EVHE 72

Chapter 72

The Hunting Festival was originally a competition held over three days. But because of yesterday’s attack, it seemed the schedule had changed.

The announcer explained to the people that, due to changes, the festival would end today.
Since he didn’t say the real reason, everyone looked displeased.

However, that mood didn’t last long. The shorter the time, the hotter the participants’ passion for victory burned.

“First place will obviously be Nox, but I wonder what rank Sir Lake will get.”

The game caught on the first day was stretched out in a corner on display. I had gone early in the morning to look at them myself.

But Lake’s prey was not there. And when I heard he still hadn’t returned, I started to worry.

“He’ll surely be fine.”

Lake was a Holy Knight. His skill would be above average, no doubt.

I only prayed he would return before the competition ended.

“From now on, I should enjoy my leisure.”

Yesterday, I’d crossed the biggest hurdle that had been making my heart race. Now it was finally time to let out all the stress that had built up.

“Lady Siri!”

I loudly called to Siri, who was looking at the displayed prey. She instantly turned her head toward me.

“My Lady! Are you all right?”

Siri dropped what she was doing and immediately ran over to check me.

“Of course. Nothing happened.”

It had been a major incident, but since it ended well, it was as if nothing had happened at all. I was a little more tired than usual, but that was it.

“Rather, what should we do today?”

Siri, like her father, loved exploring and adventure. So she always came up with surprising ideas.

I had a feeling that if I followed her today too, something fun would happen.

“This time, I was planning to go hunting myself.”

She spread her arms proudly and spun in a circle. Her flowing scarf swayed with her movement.

Tight pants and boots up to her knees—she was dressed in full hunting attire.

“Of course, only within the safe zone.”

“Really?”

My eyes sparkled with curiosity, and she grabbed my hand tightly.

“Actually, I prepared another set for you too, my Lady. What do you say?”

She whispered like it was a great secret.

“No matter what, I want us to go together.”

Her serious face made me answer in kind. Then, after staring at each other for a moment, we both burst into light laughter.

“Then let’s go quickly!”

Filled with excitement, we headed to the safe hunting grounds. Naturally, I had no real skills, and Siri wasn’t much better.

Even so, we wandered until right before sunset. We didn’t catch anything, but I had never been so delighted.

When we returned to the tents, the other participants had come back too.

They proudly laid their prey out in a line across the wide clearing. But what stood out most among them was—

A beast?

Most of the participants had caught saber-toothed tigers, bears with spikes, or birds with jagged wings.

But what drew everyone’s gaze was a massive black corpse. Its scale-covered body was sharp enough to cut at a touch, and though its three hideous heads were crushed beyond recognition, it still looked terrifying.

“Did Nox catch that?”

Only Nox seemed capable of catching such a thing here.

But the man standing before the beast’s corpse was someone else entirely.

Green eyes met mine, crinkling as he smiled warmly. He nodded politely—without doubt, it was Lake.

“Wow.”

A gasp of admiration escaped me.

Come to think of it, hadn’t he even beaten Saint in marksmanship? He never acted greedy, but he was truly extraordinary.

Nox had also brought back a beast. But his was smaller than Lake’s.

It looked like Nox didn’t really care about the competition itself. His prey seemed like something he had caught just to pass the time.

His eyes were fixed only on Olivia.

She was chattering endlessly before him, her bright expression free from any worry.

Truthfully, I still had plenty of uneasy feelings about Olivia. But I pushed them aside and approached Lake instead.

“Looks like victory is yours, Sir.”

“It would seem so.”

Lake’s voice was brighter than usual as he replied.

“Hm…”

I bent slightly forward, resting my chin on my hand as I inspected the beast.

“Gross!”

Its many wounds, like marks of a brawl, were unpleasant to look at.

I turned back to Lake. He had always been radiant like the sun, but today he seemed to shine even brighter.

“Ah.”

At that moment, I remembered something I had forgotten.

“So, what wish will you ask for?”

I asked bluntly.

“Hopefully it’s something I can grant.”

Thinking back on how Lake hadn’t returned to the safe zone yesterday, he must have spent over a day fighting this beast.

Seeing his effort, I wanted to grant his wish no matter what.

“May I keep it a secret for now?”

But it seemed Lake had no intention of revealing it yet.

His anticlimactic answer made me blink in surprise several times.

