Chapter 128

*Namuel’s POV

Namuel sighed as he looked at the snow that was slowly falling and turning the world white. Even though it was indoors, it was cold enough to see your breath.

‘Well, since it was built for a purely practical purpose, convenience is not to be expected.’

Putting some more firewood into the fireplace, he lightly used magic. Then, feeling the heated air fill the room, he leaned back on the sofa.

This place was quiet and there were few changes, so it was a perfect place for research. In addition, it was a production site for crystal flowers, a high-quality medium of magic and alchemy, so there was no better place to study Crobanlock.

As Viscount Milburn said, monsters rarely attacked in winter, so it’s as if time has stopped.

But… despite being in the best place to do research, Namuel could not concentrate on his research at all.

Looking at the shiny crystalline surface, there was a face that came to his mind. That face bothered him so much that he couldn’t concentrate at all.

[“…I like you, so I want to give it to you.”]

Flushed cheeks. Shy voice. Bright eyes.

He thought it would be fine if he moved away to do research, but it was the opposite. The more he thought that she was far away from here, the more her face came to his mind.

[“…As expected, did I put a burden on you?”]

One day when they met after that, she said that. Lady Adriana looked at him with an uneasy, shaky gaze.

Why couldn’t I say that she wasn’t a burden back then?

I was flustered and disappointed, but I realized before long that she’s different from other women.

If I had known that I would regret having not saying that after I left, I should have met her one last time before going.

With the Crobanlock in his hand sparkling in the light of the stove, Namuel was lost in his thoughts.

“…miss you.”

Surprised by the words that spilled out of his lips involuntarily, Namuel’s shoulders stiffened. However, as if those words had lit a fuse, his emotions came flooding back.

I miss you. And I want to say I’m sorry. I want to apologize for being so selfishly disappointed because I once thought you were like other women.

Why? Why did I realize that you are different only after I left?

How surprised I was to see her smile when I met her again, not being discouraged by my behavior of avoidance as if I was running away.

It was amazing that even though she said she liked me, her desire for knowledge did not change.

I found out too late that she is sincere, and it makes me even more uncomfortable.

Both her liking for me and for knowledge are sincere. Lady Adriana, when she dealt with me, she was sincere.

It was me who doubted her sincerity and distanced myself from her. It was me who was disappointed, thoughtlessly thinking she’s like the other noble ladies.

Feeling a sudden sense of disgust for himself, Namuel groaned briefly. Then he thought to himself.

Yes, let’s admit it.

Lady Adriana is the first to care so much about me. I truly regret not having met her before I fled to this place. And…

I, really miss her…

Feeling the feeling of longing faintly entangle him, Namuel bit his lower lip. In his field of vision, the Crobanlock was shining.

“…so much for the research.”

There are more important things than the research. Until now, I have been cowardly ignoring it and avoiding it… but I couldn’t run away anymore. It was really bad of me to treat the girl who likes me with all her heart like that.

She said “I hope it helps you…”

It is a valuable item that was presented with such feelings. Repaying that with research might not be right. It’s more unimaginable to sell it to someone else for money.

More than anything… I don’t want to handle the thing that contains Adriana’s feelings in that way.

Namuel laughed softly.

…Then, there is only one way.

This is the only way to repay her feelings and not run away.

He brought the Crobanlock to his lips without hesitation. Then he opened his mouth and bit the Crobanlock.

*Rainelle’s POV

“Aria!”

It was a waste of time to transform into a human form, so as soon as Aria opened the window, I screamed. Aria’s face hardened, as if she sensed that something unusual had happened.

“What’s going on, Rainelle? —!! Don’t tell me…”

“You’re right. …I think Namuel ate the Crobanlock. The crows told me that suddenly, with a loud howling noise, flames went up, and there are corpses. …With how things are looking, there is only that.”

At those words, Aria’s complexion turned pale. Then she asked in a trembling voice,

“Uh, what so I do…? Namuel has awakened, so…”

“You have to stop him.”

At that, Aria went quiet. She didn’t deny it, but it was her face that seemed unsure of whether she would be able to stop him or not.

I’m so angry at that look!!

I screamed.

Looking at Aria, who looked at me startled, I spoke again.

“Just worrying won’t change what happened. Are you going to stay put when an animal escapes from its cage? You’re supposed to catch it!”

“But Namuel’s awakening…”

“It already happened! Aria, what about Sedarun?”

At the mention of Sedarun, Aria seemed to jump to her senses. Regaining her composure, Aria replied,

“he’ll come when I call. I’ve already signed the contract.”

“Huh? Is he here?”

“He’s not here, but I have the means to call him.”

Having said that, Aria clasped both of her hands. Then, as if she really didn’t want to say this, she said while frowning,

“…I hope it won’t come to be a situation where Sedarun should step in.”

“That goes for me too. But I think the odds of getting him involved are high.”

Seeing Aria’s pale complexion again, I sighed.

Of course, it’s not that I don’t understand…

“Aria.”

“…Ye, yes?”

“Calm down. I’m the one who wants to cry right now. It’s obvious where the awakened Namuel will go.”

“Ah…”

Aria let out a short exclamation before clamping her mouth.

“…Sorry. I was just worried.”

“I understand. If it were me, I would be the same. But haven’t you forgotten something?”

“…Yes?”

“There is me. I am the queen of crows. I will do my best to manage the situation somehow, so you better regain your composure.”

