Of All
Things, I Became a Crow: Chapter #87
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
*Namuel’s POV
Namuel, who walked down
the hallway, lifted his glasses slightly.
Mages of the Imperial Palace had a lot
of work to do as they received full support from the Imperial Family. There
were more than a dozen types of magic circles installed in the Imperial Palace,
and it was the mages’ responsibility to manage them.
If the research that was carried out
on an individual or imperial basis was included... it was almost to the point
that sleeping time was a waste.
As Namuel, the wizard, went to take
care of the magic circle installed in the garden, he sighed briefly.
"Which of the magic circles
installed in the garden is the problem...?"
All kinds of rare plants were growing
in the garden belonging to the Imperial Family, and magic circles were
essential to manage them. From the magic circle that controls the temperature
to the magic circle that provides moisture, creates wind, and sometimes
concentrates the magic.
This time, the place to be worked on
was a place where the plants only grow where the average temperature was up to
40 degrees Celsius, so Namuel let out a brief sigh.
After drawing a magic circle with
grounded magic stone on his clothes and robes, he entered the steaming garden.
According to the gardener, there
seemed to be a problem with the watering magic circle. As if to prove that, he
could see the yellowing tip of the leaves, so Namuel hurried.
The problem is simpler than I thought. It is a
problem that occurred when the magic power is running low, so it is a problem
that would end by replacing the magic crystals with the ones I have with me.
Some plants were planted
for ornamental purposes here, but there were also many plants that could be
used as materials for medicines or magic reagents. For that reason, he had been
feeling nervous. Now knowing that the problem could be solved, he breathed out
a sigh of relief.
"Caaw-"
There was a crow’s cry.
Namuel turned his head at the familiar cry.
"---Oh, Rainelle-nim."
The crow, who was sitting
nearby the tree with blinking purple eyes, spread one of her wings and shook it
slightly as if to greet him. Then it spread both of her wings and began flying
around him.
Seeing the crow's action,
Namuel stretched out his arm. Then the crow, which sat gently on his arm
immediately, let out a short cry.
"It's been a while,
Rainelle-nim. How have you been?"
Rainelle nodded her head
as she gave him a brief cry. Then she gently rubbed her beak against Namuel's
finger. The crow's actions brought a smile to Namuel's lips.
It was not too much, but
the crow's expression of affection was very cute.
"Gee, if you're like
this with me, His Majesty the Emperor won't like it very much."
As he said so, the smile
on Namuel's lips showed no sign of fading.
Was it because she knew
what he meant? The crow cawed once, and then slowly began to move away.
Perhaps intending to move
to the wizard’s shoulder, the crow moved her body up along his arm with her
slender feet. In response, the wizard kindly raised his arm to help her climb
up easily.
The crow, who could more easily
climb onto his shoulder due to his action, puffed up her chest out and inflated
her feathers as if she was in a good mood. Namuel smiled a little at Rainelle's
behavior of flicking her tail feathers in a good mood, then he asked,
"Excuse me, Rainelle-nim,
may I touch you?"
The temptation of the smooth
and soft feathers was unbearable. Namuel couldn't stand the desire to touch the
shiny black feathers that shimmered green or purple depending on the angle.
However, Rainelle was not
just a crow, but the companion of the Emperor. As he might do a great
disrespect if he touched her recklessly, it was only natural to ask for
permission.
Hearing his question, the
crow gave a happy caw and nodded her head. After she gave her permission, Namuel
reached out his hand and brushed her feathers.
As before, her feathers are so soft and smooth.
When he felt the smooth
texture and the high body temperature specific to birds on his fingertips, he
felt much better despite being in such a hot place.
Namuel felt sorry for the crow
when he noticed her panting with her beak slightly open and her short tongue
sticking out.
"Sorry, I didn't take
into account the fact that we’re still in a place that’s meant to grow plants
that live in hot areas."
Moreover, the color of crow is black.
So Namuel hurriedly moved his
legs and exited the garden.
Namuel made a water shower
for the crow when they had left the garden. Then the crow spread her wings and
she flew straight into the water shower.
She happily flew through
the water shower, then she sat on a nearby tree branch and shook her body. She
then repeated to go rushing into the water shower again to cool her body again.
She did it until there was no room for Namuel to stop making the water shower,
but Rainelle seemed very happy.
The wizard burst into laughter at the innocent behavior. Then, in a playful voice, he asked her,
"Rainelle-nim, do you
want me to make a puddle of water for you?"
"---! Caw!"
Namuel laughed at Rainelle
who let out a loud cry. He then made a puddle of water on the floor.
"Caw!"
With an even more excited
cry, the crow inflated her feathers and jumped into the puddle. She then rolled
over her body happily in the puddle under the sun.
The crow, who had cooled herself
to her heart's content in the pool created with magic, shook her wet feathers
and landed on a nearby stone. Then she started picking at her wet feathers with
her beak.
Her body trembled. Perhaps
she felt a little cold even though she was under the sun. When Namuel saw the
crow trembling slightly, the wizard gathered his magical powers.
*Whoosh*
A warm wind wrapped around
the crow. Rainelle squinted her eyes and enjoyed the breeze as the wind blew
until it dried the crow's wet feathers. Then, when the wind
stopped, she began arranging her feathers and let out
a happy cry.
After that, she flew over
to Namuel's shoulder and rubbed her beak on his cheek, as if it was natural. At
such a cute act, the wizard smiled and stroked her smooth wing.
The feathers, which had
become softer and smoother, even gave off a fragrant smell. As if she found the
wizard's touch to be pleasant, the crow made a pleased cry and playfully bit
his gray hair again and again.
"---? Caw!"
"Ah---!"
When the crow, who had
tilted her head, suddenly flew up, Namuel let out a sad voice. Then, in the
next moment, his eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Oh, Rainelle-nim."
