episode_0059

[Episode 59] – Preparing for a hunting competition

“Hahahaha! Hahahaha!! You idiot! I knew you would cause an accident someday! What if I ruin the princess’s first tea party? Shouldn’t this ugly guy be forced to resign from his position as minister? Her Royal Highness? Hehehehehe!”

“……”

“Uh-huh-huh! Hahahahaha! ah! You were making fun of me for this taste too! As I get older, I learn a lot of great things thanks to you. Hehehehe!!”

The Minister of Education is kneeling on the grass with both hands raised above his head, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs is looking at the sight and laughing until his stomach hurts. And, I am looking at that in bewilderment.

“Ugh, you burnt-out. I recognized you from the moment you came out excitedly in front of Her Majesty the Queen. “I’m sure there will be an accident this time.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me sooner…?”

“I definitely stopped you, right? When I stopped him, who was it that said he was letting that ‘puppy’ into my room? After seeing things like this, wouldn’t you say it’s a good thing to be self-employed? Hehehehehehe!”

“……”

The day after the tea party, the Minister of Education was being punished by me again today, just like yesterday. She kept making excuses to me, saying that wolves were gentle, but from then on, the princess was so shocked whenever she heard about wolves that she had no intention of forgiving her so easily.

‘I hope it doesn’t end up as a trauma.’

The princess, who had become afraid of wolves, was also worried, but other things were important right now. I was currently at the horse riding range in the palace with the princess to learn horse riding. During the hunting competition, the princess and I didn’t really need to ride a horse, but a horse was essential to get to the ‘hut’ deep in the forest.

‘Even so, since we are the queen and princess, we have very little time to spend alone. And the ‘hunters’ that will be there are also a problem. To avoid being noticed as much as possible, you must learn to ride a horse.’

So, I came to the horseback riding club with the princess to learn horseback riding from the Minister of Education who knew animals well… but I don’t know how I knew, but I was in the middle of taking a break from horseback riding for a while due to the Minister of Foreign Affairs who suddenly visited me.

“…Minister of Foreign Affairs, do you have nothing to do?”

“yes? Could that be possible? Work is important, but isn’t the most important thing right now to make fun of this guy who is getting scolded by Her Majesty the Queen? Hehehe!”

So, what I meant was that the Minister of Foreign Affairs gave up what he was doing and came all the way to this horse riding range, far from his office, in order to make fun of the Minister of Education who was scolding me.

I sighed softly and looked at the princess who was giving the horse a treat. I cried so much in my room last night that my eyes were so swollen that it was a pity to look at them.

“Just tease me a bit and then go back. “Me and the princess have to practice horseback riding.”

“Hehe, of course. I’ll play around with it appropriately. “Hehehe!”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs said that, but he seemed to be planning on teasing him further and was circling around the Minister of Education while grinning and saying something. Let’s listen to some conversation –

‘A fool, a fool, a minister who picks up dog poop.’ Etc., childish words were exchanged, so I thought it was a conversation that I didn’t really need to listen to, so I ignored it and approached the princess who was watching the horse.

“Titania. Aren’t horses scary anymore?”

“Yes, I think it’s a little… cute.”

The princess was initially hesitant at the size of the horse, which was larger than expected, but now she seems to have gotten used to the horse and is even feeding it by hand. The horse also followed the princess well, and seeing the animals follow the princess well reminded me of Snow White from the fairy tale.

“Whew… By the way, I’m a lot more tired than I thought.”

After riding a horse myself, I realized that horseback riding is a truly physically demanding sport. There was no pain anywhere, including my thighs, waist, and buttocks. As I was shaking and stretching my sore back and pelvis from riding a horse, the princess looked up at me with a blank expression.

“Why?”

“Well… I think it’s my first time seeing my mother wearing pants. ah! That doesn’t mean you don’t fit in! “You suit me better than I thought…”

I lowered my head and looked at the riding clothes I was wearing. Now that I’ve gotten used to skirts to the point where I don’t feel any discomfort even if I just wear a dress, I felt a little awkward wearing pants that were tight on my lower body. It was to the point where I thought it might be too tight.

“Hehe, thank you for the compliment. The shorts you are wearing look good on you too. How about trying it on in the castle sometimes? “Aren’t shorts more comfortable than skirts?”

