Chapter 2.2

In the reception room of the Crown Princess’s palace, the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and the Duke of Adantie were in the middle of their tea time. The table was set with an excessive amount of refreshments, far more than the three could possibly consume. This was specially prepared for the Duke of Adantie, Ragaen.  

Ragaen was, in truth, an enormous eater, but due to his noble image, he only ate as much as others in public. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess were well aware of how much and how well he could eat, so whenever the three of them had tea time, they always prepared a large amount of refreshments.  

Ragaen, seemingly indifferent to how the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were watching him, leisurely and unhesitatingly continued to put food into his mouth. He had eaten lightly at lunch with other nobles, so he was still hungry.  

“Ragaen, isn’t now the time to be eating like this? All of Hiteria is buzzing with the news of your participation in the hunting competition.”  

“…It’s true I’ve never participated in a hunting competition before, but is it really such a big deal?”  

At his innocent question, Crown Prince Hayel pressed his hand to his forehead.  

“Of course, people would be excited and curious just because it’s your first time participating in a hunting competition. But the important part is that you’re entering with none other than Lady Greta Lievo. Now, tell me.”  

“Tell you what, Your Highness?”  

Hayel smiled slyly.  

“What kind of relationship do you have with Lady Greta Lievo?”  

In truth, Hayel had already received reports on Ragaen’s every move regarding Greta Lievo through Jespa from their previous covert collaboration. However, he couldn’t uncover their correspondence or Ragaen’s feelings. That was beyond Jespa’s reach. Unfortunately, the reports were always lacking.  

“What kind of relationship… I’m not sure what you mean, Your Highness.”  

“Don’t play dumb! What does Lady Greta Lievo mean to you?”  

As Hayel’s eyes burned with curiosity, Ragaen avoided his gaze and put another pastry into his mouth. The apple pie was exceptionally delicious.  

“You insolent man! If you keep ignoring me and just eat, I’ll punish you by making you eat until you burst!”  

Smack! 

That was the sound of the Crown Prince getting hit by the Crown Princess.  

“Ow.”  

“I’ve told you repeatedly not to treat the Duke of Adantie so disrespectfully, Your Highness!”  

“But Iris, aren’t you frustrated?”  

Before his eyes, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess began bickering over him. This was a common occurrence, so Ragaen ignored them and fell into thought.  

Lady Greta Lievo.  

Their first meeting was about three months ago, in early spring, in front of a bear. Only a fool wouldn’t know what people expected of him. They seemed to wish for him and Lady Greta Lievo to be like a prince and princess from a fairy tale. To fall in love and live happily ever after.  

Ragaen couldn’t comprehend the flower-filled minds of such people. How could they imagine pairing a young, beautiful woman, raised with nothing but love and good things, with someone like him—a ragged cloth merely wrapped in a new package? Furthermore, there was a six-year age gap between him and Lady Greta Lievo. Their thoughts were so absurd that Ragaen felt like sewing their brains shut to prevent them from thinking anything ever again.  

Moreover, Ragaen was certain of one thing.  

“Lady Greta Lievo is my fan.”  

He was sure of it.  

“…What?”  

“Lady Greta Lievo is my first female fan.”  

“What the hell….”  

“As you taught me, Your Highness, I am doing my utmost to treat Lady Greta well.”  

As a star, to his fan!  

Hayel couldn’t understand what on earth Ragaen thought he had learned from him. Staring at the calm Ragaen, Hayel buried his face in his palms and muttered.  

“It’s all my fault. I failed to socialize him properly.”  

“Yes, it’s all your fault, Your Highness. I’m glad you’re aware of it.”  

“Iris, whose side are you on…?”  

Ignoring her husband’s whining, Crown Princess Iris addressed Ragaen.  

“Your Grace, you’ve had many male fans until now, haven’t you? How does it feel to have your first female fan? Is there anything different about it?”  

“…It’s very different.”  

“Oh my, in what way?”  

Ragaen’s first female fan, Greta Lievo, was very different from the countless muscular fans he had encountered. However, he had never thought specifically about how. Furrowing his brows as he pondered, he continued to deliver snacks to his mouth without stopping. After a long while, he finally spoke.  

“She writes about very mundane things in her letters. She doesn’t request sparring matches. Her stationery smells nice.”  

“And?”  

“She’s small…?”  

“I heard you exchange letters frequently. How is that? I thought you didn’t enjoy writing letters.”  

“Replying is difficult, but….”  

Lowering his gaze, Ragaen felt his neck grow warm.  

“Reading her letters… isn’t bad.”  

***

A red flag was raised.  

