Of All
Things, I Became a Crow: Chapter #96
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
*Rainelle’s POV
"Caaw! (Ahhh!)"
I can't stand it!
I turned into a crow while
shouting to myself inwardly. Then I reflexively flapped my wings around wildly.
It seemed that I struck
something with the tip of my wing, but that doesn't matter!
I have to get out of this place now! Otherwise,
I might get eaten(?)!!
Save yourself! Run away before you die of
shame!
*Karmeut’s POV
"..."
Karmeut stared blankly at
the crow flying out of the window after slapping his cheek.
"...haha. Should I
have done it moderately?"
I expected her to transform into a crow and run
away, but I did not expect that I would get hit on the cheek.
Of course, it was just
that Rainelle’s wing tip unfortunately struck Karmeut when she ran away in a
hurry. But who would dare to slap the member of the Imperial Family?
Because of that, Karmeut
slowly touched his cheek, feeling half novel and half absurd.
He felt that the wings,
which were smooth and soft to the touch, were surprisingly powerful. The
Emperor grinned.
Well, isn’t it a relief that Rainelle is this
shy?
I love it when her face turns red.
As he recalled Rainelle’s
response, he felt as if his body was getting lighter. A smile of satisfaction
and euphoria appear on his face, but Karmeut could not fully rejoice.
It wasn’t enough.
I’m glad to hear that she likes me, but it’s
not enough to quench this longing. No, I felt like I’m getting even thirstier
when I heard that she likes me.
The Emperor licked
his lower lip as he thought of Rainelle.
Although it symbolized
death, the black bird was very special to him. She was a being who he cannot
help but love.
I would have loved Rainelle even if she had
been an ordinary crow that hadn't eaten Crobanlock. I would have loved and
cherished her as a precious family and companion animal.
Of course, I'm not in love with her in that sense1 now.
So, when Rainelle told him
about the love problem between Count Gwynell’s daughter and Marquis Namuel, he
was relieved.
Oh, even if she is a crow in nature, that
doesn't mean she's not interested in dating.
It would be a lie if he
said he wasn’t anxious.
It’s the truth that
Rainelle’s nature is a crow. She's an
animal, so she’s guided by her instincts. I’m worried about the thought that
she would only mate and breed to preserve the species.
Sometimes, when Karmeut approached
Rainelle and her cheeks blushed in shyness, he thought it was because of the
breeding season.
It’s a bit regretful that Rainelle liked using her crow
form more, but it’s inevitable. Rainelle herself said that she’s more
comfortable being a crow.
It was nice to see her worrying about other people's love problems. But, I was also sad and a little bit jealous.
I understand that Rainelle treats Count Gwynell’s
daughter as her friend and that’s why she cares about it, but…
"---Ah, by the way,
where did Rainelle go?"
It seemed that the only place for her to go is Gwynell’s
residence or the area inside the Imperial Palace. Still, just in case—
He rang the small bell on
the table.
"Did you call, Your
Majesty the Emperor?"
"Take Marquis Albion
here."
“Understood, Your
Majesty.”
As the servant left,
Karmeut leaned back on the sofa and waited for Marquis Albion to arrive.
"Did you ask for me,
Your Majesty?"
Seeing Miel’s polite
manner, the Emperor clasped his hands and opened his mouth,
"Marquis Albion, do
you know where Rainelle is now?"
And so, Miel closed his
eyes and focused his mind. After a while, he opened his eyes and answered,
"Rainelle-nim is
currently on a roof within the Imperial Palace."
Hearing that, Karmeut let
out a brief sigh of relief inwardly. But then he narrowed his brow as if he remembered something. He said,
“Marquis Albion, as I have mentioned
before, no matter who, you must thoroughly eliminate anything that harms
Rainelle. Do you understand?”
"Yes, I understand."
Miel lowered his head silently.
The other day, Miel said that when
Rainelle was attacked by another crow, the spirits attached to her, including
the high-level spirit, had judged that it wasn't a threat. As fights of that
kind between animals of the same species were common
and not life-threatening, the spirits chose to stand by.
