Chapter 13
After that incident, we spent three quiet days at the Duke’s mansion.
I was busy with my training as the next head of the family, and Noah, strangely enough, stayed holed up in his room without showing any intention of coming out.
Of course, he did appear briefly during meal times, but…
For those three days, Noah seemed like a completely different person.
He laughed less, and often frowned as if deeply absorbed in something.
Since I’d never seen him like that before, I just quietly watched him from behind… but as expected, finding an answer was impossible.
And then, time passed again, and a week had gone by.
From the early morning, the Duke’s mansion was unusually—no, very noisy.
The reason was none other than…
“What color ribbon should we go with?”
“Bright colors suit you better than pastels, my lady. Especially red…”
“But it’s hot today. Red will make you look even hotter. How about blue instead?”
“Good point. Bring me a blue ribbon.”
I let out a sigh as I watched the maids fuss over me.
Their hands didn’t stop moving as they worked with my hair like they were weaving rope, keeping me trapped in the flow of their conversation.
In the middle of all this, Annie, who was braiding my hair, spoke up.
“This year’s hunting competition… I’m sure you’ll be the most glorious again, my lady?”
That single sentence from Annie explained all the maids’ excitement.
I just sighed in response, making a tired expression.
Finally, the day of the hunting competition had arrived.
The Hunting Competition.
Literally, a contest where nobles gathered to hunt and compete over the prey they caught.
The prey? Monsters that had long been a headache for the Manong Empire.
Any noble capable of defeating such monsters could participate.
Usually, it was the heirs of noble families who entered instead of their family heads.
The competition tended to attract many unmarried nobles, and more importantly…
There was a superstition.
If you presented your hunted prey to your secret crush, your love would come true.
We called it the “Knight’s Glory.”
Honestly, who came up with this? Looking at it now, it felt more like a matchmaking event.
How did this even start?
Right, there was that foreign duke who presented his prey to his fiancée, and she ended up winning the competition.
Maybe that’s how it spread to the Manong Empire?
“This really is like something straight out of a romance novel, they’ve stuffed every cliché in here…”
“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
Peeking over Annie’s shoulder, I saw Noah yawning sleepily in the distance.
He must’ve been up early getting ready, covering his mouth with a tiny hand as he yawned.
With his small hands, he tugged at the ribbon tied around his neck.
I guess it was his first time wearing such a fancy outfit, so the decorations probably felt strange to him.
At that moment—
“Young master, please look this way.”
A maid placed a hat on Noah’s head.
Feeling suffocated, Noah quickly took it off, but the maid wouldn’t back down.
After a little struggle putting the hat on and taking it off again, Noah finally…
“I don’t like it!”
He shoved the hat into the maid’s hands and ran straight toward me.
He used my knees like a shield and peeked at the maid from behind them.
So cute. Absolutely adorable.
Cuteness really is the best!
“Oh dear.”
Unable to help myself, I reached out and pinched Noah’s cheek lightly.
He simply smiled at the gesture.
But then something caught my eye.
Oh no.
Was it because he was wearing shorts today? The wound on his knee was fully visible!
“Noah, did you get that injury properly treated? It might leave a scar.”
“Injury?”
Noah’s eyes suddenly took on a strange hue.
His usually bright red eyes became oddly dreamy.
He stared at his knee like he was in a trance, then blinked and said,
“…Oh right. That happened. Yes, I did.”
Then, nodding as if convincing himself, he buried his face in my lap.
Huh?
What’s with him today?
I lifted my hand to smooth his hair.
Noah then raised his head, his usual clever eyes returning, and started to purr softly.
Was it just my imagination? Something about today felt… off.
I bit my lip lightly, feeling worried.
A moment later, Annie scolded me lightly, saying it was a bad habit.
Still… Noah’s wound wasn’t healing well, and his behavior seemed a little strange too.
Did something happen that day?
“…”
I ran through countless possibilities in my head, but none felt right.
In the end, I decided to settle things by changing Noah’s outfit to long pants.
His knee wound wasn’t exactly a badge of honor, nor something to show off.
It hurt my heart.
Seeing someone precious to me injured… it just didn’t sit well.
Today, I’d make sure Noah stayed under the tent as much as possible to avoid straining his knee.
