Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Children's Hunt
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I stared at Josephine Rippenstein—Armin's older sister and the heir to the West—as if appraising her.
Josephine bore a striking resemblance to Armin.
That meant she was a delicate beauty with a soft, elegant air.
'Armin definitely seemed to dislike Monica.'
I'd wondered if that reflected the will of the entire West, but unlike Armin, Josephine treated Monica with surprising kindness.
The atmosphere with my uncle and aunt was cordial too.
So it was just that jerk Armin, then...
"Father has prepared a hunt for the children to welcome Young Master Armin."
"The Duke of Kalenberg did?"
"You can look forward to it. Monica is Father's cherished granddaughter, after all. And she's my beloved niece too."
As he spoke, Uncle tightened his grip on Monica's shoulder.
Monica flinched for an instant and managed an awkward smile.
Vice-Duke Josephine either didn't notice or pretended not to; she simply kept smiling with that inscrutable expression.
"If you've prepared such a hunt for us, then the West can't just sit idly by."
"What do you mean?"
"How about this? We'll gift an item blessed by the Holy King's Court to whoever takes first place."
"A blessing from the Holy King's Court? Now that's exciting! Come, let's head inside. The banquet is ready."
So the 'something worth looking forward to' Grandpa mentioned was this hunt.
Sounds good.
Armin's attitude was the only sticking point.
If he kept this up, what would happen to the engagement...?
From early morning, the guest quarters housing the Western nobles were a whirlwind of activity.
The hunt was upon them before they could even shake off their travel fatigue.
The maids handpicked by Vice-Duke Dominic of the North themselves hovered nervously, attending to Josephine and Armin.
Josephine, adjusting her formal attire in the mirror, waved the maids away.
Once they were gone, Armin flopped onto the sofa.
"You need to smile, Armin."
"Sister, I don't enjoy hunts at all."
"This is a welcome event for honored guests. Like it or not, you have to go and keep smiling the whole time."
"Like Lord Kalenberg?"
Josephine shrugged lightly at her rebellious brother's retort.
"That would be even better."
"I don't like him, Sister."
"Armin."
"Mother said this marriage talk was plotted between Lord Kalenberg and Duke Petherzen. We're a ducal house too—how dare they act on their own whims like that..."
"Isn't Lady Kalenberg rather cute?"
"Sister!"
Even as Armin protested, Josephine merely chuckled briefly.
Watching his utterly relaxed older sister, Armin pouted.
Monica Kalenberg.
The girl who stood beside the oily Dominic, fidgeting and watching for cues.
'She's not not cute, but...'
What was so special about that?
Armin had been born the third son of the Western ducal house.
That was the source of his pride.
No matter that the Southern ducal house held the era's greatest power, they had no right to dictate unilaterally to their fellow Western ducal equals.
He had zero intention of meekly following the whims of those insulting the West.
"No matter what anyone says, I'm not getting engaged to her."
He hated her soft-looking brown hair and those sparkling golden eyes like stars.
Because she took after Dominic, that's why.
Armin lifted his chin defiantly, like a declaration of war, and checked his reflection in the mirror.
Josephine sighed softly at her youngest brother's back.
Her pampered little brother couldn't hide his feelings at all—that was worrisome.
'Of course, Mother has no intention of forcing the engagement with Monica either.'
They'd discussed it before leaving the West.
They would pin this marriage—brokered even by the Empress herself—on the North's responsibility and call it off.
That was why Josephine had brought her young brother all this way.
'And if we can eliminate that Jessica Cardinal—who was bribed by the South into supporting this farce—then even better.'
The head of the Kalena Grand Cathedral in the North.
The church faction, which had always bowed to the Western ducal house, was lately trying to place itself above them.
At the center was Cardinal Jessica.
The impure element within the church plotting to ramp up sedative trades with Dominic on their own.
"Armin, let's head out. It's about time."
The two hurriedly finished preparing to avoid being late.
In their haste, they didn't notice someone eavesdropping at the door before slipping away.
The day of the hunt dawned.
With the betrothed pair, Monica and Armin, as the stars, participation was limited to minors only.
I sat Dietrich and Florian inside the hunting lodge and laid out the rules.
"No matter what, you two absolutely cannot hunt too hard today."
"Huh? Why?"
"We're not the stars today. We have to hang back so Monica or Armin can win."
If someone from our house took first, Uncle would flip out and come at us, right?
It'd be fun to watch, but I'd promised Dad I'd behave until he left for the de Vayer County.
No need to provoke Uncle more than necessary.
I did regret that verbal spat from our last encounter a bit.
Given his personality, I'd expected some retaliation, so his unexpected quiet had surprised me.
"Look over there, baby Ella!"
At Dietrich's shout, I turned to see a spectacular sight in the sky.
The gamekeepers opened the glass enclosure doors.
At once, orange butterfly-like monsters trapped inside unfurled their wings and took flight.
Manak. The name of these massive beasts resembling emperor butterflies.
With each flap, opal-like dust shimmered in iridescent hues, scattering in the air.
The monsters hovered briefly, showering beautiful light, before vanishing into the forest—lured by the bird scent the keepers had liberally applied.
"Too bad. I know the Manak hunting tricks pretty well, but I guess we have to watch the Westerners' reactions."
"But catching zero would look too half-hearted."
"Hey, Florian. How about we each snag just one?"
"To win, we'd need a bigger Manak."
"Already tricky. What should we demand as winner's prize?"
"You could leave those schemes to me."
I shook my head at the two, burning with pointless rivalry.
Piiiieeee—!
At that moment, colorful fireworks—for friendly matches—streaked into the sky with long tails, painting it vividly.
As if waiting, Dietrich vaulted onto his horse.
"I'm off first!"
Dietrich charged ahead on his massive black steed, vanishing into the forest shadows in a blink.
Florian didn't follow right away. Instead, he extended a hand to help me mount, then climbed his own horse.
Even then, he lingered, sticking close to my deliberately slow pace.
Weird. I tried chatting.
"Aren't you going hunting?"
"Just wanted to shake off Dietrich."
What?
"Bet?"
"Not that important. The sun's harsh there—come this way, baby."
Florian naturally guided my horse into the shade.
I stuck out my tongue at his pretty, shameless face as he moved into the sunlit spot.
'What a sly fox...'
He just wanted to hang out with me leisurely, without Dietrich. That's what this was.
The hunt lasted three hours, so we'd have these three hours alone together.
Straightforward Dietrich would scour the whole forest for the biggest Manak while we relaxed.
Silly big brother of mine...
I could see why Lavinia patted my head pityingly every time she saw me.
"A bit deeper in, there's a small cabin and lake the gamekeepers use, baby."
A cabin and lake?
I widened my eyes, and Florian, whispering so gently, gave a small smile.