, almost hanging herself outside the window.
“Cute!” she called to him.
The swamp monster could not speak and couldn’t even respond to her. He just stretched out his hands and silently looked at her.
Meili grew anxious. She looked around the room but couldn’t find a rope to lower herself down. She ran to the door and tried the fairy language she had learned these days.
She had memorized many sentences, but when Madame Freese was around, she never dared to use them, always pretending she hadn’t learned.
Now, with both hands on the door, she closed her eyes and recited a sentence. Tilting her ear, she heard the lock outside turn.
Success!
She yanked the door open, not forgetting to carry that large lock used to secure it—if anyone blocked her path, she would act directly, and no one could stop her.
She rushed down the long stairs and out the main door. The manor was still quiet, not a single person awakened to stop her.
She smoothly ran into the garden and saw the swamp monster still clinging to the tower wall.
“Pfft.” She burst out laughing, dropped the lock in her hand, and ran over to grab his hand.
Moist raindrops and the scent of grass rushed into her nose all at once. She returned to that spring forest with endless rain, to the lake blooming with wildflowers under bright sunlight, to the quiet reeds and water huts of winter.
That familiar scent made her feel incomparably at ease, as if she had come home.
She thought she had no home. Only now did she realize—the scent of home had already existed clearly on him.
The swamp monster was much taller than her. When she grabbed his hand and called him cute, he bent down toward her, staring at her with those gray eyes without blinking, and even leaned his face against the side of her neck.
It was a habit developed during winter—he liked being close to her.
Meili held his damp hair. Looking at his twisted, inhuman body, she did not feel afraid. Instead, her heart was filled with tenderness and an inexplicable excitement.
“You walked such a long way…”
“You really came to find me… I thought you wouldn’t come…”
During the time she had been brought here, she had been constantly thinking of him, worrying he would be left all alone again like before, with no one to see him or care about him.
She was already absolutely certain that she loved him — like one human loving another human, like a bird loving another bird.
“Do you understand?” Meili tightly hugged the gray head leaning close to her, exhaling a breath. “You probably don’t.”
But—
She cupped the swamp monster’s face and kissed his cold, damp gray lips, then showed a big smile. “Even if you don’t understand, you’re already loving me.”
He had been loving her in his own way for a long time.
It started from the moment that raspberry growing on his body bore fruit.
Her eyes were so gentle, yet clouds of rain-gray gloom were hidden within them, the water almost ready to fall. The swamp monster raised his hand to touch her face, then took out the lantern he had been carrying and carefully placed it before her.
Only then did Meili notice he had brought a lantern, and she remembered how many times before she had hurriedly lost her lantern in the wilderness, and he always returned it to her. She hugged the lantern and smiled.
“You came all this way, why bring a gift too?” she joked softly, then slowly restrained her smile and touched the lantern. “You brought it from home, right?”
That place had already been burned.
“I don’t know if I can go back with you…” Meili thought of this and showed a bitter smile.
Freese was a powerful witch. Even if she had learned a little bit of magic, she absolutely could not defeat Freese.
As for the swamp monster — from the owl she learned that the witch could not completely kill the swamp monster, but the swamp monster could not resist strong magic either. It would melt.
Meili could practically foresee that when Freese returned, the swamp monster would be melted again for her sake. And when he reassembled, perhaps the soul in this body would no longer be hers, but Freese’.
Just imagining that the swamp monster might not recognize her, and would stay by Freese’ side like this or be pitifully driven away by Freese made her furious enough to explode.
The fairy language she had secretly learned surged in her mind. She wasn’t even thinking of struggling to survive anymore — all she thought was, even if she died, she would not let Freese get this body!
No one could steal her little mud-ball!
While she was imagining a tragic ending of mutual destruction, her body suddenly jolted. The swamp monster lifted her up.
His hands supported her feet, and Meili was forced to stand on his hands, gripping his head for balance.
The swamp monster held her up and walked toward the outside of the manor, heading the direction he had come from.
He was a simple, confused monster. He did not understand the complicated emotions in Meili’s heart. He only felt that the “one he liked” was unhappy, so he would take her back.
Back to the days of shining sunlight and blooming flowers.
Back to happiness.