“Another bullseye, Miss!”  

“You’re the best, Miss!”  

The servants who had been watching cheered loudly. Though they couldn’t see the target placed far away, Greta’s arrows hit the center without a single error.  

“Hey, Greta Lievo.”  

“Already off work, Richard?”  

“I didn’t get off work; I didn’t even go to work. I’m on vacation starting today. By the way, do you even realize how much trouble you’ve caused me?”  

“Oh no, not this again. ‘Do you even know how much trouble you’ve caused me?’ Blah blah blah!”  

“You little—!”  

“What do you want me to do about the fact that you’re worse at archery than I am?”  

Richard truly wanted to hit her.  

Unfortunately, Richard was a proud knight of the Imperial Knight Order, trained to the extreme. Striking a civilian would count as attempted murder. His fists weren’t meant for his fragile sibling. Moreover, ever since he had knocked her unconscious with a flick to the forehead in their teens, he’d been traumatized and couldn’t even playfully touch her. At the time, Richard had thought he had killed his sister and cried so hard he fainted himself.  

But he really wanted to hit her. Just once, a single flick.  

Richard, being a good brother, barely managed to suppress his rising anger. Besides, now wasn’t the time for this.  

“Are you seriously okay with this? You’ve never fought a demon before.”  

“Hmph! It’s just a really big, ugly quail!”  

“It’s not a quail!”  

The entire family seemed to have lost their minds. No one objected to the youngest, who had lived her whole life in a peaceful city, suddenly deciding to join a demon hunting competition. Even their timid father cheered her on, saying, “Our daughter can do it! She’s amazing!” Richard would bet his entire fortune that their father had never seen a Lorus in his life and was thinking the same thing as Greta.  

Greta was exceptionally skilled at archery. Among the people of the Empire of Yegahen, who prided themselves on their archery skills, and even among the Lievo family members, who were considered the best archers, she was unmatched. If it was purely about archery, she was far superior to her elder sister Isabelle, a mercenary, or even Richard, a knight. If only she didn’t detest exercising every dawn, Lucas Nindella, the Commander of the Imperial Archery Unit, would have been out of a job long ago.  

But she was still Greta. Greta, who enjoyed physical activities far more than other women her age, consistently trained, and displayed extraordinary focus and strength when shooting arrows. Yet, she was still Greta.  

The same Greta who used to fall so ill as a child that she couldn’t leave her bed for nearly a month each year. The same Greta who fainted and collapsed from a single flick to her forehead. The same Greta who couldn’t do a thing when her beloved horse, Zara, decided to be stubborn. To Richard, she was undeniably fragile, to the point where he worried about what to do with her. And now, this fragile girl was going to hunt demons.  

Hunting demons was nothing like hunting quails.  

“You should know I’m the only one in this crazy family who genuinely cares about you.”  

“What are you even saying? That’s so annoying.”  

“I can’t even hit you for real. Listen carefully. Quails may just drop dead the moment you hit them with an arrow, but Lorus is different.”  

“I know how to hunt them!”  

“Listen anyway! Even though you probably won’t have to approach a fallen Lorus since the Commander is your partner, you still need to minimize the risks.”  

Greta, noticing Richard’s unusually serious demeanor, closed her mouth, halting her playful remarks. Richard extended one arm and continued.  

“The wings of a Lorus are like human limbs. Even after falling, they can crawl, scratch, and attack. Though they only have one leg, their wings function like three additional limbs. If they decide to move, they’re incredibly fast. So, the spot you need to hit is right here.”  

He pointed to a space between the wing and the torso.  

“This part of the wing is the weakest. If you hit it with an arrow, it’ll render that wing completely useless. Aim there. After it falls, don’t approach it under any circumstances. Don’t try to show off by saying, ‘I’ll take care of its neck myself, Your Grace!’ That’s a stupid idea. You don’t have the strength to sever its neck in one blow, and you might end up getting attacked instead. Understood?”  

“Mm-hmm.”  

“Oh, and if by any chance a Lorus with both wings intact charges at you quickly to attack….”  

Richard’s eyes widened as he spoke.  

If that happens, Commander or not, I’ll kill it myself….  

“Roll quickly under its legs and move behind it. Then hide behind the Commander.”  

“Hiding behind the Duke? That’s not cool at all! I need to protect him heroically so he’ll fall for me!”  

“Shut up! If you try to look cool in front of a demon, you’ll end up dead! Got it?”  

“Hmph.”  

Richard’s nagging continued until Greta eventually ran away. Their father, Franz, who happened to witness the harmonious interaction between the siblings, was so moved that he shed tears. That, however, remained a secret.