Of All
Things, I Became a Crow: Chapter #95
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
*Rainelle’s POV
"How did that happen?"
I pondered for a moment over
Karmeut’s question as he gently patted my back.
Can I say that I have met another crow and went
to places with it?
---Well, it will be okay, right? I don't think
he’d be jealous of that. Would an Emperor be jealous of a crow in the first
place?
"Umm, a crow said
there was something delicious, so I went with it..."
Ughh, I still remember that gigantic larvae wriggling in the heap
of compost!
"Oh, I won’t go again. It said
there was something delicious, so I went with it. Then I saw larvae the size of
a human palm... Ugh, I really hate it!!"
My body trembled
spontaneously.
Ugh! Just thinking about it is destructive! I
don't want to think about it anymore!
"I don't want to talk
about this anymore! I've never, and never will, eat bugs! So I don't want to talk
about it! Argh! It's disgusting just thinking about it!!"
When I shook my head
desperately while saying that, Karmeut laughed.
"Okay, okay. Aren't
you hungry?"
"Oh! It's okay, I've
been eating a lot of snacks at Aria's house."
"You mean Count Gwynell's
daughter?"
"Yeah!!"
"Um... Rainelle, can
we have some tea?"
I blinked when Karmeut asked
that with blurry words at the end.
...you want to drink tea together?
I quickly nodded my head.
"Yeah! As much as you
want!"
"Really? Okay."
As his complexion grew
brighter, Karmeut called a servant to bring in the tea. He slowly poured the
prepared tea into our respective cups.
As I sipped mine calmly,
Karmeut’s voice reached my ears,
"Rainelle, can I ask
you something?"
"Huh? What do you
want to ask?"
"It's about Young
Lady Gwynell."
...Aria? Why is Karmeut suddenly asking about
Aria...?
Anxiety for an unknown
reason crept into my chest.
Perhaps Karmeut is interested in Aria?
Suppressing my
nervousness, I asked back,
"What about Aria?"
"It’s just... I
wonder why you go to her house so often."
When Karmeut said that, he
couldn't hide his uneasiness. I was a little dazed at the sight.
...no way... is he jealous?
?? Aria is a woman. She’s of the same gender as
me. Besides, we’re different species in the first place, aren’t we? I’m a crow
and she’s a human…? -Ah, if I look at it that way, I’m also different from
Karmeut.
I closed my eyes slowly at
such a bewildering reaction, and I asked a question unconsciously,
"...does it bother
you?"
"Of course."
Karmeut's action in
answering without a single moment of doubt was so full of sureness that I couldn’t
say anything.
And then, somehow, a laugh
burst out of me,
"Puu---"
"Rai, Rainelle?"
"Aria is a girl! We’re
just hanging out as friends. Does that bother you?"
Karmeut's cheeks glowed red
faintly at those words. Then he coughed and took a sip of tea.
•...Hmm, hmm. ---a little
bit."
"A little?"
"...No, a lot."
The appearance of Karmeut
who turned his head while speaking frankly was…
Aaah! That’s so cute I'm dying! Because of his
attitude that’s different from usual, he's even cuter! It's not because I have
a filter in my eyes! Anyone who sees it would think so!!
As I burst into laughter again,
his earlobes went red. He looked cute and pitiful, so I hurriedly stopped
laughing and said,
"Well, don't worry! Aria is just a friend! I’m able to visit
places other than the Imperial Palace, so it’s fun to go see her."
“You mean the Capital City?”
"Yeah. Of course, the glamor, prettiness, and decoration can't match the Imperial
Palace, but... there are a lot of people chattering. And they freely moved
around, choosing, buying, and selling many things."
It's rare to see something like that in the
Imperial Palace.
As I shrugged my
shoulders, Karmeut nodded his head.
"I see."
"...it's probably
hard to go out together, isn't it? You have a lot of work these days..."
"No, no. I can spare
as much time as you want."
I shook my head at Karmeut's
action of answering in a voice mixed with urgency.
