The next day, the nobles set off for the forest early in the morning, leading their horses.

Since the hunting tournament ended before sunset, they hurried to secure good hunting spots from the morning.

Yelodia woke up at dawn to see Edward off and, after a leisurely breakfast, was invited to a tea time with the ladies.

“Come this way, Lady Xavier.”

“Thank you for the invitation.”

The noblewomen who had followed their husbands to the hunting grounds were unusually excited at Yelodia’s arrival.

“I hear your engagement ceremony is approaching. How are the preparations coming along?”

“Thanks to your concern, everything is going well.”

“You two made such a lovely pair when we saw you yesterday.”

“His Majesty truly has an impatient temperament. After you debut in high society following your engagement ceremony, who would dare to ignore you?”

Yelodia merely listened absentmindedly to the ladies’ chatter, unable to join the conversation. Even so, the noblewomen laughed warmly, as if finding her endearing.

At the center of the group was Duchess Quito.

“Princess Anais has been a dear friend of mine for years. There’s no woman more graceful and pure than her.”

With that single statement, the noblewomen seemed to fully embrace Yelodia into their circle.

Yelodia quietly listened to the noblewomen’s kind words.

However, as the conversation progressed, the focus shifted away from her. She simply remained seated, silently observing.

When the tea time ended, Yelodia finally had some free time.

She hurried back to the tent. She had been itching to leave the tea time, eager to see the cub fox.

By nightfall, the cub fox was whining and trying to jump onto Yelodia’s bed. When the maids tried to separate the fox, it let out a pitiful cry.

If Martha had been there, she would have quickly understood Yelodia’s feelings. But Martha, seemingly exhausted from helping prepare for the engagement ceremony, was resting back at the estate with a slight fever.

“Just let it be. It’s pitiful, separated from its mother.”

When Yelodia lifted the cub fox onto the bed, it curled up near her shoulder and fell asleep as if it had been waiting for the chance.

It was so adorable that she stared at it absentmindedly for a while.

“What are you doing?”

“It just fell asleep a moment ago.”

When Yelodia entered the tent, she quickly looked for the cub fox.

The red fox, full from its morning meal, was sound asleep on Yelodia’s bed.

“How cute.”

Was this how the expression “as sly as a fox” came to be?

Yelodia was entirely captivated, watching the cub fox, when her gaze caught sight of a pure white piece of paper on the table. She hadn’t noticed it when she left the tent earlier.

Unthinkingly, she unfolded the paper and frowned.

“I saw Baron Adrian with a woman on Lonel Street.”

Startled, Yelodia crumpled the paper into a ball.

“What, what is this? Who dared to enter here?”

Her heart pounded wildly. The contents of the note were shocking.

Her mind went blank, like a blank slate.

Lonel Street?

Just then, a voice came from behind her.

“Yedi.”

Yelodia flinched and turned around in surprise. It was Hester entering the tent.

“Brother, didn’t you go hunting?”

“I decided to rest today.”

“…That sounds like a good idea.”

Yelodia sighed as she replied, but Hester’s expression remained unusually serious.

“Is something wrong? Are you unwell?”

Hester shook his head. Then, as if making a significant decision, he looked her straight in the eye and asked,

“Yedi, did you meet with the baron alone, disguised as a servant?”

“…”

“Is it true?”

Yelodia didn’t answer, but Hester immediately read the truth in her expression.

“What on earth were you thinking? The engagement ceremony hasn’t even taken place yet! What if this causes a scandal in high society?”

“It was a chance encounter. I didn’t expect to meet him there either.”

“Still…”

Hester opened his mouth to speak but closed it again, his face bewildered. Finally, Yelodia understood the note’s origin.

Someone who didn’t recognize Yelodia in her servant disguise must have misinterpreted her meeting with Edward as the baron being with another woman.

“How do you plan to resolve this mess?”

“In this case, isn’t it better to do nothing? It’s not like the engagement will be canceled over it.”

“If we don’t hurry to clear up the misunderstanding, strange rumors will spread throughout the social circles.”

It seemed someone bold enough to leave an anonymous letter in Yelodia’s tent had tattled to Hester as well.

“Whose misunderstanding exactly should I be clearing up?”

Who is the culprit?

As Yelodia’s gaze sharpened, Hester frowned.

