Of All
Things, I Became a Crow: Chapter #139
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
*3rd person POV
Adriana bit her nails
nervously. She gnawed her nails so much that her fingertips were dripping with
blood.
"Namuel... Rainelle..."
It felt like her chest was burning
black. What fretted her even more was that she had no authority.
No authority to see Namuel, who was in
a mess, or even talk to Rainelle to be merciful.
Rather, it was fortunate that Rainelle heard her then and stopped right before killing
him. If she hadn't stopped, the wolf's neck would have snapped and bent at an
odd angle.
The subsequent actions
were the same. Although she put Namuel in solitary confinement, at least it
wasn't a prison, and seeing as she said that the punishment will be decided
after Karmeut woke up, Rainelle was patient enough.
However, human mind is
terrifying.
Even though she knew that
Rainelle had yielded to that extent, her heart burns like this because she
can't confirm Namuel's safety right now.
"...please."
Adriana squeezed her hands
together as she begged to whom she did not know.
*knock, knock-*
The sound of tapping on
something startled her. It wasn't the maid knocking on her door. It was a much
lighter, clearer sound than that.
Adriana's gaze slowly
turned to her window. There, a crow was perching on a window sill and tapping
its beak on the windowpane.
"---!!"
Adriana hurried, wondering
if it was Rainelle.
"Rainelle---!
...Ah..."
It wasn't Rainelle. The
bird lacked her trademark purple eyes and sapphire necklace.
The crow squinted its dark chestnut eyes
and cawed. It was a murky sound for a bird's cry, but it was also a familiar cry.
The crow croaked and put out one of
its feet. Realizing that a white note was dangling on
its slender ankle, Adriana hurriedly undid the note.
As if it had finished its
job, the crow flew away. ---But Adriana's attention was all focused on the
contents of the note.
[Come to the Imperial Palace tomorrow. I need to talk to you.]
It was a brief message,
but it was what she wanted to hear more than
anything else.
Even though no one was watching, Adriana
tidied her dress hastily. Then, still in disbelief, she looked at the note over
and over again as she muttered,
"Tomorrow,
tomorrow..."
‘What do Rainelle want to say? But that doesn’t
matter.’
After Namuel's rampage, it
had been Rainelle, who had been holding on to a cold attitude, refusing all
conversations with her. Adriana thought that it was hopeful as Rainelle was the
one who wanted to talk first.
‘Of course, that may not be the case. But, but,
if only we could somehow have a conversation, I will properly convey how wrong
I was.’
‘...If, if she forgives me, I might be able to
meet Namuel.’
Adriana trembled slightly,
feeling both hopeful along with a hint of uneasiness.
‘Tomorrow, tomorrow, when I enter the Imperial
Palace...’
Birds were watching her
outside the window. The birds, flapping their wings while chirping briefly,
soon took off into the sky.
*Rainelle’s POV
I was moving quickly to
meet Galenos.
---I heard that he’s the most injured among the knights. How is
he now? …Huh?
"...Sedarun?"
"Yes, Miss
Client."
The others who were present with me
gave short exclamations due to his silent and sudden
appearance in front of me, but I calmed them down by raising my hand.
"I know it's a bit
strange to ask you this question right now, but are you okay?"
“If it wasn’t for Miss Client,
my upper body would have been ripped off instead of my shoulder. But…”
He looked around for a
moment. It was the next second when a dry, bleak voice
resonated in my head.
‘-You commissioned me to infiltrate Duke Howard's
residence and record the nobles’ conversation in memory spheres…’
No, it was not a sound that
came out of a mouth. Should I say beak?1
Hearing that, I burst out
laughing without even realizing it.
"I'm grateful for
that. That's why I decided to give you an extra reward, right?"
"Of course you
should. I will be very dissatisfied otherwise."
He nodded his head with a
voice full of dissatisfaction, which did not match
his image.
Well, I was a bit reckless. I requested an assassin to get
rid of the aristocratic faction centered on Duke Howard.
