The pro-Emperor faction nobles seemed to have some discussion among themselves before eventually pushing Marquis Caesius forward. He hesitated several times before finally opening his mouth.
“Your Highness, I apologize for the presumption, but may I ask a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“By any chance, are you planning to hunt together with Sir Aila?”
“You call your son quite coldly.”
In Marquis Caesius’s eyes as he glanced at me, there was none of the usual look of contempt. It seemed all his emotions were overwhelmed by the shock of wondering what on earth was happening.
‘Not that I’m much different.’
I wondered how the original Aila would have felt in this situation, then quickly dismissed the thought. He probably wouldn’t have ended up in this situation in the first place, and I consciously didn’t want to think about the original owner of this body.
“Ah, yes. So, are you thinking of hunting together with my son?”
“Not together, he just said he wanted to watch.”
The question of what kind of escort knight watches their charge must have risen to his throat, but he forcibly suppressed his shock. After all, today’s event was practically a declaration that I was no longer just an escort knight.
“Understood. I pray that the blessing of the gods accompanies the tip of Your Highness’s sword.”
The other nobles standing behind were poking the marquis’s ribs, telling him to ask more. However, the marquis, who had exhausted all his mental strength in that brief conversation, said he couldn’t take anymore and stepped back.
“To participate in the hunting competition riding together with someone. How disgraceful.”
Well, this was something that only a famous lecher or scoundrel, or an emperor who cherished the empress to the point of obsession, would do. Since it was His Highness Kairen, who had walked only the path of moderation his entire life, doing something that would be rare even in history books, everyone understandably couldn’t open their mouths easily.
“What on earth is going on?”
“They say a late-life romance is frightening—could he have been bewitched by that omega?”
“No. It’s not like His Highness has never met an omega, and he would have sent rut suppressants every time anyway, so how could that be? Doesn’t he have something in mind?”
“For that, he really does seem to truly cherish Sir Aila, doesn’t he? Ah, should we not call him Sir Aila anymore?”
I could hear murmuring from afar. Having good hearing was truly troublesome. To hear even whispered gossip from that far away—it was an unseemly situation for both the speaker and the listener.
‘Let’s just focus on something else.’
Still, words spoken at that distance couldn’t be heard clearly unless I concentrated on them.
“Surely that sword is His Highness’s sword, isn’t it?”
“He really must have fallen hard.”
The problem was that no matter where I focused, they were talking about me.
With rumors spreading this loudly, an uneasiness crept up—would it really be possible to safely leave the imperial palace after the coronation?
‘I feel like I’ve been caught in a trap.’
I had a premonition that I’d end up in a situation where I couldn’t move my body due to some irresistible force. But I quickly chided myself.
‘No. His Highness is someone who keeps his word. He said so earlier, and at least to me, he’s never broken his word. This is just my first time in this kind of situation, so I’m reacting oversensitively.’
I was just burdened by this attention because I’d lived a life of hiding or trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. The nobles who love to gossip will act as if this never happened once His Highness returns to his usual firm self.
Someone came to greet His Highness, cutting through this commotion.
‘Kaeun hyung?’
It was a face I hadn’t seen since the last sparring match. Growing thinner each time I saw him, he glared at me as if to kill me while greeting His Highness respectfully.
“I greet Your Highness. I’m participating in the competition as the representative of the 2nd Knight Order.”
“Have a good match.”
“It’s an honor.”
He finished his brief greeting and returned to his position. Once the greetings were roughly finished, those participating in the hunting competition now held their breath and waited for His Highness to move.
“Let’s enter the forest now.”
At His Highness’s words, Rel charged toward the forest, and the waiting participants all started at once. After about 10 minutes, we had completely entered the forest, and sounds that weren’t human came from here and there. They were the sounds of magical beasts.
‘There aren’t any close by yet.’
The place I’d seen in my foresight was a much deeper part of the forest than here. While judging there were no danger factors yet, I still scanned the surroundings. I didn’t feel anything particularly strange, but suddenly Rel stopped walking. His Highness, who gently calmed the horse, handed me the reins and dismounted.
