MAD - Chapter 32

“Hmm...”

The eyes, which contained mysteriously colored blue-gray pupils, curved in a soft arch. With a soft groan, he tilted his head, and his platinum hair, tied in a bundle, fell down in a flurry. It was a spectacular sight that captivated the eyes.

But the man looking at it trembled in fear.

“Save me, save me! I don’t know anything...!”

He was lying flat on the floor, begging until his palms were worn out. But he also knew. No matter how much he begged, it would be useless. Right now, the man was just begging as if he was grasping at the last straw.

“It’s funny how you don’t know anything. Then who wrote this?”

The delicate jade-haired woman wearing pure white gloves dropped a piece of paper. The paper fluttered and landed on the man's bedside, causing him to open his eyes wide.

“This, this is...”

As soon as the man saw the paper, he began to ask for forgiveness more earnestly, hitting his forehead on the hard stone floor.

“Your Highness Duke Seraph, just once, just once, have mercy on me...”

The tears and snot that flowed down his face soaked the stone floor. Enoch's eyebrows furrowed. He looked down at the man with disgust.

"This..."

There was deep contempt in the short words. The man flinched and crawled backward, stumbling. He hurriedly rubbed his face with his sleeve, trying to make himself look a little neater.

Even the men knew about Enoch Seraph's obsession with cleanliness. The more he showed himself clean, the more likely he was to receive mercy.

Enoch's eyes looked down at the man with a clean look. The man looked up at Enoch with his face red from rubbing himself hard.

Enoch met his gaze and smiled slowly. At that smile that penetrated the human heart, the man momentarily forgot his own situation and stared blankly at Enoch. Enoch spoke softly.

“I am so disappointed, I can’t help but sigh. You betrayed me just because of Shan Cirxus...”

“Your Highness...”

Enoch's sweet voice made the man's heartache. The stern reprimand flowing from that beautiful face elegantly rebuked the man. Everything felt like his fault, and he was about to apologize to Enoch while shedding tears of regret.

The beautiful smile disappeared in an instant. The man flinched at the sudden change. Enoch muttered with a blank expression.

“Because of such a baseless beast.”

Enoch turned around coldly and ordered.

“Clean it up.”

As soon as the order was given, those in the corner drew their swords from their waists. The man called out to Enoch with his face frozen blue.

“Yo, Your Highness...”

But that was the man's last will and testament.

“Phew.”

Leaving behind the terrible screams, Enochs sighed lightly and left the dungeon. Enoch took off the gloves he was wearing with an annoyed face. The attendant who was accompanying him next to him familiarly gave him new gloves. Enoch asked while putting on the new, stiff gloves.

“Are you ready for the hunting competition?”

The secretary who was following behind answered politely.

“Yes, Your Highness. Everything you instructed has been prepared.”

"Yes..."

A faint look of satisfaction came over Enoch's face. He smiled faintly and muttered.

“Let’s have a grand competition sometime.”

***

The day of the hunting competition was very sunny.

The sun was not too strong and the breeze was cool. It was a great day to run around as the hot weather had eased up a bit.

Elze practiced archery until her hands were sore. But the odds were still one in five. That was against a target, so she would have to assume that she would be unable to hit an animal running around.

Elze and Rapine finally gave up their bows during their last archery practice last night, agreeing to keep their secret weapon, the stiletto, hidden away in their bosoms instead.

It was hard to live in the world if it was too fair. It wasn't like she was committing a crime, but it wasn't a crime because she was just trying to use other means.

In short, if Elze just held a sword, she would win first place even among men, let alone in a women's hunting competition. Of course, she had a strong rival named Shan, but he was someone who would naturally give Elze the victory if she wanted it.

“Whew...”

Elze, who had been thinking alone for a while, let out a deep sigh. The maid who was serving Elze's clothes looked at her and spoke cautiously.

“Madam, I will exchange you for different clothes.”

It seemed as if he had mistaken her for sighing because she didn't like the clothes. Elze waved her hand lightly and said,

“No, it’s not like that, so don’t worry about it.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

The maid carefully finished the final touches. The hunting competition held in the royal hunting forest was like another social event. What one wore was also important.

As usual, Elze was planning to wear the clothes made by Sophiana's costume shop. She heard that Sophiana's costume shop had put a lot of thought into this hunting competition.