The crow, which had flown
in a swish, hovered over a lady who wore a dress, then she landed on the lady’s
arm. With a smile in her eyes, the hand wrapped in white gloves stroked the
wings of the crow in familiarity.
"---! Oh, Sir, please
excuse me."
Then, perhaps having noticed
Namuel, the young lady hurriedly bowed her head and greeted him.
"You don't have to
worry too much."
Namuel responded by
shaking his head lightly to her action.
The owner of the Imperial Palace, including the
garden, is the Emperor.
Therefore, it didn't make
sense for him to receive an apology.
"...By the way, I've never
seen you before. Did you come to see Rainelle-nim?"
The wizard questioned her
while raising his glasses with his index finger.
The fact that there is a noble lady in the
Imperial Palace… and seeing Rainelle who flew to her without her hesitation…
It was a conclusion he drew
from those two things.
The noble young lady,
whose complexion had darkened slightly at the words ‘never seen you before’,
greeted him with an elegant smile.
"Nice to meet you. My
name is Gwynell von Adriana."
"...Ah, you are the
daughter of Count Gwynell. I am the eldest son of Duke Sharmalt, Namuel."
"Ah---!! I've heard
of that name. Many people said that you are a wizard who has a promising
future."
“Rumors often contain
exaggerated expressions. There is no end to the path of magic.”
Adriana shut her mouth at
his cold, snappy, and dry response.
Rainelle, who found the situation
uncomfortable after a while, cried out dissatisfiedly. She then flew to Namuel and sat down on his shoulder. After that, as if
she was reproaching him, she stared at him with her purple eyes.
"Rainelle-nim."
While saying her name, Namuel
reflexively reached out his hand to the crow, but the
crow avoided his touch. Then she flew to Adriana's arm and sat there.
"Rain, Rainelle-nim."
Embarrassed, Adriana spoke
to the crow, but she didn't budge. Rather, the crow rubbed her beak against her
finger which made Adriana's lips loosen.
"Rain, Rainelle-nim---!!"
Adriana, who moved her
feet around with her cheeks dyed red like she was not sure what to do with her
cuteness, stroked the crow's back gently.
Adriana burst into a brief
exclamation as the crow cawed as if in a good mood.
Adriana looked very happy,
but Namuel feel complicated about what he saw.
Rainelle, although capable
of taking on a human form, was essentially a crow. Perhaps that was why there
were a lot of times where she acted on instincts, and one of them resulted in
her being very wary of people.
Of course, Prince Luwellin
had put her in a tough situation... But even before that, she wasn't one to
approach people first.
It was amazing he showed
affection to His Majesty the Emperor.
Even the servants who
cleaned and maintained her room had never touched Rainelle in her crow form. Rather,
Galenos and Namuel were exceptional as they were able to pet the crow.
But she not only sit on the arm of this noble
young girl whom I have never seen before, she even allowed her touch!
The scene was fascinating,
but it wasn't very pleasant at the same time.
Feeling something close to
sadness, Namuel looked at Adriana. Her blonde hair which was thick and as shiny
as honey along with her blue eyes were impressive.
---But that’s that. What is hard to understand
is why Rainelle-nim allowed this girl to touch her. Concealing those feelings, Namuel spoke up,
"Lady Adriana, if you
don't mind, may I ask you a question?"
"---? What is it, Marquis
Namuel?"
As she opened her eyes
slightly wide and asked back, the wizard spoke again,
"How did you meet Rainelle-nim?"
"...Ah, Rainelle-nim had
a tea party not too long ago. I met her for the first time then."
At those words, Namuel's
brows narrowed.
...I heard that Rainelle-nim’s strange behavior
started after the tea party that was recently held.
The Emperor got concerned,
so Namuel had been informed at that time. It was not strange for Karmeut to
talk about it with Namuel as Namuel was obliged to protect Rainelle according
to his oath.
Among the tea party attendees, I heard that
there was someone who Rainelle-nim felt uncomfortable with... Isn't it this
person?
Namuel furrowed his
eyebrows slightly, but because he had not heard of anything after that, he
didn't say anything out of the ordinary.
"I see. I think
you’re lucky."
"Why do you think
so?"
"Rainelle-nim is
someone who doesn't easily allow others to touch her. You’re amazing."
At that, Adriana turned
her gaze to the crow. The crow, which had been swaying her tail and letting out
small cries, raised her head and met Adriana’s gaze.
The crow tilted her head
while blinking her clear and shiny purple eyes. After cawing, she jumped and
landed on Adriana's shoulder.
Namuel kept quiet as he
saw Rainelle rubbing her beak against Adriana’s cheek.
Could she be using a bewitching technique on
Rainelle-nim by any means?
Seeing Rainelle's friendly
attitude, which was enough to make him think like that, Namuel secretly used
magical powers. Then he scanned Rainelle’sl and Adriana's bodies with detection
magic.
The result is clean. Except for the resizing
magic and the feeling of a spirit on Rainelle-nim’s necklace, there’s nothing.
Unable to believe the
fact, Namuel frowned. Then he mumbled unknowingly,
"...Then, what is..."
"...Marquis
Namuel?"
"No, no. It’s just
intriguing. Rainelle-nim had experienced hardships when the current Emperor fights
for his succession rights, so..."
"Hardships?"
"Yes. It was so bad that her wing was injured."
Adriana's eyes widened at those words.
She exclaimed in an exasperated voice while reflexively embracing Rainelle's
torso,
"?! Rainelle-nim, show me where---!!"
She raised her voice in
anger. Seeing her reaction, Namuel shut his mouth. The wizard then answered
while showing a smile that didn’t mean anything as he still stared at the girl
who wrapped her arms around the crow,
"You two seemed
close."
***
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