It seems that the villain is targeting me.

This person seemed to have been sitting at the table writing and drawing. In front of him was a rolled-up paper. Gwen took a quick glance at it and saw only a few random dots and some strange square-like symbols.

Perhaps noticing Gwyneth's gaze, the bird moved its arms and casually moved the papers aside.

She reached out and took a clean porcelain cup and placed it in front of Gwen, then picked up the teapot and poured it out. After a while, a cup of black tea with a beautiful aroma was placed in front of Gwyneth.

"It's not very hot, you can drink it now." Xiao Niao said to her.

Gwyneth lifted the teacup to her lips, almost instinctively slowing down the pace of her drinking, slowly sipping the liquid in the cup, silently tracing the face of the person in front of her with her eyes.

Xiao Niao's face still looked a little pale, seemingly due to lack of blood. However, according to the doctor's recent diagnosis, Xiao Niao's heart condition has gradually stabilized and the risk of another sudden attack is very small.

Over the past three years, Gwyneth has never given up on finding a treatment and has been persistently trying milder conditioning methods. Although she has not been able to cure her disease, her efforts have not been completely in vain.

Since she had taken over the state affairs, Xiao Niao no longer had to work hard all day. Apart from not being able to engage in strenuous activities, her health was slightly better than in her early years.

Gwyneth drank the tea in the cup slowly, while Xiaoniao sat beside her and waited patiently, his eyes fixed on the plate of snacks. Occasionally, he turned to look at her, but he didn't seem unhappy.

She tentatively asked Xiao Niao about his recent health condition, and he answered slowly.

Gwen then went on to talk more about recent events in the palace and the interesting things she had heard from others. Because she wanted to talk more, she chose topics that would interest the bird.

Xiao Niao listened quietly.

Even though Gwyneth said

Although Xiaoniao downplayed it at the time, he had personally handled state affairs and knew how much effort it took to say, "No one starved to death in the city last winter."

She obviously omitted some of the difficult parts, and spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, as if anyone who sat in that position and ruled step by step would have a thriving empire.

But with such heavy official duties and her own illness distracting her attention, it was impossible for her to really endure it day by day as easy as Gwen said.

Her heart began to tremble like a convulsion, and Xiao Niao felt a dull pain in her chest. She smiled gently at the person opposite her.

Gwyneth felt that Levi was really easy to talk to today.

He seemed very happy, with a faint smile in his eyes, and he didn't seem as resistant to her as before, which made her feel hopeful.

"...Maybe it will be sunny tomorrow," Gwyneth gradually mustered up her courage, "It's rare to have sunny days in winter, Levi...do you want to go out and play for a while?"

Perhaps fearing the bird would refuse, Gwen blinked and quickly added, "It's not far, just near the outskirts of the city. We'll be back before dark."

Gwyneth also saw the beautiful sunset there by chance. The layers of sunset looked like the sea, and she wanted the bird to see it too.

Xiao Niao agreed.

Gwyneth's eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had been greatly encouraged. She was flattered and ecstatic.

She stayed in the room for a long time before leaving, and was particularly reluctant to leave: "I'll come to see you tomorrow."

The bird had no intention of objecting and just nodded slightly.

Whether she forgot or did it on purpose, Gwen didn't put the shackles back on her.

Xiao Niao walked the man all the way to the door, with a white ankle exposed under his trouser leg. The other party just looked away, as if he didn't see it.

She stood by the door and watched Gwen leave her sight. After a long time, she turned around and went back into the house.

Xiao Niao sat back in his chair and placed the papers he had taken away earlier in front of him. There were some horizontal lines and ink dots on them that looked like they were scribbled randomly.

She looked at the symbols on the paper, pondered for a moment, and continued writing.

Xiao Niao first arranged these dots in groups of three into regular horizontal rows, and then converted them into letters according to a certain pattern - that was not the spelling of words commonly used by the imperial people. Xiao Niao wrote the corresponding Chinese characters under those letters.

Obviously, this is some way of conveying information.

She had used this method of transmitting information in the past, but because it used a completely different language system, Xiao Niao was not worried that this sentence would be deciphered by others.

She only became aware of the existence of this information a few days ago.

