Of All
Things, I Became a Crow: Side Story Special #1
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
*3rd person POV
Among the gardens of the Imperial Palace, there was a
space that even the garden manager of the Palace could not enter.
Someone was walking toward the place where no one could
easily step in without the Emperor's permission. The fancy clothed person with
golden hair and golden eyes shining dazzlingly in the sunlight stepped forward.
A normal person in the Imperial Palace, no, in the entire
Empire, wouldn't be able to wear fancier clothes.
Because he was Wolfric Iveld de Karmeut, the current
Emperor of the Empire, and the companion of the Queen of Birds as well as a
descendant of the Black Bird.
There was only nervousness on his face as he quickly
headed towards the most secret and deepest garden of the Imperial Palace. Even
though many people in the Empire were praising the current situation and the Emperor
as they have had a peaceful era, his complexion could even be called haggard.
Unlike other gardens
touched by humans, this garden, which was almost untouched by the palace
gardener, were more wild, unkempt, with birds of different
sizes and types. There were birds
that ate grains, birds that hunted other animals and ate meat, and birds that
ate insects and fish as their staple food.
Originally, they were birds that could not gather in one
place. Among the birds gathered here, there were also birds that were in the
position of predators and prey.
"...... You're
working hard."
Seeing the black kite flying
menacingly near his head, Karmeut muttered a sigh and continued his steps.
Eventually reaching his destination, he paused and looked
around. Just in case, he needed to check if there were any intruders around
although it was unlikely.
Karmeut's figure changed. A faint halo of light covered
his body for a moment, and then a golden giant wolf appeared in his place.
The wolf raised his head and sniffed lightly, then looked
carefully around. As he became an animal, and his companion became the queen of
all birds, he also underwent a change, though not dramatically.
The animal's senses, which were sharper than when he was
human, became even more refined and sharpened. In a way, it could have been
described as evolving, or it could have been that the dormant powers of his
bloodline had blossomed.
The important thing was that it allowed him to check his
companion's safety more clearly and in more detail.
Karmeut grunted in satisfaction at the fact and returned
to his human form. The check was over, so there was no need for him to delay
any longer.
The place was so lush that it became like a small cave,
and white flowers were blooming profusely from the shrubs.
A place where even the birds do not snoop. Karmeut stepped cautiously toward it.
[・・・・・・ Karmeut?]
The black figure raised its body. The purple eyes that
hadn't washed away drowsiness were hazy.
"Sorry, did I wake you up?"
[I just dozed off.]
Rainelle shook her body while yawning languidly with her
long beak open. Seeing her like that, Karmeut reached out and stroked her
feathers.
Three days had passed since Rainelle laid her eggs.
The reason Karmuet couldn't stay by Rainelle's side was
purely because Rainelle's will was too strong.
[-It
wasn't difficult to lay egg, and Karmeut has a lot of work to do now.]
How could he stand up to Rainelle, who pushed him hard on
his back, telling him not to worry too much since her safety was guaranteed?
“What about your body? What do you want to eat? Do you
need anything?"
[My body is okay. What I want to eat... I can't think of
anything in particular.]
"......Are you sure?"
On the contrary, it was Karmeut who was nervous because
he couldn't do anything. Rainellel's head tilted as if she felt his gaze.
[What's the matter?]
"I feel like I haven't done anything."
Karmeut spoke frankly. They were a couple, and he didn't
want to bother Rainelle by trying to hide something.
At that, the black bird let out a long sigh. Then she
shook her head and said,
[It didn't hurt to lay egg.]
"..."
[Even when plucking the feathers on my chest,
um...... I thought I should. Don’t chickens pluck their chest feathers when
they incubate their eggs? Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt at all.]
Karmeut let out a long sigh at the sight of Rainelle
waving one wing slightly, saying it was okay.
“You don’t even eat properly.”
[Uh, that...]
"You must eat well today."
