Chapter 88
“We need to set the wedding date as soon as possible. Should we meet our parents too?”
“We have plenty of time, so let’s take it slow.”
“No. I want to marry you quickly.”
After tea time, Becky clung to Lucas, whining.
“Ah, it’s already this late. You need to get back to work, right? I’ll be going then.”
“Really? Then should I accompany you to the carriage…?”
“It’s fine. You have a lot of work. Miss, please.”
Becky smiled and declined Lucas’ offer, calling Arista instead.
Arista looked at her with an expressionless face.
“Could you guide me, Your Highness? I also have something I want to say.”
“…Yes, I will.”
When Arista nodded obediently, Lucas couldn’t help but feel flustered.
“Wait, I’ll just take her. Arista, you have work to do too…”
“No, brother. I’ll go to help digest, and besides, I also have something I wanted to say to the young lady.”
When Becky met Arista’s cold violet gaze, she smiled slyly.
Soon, the two women left, and Lucas watched them walk away, bewildered.
“When did those two get so close? Have they met separately before?”
“…I’m not sure either.”
“Why do you look so down? You should be happy; you’re finally engaged! You seem odd today.”
“Is that so…”
“Don’t you want to be engaged to Becky?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just… something’s bothering me.”
Lucas muttered to himself, his gaze drawn more to the blonde woman beside Becky than to Becky herself.
Meanwhile, the two women, walking silently down the corridor, finally spoke after putting distance between themselves and the office.
“Engaged? Someone who’s been involved with other men so easily can say the word ‘engaged’ so casually.”
“And yet, you, Your Highness, knew it and stayed silent, didn’t you?”
Arista stopped walking.
“What are you thinking? Do you really intend to get engaged?”
“Why wouldn’t I? If it’s Lucas, the next Count is practically guaranteed. He won’t cheat, and he’s kind. So why wouldn’t I get engaged?”
Arista frowned sharply at the audacious answer.
“No worry about cheating? After all, you’ve played around with more than one man. You’re hardly in a position to say that.”
“Are you worried about Lucas, then?”
“It’s stranger not to worry, considering you’re getting engaged to such an unreasonable woman as yourself.”
“Unreasonable… well, say what you like.”
Becky let out a brief hollow laugh before smirking and taking a step closer to Arista.
“But in the end, I’m marrying Lucas, and you will never have him.”
“……….”
“You don’t even have the courage to tell Lucas the truth, do you?”
Even though Arista clenched her fist tightly, Becky turned away, confident in her victory.
“Then I’ll see you later, Your Highness. Next time, we’ll meet at our wedding.”
Becky smiled and slowly walked away. Left alone, Arista stared at the spot where Becky had disappeared, then unclenched her fist.
The marks of her nails were clear on her palm.
“No courage to tell him?”
Arista slowly smiled. Her expression transformed from that of a loser to a victor.
“I wonder how that arrogant face will crumble.”
She hadn’t stayed silent out of fear of confessing her feelings. She had been waiting for the perfect timing to prevent Becky from escaping, preparing everything thoroughly.
Once all the pieces were in place, she would reveal the truth to Lucas.
Lucas was far too precious to let this engagement happen without intervention. If Becky had been an ordinary woman, she might have quietly watched them get engaged.
Of course, she wouldn’t let her love remain unchallenged.
“Doing nothing won’t get me anything.”
Arista reaffirmed her resolve and turned. There was no hesitation in her steps now.
A village on the outskirts of the capital.
Herwin, along with the royal knights, surveyed the area for monsters, his expression grave.
“This is more serious than I thought…”
“We let our guard down since it was outside the expected area of appearance.”
Herwin was currently in a village in the northwest outskirts of the capital, relatively close to the royal palace.
So far, monster sightings had mostly been in the western forest on the outskirts. They had assumed the monsters lived mainly in the forest since the village had only experienced crop damage. This time, however, they were caught off guard.
“It seems they’ve moved their territory.”
“Not expanded?”
“If it were an expansion, we’d still find traces in the west, but we haven’t. Surely, if we investigate around here, we’ll find signs.”
Though the reason for the shift was unknown, the records showed a noticeable decrease in monster traces in the western forest.
Herwin looked up from the documents.
The village houses were scattered as if swept by a typhoon. Especially where he stood—the village’s shared warehouse—had been damaged by the monsters.
It seemed this warehouse had stored the villagers’ food, and now reports indicated a food shortage.
Herwin entered the dilapidated warehouse. The walls were so broken that sunlight poured in.