“A magical beast?”
“No. Perhaps because it’s still the entrance, there are only small wild animals.”
I didn’t need to ask why he dismounted. His Highness, who had bent down, plucked a red wildflower blooming on the ground and stood before Rel again.
“I want to decorate your hair with it, but would that embarrass you?”
“Pardon?”
I looked back and forth between the flower and his beautifully crafted face. Very slowly, I realized that His Highness was trying to decorate my hair with the flower.
“Your face has turned as red as a flower.”
“I’m not, well, a young lady.”
It was fortunate that I didn’t blurt out that I wasn’t an omega, conscious of Aila’s body.
“There’s no law that says only young ladies should receive flowers.”
His Highness reached out and took my hand.
“And the one I want to give flowers to isn’t a young lady, but you.”
“My apolog—no. Thank you.”
I kept stuttering like a fool. The person standing before me didn’t blame me for it and continued speaking gently.
“Will you open your hand?”
“Yes.”
His Highness, who had been touching the flower for a moment, wove the stem around my index finger. Thanks to his delicate touch, the red flower soon became a ring and was skillfully placed on my hand. He raised the corners of his mouth with satisfaction, then lightly interlaced our fingers. An impulse suddenly arose to make a flower ring for His Highness’s hand too.
“How cute.”
It was so peaceful it felt like we’d come out for a picnic rather than a hunt. If it weren’t for the sound of something approaching through the bushes, I would have been intoxicated by the atmosphere and made a flower ring too.
‘It’s too fast to be a wild animal.’
I immediately placed my hand on my sword. The realization that there was no need came belatedly.
“I keep noticing, but you have really good hearing.”
His Highness, who had accurately grasped the magical beast’s location with scattered magical power, threw a short sword wrapped in sword energy. The magical beast that barely entered my field of vision made a pained sound and collapsed on the spot. Judging by how it was on the outskirts, its grade probably wasn’t that high, but being able to handle a magical beast with a single short sword from this distance was impossible unless you were one of the empire’s handful of experts.
“Don’t get excited, Rel.”
Whether it smelled the blood from afar, Rel snorted and wanted to run. His Highness, who mounted the horse again, readjusted his hold on my waist and calmed Rel. The smart horse confirmed its master had safely mounted and approached the hunted prey without being told.
“Just a small fry.”
After confirming the magical beast was dead, His Highness precisely aimed for the chest and cleanly extracted the magical beast’s core, the monster stone. It was the part equivalent to the heart of other living things. Usually, the higher grade the magical beast, the heavier it weighed, and the hunting competition winner was also determined by the total weight of the monster stones brought by participants.
“You said you wanted to see me hunt, so I can’t show you a pathetic sight.”
Those words were the signal flare. His Highness drove the horse so fast that other knights would have difficulty keeping up while handling magical beasts. While wielding his sword like a god of war, he even prevented a single drop of blood from splashing on my face.
“Truly formidable every time.”
Even though he was carrying me, who was no different from baggage, His Highness’s hunting skills didn’t diminish at all. No, rather, his momentum was even more fierce, as if venting something. Whether excited by seeing blood after a long time, Rel also made sounds while trampling the head of a twitching magical beast with its hooves.
‘He seems to have already handled ten of them.’
The magical beasts appearing were also getting progressively stronger. I quickly compared the shape of the forest in the foresight I’d seen earlier with the current one.
‘I think we’ll arrive at that location soon.’
Among the rapidly changing views, a tree bent particularly to the left caught my eye.
‘This is it.’
Simultaneously with my certainty, a blind arrow flew. It was that angle I’d seen in the foresight.
“Protect His Highness!”
Unlike the future I’d seen, His Highness didn’t give the order that “there’s no need to block.” He seemed conscious of my presence. That alone was reassuring for now.
“Fall back.”
The next order was the same as the foresight. The knights quickly stepped back, and His Highness’s great sword strike handled the flying arrows and charging magical beast all at once.
‘Now’s the time.’
