Of All
Things, I Became a Crow: Side Story #1
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
*Rainelle’s POV
“Your Majesty the Empress, you are still beautiful today.”
“Ho-ho,” I
laughed lightly, but sighed inwardly at the ladies who smiled cheerfully and
looked at me.
"Countess Breylan is also beautiful. Your necklace seems to have
changed. Did you receive it as a gift?"
“Oh, I feel embarrassed in front of the Empress.”
I just laughed at her act
of subtly puffing out her chest and revealing her necklace even as she said
that.
One of them chimed in:
"I heard that it is the largest gemstone from
the newly discovered sapphire mine, Your Majesty the Empress."
"I see... was it at your wedding
anniversary a while ago? I heard it was a big party."
At that, the Countess nodded her head
and smiled shyly.
“That's when I got it as a gift, Your
Majesty."
I turned to the others after
responding appropriately to her answer. I lifted my
teacup, swallowing a sigh inwardly at the sight of the noble ladies sending
their brightly shining eyes my way.
It was very good that I
married Karmeut and that I became the empress, but I was tired of the subtle
war of nerves with the ladies.
But it's something that will help Karmeut.
I had no intention of
denying it. There are definitely things I can do to help Karmeut in the
position of an empress, so I have to stick to that.
Like information that can be heard through the noble ladies. And
if I managed to find my standing in it, it will surely help him.
I thought so and listened to the
chatter of the ladies. Most of the stories were
pointless, but I had to sit here.
***
“---Ha, they finally went
back.”
I sighed and stretched out
a little. Feeling that even that was not enough, I exposed my wings and spread
them out.
*Flutter*
I felt good when the wings
covered with black and glossy feathers came into view.
“As expected, taking out
the wings is the best.”
All of the dresses I wear
have a cut in the back. It was Karmeut's idea which allowed me to take out my
wings at any time.
---Well, for the inside story, dresses with bare backs have
become popular. I can't believe it's fashionable just because I wear it. It
feels very strange.
There's no way this would happen
if I didn't possess this body, right?
What fashion leader? I must have been taking
care of the animals at work even now.
I laughed when I thought
so.
-At first, I possessed a
crow and had a mental breakdown, but now I'm glad I became a crow.
"Ah, if I hadn't
changed into a human, I would have continued to feel resentment."
In addition, my life expectancy was also
reduced forcibly -because a crow’s lifespan is shorter than that of humans-,
and they eat bugs. Considering how rough that life must have been... Oh, I'm
really lucky. Phew.
Thinking so, I groomed my
wing feathers. Grooming them by chewing
on them with my beak is the most pleasant way, but now that I’m in human form,
I have to bear with it.
With that thought in mind,
I brushed it with a special comb for feathers - made by Karmeut - and even
oiled it meticulously.
“As expected, I need to
apply a little oil in the end.”
It doesn't matter if I don't
apply it, but I tend to apply it little by little because I like how it shines
even more when I apply it.
This time, I applied it
with rose oil, and I really liked the subtle scent of roses when I flapped my
wings.
"Now, I'm going to go
see Karmeut!"
Tea time with the ladies
is over, so I'm going to go see Karmeut.
Hmm, he said he was going to see the knights, right?
After quietly wrapping
up and hiding my wings, I called the maids. Since I was no longer a mere crow
but an empress, I had to follow the procedure even if it was annoying.
When we arrived at Karmeut's place,
Karmeut was descending from a high platform as if he was just done with his
matter.
"Your Majesty."
"---! Rainelle, I
didn't hear you coming..."
"Tea time ended a
little early, so I came to see Your Majesty."
As we talked and laughed
softly, a smile spread across Karmeut's lips.
"Talking while
standing like this… we better go inside, My Empress."
As he said that, he held
out his hand and took my hand. I really liked the firm hand holding mine.
I thought I wanted to
spread my wings wide and then wrap them around Karmeut, but there were too many
eyes to see. So, in order to soothe my regret, I put my body close to Karmeut.
I could see him adorning a little smile.
"Are you holding
back, Rainelle?"
I nodded my head at the
sound of a small whisper in my ear.
"Because I’m the
empress, it's hard to spread my wings recklessly."
"It's a position
where you don't have to be so careful, Rainelle. Who will say anything to the
Empress?"
"There's no one like
that, but I'm putting up with it because I don't want to embarrass
Karmeut."
When I said that, Karmeut
laughed as if he couldn't help it. At the same time, as I felt our connected
hands tighten, the discomfort of not being able to spread my wings soon
disappeared.
***
"Aah... As expected,
spreading my wings is the best."
