She was clearly taking a different route back so he wouldn’t know she had come from the palace.

A thorough sort of person. Not that it did her any good, given that he already knew exactly who she was.

Her reasons are what I want to know.

She was unhappy with life at the palace, and yet she was clearly anxious not to be caught having slipped out. She didn’t want to be expelled.

But she doesn’t want the position of princess consort either.

Thinking back, Blair had always seemed like someone dragged there against her will, going through the motions without any real desire. And yet she had spent nearly half a year at the palace as a frons.

“She has a separate goal.”

Blair Mervish wanted something specific. Kalintz was very curious about what it was.

Turning it over in his mind, he glanced toward the tree where she had been talking to herself. Something small was catching the last of the sunlight and glowing red.

Kalintz walked toward it without hesitation.

On top of the cut stump sat a small brooch. It showed the marks of time, but the amethyst had not lost its light, which suggested it had been kept with great care.

Allen, she had said. A secret lover, perhaps.

He picked up the brooch and looked at it for a moment, then tucked it carefully into his br*ast pocket and left the lake quietly.

From that day on, Kalintz had Ernst look into Blair. But there was nothing particularly unusual about Viscount Mervish’s household.

Nothing, except that her older sister, Rania Mervish, had taken her own life three years ago, less than a year after marrying Count Huston.

Kalintz resolved to speak with Blair directly.

His father happened to be holding a luncheon with the frons around that time, and on impulse he had gone. But Blair had made an excuse about feeling unwell and left almost immediately, and she had kept avoiding him ever since.

Three returned banquet invitations later, Kalintz was trying to figure out how to get her in the same room when he happened to spot her out with Fitz one day.

That was how the riding competition had come about. This time, she had no good reason to refuse.

Kalintz intended to find out today what it was she wanted.

He had a vague suspicion already……

If what she wanted was what he thought it was, then just maybe, it might be useful to his own plans.

Kalintz let a faint smile settle on his lips and glanced back.

“……!”

Something unexpected made him pull gently on the reins and slow Nox to a stop.

“…… Where did she go.”

He hadn’t been riding at full speed, and her skill was good enough that she shouldn’t have fallen this far behind already.

He came to a full stop and looked out over the wide, open field. The wind moved through the empty meadow and sent a ripple of green across the grass.

Then, from the forest where the hunting grounds lay, a flock of birds burst into the sky.

Kalintz’s eyes narrowed.

Surely not. Even she wouldn’t be that reckless……

He told himself it couldn’t be, but turned his horse around in a hurry anyway. He reached the path leading to the hunting grounds quickly and stopped in front of the signpost.

The words No Entry had faded to near-invisibility. And along the path into the hunting grounds, a fresh trail of hoofprints stretched ahead.

“D*mn it.”

The words came out low and flat, matching the cold, sunken look in his eyes.

Kalintz set his jaw, tightened his grip on the reins, and drove Nox fast toward the hunting grounds.

❀❀❀

Blair shivered at the cool air against her skin.

“Not a single ray of light gets in here……”

It hadn’t looked so dark from the outside, but once she was inside, the tall trees were packed together far more densely than she had expected.

On top of that, the path had clearly gone untended for a long time. Weeds and undergrowth had taken over.

The strong feeling that this was a path almost no one used anymore crept over her, and with it, a creeping unease.

“Fitz, let’s get through this quickly. Something feels off about this place.”

The damp, cool air seemed to be getting to Fitz as well. His condition was noticeably worsening.

She was starting to regret taking this path, but Blair pushed the bad feeling down and pressed on toward Lake Reuden and the finish line.

A little further in. Blair was riding tense and alert, every sense sharpened, when something reached her ears.

Whimper, whine—

A small animal’s cry drifted from somewhere near the ravine. The sound was too pitiful to ignore. Blair dismounted and walked toward it.

At the bottom of a steep slope, a small black shape was whimpering. Squinting, she made out the shape of a black leopard cub.

Its leg must be hurt.

Blair swallowed and looked around. There was no trap on the cub’s leg, which meant another animal had most likely attacked it.

She stood there hesitating, unable to decide what to do, and the cub’s breathing grew more labored.

“Haah…… why do I always hear things that are in trouble.”

She let out a long sigh and carefully stepped down the slope.

It was steeper than it looked. The narrow stream must flood often, because the rocks jutting out along the incline were thick with moss.

The footing was far more treacherous than she had expected. Blair tensed every muscle in her body and descended slowly.

“…… There, I’m almost—kyaah!!!”

She thought she was nearly at the bottom and stepped a little carelessly. Her foot slid out from under her.

Blair lost her balance in an instant and tumbled down the slope. The world spun, and then a rush of damp earth filled her nose.

“Ugh…… that hurts.”

Searing pain shot through her ankle, bent inward at a wrong angle. Blair barely managed to push herself upright, brushed the dirt from her face, and grabbed her ankle. It hurt badly enough to bring tears to her eyes.

Whimper, whimper, whine—

Right beside her, a thread-thin breath was barely holding on.

The black leopard cub looked like it had been born not long ago, clinging to life by a thread. It was so small it could almost be mistaken for a cat at a glance.

“Right, you’re worse off than I am. Hold on just a moment.”

Blair staggered to her feet. The pain in her twisted ankle was terrible, but she bit down hard on her lip and went to the cub.

She took out her handkerchief and carefully wrapped and tied the cub’s injured leg. Then she took off her jacket, bundled the limp little body inside it, and gently lifted it into her arms.

“Shh…… good. Just hold on a little longer.”

Blair limped forward, doing her best to keep the cub from being jostled. She couldn’t climb back up that slope, so she had to find a gentler path.

The small creature in her arms trembled and looked up at her with a pitiful gaze. Staring at that jet-black fur and those two golden eyes, she was reminded of someone.

“You know, you look like someone I know. I keep getting tangled up with black-furred beasts. Strange.”

Blair murmured, thinking of Kalintz and the way he had watched her like a predator sizing up its prey.

“And would that beast be referring to me.”

“Aaah!!”

A low voice poured down from directly above her, and Blair let out a startled shriek.

“Your Highness? How are you here……”

From the top of the slope she had just come down, a pair of bright amber eyes were looking down at her.

“Blair Mervish. Are you not right in the head?”

“Pardon? What kind of thing is that to say out of nowhere—”

He appeared from nowhere, nearly gave her a heart attack, and then asked if she was right in the head. Blair blurted out something impolite before she could stop herself.

She snapped her mouth shut and glanced at him carefully. His face had gone rigid, just as she feared.

The thought that she might be dragged off for insulting the royal family barely had time to cross her mind before Kalintz came down the slope.

“You know this is a hunting ground.”

He was in front of her in an instant, his voice carrying an edge of anger.

“…… The race didn’t specify a course.”

“Ha. So. You came in here and risked your life just to beat me?”

Kalintz swept his hair back and said it like he couldn’t make sense of it. He had stopped using formal speech with her.

“No, I didn’t risk my life. This isn’t exactly the kind of place dangerous beasts live. That would be the Karl Mountains in the north. This is a royal hunting ground.”

Blair widened her green eyes and pushed back, word for word. Kalintz exhaled in exasperation.

“Did you not see the sign saying this area is inhabited by dangerous wildlife? It said no entry.”