---Of course, he'll do whatever I want him to do if I ask,
but... then I’ll be just bothering him, won’t I? Then I can’t do that.
"It's okay! Karmeut should focus
on work."
"---Rainelle..."
"I can wait too. So I won't pester you."
Yeah. I won’t bother you! The most important
thing right now is what happens between Aria and Namuel! If it went well and
the greatest danger has disappeared, I can be by Karmeut's side with peace of
mind(?)!
Karmeut looked rather
disappointed at what I said. He let out a short sigh and then opened his mouth,
"...you can be a
little pampered you know, Rainelle."
"...? Then wouldn't
Karmeut be in trouble? You have a lot of work."
“But that doesn’t mean I
can’t make time at all.”
He looked dissatisfied as
he drank the tea after responding with a grumbling in his tone. Seeing him like
that, I pondered,
Umm… There are many places I wanted to go with
Karmeut. I want to visit the capital together, and since this is an empire,
there would be other interesting cities to see besides the capital, right? I
wanted to visit a place like that. Oh, I want to go to the sea too! Even when I
was a zookeeper, I can only go to the sea a few times! Since this is a fantasy
world, wouldn't the water be incredibly clear?
---Oh, come to think of it, there should be a
thug bird called the seagull on the beach! Hmm, I should be in human form at
the beach. Otherwise, I'll get beaten!
"Ummm... it's hard to
call it a substitute but… can I ask you something?"
"What is it, Rainelle?"
"You see, Aria has a
crush on someone."
Karmeut took a sip of his tea.
Taking it as a gesture for me to keep talking, I continued,
"I think Aria is
having a lot of trouble. She wants me to help too, but I'm just a crow, right?
So I don't know what else to help..."
I said it on purpose like
that before further telling him that I played the role of a letter-delivering
bird between the two.
I can't tell Karmeut that I’m not actually a crow, so I have
to be careful! Keep it simple!
"I want Aria to do well, but does
she need to worry so much? No male refuses a female who wants to mate,
right?"
I smiled bitterly inside at my own words.
Isn't this funny and embarrassing? Ahhh! When can I reveal to Karmeut that I
possessed this crow?! ---No, can I? That might destroy the feeling of trust
when we met for the first time...
...I'll have to think about that a bit more.
Well, umm, this is just a possibility, but Karmeut could get disappointed and
even kick me out.
“Because people are different.”
"Different?"
"Yeah. We have to
agree with each other. And there's a lot to think about."
"...it's
complicated."
"It's complicated.
That's why humans have a lot of worries, and sometimes they pair up with
someone they don't want. But..."
Karmeut put down his
teacup and leaned forward slightly. He narrowed the distance between us. There
was a strange heat in his eyes, which were brighter than real gold.
"The Imperial Family
of the Wolfrick Empire is different."
I flinched at the remark.
Those eyes were so intense that I couldn't bear to face them.
It was not scary, but the
persistence of his eyes was burning.
"A, anyway! I want to
help Aria. What should I do?"
When I struggled to change
the subject, Karmeut kept his mouth shut for a moment. Then he asked while
clasping his hands together,
“What kind of person does Young
Lady Gwynell like? I can’t answer right away because everyone has different
personalities.”
"She likes
Namuel."
"...Marquis Namuel?"
"Yeah! Isn't it a
little strange? Namuel is kind. So, I don't think it's that hard, but she’s
worried."
Haha, it's so hard to pretend I don't know. But
I have to act according to the character(?)! I'm a clever crow, but I'm not
good at human relations!! ---I can't forget that!
"So I even delivered
letters for them! It’s fun. Namuel’s and Aria's expressions change when I
deliver the letters!!"
This is not a lie. The reason I can't stop
delivering the letters is to see the change in their expression! It’s so
funny! I even thought that being a mail carrier is such a rewarding job!
I was excited just thinking about it, so I clenched my fist and waved it slightly.
