013. The Hunting Competition (1)
As time passed, five days before the hunting competition.
Owen, accompanied by the knights of his house, headed to the location where the hunting competition was to take place.
The venue for the hunting competition was in the northern part of the Empire, specifically in the ‘Forest of Snow,’ which was on the border.
It was quite far, taking almost a day from the capital to the northernmost edge.
In a magical world, it would have been nice to use teleportation magic for travel, but unfortunately, teleportation magic was prohibited except in emergencies like war or rebellion.
Fortunately, everyone in the group was a knight, and without delaying time by bringing a servant, they managed to arrive a day before the hunting competition.
Upon arriving at the headquarters of the hunting competition, located a bit away from the forest, Owen dismounted from his horse.
“Have you arrived, Duke Verdin?”
As Owen dismounted, Countess Ceres approached and greeted him.
Countess Ceres was a lord who held the northernmost territory of the Empire and was in charge of the annual hunting competition.
“You have worked hard.”
Understanding the other’s hardships through the original work, Owen offered her words of comfort.
Hunting competitions in spring and autumn were aimed at reducing the number of creatures by hunting, but it was not possible to kill all the creatures that way.
Count Keres always had to be on edge due to the monsters.
If the protagonist Bella had used her powers to create a “Circle of Protection” in the north, the story would have been different, but unfortunately, the original story had not yet begun.
“No, thank you.”
Count Keres bowed his head in gratitude and then signaled for a servant.
“Please guide His Excellency.”
“Yes. Please come this way.”
The servant of the count led Owen and the party of Duke Verdin to their assigned tents.
Thanks to the warming magic, the inside of the tent was cozy, and perhaps due to Owen’s status, the tent itself was quite spacious.
Owen was astonished by the size of the large tent and the fact that the interior was decorated like a bedroom.
He carefully unpacked his belongings, as he had only brought the essentials, so there wasn’t much luggage.
After tidying up, he went outside the tent and summoned the count’s servant again.
“Has Lady Edelt’s party arrived?”
Taken aback by Owen’s sudden question, the servant hesitated briefly before answering.
“Yes. They arrived about an hour ago.”
“Where is Lady Edelt’s tent?”
Upon hearing Owen’s question, the servant seemed to understand the situation.
The servant promptly led Owen towards the tent where Lucia was located.
“This way, Your Excellency.”
Guided by the servant, Owen arrived at a place filled with red tents.
Red symbolized the Edelt family.
It was clear that this was their domain.
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Among the many red tents, only three tents were adorned with a red eagle symbol.
It seemed to be where those bearing the name Edelt resided.
Observing this scene, Owen realized why he had been assigned to a tent with a black wolf symbol, unlike the other knights.
Lost in such unseemly thoughts, the servant delivered a message to Lucia’s maid.
Upon receiving the message, Lucia came out of the tent right away.
“How did you come all the way here?”
Lucia, showing a surprised reaction at the unexpected visit from someone who had never visited her tent before, greeted Owen.
Although she was glad to see him, it was still quite unexpected.
“You had already arrived, they said.”
In response to Lucia’s words, Owen replied with a faint smile.
“Yes, I arrived about an hour ago. When did Your Ladyship arrive?”
“Just a while ago.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
In a concerned voice, Owen shook his head quietly.
“Not at all. Are you not tired?”
“I came by carriage.”
“Riding a carriage for a long time is also exhausting.”
It wasn’t just any carriage; it was a carriage fit for a duke’s daughter.
Despite being a father who didn’t love her, Duke Edelt pretended to be an ordinary father on the outside.
There was no room for using just anything.
Therefore, Lucia must have come all the way here in a carriage befitting the name of Edelt.
One with sturdy, very soft seats.
Perhaps even equipped with magic stones for insulation and stability.
Knowing all this, Owen still worried about Lucia.
Even if he could logically think and come to a conclusion in his mind, the heart didn’t always follow suit.
“It wasn’t too difficult.”
Even when Lucia smiled and replied so, Owen could see her disbelief.
After a few more exchanges, Lucia’s gaze fell on Owen’s hand.
Her gloves, gifted to him by Lucia a few days ago, were on his hand.
“You’re wearing the gloves I gave you.”
Lucia said softly, and Owen looked down at his hand.
“Because I thought you wished so.”
After the tie, Lucia had sent quite a few gifts to Duke Verdin.
Owen would always keep them carefully in a display case and only wear them when meeting Lucia.
Logan’s words about showing appreciation by using the gifts received had a strong influence.
The reason he wore the gloves today was also for that purpose.
“…If I were to ask for something else, would you do it?”
Lucia slowly raised her voice in response to Owen.
Whether he considered his response an opportunity or not, a clear greed shone in her crimson eyes.
Recalling a description from a novel he had read dozens of times, Owen captured her eyes.