It made Karmeut outraged,
and Miel panicked. Miel thought that the spirit would protect her under any
circumstances.
How surprised Miel was
when he found out that Rainelle had been
injured in that frivolous accident. And how much disloyalty he had committed to
her.
Because of that, Karmeut had said:
“Please protect her in any situation, even from my own people”, enough to make
the Elementalist nervous.
Recalling that memory of
his, Miel clenched his fist and said,
"I will make sure
that doesn't happen in the future."
"I will trust you.
You can leave."
After Miel bowed down in
greeting, he left. Looking at him like that,
Karmeut muttered a little unenergetically,
"---I wish I had an aptitude for spirit arts, but..."
Unfortunately, the
affinity for spirits was innate from birth, so Karmeut lost his hope.
Well, thinking in line with that, not having
wings is the saddest thing.
If I had wings… it would be nice if I could fly
with her. It surely would be a wonderful and rare experience.
Swallowing regrets inside,
Karmeut rose from his seat.
---Despite everything, the
work given to the ruler of the Empire was so
numerous.
"Haa... I hope she doesn't only
care about the letters exchanged between Count Gwynell’s daughter and Marquis
Namuel."
Mumbling so, Karmeut began to move
with heavy steps.
*Rainelle’s POV
...Maybe I heard something I shouldn't have.
I thought that Karmeut
would have gone back to work by now, but then I saw Karmeut. So I hid in a tree
nearby. Thanks to that, I could hear him talking to himself.
Care about the letters?
Well, the reason I go back and forth between
Aria and Namuel is because of mail delivery.
Still, it's enough for Karmeut to say that kind of thing... Am I
being too much? I also care about him though...
Thinking of him again…
Earlier, he’s so cute---!
He’s so cute for some reason! I think it's because he’s
usually aloof and teases me, but when he shows jealousy, it feels like he
becomes cuter! Aww, he’s so cute I'm dying!
I made sure the door was closed and
went into the room. Then I flew to the always-prepared snack plate and ate a
piece of dried fruit.
Well... it's important to tie Aria and Namuel together
right now. But…
I got too caught up with that until I seem to
only care about Aria and Namuel. If it’s like this, I might get farther from
Karmeut. Of course, he said that I am the next Empress, but since he's the
emperor, he could have a concubine... Then the concubine could steal his heart!
Uhh, of course, wolves are the representative
of monogamous animals, but... Karmeut is a human before he is a wolf. No one
knows whether the wolf's inclination is stronger or that the human one is
stronger.
I recalled Karmeut's jealous
but sweet expression of affection that he had shown me a while ago. As soon as I remembered that, my cheeks get hotter,
but I realized that I wasn't expressing my affection that much.
...can't do it! It's embarrassing that I reflexively run
away! Is this why I had always been single in my previous life?!
---When I thought about it like that, I suddenly felt sad.
Sigh... It's kind of miserable to realize the
reason for me being single.
To shake off this misery, I shook my
body once2. Feeling a little bit better after doing so, I pondered.
Um, still... I want to have a little precious time as Aria
does...
---Of course, I've already been held in Karmeut’s arms and
had been kissed –but I still didn’t have the courage to face him and always
resort to changing into a crow---!
Love is love, but I want to taste the soft and fluffy
feeling that exists too! I'm sure I'll be happy and get more courage from
experiencing that too!
I want to make that kind of precious moment too!!
When I thought about wanting to make soft and fluffy precious moments, my heart burned
for some reason.
By the way, how do I do that?
Wanting was simple, but
the method was a problem.
I should've been in a relationship to know how!
Okay, wipe my tears for a moment...
But when I thought about
it again, a way wasn’t that far away from me.
Wait, there’s letter.
This is a fantasy-based world. So, sending a
letter normal in this world, isn't it? Because of that, Aria is also mainly
exchanging letters with Namuel! Of course, Namuel is busy as a wizard, and his
distrust of humans also plays a part.