“…All right then.”

That’s what I said, but now I was terribly curious about what he might ask of me.

The Primrose family was wealthy, so it wouldn’t be money. Then was there something he wanted from our duchy?

“My Lady.”

Lost deep in thought, I heard Lake call softly. I widened my eyes at him instead of replying.

“…Ah.”

He quickly turned his head away.

“It’s nothing.”

“What is it?”

When he tried to step back, I sulked and pressed him. Lake only smiled faintly.

“…Sometimes, I hate how timid I am.”

His last words made me tilt my head.

Timid? A timid man caught that beast?

It was puzzling, but I didn’t think much of it.

Though different from the original, the Hunting Festival incident was successfully resolved.
I still hadn’t faced Olivia, nor had I met Saint.

But it had been so long since I’d felt this kind of relief, I couldn’t even count the days.

Since they weren’t going anywhere, I figured any misunderstandings could be cleared up later. With that relaxed thought, I decided to put my mind at ease.

Back from Alois Forest to the mansion, I went into town for the first time in ages.

Truthfully, it was more like an escape than a stroll.

When I woke up that morning, the entire house was filled with yellow flowers, and priceless rare jewels were strewn everywhere.

There was no need to guess who had sent them. The culprit was obvious.

“I did save his life, after all.”

So I could understand. Still—

I hurried along the streets with a lighter step than usual.

Though it was a road I often saw, today it seemed especially lively. The sky was impossibly high and clear.

“Allie, Ann.”

“Yes, my Lady.”

The two maids following me answered immediately.

Allie straightened her back as she always did in the mansion, hands neatly clasped at her stomach, wearing a determined look.

I smiled warmly at them, then shifted my gaze across the street to a clothing store.

“Let’s go there today.”

Even before my words finished, Ann strode inside first, her stiff posture like a guard scanning for threats.

I had already checked the place, but she clearly wanted to confirm with her own eyes.

After a moment, she signaled that it looked fine.

“Let’s go in too.”

Before the ball, because of the Duke’s reckless actions, the mansion already had countless dresses for me. But today I wasn’t buying for myself.

“Would you please show us everything you have?”

I sat leisurely on the guest sofa, legs crossed. Then I smiled brightly at the two beside me.

“Pick whatever you like.”

The maids worked harder than I ever did—at least once, I wanted to do this for them.

Since the Hunting Festival, I’d felt even more strongly about treating my people well.

Maybe it was because death-like partings could come at any time. Or maybe it was just gratitude.

Whatever the reason, I wanted to give them gifts.

At first, Allie and Ann looked awkward and hesitant. But soon, joy lit their faces and they hurried to look through the dresses.

While I waited, I browsed the catalog. Maybe it was because the day was so nice, or because the store was lovely, but I started humming to myself.

“After this, where should we eat?”

Of course, shopping should be followed by dining. In any case, I had no intention of returning home before nightfall.

It wasn’t anything grand, but I felt truly happy. Peaceful times were sweet enough to last a lifetime without ever growing dull.

We spent a long while in the store before stepping back out onto the street.

“Is there anywhere else you want to go?”

Just as I asked, I heard hurried footsteps rushing from across the road.

“Is something happening?”

The running man looked almost like he was being chased.

Since he was coming this way, I instinctively stepped aside. But he still bumped hard against my shoulder before sprinting off.

“My Lady!”

The impact made me stagger slightly, but it wasn’t enough to knock me down.

“I’m fine.”

It hurt, but compared to what I’d been through, it was only a light touch.

Still, Ann and Allie glared after the fleeing man, breathing heavily in anger.

“Shall I catch him?”

Ann asked grimly, but I shook my head.

Instead, I reached to rub my sore shoulder—only to realize something was in my hand.

“…Huh?”

It was a small envelope, just the size of my palm.

Turning it over, I saw a name written neatly on the back.

“Olivia Primrose.”

My heart dropped at once.

Normally I would’ve looked for a letter opener, but there was no time.

I hastily tore it open, my heartbeat thudding loudly in my ears.

“My Lady, please forgive me if these words are clumsy and disordered.”

The writing, usually so neat, trembled faintly for some reason. My throat bobbed as I swallowed hard.

“It may be hard to believe, but I… have turned back time once.”

The moment I read that sentence, I froze like stone.