episode_0099

“Why didn’t you just let that pervert die? From what I hear, you and I aren’t on good terms.”

Camilla grumbled and kicked a rock on the side of the road.

“… Well, you didn’t explain why you were angry.”

“That pervert came up to me out of the blue, handed me a rose, and said, ‘Young-ae, may I have the honor of being your hunting partner?’ Then he grabbed my hand.”

It was definitely Aaron-like behavior, since he had been in trouble with women several times before.

Last year, he tried to lay a hand on the daughter of the warrior chief who had come to the empire to confirm the strength of the alliance. As a result, he was beaten up by the chief’s daughter, and was beaten to the point of death by the Empress and the Emperor, who were reminded of the nightmares of the time of the first emperor.

“Even if it looks like that, it’s still…”

Camilla, who couldn’t control her anger, wanted to stop him from killing people, so she tried to point out Aaron’s good points, but she couldn’t find any.

“If there is no merit, don’t defend it. It will only make you upset.”

“Your hands…”

I had to somehow squeeze out a plausible sentence.

Otherwise, there will definitely be murders from the first day of the hunting festival.

“Aren’t your hands too precious to kill that author yourself?”

I had to somehow stop Camilla from throwing the spear, so I grabbed her beautiful white hand.

“If I had the strength to write for such an author…”

If you had the energy to spend it on such trivial matters, I wish you had come hunting with me instead. I wish you had decorated the little time I had left for play.

“I wish you would write for me, Camilla.”

Camilla’s hands began to tremble. Judging by the redness in her face… it was clear that she still couldn’t control her anger.

Come to think of it, when Mother… no, Countess was unable to control her madness and resorted to violence, the previous Count would indifferently approach her and put her madness to rest.

Camilla is a completely different person from the Countess, but I decided to try that method because I think they are similar in that they can’t control something.

He brought his trembling hands toward my face and made me caress my face, just like the previous count had done.

“… I don’t want to get a scratch on my beautiful hands.”

And he recited the exact same lines that the previous count had said.

Camilla bit her lip and turned her head away. Perhaps it was because I wasn’t a gentleman like the previous count, but it backfired. Or maybe Camilla just didn’t like these lines.

It was confusing because nothing was clear.

“… Really. This is why you get cursed at. Because you don’t even know what you’re saying or doing. But… I guess I’m a woman with a lot of guts. Even that doesn’t seem bad to me. ”

Camilla’s soft, white hand caressed my cheek as if she were caring for a pet dog.

Those seemingly indifferent yet affectionate touches felt hot as if I was going to get burned.

But as I felt that heat, something frozen inside me seemed to melt.

It felt like something that had been sealed inside the iceberg for a long time was about to burst out. If only I could get it out.

But that’s why I had no choice but to let go of Camilla’s hand. I didn’t want to be a naked fool.

“Let’s stop the cheek-touching show here. If we don’t catch anything, we’ll be the butt of jokes.”

“What about claiming that the madman hunted Youngae? She is stronger and more beautiful than any other prey. If the former head of the household succeeds in such a hunt, it would be quite an interesting gossip story.”

“…… It’s disgusting how the relationship between you and me is being consumed by those who are so frivolous. Especially since the nobles of this empire are all those who like to twist and distort.”

It may sound funny for me, a nobleman, to say this, but most of the nobles in this country were rotten.

I don’t know all the nobles, but most of them were really rotten.

Excluding my friends and Lizel, there were now only about eight nobles with both ability and humanity.

“If those people were to talk about our relationship… even I would feel very uncomfortable.”

“… That’s the point. That’s the crazy good part. Sometimes, that part works the other way around and I really want to hit him a few times. ”

Camilla muttered something unintelligible and then resumed her hunt with her face red enough to suggest a high fever.

How many hours passed like that?

We faithfully hunted wolves and demons and were able to settle into the top 3 thanks to our excellent hunting performance.

Although I couldn’t get first place because the rest of them were in groups and used magic tools and professional hunters, I thought third place was not a bad result.