It would have been basic to make a simple dress, but since Elze was participating in a hunting competition, after much thought, she chose pants instead of a skirt and made a hunting outfit.

The tight-fitting pants that revealed her body and the jacket made of high-quality fabric had a unique texture. The hunting suit itself had no special decorations, but instead, the feather decoration on the hat was used as a focal point. Her hair was tied up tightly so as not to be a nuisance while hunting. She put on finely tanned leather gloves, and then the maid brought her a mirror.

Elze nodded happily as she looked at herself in the mirror. It seemed like she would never hear anyone say that she couldn't wear this.

Elze, who was admiring her own appearance, sighed deeply again and muttered.

“Now all we have to do is win...”

The problem was that the costume was perfect. Elze headed to the study, worried that she had to win somehow. This was because Shan had told her to come to the study when she was done preparing to go out.

When she entered the study, Shan was dressed in full hunting attire and talking with Marle with a serious expression on his face.

“Erzenes.”

As soon as Elze entered, he immediately looked at her clothes and complimented her.

“The hunting clothes suit you well.”

But he was just saying that, and his face was filled with displeasure. He muttered while looking at her pants which clearly showed off her leg lines.

“You shouldn’t leave your clothes at Sophiana’s dress shop. They’re too revealing.”

“I like it.”

“...”

Shan was speechless when Elze told him that she liked it. Elze giggled and went to ride in the carriage with him.

On their way to the Imperial Forest, Elze asked Shan what the serious conversation he had with Marle was about earlier.

“What's going on?”

“Ah. I tried to persuade someone from Duke Seraph’s side, but contact was lost.”

But Shan soon added with a smile.

“It won’t be a big deal, so don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

“...”

It was obvious that he was trying not to worry her. The expression on Shan's face when he was talking to Marle earlier was not that simple. When Elze couldn't straighten her face, Shan changed the subject.

“What happened to the bow?”

“Still the same. I just wanted to hit it.”

Shan laughed heartily at the indifferent answer. Elze grumbled as she asked Shan, who was not nervous at all.

“Aren’t you nervous? I heard Crown Prince Raymond secretly hoped you would win.”

“What’s hunting, nothing special?”

“Hmm...”

Come to think of it, Shan might have even experienced a hunting competition once. Shan guessed first and answered at Elze’s gaze.

“It’s not very fun. When His Highness the Crown Prince goes hunting, the person who catches the most animals that day is always the one who gets to hunt.”

And then he added with a grin.

“Well, this time His Highness will not be participating, so I will be the winner.”

Shan was confident of his victory. It was a bit of bad luck, but Elze didn't think anyone could beat Shan.

When they arrived at the forest, it was already fully prepared and bustling with people. The number of people gathered was a bit smaller than expected. This was because only families with a certain level of status received invitations.

“Ugh...”

Elze, who was looking around, looked slightly tired when she saw the hunting dogs gathered in one corner.

The hunting dogs, who barked loudly, were all as big as people. The servants seemed to be sweating profusely from handling the dogs. Fortunately, they were well-trained dogs.

After watching the hunting dogs, Elze looked at the women's clothing. There were only two types of clothing.

Wear a long skirt as hunting attire, or wear full pants like Elze.

Those wearing long skirts were the type who had little interest in the hunting competition. They were sitting under the tent, chatting leisurely.

The one wearing pants had a grim expression on their face, similar to Elze's. A cartload of treasures from the Kingdom of Ryeo, and if it was a treasure bestowed directly by the Queen, it would be of inestimable value. No matter how much money you had, Ryeo's items were something you couldn't buy.

Elze vowed to herself that she would beat them all.

“...”

And as Elze looked around intently, she realized one thing.

It was said that everyone who had recently troubled Elze was gathered at the hunting competition today. Starting with the Duke of Seraph, the Queen of Ryeo, the Crown Prince and his wife, Cecilia, and the Count of Epernon. Everyone was there except for the lowly Catinson.

When she thought about it, it seemed like this was the first time all the main characters had gathered in one place. Suddenly, a strange sense of anxiety ran down her spine.

“Erzenes?”

Shan noticed that Elze had stopped and called her name. Elze quickly came to her senses.

“Oh, no. I was just thinking about something else.”

“...”

Shan looked at them with suspicious eyes. However, they couldn’t just stand there in the middle of the forest forever. Shan and Elze were guided to their seats by the servant. They were out of their minds after exchanging greetings with everyone, including Crown Prince Raymond, the Queen, and several nobles.

