episode_0058

bang-

In a quiet forest, a gunshot rings out.

The birds are flying.

The bullets travel through the air through the smooth barrel.

“Huh?”

There was no one.

“I definitely heard the sound of horse hooves! I shot straight in the direction of the sound!”

A bewildered Louis stops his horse and looks around.

The place where the gunshot passed was quiet.

‘This is strange.’

Something faint is flickering in the corner of my vision.

“Huh?”

It was something distorted, as if the flow of air was visible.

‘what?’

The moment you focus your mind there.

In the distance, another sound of horse hooves is heard.

“Son! What’s going on?”

“Mother.”

The Duchess hurriedly chased after Louis.

“I heard gunshots and came here… Son, what’s going on? Have you caught your prey yet? Or… .”

“No, I just missed it.”

There was someone targeting him.

There is someone following you.

That much was certain.

“Son, by the way, aren’t you going too deep? It’s dangerous to go in deep alone while everyone else is walking around the outskirts.”

“Ah… .”

Louis wasn’t so cruel as to be rude to his worried mother.

“He, Mother. Don’t worry. I’ve given you the best steed. This is Roland’s horse. So, if you meet a wild beast, you’ll be fine.”

“But you never know what dangers lurk in the forest… .”

The Duchess behaved like a truly benevolent mother, though her outward appearance was anything but benevolent.

“Ahem, hm. Yes.”

Louis turns his head away, unable to take his eyes off his mother’s kind face and violent body.

I had a long way to go.

If I had a little more time, I would have admired my mother’s violent behavior more closely.

‘You’re so worried even though you’ve only come a little bit inside.’

I couldn’t tell that there was an invisible stalking.

‘If I tell my mother, the competition will be stopped immediately, and I will become the successor who was kicked out for fear of an invisible assassin.’

It was a dizzying future, difficult to handle.

“Mother, you can’t follow me anymore. We’re competitors. We’re in the same competition.”

“… No, that can’t be. I can’t just leave you alone in the depths of the forest.”

“Okay. You can follow me. Mom, take care of yourself too.”

Louis nodded without looking at his mother and said.

Actually, it didn’t matter if my mother followed me.

Rather, it was good.

Louis and the Duchess were rivals, sharing the same goals.

They were in a position where they had to compete to be selected as interceptors.

‘But, if Mother follows me like that, I can find the prey first. If I do well, Mother won’t be able to catch a single animal.’

If so, it becomes very convenient.

If Mother fails to catch any prey, Louis’ chances of being chosen increase.

A strong contender made a mistake in judgment due to maternal instincts.

‘I rather like it.’

Things were going well. I felt like I was already in the interception unit.

“This is it!”

He gallops briskly. Louis’s steed gallops through the thick undergrowth as if flying.

Louis runs in search of prey, feeling faster than when he ran across the open grassland.

The duchess’s horse was also following Louis very well.

Louis tried hard not to care, but he couldn’t help it.

Glance at a glance

I have no choice but to look back.

There were some parts that my mother was concerned about or worried about.

Above all, the Duchess’s appearance catches Louis’ attention.

“Ugh, huh.”

The sight of the Duchess speaking while exhaling hot breath.

The sight of her breasts shaking violently up and down while covered in a bodysuit made of a tight material and her muscular thighs holding on to the horse’s side without letting go steals Louis’s gaze.

‘Ugh, ah, I have to look forward. Hmm!’

Louis also knew that his gaze was constantly wandering backwards.

But it wasn’t easy to overcome that desire.

‘You were shaking it wildly in front of your subjects like that… I’m jealous.’

I even had bad thoughts.

Purrung—

“Ah!”

A well-trained horse snorts.

It was a signal.

‘Finally! This guy smells a beast!’

Loosen the reins to allow the horse’s head to turn freely.

A well-trained horse does not avoid animals. Rather, it seeks out their scent.

That’s how I was trained.

Once the horse had picked up the scent, he could now find the animal without having to let go of his hands.

Louis’s horse runs like the wind.

“Louis!”

The Duchess also follows Louis.

She continues to follow Louis, calling out to him with concern as he suddenly increases his speed.

Whether it was due to the difference in horse performance or the rider’s weight, the Duchess’s steed could not keep up with Louis’s horse.

“Found it!”

Not long afterwards, a deer caught Louis’ eye.

The deer was grazing with its head down, oblivious to its impending fate.

Louis draws his flintlock pistol from its holster in a motion he has practiced thousands of times.

It was a complete flow, like a single movement, until the trigger was pulled.

“Got it!”

bang–

The birds fly away again at the sound of gunfire.

however.

“Ugh!”