In addition, we were forbidden from using our original weapons due to His Majesty’s concerns that it might ruin the balance. In such a situation, third place would be a respectable result… but Camilla didn’t seem satisfied with even that.

“Damn, 3rd place? That’s a hurt pride…”

“There are still six days left until the hunting festival, and considering our situation, I think third place is also a great result.”

“Raul There are a few things I hate more than dying. Today, I’ll tell you about just three of them.”

Camilla held out three long, delicate fingers.

“First of all, I hate those trashy noble pigs who only believe in numbers and money. And I hate losing. I hate being looked down on by those pigs even more.”

“I never thought I would care about the chirping of birds I don’t know the name of.”

“It’s a separate issue if those nameless bird heads shit on my head. It’s a more serious issue if they shit on your head.”

“Even if they form a group, it won’t mean much. You’re worrying about such trivial things.”

Then, it seemed like the gazes of those around us had become even colder.

I think he must have heard our conversation, even though I was just telling him the plain truth.

But what good is it? These petty glances won’t mean anything to me anymore.

After gathering some of the hunted items and returning to the rest area, I saw a group of nobles sitting around a large marble table enjoying a meal.

Looking at the menu, it was clear that they had ordered the chef to cook with ingredients brought from home. That’s not the fun of hunting, after all.

“You don’t know anything. The fun of hunting is in the simple cooking you cook yourself.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Then, His Majesty and His Highness the Empress, who were waiting for us, also expressed similar thoughts.

“When we were studying under the military minister… no, under our teacher, we couldn’t even dream of cooking like a chef. The taste of cooking it ourselves was special.”

“Camilla’s cooking was a nightmare, you know. Jim almost died that time. Of course, I won’t deny the simple cooking that the Empress said.”

For just a moment, we were able to immerse ourselves in happy memories of the past. Joyful memories of the times when we were together with those who were no longer here.

That fond past, where just thinking about that day was enough, would never return, so I had no choice but to enjoy the scent of these rare memories.

“…. It was fun. Fighting, training, cooking. ”

I approached Kyle, who had been quietly watching us, and handed him a sack containing suitable prey.

“Kyle, in that spirit, make dinner.”

“Didn’t you just talk about the charm of simple cooking that you cook yourself? I don’t think that’s something someone who reminisces about memories should say…?”

“…… Cooking is a chore, and memories are the most beautiful when they are memories. You wouldn’t make such a dish that’s so sloppy.”

“You damn bastards are really making my life miserable again.”

So Kyle grumbled and brought out wild boar steaks, honey-glazed roast duck, a cream stew with all sorts of mushrooms, and cookies made from various fruits picked in the forest.

“They say that even the richest people will make my life miserable until the end.”

Despite Kyle’s annoyance, the food tasted really great, although that might have been because I was a little hungry from hunting.

“…… Lizel.”

“What’s wrong? Do you need anything, oppa?”

“Oh my… What is the Countess doing?”

Because of the question that was like a thorn stuck in my throat, I ended up spitting it out without realizing it.

“After enjoying a little hunting, you came back, ate a few pieces of jerky, and fell asleep… That’s why I told you to eat a proper meal…?”

“What did you say?”

“He said that this is enough for someone like him… He said that in the old days, even a few pieces of jerky were precious and people would chew them over several days….”

“Something must have happened.”

“I guess she’s a little tired of people nagging about ‘that thing’ that mother mentioned at the trial. People like to talk about whatever they want…”

A feeling of discomfort passed through my mind, irritating me in some way.

My expression crumpled without me realizing it, feeling suffocated as if bugs were crawling inside my blood vessels.

And the more this happened, the deeper his inexplicable feelings for the Countess became.

“…… This is annoying.”

I was very offended by the sight of him trying to stain even the little time I had left with unpleasantness.

And I also detested the other nobles who talked nonsense about topics they didn’t even know about.

And… I also started to hate myself for feeling something inexplicable along with those feelings.