Of All Things, I Became a Crow

*Rainelle’s POV

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“Hey, hey, hey.
Rainelle, did you fight with my elder brother?”

Sepia's words made me choke on the cookie that I was eating.
Cough, cough!

“Wait, are you okay? Here's some water!”

I put my beak into the glass of water that the child offered to me and drank the water in haste.
Huu… huu…
I think my life is safe now.
Ah, ah.
Sepia asked a question, so I should answer, right?

“Oh, we didn't fight.”

When I changed into my human form and answered, the child tilted her head.

“—Really? Uh-huh…
Well, Elder brother has been very busy.
I don't think being an emperor would be fun.
There’s no time to play.”

It was really cute to see the child puffing her cheeks while saying that.

OMG! I want to bite her cheeks! I want to squish them!!

“Well, I guess it can't be helped.
I heard from my elder brother that there are a lot of things to be done in order to govern a country.
Um, it’s kind of like that….”

“Why?”

“His wolf is so cool and pretty! I wish that he could teach me how to awaken.
But I can't even ask because he’s too busy!”

I laughed at the sight of the child waving her arms around.

“Seriously, aren't wolves a bit too cool?”

I chuckled at the child's natural remark and picked up the cookie with my hand.

Well, I'd love to see the wolf version of Sepia too.

…but if she ate a Crobanlock, she could die, right? The child might become a cute wolf, but she might also die, so it’s not possible to give it to her!

In a way, it's more unfortunate than the death of a handsome man, right? To die before becoming an adult is a terrible thing even if you aren’t pretty.
Besides, Sepia will definitely grow up to become a beautiful woman.

I took a large bite of the cookie.

When I said beauty, I thought of the slave that I saw at the market.

A pure beauty.
A person who was too beautiful to be called handsome.

…Actually, when I was talking to Namuel before, I wanted to say that it was unfair and that he wasn't born as a slave because he wanted it. But it was a little too much to do that at the market, and I was in crow form back then.

Just because I lived in a place where equality was taken for granted when I was a zookeeper before, it would be foolish to force that idea here.
A shout of claimed right words from a powerless single person would end in vain.

And me, if it wasn't for Karmeut behind me, would I have been caught and sold as a strange bird? Or live by eating people's corpses? Otherwise, I would have had to live in wildlife where I had to be careful about everything because I was afraid of being hunted and had to eat bugs that I really hate.

It's not even my strength, but I've wielded it.
It doesn't matter what you do after you have power.

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…seriously, I’ve lost my mind.
This isn't it! I'm just wondering, what happened to that slave? If he has a face that seemed to be in my memory, surely it means he’s someone important!

Ah-oh.
This bird head! This simplified mind! Is there any way to turn this back to the way it was before?

—I don’t think so. As long as I'm a crow, I'm screwed!

I sighed deeply inside and picked up another cookie.

By the way, the cookies are really delicious! Is it because the cookies are made by the Imperial Palace chef? Wow, it's so moist yet crispy.
I can't stop my hands!

“Princess Sepia!! Are you here?!”

“Ugh, the Nanny!!”

When the nanny appeared, Sepia screamed briefly and hid behind me.
Because of that, I had to receive the nanny's gaze.

…Scary!! Those eyes are so fierce that they can make the zoo tiger go away!! Oh my God!!

“Rainelle-nim.
Sepia-nim has a lot to study.”

“Yes, yes.”

“If one is a member of the Imperial Family, acquiring the culture and knowledge appropriate to that person’s position is of utmost importance.
Besides, Sepia-nim is the younger sister of the current Emperor, so she has to pay attention to the opinions of others.”

I had to put both of my hands on my lap and sit upright at the nurse's stern words.
She said it as if there were nothing more right than this!

Maybe satisfied with my appearance, the nanny said while coughing,

“Therefore, Sepia-nim must accumulate various knowledge and culture to have dignity and elegance that is worthy of the Imperial Family.
To do that, she has to study with an expert in each field.
Is that understandable? “

“…Yes.”

