Of All Things, I Became a Crow

*3^rd person POV

Among the gardens of the Imperial Palace, there was a space that even the garden manager of the Palace could not enter.

Someone was walking toward the place where no one could easily step in without the Emperor's permission. The fancy clothed person with golden hair and golden eyes shining dazzlingly in the sunlight stepped forward.

A normal person in the Imperial Palace, no, in the entire Empire, wouldn't be able to wear fancier clothes.

Because he was Wolfric Iveld de Karmeut, the current Emperor of the Empire, and the companion of the Queen of Birds as well as a descendant of the Black Bird.

There was only nervousness on his face as he quickly headed towards the most secret and deepest garden of the Imperial Palace. Even though many people in the Empire were praising the current situation and the Emperor as they have had a peaceful era, his complexion could even be called haggard.

Unlike other gardens touched by humans, this garden, which was almost untouched by the palace gardener, were more wild, unkempt, with birds of different sizes and types. There were birds that ate grains, birds that hunted other animals and ate meat, and birds that ate insects and fish as their staple food.

Originally, they were birds that could not gather in one place. Among the birds gathered here, there were also birds that were in the position of predators and prey.

"...... You're working hard."

Seeing the black kite flying menacingly near his head, Karmeut muttered a sigh and continued his steps.

Eventually reaching his destination, he paused and looked around. Just in case, he needed to check if there were any intruders around although it was unlikely.

Karmeut's figure changed. A faint halo of light covered his body for a moment, and then a golden giant wolf appeared in his place.

The wolf raised his head and sniffed lightly, then looked carefully around. As he became an animal, and his companion became the queen of all birds, he also underwent a change, though not dramatically.

The animal's senses, which were sharper than when he was human, became even more refined and sharpened. In a way, it could have been described as evolving, or it could have been that the dormant powers of his bloodline had blossomed.

The important thing was that it allowed him to check his companion's safety more clearly and in more detail.

Karmeut grunted in satisfaction at the fact and returned to his human form. The check was over, so there was no need for him to delay any longer.

The place was so lush that it became like a small cave, and white flowers were blooming profusely from the shrubs.

A place where even the birds do not snoop. Karmeut stepped cautiously toward it.

[・・・・・・ Karmeut?]

The black figure raised its body. The purple eyes that hadn't washed away drowsiness were hazy.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?"

[I just dozed off.]

Rainelle shook her body while yawning languidly with her long beak open. Seeing her like that, Karmeut reached out and stroked her feathers.

Three days had passed since Rainelle laid her eggs.

The reason Karmuet couldn't stay by Rainelle's side was purely because Rainelle's will was too strong.

[-It wasn't difficult to lay egg, and Karmeut has a lot of work to do now.]

How could he stand up to Rainelle, who pushed him hard on his back, telling him not to worry too much since her safety was guaranteed?

“What about your body? What do you want to eat? Do you need anything?"

[My body is okay. What I want to eat... I can't think of anything in particular.]

"......Are you sure?"

On the contrary, it was Karmeut who was nervous because he couldn't do anything. Rainellel's head tilted as if she felt his gaze.

[What's the matter?]

"I feel like I haven't done anything."

Karmeut spoke frankly. They were a couple, and he didn't want to bother Rainelle by trying to hide something.

At that, the black bird let out a long sigh. Then she shook her head and said,

[It didn't hurt to lay egg.]

"..."

[Even when plucking the feathers on my chest, um...... I thought I should. Don’t chickens pluck their chest feathers when they incubate their eggs? Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt at all.]

Karmeut let out a long sigh at the sight of Rainelle waving one wing slightly, saying it was okay.

“You don’t even eat properly.”

[Uh, that...]

"You must eat well today."

It didn't seem like an offer she was very keen on, judging by the way she shifted her eyes perplexedly. But his will was strong.

It was three days.

For three days, Rainelle did not move from her place, only incubating the egg.

Neither eating nor drinking. As if something had changed from the moment the egg was laid, Rainelle did not move except to periodically roll the eggs while crouching in the nest Karmeut had prepared.

That fact made Karmeut uneasy. Although she had become less human and more like the mythical Black Bird, that fact didn’t calm his worries.

"Rainelle. Change into a human form."

[Then the egg……]

"You covered it well with the feathers from your chest. If anything, I'll call a mage and put a warming spell on it."

Rainelle rolled her eyes, shaking her head as if she hated the words. As if she judged that her feathers were a little more reliable than a mage’s spell, the black bird blinked her eyes slowly rose before rising from her seat.

The egg the black bird had been incubating was slowly revealed among the black feathers. It was an egg with black patterns on a golden background.

Rainelle said she didn't get hurt or anything when she laid the egg, but Karmeut couldn't understand how she could be just fine when she laid an egg the size of an adult man's torso.

The black bird rose from her seat, but still seemed reluctant as she gathered the feathers with her beak to bury the eggs. Then, after shaking her body, she left the nest.

Rainelle did not change into human form immediately. Karmeut narrowed his brows as he watched her.

It was hard to tell because her feathers are fluffed up, but she was definitely thinner than before she laid her egg.

She must have felt the gaze, because Rainelle hurriedly changed into her human form.

"······ As expected, you're skinny."

When a young lady appeared in black feathered dress, with huge wings sprouting from her back, Karmeut approached her, grabbed her by the wrist, and frowned. He didn't like the wrists which were thinner than before.

"But there's no big problem with my body..."

"You know it's not convincing to say that, right?"

Rainelle shut her mouth in embarrassment. Seeing her like that, Karmeut let out a long sigh.

"I understand that you’re different from humans. It's not the end of caring for the egg, you have to work a little harder until the egg hatches. ... But, as a mother, there are other things you have to do too."

Karmeut carefully hugged Rainelle, thinking that she would want to hit him with all her might, that he couldn't break the stubbornness of Rainelle, who was pushing away food by saying it was okay and she did not have the appetize before.

"...You still have to eat something to be together with the baby."

She must have felt his voice quiver, as Rainelle, who was wriggling in his arms, stopped.

"I'm sorry. It's like instinct, I just acted as I felt, but I made you worry…"

She rested her head in Karmeut's arms. Feeling her body much smaller and thinner than before, Karmeut clenched his teeth and carefully hugged her.

"Can you eat?"

“……I’ll try.”

"If you're forcing yourself, I'll tell you not to do it, but..."

Looking at the skinny Rainelle, he couldn't bear saying that she can choose not to eat. Rainelle, as if reading his eyes, patted Karmeut's arm slowly and said,

"I'll try."

Hearing her affirming it again, he looked at Rainelle with mixed feelings.

He was happy that she was willing to try, but he still felt that it was not pleasant.

After a moment of hesitation, Karmeut shook his head.

What? Thinking of Rainelle who had not eaten or drunk anything for three days, things were looking much better now.

“Is there something you want to eat, or food that comes to mind?”

"Um..."

Rainelle looked up. She said she would eat, but she couldn't seem to think of food.

"Then I'll take care of it."

While Rainelle hesitated, Karmeut called an attendant and ordered them to bring all the food they could bring here.

"I-I can't eat that much!"

"You don't have to eat all of it. It doesn't matter if you choose only the food that makes you hungry."

"Still......."

"Eating is more important than anything else. So you don't have to worry so much about it."

Despite Rainelle eyes and wings drooping as if embarrassed, Karmeut’s decision hadn't changed.

Karmeut: I will only be relieved if you eat something.

***