"Huh? Why?"
Chession's eyes widened in embarrassment.
"Because it's dangerous outside."
"Haha, as you know, I have the power of the imperial family, so I am strong..."
"Anyway, it's forbidden."
Gremory grabbed Chession's left hand and held it up. And she put a ring on his ring finger. It was a black ring made of black magic stone.
The corners of Chession's mouth twitched and rose. This was because the same ring was also worn on Gremory's left ring finger.
"Mori, do you know what it means for a man and a woman to share the same ring?"
"I don't know. Anyway, don't take that out."
"I have no intention of taking it out."
Chession, whose mouth had ascended to heaven, looked around at the ring.
This beautiful black ring, quite unique. It is finely cut and shimmers with an unusual color depending on the angle. When did you prepare for this? The corners of his mouth kept creeping up.
Besides, you are not allowed to go out alone. Are you obsessed with meeting another woman? This obsession was not bad.
'I think it's time to make sure our relationship is secure.'
It was the moment when Chession controlled the twitching corners of his mouth and was about to say something. Along with a loud knock, Isolene's voice was heard.
"Your Highness, may I go in? I took care of all the urgent documents."
"Uh... yes. Come in."
Isolene opened the door and entered. She was alone in handling the paperwork, and she was furious when she found Gremory playing.
"Your Highness, here is what you said... Ah! Mori! I was so busy working alone that I almost died! Where were you and what were you doing!"
In the hands of Isolene, who put down the documents in a fit of anger...!
It was the same ring as the one on Chession's hand.
Chession's eyes flickered mercilessly.
'What is it? Wasn't it a coupling?'
Meanwhile, Anna came in with a snack.
"Your Highness! Have a snack!"
Anna's finger with a plate of snacks had the same ring.
'Did you give out all the rings to the members of the Grand Duke's house? Without any meaning?'
While Chession's desperate eyes were flickering mercilessly, Isolene grabbed Gremory by the collar and dragged her out of the office.
The same ring was also worn on Seara's finger, which came later. The same ring on her nanny, Alice's finger...
"Hah."
Alice, who understood the situation, smiled wickedly.
"Oh ho! Did you know it was a coupling? Unfortunately, Mori's brain structure is simple, so she doesn't understand the complex meaning of coupling! She knew it as... Just a token for people close to her, right? The convent also received it!"
"...Go away. Don't laugh at me."
"Hoho, you're laughing at me. I just laughed."
"Go away."
"Neng~"
Alice replied bluntly, holding Seara's hand and disappearing with a bang.
***
Gremory was taken away by Isolene and processed paperwork in the maid's office. No. It was more like a spectacle than a treatment.
"What is this? Hunting system? Is it like a hunting festival? Why is this held in the Grand Duke's Territory?"
"The Grand Duke's Territory is a land infested with monsters. It's perfect for opening a hunting festival. In particular, the monsters that appear in the southern forest are strong and rare, so even if you catch just one, you will get great honors. That's why all the men who use a little bit of strength attend the hunting festival."
Isolene replied as she rummaged through the papers.
"Are you going to build friendships while hunting? Like a tea party?"
"It's different from that. It's a competition to see who catches more monsters. The person who catches the most is number one."
"What do you like when you win first place?"
"You got a huge prize. That's why His Highness the Grand Duke also participates every year. The hunting festival is operated with imperial subsidies, so the organizer, His Highness the Grand Duke, can also receive a prize if he wins first place. Maybe he'll participate again this year?"
"How dare you? You must have a lot of money by catching dragons and barbarians, right? I also sold the Black Demon Stone."
"You didn't look at the documents properly, did you? The situation in the Grand Duchy is not good these days. I spent a lot of money on anti-intruder magic tools and holy relics. If you want to manage the budget until winter, you need a prize money."
"...Did you buy a holy relic? I don't like holy relics."
The corners of Gremory's mouth drooped. The relic had the power to neutralize the power of witches and demons. While she had to be on the lookout for the witch chasers, she didn't want to keep the relic close by.
