Although Andreas knew that a crow's cry was unpleasant, as a Druid, he had never actually used a crow's natural tone to vocalize before. The hoarse, grating sound caused him a wave of internal embarrassment, but fortunately, the kind-hearted girl didn't seem to mind.
The little girl carefully turned Andreas' body over to check his injuries. "Mhm~ Although you haven't fully recovered, the fact that you've woken up from your coma means your condition is improving."
Smiling, she reached out to pat Andreas' avian head. Her mood was a bit upbeat as she offered comfort, "Don't worry. Stay here until your wounds are healed before you leave."
Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Andreas had no choice but to open his beak again and let out another unpleasant "Quack."
In the world of Andreas' past life, crows were seen as ominous birds. Due to their harsh cries and pitch-black appearance, they were rarely liked. However, in Night Elf society, which worshipped the night and the moon, owls and crows were the two most common types of birds.
The race's acceptance of crows was quite high, which was why Andreas had chosen to transform into one in the first place. A common bird was less likely to expose his identity... though, in the end, he had been exposed anyway.
...
After several days of recovery following his awakening, Andreas managed to gather a significant amount of useful information without being detected. At the same time, he could feel his injuries steadily healing under the lavish treatment provided by the girl, Leticia, who spared no expense on materials.
Leticia Moonsong—that was the full name of the girl who had saved him.
Just as Andreas had surmised, the Moonsong family was a member of the Highborne and held a considerable status among them. The current head of the family, Liander, was a member of Queen Azshara's court advisory council. The mansion where Andreas was temporarily staying was located in Zin-Azshari's noble district, only a short linear distance from his target—the royal palace.
Such a prominent family naturally lacked for nothing in terms of resources. As the sole heir of the family, Leticia had the authority to mobilize a portion of those resources, including the precious herbs used to treat Andreas' wounds.
During their days together, Andreas gained a general understanding of Leticia Moonsong's personality and habits. This Highborne girl had a heavy academic workload; most of her day was spent in study. A long line of private tutors hired by Lord Liander arrived one after another, keeping Leticia's schedule very tight.
Fortunately, her father, Liander, didn't push his daughter too hard. He left her a few hours of free time late every night, gave her a chance to go out once every three days, and allowed her to attend a gathering of young ladies her age once a week.
Leticia was at a dreamy, imaginative age and naturally harbored resistance toward such a demanding curriculum. Furthermore, through her gatherings with friends, she had acquired many entertainment novels to pass the time, and the young girl was gradually becoming influenced by the fantastical plots described within them.
Regrettably, fantasy was just fantasy. As the sole successor to the Moonsong family, most of her future life had been planned out by her elders from the day she was born. Leticia could not defy the parents who had doted on her since childhood, so she could only play the role of a "good girl" to the outside world. Only when she returned to her "private room" could she release her stress without restraint.
As it happened, Andreas—whom Leticia had brought home thinking he was just an ordinary crow—had become her emotional "trash can" since he woke up.
"...Father is just too much. He repeatedly insists that one must knock before entering a door, yet every time he enters my room, he just barges in without a second thought." Leticia leaned dejectedly against the windowsill, resting her cheeks in her hands as she complained to Andreas. "I was right in the middle of changing just now! What kind of father barges into his daughter's room like that? Father is far too indiscreet at home."
"Caw~"
Regardless, this girl had saved him at a critical moment and used precious herbs to speed up his recovery; Andreas felt a sense of gratitude toward Leticia. When the girl complained to him, he would respond from time to time to let her know she wasn't just talking to herself.
Leticia interpreted this behavior as a sign of spiritual intelligence. Recently, whenever anything went wrong, she would come to vent to Andreas.
Andreas had seen Liander, the head of the Moonsong family, a few times. He was a Highborne noble who appeared meticulously groomed at all times. However, this lord was indeed quite relaxed at home and occasionally did mindless things—like suddenly barging into Leticia's room. His rude behavior naturally drew fierce protests from Leticia, eventually ending with Liander helplessly bowing his head in apology after her mother, Felice, intervened.
As for Andreas... cough. After all, they were together day and night, and since Leticia always treated him as an unusually intelligent but otherwise ordinary crow, things like her changing clothes... he had long since grown accustomed to seeing.
During these days of recovery, Andreas obviously hadn't just been foolishly watching Leticia's daily life. While she was in class, he had been considering how to use the Moonsong family's influence to slip into the palace. If handled correctly, Liander—who could enter the palace at will—did indeed have the ability to bring him along. The problem was how to get the stiff and stubborn Liander to agree to bring a crow into the palace.
...
Several days later, Andreas, having recovered about seventy to eighty percent of his strength, was finally able to expand his range of activity. Today, he was taken out of the Moonsong mansion by Leticia to accompany her to the home of another Highborne family friendly with the Moonsongs for their weekly young ladies' gathering.
Eager to show off her "spiritual crow" to her friends, Leticia had spent the early morning with the help of her maids spreading out a vast array of clothes across the room. Eventually, the girl chose a white feminine blouse with lace-edged sleeves and a black pleated skirt that covered her knees. After some thought, Leticia finished the outfit with a pair of purple gloves featuring hollowed-out patterns.
"Blackie, come here."
Before leaving, the excited girl held out her left hand to signal Andreas.
"Caw..."
Letting out a weary cry, Andreas helplessly flapped his wings and flew onto Leticia's left shoulder. Although his injuries had healed significantly, he still couldn't fly at high speeds yet. He decided to remain with the Moonsong family to look for an opportunity, finish his recovery, and make thorough preparations for infiltrating the court.
Highborne did not require carriages when traveling. When Leticia arrived at the entrance, an arcane-powered small sedan was floating in front of the Moonsong mansion's gates.
Hey? So that's how it was.
Seeing the clearly repaired window of Leticia's exclusive small sedan, Andreas finally deduced the circumstances of his rescue.
Whether it was Archimonde or someone else—you guys who plotted against me—you probably didn't expect such a low-probability event to occur, did you?
It wasn't that the Burning Legion hadn't prepared a follow-up. Andreas guessed that the moment he fell, Archimonde had sent subordinates to "collect the corpse" in the area where he dropped. Who would have thought that instead of hitting the ground, Andreas had accidentally crashed through the window and into Leticia's sedan, narrowly escaping the Burning Legion's search through sheer coincidence.
While riding the automated arcane sedan to their destination, Andreas looked through the small window and saw numerous flying demons searching back and forth over the commoner district in the distance. While he was fortunate to have been saved by a benefactor, he fell into deep thought as he watched the demons.
Who exactly is plotting against me? I've been acting quite low-key since arriving in Azeroth. Why would Archimonde suddenly take it upon himself to attack me? Someone must be pulling the strings behind the scenes.