Of All Things, I Became a Crow

*3^rd person POV

"Your Majesty, it is clear that in Bozcourt, those who are qualified successors will duel with all their might. Isn't that so? It must be done only with the power of those with the right to the succession without anyone's help."

"-Yes, it is. But why do you even mention the obvious when you stop Bozcourt in the middle?"

Undaunted by the Emperor's gaze that was accompanied by a cold expression on his face, Namuel raised his hand and stroked the smooth black feathers of the crow. Then he raised his voice and said,

"The reason is none other than that the Third Crown Prince participated in Bozcourt with an additional help like protective magic. Isn't Bozcourt must be done with one’s own power?"

The Emperor's eyes narrowed at those words.

"Marquis Namuel. Can you take responsibility for those words? With your life on the line?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will bet my everything on it."

"This is a setup, Your Majesty!!"

Perhaps angry at the words, Lewellin changed to his original form and shouted. It was quite an ugly sight to see him shouting with a messy face, but the Emperor's expression remained unchanged.

"Luwellin. If you're so confident, you'll also be confident in making sure whether you really get protection magic or secondary magic, wouldn't you?"

At those words, Luwellin shut his mouth. It was because it was true that he had received various secondary magic from Buffelos right before participating in Bozcourt.

...But Buffelos was an elder of the Magic Tower, and since he was in a higher position than the Marquis Namuel, Luwellin thought that he could somehow get rid of the suspicion.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, isn't this just speculation? In any case, it is weird enough that the Marquis raised an objection when the First Prince was in danger, so it can even be said that he had received help from others. Or is that not the case?"

A magically amplified voice came from another place. It was the voice of Buffelos, an elder of the Tower of Magic. Namuel's eyebrows frowned slightly when he identified the person who was speaking.

...Although he remembered at first glance that he was the elder of the tower, that man also often visited Luwellin's residence.

‘If that's true, and if he's on Luwellin’s side... it might have been Buffelos who gave Luwellin the secondary magic.

It's not very good,' Namuel thought.

His position and influence were all inferior to Buffelos in many ways, so if Buffelos said that he didn't do it - Namuel was forced to be helpless to tell the truth.

He clenched his teeth and looked at where Buffelos was, but the old wizard was looking at Namuel with a relaxed and sly expression.

The Emperor looked at them without saying anything. There was no emotion in his cold and stern gaze, so there was no way to know what he was thinking.

"Elder Buffelos of the Magic Tower. Do you think so?"

"Of course, Your Majesty the Emperor. What’s the point of telling lies?"

A cold gaze reached Buffelos. At that stare, the old wizard flinched. The eyes of the Emperor who ruled the empire were so sharp that it was as if they digging into people's true feelings.

Buffelos: ‘...but there’s no way I’ll get caught.’

It was because the mages of the Magic Tower were seen as people who focused on magic rather than power. In that way, he and Namuel would belong to a different class of mages since Namuel was originally from a duke's family.

While Buffelos was just seen as a wise man who had set his sight on making realistic gains rather than desperately being caught up in his skills that he can't improve any more.

"-Is that so. What is your opinion, Myrdin?"

‘Myrdin’.

Buffelos and Namuel's eyes widened at that name. They weren't the only ones who were appalled. The nobles also began to murmur that name.

Myrdin. He was the head of the imperial mages belonging to the Imperial Family and was the teacher of the current emperor. Despite being over ninety, Myrdin who had a clean appearance did not even use a cane. He did not show up in public because the Emperor was keeping him on his side for convenience. People also heard that he was enjoying his old age leisurely...

‘How can he be here?!’, was what everyone besides the Emperor thought.

"Ha... Are you asking even when you know? You're so mischievous at times like this, Your Majesty."

Everyone listened closely Myrdin’s voice, who was stroking his long white beard with his wrinkled hands.

"The power struggle for the throne is fierce and insidious wherever you go. Heh heh. It's good that the Empire doesn't have bloody battles between nobles thanks to 'Bozcourt', but it's not so good either. To witness injustice in this way..."

Saying that while smiling, there was laughter in Myrdin’s eyes. Everyone didn't know what that meant, so those who were in the room began to wait anxiously for the next words to fall.

"To put it bluntly, the same thing happened back then. Hehe, it reminds me of when His Majesty the Emperor fought in Bozcourt."

Myrdin, who had a disdain smile on his lips as he spoke bizarre words, gave Marquis Namuel a look. Then his smile kind of changed to one that showed satisfaction.

"Marquis Namuel. Why do you think secondary magic and protection magic was applied here?"

"...It was the point that, although the Third Prince had injured his forelimb and bled quite a lot, his movements did not seem to slow down nor does he seem to feel pain at all. Besides, just now when the First Prince was bitten by the neck, his body shook for a while and he staggered back. It was unnatural, so I tried using magic detection..."

Namuel, who had been talking up to that point, lowered his gaze and looked at Luwellin. Namuel, who looked rather contemptuously at Luwellin who was staring at him while grinding his teeth, lifted his head and said more,

“And I was able to realize that when the Third Prince was attacked, his body was enchanted with protection magic, there was also acceleration magic, lightning magic, magic that temporarily increased physical abilities, and weak but effective magic that prevented one to feel pain. Isn't Bozcourt a place to prove one’s abilities with that individual’s own power? But there are secondary magic and protective magic! That's not his power, is it?!"

