Chapter 16: 16

*Karmeut’s POV

When the situation was settled, the prince ordered people to clean up the broken closet and the room. The closet was neatly cut, with the lower part still intact, but the upper part fell and broke, so there were dust and pieces of clothes. It was quite disorganized.

As he didn't intend to stay in the messy room, Karmeut hugged Rainelle, went into another room, and sat comfortably on the sofa. Rainelle was terribly sorry to have eaten the Crobanlock, so it acted cute while being held in Karmeut's arms.

It puffed up its feathers and wiggled its tail feathers. A smile naturally formed around Karmeut's mouth as Rainelle bit and let go of the hem of his clothes with its beak repeatedly.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Your Highness, I have brought the items you ordered."

"-Come on in."

When Karmeut gave permission, the door opened and a servant holding a small box came in. The servant, who greeted the prince politely, handed the box carefully with both hands. Karmeut took it with one hand and placed it on the table.

The box was opened with a click, and inside, there was a small gold necklace with a sapphire.

The size of the necklace seemed short for the Imperial Family to use, but Karmeut doesn't care. Rather, with a satisfied smile at the appearance of the necklace which was made as he had instructed, the prince gently tapped the crow's beak and said,

"Rainelle."

Karmeut's eyes curved as the violet eyes looked at him while the crow tilted its head. He whispered, "Be still" and Rainelle did as it was told. Karmeut held up the necklace.

Laughing quietly at Rainelle's obedient behavior, the prince put the small necklace around the crow's neck. The necklace, which seemed a little too big, soon shrunk to fit the crow's neck.

Just in case, he instructed for it to be given a spell to change the size according to the user, and the result was satisfactory. Rainelle titled its head on another angle, again and again, to look at the necklace.

Karmeut spoke in a grinning voice at Rainelle's actions,

"It's a sign that you're my beloved bird, Rainelle. So don't leave me just because it's stuffy, all right?"

Karmeut patted Rainelle's head as Rainelle cawed in understanding. Laughter leaked out of Karmeut's mouth again as the crow cawed and puffed up its feathers as if it was in a good mood.

Really, Rainelle's so cute and lovely. To the point that I'm satisfied to be the only one who knows this.

Without knowing why, he hugged Rainelle, who then kept digging into his arms. Karmeut shifted his gaze out of the window.

Obviously, he had to contend for the right to succeed the throne. There was always no room for him to let go of the tension,

...but strangely enough, when I'm with Rainelle, I forget about that for a while.

It wasn't that he didn't think that it was a bad thing, because he could really die if he relaxed.

But Rainelle, who brought smiles to his face, was able to change his mood by being there alone.

Most of all, if it wasn't for Rainelle, would I be here like this?

He was just grateful when he thought back of that time.

Crow, a kind of bird that seems ominous because it is thought to be associated with death and also eats corpses. How my heart choked when such a crow was looking at me while some orcs were looking for me. The way it looked at me as if it was announcing that I'm going to die was unbearably unpleasant and made me exasperated.

Who knows that the bird will feed me herbs and food, warn me about dangers, and bring me a Crobanlock...

Looking back, it was really bizarre. And it was luck. Unparalleled luck. Rainelle was so special that he thought that God, who he had never counted on before, was watching him.

Rainelle was so special and lovely that he poured the crow with his affection.

He noticed that Rainelle had fallen asleep. While its beak was buried in its feathers, the crow closed his eyes and was not moving. In order to not make any noise and wake up Rainelle, Karmeut moved slowly and carefully to the nearby bookshelf. He grabbed a book and began to read the book quietly.

Enjoying the bird's unique warm body temperature, the prince began to spend his time reading, waiting until his room finished to be cleaned.

Knock, knock--

How much time passed? When the maid informed him that the cleanup was done, Karmeut stood up from his seat still holding Rainelle. It seemed to be asleep so deeply that it wasn't moving. Karmeut, who he gently held in his arms, returned to his room with Rainelle and checked the time.

