We continued walking through the busy streets of the marketplace. There was a spring in my step, feeling really good with myself currently. For me, the day just seemed to get better.

"There seems to be a lot of birds today..." said Erin from behind me.

"Hmm?" It caught my attention so I immediately looked up at the sky and blinked upon seeing such a sight. "There really are..." I whispered.

'Why is this happening again?'

I didn't get to dwell on it long because Erin was talking again.

"Usually, when it's like this, it is a bad omen," there was a hint of anxiety in her voice which obviously affected me.

I'm not the kind of person who believes in superstitions and stuff but when it's creepy, it's creepy. Do you get me?

I glanced at my maid through my peripheral vision, "You think so?"

Erin shrugs her shoulders and doesn't speak anymore. Looking up, the birds flew from here to there, looking for places to rest on.

As I pulled my gaze back, my eyes then focused forward again and saw someone familiar for the second time of the day.

"Noah!"

The man standing in front of a stall glanced my way when he heard me call his name and saw me coming.

"Nads!"

His dark brown hair wasn't neatly done this time and was left to fall over his forehead, almost covering his eyes. This is the first time I've seen him with a slightly rugged look like this and it actually suits him. He doesn't look as gentlemanly as he did when it's fixed but kind of the boy next door type. You know, like a lazy leopard.

"You're a little late," I couldn't help but comment after glancing in the direction where Rosa and Chiwa disappeared to.

If I didn't know better, it would seem that Noah and Rosa would certainly meet later on for a secret date. How romantic~

Noah seemed confused, "For what?"

Instead of answering him honestly, I laughed it off and subtly changed the topic.

"Fufufufu~ Anyway, how have you been? I don't see you that often anymore. You also rarely attend our get-togethers."

If there are. Our last get-together was during the ball. Also, everyone is so busy right now that they don't have any spare time for that kind of thing, which kinda makes me sad.

Damn... I miss being in the academy...

And then I remembered being exhausted from the council duties and grimaced.

'Nope... I actually don't miss it after all...'

Noah sighed, "Well... You're already aware of my family's situation, right? I have been so busy tackling matters regarding that for the past weeks."

"Ohh... Is it about your half-brother and his side of the family?" I inquired.

Noah here actually has a half-brother from his father's side. He told us a few things about his family before and his problems with them.

To be honest, he doesn't have anything against his said half-brother. He's actually cool about it even though he was always being compared to him.

"Yeah..." Noah replied unenthusiastically, looking really tired.

"Is your mother pressuring you again?" When he didn't answer, I took his silence as a yes– "Oh, dear... She never changes huh."

"In retrospect, she actually just got worse..." he mumbled and pushed a stray lock of his hair off his face.

Staring at the man in front of me and noting the dim air around him, I started feeling bad for Noah.

"You know what? She must be feeling lonely, that's why you should just give her something," I remarked, pausing for an effect– "like a grandchild, perhaps."

Noah sputtered, "A... a grandchild?"

"Is it too hasty? Then how about introducing a wife?" I added.

Noah stared at me dumbly, measuring if I'm being serious or not.

"You– seriously..." he muttered after a moment, shaking his head.

"Or..." I emphasized, grinning mischievously now– "... just introduce her to a man," I whispered the last sentence and winked at him afterward.

Noah's eyes widened in amazement for a moment before he started laughing out loud. His dark brown hair ruffled from the movement as he tipped his head back. It made him look so carefree, I mean, he always is but these days, he just seemed to mellow down, you know.

It doesn't suit him even though I just said that he does. I like seeing him in a different style, but I don't want him looking like he only recently went into a stressful divorce or something...

His shoulders were still shaking even after he tried to stifle his chuckles.

"I'm glad I made you laugh..." I commented with a satisfied smile on my face.

Cheerful Noah is the best.

"Honestly, you also don't change, do you?" He remarked as he shook his head, eyes gleaming in amusement.

"What are you saying now? Can't you see that I've grown more beautiful than before?" and flipped my hair for effect.

"Yeah... yeah... sure," Noah responded drily but the mirth in his eyes was unmistakable.

*squawk!*

Both of us looked up and saw a huge flock of birds. I swear, there weren't a lot of them earlier but now they have grown in numbers that it truly looked eerie. It's just like the last time, but exponentially bigger.

"What is that?" asked Noah.

I wanted to crack a joke and say, 'Birds? Duh.' But nevermind. I know what he meant anyway.

"I don't know..." I mumbled, warily gazing at the gathered birds that are steadily gaining more comrades.

I then remembered what happened last time with Lukas. There was a gathering of them too and the man himself told me something about the birds following me. It was absurd and kind of freaky. Why would these things follow me? What for?

As I recalled that memory, I also took note of a few instances that were just like this. Lately, animals and the likes seemed to pay more attention to me than anyone else. Our horses neigh loudly when I come to borrow Bella. The said Bella would then start being affectionate to me even though she wasn't like that before.

I would also find birds on my terrace every morning and they were hella loud that they would wake me up. Kuro, on the other hand, would not directly come close to me as he used to. He would stay a few meters for a moment, wagging his tail as he looked at me.

I don't know what he wants but damn was it distracting me.

"A-anyway, I have to go now," I told Noah as soon as I returned to reality.

A smile painted his lips and nodded, "Nice to see you again, Nads."

"You too," I uttered, meaning it– "Remember what I said, okay? Introduce your mother to a handsome rich man," my lips quirked at the sides when I heard him chuckle. "Ciao~"

"I'll keep that in mind," Noah replied.

After that brief exchange of pleasantries, both Erin and I went on our way. I was constantly glancing at the birds while feeling unsettled. Birds are cute but this huge amount of them is scary. Plus all the stuff that I had been encountering lately, it do looked like some bad omen.