It might have been an easier task than an assassination
request. But... if he wasn’t willing to do it in the first place, he wouldn't
have accepted the request, so I can think that it was okay, right?
Of course, since his wounds were
treated right away back then, I don’t think he would have any strong complaints
about discomfort either.
“You did a great job.”
"---I was happy to have an unusual experience, too. Being an assassin
commissioned by a crow."
The reason I was able to
put on a smile under those words was because there was not the slightest hint
of ridicule in Sedarun's tone.
It seemed that the maids
were the ones who were furious instead as they began to mutter under their
breath.
I had no intention of
offending the assassin for nothing, so I opened my mouth while blocking my
attendants,
"Will you accept my
request another time?"
"---I’d like to be
faithful to my main job, Empress of the Wolfric Empire."
"...If you have to ask for a request that's true to your job, I hope I
don't have to see you often."
"Well, that’s so..."
He paused for a moment, then spat out.
"But having a link with the Empress of the Empire is a good thing for me too,
so let's say it’s an exception."
...I quickly opened the fan
in my hand and covered my mouth. If it wasn't for Madame Fangxia's strict
education, I might have already laughed hard in front of Sedarun.
Ah, really... I can see why Sedarun is a hidden
target character.
Even though I haven’t yet married,
he acknowledged me as the empress, but he was not polite at the same time.
Even though he grumbled
about being faithful to his original job, he made an exception because it was
good to have a link.
Aren’t you really attractive? Should I say,
worthy of a hidden target character?
If I hadn't given Karmeut
all of my body and soul, I might have been tempted. However, all I’m feeling
right now was that it is good to be in a relationship with a talented person.
"How, when, and where
should I send the reward?"
"We'll talk about
that later. It's not the right place to talk about it, and above all... the Empress of the Empire won't duck out
on paying."
In the end, I couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Puho! Yes, of
course. Anytime you want to talk to me, speak to a crow."
"---I guess I should
do it when no one is looking."
The figure of him, who
grumbled but nodded obediently, soon disappeared. Only then did the maids open
their mouths, expressing their displeasure,
"Rainelle-nim, who is
that rude person..."
"He's an assassin who helped during the incident that
threaten His Majesty’s life. I also make a personal request to him."
"But he shouldn’t appear so suddenly like that... This is the Imperial Palace,
Rainelle-nim!"
"It's okay if he
doesn't do it too much. After all, he is one of the most capable assassins.
It's rather strange if he enters the Palace by following the procedures."
Saying so, I managed to
calm the maids while walking, and before I knew it, I have arrived at my
destination.
“Sir Galenos. How are you
feeling?”
"Ah,
Rainelle-nim."
I stopped him from forcing
himself to get up.
"Please lie
down."
"But..."
"Should I give you an
order?"
At that, he fell silent and leaned his
back on the headboard. Looking at him like that, I slowly sat down on the chair
next to the bed.
Galenos’ injuries were serious. His
vertebras were cracked, his internal organs ruptured, and his thigh muscles
were torn by Namuel's bite. In addition, unfortunately, I heard that the wolf's
claws brushed his blood vessels, causing him to lose a great amount of blood.
“I heard that no matter how much you
are healed with divine power, you need enough rest. I’d like to tell you not to
worry about anything and just take a good rest.”
“---Uh, Rainelle-nim. His
Majesty the Emperor...”
"---He's done with
his recuperation and is handling government affairs."
Hearing that, Galenos
clenched his fists tightly.
"---Then I'll come
back too."
"Sir Galenos."
"My Lord is doing
government affairs, how can I rest? Besides, I've already had enough rest.
Rather, it was frustrating because I couldn't move my body. So..."
Hearing him, I sighed
deeply. ---It was because I remembered what Karmeut had said:
[“If Galenos says he wants to come
back, let him do it. It’s a waste of time to stop him.”]
---It was as if he had expected this situation. Hm, was his and Karmeut’s friendship so close in the setting?
"---Haha. Karmeut
knew everything."
"---Yes? What do you
mean..."
