CHAPTER 43…..
Flap, flap!
I hurriedly moved my wings and flew out the window.
I didn’t even realize how I flew. When I came to my senses, I was outside the window.
“Huff, huff!”
I heard Piace’s voice from my bedroom.
“D-Duke? Wh-where, uh, where are you?”
“Where? Over there on the bed… Ah, no! Where did he go?”
“Hmm, I think he went out to the garden.”
“That can’t be. The Duke isn’t in any condition to go for a walk.”
“B-But he’s not in the bedroom.”
“We can’t just stand here; we have to search right away. Miss, please go outside first.”
No! Please don’t look for me!
The entire mansion was brightly lit. Soon, there was a noisy commotion.
The butler was waking up all the sleeping staff.
“Pair up in groups of three and search for the master! I’ll wait in the master’s bedroom, so if you notice anything suspicious, report immediately! Stay alert and thoroughly search the entire mansion!”
Ahhh… I was planning to sneak back to the bedroom once it quieted down.
The butler’s second flaw was his excessive loyalty.
With tears in my eyes, I looked out at the dark forest.
“There’s no place less suspicious than over there, even with crows around.”
As soon as I decided on a direction, I flapped my wings vigorously.
“Oh! I’m flying, I’m flying!”
For a moment, I felt thrilled that I was finally flying properly.
But not long after, I plunged to the ground.
No matter how many times I tried again, it was the same.
Once I reached a certain height, I couldn’t flap my wings.
My wings stiffened, afraid I’d fly too high like yesterday.
“A crow with aviophobia… really something else.”
If I grit my teeth and keep practicing, maybe I can overcome it. But tomorrow, I’ll probably have hellish muscle pain again.
So I alternated between flying short distances and hopping on my two feet.
The forest was very dark.
The trees were so dense that not a speck of moonlight came through.
If not for the crow’s eyesight, I wouldn’t have dared to enter.
I looked around for a place to stay.
I spotted an unoccupied bird’s nest in a nearby tree.
“That height should be okay, right?”
As I hurried toward the tree, I felt a sharp gaze on the back of my head. My animal instincts whispered:
Danger.
I stopped immediately and slowly turned around. Near a large tree on the opposite side, I saw a bright yellow glare.
“Oh, an owl?”
The owl was quietly staring at me with eyes the size of fists. Clearly a predatory gaze.
Instinctively, my feathers puffed up and my body stiffened.
No matter how hard I tried not to be afraid, my body wouldn’t cooperate.
“I think I heard somewhere… owls are natural enemies of crows…”
My tail feathers stood on end.
“Hmph! Enemies… I may look like this, but I’m originally human!”
I forced myself to suppress the instinct ingrained in my blood.
I spread my wings wide and opened my beak threateningly.
“Caw! Kyaa!”
How’s that? Scary, right? Not messing around?
The owl narrowed its eyes briefly, then suddenly flew up.
The branch it had been perched on shook belatedly.
“Wasn’t it after me?”
The owl neither screamed like me nor puffed up to threaten.
It just watched quietly and then left.
“Hmph, I made a fuss for nothing.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I slowly closed my beak.
Then I heard a strange shhh sound.
As soon as I heard it, I spread my wings and moved away.
At the same time, the owl’s curved talons brushed my spine.
It wasn’t avoiding me—it had just started hunting.
The owl, failing its attack, smoothly gained altitude and then dove at me from the peak.
As soon as I saw the eight outstretched talons, I knew.
If it caught me, I’d never get free.
“How dare you hunt me? I’m not just any beast—I’m a demon tribe’s phantom beast!”
I flashed my red eyes and spread my wings.
I leapt and took off at the same time.
“Craaaw!”
“Save me! Save me!”
“Caw! Kyaa!”
I summoned every ounce of strength to escape the forest.
I flew, crashed into the ground, rolled, then flew again.
I couldn’t stop even for a moment, afraid the owl would catch and eat me.
“This is just a crow!”
I was knocked down by a single kick from the owl.
My abilities as a phantom beast? None.
They were surprisingly insignificant. Worse, I was even less competent than an ordinary crow.
The extraordinary atmosphere was just on the outside.
Back to my true nature, I flew into the terrace and hid.
My feathers were sparse, and blood dripped from my feet.
To be reduced to such a mess…
“Just wait, owl.”
I hung tears on my red eyes and tidied my feathers.
Then I revised my danger ranking:
- All natural enemies including the owl
- Leonhart
- Rufel, Owen
- Demon summoning circle
- Piace sneaking into my bedroom
Leonhart, who had been number one, was pushed down by the owl.
“A beast at the top of the danger list…”
I teared up, wondering why my fate was like this.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind me. My heart stopped.
“W-where is this again?”
I hadn’t expected anyone to be here.
I was so flustered I flew in without checking inside.
“So I get caught like this in the end…”
Resigned, I turned my head.
The other’s blue eyes widened greatly.
“Bird, are you hurt?”
It was Piace, number five on the danger list.
“……”
I pretended not to hear and turned away.
“Good, very natural.”
Now I just had to escape.
Just as I was about to flap my wings, Piace suddenly grabbed my neck with incredible speed.
“Cough!”
“Neck! Neck!”
“Ow? Does it hurt? Does it hurt?”
“I c-can’t b-breathe, ugh!”
Piace tilted their head in confusion and then let go.
Then they grabbed my torso with both hands and held me tight.
“Huff! Huff! I nearly d-died.”
“Does it still hurt?”
“No! It feels like my belly’s about to burst.”
I shook my head hard, and Piace scratched the child’s cheek with their beak tip.
“Gasp!”
I froze completely and blinked.
There was a red scratch on the delicate cheek.
It wasn’t bleeding but looked quite painful.
Yet Piace didn’t grimace.
“I hurt you? Sorry. I’m really sorry.”
They only wrapped me more gently.
I could have struggled and escaped easily.
But I didn’t move, afraid Piace would get hurt.
“Wait, do I really need to go outside?”
This was a safe zone.
I could avoid the owl and the servants who were probably searching for me.
They wouldn’t search Piace’s bedroom.
I gave up resisting and accepted Piace’s touch.
Piace carefully placed me on the bed.
Of course, after closing every window so I couldn’t escape—very clever.
“Stay here for a bit, okay?”
The child busily ran around the bedroom, pink hair fluttering.
They took a first aid kit from the bedside drawer and wet a towel in the bathroom.
They brought a colorful box from under the table and a full cup of milk from somewhere.
After gathering everything in front of me, the child smiled brightly.
“I’ll make sure you don’t hurt.”
Then they gently pulled my foot.
“Ah, it’s bleeding…”
Piace’s eyebrows drooped like they were about to cry.
They wiped my bloody, muddy foot with the wet towel.
“Does it sting a lot?”
“No, it’s nothing. You don’t have to be so careful.”
The child carefully applied ointment to my cleaned foot.
It didn’t really hurt much, but their touch was so cautious I felt embarrassed.
“Oh, oh, it’ll heal quickly like this.”
After applying the ointment thoroughly, Piace blew warm breath on it.
The warm breath spread over the wrinkled skin and black claws.
Unlike last time, the wound didn’t heal as if washed away.
Maybe because Piace hasn’t awakened yet, or because I’m not human—I don’t know.
But my heart felt warmer than before.
“Who else but a child would take such care of a wild crow that isn’t even human?”
Finally, they wrapped the wound tightly with bandages.
After tying the ends with a clumsy ribbon, Piace sighed and stuck out their tongue.
“All done.”
