Episode 111

'It's not like they're forced to hunt because of me.'

Ladies who enjoy hunting went into the hunting grounds without overdoing it. Other knights also started hunting busily.

All the rest of the people who didn't participate in the hunt, like Elisha, did was drink tea. Elisha sat down with Ilione at a table set under the tree.

“I heard earlier that there are also monsters in the forest.”

Illione nodded her head at Elisha's question.

“Right.”

“Lucerne has a guardian, so it's okay, right?”

“Oh, I didn't know. The use of power, including magic, is prohibited in hunting competitions.”

Elisha was worried about him. She was strangely anxious, knowing that her worries were useless.

'Could Lucerne get hurt while hunting?'

Elisha bit her lip.

“Are you okay, Elisha?”

“Yes? Of course it's fine.”

Elisha suppressed her agitation and took a sip of her tea. Her hands trembled infrequently.

'What am I thinking? What happened in my previous life and the current situation are obviously different.'

And the day's hunting festival ended so quickly that it was absurd.

When a cart loaded with the prey of the Black Lion Knights appeared in the forest, people stood up in amazement.

“Did you have that many prey?”

“You caught that many things in this short time?”

An endless prey piled up in front of Elisha. There were too many rabbits to count, and among the wild beasts there were wild beasts, silver and red foxes, and a lot of hideous monsters.

“Everything is dedicated to the madam!”

The knights rushed forward.

“As you know, monsters recognize twice the weight as points……. This point measurement is meaningless.”

The prey piled up in front of Elisha was so great that a general in charge of refereeing gave up on scoring.

“Since the Black Lion Knights monopolized over 80% of the game, this can hardly be called a competition.”

“Is there a problem? We only used bows and swords as per regulations. Besides, the swordsmen of Master or higher sealed their auras.”

Someone muttered in a snarky voice, but when Lapis snapped, he couldn't say a word.

'Looks like things have gotten bigger.'

Elisha had her hair done.

“Oh, that's great. As expected, the momentum of the Black Lion Knights is amazing. To hunt all the monsters with such high scores.”

The emperor said with satisfaction. The Black Lion Knights were a symbolic order of imperial knights who had defended the empire on several occasions. So it was natural for the emperor to be delighted.

“Are you done already?”

Then Lucerne walked out of the woods. Behind him were the servants pulling the cart. Elisha was horrified to see a large tiger lying on top of her cart.

The tiger was an animal read only in books. In addition, when I looked closely at the tiger, the fur between the patterns on the whole body was not yellow, but gold.

'Is that a monster and not a tiger?'

Besides, the body was two or three times bigger than the one I read about in the book. The large cart, drawn by six horses, was shaped like planks, and the planks seemed small.

“It's really amazing to catch that monster.”

“There was a prey like that today?”

People rushed over to watch the game. Others shouted excitedly and pointed their fingers at their prey.

“Surely that beast is the prey with the highest score in today's hunting competition, isn't it?”

The empress asked. The emperor was very fond of hunting, and knew all about the characteristics of prey and how to catch it. From monsters to small rabbits, he scored each one.

“No. That's not it. It seems the general couldn't find it either.”

Lucerne narrowed her eyes at the emperor's words. He put his palms over his eyes like a sunshade and looked up at the sky. Then there was a loud flapping of wings in the sky.

“Bring my crossbow.”

“Yes.”

Ian and Nora whimpered and hurriedly fetched the crossbows. Lucerne's was twice the size of a standard crossbow. He drew his bow and aimed it at the sky.

“Oops, I found the monster with the highest score. The general's eyes cannot be fooled.”

The emperor's mouth overflowed with joy.

Peeing.

A crossbow was fired. The noise of the wind was so loud that some noble ladies were frightened and hid behind the knights. Soon there was the sound of something falling from the sky.

“Hit!”

One of the imperial servants exclaimed. Cheers spread among the people. The emperor rose from his seat and approached.

“How did you know?”

“The buds of the big fish in the spring water in the forest, which is a hunting ground, dried up. The characteristic of the thunder kingfisher is that it catches the big fish first. In addition, some fish died from having their heads crushed. When that bird catches a fish, it kills it by striking its head against a rock.”

“Great, very good!”

The Emperor rose from his seat and paid tribute. Soon after, servants, accompanied by hounds, hurriedly ran to pick up the bird that had fallen in the woods.

