CH 134

*3rd person POV

Adriana flinched at the voice.

“---What should I do?”

"Human child, put your hand on the gray wolf's head."

Under Eileen's directions, Adriana cautiously approached the black bird and the gray wolf.

The black bird swished her wings for a moment which caused Adriana to pause, but she then continued to head to the wolf's side.

The wolf’s reddened eyes barely looked at her. There was no hostility in the wolf's gaze as his snout twitched weakly.

On the contrary, as if he wanted to get a little closer, he faintly whimpered and let out a snort.

“My child, if you use your power, you can pull out the energy that swallowed the gray wolf and then destroy it.”

Rainelle blinked slowly as she watched Adriana's hand caress the wolf's forehead.

"You’re a bird that soars toward the sun. To you, who are closest to the light, demons are nothing more than ashes that will be scattered with a single flap of your wings."

The golden pattern of the black bird who listened to Eileen's words gradually began to glow.

*Tup,*

The black bird's beak bit the air above the gray wolf's head. At the same time, the gray wolf's body convulsed.

Adriana hugged the head of the gray wolf, who was struggling as if it was having difficulty breathing.

At that moment, the gray wolf stopped for a bit, as if the sweet body of his female made him forget his pain.

*Riip*

The black bird ripped something off. An object-like black mist hung between the black bird's beaks.

The gray wolf frothed and struggled. He was trembling so hard that Adriana's body shook as well, but she never relaxed her arms around the wolf.

Slowly, the color began to fade from the black fur. The color of his fur gradually changed from black to gray, and gray to silver gray, then the black bird completely let go of his feet.

The color in his red eyes gradually faded, revealing green. The black bird who saw that gently flapped her wings and pulled her body away after easing the pressure she put on his neck and legs.

The wolf's hazy green eyes turned to the black bird as he panted heavily.

The wolf, who barely lifted his head and looked around, then lowered his head to the floor as if he had no energy.

Adriana's body staggered from the gust of wind of the wings. The wolf was startled as she hugged his head.

The black bird, which did not let go of her sharp gaze despite the wolf's lack of hostility, snapped her beak,

"I think you'd better treat yourself first, Marquis Namuel."

The wolf's body trembled at those words.

"I will hold you accountable for what has happened until then. ...Of course, if His Majesty passes away, I will omit all procedures and kill you."

The wolf bowed his head, closer to his chest. Rainelle, who turned her head away as if she was annoyed by the attitude, turned into a human figure.

Rainelle ran to Karmeut, who was being treated. A light filled with divine power continued to pour over his charred fur. The faintly undulating stomach seemed to indirectly tell her that he was still alive.

At the sight, Rainelle bit her lip. His condition looked so perilous even though he was being treated.

Birds flocked around Rainelle. The birds wanted to ease her anxiety, but Rainelle’s field of vision was full of the scorched wolf.

"Caw caw. (My Queen.)"

Hearing the quite familiar cawing, Rainelle turned to look. It was a crow with grayish feathers.

"...Hempel-nim."

Rainelle stretched out her arm. The eyes of the old crow who lightly landed on her arm were shining with wisdom.

"Caw caw. Caw caaw. (My Queen. Your wolf mate will be fine.)"

At the soft, but powerful cry, saying that he will be okay, Rainelle went quiet.

With a flutter, huge black wings spread behind Rainelle's back. One light stir brought attention to her.

"How is His Majesty's condition?"

"---I am doing our best to treat him, but..."

"Make sure to save him. If you can't, I won't stay still."

The healer hurriedly nodded at her sharp, raised voice. Because he was among those who had witnessed the black bird fighting a while ago, it was enough to make him tremble.

"Where's the vice-commander?!"

At Rainelle’s command, the vice-commander hurriedly bowed before her. He too must have been wounded in the battle as his uniform was scorched and stained with blood.

“Vice-commander.”

“Give me your orders, Rainelle-nim.”

“All this has happened, and where are the proud nobles?”

At those words, the vice-captain hung his head in silence. ---He also ran around to fight as soon as it happened, but he didn't know much about them.

Seeing him like that, Rainelle fluttered her wings in a preternatural way. He lowered his head even more as the wind blew fiercely.

"...I’m asking the wrong question. You should go and get treatment."

"...Thank you for your generosity."

She raised her sharp eyes and looked around. She took a deep breath as if holding back her rising anger, then sat down at Karmeut's side.

"---Karmeut..."

Her trembling hand brushed his forehead. Tears welled up in Rainelle's eyes at the feel of the bristling fur at her fingertips.

"Karmeut, please."

She didn't say that she couldn't bear it if he were to die. Because she felt that if she said that, it meant that she had to admit that Karmeut was now at the crossroads of life and death.

Rainelle rubbed her eyes. However, despite her efforts, tears welled up and began to fall from her eyes.

"...uu..."

Rainelle's wings trembled as she shed tears in fear that Karmeut would die.

"---His Majesty will be fine."

Rainelle turned her head. Miel's complexion was still pale as he approached Rainelle while wiping blood from his mouth.

"He's a strong man. ---So don't be so sad, Rainelle-nim. His Majesty the Emperor will definitely wake up."

"---Marquis Albion."

Sniffling and trying to hold back tears, Rainelle wiped her eyes.

Her necklace sparkled and shone.

"Don't cry, my child. I'll help you."

"...Eileen-nim?"

Rainelle paused at the sweet voice, her blue necklace glowing softly.

"Because he is your partner, your mate, there are things that can be done. It's easier than extracting demon energy from the wolf earlier. But it's a costly method. Do you want me to tell you how?"

Rainelle hurriedly nodded her head at the soothing voice.

"Tell me, Eileen-nim. If I do it... Karmeut, he is going to be okay, right?"

