When The Terribly Unlucky Villainess Returns - Chapter 28
The moment Einar’s voice fell, people doubted their ears.
Just now… did His Highness the Second Prince just…
And once again, an unbelievable sound rang in their ears.
“Einar.”
It was shocking enough that the Second Prince called Lady Bolshevik by name, but for Lady Bolshevik to call His Highness the Second Prince by name as well…
Even those not well-versed in high society, or those who had never set foot in that world, would have understood.
The meaning of Einar and Riina calling each other by name.
Most people, being tactful, made a desperate effort to keep their heads fixed, trying not to look at Smith.
But in any place, there are always those who lack tact, or who don’t care about such things.
“What on earth is this?”
The First Prince, with a dumbfounded face, openly looked back and forth between Smith and Einar, and a few people around him, as well as a few around Smith, followed his gaze.
Even while feeling their gazes piercing his cheeks, Smith couldn’t take his eyes off Einar and Riina.
His bloodshot eyes looked like they might pop out at any moment, and the sound of his clenched teeth cracking could be heard.
But he only gritted his teeth.
Could he rush over to Riina right now and shout, “What are you doing?”
How could he?
Doing so would publicly reveal that he, like everyone else, didn’t know about the relationship between those two.
If Riina, whom he had described as being in a state of “hurt feelings,” had chosen Einar as a temporary plaything, Smith should have known about it too.
Leaving all that aside, could he pin Einar to the ground here and now in front of everyone?
It wasn’t long ago that he had been choked by Einar’s leash until he could barely breathe.
It was clear as day that if he rushed in, he would only make a fool of himself.
In the end, all Smith could do was glare at the two people who had disgraced him and filled him with contempt, as if he wanted to burn them alive.
Just as everyone witnessed this unexpected scene.
-Boom! Boom boom!
Fortunately or unfortunately for Smith.
The sound of drums announcing the start of the hunting competition soared high into the sky, leaving behind the shocking meeting of Einar and Riina that had pushed people into shock and astonishment.
Following this, the forest suddenly became noisy.
-Screech!
From the cry of eagles gliding through the sky in search of prey.
-Woof! Woof woof!
The barking of hunting dogs, highly excited and scratching the ground as if about to break their leashes and dash out.
-Snort.
And the rough breathing of horses raising their front hooves.
It was the beginning of the hunting competition.
-Boom boom boom!
As the drum sound shaking the earth scattered into the sky, the atmosphere among the competition participants suddenly swelled.
“Phew.”
Someone inhaled and exhaled deeply while tapping their arrowheads.
-Clap clap!
Someone slapped their own cheeks to stimulate themselves.
The eyes of those who were relieving tension or calming their minds in their own ways were not just sparkling, but blazing.
They all had one goal.
Second place!
It might seem laughable to someone hearing that their goal, despite all that enthusiasm, was merely second place.
But for them, it was a perfectly reasonable goal.
Once Einar had shown up, they didn’t dare hope for first place in this competition.
Those who had experienced how great his achievements were and how deep his shadow was knew it to their bones, and those who hadn’t experienced it had heard about it until their ears hurt.
But he was a prince, wasn’t he?
A position that doesn’t enjoy any of the special privileges of winning the hunting competition.
Therefore, knowing that the runner-up following him would be treated as the winner of past competitions, the participants’ enthusiasm was no different from before.
-Boom!
This time, along with the drum sound, a booming voice rang out.
“Line up!”
In response, the competition participants gathered in one place with their sharpened hunting tools.
Right after everyone had gathered, a person holding the Emperor’s edict climbed onto the platform and opened his mouth.
“…Therefore, show your strength for the glory of the Empire!”
As soon as the Emperor’s resonant message from start to finish ended, a loud noise rang out in the clearing.
-Thump, thump thump.
No one opened their mouths, but everyone was beating their weapons.
As the sound subsided, the participants approached their designated partners.
“I wish you good luck. Return safely.”
A count’s young lady, smiling brightly as she handed over a handkerchief, was met with a deep bow from her counterpart, a count’s young master.
“Come back without incident.”
A man who received a handkerchief from his fiancรฉe, whose eyes were drooping with worry, kissed the back of her hand.
