・・・・・
A small banquet was held for the hunting tournament.
"Lady Amber!"
Startled by the loud, vigorous shouting of my name, I turned around in surprise.
As I looked back with curiosity, a man had already come close, his face flushed red as he huffed and puffed.
‘You scared me.’
Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, I could only blink in response.
Her eyes blazed fiercely with what felt like anger — or something else — and it was quite overwhelming.
‘But who the heck is this guy?’
Despite my reputation as a former know-it-all, I couldn’t immediately recognise the man charging at me like a rhinoceros.
As I stared at him, wondering who he was, he spoke first.
“Ah, my lady, are you personally participating in the hunting tournament?”
“No, I’m not really into hunting.”
I shook my head and replied.
“Ah... I see. Someone like you, my lady...”
"Someone like me?"
I was genuinely curious, so I asked.
His face, already flushed, deepened to an even more intense crimson. I worried he might burst at any moment.
“Small, cute, and... lovable, like a little animal...”
“...”
That description was downright creepy.
I felt so embarrassed just hearing it that I wanted to smack his mouth shut.
Ah, I get it.
This guy was trying to sweet-talk me.
“...Goodbye.”
“Ah! Wait a moment Lady Amber!”
I heard the man desperately calling out to me from behind, but I turned away without a second thought.
It might have seemed rude, but in reality, I had saved his life.
He wouldn't have fared well if Claudia or Felix had noticed him.
He had approached me with the founding Emperor on my left and the Guardian on my right... whether he knew what he was doing or not, I couldn’t say.
But if he had known, I would have sincerely suggested he consider dreaming of becoming a hero with that kind of courage.
"Lady Amber!"
But just then, as I was about to leave the banquet hall, someone grabbed me.
I turned my head with an annoyed expression — only to soften when I saw who it was.
“Oh, Lady Redlight.”
I greeted her kindly with a gentle smile.
Lady Redlight showed a surprised expression.
“Do you remember me?”
“Of course. There’s no way I could forget someone as beautiful as you, my lady.”
"Oh, thank you, even if it's just flattery."
“Hm? It’s sad that you don’t believe my sincerity.”
“I just called a beauty beautiful, so why is it considered flattery? Believe me.” I added playfully, took a champagne glass from the attendant, and handed it to her.
I also grabbed a glass for myself.
Somehow, I had a feeling this conversation would be long.
Over Lady Redlight’s shoulder, I noticed the man who had flirted with me earlier looking utterly bewildered.
“Have the worries you had been dealing with been resolved?”
“It's all thanks to you, my lady.”
“I didn’t do much. I only offered some advice — it’s all thanks to your own efforts, Lady Redlight.”
Last week, I saw Lady Redright, all alone and forlorn, standing in the falling autumn leaves.
She was a face I hadn't seen before, but even just a glance made it clear that she had a story to tell, as if her expression was shouting, ‘I have a tale.’
It happened to be a day so busy I had no time to breathe.
For a moment, I even wondered if I should just ignore her and pass by.
But, with the mindset that the happiness of women in this world was my own happiness too, I casually said a few words, without any particular thought behind it.
“So, about that — do you have time the morning after the hunting tournament ends?
"Pardon?"
Why was she asking me that?
I stared at her with a puzzled look, and she shyly clasped her hands together.
“I really want to properly thank Lady Amber. Please let me treat you to lunch.”
"Ah."
“Please? I’ve been so indebted to you. I feel too guilty to just let it go like this."
Did she think I was going to refuse? She hurriedly grabbed my hand, interlocking her fingers tightly as if afraid I might pull away.
No, why was she going this far...?
"Hmm, if it’s around lunchtime…”
Actually, I felt a bit pressured.
But since she was so sincerely asking to have lunch together out of gratitude, it felt weird to refuse.
I briefly glanced away, ready to nod, but then that soft voice intervened between me and the young lady.
"Rin."
It was Felix.
His voice, as always, was gentle and tender.
Without a sound, he quietly approached and placed a long-shaped biscuit on top of my champagne glass.
“You’ll get a stomachache if you only drink alcohol.”
He gently chided me. He was being serious, but at this point, maybe the word ‘sweet’ should be replaced with ‘Felix’?
“May I offer some to you as well, my lady?”
“...”
“I hope it suits your taste.”
He asked for Lady Redlight’s permission, then placed a biscuit on her glass as well.
She flinched and quickly let go of the hand she had been holding.
Yeah, it really seemed like ‘sweet’ and ‘Felix’ were synonyms.
I should have that added to the dictionary immediately.
Smiling quietly to myself, I nodded several times.
Then, belatedly, I noticed Lady Redlight standing across from me, looking like she might faint.
Huh?
I shifted my gaze between the young lady and Felix.
Since he had his back turned, I couldn’t read his expression.
Oh, right — Felix was now the Empire’s guardian, treated on the same level as dragons.
Like a legendary or mythical creature.
Felix had once been the Empire’s rising star — everyone’s angel, everyone’s idol.
But not anymore.
He was still the same Felix, but people had grown wary of him.
If I had to describe it, they treated him more like a god than a man.
