TSHNL 69

Chapter 69

A deep sigh escaped me.

There are just too many talented people in the world.

There’s Callista, who catches a winged bear, and Killian, who takes down a leopard with just a dagger.

“Do you like leopards better than birds?”

He asked, looking crestfallen, and I quickly shook my head. In my hands, the chick that refused to leave Killian was still chirping noisily.

“No, I like chicks too!”

I answered energetically, and Killian beamed brightly just like before.

“I’ll catch a phoenix tomorrow. We can raise them together.”

He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, without a hint of hesitation in his expression.

“See you tomorrow, Harper.”

Leaving those cheerful words, Killian lifted the curtain at the front of the barrack and disappeared behind it.

Peep—

The heartbroken chirp of the abandoned chick received no response from him.

***

“Damn it!”

The First Prince of the Empire, Klein, cursed furiously. His fist flew in frustration, knocking over the weapons lined up beside the barrack post.

“Everyone out!”

At his shout, the attendants who had surrounded him quickly scattered out of the tent, clearly having waited for the order.

He bit his lips, seething with the humiliation he had just experienced.

He had thought that by using the excuse of protection to bring along six noble youths skilled in hunting, victory would be guaranteed. They had indeed caught many large prey—boars and deer among them.

When he happened to find a dead leopard, he even considered it a stroke of divine luck.

Knowing that Killian, who had stubbornly entered the competition at such a young age, hadn’t caught anything made him even more smug.

But when the hunt ended and they returned to the clearing, the crowd’s attention was all on Callista Luperne and her lone escort.

“Damn it! Damn it! Those damn Lupernes…”

He muttered bitterly.

The pile of predator corpses, reeking of blood in the center of the clearing, was so massive it overshadowed the efforts of every other participant.

Even then, the others had held back out of deference to Klein’s status. But when that brat clapped and cheered, he lost all reason, storming back to the barracks to smash everything in sight.

“Argh!”

He kicked the table in a fit. Bottles and glasses crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces.

“How about learning to control your emotions, Klein?”

A cold voice came from behind. Turning around, he saw the Empress entering the barracks.

Klein twisted his lips into a sneer.

“I must’ve learned from you, Mother. Your attendants buy mirrors every other day.”

“No one cares what you do in front of your loyal servants. But showing such behavior in front of the guards sent by House Luceik will damage your dignity.”

She took his hand and checked for injuries as she spoke—her tone reprimanding, but her voice filled with genuine concern.

“You mean those useless fools? They claimed to be seasoned hunters, but clearly, their skills said otherwise. Did you see what that Luperne girl brought today?”

“I did.”

“Then why aren’t you angry? Tomorrow’s victory was supposed to be mine. I could’ve accepted losing to an older, more experienced man—but to her?”

“Then catch something better tomorrow.”

“You don’t understand anything, Mother. No matter what I do tomorrow…”

“No.”

Her voice gained strength, and Klein stopped speaking, frowning.

“If you catch something truly exceptional, everything changes.”

She gripped his shoulder and whispered something into his ear.

Klein’s face slowly shifted from irritation to shock.

“But Mother…”

“What’s so surprising? You already knew that boy wasn’t your real brother.”

“I know, but… kill him?”

He looked troubled as he faced her, but her gaze didn’t waver.

“If you can’t create a dream for the people, even becoming emperor won’t ensure you last. Dynasties have come and gone—every throne was taken from someone else. Do you think blood alone will keep you safe forever?”

She spoke calmly.

“What if that Luperne girl becomes a duke and swallows the Empire whole? If she truly sets her eyes on the throne, what could you, who has never achieved anything on your own, possibly do?”

Klein’s face twisted with pain. Her words often pierced like knives.

“Have I ever led you wrong? If you do as I say, you won’t just win the hunting festival—you’ll become a hero remembered in legend.”

“But… to kill…”

Klein murmured.

He had killed an orphan servant before, and once a beggar who failed to clear the road in time. They hardly counted as people.

But Killian, though vulgar, carried imperial blood. Killing him wasn’t something easily done.

