015. Hunting Competition (3)
As Lucia headed to the greenhouse with Youngae and Youngsik.
Owen had just entered the edge of the forest.
“I don’t see any demons yet.”
This was all because of the Crown Prince, Richard Le Freyon.
The hunting competition was originally not about individuals moving alone but moving in pairs.
However, this was a story that only applied to ordinary knights and mages.
It did not apply to transcendent beings like Swordmaster Owen.
It had certainly been like that until last year.
“We’re still at the edge of the forest, that’s why.”
Richard nodded slightly at Owen’s response.
Being a direct descendant of the royal family, Richard had sharp blond hair and golden eyes.
At nineteen this year, he was the sole Crown Prince of the Freyon Empire.
The same age as Louis, he would come of age next year.
Perhaps that’s why the Emperor wanted Richard to secure his position as the successor more firmly.
So, he allowed Richard to participate in the hunting competition, which he had refrained from doing until last year, in order to gain popularity among the people of the Empire by showing the Crown Prince’s willingness to protect the North.
“As expected, the Duke knows a lot about the ‘Forest of Eyes.'”
“I’m sure Lord Keres, the owner of the estate, knows more than I do.”
Owen replied to Richard’s admiration, nodding his head.
Then Richard nodded in agreement, opening his mouth.
“That’s right. Lord Keres is the owner of the estate. You all are indeed remarkable.”
Although Richard was not considered a genius knight to the extent of being outstanding, he was an expert in using the aura.
Despite having much better conditions for hunting than ordinary knights, the Emperor, who was cautious by nature, personally asked Lord Keres to prepare a team for him.
A team personally requested by the Emperor was far from ordinary.
From Swordmaster Owen, the organizer of the hunting competition, to Lord Keres, a 6th-class mage, to Louis, a Sword Expert, and even the sub-male protagonist Matopju Kyle.
Until last year, they were all individuals hunting on their own.
Yet now they were keeping pace with the Crown Prince, who was new to the hunting competition.
No matter how much they talked, their speed was not fast.
Thanks to that, the group was still lingering at the edge of the forest.
“The Crown Prince is truly remarkable.”
Keres, one of the four Imperialists, the only female among them, was the first to speak after Richard’s praise.
In response to her reply, Richard nodded.
“You speak truly.”
“Truly, I speak from the heart, Your Highness.”
As Owen watched the exchange between the two, he quietly chose to withdraw from the conversation.
He was not particularly skilled in flattery.
That applied to ‘Owen’ as well, so there seemed to be no need to force something that wasn’t there.
As Owen averted his gaze, Louis approached him and spoke.
“My lord.”
Owen looked at Louis with a cold gaze in his deeply sunken black eyes.
Having read the original work dozens of times, Owen could boast of knowing Louis’s actions better than anyone.
He was someone who despised and tormented his own sister, Lucia, with all his might, even going so far as to help the male lead ‘Owen’ push her to her death.
There was no way Owen could look favorably upon such a person.
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“…There is something I’d like to ask.”
Louis showed a startled reaction at the deeply sunken black eyes.
It must have been a sudden response to the news he received that day, so it was no wonder Louis was surprised.
Startled, Louis looked at Owen, who responded slowly with a nod.
Then, he spoke up.
“Is the rumor true?”
Louis asked Owen directly, likely due to the headache he had been suffering all night from what Lucia had said yesterday.
“The rumor?”
Seeing Owen’s confusion, Louis let out a shallow sigh.
As if relieved.
“It wasn’t true after all. What Lucia said yesterday was indeed a lie-.”
“No.”
Interrupting Louis, Owen narrowed his eyes and spoke again.
“I was just asking you what rumor you were talking about.”
“….”
“If it’s about Lucia, then yes, it’s true.”
Owen stated firmly.
Louis didn’t even know what rumor he was talking about, or what Lucia had said yesterday.
It was just a precautionary measure, in case Lucia might be harmed.
He figured it must be a favorable rumor to her, as she was the one who started it.
Or perhaps it was a rumor related to him.
“…That’s impossible.”
Even though Owen spoke those words, Louis’s eyes showed clear disbelief.
“But… But Lucia is not worth that-.”
“Gongja.”
As Louis began to speak in his usual manner, Owen cut in with a cold tone.
“No matter that you’re the princess’s brother, you can’t speak of her in that way.”
A chilly anger seeped into Owen’s voice as he spoke lowly, making Louis stiffen momentarily.
It was because of Owen’s threatening tone.
“I hope I never hear those words in my ears again.”
At his warning, Louis bit down on his lower lip.
‘It’s really true.’
He couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to believe it.
But the fact that the rational Owen said so must be because she was his lover.