“Thank you very much for your understanding.
Then, Sepia-nim? It's time to study.”

“Uhhhh…*

Sepia grabbed a part of my dress and swayed it, so I tried to avoid the child's gaze.

Sorry, Sepia… I don't have the confidence to beat a nanny who has a mother pose.
If I do something wrong, I might get slapped in the back.

“Ueee, Rainelle!!”

“…Study hard and come again.”

In the end, Sepia, who was grabbed and dragged away by the nanny, called out my name pitifully. However, I had no choice but to turn my head and said,

“Good luck with your studies.”

Keugh—! I feel like I'm going to cry because I know her feelings so well! It's like seeing myself getting caught and being dragged to the school when I was young!!

Haa, she'll be fine.
Sepia, at least you won't study until your body is drained of your blood like I did…
right? Maybe.
Since she’s from the Imperial Family, they might go easy on her.
Yes, yes.

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I tried to eat all the cookies in my hand while hypnotizing myself that she would be fine. Mmm~ It's sweet and delicious!

After eating all the cookies left on the plate, I patted my stomach.

Oh, even if I become a human, the habit of a bird is still there.
But instead of eating less, I just eat often.
Ummm, by the way… I ate a lot…didn’t I? Since I ate Sepia's portion, I might gain weight…?

The thought of what to do if I gain weight made me feel like I was going crazy.

That's not allowed!! I need to exercise! You have to fly hard!

I turned into a crow and warmed up by stretching his wings.

Right wing, clear! Left wing, clear! All right, then I'll fly a few laps around the palace!

It flew out through an open window. While facing the pleasant wind, I slowly began to fly in the sky over the Imperial Palace, which I had now become accustomed to in my own way.

As I became a bird, I felt that the fun of flying freely was incomparable to anything else.
What can be compared with this?

The feeling of the wind brushing the tips of my wings.
The mysterious feeling of the wind that bent under my wings every time I flapped them.
They were really good.

The higher I went, the colder the air became, but the feeling of the air filling my lungs was refreshing.

Besides, there are no obstacles in the sky, right? Hehehehe! I can fly as I please!

Going through obstacles is fine, but I don't think it's as good as flying through an open space like this! Aaahhhh I love it!

…oh! What is that golden color that I see down there?! It's Karmeut!!

Although there was a lot of gold color in the Imperial Palace, that feeling I get from it made me sure that it was not a hard texture.

When I lowered the altitude and got closer, my guess was right.

It's Karmeut! Shouldn't we be working? He’s outside—

I paused when I tried to get closer.

Hah! No! If I approach defenselessly like the last time, the shameful memories might increase! And, and—! Didn’t I get caught up in the kiss last time?!

That's why I'm going to make trouble! Yes! Trouble! A trouble! I want to make Karmeut flustered, too!

I flapped her wings and raised her altitude again.

Okay! Approaching is fine, but let's think of a way to make trouble! I want to be the one teasing him this time!

I sat on a nearby roof and pondered.

How do you make fun of him? How should I tease him? Something Karmeut can't accept and I can…

—ah! It’s that!!

I was so excited and I burst out in exclamations without realizing it.

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..uh hee hee hee hee. I'm going to make fun of you!

 

*Karmeut’s POV

Taking a short break to change his mood, Karmeut let out a long sigh as he suppressed his desire to go see Rainelle.

If I meet Rainelle and held her in my arms, the hardships seemed to disappear like snow, but the time was too short for that.
Being able to go for a walk like this right now is because I barely have time to do it…

Since it was the beginning of his ascendance, there were not only a few things that he needed to be concerned about. It was a pity that it was impossible to entrust them to someone else.

I know that I need to get things done quickly for things to be stable, but that reduced the time I have to meet with Rainelle so much that I feel is another problem.

As he sighed again, Karmeut's face showed exhaustion.
Covering his face with one hand and wiping it down, the Emperor then inhaled the fresh air, wandering aimlessly through the garden.

