Chapter 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Hunting Festival
-----------------------------------------------------------------
How did it end up like this?
"Marquis, let's win the hunting festival together in overwhelming fashion."
"Your Excellency. I'll support you from behind, so go ahead and rampage as much as you like."
Lucia and Irene were clinging to each arm on either side of him, with Yujin luxuriating in the middle. The other nobles watching from behind whispered among themselves.
Whisper whisper—
"Look at that. Isn't that Marquis Banus, and next to him the Arkabella Duchess and Princess Lucia?"
"Y-yeah, looks like it...?"
"Why are both of them holding onto the marquis's arms...?"
"N-no way, are both of them his partners...?"
"Gasp!"
The ladies who had arrived at the hunting festival with their partners.
"Whoa... Princess and duchess, no less. Same as at the victory banquet last time, and now at this hunting festival too. They must have a deep relationship."
"Impressive purely as a man."
"But how?"
"Just look at that face. Hate to admit it, but at that level, women would flock to him. Even the duchess and princess..."
"Hey! Watch your mouth."
"Ahem, honestly, I'm jealous of Marquis Banus."
"...We should try cozying up to the Banus marquis family."
The young lords who had also arrived with their partners.
"A hero of His Excellency's caliber naturally attracts women, huh."
"Hm. Or maybe it's just because he's so handsome...?"
"What blasphemy is that! Heroes are supposed to have three wives and four concubines! It's all because His Excellency has reached such sublime heights as a hero!"
"Which means we need to redouble our training!"
"Mm!"
The knights who just seemed to be lacking in thoughts.
...How the hell did it really come to this?
'...Haa.'
Yujin racked his brain trying to figure out exactly how things had spiraled into this mess.
It all started at the victory banquet.
Or, to be more precise, the moment Lucia and Irene stepped out onto the balcony for a serious girls-only talk.
There, the two began a candid conversation.
"Lucia. Knowing that I like the marquis... no, Yujin, did you really have to steal the partner spot like this?"
"Hmm, sorry, Irene. But I'm a woman too, you know. It was because of you that I got interested in the marquis in the first place... I didn't expect it to turn into actual feelings like this."
The two stared at each other for a while.
Irene barely suppressed a sigh.
"Still, that's no excuse... Knowing how I feel...!"
"I know. I know full well. We're friends, after all. And we even planned together to knock the marquis off his feet."
Surprisingly, that was true. The plan was: if he ever drank, naturally approach him and get him into bed.
That plan had been thought up by Lucia for Irene.
"Oh, speaking of which, did the plan actually succeed?"
"Hoo... It was a resounding success."
Irene blushed as she recalled their intense entanglement on the bed.
Lucia watched her quietly and then...
"Glad to hear it."
...simply gave her friend a faint smile.
"So, were those words just now sincere? That you like Yujin too?"
Lucia answered firmly.
"Yes. Completely sincere. Enough that the imperial family is even proposing an engagement."
"...What?!"
Irene was stunned.
She had suspected that Lucia had feelings for Yujin.
After all, Lucia—who had never shown interest in any man—had snatched the partner spot. Yujin had told her about it right away, and she'd realized then.
But that was separate from an engagement.
'I've never heard anything about an engagement...!'
For a moment, Irene felt a surge of crisis at the thought that she might lose Yujin—her one and only close friend—in the worst possible way.
"At first, it was just mild curiosity from hearing you talk about the marquis, and then hearing His Majesty praise him. But when the marquis entered the palace this time and I met him for the first time..."
Like magic, the moment she saw him, her heart had started pounding.
"Turns out I'm just a woman who can't help it."
Whether it was Yujin's signature cynical aura, his face, or his achievements as a war hero.
She didn't know the exact reason, but one thing was certain: simple curiosity had turned into genuine affection.
Irene spoke in an urgent voice.
"Engagement? What's this about an engagement?"
"It was... a political engagement."
That was the original intent.
But once Lucia developed feelings for this man named Yujin, it had transcended mere politics and become sincere.
