“…What?”

It was natural for Jurgen to question back with a bewildered tone.

He wasn’t sure whether to laugh it off dismissively or get angry. That’s how absurd it felt.

What was certain was the intense urge to immediately capture this woman before him and lock her up in the castle.

To keep her always within his grasp, within his sight, so she wouldn’t recklessly get herself ruined…

“……”

Jurgen ran his palm over his face, habitually suppressing his wildly surging emotions.

It was always like this. Vanessa Roengreen. Since those days long ago…

[Why did you save me?]

[At that time… I thought you would die if I didn’t save you. And actually, I wanted to save all the other children too. But Father opposed it…]

[Who are you to try to save the battle slaves of the north? Are you running a charity? Are you trying to be a saint? Don’t make me laugh.]

[Why are you angry? I just think it’s what should naturally be done.]

She was a strange girl. In a hellish world where no one cared whether commoners lived or died, let alone slaves, she treated those slaves as equal humans and said they should naturally be saved.

At first, he seemed to hate that aspect of Vanessa, shuddering at what he saw as hypocrisy. But later…

“……”

The Vanessa he reunited with after years had passed remained unchanged. Her stubborn and tenacious nature, her strong sense of compassion, her boldness in facing injustice. Though she didn’t trust people easily, once she gave her heart, she would become completely their ally and show boundless generosity — that irritating benevolence.

Though somewhat weathered by life’s hardships, she remained unchanged.

Jurgen could easily guess that even during her time in Terevron, she must have been ostracized for refusing to mingle with the corrupt ruling class and not compromising her principles.

Yet even after enduring all sorts of hardships in that den of trash…

When he saw her, eyes sparkling that same transparent navy blue, saying she wanted to help people…

For a moment, he felt a violent urge to destroy and burn everything before his eyes.

Was the emotion behind that impulse anger, hatred, or something else? His feelings toward her were all mixed up and in such disarray that he often couldn’t distinguish what was what.

Only one thing was clear: she was the only one who could evoke such intense emotions in him.

Jurgen lifted his head from his palm and glared fiercely at Vanessa. His gaze was so intense it looked as if he might bite her.

His eyes traveled from her roughly braided hair to her gray nurse’s uniform and the dusty apron.

She looked shabby. Yet even if you were to place her before people like this and say ‘This woman is the princess of Roengreen,’ everyone would believe it.

Because even in such a state, Vanessa Roengreen was sparkling almost frighteningly.

Just as a precious gem doesn’t lose its luster in mud, just as the morning star doesn’t lose its radiance in pitch darkness.

“If you’ll come with me, there’s no need for Sir Garcia to accompany me. And I think your hunting skills would be better than his anyway.”

“Excuse me, Your Highness? Isn’t that too harsh to say right in front of someone? After I’ve been so helpful since yesterday.”

“I’m just stating facts, Sir Garcia. I’m truly grateful to you.”

Jurgen alternately looked at Garcia and Vanessa, who seemed to have grown quite close, with sharp eyes. Feeling his piercing gaze, Garcia flinched and cleared his throat while checking the atmosphere.

Jurgen approached Vanessa with a sneer, closing the distance in one stride. Then without a word, he snatched her up and slung her over his shoulder.

“W-what? Suddenly!”

A startled Vanessa stamped her feet and pounded his back with her fists. Jurgen placed her on his warhorse and lightly jumped up to mount the saddle himself.

“Duke, what are you suddenly doing?”

“I’m trying to do what you want, do you have a problem with that?”

“……!”

He pulled her slender waist tightly against him with one arm while taking the reins with his other hand. The horse snorted and slowly trotted down the street. Their destination was the guards’ armory.

“I remember your archery skills were terrible. Seeing you volunteer to hunt, I suppose you’ve improved somewhat?”

“…Did we shoot arrows together when we were young?”

“……”

It was both amusing and irritating that she had completely erased memories that he alone remembered. Jurgen laughed fiercely as if possessed and urged his horse faster.

At the armory, the bow Vanessa chose was the most basic shortbow. It was small and light, easy to handle but had short range and weak power. It wouldn’t pierce bear or wolf hide. Though it might be adequate for rabbits and deer…

“If you’re done choosing, stop dawdling and follow me.”

“Mmm, okay.”

The next stop was the stable. They needed to choose a horse for Vanessa since she couldn’t keep riding on Jurgen’s horse while hunting.

Wondering which horse to choose, Vanessa glanced at Jurgen walking beside her holding the reins and casually asked.

“Come to think of it, what’s your black horse’s name?”

“Alexander.”

“…That suits him perfectly.”

Though it might seem too grand a name for a horse, Jurgen’s black stallion was significantly larger and more muscular than other horses, which made the name seem very fitting.

Alexander, seeming to notice they were talking about him, raised his head proudly with a snort. He appeared to have quite a lot of pride in himself.

Vanessa laughed a bit incredulously and carefully reached out to stroke Alexander’s mane. He just stared at Vanessa with his deep amber eyes without avoiding her hand.

“He seems to like me.”

“……”

“Looking closely, he kind of resembles you too.”

Jurgen’s sharp gaze pierced her as if asking what nonsense she was spouting. However, by now, such looks didn’t affect her at all, so Vanessa just smiled brightly and deliberately met his eyes.

At the stable, they examined fifteen horses that hadn’t yet been assigned owners. The one that caught Vanessa’s fancy was a mare with light wheat-colored fur.

However, Vanessa was a bit puzzled when Alexander showed strange signs of excitement upon seeing her. Perhaps he had fallen for this mare?

The mare was very gentle and didn’t show any wariness even toward Vanessa whom she was meeting for the first time. When given an apple, she followed so eagerly that she seemed more like a person-loving dog than a horse.

“Are you choosing that one?”

“Yes, can I really have her?”

“…Do as you please.”

“Hehe, I need to give her a name.”

While Jurgen skillfully fitted the saddle and reins on the horse, Vanessa pondered over a name.

However, unable to think of an appropriate name no matter how much she thought, she finally decided to ask Jurgen for help.

“Duke, do you have any name recommendations? I can’t think of any good names no matter how hard I try.”

“……”

Jurgen glanced at Vanessa and answered without much hesitation.

“Anaïs.”

“Wow, that’s really good.”

The name he casually suggested suited the wheat-colored mare perfectly. Vanessa genuinely admired and praised Jurgen’s choice.

“Duke, you have an excellent sense for naming.”

“……”

Jurgen just sighed with an inexplicably irritated expression.

The two rode their horses toward the forest near the outer castle. It wasn’t a very far distance.

Arriving at the forest and beginning preparations for hunting in earnest, Vanessa suddenly recalled memories with her father. It was her father who had taught Vanessa how to hunt.

Thanks to that, Vanessa was skilled with a bow and could easily handle butchering dead animals. Though she still felt sorry for them.

“Ah, the air is so fresh.”

As the forest’s crisp scent filled her lungs, Vanessa’s mood improved considerably. Though helping at the clinic hadn’t been too difficult, it seems she had felt somewhat stifled.

“Though dangerous beasts shouldn’t appear in this area, be careful just in case. Don’t act alone, and don’t stray from me.”

Vanessa turned to look at Jurgen with a bright smile at his advice delivered in a dry voice.

“Are you worried about me? Thank you.”

“……”

By this point, Jurgen looked like he was about to explode with irritation. Though Vanessa noticed that he disliked her acting sly like this, she had no intention of stopping. She was being quite deliberately provocative.

‘I think I’m starting to get a sense of how to handle this man.’