14. affection level 100? (1)

Time flew by swiftly, and it was already mid-October. And as mentioned before, the annual autumn hunting festival was held in mid-October.

Lysith, preparing to attend the autumn hunting festival, was being adorned by her maids while staring into the distance.

“This seems too cold.”

“Then you can wear this with it!”

“The color is too plain. Since the lady has fair skin, I’d prefer a darker color.”

Time seemed both very slow and very fast. Having decided to stop visiting the Grand Duke’s residence once October arrived, her last visit had been in September.

Naturally, that was also the last time she had seen Dietrich.

On the last day, just before parting, he called her name as if he had something to tell her, but then shook his head saying it was nothing, which irritated her.

Getting to know him personally made her newly realize that Dietrich Clonair was frustratingly indecisive.

He didn’t seem to be like this with others—she had never seen him hesitate when speaking to his butler or aide!

But uniquely, truly uniquely with her, he would start to speak and then stop, start and then stop. This tall man, a head taller than her, acting so timidly made her want to grab him by the collar and shake him, demanding that he speak.

She hadn’t actually done it, but……

Separately, if she had to pick the most troubling letter recently, it would be Verheigen’s letter.

From the very beginning, he addressed her as “my beloved Lysith,” and what followed was outrageous. At the time, she had pulled out a handful of her own hair while reading it.

‘You said you’d prevent rumors from spreading in social circles, you crazy person……!’

「……By the way, some strange words reached my ears. News that you spent a night at the Grand Duke’s residence. I’m not saying anything about it. I just want to confirm the facts, that’s all.」

To be precise, Verheigen had learned of this just before the rumor spread through social circles and, despite his anger and irritation, had completely blocked the rumor from the start, but Lysith, having no friends, had no way of knowing this.

In any case, she wanted to sit down and wail.

Someone of Verheigen’s status would surely know it had happened because of the rain, yet he deliberately wrote this in his letter, which meant he was either annoyed, upset, or telling her not to go to “that guy.”

She was dead if they met. Either mentally or physically.

She exchanged letters with Ashites occasionally, but he still hadn’t come to the empire. Well… considering his position, this was actually normal. Since there was no strange condition requiring all the male protagonists to be together for the quest to be completed, Lysith felt at ease.

His letters, often lamenting how busy he was and how he still couldn’t return, had a certain charm that made her smile in the midst of her boring noble lady’s daily life.

Just as Lysith finished her thoughts, the maids around her stepped back a few paces, apparently finished with their preparations.

“All done!”

“I see.”

Honestly, it wasn’t a place worth putting so much effort into one’s appearance, but Lysith simply let them do as they pleased.

Since she wasn’t particularly active in social circles, they should at least have some fun on occasions like this.

Earlier they had been saying something about dark colors, and it seemed they had decided on that. Over a dark blue dress that completely covered her from neck to wrist to toe, her white hair, parted into two sections and brought forward, hung elegantly.

As always, Lysith emerged accompanied by her maids who were delighted with their creation, and she spotted Penchev waiting near the carriage as usual, giving him a slight smile.

As soon as Lysith, who had walked over with calm steps, stood in front of the carriage, Penchev whispered in a low voice.

“I wish I could have gone with you.”

Naturally, Lysith was going alone, and Penchev’s voice was slightly lowered, as if he was concerned about this.

Laughing softly at his words, Lysith answered simply.

“You’re a butler.”

“That’s just it. I should have applied to be a guard knight.”

“Do you know how to handle a sword?”

She felt it when he had held her waist or touched her here and there, but his palms had quite a lot of calluses. There were calluses in places that wouldn’t form from everyday paperwork, but would form from holding a sword.

And in response to Lysith’s question, which recalled her suspicion, Penchev nodded readily, confirming her guess.

“It’s not a skill I can boast about, but it’s enough to protect someone.”

“Is that so? Then perhaps I should hire you as a guard.”

Though it was clearly a simple joke to anyone listening, at her words spoken with a smile, he momentarily imagined himself standing by her side as her guard.

“……Come to think of it, haven’t you hired a separate guard?”

“Hmm, not particularly. I thought it would be uncomfortable to have someone following me around constantly. Besides, I don’t go out often.”

