Chapter 130

*Rainelle’s POV

Feeling my throat burning, I gulped down the tea in front of me like water. If Madame Fangxia had been there, I would have been nagged a lot, but there were only Aria, Sedarun, and Miel in front of me.

“—The reason I called you guys is to come up with countermeasures.”

There was also an option to devise the countermeasures at Aria’s manor, but I just couldn’t do that right now.

Leaving the Imperial Palace meant being that far away from Karmeut’s side, and that wasn’t a good thing in the current situation, where I don’t know when something might happen.

Fortunately, Sedarun was here. I was startled by the sudden appearance of a man in my room, but I was able to regain my composure when he said that Aria had told him I was a helper.

…I think it’s very fortunate that I didn’t scream at that time. If I had screamed, there would have been an uproar. Ugh, I hate to imagine what happened after that!

When I called Miel… To be honest, I hesitated a lot. It was because the idea of taking advantage of him hadn’t left my head.

But no matter how many times I thought about it, the result is the same. Even if it means using Miel… Karmeut is more precious and important to me than anything else.

I turned away from my guilt, thinking that I would only do this until Karmeut wouldn’t be in danger, and that when this was over, I’d do everything I could to repay him.

Looking away from the pink eyes directed at me, I met Aria’s gaze. The blue eyes trembled slightly, but they did not avoid mine.

“Lady Adriana.”

Aria could be seen clasping her hands together on her lap. But the voice that came out of her after she pressed her lips was calm,

“Yes, Rainelle-nim.”

“I know how you feel. But… I want to make this clear.”

I didn’t want to say this much either. However, I didn’t want to make excuses saying we couldn’t help it when the worst situation might come.

“I hope it will not come to that, and I will try… but there is no guarantee that the worst will not come. Do you know what I mean?”

At those words, Aria chewed her lips until they turned white.

“—You mean, in the worst case, you want to kill Marquis Namuel.”

“The wizard with wolf’s blood ate Crobanlock and went berserk. Not only His Majesty the Emperor, but the lives of all humans in the path of the wolf cannot be guaranteed.”

Hearing that, Aria’s complexion turned pale. But her voice, which escaped from her lips, was firm.

“—I understand. Rainelle-nim would have no choice but to resort to that.”

At that, I loosened my expression and smiled, As if bewildered, Aria’s face strangely distorted.

“I didn’t want to lie to you. That’s why I said this. Don’t worry. I called you guys to prevent the worst from happening.”

I turned my gaze and looked at Sedarun. He was expressionless, but he watched the situation with eyes twinkling with interest.

“Sedarun.”

“Seeing the next empress say that, it seems that you have a way to stop the rampaging wolf.”

It was Miel who responded to those words.

“Be courteous to Rainelle-nim.”

“…I’m sorry, but I’m not very familiar with manners.”

“It’s okay, Marquis Albion.”

I raised one hand to stop him, and Miel shut his mouth. He didn’t take his displeased eyes off the man though…

“Yes. It’s not a method I want to use that much… but I’m in no position to be picky, so I have no choice but to step up.”

“I want to hear what that method is. Getting involved in a high-risk task without knowing the strength of your allies is suicidal. I will not refuse the request, but assassins focus on ambush.”

To that, I replied with a light nod of my head.

“I know. I intend to face him in my original form.”

“Rainelle-nim!!”

Surprised, I looked at Miel, who raised his voice. He blushed slightly, perhaps only then realizing that he had raised his voice.

“Not in the form of a crow, but in the form of a black bird. No matter how he is a rampaging wolf, he can’t fly.”

“It certainly doesn’t look like it’ll hurt.”

“Among the birds, there are some birds who catch wolves.”

That’s the case with the golden eagles. A bird that preys on not only foxes and wolves, but also large animals such as deer and roe deer. The bird was highly valued for its hunting ability and was tamed in Mongolia to be often used for hunting.

If I did as Eileen told me, I would be able to stop him without having to kill him.

Sedarun looked at me as if observing for a while, then gave a small nod.

“You look confident in your eyes. Should I admire the opportunity to see the Queen of Crows’ skills up close?”

“Do as you wish.”

Sedarun laughed at the words. –I couldn’t understand why he was laughing, but the atmosphere was a little softer than before.

“Rainelle-nim…”

I turned to Miel, who looked embarrassed and at a loss for what to do. As he met my gaze, he knelt down, bowed, and spoke,

“Rainelle-nim, you don’t have to take the risks! I, I—!!”

“Marquis Albion. I’m still wondering if asking for help from you is the right thing to do.”

Hearing me say that, Miel’s body stiffened. The rapidly trembling pupil looked very pitiful.

“I… do you not trust me…?”

His eyes were like the eyes of an abandoned puppy. He shook his head, looking as if he was about to burst into tears.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you. I can’t help but wonder if it’s okay for you to get entangled in this.”

“-I swore allegiance to Rainelle-nim. I would gladly give my life for you, Rainelle-nim. Please, please don’t say such things.”

—This is why I was hesitant to drag Miel in. Because of his attitude of willingness to risk his life like it’s natural.

