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Those who finished the hunt were each giving their animals to the person they desired. Apparently, it was a tradition of this competition.

Of course, in front of me, there wasn’t even a shadow of any animals to be seen. Surprisingly, Roan, who I thought would have finished quickly and returned by now, was still not back.

It was then that I heard a familiar voice, reminding me of a feisty kitten. It was Sophia, of course.

“The Duke hasn’t come back yet?”

“No. Why is he so late?”

“He must be looking for animals to give to you.”

“What?”

Roan, for me? In that case, even if he brought back a snake, I’d be happy to accept it.

No… maybe not a snake?

“That would be nice.”

Sophia, watching my smiling face, said,

“It seems like you’ve gotten a lot closer to the Duke?”

“Compared to before, it’s a huge improvement…!”

Yes, indeed. When I think about it, I’ve achieved quite a bit of what I set out to do since coming here.

I managed to stop the love triangle between Grace, Roan, and the Crown Prince, got quite close to Roan—not just my imagination—and even though not completely, I have somewhat prevented the fundamental reason for him getting hurt in the war.

It made me feel that coming to this world was worth it.

“And you, Princess, seem to have received quite a lot?”

I teased, poking Sophia in the side with a smile.

Sophia chuckled, but then her face turned somewhat lonely. It was an expression I had never seen on her before.

“…I think I’m more envious of you.”

“What? I haven’t received anything.”

“But you’re receiving something from someone who cherishes you. Isn’t that enough?”

She was absolutely right. But seeing Sophia’s expression as she said that, for some reason, made me feel like she was sad, even though it shouldn’t be the case, and I was left speechless.

“That…”

Sophia quickly returned to her usual aloof demeanor. It was so fast I wondered if I had imagined it.

“Was I complaining?”

“Oh, no.”

I belatedly snapped back to reality and replied.

At that moment, an ominous feeling swept over me from head to toe.

‘What is this?’

– Bang!

A loud noise came from far away. It was a sound from deeper within the forest.

Though it wasn’t so loud due to the distance, it was clear that something significant had happened. If heard up close, it would have been quite loud.

It didn’t sound like hunting; it seemed more like something was destroying the forest.

The noise, louder than before, echoed once again. People, who had initially been indifferent, started to stir. Bang, crash. The noise grew louder and more irregular.

Was there usually something like this happening around this time in the hunting competition? But it was still too early for the original story to start in earnest, so my knowledge of this world was limited to what I had seen or inferred from past recollections. I didn’t remember any scenes like this from my memories.

Well, it was unlikely the original story would mention every annual hunting competition, but such a commotion would have been mentioned at least once.

…So, is this something that didn’t happen in the original story?

The earlier ominous premonition felt like it was becoming a reality, engulfing me. Could it be?

No, Roan is incredibly strong. There’s no way he could get hurt.

Despite that obvious fact, I strangely felt more and more anxious.

One of the factors making me so uneasy was the original story.

Wasn’t there a time in the original story where the incredibly strong Roan got seriously injured? I was worried that this world might also have some kind of ‘fate.’

You know, like the protagonists inevitably facing the events written in the novel. So even if I tried to prevent Roan from getting hurt, wouldn’t things just flow that way eventually?

Until now, this world hadn’t shown any signs of such a troublesome rule, but with my worries about Roan magnified a hundredfold, my ability to think logically was somewhat diminished.

I unconsciously bit my lip.

“What is that noise?”

The emperor asked in astonishment as the noise grew too loud to ignore.

“I will check it immediately.”

His attendant responded to his question and quickly disappeared.

***

Since he was out hunting, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to do it properly.

Still, what’s this about giving one’s catches to another man’s wife? Roan thought, feeling somewhat off-kilter. As if noticing his mood, Jafflin spoke up.

“Duke, surely you’re not angry about me offering a token of respect to your wife?”

Of course, he wasn’t angry. He wasn’t angry, but…

“Isn’t this a common practice? Of course, I don’t believe you’re such a petty man to take offense.”

Suddenly being labeled as petty made Roan’s brow furrow.

“Why would that make me petty?”

Why indeed would having such feelings make him so?

“What?”

Jafflin seemed surprised by Roan’s response.

His words were certainly trivial. Roan felt a sense of self-doubt about his own reaction, as if he was being swept away by a fast current.

“…It’s nothing.”

Roan adjusted his grip on the reins and asked,

“But why do you keep following me?”

It wasn’t just his imagination; Jafflin had been sticking close to him for a while now.

“Duke, I’m not one of your admirers. I’m simply going my own way.”

Jafflin’s face was excessively brazen as he said this.

Roan decided to ignore him and started scouting for the game.

He didn’t even glance at animals like deer, which seemed like they would fall with a single arrow.

Jafflin was the same.

Although no one intended it, they eventually found themselves moving together deeper into the forest.

It was when no more people could be seen around them.

“It seems we’ve come quite far. Let’s start hunting.”

Jafflin rotated his arms as if warming up.

“Honestly, I wanted to see you hunt today, Duke. I have a feeling you look magnificent wielding a sword.”

“…….”

Roan didn’t realize he was thinking similarly to how Delis did when she first met Jafflin.

It was then. A very familiar sensation enveloped his body. Roan’s gaze turned cold in an instant.

Killing intent. It was the same dreadful feeling he had grown sick of on the battlefield.

Jafflin also seemed to sense something, as his playful demeanor changed.

“Duke. This is…”

“I know.”

The red eyes gradually appearing between the trees confirmed their instincts.

It was the presence of monsters. And those red eyes belonged to Clatinus, a monster known for its tough shell, which was difficult to deal with without aura.

“This is strange.”

Jafflin murmured lowly. They hadn’t even reached the monster-inhabited area yet.

The pairs of red eyes were increasing exponentially. And they were all focused on Roan and Jafflin.

For an ordinary person, such a number would have been overwhelming. But what was overlooked was that the targets of these monsters’ eyes were far from ordinary. The expressions on their faces remained remarkably calm despite the increasing number of enemies.

Roan didn’t think for a moment that this strange phenomenon of monsters attacking all at once was a coincidence.

Clatinus was a high-level monster with intelligence. Intelligent monsters could perceive their opponents’ intentions well. They wouldn’t attack if they believed they couldn’t win. Yet, these monsters were rushing at them recklessly, like bees to honey.

Moreover, these monsters were targeting only him. It just appeared as if they were attacking both because the second prince was standing right next to him.

This confirmed his suspicion. ‘They’ were involved.

Roan laughed derisively. It seemed they were desperate enough to resort to such petty threats. If he could gather concrete evidence, they wouldn’t escape the charge of treason.

He only had suspicions, but they started from his wife, Delis, and she was right.

Roan’s eyes shone coldly as he watched the numerous monsters closing in.

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up on the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories