Of All Things, I Became a Crow

*Miel’s POV

Miel sank weakly to the sofa. He had presented the best gift he thought to Rainelle, but he was disappointed because she didn't seem to like it.

I thought crows like shiny objects…

Moreover, since she is the Emperor's bird, I thought that ordinary things will not satisfy her, so I prepared jewels.

Maybe I was too thoughtless. She may have preferred food to jewels. No, even if that’s the case, would she have been satisfied with the food that I brought?

The place where Rainelle lived was the Imperial Palace. A place where food was inspected over and over again in case anyone poisoned it. -Even if he had brought food to such a place, she might not eat it on the spot.

...but the important thing is, my gift is a failure.

That fact was stabbing Miel's chest painfully.

...I wanted her to be happy.

There wasn't much he could do. Therefore, he went around to find a good gift. He didn't even know how many places he went to choose the jewels.

...if only I could be closer to her...

If I had, I might have been able to give her a gift that she likes. I may be able to provide safety and protection to her.

...but unless His Majesty the Emperor wanted me to, there wasn't much I could do.

Because of that, Miel let out a heavy sigh and threw his head back.

He felt disappointed with himself, and the Elementalist did not move for a long time.

***

*Rainelle’s POV

Ahhh! I have a bit of free time today---

Karmeut went to work and I was basically alone in my room. Feeling relaxed, I spread my wings and fell onto the bed.

Uuu! The luxury of rolling on the duvet that had been warmed by the sunlight! Is! So good!!

There is a maid in the room, but that's okay! Because she won't say anything about me doing this! Whoo hoo! I have to roll around to my heart's content!!

After rolling around excitedly, I lifted my head to see black feathers scattered on the white duvet.

Uh oh. Come to think of it, I haven't been able to take care of my feathers in a while, huh?

My heart ached when I had increased the maid’s work, but I pretended not to know and flew to the perch. I then started tending to my feathers with my beak.

Was it because I had been in human form for over a month? My feathers were in a mess… and I didn't like it.

I removed the dead feathers using my beak. As for the normal feathers, I neatly arranged them while chewing on them.

Oh, it's refreshing!

When I was in the middle of arranging my feathers, a knock can be heard from the door.

...huh? What's going on? This isn't Karmeut's room, it's mine, right?

Karmeut said before, “I still want you to use this room because it's for you, so I want you to use it as well...” And so l was here when Karmeut was working. Conversely, I didn't have anyone who will come to me.

A lot of people looked for Karmeut for work, but I’m different, right?

"Rainelle-nim. You have a visitor."

"...Caaw? (…visitor?)"

I was even more puzzled when hearing the word ‘visitor’.

Um, who? For me? But at the banquet, the wives of the nobles and the young ladies seem to be avoiding me…

...Ah! No! Come to think of it, there is one person who can come to find me!!

I quickly turned into a human and asked the maid a question,

"...who?"

"It’s Marquis Miel."

As expected!! Um, but why is he looking for me?! That’s too much!!

...but he was an attacking character in the original story, for me to kick him out... And he's also a capable Elementalist... Above all else, how can I coldly turn away from a handsome man who has a different kind of handsomeness from Karmeut?!!

"...I'm going to meet him, can you help me bring him in?"

"Yes, Rainelle-nim."

Okay! I'll have to go meet him and ask him what's going on! You know what? Maybe he’s doing this because he has a favor to ask of me Yes! Let's hope so!

***

---I really, really, really wanted to beat myself up who thought like that a while ago.

"...Ma, Marquis Miel?"

"Yes, Rainelle-nim. Please say it."

"No, um, so..."

If you kneel on one knee like a knight in front of me and ask me to give you an order, what do you want me to do?! What?! Argh!! Why are you doing this to me!! Do this to the original female lead!!

"That, I mean..."

I screamed inwardly as I could feel expectant eyes on me.

Argh!! It's good to have a handsome man doing this, but if it's sudden like this, I can’t help but panic! I want to transform into a crow and run away!

"I mean... why did you come to see me? Do you have anything to say to me...?"

Come to think of it, I should have asked his reason, right? It's not that I called Miel, it's that Miel came to see me!

His pink eyes widened slightly as if he didn't expect to receive a question.

...I guess it was because his eyes had a color that one wouldn’t see unless contact lenses (in my original world, of course) were used, but... they looked really pretty. The soft-colored eyes were watery and shiny...

"I requested a meeting to assist Rainelle-nim, nothing more, nothing less."

Miel's actions of saying that without hesitation while smiling was enough to make me feel something that was almost painful.

Of course, it's nice to have a handsome man do this, but...

It was so obvious that things are going differently that I feel a sense of emptiness.

...No, wait. Maybe it’s alright? Let's think about this more.

The fact that I saved Miel strayed a bit from the original story, but now that the situation has come to this point, didn’t it already deviate from the original story?

No, the fact that I rescued Karmeut and gave a Crobanlock to him didn't necessarily mean that I destroyed the original story, then this time...

I glanced to look at Miel's face. A handsome face with a different attractiveness from Karmeut. What should I say... A man who looked so pretty that the word ‘beautiful’ comes naturally, regardless of gender. Such a man was in front of me, kneeling on one of his knees, looking up at me, and smiling.

---Urgh! It’s not that I hate it! And isn't this a very good situation?! Who would ever go through a situation like this?!

Above all, Karmeut is not here. It would be terribly inconvenient if Karmeut is present... but wouldn't it be okay if he’s not here? It's not that I'm doing anything wrong. As Miel said, he’s here to assist(?) me, right? Isn't it similar to Galenos who guarded Karmeut at his side?

The more I thought about it, the more I leaned towards the fact that I didn't have to push Miel away.

Above all, Miel is also a target character and also one of the best Elementalists in history, so it is okay to get close to him, isn’t it? It will definitely help Karmeut as well.

When I thought about it that far, I was able to make up my mind.

Okay! I'll just keep him by my side as long as it doesn't harm the original heroine!! I can't just throw away a loyal handsome guy! I can't, because my heart hurts!!

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Rainelle-nim."

"...Marquis Miel. Wouldn't it be better to show your loyalty to the Emperor rather than me? I don't have any title, and I'm not even human. It means I have no power. But the Emperor gave you a title. In addition, it is His Majesty who is the ruler of this Empire."

Besides, considering Karmeut's gaze at Miel, I think that would be more beneficial to Miel.

If he continued to act like this, Karmeut’s murderous gaze might become an action. It was a fact that his life was important, so I hoped that he doesn't die if possible.

I said those words with such meaning, but Miel shook his head.

"If it weren't for you, Rainelle-nim, I wouldn't be here like this."

I sighed inwardly at Miel's stubborn behavior.

...I lost. There's nothing good about being stubborn like this!! At least don't do anything that will get you removed before the original story, Miel!!

I think it was unlikely that Karmeut will kill him or deprive him of his position... but, Miel's words now mean that he will disregard the Emperor and dedicate his allegiance to a distant place instead.

If you do this wrong, you will be marked as a traitor! No, you will!! Then, Miel's neck...

...aaaaah!! Such a large incident can’t happen before we enter the original story!! Come on, come on, Rainelle!! Come on!! You’re a crow with a human soul!! Let’s get your head to work!! Work, my brain!

I tried to think for dear life.

What should I do? Think, think... Ah!!

"You said you come to assist me, didn't you?"

"That's right, Rainelle-nim."

“Then, if my life is not at stake, why don’t you put His Majesty the Emperor first and act on that?”

Hearing that, Miel slowly blinked his eyes. She then lowered his head and replied,

"---If that’s what Rainelle-nim wish for."

...Whoa, hahaha. I passed! Anyway, I did a good job of passing his allegiance back to Karmeut!!

I breathed out a sigh of relief inside, feeling my heart still pounding. I wanted to pound my chest to help relieve my tension, but I couldn't because Miel was in front of me.

"But... Rainelle-nim. Do you really don’t want anything other than that?"

"...?"

Um, is there anything else I want? A different one from what I told you before? Um? Huh?

I blinked slowly because I couldn't understand what he was expecting from me by saying things like that. Then the Elementalist's eyes softened.

"I can understand why you said to pay my allegiance to His Majesty the Emperor. ---But these words are for His Majesty's sake and me. Is there anything Rainelle-nim wants?"

...Wow, so you already know my intentions? In this case, is it the bird-brain me who’s stupid, or is it Miel who’s quick-witted?

If it’s the former, I think it would be an extremely sad thing. Ugh…sniff, I know I still have a bird head! -because crows are birds- but don't pour it on me like this!!

...but somehow the pink eyes seemed to be sullen, contrary to his words. I cautiously called out to him due to the strangely droopy atmosphere.

"...Ma, Marquis Miel?"

"Yes, Rainelle-nim."

He answered calmly, but that didn't change the droopy atmosphere. Strangely, his shoulders seemed to be sagging, and it was as if there were faint tears in his eyes...

...Did I make him cry?! Huh?! What, what did I do wrong?!

Seeing Miel like that, I stared at him more to get a clue of what was wrong.

"...? Rainelle-nim, may I ask you a question?"

When the gloomy Miel suddenly asked me like that, I stuttered unconsciously,

"Ye-, yes? What, what is it?"

It was a very funny reaction if I thought about it, but Miel’s expression remained the same. Rather, his pink eyes gleamed seriousness as if he sensed something important.

"I can feel the energy of the wind spirit from Rainelle-nim. …Rainelle-nim, by any chance, do you have a spirit?"

My eyes widened at that sudden question. Of course, since I made a contract with a low-level spirit of the wind...

"...how...?"

"I can feel the traces of a spirit from Rainelle-nim. This feeling... a lesser wind spirit, I suppose... Ah, if it was a rude question, please excuse me."

"Oh, no. ---That’s amazing! I made a contract with a low-level wind spirit."

If the person is an Elementalist of that level, would that person be able to detect this level easily?

I was so excited that my admiration leaked out. Miel, who lowered his gaze with a slight blush, carefully opened his mouth.

"If Rainelle-nim wishes... I can summon a spirit for you..."

My eyes widened at those words.

A spirit? Really?

"Are, are you serious?"

"Of course. If Rainelle-nim wishes, I will do it anytime."

As he said that, Miel smiled softly. That raised my expectations.

Uh, but you seemed sullen until just now. Is that ok?

I looked carefully at his eyes, but Miel seemed rather happy now. I had no choice but to comply because his eyes seemed to say, “Please, please” again and again.

"Well, can you show me then?"

"As you wish."

Miel nodded his head with a joyful expression on his face. Then the wind blew around him. It wasn't a strong wind, but it was a wind that could never be naturally blown since the windows were closed.

At the same time, I was startled and had no choice but to open my mouth and looked at the revealed spirit.

The giant bird that appeared next to Miel was gray in color. The bird had two pairs of wings and two pairs of eyes. It was so massive that it seemed to be able to carry Miel with ease.

***