Perhaps because of the gaze of others, Duke Seraph was cool towards Elze. Thanks to this, they could only exchange the usual formal greetings that any Duke and Countess would exchange.

After a brief whirlwind of greetings, the hunting competition finally began.

Crown Prince Raymond and the Queen stood side by side and shot a small deer with their bows. Both arrows hit their targets accurately, and Elze was secretly envious.

After the hunt that signaled the start, preparations were made to start the hunting competition in earnest. The men were to hunt first. The forest became noisy in an instant. The sound of horses trotting, the barking of hounds, and the roaring of shouts were mixed together.

Shan is also prepared to hunt. While Shan was brushing the horse's mane and briefly checking its condition, Elze watched Shan's horse.

“Oh, this is the black horse you rode during the parade.”

“That’s right. Whenever I have to ride a horse in the palace, I always use this.”

Shan explained various things to Elze affectionately. While doing so, he put a sword on his waist and a quiver on his saddle. Shan, who was skillfully pulling the bowstring, had perfect posture. It seemed like he would really be good at shooting arrows.

Looking at that, Elze thought about her own ability to hit one out of five shots. It seemed that God was fair to Elze, but not to Shan.

“Your Excellency.”

The servant walked around diligently, handing out water jugs and small bags containing simple snacks. Shan gave the bag to Elze, who looked at him with curious eyes.

Elze, who had not eaten anything since breakfast, showed great interest in the cookies she found in her bag. Shan, who was watching her, smiled softly and whispered.

“I’ll give you everything. Take it.”

Elze, who had been preoccupied with the cookies, belatedly handed the bag back to him.

“I’m going to eat this and that anyway. What if you get thirsty?”

“It’s not that hard to go a few hours without drinking a sip of water.”

The servant's shout that the hunt was about to begin was heard. Shan placed the bag in Elze's arms and jumped onto the horse. He looked down at Elze with a grin.

"Then..."

And then he said playfully.

“I will catch the biggest one and offer it to you, Lady.”

***

While his attendants led the way with their hounds to hunt the prey, Shan began to ride slowly.

When they restricted the status of those who could attend the hunting competition, there were fewer people than expected.

In addition, Raymond secretly pressured the nobles he invited to participate in the competition, only allowing those with a certain level of hunting skill to participate. This was because he did not want the nobles of Baluar to appear inferior to the knights of Ryeo.

Other than that, only those who could be depicted as real when placed on a horse, or in other words, people who could become characters, were allowed to participate. For example, Duke Seraph, is riding beside Shan right now.

“Count Targayel. The weather is really nice today.”

The Duke of Seraph spoke to Shan softly. He was riding a pure white horse, wearing a well-fitting hunting suit. Wearing white leather gloves and carrying a black horsewhip, the Duke looked elegant just by standing on his horse. Shan answered him dryly.

“Yes.”

Even though the tone of his speech suggested that he was going to get off, Duke Seraph had no intention of giving up easily.

“His Highness has high expectations for the Count. I, too, am expecting the Count to win.”

“...”

Shan did not answer. However, Duke Seraph did not want Shan to answer. He stood with his horse's head parallel to his and continued to say what he wanted to say to Shan.

“I once went hunting in a forest that I own.”

He gently waved the whip in his hand in the air.

“I found a huge wild boar, and it was so big that I had never seen one like it before. I drove it with my hunting dogs and completely surrounded it, gradually weakening it...”

Then he gripped it tightly in his hand. He smiled, the horsewhip wrapping itself tightly around his hand.

“I finished it.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, but...”

Duke Seraph said with a bright smile.

“Even though you clearly hit the vital point with an arrow, didn’t it still run wild for a while?”

His blue-gray eyes stared at Shan with a strange light.

“How wonderful it would be, Count, if there were a way to kill the beast in one fell swoop.”

“...”

Shan twisted his lips. He had known for a long time that he was treated like an animal. So what he was saying now was a noble threat, just like the Duke of Seraph. Shan responded with a sly grin.

“Come see how I catch the beast at the hunting competition today, Your Highness.”

Shan looked at Duke Seraph with a sharp gaze and spoke in a low but clear voice.

“But I am not sure if Your Highness can follow along perfectly.”

When Shan said the word perfect, the Duke laughed out loud. He looked very happy.

“I will watch over you, Count Targayel.”