For now, I just wanted the hunting competition to end quickly.
* * *
The thick smell of grass spreading through the forest.
The coolness unique to the shade.
And tents scattered everywhere.
This was the forest in the Agen territory, a bit far from the capital, where the hunting competition would be held.
“Noah, hold my hand tight.”
“Yes, you too, sister.”
Feeling anxious about the sheer size of the area, I gripped Noah’s hand tightly.
And rightly so—Locus from the original story had a terrible sense of direction.
Though that trait had led to his first meeting with Honey… if I lost Noah here…
I didn’t even want to imagine.
I cautiously scanned the area.
Noah, on the other hand, was clearly excited.
“Wow!”
With flushed cheeks, he was staring at the waiting horses and knights.
Of course. It was Noah’s first hunting competition.
Wait… hold on. Was the hunting competition ever featured in the original story?
Now that I thought about it… no. The hunting competition wasn’t even mentioned, not even once.
Despite being such a huge event.
Hmm… The original story started when Honey and Locus entered the Academy, right?
That means the hunting competition must have been abolished before they turned 11.
But why?
Why did such a big event suddenly disappear?
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
Noah tilted his head at my muttered words.
Ah, I shouldn’t be thinking such gloomy thoughts around Noah.
“…Nothing. Let’s just listen to the speech and go back to the tent.”
“Okay.”
Noah smiled brightly and squeezed my hand again.
Then, bringing my hand to his cheek, he said,
“Sister, you can’t leave me today, okay?”
“Oh dear…”
So adorable.
Right. On such a bright day, no more dark thoughts.
Instead of answering, I reached out with my other hand to ruffle Noah’s hair.
But my hand froze midair.
Pwoo—
A sharp trumpet sound rang out.
The signal that the Emperor’s speech was about to begin.
I quickly grabbed Noah’s hand and rushed to find our seats.
The Agrinda Duke family’s seat was right up front, on the left side, closest to the Emperor.
Once everyone had settled, the Emperor stood from his chair as if he’d been waiting.
The Emperor was a handsome middle-aged man with striking green eyes.
Normally, I’d be squealing about how rare handsome middle-aged men were, but…
For some reason, I couldn’t focus on the Emperor today.
And the reason was obvious—the seat beside him, reserved for the Crown Prince, was empty.
What?
Did Lucas not attend?
He was royalty. Shouldn’t he be here?
‘Is he sick or something?’
As I tilted my head, the Emperor opened his mouth.
Ah, it was starting.
“Thank you all for gathering here again this year in good health.”
At his words, people straightened their postures and listened closely.
The Emperor cleared his throat softly and continued.
“Winning is good and all, but above all, your safety is most important. Be careful. There are especially dangerous monsters at this location, so this time, each participant will have a mage accompanying them.”
He glanced toward the line of mages and added,
“May you all be blessed.”
And with that, the hunting competition began.
* * *
Participants of the hunting competition were divided into two groups.
Those actually entering the hunt: the noble sons and daughters.
And those waiting for them: the rest.
Naturally, with my lack of combat skills and Noah’s young age, we belonged to the latter.
I held Noah’s hand, planning to head back to the tent like everyone else.
But… that didn’t go as planned.
Because…
“Master!”
Noah suddenly spotted someone and ran off.
Wait… Master?
‘No way…’
Frozen in place, I hurriedly scanned the area with my eyes.
And just as I feared, Noah grabbed a man’s arm and said brightly,
“You’re here too, Master!”
For the first time ever…
Noah was showing joy toward someone other than me.
And the man he was greeting was, of course…
“Nice to see you, young master.”
Eastern.
With a soft smile, Eastern bent down to Noah’s level.
Noah eagerly asked,
“You’re participating in the hunt too, right?”
“Unfortunately, I won’t be participating this time.”
Noah tilted his head.
“Why not? Are you hurt?”
“No, not at all. But as part of the Imperial Knights, I have other duties, so I had to decline.”
The Imperial Knights were assigned to security?
Looking around, I realized the terrain was much more rugged and forested than last time.
I’d heard that hidden monsters were common in such places.
With both mages and knights present… just how dangerous was this?
Was this hunting competition… really safe?
