“What? Why Lu?”
‘What else do I need to be careful about here!’
I shot a glare at Jeffrey with that thought, but he just chuckled and pulled his hood over his head.
“No matter how cute you think he is, a guy is still a wolf at heart…”
Growl!
But before Jeffrey could finish his sentence, Ludwin lunged at him, as if daring him to continue.
“Ahh! Can’t I even talk? Ahhh! Not the butt! That’s precious! Please, sir dog, have mercy!”
Of course, with his fear of dogs, Jeffrey ended up fleeing in a panic, without even finishing what he wanted to say.
In the end, I never got to hear why he said I should be careful with Lu, thanks to all the screaming.
“Hmph, Jeffrey’s mouth is going to get him in trouble one of these days.”
Woof!
Ludwin barked cheerfully in agreement as we watched Jeffrey disappear into the distance.
***
At the same time…
Someone stealthily slipped into a tent set up near the entrance to the hunting grounds for the event the next day, under the cover of darkness.
Even though she was wearing a black cloak, her pink hair gleamed under the moonlight.
‘Did you think I’d just let this slide?’
It was Sherina, the daughter of Marquis Ferumwell.
Humiliated in front of numerous noblewomen by Tyria, she was furious.
‘First, she ruined my debutante, then she took away my father’s business patent, and now she’s even taking away Lord Leon?’
Recalling what happened in the ballroom, Sherina bit her lip.
‘That man, who only ever cared about his sword, volunteered to escort her! He was always so stiff with me!’
When she saw Boris Leon escorting that woman into the ballroom, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
Two years ago, Sherina had been the one involved in a marriage proposal with Boris Leon, but it had fallen through.
It was all just politics between their families, but her pride was too wounded to think that way.
Sherina bit her lip again, almost gnawing at it.
‘And my brother too! How could he like that woman who ruined my debutante?’
Sure, she’s beautiful, has a great business sense, and probably has the best connections in the empire.
But to Sherina, she was nothing more than a rival and an enemy.
‘Everyone likes her!’
Hearing that she opened a flower shop, Sherina tried to take her down a peg by sending a con artist with 12 prior convictions from the Dilucia territory, but she never expected he would cause such a scandal.
Now every noblewoman at the event, including the Crown Princess, probably knew she tried to harm Lady Dilucia.
Being humiliated in front of everyone was bad enough, but her father found out about it and dragged her back to her room during the party, scolding her harshly.
He told her that with her brother learning to run the hospital, it would be disastrous for the Ferumwell family to become enemies with the Count of Dilucia.
Even though Sherina tearfully explained how embarrassed she was, the Marquis only scolded her, saying that’s how noble society works and that she needed to grow up.
Now, Sherina was so angry she couldn’t see straight.
‘It’s so unfair. I didn’t do anything wrong, but everyone’s always against me!’
The tent she snuck into was filled with boxes labeled with the names of the participants in the hunting tournament.
Each box contained supplies that would be distributed to individuals for the hunt.
Sherina searched through the boxes until she found the one labeled ‘Tyria Dilucia’.
‘Here it is!’
She quickly uncovered the box.
‘The thing I’m looking for should be in here.’
After rummaging around for a while, she found what she was looking for at the bottom.
Sherina pulled out a bottle of fruit juice she brought with her and poured it over the item she found.
Soon, the tent was filled with the sweet scent of fruit.
After making sure the item was thoroughly soaked, Sherina smirked.
‘Let’s see how you like this!’
She quickly covered the box again and slipped out of the tent.
Completely unaware of the glowing surveillance magic device installed at the entrance.
***
Soon the day of the hunting competition dawned.
I groaned and buried my face in my pillow.
‘Should I just say I’m sick?’
Not only was the hunting tournament itself unappealing, but a major death flag was waving ominously.
‘A hunting tournament with Duke Rivolte and his son… How thrilling.’
The bed felt especially comfortable today, as if it were a divine sign telling me not to go.
But as I pulled the blanket over my head, someone was there to pull it back down and hurry me along.
Woof!
Ludwin was looking at me with bright, eager eyes, as if telling me to hurry up and get out.
As I looked into those innocent amber eyes sparkling in the morning sunlight, any thoughts of resistance quickly faded.
‘Right, I originally came here to play hunting games with Ludwin.’
With all the drama before, during, and after the journey, I had almost forgotten.
“Alright, let’s go. What’s worse than dying?”
“Oh my, miss! What great resolve!”
As I grumbled and got out of bed, Lena and Airi rushed over as if they’d been waiting for me.
