Koshiba Hiromabei.

She is the current head of the Koshiba family, a young man in his twenties.

As the eldest daughter of a warlord, she should have been dominating the world of fame and fortune, enjoying all the pleasures of life.

But now, in order to prevent the family from falling apart, she has already done her best.

Koshiba Hiromabei, the family she used to be proud of, has only given her countless files on the desk and a red ink pad that can never be counted.

The affairs in the documents almost filled her schedule in her youth.

However, surprisingly, she has managed to impress everyone, even if it was difficult and strained.

A talented girl who inherited the family and controlled dozens of branches in her teens, Koshiba Hiromabei quickly became famous alongside Oedipus, who inherited the family at the same age in the previous generation.

At least in governing the family, they were equal.

People admired her talents and used the homophonic characters in her name, "Bie Qi," to give her the title "Bie Ji".

But the good times didn't last long. Her uncle became involved in the red powder drug business, her brother dabbled in the wine industry, and her aunt developed a significant relationship with the Magic Association.

Since the death of the warlord ten years ago, before Bie Ji could sink into sadness, she discovered that everyone in the family had ulterior motives, all coveting the core position of the clan.

"Have you ever experienced those days when you cry in the room, but the maids pretend not to hear and keep knocking on the door, demanding that I handle the piles of scrolls waiting for me today?"

The sound of crying and the sound of books rubbing against each other were the most familiar lullaby of Bie Ji's childhood. Bie Ji used to look forward to the day when her parents would release their embrace and free her from the cage. But unexpectedly, this seemingly unreasonable embrace turned out to be a benevolent umbrella.

Bie Ji lost her umbrella, and soon it was her younger brother, her younger sister, and finally Elizabeth.

Although Elizabeth had always been the most cherished child among her siblings, Bie Ji had no time to spare for her.

But what could she do? Bie Ji had already given up her pride and reneged on countless promises and obligations for the sake of her own affairs.

She shed blood, sweat, and tears and paid a great price.

Ignorant people are the most greedy. As long as they have not yet taken this position, they dare not even think about it. How many fake tears has Bie Ji shed? How many lies has she told? How many times has she acted in a play, unexpectedly ordering her subordinates to kill someone on a night of unexpected downpour?

They may have been relatives who had lively conversations with Bie Ji at the dining table, companions who were as close as siblings yesterday, or even younger brothers and sisters.

What I thought were my siblings.

Bastards!

Bie Ji fiercely hammered the mahogany desk, startling the frenzied bird in the exquisitely decorated cage on the table.

"Just thinking about the past makes me furious..." Bie Ji put down the files in her hand and let her thoughts drift far away.

"Elizabeth, how are you doing now?" Bie Ji's gaze shifted from the documents to the canary in the birdcage beside her.

The bird, which had stopped its frenzy, suddenly fell silent, staring with wide eyes, as if it wanted to shoot out its human-like, full soul from its bright eyes.

Quiet and lovely, it was originally so dignified.

But soon, it returned to its original state of madness, crazily squeezing and biting the cage, trying to escape from it.

Poor mockingbird, its feathers twisted and scattered by the iron cage.

"You..." Suddenly, Bie Ji thought of something, and tears silently streamed down her cheeks.

"Don't... don't hurt yourself anymore..."

"I just hope... umm." A choked sob interrupted Bie Ji's crying.

This mockingbird was found by Elizabeth when she was a child, while digging bird nests in her family's yard — as a new member of the nobility, Koshiba was not that strict about disciplining children. Digging bird nests and even bringing back little birds were normal things for the Koshiba family's children.

But somehow, the mother bird was already dead, dead inside the nest.

The mockingbird clung to its mother's body, without flying away even though it had grown feathers.

Even though its siblings seemed to have all gone their separate ways and disappeared.

Bie Ji was curious, "Since the mother has died, why doesn't it go find food on its own? It is already grown up."

Elizabeth told Bie Ji that this mockingbird seemed to be born with some kind of illness; its wings were not only frail, but also had tumors. The family's veterinarian said that this kind of bird could never fly and was born to be eliminated.

But Elizabeth said she wanted to take care of it for her mother, to take care of it for its whole life.

Although the mockingbird was not suitable for domestication, everyone agreed, after all, Elizabeth was the most beloved child among her siblings.

"I just hope you can live well. I beg you, please don't torture yourself like this…" Bie Ji tightly hugged the birdcage, but the mockingbird seemed oblivious and squeezed itself between the narrow iron bars, seemingly determined to flatten itself!

The tumors had been burst open countless times, leaving deep bloodstains between the mockingbird's two wings and the iron bars.

Feathers scattered all over the table, and the mockingbird finally stopped. But Bie Ji knew that as long as it ate enough food and drank enough water, it would continue to torture itself and destroy itself.

Just like some birds are born to be eliminated, some birds are born to chase freedom.

So Bie Ji never dared to give it too much water or too much food, afraid of giving it enough energy to torment itself.

In a way, it was like Bie Ji was personally torturing it. This made Bie Ji's heart almost bleed!

Freedom is so sweet, the sky is so blue. But... how could that possibly belong to you?

Being able to barely survive in a cage... is already, already a very, very difficult thing!

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"So... Sister, did you see Merka's memories?" Elizabeth was lying on Turing's lap, her injuries completely healed by now.

"Yes. It is indeed a long, bitter memory." Turing smiled, as if in her eyes, this memory was worth cherishing.

"Hey, Sister, does everyone have memories there?"

"Well, I don't know, maybe the people in the monastery have them. Why do you ask?"

"No... it's nothing," Elizabeth closed her mouth again, as if she had some devilish idea in her head.