"His Majesty said
that if Sir Galenos said that he would return, then so be it. Judging your
answer, it seems that His Majesty had already expected it."
At those words, Galenos’
eyes widened slightly.
“If you judge yourself to
be in good shape, do whatever you want. However, you should keep in mind that
only when you are healthy is the Emperor's back safe.”
"-I'll keep that in
mind, Your Highness the Empress."
I covered my mouth with a
fan as I felt tickled at the sound of ‘Your Highness the Empress’.
I said, "I haven’t
married His Majesty the Emperor yet."
"...But His Majesty's
companion is Rainelle-nim."
I didn't feel like
refuting him, so I just laughed it off.
---To be honest, I didn't want to give the seat
next to Karmeut to someone else either. Furthermore...
I felt good because I felt
like the title ‘Your Highness the Empress’
suits Karmeut's companion.
Is it because I had only heard ‘Rainelle-nim’ until now,
and then I suddenly heard ‘Your Majesty the Empress’? Or is it because the
heart is so tricky?
...But, it felt good. My mood became
better. That was why I got up from my seat while
laughing.
“The next time we meet, I
hope to see you in good health.”
"Yes, Your Majesty
the Empress."
"Then I'll be on my
way. Take good care of yourself."
Watching him bow his head
respectfully, I left the treatment center. Of course, many other knights were
badly injured besides Galenos. ---Unfortunately, some people died.
Still, after Karmeut
recuperated, and enough time had passed to catch the traitors and get rid of
them, it felt like the wounds and damages Namuel had inflicted when he ran amok
were getting better.
Anyway, Miel must be doing well in his
treatment.
I almost forcibly pushed
his back for him to go through his treatment. I appreciate his loyalty, of
course, but I can’t bear a person who’s not in a good shape following me around.
Besides, I heard that when a high-level spirit is going
through forced dismissal, the contractor’s intestines will become mush. ---Of course, if it really turns into mush, he'll
die instantly, so that's most likely a metaphor! No, in the first place, if
such a metaphor is used, that means it’s serious!!
Please, please, please! I hope you get better and come
back!! If someone is sick from loyalty, it's a lot of pressure! It's very
burdensome!!
Walking while grumbling inside, I
suddenly realized that I had visited everyone I wanted to visit.
Uh... what should I do now?
After thinking about it for a while, I
realized. Oops, there’s one more person I
need to meet, right? -It won't be a pleasant meeting, but...
I was debating whether to meet or not,
but in the end, I made up my mind to go meet this person.
Since Adriana is coming tomorrow, I'd better meet Namuel
beforehand and hear his thoughts.
After taking a few deep breaths, I
made my way to the room where Namuel was being confined.
Leaving the maids to wait outside, I
went into the room by myself.
-I'd rather us be alone. That way, in the unlikely event
that Namuel ran out of control again, the maids wouldn’t become stumbling
blocks.
I didn't want to risk the life of the
innocent maids. Well, because it's inside
a room, it's a disadvantageous place for me... But since Namuel's physical
condition isn't good, I don't think it will be as bad as before.
"...Ah! Rainelle-nim---!!"
Namuel, who was sitting in bed reading, tried to get up as he closed the book.
---I can understand why
he's trying to get up when he sees me, but it's uncomfortable when a sick
person did that.
After restraining him from
getting up, I started talking,
“How are you feeling?”
“It has improved a lot.”
"...That's good news."
A brief silence fell. He
didn't seem to know what to say. His restlessness was clearly visible, so I
opened my mouth first,
"Tomorrow, Miss
Adriana will enter the Imperial Palace."
Namuel's shoulders shook
with a flinch.
Looking at it, I hesitated
for a moment.
Am I really qualified to ask this question?
Could it be that I am too nosy?
...But, because of the feelings between them,
Karmeut almost died.
Conflict arose within me
--But my mind was already tilted to one side.
"Marquis Namuel. What
do you think of Miss Adriana?"
***
Notes:
1 This, we’re not so sure of the translation either, but we assume that Sedarun is a bird too(?) Maybe not a crow though.↩
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