Although he had a blunt personality, Owen was someone who couldn’t see harm coming to his people, so now it made sense.
‘They were… lovers.’
Owen’s outburst about someone speaking ill of Lucia was just a burst of anger, but Louis was unaware of that.
As Louis was about to make a great fuss and come to a conclusion.
Kyle, who was leading the way, turned back.
“If you keep going at this slow pace, you’ll end up going back to the last place.”
Kyle’s voice carried a clear annoyance.
He was the only commoner among them in this place.
Perhaps that’s why he didn’t bother with etiquette, facial expressions, or acting, and just managed to maintain politeness without crossing the line.
“You’re already lagging behind, so hurry up a bit.”
Taking his gaze off Louis at Kyle’s words, Owen looked at Kyle.
‘Seeing the supporting male lead in person.’
Feeling somewhat relieved from the tension Louis had caused, Owen hadn’t had the chance to observe him properly earlier due to focusing on the prince and Louis, and just now, he couldn’t pay attention to Kyle because of Louis’s disrespectful remarks about Lucia.
Looking at him belatedly, his appearance felt quite intriguing.
When looking at Lucia, what was expressed in writing, and depicted in illustrations and webtoons, seemed far from enough.
She wasn’t someone who could be captured by such limited means.
And in Kyle’s case, he seemed just like the illustrations and webtoons.
As if drawn in a webtoon and illustrated, as depicted in a web novel.
Louis had a striking and eye-catching appearance.
‘Somehow familiar.’
Although it was their first meeting, Owen couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity with Kyle.
Perhaps it was because he was one of the few familiar faces he had seen since entering ＜The Flower of the Empire＞.
‘Looks exactly like the cover illustration.’
Even if it was one-sided, meeting someone with a known face made Owen feel strangely excited.
This was likely due to the lack of resolution in Owen’s relationships with others.
Owen had not a single person he could call a friend.
As a result, aside from Lucia, the people Owen met were all there for business.
Perhaps tired of such human relationships, even the familiar face of Kyle was warmly welcomed by Owen.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
Was Owen’s gaze burdensome?
Kyle responded, furrowing his brow.
Seeing his somewhat rude attitude, Louise, who had reached her limit, approached Kyle.
Then, she began to scold Kyle.
“No matter how high-ranking the Topjoo may be as the owner of Matop, you cannot be disrespectful to the Duke.”
Seeing Louise getting worked up, Owen finally recalled from the original work that Louise admired him.
Owen let out a small sigh and intervened to stop Louise.
“Enough. It was my fault for making it awkward. I apologize.”
At Owen’s humble apology, both Louise and Kyle looked at him in surprise.
“For you to apologize—impossible…”
“The Duke apologizing…”
Although they seemed to be muttering to themselves, unfortunately, Owen with good hearing caught every word.
Unsure of their disbelief, Owen opened his mouth to make excuses, but soon gave up.
No matter what he said, it was clear both of them would only be more surprised.
‘Just like a useless male lead.’
Internally scolding himself, Owen tightened the reins and urged them on.
Naturally, the pace of speech quickened, and Owen passed them by, speaking as if in passing.
“Let’s hurry. Didn’t someone say they didn’t want to go back in the last order?”
In his casual tone, Kyle muttered in disbelief.
“What kind of person…”
After a short, forced laugh, Kyle picked up the pace.
As the two moved ahead, Louise, in a flustered voice, urged them to slow down.
“Why are you two going ahead…”
In response, Keres Viscount and Richard also hastened their speech to follow.
“What if only the two of them go ahead?”
“It seems everyone wants to go back quickly.”
After running for a few minutes, the group finally reached the center of the “Forest of Eyes,” where monsters were known to appear.
In the center of the “Forest of Eyes,” some people were already there, hunting.
“So, those are the monsters.”
Richard remarked, finding the appearance of the monsters fascinating.
Contrary to his reaction, the others remained indifferent.
Having participated steadily in hunting competitions, they had seen monsters several times, so it was nothing new.
Except for Owen.
“Looks more decent than I thought.”
Externally composed, Owen inwardly found the sight intriguing.
Thanks to the heroine, monsters appeared several times in the novel, but their appearance was never properly described.
Only mentioning how the heroine Bella, with Owen and sub-male lead Kyle, successfully defeated the monsters.
Even in the webtoon, where battle scenes were not frequent, whenever depicted, only vague, dark figures appeared, without a detailed look.
“Just an ordinary wild animal with a dull color.”
The actual appearance of the monster Owen faced was slightly different from what he had seen in the webtoon.
The real monster had a resemblance to ordinary animals, with the only difference being its black color, not appearing grotesque or strange.
As Owen and the group stood still, observing the monster…
“Gasp…!”
A loud scream echoed from the opposite side.