CH 129

*Rainelle’s POV

When I went back to the room, I saw him, so I quickly turned into a human. Then Karmeut went over quickly and said,

"Where have you been? I heard from the maids that you suddenly go out somewhere."

"Sorry, I went out to see the crows… By the way, what happened?"

I could guess what was going on, but I purposely pretended not to know and asked this question. Karmeut answered with furrowed eyebrows,

"I got information that we lost contact with the Milburn Territory. It's extremely unusual. That's why the report came up to the imperial court. Just in case."

I get nervous at the answer. Karmeut narrowed his eyes when he saw it.

"What's wrong, Rainelle?"

"--- Uh, no. No. I'm just a little worried. I heard Namuel went there, too. It's weird that you didn’t get any contact."

"---Certainly. That's why we thought it was weird and dispatched people. We need to know the situation so we can deal with it."

It was a legitimate argument. It was also the best choice one could make in this situation.

---But it also made me, who knew everything, uncomfortable.

"…Hey, Karmeut, I need a favor."

"Hmm? What is it?"

“Crows are flying into the Palace. I requested something from those little ones, who even struggled to get through the winter… So I want to share food with them..."

Karmeut smiled quietly when he heard it. Then he answered, hugging me tightly,

"I will order the people to feed the crows and not to chase them away."

"Yes, thank you. Hmm, but what Karmeut did for me does seem to cost something from me too."

Karmeut laughed joyfully at the words. I smiled at his behavior of rubbing our nose tips together, but I couldn't really smile happily.

Namuel is coming. The madness of entwined magic and instinct is coming. Originally, crows coexist with wolves1, but if it’s like this, even the crows will run away in fear.

Can I stop him and handle the situation without letting Karmeut die?

My mind became complicated with this and that. I buried my head in Karmeut’s chest to soothe my anxiety.

I felt a hand caressing my head. Karmeut, who sighed briefly as if he was disappointed, slowly drooped his body and said,

"Sorry, Rainelle, I still have some work to do. I'll be right back. Got it?"

"---Yes, I'll be waiting."

He buried his face in the back of my neck, grumbling that he hoped it would settle down soon. I whispered, hugging his back as he slowly puffed up his cheeks as if acting like a child.

"Don’t you need to get going?"

"I have to make it last longer this time. I think I'm going to get symptoms of deficiency if I don’t."

Grumbling and muttering so, Karmeut hugged me tightly. Then he smiled and said playfully,

"Should we get married now? I’ve got a lot of work to do anyway, so it's better to be busy after making it official."

I paused at the words. ---It was what I wanted the most. However, facing this situation where he could die, it occurred to me that such a thought was a luxury.

If we get married, I hope that it’s done in a safe situation, after Namuel's problem is resolved. Then I will be able to laugh while enjoying happiness completely, without any worries.

"I'm sure the nobles will say something like: it's better for you to finish your study first."

"But they’re just nobles. Since when did they decide on the emperor's companion? Now they're talking so loudly."

Grumbling in a discontented voice, he hugged my waist.

"I’m a new emperor, sitting on the throne for less than a year since the last emperor died, so I actually want to seize the momentum and get the favors of the nobles."

"Then you shouldn't do anything more reprehensible."

"...That's true. But I don't like how they dare denigrate you, Rainelle. And I don't like this situation where they're even looking down on you."

Amused with his child-like whining behavior, I grinned and said,

“That's why I have to study hard. So that the nobles never say anything again."

Karmeut laughed at my words.

"That's right, it's best to make sure they don't speak at all, because nobles are very greedy. They try to fill their stomachs somehow if they saw even a little chance."

"That's what all meat-eating animals do."

Karmeut chuckled.

"Is that why you're trying to study?"

"I can't leave the scruff of my neck unprotected."

"---Really, Rainelle, you..."

The light kiss which I received was very affectionate.

"Since you're trying so hard, I can't just sit back. ---Six months. I want this to be over in six months. I won’t be able to stand it anymore if it exceeds that."

I smiled a little as I felt his arm flex.

"Then you'll have to go to work quickly"

"---Haa, a little more. Just hugging like this makes me feel healed. -I want to hold you in my arms all day long if it's not for your lessons."

"As a crow or a human?"

"I like both, but... Personally, as a human?”

With a small giggle, I kissed his forehead, nose, cheeks, and lips.

He sadly pulled away.

"-If we stay like this, I won't want to go, so… I'll go now."

"Okay, Karmeut. Cheer up, I'll be waiting for you."

"I'll be back after finishing work quickly since you’re waiting."

Before I saw him going out, he gave me a last kiss on the cheek. When the door was completely closed, I sighed.

Nothing has been solved, but is it okay to stay like this when things have happened and we have to move urgently? Wouldn't it be best if I turned into a black bird and flew away?

I thought about this and that, but there was no solution. That's why I unconsciously gripped my necklace tightly.

"Oh, my."

"...Eileen-nim."

"Get ready. It's coming."

My hair stood on end at the word that it was coming. Feeling a creepy chill, I lowered my upper body slightly.

"His descendant, but a child encroached upon by demons, is coming. To keep his mate and eliminate his foe."

It's Namuel.

Eileen's words referring to Namuel made my hands so tense that my mind became blank.

"How do I do this? If it's a wolf engulfed by demonic energy---!!"

"Aiya, you are the first crow to reach me. The Queen of crows and the Queen of feathered flying beasts."