Duke Seraph left those words behind and swung his whip. The Duke's white horse galloped ahead.

“...”

Shan was overcome with the urge to shoot an arrow at the back of the Duke's head, but he barely held himself back as he imagined Elze's face waiting for him to bring her his prey.

So this is why marriage makes you weak? 

In the past, he didn't understand why people would collapse when threatened by their families, but now he thinks he understands. Shan frowned. Anyway, he couldn't figure out what the Duke was thinking.

“It seems clear that he is up to something... but I can’t figure out what he is thinking.”

Shan muttered as he struck down his whip.

***

The women's hunting competition was scheduled to take place after the men finished hunting.

Elze was overcome with a strange feeling as she watched the knights of Ryeo riding their horses out to hunt.

In Baluar, women usually rode with their legs together, wearing dresses. If they rode with their legs apart, they were often slyly ridiculed for riding like men. That’s why the sight of these women riding so confidently felt so strange.

It was understandable that Crown Prince Raymond was nervous, as the knights of Ryeo were very skilled. They quickly adapted to the unfamiliar terrain of the forest and soon began to catch beasts with frightening speed.

Elze sat with the other ladies, drinking tea at a simply set tea table, waiting for the men to finish hunting.

Even after some time had passed, only the female knights of Ryeo were diligently sending back the animals they had caught, while the men of Baluar were not very happy. It was not that their hunting skills were lacking, but rather that the female knights of Ryeo were so excellent that they would move before the men of Baluar could catch them.

The Queen of Ryeo smiled happily at the performance of her knights. In contrast, Crown Prince Raymond, sitting next to her, was starting to feel a little anxious. As the time given to him was running out, Raymond’s expression was gradually revealing his discomfort.

“Wow!!”

A loud cheer was heard. Elze, who was sitting in her seat, jumped up. Not only Elze, but everyone else stood up and cheered at the unbelievable sight.

The servants were groaning and carrying a mountain of animals. From deer to rabbits and small wild boars, it seemed as if they had swept up all kinds of game that had been released into the forest that day.

The protagonist of that amazing hunt was Shan. He came in leisurely riding his horse. Crown Prince Raymond could not hide his joy and welcomed Shan with enthusiastic applause. It was the moment when Shan’s victory was certain. The female knights of Ryeo did well, but they still could not defeat Shan.

Shan, who got off his horse, handed the reins to his attendant and approached Elze first. He walked towards her, brushing back his messy hair, then stopped right in front of her and playfully called out to her.

“My lady.”

Elze quickly looked around in embarrassment. The women who had been sitting and chatting with her were all glaring at her.

Shan was getting into trouble for playing Ladyboy, whether he did it or not. He said, raising an eyebrow.

“I hunted hard for my lady, but got no reward?”

At Shan's words, Elze exclaimed, "Oh, no!" and reached into her pockets. Then she handed him a handkerchief.

"Thank you for your effort."

During hunting competitions, handkerchiefs had an important meaning.

When a man offered a game he had hunted, the woman responded by offering a handkerchief. It was customary for the man to receive the handkerchief and kiss the back of the lady's hand.

Through this handkerchief, the Young Lady and Young Master confirmed their feelings for each other, and the knights confirmed their love for their ladies. Therefore, which woman the winner of the hunting competition offered the beast to was always a topic of interest.

It wasn't a big surprise that Shan, who was certain to win today, received a handkerchief from Elze. It was expected of a married couple. However, what Shan did when he received the handkerchief was surprising.

“...!!”

Shan gently pulled Elze's hand that was holding out the handkerchief. When Elze naturally fell into his arms, he kissed her as if he was covering her.

It was an animalistic kiss. The faint scent of the blood of a hunted beast lingered in the air, and the hot air rushed over Elze. Before Elze could push him away, she was engulfed in him.

Shan bit her lip slightly, feeling it hurt, and then he began to lick her lips. Her waist trembled at the feeling of rubbing the roof of her mouth. The vivid purple eyes that clashed against each other gave her a chilling feeling. A tingling sensation ran up her spine. Elze let out the breath she had been holding.

"Ah..."

After a short and strong kiss, Shan kissed Elze on the lips with a slurp and let her go. However, even though the kiss was short, there was already chaos around them. From whistles to small screams at the unexpected hot skinship between the Count and his wife. Everyone was looking at Shan and Elze.