It didn’t match.

Unfortunately, the bullet just passes right by the deer’s ear.

‘It’s okay. Before the deer runs away. Chi, calm down!’

Just as he was about to take out another pre-loaded pistol and shoot again.

Taaang—

A gunshot is heard behind Louis.

A lead bullet pierced the center of the back of the head of a fleeing deer.

The green turns red. The deer falls forward.

The Duchess shot the deer.

And it fit perfectly.

“This kind of thing.”

It was the prey he discovered first.

I had it taken away by my mother.

But I had no choice but to admit it.

‘If I had hit it first, that big deer would have been mine.’

Louis grits his teeth and puts the pistol he was about to shoot back into its holster.

“Ah… .”

The Duchess, who had shot the deer, couldn’t believe it herself.

He seemed dazed. He just sat in the saddle, staring back and forth between the gunpowder smoke and the fallen deer.

“Mother, that was killed with your bullet. The prey is yours.”

Louis admits it readily.

“Ah! I’m sorry, son. I didn’t mean to take it, but when I saw you running away, I shot you without realizing it.”

The Duchess was truly sorry.

“No, it’s okay. It’s really okay. Next time, I’ll catch a bigger deer, so don’t worry.”

Louis gets off his horse and checks the deer.

“… It’s big.”

It seemed to be the largest deer I had ever seen.

“Mom, come closer. I’ll carry you.”

“Ah, thank you, son.”

The Duchess seemed touched by Louis’ kindness.

Louis helps his mother load the deer onto the back of her horse’s saddle, then mounts the horse again.

During that process, my concentration was momentarily disturbed by the scent and appearance of my mother who had come near, but I was able to pull myself together quickly.

Louis had a strong sense of purpose.

Although my mother took away my prey, I felt more elated.

‘It was true. It was true that the deeper you go into the forest, the bigger the beasts get.’

I really wanted to catch a deer the size of which no one had ever seen before and show it off to the public.

He wanted to prove his bravery by being the size of a deer.

“Let’s go.”

Louis keeps kicking. He runs again. Further into the forest.

Going deeper.

The distance between the Duchess and Louis was now quite large. The Duchess’s horse was a very fine steed, but it would not be easy for her to keep up with Louis’s speed while carrying a large, muscular woman and a large deer.

“Ah!”

smell.

There was a smell again. It was the smell of an animal.

The scent of a beast so thick and violent that it was enough to change the course of the tracks.

It was a strong smell.

The horse continues to run forward, keeping its course fixed.

“Hoo!”

The horse runs after the scent of the animal without even showing any sign of fatigue.

‘As expected, it’s Roland’s steed. Even though we ran through the forest for a long time, there was no change in speed!’

I calm my heart, which is beginning to flutter with admiration.

‘If we continue like this, we’ll definitely win!’

Roland’s words, Harryba’s teachings, even his mother’s misjudgment. They were all smiling at Louis.

It was natural to be happy.

But the Duchess’ thoughts seemed to be somewhat different.

“Louis! Will you stop for a second? Wait, you’re already in too deep!”

I heard my mother’s voice from far away.

Louis doesn’t respond and continues to run.

“Listen, son! Even the hunters don’t go this deep! You never know what might be lurking there! Please, listen to Mom!”

“I’m not a kid, Mom! Whatever comes out, my lead bullet will pierce that bastard’s forehead. Don’t worry! ”

He shot back so confidently.

“Louis!”

“Oh please.”

My mother’s voice was too loud.

If this continues, I might end up chasing away my prey.

“Son! I’ve never heard of an animal that smells this strong and far away! Maybe it’s not a normal animal!”

“It’s okay!”

Louis shook his head fiercely, then lowered himself again.

‘Whoever this beast smells like, one shot between the eyebrows is enough.’

The smell is getting stronger and stronger.

The more this happens, the more Louis’ heart flutters.

I’m looking forward to seeing how big it will become.

‘What if the game I catch is too big to be carried by one horse? If I tell my mother, she will help me, right?’

Even as Louis flinched, the horse continued to run deeper and deeper.

The trees become more dense and block out the sunlight.

The thick canopy of trees blocks out the sunlight.

It gets dark.

“Ah!”

It’s getting dark.

It’s getting brighter again.

Suddenly an empty lot appeared.

It was a round, empty space, as if someone had cut down all the trees and made a hole.

A horse that encounters sunlight is startled and slows down.

Louis spots his prey lying in the middle of an empty lot.

Louis felt his body tense as he confirmed the identity of the prey he had been searching for.

“Oh, my.”

It was time to decide whether to take the pistol out of the holster or pull the reins and run.