As soon as I entered the
room alone with Karmeut, I exposed my wings and spread them out. I opened it up
a little while ago, but since I had to go see Karmeut, I couldn't do it until I
was feeling satisfied.
"You like it that
much?"
"Yeah! I love
it!"
Saying so, I flapped his
wings lightly. Because it moved gently, the vase did not fall and break from
the wind.
I broke one before, but I can't do that again.
I shook my head as I recalled the
furniture that I broke from the lack of control over the strength of my wings.
Well, I'm not going to break more
now---!
Thinking so, I was nodding
my head when Karmeut spoke to me,
"Rainelle.”
“Hm?”
"You can return to your
crow form if you want."
I pondered over those
words.
---Of course, I really,
really love going back to my crow form.
It was the most
comfortable, and I don't have to be self-conscious.
But...
"I am the
empress"
Now I’m not just a crow
who’s a little smart. I’m Karmeut's companion and the empress of the Empire.
Considering the weight, I know I shouldn’t just do as I please. I know I
shouldn't do it even if I’m one of the highest-ranking figures in the Empire.
"So it's okay. When
I'm with Karmeut, I'm satisfied with just
spreading my wings."
I smiled a little while saying that.
Then, Karmeut's expression became bleak at once.
---Oh, you shouldn't be like that!
There's really only one thing I
can do to show that this is enough, right?
I'm still a bit embarrassed,
but I approached Karmeut. Then I buried my face in his chest.
I felt his body flinch as
if he was surprised by my sudden action. Ignoring that, I wrapped my wings
around Karmeut while rubbing my cheeks.
"It’s true."
I hugged him tightly with
my arms and whispered that to him. Then the sound of his low laugh rang in my
ears,
"---I’m telling you,
I can't stand that."
Saying so, he kissed me
lightly on the cheek. As I was laughing lightly at the touch, Karmeut reached
for my wings.
His palms were hard with
calluses, but his touch was cautious. I enjoyed the touch and extended my
wings.
If someone else had
touched it, I would have hidden my wings right away. But it wasn't anyone else,
it was Karmeut. On the contrary, I knew that I liked being touched like this,
so I pushed it out as if showing off.
"It smells like
roses."
"I put some rose oil on it."
"It's pretty. It's shiny and
beautiful. I see that you’ve become proficient at it."
Those words made me feel good. As I
smiled and hugged him tightly, I felt Karmeut bury his face into the nape of my
neck.
"---But I like this
better."
"What?"
"The scent that only
comes from you. I like the scent of roses, but I like this one better."
Saying that, Karmeut's face
rubbed against the back of my neck, making my shoulders shrank slightly.
"Uh… huh? I don't
think I smell anything..."
"You may not know it
yourself. Besides, I'm a wolf, Rainelle."
He said “That's why you
can be more sensitive to things like this,” with a small smile.
"Then, Rainelle. It's
been a while since we've been alone together. Is there anything you want to
do?"
The
words made my ears prick up.
What I want to do? With Karmeut?
"Then I want to cuddle Karmeut’s
wolf form!”
As soon as I answered like that,
Karmeut widened his eyes in surprise.
"...Is that all?"
"Yes! I love the
appearance of Karmeut’s wolf! Your fur is soft and warm, and you’re big! So
it's really nice to pet you!"
Karmeut, who blinked at
those words, then laughed out loud. Then he immediately changed into a golden
wolf.
Snorting, Karmeut shoved
his head at me. Laughing at the action, I hugged his head and stroked his
golden fur.
Although the Empire had
stabilized and recruited talented people so there was a lot less work to do compared to the beginning of the throne, but Karmeut had
always been busy. I thought that was naturally the case for someone who becomes
emperor, but I still had some disappointment.
Because he's so busy, he doesn't change his form much.
I understand that it can be because it
was difficult to do things in the form of a wolf.
However, it was regrettable, so I decided to enjoy this opportunity to the
fullest.
As I stroked his soft fur
and scratched his chin, Karmeut immediately narrowed his eyes and grunted happily.
When I smoothed his cheeks with a chuckle at the action, he continued to stick
out his tongue and lick the back of my hand.
"Karmeut, lie
down."
At that, Karmeut jumped up
onto the bed. Then he lay down comfortably and gently waggled his tail.
Laughing at the sight, I
flew slightly over the bed and moved. Then I leaned my head against Karmeut's
body, spread my wings, and covered the wolf's body.
As if in response, he
covered my waist with his tail, which made me burst into laughter.
"It's really nice to
be here, Karmeut!"
Saying that, I hugged
Karmeut by the neck. The feel of his tongue gently licking my cheek made him
laugh again.
It felt like the stress I
had been receiving from being among noble ladies was relieved all at once.
***
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