"Haa..."
Irene let out a deep sigh at her words.
What to do about this.
She didn't want to fight over a man with her precious friend.
But Yujin was the man she'd harbored feelings for since childhood, the one she absolutely didn't want to give up...
"Is there any reason we have to give him up?"
"...?"
"We can just both be with Yujin together."
Lucia repeated verbatim to Irene what she had told Yujin when proposing the engagement.
Irene froze.
"What do you think? If you just yield the order to me, we both get our happy ending."
"..."
...If Lucia connected with Yujin through engagement first, Irene could aim for the second spot.
On the other hand, if Irene insisted on first place, it could spark a clash between the imperial family and the ducal house, blowing things up. And Yujin caught in the middle would be in an awkward spot.
Irene didn't want to put Yujin in an awkward position.
'Cunning little...'
Lucia might as well have set a trap.
"It's all up to you, Irene. What do you say?"
...
In the end, after agonizing over it, Irene's answer was—
"...I'll accept."
An acceptance of the proposal.
...It seemed too easy, but whatever.
She believed it was at least better than losing her precious friend.
After that, they chatted about lighter topics.
Then, suddenly,
"Oh, right. The hunting festival is coming up soon. Who will be your partner for that...?"
Irene trailed off.
Hunting festival.
One of the nobles' annual social events. Men and women paired as partners, with the man hunting monsters for the woman.
Or sometimes hunting together.
Suddenly, they started gauging each other.
Irene didn't want to lose the partner spot this time. And Lucia felt the same.
In the suffocating game of chicken, Lucia racked her brain.
A flash of inspiration hit her.
"Why don't we both go as Yujin's partners?"
"B-both...?"
"Yeah. Wouldn't that be fine?"
"...That's unprecedented."
"A princess and a duke's daughter sharing an engaged man is also unprecedented."
"..."
...Things had already gone this far; maybe it would be okay?
Irene was tempted by Lucia's proposal.
And so, Yujin ended up attending the hunting festival with both women as his partners.
'The stares are prickling.'
The nobles were sending scorching gazes at this unprecedented situation. Probably running all sorts of political calculations in their heads.
'Well, looks like they're in the same boat over there.'
Yujin glanced toward one spot.
There, two blockheads—the Crown Prince and the Northern Grand Duke—were growling at each other with Sena in between.
'Tch.'
Unlike Yujin's case, those two men were sharing one woman as their partner for the hunting festival.
'Fitting for the romance novel protagonist.'
Reverse harem, basically.
...Of course, Sena sandwiched between them had no desire to attend the hunting festival in the first place. She'd only been dragged here by the grand duke and Crown Prince's insistence.
But how would Yujin know that? As he stared at them, their eyes met.
"...!!!!"
"....!!!!!"
"..."
For an instant, perhaps recalling the balcony incident, the Crown Prince and Northern Grand Duke glared ferociously.
Especially from the Northern Grand Duke, Yujin could feel the killing intent skin-crawlingly clear.
'Killing intent?'
A laugh bubbled up unbidden.
Did the Northern Grand Duke even realize what he was doing? Ignorance was a problem, and awareness was a problem too.
It meant he was acting without grasping the gap in level between himself and Yujin.
'Either way, it won't last long.'
The world of nobles wasn't one where you could strut around relying solely on status.
Snicker—
Yujin smirked at the Northern Grand Duke and moved away.
Taking it as mockery, the grand duke's killing intent swelled even further.
'Marquis Banus... such humiliation...!'
Time passed, and all the hunting festival participants had gathered. A massive platform stood before them.
And atop the platform was none other than the emperor of this empire.
Unexpectedly, the hunting festival was an imperial event.
"...I expect you all to compete honorably and fairly. With that, let the hunting festival begin."
The emperor said as much, briefly locking eyes with Yujin.
He shot him some kind of look...
'Make it work with my princess.'
As if saying that.
Before Yujin could even react, the emperor ducked into the tent.
And with that, the hunting festival officially began.