It had been a while since I’d worn hunting gear, so it felt a little awkward, but it was definitely more comfortable since I was wearing pants.
“Okay, this should do.”
I finished getting ready by gathering my magical tools.
Three rings, one belt accessory, a necklace, and a dagger tucked into my boots.
All of them were simple designs that any noble lady might wear.
But Lena seemed to think I was being too serious.
“Miss, Lu’s the one who’ll be doing the hunting, so why are you taking so much stuff?”
“It’s a hunting tournament. You never know what might happen.”
Airi, handing me leather gloves, nodded in agreement.
“That’s right! What if someone tries to kidnap the miss again like in the mountains? The servants here say there have been strange sounds in the forest lately…”
“Airi! Keep your mouth shut!”
Lena suddenly scolded Airi, who was about to continue with an excited expression.
Airi flinched and shrank back immediately.
“I-I just meant that the miss should be careful…”
“Of course, the miss will be safe and sound. Stop saying such unlucky things and help me out.”
“Okay…”
Airi, thoroughly scolded, sullenly helped Lena.
‘But Lena, don’t jinx it yourself.’
However, I understood why Lena was so sensitive to the word ‘kidnap’, so I couldn’t bring myself to help Airi.
Now that I was ready, it was Ludwin’s turn. I sat down in a chair and gestured to Ludwin, who had been watching me prepare.
“Lu. Come here.”
Huh?
He looked puzzled but obediently came and sat in front of me, his tail wagging adorably as if to ask why I had called him.
I opened the box I had set out on the table earlier. Inside was a chain necklace with a golden medal.
“Lu, this is a necklace with our family’s crest on it. It’s a symbol that you belong to Dilucia, so you mustn’t take it off, okay?”
I showed him the necklace as I spoke. He sniffed at it for a moment, then wagged his tail even faster, seeming to like it.
I originally planned to explain it to him and give it to him when he returned to his human form, but since he hadn’t transformed back recently, I missed the chance.
I placed the chain necklace with the golden medal the size of a coin around Ludwin’s neck. The golden chain glinted against his jet-black fur, and it suited him well.
Wearing this necklace would give me a legitimate reason to demand Ludwin back even if Duke Rivolte tried to take him away.
Ludwin seemed to be in a good mood after receiving the necklace.
This was the first gift I had prepared for him.
‘Doesn’t it look like he’s happy?’
If so, I figured he’d like the other gift as well.
“Airi, can you bring that too?”
At my gesture, Airi, shaking off her gloom, shouted excitedly.
“Ah! Could it be? Am I finally going to see it?”
“Yeah. It’s officially the debut, so it has to look pretty.”
“Yes, I’ll bring it right now!”
Realizing there was another gift, Ludwin’s ears and tail perked up. His lips curled up in joy, showing how excited he was.
“Do you like it?”
Seeing him so happy, I asked, and Ludwin, wagging his tail, circled me before flipping over to show his belly.
“Miss, I’ve brought it!”
Airi came rushing in, holding a large box in her arms, excitement evident in her voice. She seemed to be looking forward to it too.
As I took the box, Ludwin immediately stood up and came over, his eyes sparkling as if urging me to open it.
“Lu, this is your gift.”
I smiled brightly as I opened the box.
Huh? Huh!
Ludwin, who had been eagerly looking into the box, suddenly froze as if struck by lightning.
Realizing I was running late because of giving Ludwin his present, I hurried to the hunting ground.
After a 10-minute ride in the carriage prepared by the Marquis family, we arrived at our destination.
The event venue for the annual spring hunting competition was a large clearing at the base of the rugged Gu Kai Mountains.
As we approached the fresh, green venue, I saw nobles dressed in hunting attire, preparing their weapons.
Although the animals did most of the hunting, we still needed weapons in case of emergencies.
As soon as our carriage arrived, Boris, dressed in hunting clothes, approached as if he had been waiting.
“Sister, you’re here?”
He naturally extended his hand to escort me out of the carriage.
“Did you rest well last night? How are the hives?”
“Yes, thanks for the medicine you sent me yesterday. It worked well.”
Of course, I hadn’t been sick, so I hadn’t used it.
Perhaps noticing my arrival, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess also approached.
“Lady Dilucia. Good morning.”
“Welcome, Lady.”
“Good morning, Your Highness, Crown Prince. Your Highness, Crown Princess.”
Both were dressed in proper, elegant hunting attire. Lilian, who was wearing pants for the first time in her life, looked quite awkward.
“Oh my!”
As Lilian greeted me, she blushed upon seeing Ludwin getting out of the carriage behind me.