"Of course. Just trust me. Even if your strength is not enough, I will add mine."

Rainelle shed tears again. It was because she realized that the gentle voice was sincere.

"Don't cry. I said it because I don't want you to cry."

"Ughu... yes..."

"That's right, calm down..."

Eileen's voice reached only Rainelle. That's why, in the eyes of others, she was talking, crying, and nodding her head on her own.

After nodding for some time, Rainelle changed into a crow. She was the same size and shape as a normal crow, but her black feathers had a golden pattern on them.

The crow approached the scorched golden wolf. Then she landed on the wolf's neck.

The crow, who had been positioned herself carefully, sat down on him.

...The golden pattern of the crow began to glow.

The healer, who was using divine power to heal Karmeut, held his breath. He stepped back and stopped using the divine power. It was because a much purer, stronger, and more powerful power than the divine power he was using began to flow from the crow.

The facial expressions of the healers, who were around to treat the wounded, changed strangely when they realized that it was unlike their divine power which was passed through a human’s body once. Their faces were a mix of admiration, a touch of jealousy, and awe.

Leaving that aside, the divine power emitted from the crow's body permeated the wolf's body very gently.

At the same time, a change occurred.

Light color returned to his blackened, brittle hair. No, to be precise, as the charred fur fell out, golden fur began to grow rapidly.

Not a single drop of blood came out because he sustained a burn injury, but his body had severe wounds which revealed the inner flesh. And all of that began to heal.

A change occurred every time the wolf breathed in and out. Vitality began to return to the wolf's body, who was barely breathing. As if erasing all the injuries, the scars disappeared and his charred fur began to return to a beautiful golden color.

The moment everyone thought he was back to his state before sustaining injuries, the wolf's appearance slowly changed.

Soon, the wolf's figure disappeared, and in its place, there was the Emperor with a crow with closed eyes on his chest.

Confirming his state, the crow pulled her body away from him.

"---Take care of His Majesty the Emperor."

Rainelle, who returned to human form, commanded in a tired voice, and the people hurriedly moved.

In their eyes, Rainelle was no longer a crow favored by the Emperor.

Fighting, getting angry for the Emperor, and healing him... She was truly worthy of a wolf’s companion. Among them who saw this with their own eyes, no human dared to disobey her orders.

Rainelle briefly cast her gaze at the silver-gray wolf and Adriana. But she soon began to follow the Emperor who was being carried in.

It was as if she didn't want to see them anymore today.

Adriana and Namuel bowed their heads at her actions.

When their Queen left, the birds crowding there also cried out and flew up.

The birds, which flew at once deafeningly, chattered and chirped away slowly into the blue sky of the capital.

*Rainelle’s POV

My whole body became limp like cotton soaked in water.

If I close my eyes, I feel like I'll fall asleep.

But I can’t. I’m too worried about Karmeut to do that.

He looked fine as he lay on the bed, exhaling evenly.

If we hadn't fought earlier, would this happen?

He looks fine now…

But I was still full of worry because I knew there was no way he could be completely fine.

I healed him with Eileen-nim's power and my own power... but she said he wouldn't wake up any time soon.

['Because you’re his mate, you can cure him by exchanging your power and your lifespan for the power of healing.’]

I was reminded of Eileen-nim's apologetic voice: [‘That's the only way. I'm sorry, sweetheart.’]

No, I was rather grateful. I didn't want to lose Karmeut because I was scared of the fact that I would die not long after from the unfulfilling life. Just looking at him laying helplessly from being seriously injured already made me felel like my lifespan was reduced.

The time when I realized that he threw himself to protect me, it was as if my blood froze and my heart stopped.

It was so, so terrible. To the point where I can't keep my sanity.

It wasn't until Aria called me out screaming that I realized that I was on the verge of killing Namuel by grabbing him by the throat.

Still, if Aria didn't stop me then, even if Namuel died, I wouldn't have regretted it.

Because Karmeut almost died. Because he was so hurt that he might have died if I hadn't treated him.

No matter how strong you are, you will die if you are struck by lightning while you are severely wounded and bleeding. Even if the bleeding had stopped, there was no way the body, which had turned into a black lump of charcoal, would be able to perform its function.

No matter how magical and sacred this fantasy world is, even if he is the emperor with wolf blood, he will die if he is wounded that much. No matter how much treatment is given, the possibility of death is high. Even if he lived, it was clear that serious disorders would remain in his body.

I still feel angry when I think that everything happened because of Namuel and Adriana. No, to be precise, I was angry at myself for being scared and hesitant about what to do if something unexpected happened because the original story was twisted.

If only I hadn’t hesitated…

I wish I had acted selfishly, thinking only of Karmeut and not being considerate.

I was very, very angry and sad that Karmeut ended up like this because I didn't have that much determination and courage.

What did I prepare after I met Eileen-nim? I thought I could protect Karmeut, but…

The image of his figure collapsing because he received the attack instead of me kept appearing in my head.

It was not enough to gain strength. And thinking that he was lying like this because I was not doing well enough made my chest feel tight.

Even now, when I think of that moment, the world seems to stop. I was so scared, so scared that I was suffocated by fear.

In the end, I’m weak. I only gained strength from Eileen-nim and I became arrogant. It’s actually not enough to protect him.

I was confident that I was prepared for what was coming. How stupid, how pathetic.

I took his hand. His rough but tough hand was full of warmth.

"...Sorry."

Tears burst out when I said I was sorry.

"I'm sorry, Karmeut."

I can only spit out that I'm sorry. I thought it was fortunate that he was alive and well, but I was feeling so sorry that he had to go through such a thing in the first place.

In the end, I couldn't stand it and cried loudly like a child for a long time. It was long enough until I thought it was lucky that no one else was in the room.