The atmosphere was a little awkward, so he seemed to soften it a little and give it a compliment.
Recognizing Duke Herssen's efforts, I also moderately reciprocated his praise.
"Did you? Your outfit is also nice. Thank you so much for being here."
"Oh, do you remember my outfit? There are so many people that I almost feel like I've been swept away."
It was quite a humorous answer, so this time he replied with a little more smile than before.
"Absolutely. You're here as my dear sister's partner."
It just so happened that the servant had filled my glass with wine, so I took a sip of it and continued.
"I was too busy to serve them properly, but they always cared. Did you have any inconveniences?"
It was time for Duke Herssen to answer my question.
"I hope not. I'm sorry if this was an Inconvenience."
Kishian interrupted the conversation with those words.
I had asked the question, Duke Herssen, and I didn't know why Kishian had said it.
I looked at him with some doubts.
He had a smile on his face.
"You look like you don't like something, is it because of your mood? Or too... Do you still have bad feelings for Duke Herssen?"
He was smiling, but it didn't look like he was smiling because he was genuinely, happy.
His eyes were not smiling at all, but his mouth seemed to be bent forcibly.
He said he had no intention of revealing the past, but perhaps he still had a grudge against Duke Herssen.
All of Kissian's anger stems from past betrayals.
His grudge against Duke Herssen, one of the masterminds of the betrayal, will not be easily forgotten.
While I was guessing that, this time Letie opened up a new topic.
"By the way. I was very surprised, right? I haven't seen you, but I think the Grand Duke is very tall."
The moment those words came out of Lettier's mouth, I almost dropped the wine glass I was holding.
'Letie.. You've only been in your seat for a few minutes, and you've already made that mistake...'
As Letie says, Kisian was small as a child.
It was a no-brainer. He was taken hostage in the Imperial Palace, denied a proper meal, and abused.
The story of those days must have been more than offensive to Kishian, and I had never said it out loud.
Such a taboo story had just been casually brought up by Letie.
"..."
Naturally, Kishian didn't answer right away.
Duke Herssen also fell silent, wondering if his back had cooled, and I just kept a silent look at Kishian.
I thought maybe he'd be mad at this, but...
"I ate and slept well, and I grew taller quickly. I worked out hard."
Unexpectedly, Kishian didn't show any anger.
He simply smoothed the situation with a suitable response.
As I sliced the meat, trying to hide my excitement Kishian spoke up again.
"Do you remember? When I was in the Imperial Palace..."
I didn't expect him to ask me such a question suddenly, so I couldn't answer quickly for a moment.
What do you want to hear? Puzzled, I gave a suitable answer.
"Of course, I remember."
"How was that?"
After a proper response, he tried to bring up another topic, but for some reason, Kishian insisted.
His eyes were fixed on me as if he would listen to my answer no matter what.
To answer him, who had put down his dishes and was just staring at me, I couldn't help but look back at my past.
Memories of running Into Kishian as a hostage in the imperial palace as a child.
"You always stood out from the crowd. So when I saw you from time to time, it was hard for me to take my eyes off you for a while."
What I had just said was not a flattering fact.
Brought to the Imperial Palace, abused by my father, and confined to a humble life in a backward bedroom that resembled a warehouse, he was always a sight to behold.
He was so good that even other nobles who had learned swordsmanship were no match for him, and there was always a hint of speculation in his eyes.
So, I thought I'd like to talk to him if I ran into him every once in a while.
He's a man of few words and seems reluctant to talk to us, so we've never had a proper conversation.
"Is that so?"
I thought it sounded kind of comforting, but I didn't think I was mistaken.
I glanced at him and saw a calm smile on his lips.
It was at that moment that I thought that maybe the meal would end in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.
"Speaking of old times..."
The peaceful silence that had barely come was broken by Letie's words.
Afraid of what she might say again, my hand stopped holding the utensils.
I looked at Letie, desperately hoping that she wouldn't mess things up anymore, but once again, my hopes were shattered.
"The Grand Duke had a knack for hunting, didn't he? You've always been runner-up in hunting tournaments organized by the Imperial Family."
I almost rolled my eyes.
The fact that Kishian was always the runner-up in hunting tournaments was really a taboo word that should never be uttered in front of him.
This time, I couldn't let it go, so I quietly put down the dishes and stared at Letie.
"What if we told a different story? There's a lot more to talk about than the old stuff."
"Huh? But I also enjoy talking about the past. Besides, if he were runners-up in the hunting tournament, the Grand Duke would be proud."
"You know it wasn't runner-up."
I don't know if I really don't know anything, or if I'm pretending not to know.
Somehow, I couldn't ignore Letie's remarks, so I ended up telling the bitter truth.
"He was the de facto winner."
As I had just said, at every hunting tournament the Kishian had brought the strongest and greatest prey.
He was such a great hunter that everyone had to admit that he should have won.
Still, it was my father who didn't always win the championship.
'My father wanted to kill Kishian's momentum. So he somehow found fault with him and unfairly deducted his score.'
He was so despicable, my father.
On other days, he slashed points for mud on the fur of Kishian's prey.
On other days, after hunting, Kishian would lose points because he didn't look too tired.
You can't give it a high score because you didn't give it your all?
Because of the ridiculous accusations and the deduction of points, Kishian was always forced to stay in the runner-up position, even though he was better than anyone else.
So, for him, finishing runner-up would not be something he was proud of.
Rather, it reminds me of a dark past.
I snuck up on Leti so as not to offend him.
"My dad was a little picky when judging. That's why he gave the Grand Duke a little bit of a low score."
When Letie heard me, he turned to Kishian and asked, as if she didn't know anything about it.
"Did you, Grand Duke? I didn't know."
"It is my fault that I have not satisfied His Majesty. You don't have to worry about it."
Kixian once again appropriately handed over Letie's rudeness.
However, I didn't feel good after all, and I felt that the atmosphere was sharper than before.
Meanwhile, Letie spoke again.
"If that's what you've been runner-up all along, you might be able to win it again this time."
Kishian replied with a shrug.
Letie fell silent as if thinking about something.
Then, suddenly, she came up with an unexpected offer.
"Let's have a proper hunting tournament, shall we?"
"You mean the hunting tournament?"
Duke Herssen asked, a little nervous, and Letie nodded.
"Regardless of the Imperial Family, the Grand Duke hosts a hunting tournament. The winner will be voted on fairly."
I'm glad it wasn't as rude as I thought it would be.
Kishian was also resentful of being unfairly runner-up in the past, but he seemed to enjoy hunting quite a bit, so he wouldn't feel too bad about it.
It was at that moment that a truly ominous sound came out of Letie's mouth.
"It's just that a normal tournament isn't fun, so it would be nice to add a little fun to it. For example..."
With an ominously sunny smile, Letie continued.
"The winner chooses one of our sisters and dedicates the trophy to the more beautiful one. Isn't that romantic?"
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