Then, with a satisfied expression, she raised her voice again and spoke.
“Count Amins suddenly said he couldn’t attend. He must still know what embarrassment means.”
Since Rosalie had deliberately avoided meeting, Count Amins couldn’t express his official position. As a result, rumors spread, and Count Amins, who valued his honor and reputation, could not show his face.
“I’m sure he would’ve been torn to shreds if he came to this gathering.”
“That’s really too bad.”
Bianca pouted and stuck out her tongue. Rosalie smiled once more and got on her horse, which immediately galloped into the forest.
“Joey, let’s go with that one.”
As they wandered through the forest, Rosalie found a strange-looking creature with six legs on a tree. It seemed to be just the right size, so Joey drew his crossbow.
‘Bianca would be satisfied with this size.’
With Rosalie’s shooting skills and the help of the knights, they soon caught the creature. Given her marksmanship and the knights’ help, it was not difficult to catch the beast..
However, because they had gone deeper into the forest than expected, it took a long time to return. By the time Rosalie arrived at her tent, some nobles had already arrived. An imperial courtier approached Rosalie carefully.
“Duchess Judeheart, we’ll take the prey for inspection.”
Rosalie nodded her head, and the courtier took the creature’s body away. Emma, who had been watching, approached Rosalie and patted her here and there.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, don’t worry.”
Rosalie patted Emma’s shoulder to reassure her. Now that the prey was turned in, Rosalie retreated to her tent with the intention of getting some rest.
Nathan, who was still leaning languidly in his chair as he had before she left the tent, waved when he saw her.
“Come on in.”
Rosalie looked at Nathan quietly. Just as she had become accustomed to having Derivis by her side, she had grown used to having Nathan around as well.
“Yeah, I’m back.”
Rosalie answered lightly and sat in the chair across from Nathan. Everything had really become familiar to her.
It was the last day of the hunting tournament, which had been going on for three days.
Most of the participants returned on the second day, and the third day was essentially a day to foster connections.
Nathan lay in the tent today as well, his head aching from the smell of blood and the smell of the beasts. Rosalie stepped out of the tent.
‘Why hasn’t he come back yet…?’
Rosalie looked anxiously at the forest where the knights were coming out, then checked the ring. The ring was still transparent and there was no change in color.
After a few hours passed, the tent where the Emperor was became noisy.
“Why?! Why hasn’t the crown prince returned yet?!”
Emperor Patrick’s loud shout reached Rosalie’s ears, who was poking around the back of the tent unnoticed.
“Send a search party right away to ensure the safety of the crown prince!”
The Empress was the only one in the palace who could do this. The Emperor gritted his teeth and glared at Nine’s empty seat. She had left early in the morning, effectively avoiding any suspicions.
‘You’re just as cunning as ever…’
Patrick wanted to scream at Nine to tell him where his precious son was, but he couldn’t.
“Derivis…” he muttered in despair.
Even though he wanted to expel Nine from the palace, she was a tenacious woman. Despite his strong suspicions, he always lacked clear evidence.
A voice was heard over Patrick’s despairing head.
“Your Majesty, I have something to tell you.”
Patrick raised his head at the sound of the voice to find Rosalie standing there, who had been in the room for who knows how long. Patrick lowered his head with tears in his eyes.
He had to present the dignified appearance of an Emperor, but situations like these made it difficult to maintain that facade.
“If it’s not urgent, let’s talk about it later…”
“I will go and rescue the Crown Prince.”
“The Duchess…?”
“Yes. It’s clear that there is a traitor within the Imperial Knights who put His Highness in danger. We can’t guarantee the safety of the search party you’ve sent, either.”
Patrick stared at Rosalie’s eyes. Her face was expressionless as usual, but there was an inexplicable anger in her deep khaki-colored eyes.
“…If I can’t trust my search party, then how can I trust you?”
His sharp words were directed at Rosalie, but she did not back down. Her mind was already made up, and because of her strong will and overwhelming anger, Patrick’s words meant nothing to her.
“Even if Your Majesty does not trust me, I will go to rescue him.”
Patrick remained silent. In the end, it seemed as if Nine’s influence had reached deep within the ranks of the Imperial Knights, and as Rosalie said, he couldn’t fully trust the search party he had sent.
Instead, he looked at Rosalie with a desperate feeling of clutching at straws.