"Why do you hate holy objects? You are not a witch or a devil."
"I'm a witch."
"Don't talk nonsense, hurry up, or deal with it."
Isolene lowered the pile of paper in front of Gremory.
The corners of Gremory's mouth lowered even more. With Iris's help, she went through the paperwork.
As she was thinking about Iris's words and writing them down, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
'Wait. The place where the hunting festival is held is a forest infested with monsters. Isn't it the perfect place for bad things to happen?'
If something happened to Chession if he played alone, he would be in trouble. What if he is kidnapped by a witch chase or Marvas?
'In particular, Marvas had excellent stealth skills. It can be summoned to the human world without a sound, or it can be raided.'
Although she distributed rings to everyone that would ward off fatal wounds and mental curses, Gremory was not relieved. If they are attacked in a way that they can't stop, the ring will be useless.
Gremory jumped up from her seat and strode out of the maid's office. From behind, Isolene said, "Where are you going without working again!" Gremory heard her swearing, but she didn't care.
'If you have to participate, I'll go with you.'
Gremory barged into Chession's office again.
"Chession, I want to participate in the hunting festival."
Chession, who had become accustomed to her bargaining, wasn't surprised anymore.
"There's nothing wrong with that, but why all of a sudden?"
"You need a prize? If you win first place and I win second, the prize money will be even more salty."
"That's right. The second prize is also quite big. Then let's participate together."
Chession agreed and held out a paper. It was someone's application to participate in the hunting festival.
"Mori, there is one person among the participants who needs to be careful. If you keep this person in check, you will be able to win."
"Well, he must be a weak person."
"You have to hunt monsters, not humans. You know?"
"I know that much."
This year, there was a notable figure. Kurchen Tebel changed back. Despite being a person who established a fairly revolutionary major, he was a huge man who never showed his face at the hunting festival. For some reason, he sent an application for participation to the Grand Duke's Office.
News of Kurchen's participation quickly spread throughout the empire. Perhaps as a result, a larger number of participants flocked than usual, and the scale of the hunting festival grew tremendously.
"And Mori. I have a problem."
"What is it?"
"Our hunting ground has a capacity of 300 people, but 500 people applied."
"Thep tear up the applications of the weak guys."
"Tear up... I can't. I have to reject the application of someone with poor performance, but I'm worried about how to make up a reason for refusing to send it to 200 people."
"I'll help you."
Gremory took an application form and a pen from Chession's desk. And in the corner of the application, she wrote the reasons for refusal in a crooked manner.
"The application was rejected because it was an application from a villager in a rural area who had never participated in a hunting festival and had no good results."
"No, Mori! If you write it so blatantly, they'll curse me!"
"This guy should eat the curse. How dare a villager try to step into the festival of the strong? At least everyone will understand."
"That's right, haha..."
Gremory was already cursing at the next application, and Chession gave up. On one side of the desk, an application with a kind rejection and an application with difficult feedback were piled up one by one.
***
The morning of the hunting festival was dawn.
The stands were packed with people. Gremory stood in the gap between the participants and waited for Chession's speech.
Chession began his speech as the organizer.
"I would like to commend the courage of the brave participants who gathered here today, and thank you to everyone who attended."
While the speech was getting longer, Gremory, who was among the 300 participants, checked the condition of the axe blade.
Then, she felt a rusty gaze from somewhere. When she looked up, she made eye contact with someone. Isn't the familiar red-haired Kenneth Ortega staring at the Duke?
Gremory asked, skillfully fiddling with the blade of her axe.
"What are you looking at?"
"You, you'd better be careful."
"Why?"
"Because I fell in love with you again today."
Kenneth's golden eyes were filled with only Gremory. He thought she was a fine and domineering handmaid, and the sight of her holding an axe was very attractive.
"...What are you talking about?"
"Does it have the strength to participate in the hunting festival by breaking through the high competition rate? It's quite a twist. It's attractive."
Gremory's expression turned rotten. And as he continued his speech, Chession's eyes were filled with a sense of life.
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