Aria looked at me quietly. Then, out of the blue, she asked a question,

“How come Rainelle is like that?”

“What?”

“How can you be so calm when something you were worried about happened? Normally—“

Aria suddenly shut her mouth, but I can more or less guess the rest of her words.

‘Normally, you would have made a commotion.’

I answered that with a shrug,

“Before I possessed a crow, my job was a zookeeper.”

Aris blinked her eyes as if she didn’t understand what I just said.

Well, suddenly talking about my previous job, she might be thinking, ‘what does this mean?’.

“I felt this while dealing with animals, but animals never gives warning before causing accidents.”

“Uh…”

“And there are a lot of times when we get into big accidents out of nowhere. I don’t know when an incident will breaks out, but after it has already happened, I have to deal with it since I do that as a job.

It’s just that the scale of this is so big, isn’t it? Looking at the fortunate in the misfortune, didn’t we expect it to happen to some extent?

“That may be why I’m calm. So Aria, let’s do something about Namuel’s problem. Otherwise, Karmeut might die.”

Seriously, I want to prevent that. And also, I’m worried about the crows.

I was so surprised that the crows even flew all the way here. Their feathers were so messed and their voices were so hoarse that I felt sorry for them.

It wasn’t for a grandiose reason like I’m suddenly conscious of my position as their queen or that I felt a sense of responsibility.

It’s just, as if I saw an injured animal asking for help, so I couldn’t turn my back. Yes, it feels like that. Besides, it’s true that I felt a deeper connection since they are crows like me.

Aria seemed to be back to her normal self. After taking a deep breath, she looked at me and said,

“Rainelle is right. The incident has already happened, so the only thing to do is to take care of it. I’ll call Sedarun. What about Rainelle?”

“I’ll do what I can, with the crows, and also asking Miel’s assistance.”

To be honest, I don’t really want to ask Miel. The way he looked at me is kind of burdensome. But now is the time when I want to borrow even a cat’s hand. Moreover, since he is a nobleman who was given a title by Karmeut, he has an obligation to protect Karmeut.

Galenos, of course, is going to protect Karmeut. Then, what’s left is the crows… How should I move them to be efficient?

After thinking for a bit, I then spread my wings and flew up.

“Then I’ll go. Aria, pull yourself together.”

“Okay. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

After shaking the tip of my wing lightly to mean that it was okay, I flew away.

From now on, time is life.

*Aria’s POV

Adriana took a deep breath. She inhaled and exhaled again and again, calming her raging heart, and took something from her table drawer.

“Queen’s Dagger, can you hear me?”

“…You finally called. Just when I doubted if signing the contract has any meaning.”

Contrary to the sarcastic remarks, the voice that came out of the crystal ball was very dry and low. At the inorganic voice, Adriana went silent for a moment to avoid showing nervousness.

Assassin Sedarun. He’s a difficult character to deal with, befitting the position of a hidden character.

“It happened. It’s your turn to step up.”

“-I get it. What do you want?”

Adriana narrowed her eyes at his attempt to double-check, but she answered without hesitation.

“Stop Marquis Namuel. Risk your life if necessary. There’ll be help too.”

“Helper. I haven’t heard that before. Who is it?”

“Her Majesty the next Empress.”

The man behind the crystal ball became silent for a while. The words that came out of her mouth were so unexpected that he seemed perplexed.

“…Funny. You want me to get help from the black bird that leads the crows?”

He said that while laughing,

It wasn’t that his behavior is not understandable. If you think about it, Adriana’s words were no different from scratching his pride.

But Adriana was serious.

“I mean it. She also has a reason to stop Marquis Namuel. Besides, it wouldn’t be bad for you to have a good relationship with the next empress, would it?”

“-That’s another matter. I wish she won’t be a burden.”

“Let’s go and see then. If she has the same goal as you, it means that the Imperial Family cooperates with you. Do you understand?”

The assassin was silent for a moment. After some silence, he answered in a slightly lower voice,

“—Good. Not bad. So, what’s the current status of Marquis Namuel that you ask me to intervene? I know he left for the Milburn Territory to do research.”

“An accident broke out at the Milburn Territory. This is a guess, but… he might be running out of control.”

“A rampaging mage. That’s boring.”

He wasn’t wrong. A rampaging mage was basically like an exploding bomb. The surroundings will be devastated by the out-of-control magic, but life and the magic will be exhausted in an instant. Magical power was never something that even mages could take lightly.

“It’s different since it involved a Crobanlock.”

But anyway, that was still normal.

Namuel is a man with royal blood. In addition, since he ate Crobanlock and ran amok, it’s clear that the blood of wolves and demons is running amok inside him.

“…a really outrageous deal.”

Sedarun seemed to be taken aback by the information. Adriana then responded to his words,

“If someone pays a lot of money for seemingly insignificant things, doesn’t that mean there’s a good reason?”

“…well, it can’t be helped. I’m fascinated and curious about the noble young lady who is not discouraged and confident in her words, so I’m paying for it.”

After replying like that, Sedarun continued,

“-Then let’s fulfill the contract.”

After those words, the light faded from the crystal ball which emitted light. Looking at it, Adriana muttered as she clenched her crystal ball tightly,

“…Please, I hope that all of this end without the death of any characters and Rainelle will be fine too.”

*Rainelle’s POV

“Karmeut!”