“Derivis… please bring him back. He is more precious to me than my own life.”
“Yes. I will definitely bring him back.”
Rosalie bowed her head and left the tent.
Patrick clenched his fist as he watched her leave. What a wretched father he was. He felt endless despair, praying to God to let his son come back alive.
Rosalie ran into Nine and Radinis, who were standing in front of Patrick’s tent. When Rosalie briefly lowered her head, Nine folded the fan she had been holding.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“…I was just on my way back to my tent.”
Raising her head in reply, Rosalie immediately made eye contact with Radinis. His pleading eyes were just as desperate as Patrick’s.
“Hmm… I see.”
Nine said with a gentle smile, but despite the smile, her deep purple pupils were cold. Rosalie bowed her head deeply again and passed by Nine without a word.
“Duchess, I noticed this the last time I saw you, but that dagger on your thigh looks like a very fine dagger.”
Nine’s meaningful voice stopped Rosalie in her tracks, and she turned her head slightly.
“You should be careful not to break it. It would be a shame if it broke.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
Nine smiled gently again at Rosalie’s words. However, that smile didn’t last long.
“However, I can still take down people with a broken dagger. My skills are better than you might think.”
Rosalie spoke in the same indifferent tone as usual, but the lowered voice seemed to contain a small warning. Nine fell silent at the implication.
As the atmosphere between them quickly grew tense, Radinis couldn’t even breathe properly as he watched.
“Well, then, I’ll be going now.”
Rosalie lowered her head briefly and started to walk away, while Nine unfurled her fan to cover her face so that no one could see her distorted face under it.
Returning to the tent, Rosalie packed her belongings. Nathan stood up from his chair as he watched her do so.
It seemed that he had already noticed the situation with his sensitive hearing.
“It’s been a while since I’ve run through the forest.”
“Just warm up.”
Nathan smiled faintly at Rosalie’s casual attitude. Rosalie donned a robe, pulled the hood low over her head, and quietly called for Joey and Emma, who had been lingering outside.
“Sir Joey, you and the knights will guard my tent while I’m away. Don’t let anyone enter my tent, and don’t tell anyone that I’m gone.”
Nine seemed to get the hint. It might have been a simple warning, but they would have to move as quickly and stealthily as possible without wasting time selecting members of the Duchy’s knights.
“I cannot allow that. The knights of the duchy will accompany you.”
“Yes! Please tell us where you’re going!”
Rosalie shook her head, but neither of them showed any signs of yielding. Unable to stall for time any longer, Rosalie’s voice came out in a heavier tone.
“This is an order. Wait here. And Emma.”
“…Yes, Your Grace.”
Reluctantly, Emma nodded as her eyes welled up with tears. When Rosalie gestured for her to come closer, Emma obediently leaned in, nodding her head vigorously at Rosalie’s whispered instructions.
“Now do as you’re told.”
Under Rosalie’s calm and authoritative demeanor, neither of them said anything more. Joey discreetly brought two horses to the back of the tent, and Rosalie and Nathan mounted them.
“Rosalie~ The young lady with the pink hair is crying and saying she’s worried about her brother.”
Nathan pricked up his ears, and Rosalie tightened her grip on the reins.
‘As expected, Venick was with Derivis. Venick is loyal to the Emperor, so the chances of him being a traitor are slim.’
Although she felt sorry for Bianca, who was crying, there was no time to comfort her. Rosalie spurred her horse into motion.
“Nathan, we’re going that way.”
Rosalie turned her horse toward the forest, and Nathan did the same.
Once inside the woods, Rosalie relied on Nathan’s sense of smell to find her way. The forest was filled with the scent of both human and beast blood, but they headed toward the area with the strongest scent.
When they finally arrived at the chaotic site, Rosalie muttered.
“There are no signs of a battle with monsters.”
“This is Devi’s work.”
Nathan said, looking at the lifeless body on the floor. Derivis was the only one who could have made such deep, clean, yet merciless cuts.
Rosalie glanced at the unidentified armed mercenaries sprawled alongside the Imperial Knights.
“These armed mercenaries… The rat probably led Derivis here so they could work together to overwhelm him.”
Rosalie looked around at the chaotic scene. Seeing that a considerable number of Imperial Knights were also scattered around, it was easy to guess that the traitor wasn’t acting alone.
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