CH 79

*Miel’s POV

"...that's what happened?"

"Yes. You told me to let you know if there’s anything wrong."

Miel furrowed his brows at the words of the spirit who nodded its head in a dignified manner.

"Rainelle-nim..."

Miel bit his lower lip in nervousness when he heard the news that Rainelle looked anxious and dazed, especially both at the tea party and when receiving a letter.

I want to get rid of the reason that makes her anxious. I could not let her be in danger.

After agonizing about it for a while, Miel turned to the spirit,

"Thanks for letting me know. ---Will you go protect Rainelle-nim now? If she's anxious..."

“I understand what you are trying to say.”

The spirit nodded its head slightly and then disappeared. After letting out a brief sigh of relief, Miel headed to his desk.

"If she has decided to meet the Gwynell’s young lady..."

I intend to be there too no matter what. So, I’m going to prepare for unwanted situations.

Of course, this could have been presumptuous. The Imperial Palace is where the ruler of the Empire resides, so there should be powerful individuals.

But in such a place, trying to protect the one who would become the Emperor's partner could be disrespectful to the Guard Knights.

However, I feel uneasy if I didn't do this. I know that the wind high-level spirit is protecting her, but still...

"---Anyway, I can only do it if Rainelle-nim allows it."

Miel's shoulders drooped when he thought of Rainell, who had avoided him as if she was burdened.

However, he did not intend to give up helping her just because of that. Therefore, he decided to write a letter while getting ready to be rejected.

Please, I hope she doesn’t refuse.

***

*Rainelle’s POV

---Why is Miel doing this again?

After receiving his letter, I felt dizzy and wanted to cry. He wrote it euphemistically and politely, but the conclusion was the same. That he wanted to accompany me when I meet the original heroine.

---why?! I didn’t think that the heroine had attached a flag to Miel at the banquet?!

Is it because I'm here? I mean, just being around Karmeut means I'm distorting the original storyline---!!

...Ahhhh! I want to run away when things I can't handle come all at once like this!

My eyes were stinging. I barely suppressed the tears that were about to burst out.

...but when I think about it again, maybe it isn't such a bad thing?! The original story is twisted, so what if the heroine really had put a flag on Miel and is requesting a meeting regarding that?

...then I would rather welcome it. Because the flag that can be put on Karmeut will be evaded! This is where I had to step up and mediate, right?!

I covered my mouth with my hands as I felt the corners of my lips slowly rising without my intention.

For now, let’s focus on the good things! Reply, write a reply!

The sound of the quill scratching the paper could not have been more cheerful. Feeling that things were going to work out, I swallowed a burst of laughter that was about to come out and shouted inwardly with cheers instead!

Yay! Good timing, Miel!!

***

I want to beat the me from a few days ago who thought like that...

In order to meet the heroine, I had prepared myself in place with maids and Miel. We were waiting in the pavilion.

"Thank you for letting me join, Rainelle-nim."

"It's nothing, Marquis Albion."

But Miel didn't think that it was nothing, His eyes curved and he smiled bashfully. He was so cute that he dazzled my eyes.

Beautiful! The smile of a handsome man is never wrong!

I felt my heart become warm from such a pretty smile, but I felt heavy for some reason. I just felt burdened because it seemed like I was being pushed continuously by the twisting story, and I kept thinking that something was wrong.

From now on, I should be kind to Miel. He doesn't have any bad intentions, and it seems like he did want to please me. But I would be upset too if he did too much.

With that in mind, I was waiting with Miel over tea. Then a maid came over and said,

"Rainelle-nim. Count Gwynell's daughter has arrived."

"...can you guide her here?"

"Understood, Rainelle-nim."

She, she’s finally here.

*gulp*

I swallowed my saliva and tightened the hold on my teacup. I felt pink eyes facing my way, but I had no time to say anything to Miel.

"It is an honor to meet you like this, Rainelle-nim. My name is Adriana."