...and now was time to give Rainelle its snack, so he tapped its beak with his index finger and said,

"Rainelle, wake up. You're not going to eat cookies?"

...Normally, Rainelle would have opened its eyes and made a sound when it heard the word 'cookie'. However, Rainelle gave no response, so Karmeut shook the crow's body slightly with a sense of confusion and unexplained nervousness.

"...Rainelle?"

The golden eyes trembled as the black body shook weakly as Karmeut touched it.

"Rainelle--!!"

The prince couldn't hide his agitation and called Rainelle in a quivering voice. As he lifted the body that was covered with black and smooth feathers, the crow's wings hung weakly and its head drooped.

It was as if the crow was dead. Karmeut's pounding heart sank. As he put his ears to Rainelle's chest, he could hear the slight thumping of its heart and feel a slight movement of its chest moving up and down.

Rainelle's not dead, but this is serious.

Upon learning that, Karmeut raised his voice as he took Rainelle in his arms.

"Anyone out there?!!"

"Yes, Your Highness! What's the matter?!"

The guards rushed into the room at the prince's shout. Karmeut spoke to the knights with a raised voice, revealing his uncharacteristically agitated appearance.

"Bring the healer here now. Move quickly!! I'll strike your neck if you bow!!"

At the bloody command, the guards began to run like their lives were on the line. However, even that felt so slow to the prince as his heart was tight with impatience and anxiety.

Although Rainelle was alive, its limp body felt like a corpse, so the prince's hand stiffened.

"Please..."

Is it because Rainelle ate Crobanlock? Is it because Rainelle's not human? Or was there some food that Rainelle likes but isn't good for its body? Or is it because it can't fly freely like when it was in the forest? Could it be that the necklace I put around Rainelle's neck has a bad effect?

As negative thoughts kept coming into his mind, everything that had happened so far seemed that they held some problems and he felt like he was going to go crazy. If Rainelle died like this, he would not be able to forgive himself.

Even if you will be surprised or injured, I shouldn't have hesitated to stop you from eating the Crobanlock. I should've looked into the crows' diet and fed you the right food. If I had just--!!

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As he embraced Rainelle's limp body, Karmeut clenched his teeth. The prince prayed with an earnest heart as he repeated "Please hold on until the healer comes," and "Please don't die. Don't die. Please," to himself.

***

*3rd Person POV

When this world was born, God created this land.

And the spiritual animals who stood by God and supported him began to lead a life in the place God created.

They taught the children who resembled God how to live, protected them, and led them.

The wolf taught them how to form packs (groups). And he gave his seed to them who resembled God so that there were people among the creature called 'humans' with its blood to lead their pack wisely.

The blackbird that flew closest to the sun helped the wolf. It became the wolf's wings and help the wolf see from afar. It also ate corpses for 'humans' to not burden the living from the accumulation of dead bodies.

The black bird imparted its power to the crows. They ate the corpses of those children who resembled God. Having entrusted the task, the bird then scattered the shell fragments of the eggs that it laid on the land.

In hope that someday, the children would eat it and fly a little higher.

 

*Karmeut’s POV

The prince managed to restrain his desire to grab the healer by the collar. It was certain that he had used divine power because there was a halo of light in his hand, but there was no change in Rainelle's body.

"...what's going on?"

"I'm sorry... but this bird doesn't seem to be sick."

"Then why is it like this?"

"I, I don't quite understand... but what I can tell you clearly is that both prayers for healing diseases and prayers for healing wounds all have no effect. If there was a problem, the divine power would have permeated the body and it would have been cured. But the fact that it's not..."

The healer’s voice became inaudible at the end of his speech, but Karmeut clenched his teeth because he could tell even without hearing the next words.

--It was painfully stabbing him that the fact that Rainelle was now limp and boiling like a fireball wasn't because the crow was sick.

"...you can go."