“Whoever it is, I’ll never admit to anyone that my younger sister has a hobby of sneaking out dressed as a servant.”

Yelodia shrugged lightly.

“Then just deny it.”

“…”

“If the people involved stay quiet, how long can they keep dragging it out?”

Yelodia was calm and unbothered, while Hester pressed his fingers against his temples as if nursing a headache.

Meanwhile, at that very moment, Edward was walking through a dense forest, its thick canopy blocking out most of the sky.

The occasional rays of sunlight spilled onto the forest floor, and the sorrowful cries of birds echoed faintly in the distance.

The air carried the strong scents of grass, earth, and wood.

Even while walking along the forest path, Edward felt as though he were sinking into deep water.

“Do you see anything?”

Beyhern asked impatiently. No one answered his question.

Even Edward himself wasn’t sure how deep into the forest he had come.

“At this rate, today will end up a wasted effort too.”

Unable to endure the stifling silence any longer, Beyhern began scolding a subordinate officer.

“Second Lieutenant Walter, didn’t you say you had experience with hunting? If even you can’t manage this, what are we supposed to do?”

“The only hunting experience I have is tagging along with my father as a child… and we had hunting dogs back then.”

Walter’s excuse was met with a groan from Beyhern.

The use of hunting dogs was prohibited under the rules of the emperor’s hunting competition.

How needlessly strict.

“Sir, shouldn’t we come up with something? We can’t just sit idly like this.”

“And what brilliant plan do you propose?”

When Edward responded indifferently, Beyhern felt as if a stone was weighing down on his chest.

“Am I the only one frustrated here? Huh? Didn’t you say you were insulted at last night’s banquet? Rumors are already spreading. Once the nobility looks down on you, it’s irreversible. How can you remain so nonchalant?”

“Then go and catch a rabbit or something.”

Beyhern clutched at his chest, as if trying to suppress his mounting frustration.

“If you’d moved half this much during the war, you would’ve wiped out all the animals here by now. How can you be so carefree?”

Despite his adjutant’s nagging, Edward continued to move his horse silently.

The truth was, Edward didn’t particularly enjoy hunting. With no shortage of food at his estate, he saw no reason for meaningless slaughter. He much preferred wandering freely through the vast forest.

The rabbit caught yesterday had been an accidental find by Beyhern, not Edward. Without it, Edward wouldn’t have caught a single thing yesterday either.

When they came upon a spring, Edward gradually pulled on his reins.

Water from between the rocks had pooled into a small basin, making it a good spot to let the horses drink and rest.

However, a group had already arrived at the spring.

When one of them raised their head, Edward frowned slightly.

It was Theodore Kesley.

“Didn’t expect to meet you here.”

“Nor I,” Edward replied curtly, dismounting from his horse. His officers also dismounted in unison.

When Edward loosened the reins, his horse lowered its head to drink from the spring water.

The officers, mindful of sharing space with nobles, led their horses to a spot slightly farther away.

“Don’t you think you’re being shameless?”

Theodore’s remark was directed at Edward, who gave him a blank stare.

“…What did you say?”

“Do you know what kind of rumors are circulating in the social circles right now? They say that a penniless nobody is aiming to become the son-in-law of the Duke of Xavier. They can’t even laugh at the absurdity anymore.”

Edward looked at Theodore with tired eyes.

“What exactly are you trying to say? That you want to take my place?”

“You! Because of you, Lady Xavier’s reputation is in shambles! Now I see how shameless you really are!”

Theodore’s voice, low and rough, sounded more like a growl than speech. His fierce eyes suggested he was moments away from drawing his sword and challenging Edward to a duel.

Edward studied Theodore quietly for a moment before chuckling softly.

“That’s a much better look than pretending otherwise.”

“What did you just say…!”

“The one who chose me as the Duke’s son-in-law was His Majesty the Emperor. If you have something to say, shouldn’t you address him directly?”

“How dare you…! Do you think you’ll still act so smug when I report your sins to His Majesty?”

Sins? To Theodore, declining the Emperor’s recommendation must have seemed like a grievous offense.

Edward gazed silently at Theodore, then turned away, having grown weary of the pointless conversation.

“I saw you with a woman in Lonel Street!”

Edward halted briefly, unsure of what nonsense Theodore was spouting.