As the lady bowed her head courteously, her golden hair, which was thick and as shiny as honey, flowed down. I was naturally intimidated by the face of the original heroine, which can be seen clearly when she raised her head. She smiled slightly.

Seriously, even looking at it as a fellow woman, that face is a cheat!

Her face was beautiful enough to make me think like that.

At the tea party, I couldn't see her face in detail because she was far away, but seeing it up close like this was no joke. The raised corners of her eyes gave a cat-like image, but that sharpness was greatly purified by the gentle smile on the corners of her mouth, giving her a soft and gentle feeling.

Her skin was clear white, she had a high nose bridge, her lips were red, and her deep blue eyes were shining like jewels. All I can think of was that her appearance was a real beauty cliché, but there was no other way to express it!

So pretty! Is this what the main character buff is? This is a scam! God is not fair!!

"Nice to meet you, Miss Adriana. This is the Marquis of Albion I mentioned before."

"It is an honor to meet you, Marquis Albion Miel. I’m Count Gwynell’s daughter."

A smile came to the woman's lips when Miel returned her greeting and kissed the back of her hand lightly.

Wow, she's so pretty when she smiles softly like that!

"I apologize for my sudden participation."

"No, Marquis Albion. It's rather an honor to meet Marquis who is known as an Elementalist."

After exchanging words lightly, the original heroine, I, and Miel sat down together.

It was quiet except for the sound of tea pouring into the teacups, the rustling of leaves in the garden because of the breeze, and the faint sound of birds chirping in the distance.

...I honestly don't know what to say. No, it was the heroine who wanted to meet in the first place! Besides, I don't know what kind of disadvantage I'll face if I make a mess with my mouth!

Isn't it weird that there's a crow like this when they usually just stay as an extra 1 or appear in the background 1?! Do you know what they say? Silence is gold! So I'll be silent!

"I've been looking forward to seeing Rainelle-nim since the first time I saw you at a tea party. I've wanted to have some personal time since then."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, because you are very beautiful even from afar."

...and I'm more anxious because of that. The conclusion is that she noticed me because I stood out!

"Miss Adriana is very beautiful, too. I also wanted to talk to Miss Adriana personally at the tea party."

"Really? It's an honor."

"I heard that there was an unfortunate accident recently... Are you okay?"

"Yes. I am very sorry that I have caused concern to my parents. I will be careful to prevent this from happening again in the future."

Of course you will. You've already possessed her! I don't know what happened to the original Adriana's soul, but the one here must be another person! Who the hell is in there?! Is it someone I know back when I was a zookeeper? Or is it just a stranger?

I smiled while suppressing my nervous heart.

Arghh---! I want to run away! I feel pressured! That smile is like saying “I know everything-“! Have mercy! I didn't want it to go this far! I have to eat to live!

You don’t know the feeling of suddenly living a spartan life in the wild! I possessed a crow!! Should I swallow squirming bugs, pick up grains and eat them, steal and eat bird eggs? Should I do that when I was human just seconds before? I can't live a wild life when a variety of creatures might catch me and eat me! No matter how I was a zookeeper before, I was a human who had been immersed in the brilliance of civilization!

The best option is to grab someone’s eyes, making them say “so pretty~”, “so adorable~”, or “so smart!”. There is nothing better than receiving food comfortably and living safely!

I acted with the goal to become a beloved pet, but somehow I got involved with the target characters! Of course, that was a complete coincidence---!!

I poured out excuses inwardly, but not a single word came out of my mouth. It made me feel a burning sensation, so I sip the tea.

I could feel the warm tea running down my throat, but I felt like I wanted to sip on cold water with ice.

"Excuse me, Rainelle-nim. May I ask you a question?"

"Of course. What is it, Miss Adriana?"

"I heard that Rainelle-nim is a crow. By any chance, does that mean Rainelle-nim is a crow hybrid?"

I swallowed my saliva at Adriana's actions of asking a question with her eyes gleaming.