I smiled and looked at the clothes the princess was wearing. The princess is wearing a blouse and shorts made for horseback riding. Seeing her wearing these active shorts instead of just wearing dresses every day made the otherwise cute princess look cute in a different way.

However, the princess shook her head at my suggestion as if the shorts were awkward. Seeing that, I laughed out loud and, as I had learned from the Minister of Education, I stepped on the saddle and hopped on the horse. It was scary at first, but now it was nice to feel like my heart was open because of the heightened visibility.

“Come on, Titania. “Hold hands.”

I got on the horse and stretched out my hand to the princess standing next to me. The princess hesitated, grabbed my hand, and climbed onto the horse, whining eagerly despite her small stature. I made the princess sit in front of me, pulled the reins, and slowly led the horse.

As expected, as expected from a horse recommended by the Minister of Education who knows animals well, it was a smart horse and did not throw off the person on its back or behave violently. Even as a beginner, the horse was so gentle that I felt like the horse was riding me rather than driving the horse.

Although it was just a slow walk along a designated track, the princess smiled brightly as if horseback riding was fun. The princess’s wide smile, as if asking when she had cried, made me laugh too. As I was enjoying the horseback riding, the princess raised her head, looked at me, and asked as if she was curious.

“Mom, are you going to hunt too?”

“I? “Hunting?”

I giggled at those words and sighed! He made a sound and put strength on one arm to assume a bicep posture. Arms slimmer and thinner than those of ordinary women. I tried to stretch my arms, which were thin enough to barely hold a pen, but instead of getting biceps, my forearms just trembled.

“Do you think you can lift a heavy bow with these arms?”

The princess shook her head.

“Then why did you say you were participating in the hunting competition?”

“that…”

I wondered if I should tell the princess about the hut and the ‘dwarf’ in the forest, but I held back. I would find out when I attended the hunting competition anyway, and I thought that if I told her in advance, I would ruin the princess’s first meeting with the dwarf, so I just smiled and looked down at the princess.

“Just because it’s a hunting competition doesn’t mean everyone only hunts.”

“sure?”

“The lady who invited me said that scholars who want to check the ecology of the forest also attend the hunting competition. “I heard that scholars go into the forest to study what animals live and what plants grow naturally.”

It wasn’t wrong. Perhaps it’s a hobby of hers, but she said she always invites scholars to hunting competitions to check what’s going on in the forest. It was said that the ecology of the forest is investigated and the ‘fog’ that does not disappear inside the forest is investigated every year. There hasn’t been any harvest so far.

‘Well… that’s partly because it’s fairy magic.’

The fog was a similar phenomenon to the ‘Fairy Path’ that Fran had mentioned. It was a ‘fog’ connected to the ‘hut’ of the dwarves, but it was the kind of ‘magic’ that if you went deep into it without knowing anything, you would be lost in the fog forever.

‘In any case, as long as you don’t go deep into the forest where the fog spreads. The wife and her husband probably know that, so they are holding a hunting competition.’

Originally, they would have prevented control of the forest by spreading negative rumors, such as that it was a forest of monsters, but for some reason, it is said that many animals come to visit the area around the fog.

It was said that there were unique and beautiful animals that could only be found in that forest, perhaps because they were possessed by the fog, so the nobleman who owned the forest had no reason not to catch those animals.

So, the wife is said to have scholars investigate fog and forests every year and hold a ‘hunting contest’ to hunt animals. They say they capture them and sell them as pets, or make them into meat or leather to earn pocket money.

“So, we are going to ‘see’ the forest like scholars. They say there are a lot of flowers and animals that only grow there. Titania, don’t you want to explore the forest with me?”

The princess shook her head and smiled brightly.

“lol! “As long as I go with my mother, anywhere is fine!”

“That’s a cute way to say it. Then, when you go to the hunting competition, why don’t you ask the chef to pack a lunch and let’s go? “Your wife said she would show you a good place for a picnic.”

I was worried about Somun going into the scary fog, but I knew how to get out of the fog and how to get into the ‘hut’, so I wasn’t too worried. There was Ainsel, and there were other ‘witches’ living a little far away, so there was no need to worry.

“So, isn’t this your first time going out of the castle, Titania?”

“yes! So I’m looking forward to it even more!”

I could feel my heart pounding against Titania’s back, perhaps because I was looking forward to leaving the royal palace for the first time, having never been outside in my life. I grinned, patted Titania’s head, grabbed the horse’s reins, and sped up just a little.