The way they were delivered to Xiaoniao was very bizarre, and would probably be considered incredible in the eyes of ordinary people: a group of birds flew to the window at regular times every day, and happened to use the Morse code rhythm when pecking at the glass.

This is not "information" at all, because Chinese does not exist for the world's will.

The birds that flew to the window had not received any professional training. They just flew and pecked randomly. Everything was just some extremely rare and low-probability event.

Of course, to create this kind of "accident" requires sufficient energy and a considerable amount of cause and effect points... The micro-control part needs to be adjusted manually, and these stupid little birds cannot understand such complicated things.

Who can transmit information in this way? The answer is self-evident.

Perhaps because they don't want to attract attention, these little animals stay for a very short time, usually only long enough to type out three letters.

It took Xiao Niao a week to put all this information together. She had just written the last stroke on the paper when Anna cried for help in the tunnel.

She moved her chair and moved back a little.

Xiao Niao looked down at the words on the paper, which seemed unfamiliar because they had not been written for a long time.

Make her promise to let you go

This is the tone of the system.

--------

-

The next day was as sunny as Gwen had expected.

Her Majesty the Queen pushed aside an entire day's work schedule and personally planned every detail of the trip, from the preparation of warm clothing to the arrangement of guards, without letting Xiaoniao worry about anything.

After arriving at the destination, Gwen led her mysteriously to an open space and asked her to close her eyes again.

When he opened his eyes again, Xiao Niao saw the mount he hadn't seen for a long time.

This was indeed an unexpected surprise for Xiao Niao. She was completely stunned at the time and just stared blankly at the grown-up chestnut horse in front of her.

Huahua still recognized her and was trying to poke her nose at her owner's hand like a spoiled child, just like before, hoping to get some extra snacks with this cute and well-behaved look.

It was well cared for, and it was obvious that someone carefully cared for and groomed it every day. Its fur was shiny and glossy, like an expensive piece of copper-colored silk.

Xiao Niao stroked his mount's beautiful mane over and over again.

Finally, she really saw the beautiful sunset that Gwyneth had described, with layers of layers like the sea.

Xiao Niao stood still in front of the majestic red horse, staring at the horizon without moving. She had some sweat on her back because she hadn't exercised for a long time.

Hence some breathlessness.

She watched for a long time until the glorious sunset completely disappeared below the horizon.

"Levi," Gwyneth's voice came from her ear, she paused, and seemed to smile, "Are you happy today?"

"Yeah." Xiao Niao also smiled. She turned her head and looked at Gwen gently.

"Thank you, I'm very happy."

She patted the horse's head gently. "I'm really happy."

On the way back, Xiao Niao suddenly asked nervously, "Your Majesty, have you been very busy with government affairs recently? Are you confused? Are you particularly tired?"

Gwen felt a little strange, but didn't think much about it and just answered truthfully.

"Government affairs are certainly tiring, but I always have ministers who can help me with my worries and resolve my doubts. You don't have to worry too much..."

When Gwyneth said this, she was suddenly stunned. She remembered that Xiaoniao's attitude changed last night, which seemed to be because she mentioned something related to government affairs.

Is this what Levi hopes for himself? To become a qualified, admired king.

If she did, would they be able to go back to the way they were before?

Gwen was lost in thought. She finally heard Xiao Niao say to her, "...I have something I want to tell you after I get back."

They returned to the city before it was completely dark.

------

-

"Okay, Levi," Gwyneth showed a helpless smile on her face, "You should tell me now, what exactly did you bring me here to talk about?"

Xiao Niao just looked around silently, then shook his head at Gwen.

“…It’s too dark in here,” she said, “I can’t even see your face.”

This was the truth. It was indeed very dark around them. It was so dark at night that one could hardly see one's hand in front of one's face without turning on the lights. Moreover, the place was incredibly large. Gwyneth could only see a small area not far away that was illuminated by candlelight.

When they came over, they took out a candelabra with five candles standing together and burning side by side, which looked quite spectacular.

But judging by the current situation, these candles are far from enough. The candlelight can only illuminate a very limited space, and two people can only see each other's faces clearly when they are very close.

After all, this is the Golden Banquet Hall. If you want to illuminate this place at night, the necessary lamps and fuel must be prepared at least three days in advance, and special people must be arranged to guard it all night.

