Chapter 96

*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 How a bird does it ↩

2 Her previous world, a modern one ↩

2 Like, she got no buff of it. ↩