Suddenly, something fell on his head, and Karmeut reflexively lifted his hand.

“…Flower?”

It was a common wildflower.
Because the flower itself was small, the flower had more leaves.

“Caaw-“

A smile appeared on his lips as he heard a familiar cry.
When he raised his head, there was a flying crow with glossy black feathers.
Seeing her thin feet clutching flowers, the Emperor burst into a smile.

“Hey…
Rainelle, come here.”

Saying so, Karmeut stretched out his hand, expecting the black bird he loves to sit on his arm.

The crow lowered her height and approached him as if it was going to sit on Karmeut's arm.
However, instead of sitting on his arm as usual, she lightly tapped the back of his hand with her beak and then flew up again.

Karmeut blinked at Rainelle's sudden behavior.
Did she find his appearance funny? The crow flew over his head, croaking joyfully.

Then she mischievously ruffled his hair with her beak, and hurriedly flew away again when Karmeut reached out with his hand.
She flew so high that Karmeut can't reach her no matter how much he tried.

Karmeut's eyes narrowed at the action of the crow who was hovering on top of his head while making a squeaky, playful cry.

“Rainelle?”

Rainelle approached with a cry and flew up immediately as Karmeut stretched out his hand.

Seeing playfulness engraved on her purple eyes, Karmeut smiled helplessly.

Of course, he was happy to see Rainelle so unexpectedly, but …

I wanted to hold her in my arms and stroke her silky feathers, not just to see her.
I wish I could hug Rainelle in her human form from behind and put my head on the nape of her neck to relax…

Judging by what Rainelle is doing, it seems like she's joking around (?) in retaliation for the last time I kissed her.

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Of course, it was not like he didn’t understand Reinelle's position, but Karmeut never thought that he was wrong.
If he wasn’t like that, he wouldn't have thought of getting Rainelle to get used to it.

“Rainelle.”

Karmeut called Rainelle once more.
Then the crow flew at him, apparently having fun.

“…Caw?!”

—What Rainelle didn't think of was that Karmeut was a high-level swordsman and was also proficient in self-defense.
The crow, caught by Karmeut in an instant, was startled and struggled with her eyes wide open.

“Kakk! Kaakk! Kkaak?!

“Don't be so surprised.
You’re joking around in the first place, so it’s natural that you ended up getting caught like this.”

When he said so, the crow raised the feathers on her neck and cried out, as if shouting, “Whose fault do you think it is?!”.
That made the man laughed.

“—Hahaha…”

Then he buried his face in the crow's belly.
He could feel the smooth feathers and the belly that went up and down under his face.
And he could faintly hear the fast pounding that was a characteristic of birds.

Due to his sudden action, Rainelle who had opened her beak, froze.
She sat quietly without lifting a single toe, and Karmeut muttered as he slowly rubbed his face against her feathers, as if pleased with the crow's behavior.

“—I'm a little tired…
I'm glad you came.”

“…Caaw?”

The Emperor smiled as he felt that the crow tilted her head as she cawed.

“I have a lot of work— It's probably because it’s the beginning of my ascendance.
So I couldn't even go see you…”

Karmeut continued to mumble.
Then he looked up and gazed at Rainelle with eager eyes.
He said,

“Rainelle, can you change into human form? —I won't do anything you wouldn't like.”

Karmeut released the crow while saying so.
Then she spread her wings and hovered in the air.
Rainelle, who had changed her form, looked at his face and asked with eyes that were laced with concern,

“…are you having a hard time?”

Karmeut nodded his head with a tired smile.

“Yeah, a little bit.”

“Can't you work a little less?”

“It's something I have to do…
I think it'd be better to finish it quickly and find some time to relax.”

After saying that, Karmeut let out a sigh and opened his mouth again,

“Rainelle.
—I'm won’t do anything else, so can I hug you?”

As he said so, his golden eyes that were looking at Rainelle were like that of a puppy dog.
At the gaze that seemed to be begging earnestly, Rainelle licked her lips.