“…Marquis Albion. The kindness I showed you back then was not much. That’s why I’m embarrassed by your loyalty. It’s all the more so because I don’t think I did anything worthy to deserve the loyalty until they risk their life.”

At that, he looked at me.

“Because you feel that you can lay down your life for me at any time. —That’s why I’m even more reluctant to involve you.”

“That’s just a natural—!!”

“It’s not natural. That’s strange.”

If Miel wasn’t a target character, I might have ignored him. This was a world with a caste system, and I don’t think it’ll mean much to help some people if the fundamental part doesn’t change.

Yeah. To be honest, I’m pressured by Miel. What I did was a trivial thing, an impulse, like picking up trash abandoned on the street and putting it in the trash bin. But it feels as if the president personally invited me to meet and publicized my act extensively.

It is even more pressuring when I see his attitude which showed that he will even devote his whole body for my sake.

“Marquis, swear that you will think of your own life. If not, I will have no choice but to expel you from this place.”

Miel was silent for a while.

“…would you like that?”

“Yes. You are an Elementalist. You are not a knight who has trained his body. Instead of dedicating your body to protect me, please help me with the spirit’s power. If you die, I will not be able to receive the spirit’s help. I think it will be more dangerous for me then.”

It might have been hypocrisy. I couldn’t let Miel die, yet, Karmeut is the priority for me.

Miel lowered his head slowly. Then, in a low but powerful tone, he finally said,

“—If that’s what Rainelle-nim wants, I swear.”

At those words, I let out a sigh of relief.

“—Okay. Then let’s talk about the plan. First, I…”

It was the next moment when the door burst open.

…Who is it? I’m sure I said not to let anyone in…

—!!

“Ka, Karmeut?”

“Rainelle.”

His eyes glanced sharply at the people inside. Karmeut, who had been looking at Sedarun with narrowed eyes, turned to me.

“Rainelle, what’s going on here?”

It was chilling. It felt like the air was standing sharp. The feeling made my skin tingle.

“—I called them because I thought they could help.”

“Help? What help?”

His eyes as he stared at Sedarun looked savage. Was it because he was the only stranger in this place? Or is the wolf’s instinct telling him something?

“If you’re talking about the Milburn Territory, Rainelle, it’s not your duty.”

“But—!!”

“That is the duty of the soldiers and knights of the Empire, and there is no reason why the Next Empress has to come forward herself.”

…I was overwhelmed by the fact that he was right, on the surface, at least.

Oh, come on!! Are you going to force me to say that Namuel is coming to kill you because he ate Crobanlock and ran out of control?! But if I say that, you will ask how I know that, and how will I answer that?!

“I know through the crows that the current situation is unusual. I’m trying to come up with a solution…”

“You don’t have to.”

Karmeut’s quick response made me feel disappointed. Of course, I know he’s afraid I’ll be in danger.

“But!! You’re the one who’s in danger this time!”

I wanted to put the explanation behind and just tell Karmeut that it was dangerous.

“Karmeut, you are in danger this time.”

The brooding didn’t last long.

—Let’s do the explanation later, but let’s talk about the dangers first!

“…what does that mean?”

Naturally, Karmeut asked, frowning as if he did not understand.

“You’re in danger this time, literally.”

“Then tell me why, Rainelle.”

“Because the crows said, fires soared in the Milburn Territory, smoke rose, screams were heard and corpses multiplied! Even the crows who lived in the woods there were afraid and came to tell me!”

Karmeut opened his eyes slightly wide in surprise, but he soon regained his composure and said,

“There’s no guarantee that it’s necessarily related to me, Rainelle. Anyway, thanks for letting me know. I’ll keep that in mind and do something.”

Then I grabbed Karmeut, who was about to leave.

“Karmeut!!”

“–Rainelle.”

“Please listen. Even if you don’t understand, even if I say something weird, listen and believe me! What happened in the Milburn Territory this time is—!!”

…Unfortunately, I didn’t have time left.

*Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding-*

It was a loud and sharp bell sounds that made one wonder if the entire Imperial Palace was ringing.

Everyone was startled by the sound and turned their gazes over the windows.

I thought I could see faint black smoke billowing through the windows.

“What is this…”

I was bewildered, but I knew intuitively that something serious had happened.

“Your Majesty! Something big has happened!”

The door opened violently and a fully armed man rushed in. The person who bowed in front of Karmeut was gasping heavily.

“What’s going on?”

“The Capital of the empire is under attack—!!”

The next moment, the person who was reporting flew to the side with a booming sound.

And – I frowned at the repulsive smell.

It smelled like blood that makes your nose scrunch, but this was also like…

“Grrrr-”

A rumbling, chronic phlegm-like sound of a beast followed.

It was a wolf that was similar to or a little smaller than when Karmeut transformed into a wolf. But his eyesight seemed blurred while the eyes themselves were bloodshot.

*Sniff, sniff*

The wolf seemed to be sniffing with his mouth open. He was covered in so much blood which had dried up to a dark red color.

The wolf’s gaze reached Karmeut. Bloody saliva was dripping down his teeth.

The wolf glared at Karmeut and then dash at him. Without a single cry, with the wolf eyes gleaming, he came straight for the neck.