By the time he finished his words, Namuel, who raised his voice to an almost screaming level, looked at Myrdin. To that, Myrdin replied with a nod of his head.

"You have pinpointed it correctly, Marquis Namuel. The future of the Magic Tower is bright."

Myrdin's eyes narrowed as he nodded and let out a happy laugh. At the end of his gaze, there was Buffelos.

Buffelos, who received Myrdin's gaze, showed a moment of embarrassment, but then met his gaze as if glaring at him. At the attitude of the old wizard, Myrdin snorted and added,

"On the other hand, the elder of the Magic Tower cannot see the essence... No, in this case, should I say that the essence is blurred?"

"What are you talking about..."

Hearing that, Myrdin clicked his tongue and looked away from Buffellos. As Myrdin’s gaze moved to the Emperor, the Emperor slowly rose from his seat. Then, he opened his mouth as he threw a cold gaze at Luwellin, who had returned to his original form.

"Wolfric Cabel de Luwellin. Did you really think that no Imperial Family before you thought the same as you?"

At those words that sounded like a bolt in the blue sky, Luwellin opened his mouth slightly and widened his eyes. It was the same with Namuel, who objected, as well as other nobles.

"Wha, what are you talking about..."

Was it because of the sight of Luwellin who was asking that even though he was sweating cold sweat? The Emperor smirked. Luwellin's eyes widened more at the apparent smirk on the Emperor's face.

"Yes, there are no detailed records of Bozcourts. Why do you think is that? No matter how rational it is compared to other kingdoms, how can you write down the details of a brawl where no one else but the Imperial Family bites each other, splashing blood and flesh? Because the duel of the Imperial Family is by no means a spectacle, but a sad thing that sheds noble blood."

Was there anyone who will record such an act in detail?

At the Emperor's words, Luwellin shut his mouth. There was a risk that recording it could be interpreted that the duel between the Imperial Family was viewed as something entertaining.

"Therefore, it is impossible to confirm whether the duel was justly held in the previous Bozcourt or not... But I can say this clearly. When I participated in Bozcourt, there was an Imperial Family with secondary magic like you."

There was no one laughing as the Emperor started to laugh. It was natural for the nobles who had never seen Bozcourt before, but the nobles who had seen it were bewildered.

‘Did the same thing happen in Bozcourt back then? Then, why didn't the current emperor say such a thing back then? If he had done that, he would have been able to claim the throne more smoothly, rather than splashing blood as horribly as he did back then.’

"But I didn't object, and I told the nobles who followed me not to object. It's cowardly to receive secondary magic in advance, but if something costs your life and you don't choose any means, that would be stupid... And if the person dies with such manipulation, then he will have no qualifications to become the emperor. -So I didn't say it."

The Emperor laughed. However, his smile was more like that of a bloodthirsty beast who expose its teeth rather than a smile made of joy.

“No matter what kind of tricks you use, you have to have the ability to defeat and cut off your opponent’s breath to be called an emperor. Well, it was fun watching it all. You who play with tricks as if you are the smartest, and the old man’s behavior."

"That, that..."

Luwellin's face flushed red. He felt insulted as he felt that he had been walking on the Emperor’s palm.

Luwellin: ‘He knows, but he pretended not to know? He said that he himself came to this position by killing the Imperial Family who also used secondary magic? In that case, in that case...!

The Emperor's words meant that Karmeut, like himself, wanted to jump over such a barrier to become the next emperor after he killed me...!’

"Your Majesty! No way, no way...!"

"Teaching loyalty is also one of the abilities that an emperor should have. If you didn't object, you should be sanctioned for your wrongdoing now. From now on, we will deprive Wolfric Cabel de Luwellin, who broke the rules and was helped by others, of his right to succeed the throne!"

At those words, Luwellin's face turned dark. Looking at his figure coldly and calmly, the Emperor added,

“If you had won without being detected, it would have been sufficient to become the next emperor because it was also your ability. Isn't it none other than you who decides what kind of ruler you will be? So, blame yourself for your foolish behavior. "

Luwellin bowed his head. At the Emperor's words to blame himself for his foolishness, he began to mumble quietly,

"...how."

Luwellin lifted his head. -The emotion in his eyes was close to madness. A shout erupted from Luwellin's mouth as he looked around with his murderous eyes.

"How will that convince me?!! If I exterminate the Imperial Family from this place, the next Great Emperor will be me!"

Luwellin, who had changed into a wolf's form in an instant, fluttered his fur and howled.

Then, without anyone fast enough to restrain him, he slammed his feet on the ground and rushed towards the Emperor.

It was expected that Luwellin would not be easily convinced, but the nobles screamed at his blatant attempt to kill the Emperor.

"Kkaakkk!"

"Graawrrr!!"

There was a loud flapping wings sound, followed by sharp clicks and the howl of a wolf.

The wolf growled and shook his head violently as a crow clawed and pecked Luwellin's face with her claws, but the crow did not fall off easily. Rather, she puffed up her feathers and scratched the back of his nose with her claws, which made the wolf's eyes trembled.

"Grawrrr!!"

As the crow was pushed back slightly by the shaking of his head, Luwellin opened his mouth to bite the damn crow to death. The fact that her human form was a beauty had disappeared from his mind.

Only the urge to bite and rip the flying animal that stood in his way apart ruled him.

Luwellin: To hinder this great me that will become emperor! I will never forgive you!!

"Grrrr...!!"

***