Most of the guards at the mansion were from the Gronevelt ducal family. She hadn’t kept separate guards from the beginning. Thinking about it, the original Lysith also didn’t have separate guards, so there was no issue for her now.

“I was thinking of doing it myself if you were considering it, but I guess not.”

“Then I’d have to hire a new butler.”

While Lysith answered nonchalantly, she was slightly scared at the thought of Penchev becoming a guard knight. The idea of him being by her side 365 days a year… and what kind of looks he would give whenever she encountered the other male protagonists.

Leaving the man with a somewhat regretful look behind, Lysith boarded the carriage and departed for the autumn hunting festival.

The usual venue for the hunting festival was the imperial hunting grounds, which was merely a form of entertainment. Being under imperial management, the chance of accidents was extremely low, and above all, knights from the imperial order stood guard.

There were some territories where real hunting festivals took place, capturing beasts in their natural wild state, but these weren’t held in the capital.

She had heard that small animals appeared at the entrance of the forest, with more dangerous animals deeper inside, but since she wasn’t going to hunt herself, she didn’t pay much attention.

And originally, there was only one thing noble ladies would be interested in at a hunting festival.

‘The Lady of the Hunt, was it?’

If hunters wanted to dedicate their game to a lady, they would present it to that lady, and the woman who received the most game would become the Lady of that year’s hunting festival.

Last year’s hunting festival had been particularly noteworthy because Diana’s parents, the Marquis and Marchioness Pirandello, had newly flaunted their love as a devoted couple.

While “lady” typically referred to unmarried noble daughters, there was no rule against presenting game to married women.

So when married men participated, they usually presented their game to their wives, and the Marquis Pirandello, who normally didn’t participate, suddenly joined and dedicated all his game to his wife.

As a result, last year’s Lady was, unusually, Marchioness Pirandello.

‘Thanks to that, I again……’

Became a good point of comparison.

The Grand Duke’s lackluster performance at the hunting festival, which had apparently been the case before, and the Grand Duchess who didn’t receive game from anyone.

They might not present their game, but generally if a man had a wife, he would present it to her!

‘Just thinking about it makes me irritated again.’

Lysith, sitting under a tent where the autumn wind had begun to cool, unconsciously pulled her white cape tighter around herself.

Usually, noble ladies would share tea with laughter and chatter in places like this, but Lysith had no such friends. No, even without friends, it seemed that invitations were normally extended, but……

A strange situation was unfolding where several young ladies sitting far from her would glance at her but never actually approach to speak.

‘Why……’

Could it be because of Ashites? Had rumors spread that if someone crossed her, their family would be ruined? It shouldn’t be that extreme.

As she tilted her head slightly in confusion, she felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. As if someone was glaring at her.

While sitting alone, lonely and forlorn, sipping her warm tea, a quest window suddenly appeared before her eyes with a clear sound.

[SUDDEN QUEST IN PROGRESS!]

‘Become the Lady of the Hunt!’

TIP! Unlike the previous sudden quest, this might be as easy as eating cold porridge?!

[Upon clearing this sudden quest, you will receive the ‘Affection Check’ skill as a reward.]

‘They’ll give me the Affection Check skill?’

Indeed, she had been told before that the Affection Check skill could be obtained by clearing a sudden quest. It was obvious that this had been planned from the beginning. Though she couldn’t understand why.

Still, why give it now? If they had given it to her from the start, she wouldn’t have had to be so anxious and cautious.

Anyway, she absolutely had to succeed in this quest. Until now, not receiving any game wouldn’t have been a major problem in her life—though it had been a major problem for her mental state and mood—but this time, a significant life issue was at stake.

There were only two people likely to present her with game, but she was uncertain how well those two would perform. Judging from past records, she couldn’t expect much from Dietrich……

And as for placing her hopes on Verheigen, she didn’t know his skills well enough to judge.

Ugh, as Lysith was pressing her forehead, a servant suddenly approached and carefully bowed beside her.

“What is it?”

“There is someone who wishes to speak with you, my lady. I cannot specify exactly who, but he asked me to tell you that he wishes to discuss what happened on the rainy day.”