It didn't seem like an offer she was very keen on,
judging by the way she shifted her eyes perplexedly. But his will was strong.
It was three days.
For three days, Rainelle did not move from her place,
only incubating the egg.
Neither eating nor drinking. As if something had changed
from the moment the egg was laid, Rainelle did not move except to periodically
roll the eggs while crouching in the nest Karmeut had prepared.
That fact made Karmeut uneasy. Although she had become
less human and more like the mythical Black Bird, that fact didn’t calm his worries.
"Rainelle. Change into a human form."
[Then the egg……]
"You covered it well with the feathers from your
chest. If anything, I'll call a mage and put a warming spell on it."
Rainelle rolled her eyes,
shaking her head as if she hated the words. As if she judged that her
feathers were a little more reliable than a mage’s spell, the black bird
blinked her eyes slowly rose before rising from her seat.
The egg the black bird had been incubating was slowly
revealed among the black feathers. It was an egg with black patterns on a
golden background.
Rainelle said she didn't get hurt or anything when she
laid the egg, but Karmeut couldn't understand how she could be just fine when
she laid an egg the size of an adult man's torso.
The black bird rose from her seat, but still seemed
reluctant as she gathered the feathers with her beak to bury the eggs. Then,
after shaking her body, she left the nest.
Rainelle did not change into human form immediately. Karmeut
narrowed his brows as he watched her.
It was hard to tell because her feathers are fluffed up,
but she was definitely thinner than before she laid her egg.
She must have felt the gaze, because Rainelle hurriedly
changed into her human form.
"······ As expected,
you're skinny."
When a young lady appeared in black feathered dress, with
huge wings sprouting from her back, Karmeut approached her, grabbed her by the
wrist, and frowned. He didn't like the wrists which were thinner than before.
"But there's no big
problem with my body..."
"You know it's not
convincing to say that, right?"
Rainelle shut her mouth in embarrassment. Seeing her like
that, Karmeut let out a long sigh.
"I understand that you’re different from humans.
It's not the end of caring for the egg, you have to work a little harder until
the egg hatches. ... But, as a mother, there are other things you have to do
too."
Karmeut carefully hugged
Rainelle, thinking that she would want to hit him with all her might, that he
couldn't break the stubbornness of Rainelle, who was pushing away food by
saying it was okay and she did not have the appetize before.
"...You still have to eat something to be together
with the baby."
She must have felt his voice quiver, as Rainelle, who was
wriggling in his arms, stopped.
"I'm sorry. It's like instinct, I just acted as I
felt, but I made you worry…"
She rested her head in Karmeut's arms. Feeling her body
much smaller and thinner than before, Karmeut clenched his teeth and carefully
hugged her.
"Can you eat?"
“……I’ll try.”
"If you're forcing yourself, I'll tell you not to do
it, but..."
Looking at the skinny Rainelle, he couldn't bear saying
that she can choose not to eat. Rainelle, as if reading his eyes, patted Karmeut's
arm slowly and said,
"I'll try."
Hearing her affirming it again, he looked at Rainelle
with mixed feelings.
He was happy that she was willing to try, but he still
felt that it was not pleasant.
After a moment of hesitation, Karmeut shook his head.
What? Thinking of Rainelle who had not eaten or drunk
anything for three days, things were looking much better now.
“Is there something you want to eat, or food that comes
to mind?”
"Um..."
Rainelle looked up. She said she would eat, but she
couldn't seem to think of food.
"Then I'll take care of it."
While Rainelle hesitated, Karmeut called an attendant and
ordered them to bring all the food they could bring here.
"I-I can't eat that much!"
"You don't have to eat all of it. It doesn't matter
if you choose only the food that makes you hungry."
"Still......."
"Eating is more important than anything else. So you
don't have to worry so much about it."
Despite Rainelle eyes and wings drooping as if
embarrassed, Karmeut’s decision hadn't changed.
Karmeut: I will
only be relieved if you eat something.
***
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