...I was tempted to lie about being a crow hybrid, but I gave up.

Everyone knows I'm a crow. What would she think if I told her a lie? Ugh, it didn't seem like a good idea.

"No, I’m not a crow hybrid, I’m just a crow."

"Really?"

After saying just that, she didn’t say anything more. Then came a strange silence.

It was disturbing, but I didn't dare to open my mouth first.

Did Miel read this awkward atmosphere? He said,

"Is it strange that Rainelle-nim is a crow?"

"---Oh! No, no. I've only heard that Rainell-nim is a crow, but I’ve never seen her as a crow..."

"Are you suspicious?"

"I’m just curious. None of the noble ladies have ever seen Rainelle-nim as a crow."

Is that right?

I thought about it carefully. Even when I was educated by Madame Fangxia, I only met her in human form, not in crow form. Others were even more so.

The only people who know what my crow form looks like are the people who work in the Imperial Palace, Karmeut, Galenos, and…

the nobles who attended the coronation ceremony, along with Namuel, Miel, and Myrdin---?

None of the people who attended the coronation ceremony were wearing dresses, so there wouldn’t be any women. Except for Madame Fangxia, the only place I saw noble women was in the banquet hall…?

...but that doesn’t mean I can easily show my crow form to the heroine! Be careful! I have to be careful!

By the way, Miel was strangely nervous. It can't be like this. First of all, it was good in many ways to build a good image...

"That’s possible. You might have never seen me as a crow, but you don't have to. Me being a crow is a fact."

"I see. I'm sorry that I made a mistake because I couldn't overcome my curiosity."

"It’s fine. You can ask since this is a personal occasion."

As I settled the situation like that with a smile, Miel kept quiet.

Adriana bowed her head to say “Thank you”, then started drinking her tea.

Phew... Um, did I fix it with this---?

I looked at Adriana, the original heroine. I was relieved that things had settled down. I didn't have a clue if she should be called the original heroine, or if she should have been called Adriana.

She is possessed, but now she's Adriana, right? I'm also called Rainelle...

Adriana smiled after emptying her teacup. She then opened her mouth,

"Rainelle-nim, do you know? The most common story among noble girls is about someone's love affair."

"Oh, is that so?"

Well, there's nothing more fun than someone else's love story.

As I thought so, my eyes lit up.

There must be a reason for bringing up such a talk, right? Whose love story is she going to bring up?!

"In that sense, Rainelle-nim is the envy of everyone."

"...Me? You mean?"

"Yes, why not? You are the partner of His Majesty the Emperor, the ruler of the Empire, right?"

With those words, heat rushed to my face.

"Well, of course, His Majesty the Emperor had said that I’m the next empress, but..."

"And Lord Windster, who stands by the Emperor's side, is a very wonderful man. He is the commander of the Knights Templar, and there is no girl who he promised a future with."

"Sir Windster said he didn't fall for anyone yet."

"Isn't that even better? Since he’s a noble knight, it makes my heart pound just to imagine how romantic he will turn into when he falls in love."

"...Certainly, I think so."

"The level is also high for Marquis Namuel. He is a wizard who is talented enough to be called a genius, and he is the eldest son of the Duke of Sharmalt, right? "

When Adriana had spoken up to that point, her gaze reached Miel.

"That’s also true for Marquis Albion, who signed contracts with all four major elements spirits. You’re such a cool person, aren’t you?"

"...I'm honored that you think so."

"Fufu... It's not my opinion, it's the opinion of the noble girls. These men are all capable people who will be responsible for the future of the Empire."

Yes, they are. Namuel, Galenos, and Miel are all handsome, talented, and have attention-grabbing status -although Miel is still new in his position- so it would be weird if people don't turn their eyes at them.

As I thought like that, I tilted my teacup. But that was not the end of Adriana’s words.

"-You, who are you?"

Surprised by the sudden change in her voice, I looked at Adriana.

Before I knew it, the smile on her face was gone and her eyes were flashing.