Chapter 20: 20

*Marquis Wilhelm’s POV

...A bird? But the bird was large and dark-colored which was quite unsuitable to be kept in the Imperial Palace, so Marquis Wilhelm raised his eyebrows. It was a bird that did not match the garden that was filled with many fresh colors, but that opinion flew away in a heartbeat at the sight which came into his field of view.

The big and dark bird was a crow. It was a corpse-eating bird. The descendant of the black bird that soar towards the sun and who cleaned up the land.

An ominous bird that follows death.

Marquis Wilhelm was surprised and disturbed, but his eyes opened wide when he saw the bird sitting on the First Prince's shoulder.

"Marquis Wilhelm, why did you want to see me?"

A low, overbearing voice. The marquis shivered unconsciously when he saw the cold and gleaming golden eyes.

The fact that he felt such a feeling from the prince, which he had only experienced while facing the emperor, made the marquis half sure that his choice was not wrong.

"Wilhelm de Darlene bowed before Your Highness the First Prince."

The golden eyes stared at the marquis. Karmeut looked at him for quite a while, then, while gently stroking the black wings of the crow sitting on his shoulder, he opened his mouth.

"You can get up. Tell me why you have visited me.

Why would the marquis, who's Luwellin's right-hand man, come to see me? By any chance, you planned to apologize for the assassination?

It was not really a question.

Seeing the prince's manner of speaking that was filled with conviction, Marquis Wilhelm swallowed his saliva. The marquis was not the only one who reacted sensitively to the word assassination.

The crow, which was sitting on the prince's shoulder, puffed up its feathers, flashed its eyes, and made a threatening sound with its beak.

"It's okay, Rainelle."

Marquis Wilhelm doubted his ears. He didn't want to be rude, so he barely endured it, but the prince's voice was so soft and gentle that he thought it made him want to pick his ears.

Whether or not the prince was aware that he gave the marquis a feeling of astonishment, the prince continued to stroke its beak, while throwing soft eyes at the crow, looking like they were going to melt.

It was a scene where anyone could tell that the prince cherished the crow sitting on his shoulder very much.

Marquis Wilhelm, who had been lost in thought for a moment, managed to come to his senses and open his mouth.

"I'm not here to apologize for the assassination. That's what I thought anyone who served Prince Luwellin should do."

"-You thought, so now?"

"I'm not here to apologize for the assassination. That's what I thought anyone who served Prince Luwellin should do."

"-You thought, so now?"

Marquis Wilhelm did not respond. Karmeut gave a curious smile while scratching the crow's chin gently.

The crow stretched its wings slightly, shook its body while making a pleasant cry, and then rubbed its cheek on the prince's cheek mercilessly, but Karmeut just smiled as if he liked it.

"Marquis Wilhelm, I have an idea why you sided with Lewellin. You must have been thinking to give guidance for the future empire, so you built power by standing next to Luwellin, who would certainly be the emperor. And since you failed the assassination, you've probably been cast aside by Luwellin. Is there anything wrong with what I said?"

"......!"

No. It was accurate. After feeling a chill down his back at Karmeut's words, which showed that he was able to see exactly what the marquis thought along with a series of recent events, the marquis clenched his fist as he felt sweat build up in his little palms.

Yeah, maybe...the Empire could benefit more from those with the qualities of an emperor than the awakened. Even when those who did not awaken became emperors because there were no awakened, won't there be an awakened person in the future generations?

Feeling that the thoughts that he had been agonizing over in the mansion and had been constantly in his mind became solid with certainty, Marquis Wilhelm bowed to the First Prince.

There was no regret in the appearance of the marquis who had decided to bow down to the prince who had the wisdom to rule the empire rather than the person from the Imperial Family who had awakened the blood of the wolf.

There was no warmth in the golden eyes which were staring at Marquis Wilhelm. Compared to the prince's gaze to the crow which was sitting on his shoulder, it was simply polar opposites.

"Is it okay to interpret that you, are going to lend your hand to me now, and not to Luwellin?"