Eileen-nim repeated again what she had said before.

"I will tell you the meaning of it and how to wield your power. I was waiting for you to realize step by step, but..."

The divine being sighed briefly.

"My child wants to protect her mate, so how can I turn a blind eye to it as a parent? So listen carefully, and try practicing."

I focused all my attention on Eileen-nim's voice. I wanted to hold onto anything helpful even if it was just a straw.

***

*3rd person POV

"Shh…"

The leader of the group who went to investigate the Milburn Territory by order of His Majesty the Emperor raised one hand and signaled to be silent. As trained people do, each of them took cover while remaining silent in an instant, and the leader turned his sights forward.

A terrible fishy smell passed through the tip of his trained nose. It was so thick that the bloody smell, which seemed to be piled up in layers, along with the stinky smell peculiar to the beast was paralyzing his sense of smell.

The smell was so terrible that one would complain verbally right away, but the leader did not.

The sight under the dim moonlight was hardly a situation that allowed him to concentrate on anything else.

It was a giant four-legged beast. The fur of the beast, which seemed to be black or gray, was shrouded by something like a black fog.

With eyes gleaming in the moonlight, the beast was salivating and chewing on something.

*Crunch, snap*

The sound of sharp teeth scraping metal was followed by the sound of something being crushed and chewed.

The leader was able to realize that it was the sound of chewing up a human corpse in armor.

"..."

This was the road to Milburn Territory. In the direction where the beast came from, there was only Milburn Territory. In other words, that corpse must have been one who met its end in that place.

'To drag the corpse all the way here and then eat it. That's strange.'

In the first place, the beast’s identity was also bizarre. There were many strange things with the monster in many ways.

‘It’s like a big wolf...’

"---!!"

For a moment, the leader made eye contact with the beast, so he instantly held his breath and lowered his stance, disappearing into the bushes.

"Krawrrr!!"

But was it too late? The beast let out a grotesque roar and lunged toward the direction where they were hiding.

"Everyone spread out! And get in touch with- ghh---!!"

It was a second. The leader's judgment was sound, and he was exerting himself to get out of his position.

...but the beast's teeth were even faster and more agile than that. Grabbing the leader by the neck, the beast shook its head from side to side and slammed the leader to the floor. Following the leader's body literally breaking down with a sharp, destructive noise, the movement of the other investigators sped up.

Some pounced on the beast, and some escaped. Sacrificing their lives to attack the beast, they tried to buy time to contact the Imperial Family

However, it seems that all such attempts were unfruitful. The beast ignored the attackers, turned its back, and caught and killed the ones who fled.

"Cough!!"

"Ahhh!!"

As if it had intelligence, the beast killed the investigators who ran away first then turned its attention to the investigators who rushed at it. Saliva mixed with blood flowed down the muzzle of the beast as it watched the investigators move and clench their teeth.

Spitting out deep breaths mixed with the thick smell of blood, the beast kicked off its hind feet and lunged at the investigators.

There was a fireball that hit the animal's head straight with a crackling sound, but it did not singe a single fur. Astonishment erupted at the behavior of the beast that kept rushing in.

"What crazy---!!"

The investigator who cast the magic was bitten off in the head the next moment. Together with a sound like chewing cartilage, the headless body spewed blood and convulsed before collapsing into the ground.

The rest of the investigators died before the beast even let out three breaths.

As if grabbing and twisting the neck of a newborn baby, the beast killed all the investigators present in an instant. It drolled and sniffed.

What the beast's sensitive nose sensed were two smells.

One was the smell of his kin, a competitor, and the other was the smell of his precious and lovely female.

He cared little for the creatures he chewed and tasted. No, to be precise, To be precise, a certain aura that circulated through the blood was whispering in the beast's head:

[‘Kill, kill, kill to see blood, break heads, rip limb from limb! Kill them all!’]

With a painful whining sound, the beast roared again and rammed his head into nearby trees several times.

‘I can’t do this. At this rate, I’m hurting precious things, too.’

A faint floating reason whispered through his blood.

"Krawr, grrr! Krhh---!!"

Black smoke billowed from the beast's body, as he was banging his head and biting his forepaws, then he fell to the ground screaming and struggling.

"Krrrr..."

The green eyes, red and bloodshot, had already lost their focus. As if under mental control, the beast staggered from his seat and stumbled toward a corpse.

*Crunch, crunch-*

Above the head of the beast chewing the dead flesh, the moon hidden between the clouds appeared.

The figure of the beast reflected in the moonlight was that of a huge gray wolf enveloped in black smoke.

“Krr, krawr!

As soon as the moonlight appeared, the huge gray wolf jerked his head wildly, then he stretched his neck out into the air and howled. Thicker smoke leaked out of the body of the wolf, who had been howling not with a wolf's cry, but with a monster's voice.

Engulfed by the black smoke that seemed to block both the moonlight and snow, the beast hung his head on the floor and crouched down for a long time. The wolf, who had stayed like that as if enduring pain, soon kicked off the ground and started running.

Towards the capital of the Wolfric Empire.

***

Translator(s) note: Feeling really sorry for the victims :(

Notes:

1  Wherever wolves hunt, crows are present, scavenging prey, and sometimes leading upwind wolves to potential prey, or to carcasses too frozen or tough for even the crows' heavy, pick-like beaks to penetrate.↩