Other than the food, almost nothing had been taken.
“What about the village? Any casualties?”
“Fortunately, no casualties. Villagers reported hearing a loud noise around 3 a.m.”
“So the other houses weren’t targeted?”
“Yes, no signs of monster attacks except this warehouse. That’s at least a relief.”
“Hmm… is it really?”
“Excuse me?”
Herwin muttered, and the knight beside him tilted his head.
Yes, no human casualties were fortunate—but that made him uneasy.
Taking only food suggested the monster was hungry or hoarding provisions. Normally, such monsters would attack humans or abduct them.
But this one had precisely targeted the warehouse, avoided other people, and still achieved its goal.
“This one’s smarter than I expected.”
If treated as an ordinary monster, it could cause serious trouble.
Outside, the villagers were murmuring. Herwin peered through a hole in the wall.
“I notice more strong men than usual here.”
“Excuse me?”
“The villagers here. Normally, outskirts villages have mostly older people and few young men, but this one is different.”
“Oh, you mean there are many young men? That’s probably because the royal palace is nearby.”
Herwin looked at the knight in confusion, who continued:
“Though the palace is walled, beyond it lies a royal forest. Most villagers likely work for the palace, as forest caretakers.”
“The royal palace…”
“Just my guess, but see that man? He has the palace insignia on his chest.”
Herwin saw a strong man wearing a badge with the royal insignia.
If true, the monster avoided fighting the strong men deliberately. Even a monster could not easily take on a group of strong men.
To confirm, Herwin approached the man. The villagers, who had been whispering, bowed when he stopped.
“Your Highness, we offer our greetings.”
“I want to ask about the recent monster incident. Can you cooperate?”
“Yes, as long as it means catching the monster, we’ll cooperate gladly.”
The man with the royal badge led the way.
“Are you affiliated with the royal household?”
“Yes. I’m Adam, a royal forest caretaker.”
“So this royal forest is nearby. Usually, palace workers stay in the city—why do you live on the outskirts?”
“Some stay in the city, but many, like me, live on the outskirts due to the nature of the job.”
“What’s your usual work schedule?”
“We work in three shifts. I start at 4 p.m. and return at midnight.”
“What tasks do you perform?”
“All of us have different duties, but mainly forest management and regulating wildlife populations. With the Summer Festival coming, we’re drawing more animals from external forests.”
“Deer, foxes, that kind of thing?”
“Yes. The Summer Festival is about ten days away. Hunting begins too, so we’re gathering animals to meet the nobles’ expectations.”
“So the animals are supplemented from nearby forests.”
“Yes, we’ve recently captured some from the west and east.”
Herwin now understood why the monster had moved. Food had become scarce with fewer animals.
‘And the royal forest is to the north…’
If left unchecked, the monster might enter the royal forest.
“Your Highness, is this serious? So far, it hasn’t attacked humans, but if it did…”
Herwin snapped back to attention at the man’s fearful words.
“Don’t worry. We’ll station new troops here. And tell everyone to carry weapons, like axes, and move in pairs for now. The monster might attack.”
“Yes, I’ll instruct the villagers.”
“Your Highness! We’ve found traces of the monster inside the forest.”
Herwin immediately headed to the location.
Far from the village, a deer carcass was found, impaled on a long wooden stake.
The knights were silent at the gruesome sight.
“This is… hard to get used to.”
“Did the monster have to kill it this way?”
“Your Highness, how common is this type of hunting among monsters?”
“Quite common. Humanoid monsters often feed like this—ogres, goblins, trolls, orcs. But not goblins.”
“Why not goblins?”
“They travel in packs and are small. Judging from this, the monster is solitary and larger than a human.”
“Your Highness, what about these prints?”
A knight pointed to tracks nearby. Herwin frowned.
“…Footprints.”
“They’re human-sized, but no one walks barefoot like this.”
Unfamiliar tracks, unseen before. Nearby were smaller tracks, probably from another monster.
Herwin’s face darkened as he realized something.
“Return to the palace immediately!”
He gathered the knights and began heading back, the reins of the horses damp with sweat.
‘These are definitely the baby’s footprints.’
Now he understood why the monster had been so cautious and avoided attacking humans. It had a baby.
A mother monster acts more cautiously than any prey, and becomes extremely aggressive if its young are threatened.
There might even be others.
Before the monsters multiply or harm humans, they must be exterminated quickly.
“Let’s go!”
Seeing the palace approaching, Herwin spurred the horses forward.