Just as they were about to leave the manor grounds, the owl that had been watching this reunion from start to finish flew out of the shadows. “Poor little Meili, you must know — you cannot leave this manor. From the moment you came in, you were trapped here.”
Meili: “Because of the magic circles Freese set in the manor?”
Owl: “Yes, so you cannot leave, unless you also learn magic circle magic but that is very difficult.”
Meili hugged the swamp monster’s neck and looked toward the fountain at the manor gate, her expression shifting unpredictably. Finally, she buried her face in the swamp monster’s shoulder without saying a word.
The owl continued nagging for her to stop, but the swamp monster had already stepped through the manor gate. When the Meili in his arms was about to leave the manor boundary, a glowing blue light seeped up from the ground, blocking their path — and like a net, it tried to cling onto Meili.
This was a magic circle similar to Madame Pegg’s, only the fairy source from which they borrowed magic was different, so the form it manifested in was also different.
Meili lay on the swamp monster’s shoulder, raising her hands, chanting those unfamiliar and awkward sentences with little skill.
The same glowing blue light drifted over from a short distance away and fell into her palms. Though not much, it was like a small bubble of water — surprisingly repelling Madame Freese’ magic circle.
The owl was shocked, letting out a startled “Uh—”.
This was a magic circle of the forest witch lineage… How did this little girl learn it, and when did she learn it?!
What a clever little girl! Mr. Bole loved clever little witches the most.
Seeing the light in her hands grow brighter and brighter, almost sending half her body outside, a whistle suddenly sounded from the shadows within the bushes.
“Such a touching cross-species love, I can’t help wanting to applaud your courage. However, to avoid making Freese angry when she returns, I must stop you two.”
Alex walked out of the shadows, the sapphire necklace dangling from his wrist swaying gently.
“Mr. Bole, aren’t you going to help stop them? Do you want to betray Freese?” Alex stretched out his arm with a smile, reminding him.
The owl flew to his arm, laughing dryly, “How could I? I was just too surprised for a moment. Who would’ve thought she could already use this magic?”
Alex: “Yes, it’s truly surprising. Freese will surely be pleased when she returns, knowing her new body possesses such exceptional magical talent.”
As he spoke, the sapphire necklace was already rippling with silver light. Sensing danger, Meili instantly gave up her actions and flipped off the swamp monster, retreating back within the manor’s boundary.
That silver light spread over the glowing blue barrier, adding a layer of crackling arcs on its surface.
“If you try to go out again, you’ll be attacked.” Alex withdrew his hand and gave a gentlemanly gesture. “You may continue attempting to escape. However, if you’re hit by this magic, your whole body will be paralyzed — you won’t be able to move for several days.”
The swamp monster had already stepped beyond the glowing blue circle, but when he realized Meili was still inside, he turned back again.
Meili held his hand, a bit guilty. “Sorry, I really can’t leave with you anymore.”
Alex stood aside with his arms crossed, watching, stroking his chin as he asked the owl on his shoulder, “I just realized today, someone can really fall in love with a monster. This is so… thrilling. So she rejected me because of this swamp monster?”
Owl: “Obviously.”
Alex examined the terrifying swamp monster closely. “What’s good about it… about him? Don’t tell me he’s particularly good at that?”
He made a lewd gesture. “Can a human and a swamp monster really do it? I really want to see for myself.”
Meili, who had failed to escape, looked at Alex with her expression instantly dropping — like a stepmother seeing a hated stepson. She snapped impatiently, “It’s late at night and you come here to ruin other people’s moment. Don’t you think you’re annoying? Can you please stay far away from us?”
Alex was stunned by her righteous tone. “Hey, you’re the one trying to sneak away and violate Freese’ rules, and I caught you. What kind of reaction is that? Aren’t you even afraid enough to beg for mercy?”
Since being captured here, Meili had become much more irritable — and right now she was especially irritable. She snorted coldly: “If I beg, will you spare me? If I don’t run, should I just wait for death?”
With that, she walked past them, holding the swamp monster and heading back into the manor.
The owl suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right — wherever the swamp monster stays too long will turn into a swamp.”
Alex looked at the backs of Meili and the swamp monster — startled.
…My beautiful manor?!
He grew agitated, shaking the sapphire necklace in his hand. “No, we must drive this swamp monster away!”
The owl was troubled: “But… the swamp monster cannot be driven away.”