In particular, many were surprised by Shan's aggressive approach to women. They had already been surprised by the way he took care of Elze at the banquet, but the sight of them kissing was even more powerful.

“No .. What....”

Elze's face was so red that it looked like it was going to burst. Shan smiled mischievously at Elze. He waved the handkerchief he had received from Elze and said,

“Is it your turn to go hunting now?”

“...”

“Come back after you win. Then I’ll give you back the handkerchief, and give me a kiss.”

Shan then quickly walked towards Crown Prince Raymond. Crown Prince Raymond greeted Shan with a hearty laugh.

Elze blankly stared at the two people who were frozen in place talking. Shan, sensing her gaze, turned to Elze and smiled.

“...”

That guy really... Elze, who came to her senses at Shan’s laughter, clenched her fist.

Her face still felt hot. She felt like she had to win the hunting competition and repay Shan for what he had done to her.

Elze added one more reason why she should win.

***

“Hmm...”

As she rode her horse into the forest, Elze looked down at the bow in her hand. She had practiced hard for several days, but as expected, she was not used to the bow. She had made a short skillet and hidden it inside her jacket, but she was worried.

Hunting with a stiletto requires you to get up close and personal, which forces you to only hunt small creatures that can be taken down in one fell swoop and greatly reduces the number of animals you can hunt.

If she had brought Elijah as their escort, things would have been easier since they could have just run wild, but since it was a competition, they didn't allow her to use personal escorts to ensure fairness.

She had no choice but to follow the herd and then slightly deviate to hunt. The problem was the attendant. Elze looked back at the attendant who was following her. She had to somehow get rid of the attendant.

"That..."

As Elze began to speak, wondering what she could say to get them to break up, the attendant looked around, bowed, and said.

“Madam, you don’t have to worry.”

And Elze's face brightened as he spoke quietly, his voice lowering.

“...I am a follower of Lord Cirxus.”

He showed her the long pack he was carrying. It contained a longsword and a javelin. It wasn't a rapier or a mangosh, but it was better for hunting. The javelin's blade was thin, so it would be good to disguise it as an arrow later on. Throwing the javelin and finishing it off with the longsword would be perfect.

“Lord Cirxus told me in advance. He said that if you hunt with this, he will also take care of the cleanup.”

Elze felt like giving Shan a kiss. Thanks to her sensible husband, things were much easier.

As the worries were relieved and the tension eased, a sudden thirst came over her. Elze remembered the bag Shan had given her. She took out a water bottle from the bag on her waist and took a sip of water. A refreshing scent rose from the water soaked in herbs and lime.

But water with grass in it wasn't Elze's taste. Elze barely took a sip, just moistening her mouth, and put it back in her bag.

Elze and the servant moved in a direction that others did not go. When they had gained some distance from the others, the servant gave a signal.

“Madam, I think it’s time to start hunting.”

"Good."

Elze took a deep breath and muttered.

“... Shall we begin?”

She closed her eyes. She slowly let her energy spread through the forest. She could feel dozens of different things. From small insects to people and beasts...

Elze, who had been carefully detecting the movement, frowned slightly in puzzlement.

“Huh?”

Since they came in the opposite direction of the others, it would be normal for the servants to have driven fewer prey. However, quite a few beasts were gathering in Elze’s direction. It would be hard to believe that the servants had driven them in this direction, as their presence was felt from a completely different direction.

The reason was unknown, but it was true that the conditions were favorable for hunting. Elze started hunting without thinking about it further.

She received a longsword from her attendant and held a javelin in one hand. The first thing she saw was a deer. She heard a rustling sound in the grass far away and threw the javelin. The javelin flew at a fast speed and hit the deer right in the eye.

Starting with the stag, the hunt went smoothly. Strangely, the animals came rushing toward Elze, and there was plenty to catch. The big ones were taken down with spears, and the smaller ones were taken down with simple cuts to the vital points.

For Elze, this primitive method was much better than the complicated ones of stringing arrows on a bow and pulling them back. Elze literally caught the beasts as soon as she reached out.

As Elze began to hunt at a fast pace, the servant was the one who panicked. He was busy hurriedly organizing and collecting the things Elze had caught. There was only one servant assigned, perhaps because they wondered how many the women would catch. However, the amount Elze caught was not something he could handle alone.

His face looked as if he was half crying, but the mistress of Targayel continued hunting without hesitation.

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