"...That's correct, Your Highness."

"You know what this action would look like, don't you?"

The marquis bowed his head in silence. There was no way he didn't know. To define his action in a word: he was like a bat. If he had chosen the first prince with excellent qualities from the beginning, there would have been no room for dishonorable words like bats.

However, at a time when he had to make an important choice, the marquis made an irreversible choice, and now it was his turn to bear the backlash of that choice.

"I know your ability... but apart from that, Marquis, I can't respect and trust you. He who changes his mind once is apt to change his mind twice. The heart for the country and loyalty cannot be placed in the same line. From now on, you will have to receive constant looks of suspicion and distrust until you gain my trust. I don't know when you'll be free of that.  Don't think that you will be easily trusted just because I become the emperor. Do you understand?"

Marquis Wilhelm trembled at the words.

The marquis was bowing, so it couldn't be seen by Karmeut, but there was a smile filled with joy on his lips.

Yes, this is it. This is the reaction. This person can make such a wise judgment, so I don't think I'll regret it even if he's not an awakened person.

No. If it's this person, even if he hadn't awakened, he will be able to overtake the Third Prince and seize the throne. I'm sure he will.

"...I'll keep that in mind, Your Highness."

"Right, because you've come to me like this, Luwellin will think that the Marquis has turned to me completely. You wouldn't have come to me like this without thinking about that. What made you ask for a meeting with me so boldly?"

Marquis Wilhelm looked up at Karmeut. The golden eyes were still cold, but on the other hand, it felt like they were assessing him.

While vaguely guessing the intentions of the First Prince, the marquis shook his head and answered.

"Your Highness the Third Prince won't care much."

"How come?"

"I'm already out of his sight. He's still angry because I failed to assassinate the First Prince, so he will just dismiss it if I visit you, Your Highness..."

"...it's rather sad that I can't deny it. And, you knew that was his personality, but you still supported Luwellin?"

"Because historically, those who became emperors were all an awakened person, except when there was no awakened."

It was a simple answer, but Karmeut, who had been pushed back by Luwellin and had not been able to secure the right to succession, was convinced.

As such, it was important for the emperor of the empire to awaken as a wolf. Thinking so, the First Prince stroked the black feathers slowly. Then Karmeut smiled at Rainelle's behavior, which rubbed her beak on his fingers as if she were comforting him.

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"I understand. You can go now. I won't give you a distrusting look from now, but don't think I forgot about what you had done. You will have to assist me until the moment I seize the throne. Do you understand, Marquis Wilhelm?"

"...yes, I'll keep that in mind."

Karmeut nodded satisfactorily, then the marquis saluted him and quietly left the garden. The marquis had conveyed his intentions. Although he received gazes of suspiciousness and distrust, since he had been accepted by the First Prince, he had achieved his goal, so there were no regrets in his steps.

 

*Karmeut's POV

"He's gone."

When the marquis was completely out of sight, Karmeut let out a long sigh and began walking slowly towards his pavilion. Although he didn't like the fact that the marquis interrupted his leisure stroll with Rainelle, he was a man worth seeing.

As long as he had not yet secured his right to succession, it was good to get all the means that came into his hands as much as possible.

"I think it'll be okay for you to take on a human form. Rainelle?"

He tried to talk to her by tapping her black and smooth beak with his index finger, but the crow turned her head gently, pretending not to hear it. When she tidied her feathers slowly, Karmeut shrugged and smiled.

"Are you still that shy?"

"Ccwaakk!"

Rainelle, who was just about to land on a branch, slipped on her footing, and Karmeut forced himself to close his mouth to suppress his laughter.

She must have been quite embarrassed to be called pretty. It's a pity that she's sticking to her crow appearance even after a few days. It's better for the present situation, but it is that and this is this.

"I'm sorry. I won't say any more, so come here."

The prince smiled and held out his hand at the sight of the crow looking at him with her eyes that were as pretty as violets. Rainelle took a glance, then after a bit of thinking, she spread her wings, flapped them a bit, and landed on his arm. Rainelle shrugged her wings slightly and raised her head as if saying, 'I can't help it since you've done that.'