“He is prey.”

As if reading his thoughts, the Empress said.

“He’s a sacrificial lamb I’ve been raising for eleven years—like livestock nurtured since his mother’s time.”

Klein’s eyes wavered again.

“So I just have to… think of him as not human?”

“Of course not. He’s not a person—he’s the most valuable prey in this hunting festival. One kill, and you’ll have victory… and a stable empire.”

Klein was silent for several seconds. His pale, shocked face slowly returned to normal.

“…Prey, then.”

The Empress smiled warmly, finally getting the reaction she wanted.

“The monsters will be dealt with by the guards sent by House Luceik. You just focus on Killian with a clear head.”

Klein closed his eyes and opened them again. He no longer hesitated.

“I won’t miss, Mother.”

He nodded firmly.

The Empress embraced him with a warm smile.

“You’re the only one I can completely rely on, Klein.”

She murmured.

It was the only sincere truth from the Empress—who wore a mask of pretense even in sleep.

Whether that truth was love or ambition… even she no longer knew.

***

Zone 2 of the hunting ground, Path 5.

“…Nothing.”

Killian moved aside the tangled thorns and looked below.

The area was surrounded by sheer cliffs, and though plants grew thickly, one misstep could lead to instant death.

But that wasn’t the problem.

What mattered was that there were no birds—none of what Harper was looking for.

He’d seen golden monkeys, deer, even rabbits, but no birds. There were plenty of animals rustling around, but only a few cuckoos flew above.

He had spent nearly all his gold preparing for the hunt.

Lures proven to attract monsters, weapons coated with tranquilizer, traps made from powdered magic stones said to restrain even the strongest beasts—but none had worked.

A massive man-eating boar had fallen for one, but Harper had said she liked pretty things, so it was meaningless.

“Sigh…”

Killian turned back with a weary breath.

As he debated whether to return, his ears twitched.

Rustle—

The sound of a branch. From above. Killian’s sharp eyes lifted.

Swish—

His olive-green pupils widened. Through the leaves, he saw not a beast, but the glint of a silver blade.

Shhk—

Before he even processed it, the sword was nearly on his head. Then, in the next instant, the man holding it was yanked upward by a trap.

Thud!

He now dangled upside down, flailing.

“Urgh!”

“Who are you?”

Killian tensed as he looked at the man caught in one of the bird traps.

He looked like an assassin but wore hunting clothes, not black garb. He didn’t even try to hide his face. Recognizing him, Killian’s blood turned cold.

“You’re from House Luceik’s retinue, aren’t you?”

He had been one of Klein’s guards from the start of the hunt. On the second day, they failed to appear at the appointed time and were disqualified.

In other words, they had no business being here.

Killian’s face hardened.

“…So it’s Mother.”

The man’s gaze flicked behind Killian. That was all he needed to confirm the truth.

Killian spun quickly—and from behind the trees, six shadows emerged.

Killian fixed his gaze on one of them.

“…You were following me, weren’t you, brother?”

Klein smiled, his mouth curving up, though his reddish-brown eyes held no warmth.

“You’re wrong.”

“Isn’t sneaking around the very definition of stalking?”

“No, I meant your way of addressing me.”

At that, Klein signaled his guards. Five, excluding the one in the trap, drew their swords.

Killian slowly opened his palms. A bright white barrier formed around him.

But the assassins’ unbothered expressions told him the barrier wouldn’t help much.

“It’s not right for a well-raised prey to call me brother, you see.”

With contempt, mockery, and the arrogance of superiority, Klein’s eyes scanned Killian from head to toe.

Without him noticing, the guards had completely surrounded him in a wide formation.

From one of their blades, a silent aura seeped into the barrier, forming a crack.

There was no way he could take them all at once.

No, even one-on-one, they seemed out of his league. It had been a miracle that he dodged the first assassin.

Killian’s mind grew cold. The danger helped him think with clarity.

“…You’re so predictable, brother.”

He stepped closer to Klein and spoke.

If he couldn’t win with strength, then he would survive—by any means necessary.