And so, one by one, most of those gathered there were receiving handkerchiefs wishing them luck.
No one was unaware that the luck wished for with these handkerchiefs was mere superstition.
But wasn’t this competition important and dangerous enough to cling to such superstition and wish for luck?
Although the hunted game had been captured and released, as long as it wasn’t dead, threats could exist anytime, anywhere.
In fact, countless people were injured after participating in the competition, and it wasn’t uncommon for some to suffer irreparable injuries or even lose their lives in severe cases.
Moreover…
“Don’t make mistakes.”
“There won’t be an incident like last year.”
Those exchanging these enigmatic conversations were young masters who had been friends since childhood due to active exchanges between their families.
“You swore it absolutely wouldn’t happen last year too.”
“Alright, I’ll be careful.”
“Being hit by your blind arrow once is enough.”
“If you keep this up, I might just give you a good smack with my sword instead.”
“Both of you, calm down.”
The one mediating between the two growling like children sighed and said,
“With dangerous beasts around, you need to be on guard against other people’s blind arrows or swords too.”
Yes. In this hunting competition, it wasn’t just the game that threatened lives in a moment of carelessness.
Although officially prohibited, there was something secretly carried out under the surface between families that were not on good terms or were in conflict.
“The threats from other families are not just cute squabbles like yours.”
Namely, assassination.
Cases where someone is incapacitated or pushed to death throughout the hunting competition.
No assassins openly appear, nor do any secret weapons pop out.
Most perpetrators simply claim it was an unfortunate accident or an unavoidable mistake.
“Go get your handkerchief before it’s too late.”
“What about you, brother?”
“I’ve already received mine. Hurry up and go.”
As the two young masters headed towards their ladies, still throwing words at each other.
Smith was still standing in the same spot, staring at Riina and Einar without blinking.
“Um, Your Highness. Though it’s inadequate, please accept this handkerchief… mmph!”
A young lady who, upon hearing the news of Riina’s broken engagement, didn’t miss the chance to aim for the spot next to Smith, cautiously approached but was dragged away with her mouth covered by someone.
“Shh!”
“Wh-what?”
Realizing that the person who had covered her mouth and dragged her back was her closest acquaintance, the young lady nervously smoothed her hair.
“I know how much you want to give your handkerchief to the Third Prince, but take a deep breath for a moment.”
“What? I’m busy now, what deep breath?”
“Do it quickly.”
Having her handkerchief snatched away, the young lady had no choice but to take a deep breath in and out.
“Now, look at the Third Prince.”
“What are you talking about…”
The young lady couldn’t finish her sentence.
“Do you see now? You’ll be lucky if your handkerchief doesn’t get torn to shreds.”
“I… see.”
Indeed, as the person who stopped her had said, the Third Prince looked like he would tear apart anything that got in his way.
And with similar thoughts to this young lady, other young ladies who had abandoned their promised partners also had to retreat step by step in the face of the Third Prince’s fierce aura.
“It seems…”
“Yes. It’s impossible right now. By the way, I wonder if Lady Bolshevik is really angry.”
“I know. She must have known that the Third Prince would be this angry.”
“At least it’s not the First Prince?”
“What do you mean ‘at least’? If Lady Bolshevik is close to the Second Prince…”
The rest didn’t need to be said to be understood.
“Well, nothing is certain right now. That’s why I said from the beginning that giving a handkerchief to the Third Prince was out of the question.”
“Oh come on, they say the unexpected and the unthinkable can happen anytime in this world.”
As if completely oblivious to the young lady’s whispered complaints, the surrounding commotion, and Smith’s anger.
Riina and Einar were gazing only at each other.
As if only they existed in that place.
Riina whispered to Einar, half a step away, just loud enough for him to hear.
“It seems we’ve achieved our goal of participating in the hunting competition. You and I.”
“That we’re close enough to be engaged soon? No. We’re still far from it.”
Einar grinned and tapped the hilt of his sword as he continued.
“I plan to present the lady with an unparalleled, enormous trophy.”
“I did hear there was some extraordinary beast.”
And Einar would stand before her with the trophy everyone desired, just as he had promised.
“Iโll come back as quickly as possible.”
“While Your Highness is certainly capable of doing so, please don’t rush too much.”
“Hm?”