“It is very beautiful.”

The bird was astonishingly beautiful even to Elisha. She had blue feathers that she had never seen in her life attached to her whole body.

'A turquoise bird. It's the first time I've seen anything like this.'

Even the turquoise jewel had only been seen once in her previous life. The color of the bird was darker than that. It was a brighter and lighter blue than sapphire, but it was so beautiful that it made my eyes glisten.

“This is a bird named Flying Jewel. The general is really great. I must have caught it as a present for her wife.”

Ilione said in a loud voice as if everyone could hear.

“As you know, this monster is very difficult to catch. It is a monster that is sensitive and hides when it hears the sound of an arrow, and emits poison at close range to harm people. In addition, it is a very rare species, so it is said that it is traded at a very high price.”

The emperor said um, and nodded his head. As Lucerne beckoned, Ian came over and plucked a few feathers from the bird. Then people applauded. For the blue bird's feathers glistened in the sunlight like jewels.

Lucerne untied the ribbon Elisha had wrapped around his hand. Then he wrapped it around her feathers and returned it.

“Do you like it?”

“…… Yes. You are pretty.”

“Then give me a kiss.”

“…… Lucerne.”

Elisha squeezed his arm. People were staring at them. That was so embarrassing

“Okay. Then you have to return the kiss.”

Lucerne kissed the end of the ribbon that tied her feathers, and she held out to Elisha. Elisha's face turned red. Small screams erupted here and there. It was a voice mixed with envy.

For the first time in her life, she felt that way. Her head is dizzy and embarrassed. I want to run away from this place……. She thought that this moment would last forever. It was a really strange feeling.

Elisha couldn't take her eyes off the feather and squeezed it in her hand.

“Elisha, I have to say something. The general caught it for Elisha.”

Ilione said quickly. Elisha took his hand.

“…… Happy.”

As Lucerne looked at Elisha, she whispered quietly.

“I'll make you happy next time, so don't make that face.”

“I see.”

Did Elisha look like I was about to cry? She thought and corrected her expression as usual.

“You're pretty when you're defenseless, so don't do that in front of people. Just do it as usual.”

“…….”

The nape of Elisha's neck turned red. She pretended not to notice and lowered her eyes. For some reason, my heartbeat hasn't stopped since a while ago……. That was a bad sign. No, actually. It was hard to judge what was good and what was bad at this moment.

“How lucky she was to get such a man as her husband.”

“Iknow, right. Wow, that's really great. But aren't they a pretty good pair?”

The noble ladies opened their fans and whispered. Many noble ladies adored the handsome and wealthy Lucerne.

Elisha felt strange. It was the first time that she became the object of someone's envy. The day she made a mistake, the first day everyone supported her. It was also the first time it all caught her attention. It was a strangely unfamiliar day.

“Did you say Black Lion would be out of luck today?”

As Elisha moved to the banquet hall, she heard Lapis talking crookedly to Countess Aaron.

“Luck is only necessary for the incompetent. We have never needed a fluke.”

Countess Aaron turned white and, covering her face with her fan, hurriedly disappeared. She looked tired of seeing the prey Black Lion had caught. Elisha was about to say something to Lapis, but shut her mouth, feeling overwhelmed.

*​ *​ *​

The banquet after the hunt continued late into the night.

“I feel tired?”

“…… Little bit.”

When Elisha's expression grew languid, Lucerne took her out of the banquet hall.

“Just say hello to the emperor and come.”

Lucerne took Elisha to her room first. The power of those who enter and leave the imperial palace is determined by the size of the room they stay in.

When Elisha saw the spaciousness and luxury of the room Lucerne used in the imperial palace, she realized his identity.

“Don't go anywhere. I'll be back soon.”

“Yes.”

Elisha nodded her head. Lucerne was like the main guest of the banquet, so she had to go back to the banquet hall to finish her off.

“Lady. Princess Ilione's ladies-in-waiting have visited.”

“Okay? That's great. Thank god. For preparing me right away.”

Sophie came out of the small powder room connected to the room. Sophie was holding the cloth in his arms. They were scarves prepared by Ilione in a hurry.

'I was really embarrassed today.'

Fortunately, there was a chance to make up for it. There was also a hunting festival tomorrow, and embroidering was one of Elisha's specialties. Elisha, she intended to embroider her silk scarf even if it meant staying up all night.