episode_0054

A few days after the unfortunate incident at Rajurang Manor, a letter arrived at our house.

“Madam, a letter has arrived.”

Leah placed the letter on a tray and handed it to me.

“A letter? Who could it be from?”

“It bears the royal seal.”

“From His Majesty?”

“You’ll have to open it to find out.”

I used a knife from the tray to open the letter.

“Hey, Mari, what’s in that letter?”

Rotus, who had been drinking at our house, asked me.

“By the way, aren’t you avoiding drinking at Aramis’ house and only coming to our house these days?”

“There’s no more alcohol at Aramis’ house.”

“Oh, I see…”

Rotus clicked his tongue softly and I showed him the letter.

“Her Majesty is inviting us to a hunting competition.”

“Is it time for the hunting competition already?”

“It’s getting close, isn’t it?”

“Darn it, I used to go with my father ten years ago, but now my memory is fading.”

Rotus scratched his head.

“Madam, are you going to the hunting competition?”

The maids cleaning the room looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“To become a flower at the hunting competition, you must dress beautifully!”

“Since blue and white combinations have been done a lot, how about black and red?”

“Oh, that sounds good too.”

Although no one had mentioned wearing a dress, I was already thinking about what dress to wear.

“Aren’t you going to wear a dress?”

“Huh?”

“I’m thinking of participating in the hunt too.”

I stood up and picked up my musket hanging on the wall.

As I held the musket with distinct fingerprints, I felt a sense of peace.

“Are you also participating in the hunt? That’s great, can I come along?”

“Well… I think it would be fine if we all went together.”

“If the four of us sweep the top four places, it might not be as fun.”

Thinking about dominating the top ranks made me chuckle.

“Well, let’s enjoy the hunting competition.”

“By the way, they said monsters are appearing near Bastonu.”

“Do you think they’ll organize a hunting competition to hunt monsters like they did a few hundred years ago?”

“I wouldn’t mind trying to catch a monster once.”

“When will the heavy noble folks go all the way to Bastonu? They’ll probably just hunt a few deer and call it a day.”

“Well, that can’t be helped.”

Rotus shrugged.

“Madam, so you’re not wearing a dress then?”

The maids asked me with a disappointed look.

“Well… you can’t ride a horse and hunt in a dress, can you?”

“Are you really not going to wear one?”

The maids asked me with teary eyes, but I shook my head.

“I’ll prepare pants and a coat…”

“Prepare in dark colors so the prey doesn’t run away.”

“Yes.”

“Mari, are you going to hunt on horseback?”

“Are you going to chase deer on foot?”

“There’s no way I won’t catch them.”

Indeed, using the aura to run quickly could turn the mountains upside down with just a knife in hand.

“What’s the point of using aura in a hunting competition?”

“Then are you going to shoot the musket while riding a horse? How will you reload?”

“Just hold the barrel and somehow reload, right?”

“It seems quite easy.”

“Reloading is actually difficult, but there’s no other way, is there?”

“Well, I know a good thing.”

Rotus picked up my gun.

“Cut this long barrel here to shorten the length of the gun.”

“A cavalry gun? Are you going to buy that?”

“No, did you already know about it?”

“Take a look.”

I approached the bookshelf and pressed the hidden button.

Click…

The bookshelf turned with a heavy sound.

“Oh…”

Rotose admired the items on the opposite side of the bookshelf.

“I don’t have to worry about weapons.”

“We should also check with Aramis and Laurent, right?”

“Then let’s call them and have them bring what they want.”

#

Clang…

With a heavy sound, the bookshelf rotated.

“Wow…”

Seeing that sight, Laurent also admired it like Rotose.

“Marie, did you make this?”

“No, I just attached a gun to where it originally was.”

“Alright, instead of that, everyone grab a gun each.”

Rotose carefully took down a cavalry gun from the wall and handed it to Laurent and Aramis.

“This gun has a shortened barrel. It should be easier to shoot and reload on horseback with this length.”

Laurent checked the gun’s condition by manipulating it in various ways.

“Marie, where did you get these guns from?”

I chuckled at Aramis’s question.

“I bought them with money.”

“True, but…”

“Whatever, let’s sweep through a hunting competition with these guns.”