They worshipped him like a religion, marvelling at every word he spoke as if it were prophecy, yet trembling with fear.
Some even gasped and fled at lightning speed, as if they’d encountered a natural disaster.
“E-excuse me. Something urgent just came to mind, so I must be going now...”
Just like Lady Redlight.
She hurriedly left after a brief greeting, clutching the hem of her skirt and almost running out of the banquet hall.
There was no time to stop her.
I withdrew my outstretched hand and rubbed the back of my neck.
"Uh... she’s gone."
“How unfortunate. I didn’t even get to properly say goodbye.”
Felix murmured slowly, tilting his head.
“It seems I made some kind of mistake.”
Bitterness seeped through that one sentence, something he hadn’t quite been able to hide.
Once, Felix had been surrounded by crowds, admired, respected, and loved by everyone.
Now, most people revered and idolised him with awe.
He was still kind and gentle, but it seemed as if none of that could be seen anymore.
Naturally, he must have been feeling uneasy. Even I, who was not directly involved, felt it too.
“Since Felix arrived, I guess she took the hint and left.”
Pretending not to know anything, I took one of his hands and smiled brightly.
I gave him a warm, affectionate look, and a satisfied smile formed on his lips.
His fingers intertwined with mine, fitting perfectly without any gaps.
"It looks like I broke our promise. I'm sorry."
Felix gently stroked my cheek as if praising me.
I wondered what pleased him.
His graceful fingers slid down and subtly caressed my lips as if tracing over them.
Just as he was slowly leaning in, as if to kiss me, his fingertips twitched.
His gaze landed on the object I was tightly holding in one hand.
"A handkerchief?"
"Ah, right."
I suddenly remembered why I had come to this banquet and glanced toward the highest seat.
The Emperor’s throne was still empty.
“I need to give this to Chloe before I leave.”
"Aha..."
His lingering gaze briefly met mine, then fell away plainly.
At the same time, I felt a strange sense of discomfort.
What did I just see?
As I raised my head, Felix naturally glanced away from my gaze and looked at the Emperor’s throne.
"Chloe will probably like it."
"...Will she?"
Turning his head back, he continued speaking sweetly as usual.
"Yes, of course."
・・・・・
The long-awaited hunting tournament finally began.
Claudia mounted her snow-white steed with practised ease, then turned to me and asked:
“What should I catch?”
"Hmm, a squirrel?"
Worried she might get hurt chasing something as fierce as a wild boar, I threw out the gentlest herbivore I could think of.
Claudia, however, immediately stiffened, then shook her head firmly with a troubled look.
"We can't hunt our own kind."
“What are you talking about?!”
Ugh, honestly. I could only shake my head in disbelief as she giggled at her own joke.
"I’ll be back! I’m going to catch a wolf."
With that outrageous declaration, she pulled out the handkerchief I had given her and waved it lightly.
Tucking it carefully against her chest, she turned her horse toward the forest and rode off.
Claudia led the way, and the other participants followed, officially beginning the hunt.
I hadn’t entered the competition myself, but I wasn’t bored in the slightest.
Time flew by as I chatted away with the other noble ladies gathered nearby.
A while later, the relaxed stillness of the forest was suddenly broken by a commotion in the distance.
The mood shifted in an instant.
One of the attendants who had joined the hunt returned, flustered and moving briskly.
I had been lost in thought and only realised something was wrong when I finally heard the full story.
“Oh no, what do we do? Her Majesty has suffered such serious internal injuries that she can barely move.”
...What?
As everyone fretted over the Emperor’s condition, they also began sneaking glances at me.
My face went pale as I shot to my feet.
Who dared to? Where? How? To what extent?
Questions flew through my head in a tangled mess, offering no clarity.
And of all times, it had to be while Ilypia was away, travelling between nations in Claudia’s stead to lead the envoy.
I opened my mouth, fumbling like a fool, but eventually forced out the one question that mattered most.
“How badly is she hurt?”
My voice, however, came out ice-cold.
Claudia’s escort knight, taken aback by my sudden sharpness, answered right away.
“Her Majesty has only suffered a leg fracture, but she is otherwise unharmed...”
So the rumor about internal injuries had been a misunderstanding.
Knowing her life wasn’t in danger, I could finally breathe a little easier.
“We’re preparing to carry Her Majesty out of the forest on a stretcher. A message has already been sent to the Guardian — he should arrive soon.”
In the imperial hunting grounds, the use of all abilities, including magic, was strictly forbidden during the tournament.
The rule existed to ensure a fair contest of skills using only the bow and to prevent assassins from slipping in under the guise of the hunt.
Felix could reach her in the blink of an eye, but delivering the message to him would take forever.
And they were implying they would leave her there, enduring the pain alone, forced to wait endlessly?
The moment I realised that, something in me snapped.
“Lead the way.”
"Sorry?"
"Take me to where Her Majesty is right now."
I didn’t even realise that I was speaking down to the knight. I just barked the order without thinking.
“I can heal her.”
My words came out so flat and cold, they seemed to freeze the air.
Every gaze turned toward me.
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