But Gwyneth is the queen after all. If she issues an emergency order, this place can be decorated within a few hours, and at least basic lighting can be guaranteed.

But Xiao Niao insisted that only the two of them go and didn't want to bring any servants with them.

Xiao Niao had never made any requests to her in the past, and this was the first time he took the initiative to speak. So even though Gwyneth didn't know what Xiao Niao wanted to do, she had no choice but to obey his idea.

I can light the fireplace. Xiao Niao put his hand over the stove. There was still some residual heat inside, so it should not be completely extinguished.

Xiao Niao might have done similar work in the past, as she was quite skilled at it. She used an iron hook to adjust the furnace for a while, added new firewood, and then the fireplace really started burning again.

It's okay now. The surroundings have become much brighter. The hall is just dim now, but there is no place that cannot be seen.

Xiao Niao put the iron hook in her hand aside and was about to stand up, but suddenly she felt half of her body numb. She staggered. Gwyneth beside her reacted immediately and reached out to pull her into her arms.

She was a little tired after all. When she came back earlier, Xiao Niao should have gone back to the house to rest immediately.

It's really troublesome when my heart hurts. I can't use any strength at all. My legs feel like they are made of cotton and can't support my body at all.

Gwyneth's hands unconsciously tightened. She felt the bird put a little weight on her, and her breathing became a little heavier.

"Levi?" The usually calm and self-possessed queen was a little flustered. She gently placed her hand on Xiao Niao's back and said, "Are you tired? Let's take a break."

But the person in his arms shook his head and rejected Gwen's proposal.

"...No," Xiao Niao said hoarsely, "Wait a little longer, just a little longer."

"I have something I want to tell you."

Gwen stopped moving and just carefully held the little bird in her arms, her palm gently stroking the thin back.

This was an intimacy they had not experienced in a long time. Gwyneth's heart was pounding. The candlesticks in the room cast a warm glow, making the faces of both of them look exceptionally soft.

She tentatively stroked Xiao Niao's neck, and the other's slightly rapid breathing echoed softly in her ears, intertwined with vague memories in this quiet night.

Their shadows were cast on the wall by the flames of the fireplace, and they were so close to each other that it gave the illusion of happiness.

"Gwen..."

Perhaps it was because she hadn't called this name for a long time, she pronounced it haltingly and awkwardly.

Gwyneth could feel the bird's warm body temperature, its hot breath brushing past her ear, as light as a feather, its long eyelashes moving slightly, as if it would curl up and hug her in the next second.

She seemed to be in a dream.

She heard the other person speak.

"Gwen," Xiaoniao said softly, "will you let me go?"

Gwyneth's body stiffened instantly, and then slowly relaxed little by little.

She wasn't particularly surprised that the bird said this. Gwen had noticed the signs many times before, but people are like this. When they are desperate to a certain extent, they can't help but deceive themselves.

But she really didn't dare to hold the other person captive anymore. Gwyneth gently stroked Xiaoniao's back with her trembling arms, not even daring to use too much strength.

The bird's body was already very weak, and her mental state was not very good. She was afraid that if she made one more mistake, the other party would completely wither away.

Gwyneth spent a lot of effort to control her voice. She wanted to appear more free and generous, but when she really said those words, she couldn't stop sobbing and her eyes became red.

"Well... okay," she seemed to want to smile, "Well, okay, I promise you, I'll let you go."

Gwen blinked rapidly, probably trying to make the redness in her eyes fade away, but the more she tried to hold it back, the harder it became, and in the end her eyes became moist.

"I, um, I just wonder if I can...can I leave again in the spring...in the spring."

As if she had finally found a reason to delay, Gwyneth wanted to continue speaking in a confused manner.

"It's... too cold now. If you travel long distances, your body won't be able to handle it," she said incoherently. "Wait a little longer, until the weather warms up..."

Xiao Niao didn't say anything, but just hugged her back gently and shook his head silently in Gwen's arms.

Gwyneth's eyes dimmed.

"...I'll arrange for someone to take you there, okay?... You can take some things with you," she said, her voice growing increasingly timid. "It'll take some time to pack up."

The bird still didn't answer her.

In the end, she really didn't take anything away.