Once again, he felt that mere words were insufficient to encompass all of her.
“Anything.”
To Owen’s response that he would listen to everything, Lucia blossomed a radiant smile.
Her delicately arched eyes and lips that elegantly curved were incredibly enchanting.
“Thank you.”
Lucia briefly greeted before immediately voicing her request.
“When you return from hunting, please accompany me to the riding grounds.”
“Riding grounds…?”
“Yes.”
Only after hearing Lucia’s response did Owen finally realize why she had learned horseback riding.
And at the same time, he felt a bit disappointed.
“I thought she would demand something more grandiose.”
Seeing the emotions rising above her hazel eyes, he was certain she would ask for something significant.
So, he had expected at least a proposal to attend a ball together…
Just horseback riding, it seemed.
“…Alright.”
Despite Owen’s affirmative response, he couldn’t shake off the disappointment.
Lucia, unaware of his thoughts, simply smiled happily.
Owen silently watched her, narrowing his eyes slightly at her faint smile.
“Your clothes are too thin.”
The northern regions were winter-bound all year round.
Although it would somewhat resemble spring temperatures during summer, apart from that, the winter weather there was no different from other regions.
Perhaps that was why Lucia was wearing a relatively thick dress rather than the thin ones she usually wore…
Yet, she still didn’t seem warm enough.
Was it because she had once fallen ill?
He felt more concerned and worried.
“Wouldn’t it be better to wear thicker clothes?”
“It’s warm enough.”
As Lucia shook her head, Owen let out a soft sigh, looking concerned.
He soon took off the cloak he was wearing and draped it over Lucia.
“You are delicate… You should take more care.”
The pitch-black cloak, tailored to fit Owen’s body, was oversized for Lucia.
She seemed almost engulfed by the cloak.
Nevertheless, Lucia delicately adjusted the cloak and nodded her head.
“Yes, I will do that.”
As the two of them conversed,
The remaining noble families arrived one by one.
Once all participants of the hunting competition had arrived, it was time for weapon maintenance.
The quiet space quickly turned noisy as knights and mages emerged from their tents.
Most were busy with weapon maintenance, but there were also those who glanced at the two together from time to time.
However, due to their statuses, no one approached to start a conversation.
And so, as they spent time on maintenance, it was time for the final inspection by the head of the family.
The knight commander of the Verdin Marquisate, Jade, came to find Owen.
“Here you are, Your Highness. I’ve been looking for you for a while.”
Turning towards Jade at his voice, Owen then received his report.
“We have finished the weapon maintenance.”
Although Owen felt somewhat disappointed, he nodded his head as there was no other choice.
Weapon maintenance inspection was crucial.
A single mistake during maintenance could result in someone getting injured or killed.
Not performing maintenance was unpredictable and irresponsible behavior.
“Very well.”
Owen slowly responded before looking at Lucia once again.
“Let’s meet again tomorrow morning.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Lucia briefly bid farewell.
And with a brief exchange of glances, Owen left for the inspection.
As Lucia watched him leave, Duke Edelt came out of the tent for an inspection.
By his side was Lucia’s stepbrother, Louis Edelt.
As the heir, Louis seemed to be learning what he needed to do as a leader of the hunting competition next to Duke Edelt.
“Don’t bother, go back to your tent.”
Louis, who usually despised and resented Lucia, immediately started a quarrel upon seeing her.
With an annoyed tone, Lucia replied as she exhaled, “As if it wasn’t going to happen anyway.”
“It seems like your wandering is a hindrance.”
“Whether I wander or not, focus on your own tasks.”
Despite the siblings’ argument, their father, Duke Edelt, took no action as usual.
He simply watched.
“Why are you so confident?”
Knowing well that Duke Edelt would just watch, Louis didn’t hesitate to confront Lucia.
“Do I have a reason not to be confident?”
Although Lucia wasn’t one to back down easily.
When Lucia asked, Louis responded as if he was indignant, “It doesn’t benefit the family in any way.”
“There are ways to benefit the family other than heir lessons.”
“At least your actions don’t benefit the family. Don’t try to teach me. You know nothing.”
As Louis got angry, Lucia shrugged.
“I just stated the truth, what’s the harm in that?”
“If it’s the truth, then what I said must be true. Lately, all you do is chase after Lord Verdine, isn’t it?”
In response to Lucia’s words, Louis retorted.
“Well, even if you stick to him like glue, he’s not interested in you anyway.”
And with a snort, he mocked Lucia.
“Louis, even though I’m your sister, let me give you one piece of advice.”
In response to Louis’ words, Lucia replied, touching the cloak she was wearing.
On the chest of her jet-black cloak was the emblem of Lord Verdine, clearly engraved.
“Sometimes rumors turn out to be true, so it’s not wise to close your ears completely.”