“That sounds good.”

We chuckled as we prepared for the hunting competition.

#

As time passed, on the day of the hunting competition, we rode horses towards the forest on the outskirts of Paris.

The forest was rich in game as hunting had been prohibited by royal decree since ancient times.

Despite the strict monitoring of hunting to preserve the forest for the annual event, the competition was a massive hunt where hundreds of wild animals were hunted in groups.

“Oh~ Let’s go together, my dear!”

Due to the weight of Flanchet, the donkey he was riding on kept lagging behind in the procession.

“Flanchet! Didn’t I tell you to lose weight earlier?!”

“Oh… Yes, you did…”

At Rotosi’s words, Flanchet lowered his head in disappointment.

“But why do you keep getting fat like a pig and lagging behind in the procession?”

“I’m sorry! This lazy donkey is just…”

“Flanchet!”

“Yes!”

“You’re not getting dinner tonight.”

“Oh my!”

At the mention of skipping dinner, Flanchet was shocked as if he had jumped a meter high on the donkey’s back.

“I only eat breakfast and dinner, how can I survive without dinner?”

“Skipping one meal won’t kill you.”

“Oh… I’ll die. What? Please just this once.”

“It seems like asking for just this once has already happened more than a hundred times!”

“Look here, Flanchet. Lose weight to live longer with Rotosi’s wealth. Do you know? If Rotosi dies childless, where will his wealth go?”

At my words, Flanchet looked at Rotosi with shining eyes.

“Marie, you’re scaring Flanchet away with your unnecessary words!”

“Ahaha!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Rotosi’s teasing.

“If I can’t get engaged, I’ll go after you, Marie, so keep that in mind.”

There was a moment of silence at Rotosi’s words.

Aramis was shocked to see Marie’s true self but still couldn’t believe she would really do that.

Laurent, Flanchet, and Grimo all looked shocked at the blatant threat to the noblewoman.

“What’s with the atmosphere? Do you really think I would do that?”

Everyone nodded in response to Rotosi’s bewildered question.

“Damn it! I’ve wasted my life, Rotosi!”

Rotosi pulled out a pistol and pointed it at his head.

“Start over and live a new life!”

Thud!

Aramis approached Rotus and drew her gun, hitting him on the back of the head.

“Even as a joke, don’t do such things.”

Rotus nodded his head in submission at Aramis’s stern expression.

“Flangche, your horse may be weak, but your weight is also a problem.”

“Yes…”

Flangche replied in a meek voice to Aramis’s words.

“Is Grimo following us properly?”

As everyone’s gaze turned to Grimo, he blushed and turned his head away.

“Make sure to keep up.”

Flangche nodded at Aramis’s sincere advice.

While riding and galloping through the valley, they could see occasional processions of other nobles.

Especially, there were many riding in extravagant carriages.

“They’ve adorned the carriages with jewels.”

Rotus remarked, sticking out his tongue as a carriage passed by.

“Regardless of which noble house it is, the nobles riding in them look splendid.”

Aramis observed the retreating carriage, stroking his beard.

However, a man broke away from the procession and rode towards them.

“Is that person coming towards us?”

“Who is it?”

I looked closely at the person Laurent was pointing at.

“Oh…?!”

Upon seeing his face, I realized I knew him.

“Wait, do you know that person, Mari?”

“Well, sort of…”

I squinted and watched as the man approached us.

Wearing a hat adorned with white feathers, the man running towards us was none other than my fellow kin, Lisnang Lisdang.

“Wow~!”

Lisnang rode up to us and stopped his horse in front of me.

“Greetings, my name is Lisnang Lisdang. I was passing by with the procession when I was inexplicably drawn back to you.”

“L-Lisdang?”

Rotus and Aramis looked at Lisnang in surprise at his introduction.

“Yes, my name is ‘Lisnang Lisdang,’ the heir of the Viscount Lisdang.”

“Uh… um…”

Seeing their lukewarm reactions, Lisnang’s gaze sharpened.

“Do you happen to know Fernang?”

“Uh… um…”

“W-Well…”

As Fernang’s name came out of Lisnang’s mouth, Rotus and Aramis turned their heads and avoided the conversation.