Well, shall I write a letter too? I can just
leave the letter in Karmeut's office!
The thought of writing a
letter made my feathers swell.
But then I remembered
something very important.
"Ca, caaw. (I, I've
never written a love letter before.)"
This is a very serious matter! I've never
written a love letter! ---I've never been in a relationship before---!!
...Ah, ah, no! Even if I’ve been in a
relationship, a love letter is another matter! Who still writes letters in that
place3? They just use text messages or make a call!
I struggled so hard to
make excuses for myself. Let's write a
love letter! Let's write and make precious memories!
---sounds like a good idea, but who am I going
to consult with?!
I can't just say, “I want to write a love
letter to the Emperor, so please help me~” to anyone! Even if the target
is not the Emperor, a matter of love letter is a hot topic!! The moment I do
it, there’s a high chance I will be sold out!!
I sighed deeply at the difficulties I encountered from the start.
Non-illiterate buffs are good, but it’s not that good in
cases like this... I'd rather be illiterate! Then I can write it clumsily like
a child and make excuses! But I don’t want that either!! Argh, crazy!!
I was frustrated. I had no choice but to put up a frustrated pose!
Aah!! Precious moments! Letter!
How can there be obstacles like this?!
Just when I was feeling
crushed by frustration and changed into a human, a light flashed in my head.
"That's right!
Aria!!"
Aria is noble, so she can write letters well,
right? So, can I ask Aria to teach me how to write letters to royalty?
Of course, because Karmeut is the Emperor, he writes
letters better than Aria... But, I’m going to write a love letter, right? And
when he doesn't know who it’s from, it would be even more exciting to receive
something like this!
So I clenched my fists.
Okay! Let's go to Aria! I’ll learn how to write
a good letter from Aria!
Hehe, I will secretly leave a letter on the
desk in his office---!
I felt my heart pounding
and fluttering by just imagining it.
Thinking of Karmeut who read the letter… ehe
eheheh---
Hey, is this what it feels like to be taking
the initiative? It's not just embarrassing, but there’s also a feeling of
anticipation and excitement. This---!!
I grabbed my cheeks and
shook my head.
"Oh! This is not the
time! I should go to Aria’s place!!"
Even a delay like this was
a waste, so I hurriedly returned to my original form and flapped my wings eagerly.
Aria! Help me!!
***
"Huh? Rainelle,
what's going on? Didn't you go to deliver the letter?"
I nodded my head when I
saw Aria’s confused expression. Then I immediately transformed into my human
form and opened my mouth,
"Yeah. I delivered
the letter, so don't worry about that."
"Then why did you
come? Usually, after delivering a letter, you come back with a reply, right?
But today, you’re empty-handed… or should I say empty-footed?"
Aria, who doesn’t
understand, tilted her head in wonder. I quickly told her my purpose,
"Oh, actually, I have
a request."
"...a request?"
---were Aria's eyes that flashed for a moment
an illusion? Please be an illusion!
Hoping that it was just a
mistake, I explained further,
"---I wanted you to
teach me how to write a love letter."
"Love letter..."
After Aria repeated that,
her eyes curled up. Ugh! A sly smile!!
Don't smile like that!!
"I, too, want to
write a love letter! I possessed a crow's
body, so I don't know how to use aristocratic rhetoric4!"
I’ve previously seen written letters from
nobles, but I can't say that I can write my own version! It’s the same as not
knowing!!
"Oh~ I see~"
"Don't smirk like that! I'm asking for help after thinking about it seriously!"
"Uh, huh. I'm very
honored to be the one asked for help by you."
The remark sent a burst of
heat into my face.
Ugh, even though it’s Aria, it’s very
embarrassing to say this!! Haa, but still, I have to put it aside and learn to
write letters well!
I’m going to do it! Taking initiative! Making precious
moments!!
***
Notes:
1 Not as family, but as love interest now↩
2 Her previous world, a modern one ↩
2 Like, she got no buff of it. ↩
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