To be honest, that's very cute.

However, if he said these words to Rainelle at this time, he judged that she would run away, so Karmeut just stroked her back gently while swallowing those words.

Karmeut smiled quietly at Rainelle who enjoyed his touch until she squinted.

But as expected, it was a pity that I couldn't see Rainelle's human form.

So, he slightly lowered his golden eyes and whispered,

"Rainelle, don't you want to walk around the garden in human form?"

If crows had earlobes, her's would have pricked up. The golden eyes softened when Rainelle was looking at him with sparkling eyes.

"It'll be great. Of course I don't know what it feels like to fly, so I can't say which one is better... but you can hold hands with me and take a walk. ...What do you think? Do you want to give it a try?"

Rainelle seemed hesitant. The crow's tail feathers shook as she tilted her head and glanced over at Karmeut. Then, she spread her wings and flew up slightly from his arm, and finally, she turned into a human.

With the soft sound of the black dress being rubbed, a beautiful young lady appeared in the place where the crow was. When she took the form of a crow, she did not hesitate to dig into his arms happily, but when she took the human form, her cheeks were faintly flushed as all she did when she was a crow was a lie.

"...so, we're only going to hold hands, right?"

Rainelle fidgeted. Her beautifully sparkling purple eyes looked very wary. Karmeut smiled softly and nodded his head as he thought that if he didn't comply, she would immediately turn into a crow and run away, so

"As you wish."

If I speak out my heart honestly, the cute and lovely crow will run away to the sky.

With that in mind, the prince extended his hand politely.

She reached out her hand hesitantly, but she finally showed her courage as she gently placed her hand on Karmeut's.

Her hands are so white and soft. I want to hold her tight so that she couldn't run away, but I couldn't let her run away because of my greed,

so Karmeut suppressed that thought and held her hand carefully.

Rainelle doesn't know what she was so ashamed of, but she could feel her heart beating fast. She slightly shrank her shoulders and her cheeks went red. The first prince whispered affectionately,

"Come on, come here."

"Uh, yes."

"Do you feel uncomfortable? A crow's feet is different from a human's after all."

"...umm... I don't think it's uncomfortable."

At the same time, Rainelle's eyes, which were looking around, were filled with curiosity. Karmeut laughed and said to the child-like figure, who seemed happy to have a lot of toys but hesitated about not knowing what to pick first.

"Are there many interesting things in the garden?"

"Yeah! There are so many flowers I've never seen before, it's amazing! I'm not interested in flowers, but it's the first time I've seen such sparkling and lively flowers."

Karmeut almost grabbed his heart when he saw Rainelle smiling brightly, saying, "It's so pretty."  After the walk, the golden eyes, which were determined to call the gardener who managed this garden and reward him, were curved.

"Rainelle, can I ask you something?"

"Huh? What?"

As she tilted her head, her purple eyes were twinkling. Karmeut grabbed Rainelle's hand a little tighter and asked her a question.

"Remember when we first met in the forest? I had a wound on my side back then."

"Oh, I remember. You were being chased by orcs back then. Why?"

"---Then, why did you help me?"

To be honest, apart from being grateful, I'm also curious. I knew that sometimes there were things better left unknown, but the one who helped me is a crow. It was a bird that could not communicate, so I had no choice but to suspect that it was a hybrid or a dragon.

Therefore, I'm able to ask this question only now that she has transformed into a human. The questions I've asked so far are no different from asking a wall, but now that she's human... Obviously, I could hear the answer.

The eyes that sparkled more in the sunlight reflected Karmeut's figure. They looked direct and clear. There was no desire for power or wealth in the eyes full of affection and childish feelings. Feeling his heart pounding at the gaze, the first prince waited for an answer.

"--Karmeut was the first person I found in the forest, so you were fascinating. At the time, I was hungry and thirsty, then I saw the orcs chasing after you."

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