When the word of permission was given, the healer quickly left the prince's room. What the healer did was wise, because there was nothing as foolish as facing a sullen Imperial Family member. Without giving any attention to the leaving healer, Karmeut looked at Rainelle, who was lying down in a basket.

Rainelle was alive. However, the crow's body, which was limp and breathing weakly, was hot. Because of the abnormally high body temperature, it felt hot whenever he touched its beak and feet, like black charcoal. If it were a human, it would be in a coma or it might have died because of the very high body temperature, but Rainelle was alive.

But you didn’t open your eyes. Do you know how heartbreaking it can be to not know whether you are sleeping with your wings drooping, or if you are unconscious?

If anyone said it was strange and foolish to give so much attention to a bird, Karmeut would twist that person's neck. Apart from being a human and an animal, Raynelle was the only one for Karmeut.

...so Rainelle is precious. To the point that I'm desperate for Rainelle to not die.

He carefully reached out his hand and picked up Rainelle. Karmeut's golden eyes dimmed when he wrapped its burning body with a soft cloth and put Rainelle down on the bed.

He wanted to reach out and stroke its head, but he was afraid something would go wrong, so his fingers didn't touch the black feathers.

The surroundings gradually darkened, but Karmeut did not take his eyes off Rainelle. The servant came and quietly lit the candle, but the prince did not move.

He wasn't even thinking about going to eat. He reached out his finger and touched the black and hard beak.

"...please wake up. I'll yield to you no matter how much you play or cause trouble."

As he let out the words from deep in his heart, Karmeut doesn't move from his spot. He couldn't take his eyes off Rainelle because he thought that something might go wrong if he took his eyes off even a little.

...how long had it been? While Karmeut, who had been lying in the same bed with Rainelle and kept his eyes on the crow, was dozing off for a while because he was unable to overcome the rush of drowsiness, something unusual happened.

Rainelle's body twitched and there was a sound that could be mistaken as an illusion. In the next moment, the body which had just twitched, was getting bigger and bigger.

The small, thin legs stretched out and began to thicken. As the wings gradually grew, feathers fell out and white and soft skin began to appear in its place.

The feathers that fell from the wings and body gradually gathered on the smooth white legs and started to form the hem of clothes, and as the beak gradually decreased, the face gradually changed into a round shape.

Dark hair with a green luster flowed down like a veil on her beautiful face with densely detailed features.

It was a quiet change without shine or sound, but the result was astonishing. The crow disappeared, and a woman in a black feather dress was breathing evenly with her eyes closed in its place.

"Ugh--------, I can't eat anymore----"

The woman tossed and turned, muttering so. Then she stopped moving and fell into a pleasant sleep.

Feeling that the part of the bed beside him suddenly dipped, Karmeut opened his eyes.

Is it an intruder? An assassin sent by Luwellin?

While blaming himself for having slept for a while, Karmeut, who was about to get up in a hurry, stiffened. It was because the white face, which suddenly entered his field of view, was glowing with a pale orange color under the soft light of the candle.

Karmeut calmly examined the situation. His golden eyes were looking at the spot where Rainelle was, but a strange woman was lying there, making him uncomfortable at once.

The prince's eyes trembled, wondering who it was, and thinking that perhaps the assassin was pretending.

First of all, he had to figure out who it was, so Karmeut inspected the woman without moving from his seat.

Her black, glossy hair shone with a deep green luster under the soft orange light.

Her white and soft skin looked soft to the touch, and her black feather dress which contrasted with her skin looked outrageously good on the woman. Her white feet at the end of her dress also seemed soft, so Karmeut became confused.

Even if the person was a woman, they had to undergo rigorous training to become an assassin. So their hands and feet are bound to be full of calluses,

...so is this person a courtesan who’s sent to seduce me?

However, such an assumption was unlikely because the guards couldn't have failed to capture such a powerless woman.

He wondered who the hell this woman was, so inspected her again, this time slowly. Then, the golden eyes were fixed on her white and thin neck.

***

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