However, Karmeut's expression did not change. He, who had been silent as he
cast his gaze on me until I pondered what he was thinking, finally opened his
mouth,
"Rainelle, are you concerned
about them?"
"Of course!"
The two must be connected so that the biggest
obstacle can be safely removed! It will be like succeeding in disposing of
explosives! It would be bad if that didn’t happen!! So it's only natural to be
worried!
Thinking like that, I
nodded my head. Karmeut’s expression now changed. As if he was making it
obvious on purpose, he said with a sad expression,
"Rainelle, do you
only care about Young Lady Gwynell and Namuel?"
"...huh?"
"I mean, me. Does Rainelle
hate me?"
"I can't possibly
hate you!"
I won’t even do this if I don't like you, you
idiot!
For some reason, I was
gushing with anger. Then he asked,
"Then, you like me?"
"Of course!!"
His eyes widened slightly
at those words.
---huh? Hold on, wait a second...
'Then, you like me?'
'Of course!'
---!
Oh! Oh my God! I accidentally confessed! Ahhh!! Wait, wait! This
confession wasn't planned by him, is it?! What else can I answer besides that?!
Karmeut was smiling softly when I
looked at him. Then he whispered,
"If possible, I want
you to say it clearly to me."
"Wh, why?"
"Well, I'm a little
jealous."
As he said that, he leaned
his body slightly forward, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.
"You’re concerned
about the relationship between Young Lady Gwynell and Marquis Namuel, but you
don't care about me?"
I somehow felt pressure
from Kamut's smiling face.
Ahhh, Ahhhh---!! What do I do here?! If I don't
say it, I feel like he’s going to sulk, but I'm embarrassed to say it!!
I looked at Karmeut. His
golden eyes were filled with anticipation.
...ugh! Okay! It's better to say it once than
to keep saying I’m shy!
"I... I like you!"
My face must be looking like a tomato right
now!! This is the first time I've ever said that I like someone of the opposite
sex! And that’s how I truly feel about him too!!
I was so embarrassed that
I closed my eyes tightly.
*thp*
I heard him move. I was
nervous at the sound of his movement, but then, something soft and light fell
on my cheek and go quickly.
*chu*
"Thank you, Rainelle."
A voice filled with
laughter echoed in my ears. The next moment, I felt like I was being wrapped and
hugged around my waist.
Only then did I realize
that Karmeut had come up to me, kissed my cheek, and hugged me. A blush
belatedly appeared until it reached my ears.
But Karmeut didn't seem to
have any intention of ending things with that. As he gently pressed his hands
around his waist, he pressed his lips to my ear and whispered.
"But that's not what
I really want to hear."
"---Wha, what, what
more do you want to hear?"
"Of course, it's nice
to hear you say you like me, but..."
His hands around my waist
gently loosened and went down to my hands. Then he covered the back of my hands,
interlocked our fingers, and touched my earlobe with his lips.
When I twisted my body as
I was startled by the action, strength was transferred to my hands, as if
telling me to remain still. Then his voice that was clearer than ever can be
heard,
"I want to hear more
than that."
...This, this, this, this is an enchanting
prince, no, emperor!! If you tempt me like this, I won't be able to let you go!
-Hah! No! Calm down, me! ! I think it'll be
dangerous if we move on from here! I think it's dangerous!
"Um, what does that
mean?"
"Are you really asking
this because you don't know? Or are you pretending you don't know?"
While whispering that in a
soft voice, Karmeut laughed quietly. Every time the sound of that laughter
reached my ears, my body shivered.
"I want to hear you
say that you love me. The words that you say when you think of me as a male."
Karmeut whispered that in
a low, sexy voice with a very little distance to my
earlobe.
"If you tell me that you love me... I'll
do something good for you."
He added that with a small smile
before burying his face in the nape of my neck. His warmth and the wiggling of
his fingers to hold my hand as if he was savoring the moment made my head dizzy.
Seriously!! Don't act so lethal!! I think I'm
going to faint from a nosebleed! I like you, but if you tempt me openly like
this, then---!!
***
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