Chapter 43

“Oh, my handkerchief?”

Feigning sudden understanding, I responded to the count’s heir.

“Yes, wouldn’t it be a good idea to hand it over to me? If I like it, I might even give you one of my hunting prizes.”

“Oh, I see….”

My lukewarm response seemed to set him off.

“What’s with that attitude? Don’t tell me you think I won’t win! Don’t worry. I’m carrying the famous sword of Dern, the master craftsman!”

“Dern’s sword?”

“Surely you’ve heard of it, haven’t you?”

“Nope.”

Not at all. And I’ve played this game countless times.

Of course, Dern was a skilled blacksmith.

Adam himself had used a few of his swords on occasion.

But as the saying goes, talent and personality often work inversely.

Getting a sword from Dern, with his notoriously difficult temperament, was no easy feat.

And now this pompous noble was claiming to have managed it?

Dern was infamous for only making swords for people he liked, whether noble or commoner.

If a noble sent a servant to him, he’d laugh them off and ignore them completely.

This had to be a lie.

Adam had struggled countless times to deal with the old man’s stubbornness.

“Take a look at this blade, and you’ll see how much care the craftsman poured into it.”

The count’s heir unsheathed his sword with exaggerated flourish.

“This is a blade your penniless commoner hero could never acquire, no matter how hard he tried.”

As I mulled over how to send this nuisance away, a minor detail I had forgotten resurfaced in my mind.

Clapping my hands together, I exclaimed, “Ah, that’s right! Now that you mention it, I think I’ve heard about this. Dern’s swords are so famous that counterfeits are everywhere. That’s why Dern started engraving a unique mark on the blade. Surely your sword has it, right?”

“…What?”

The look on his face said it all—he had no idea what I was talking about.

Approaching him, I tugged the hilt of his sword toward me.

In his flustered state, the count’s heir instinctively let me take it.

I inspected the blade closely and then shouted in an overly dramatic voice, “Oh my! There’s nothing engraved here! Do you see this, my lord? Nothing! It’s completely blank! Spotless!”

“Q-quiet! You must be mistaken!”

“Oh my goodness. No mark at all. You must have been scammed! Surely you aren’t falsely claiming this is Dern’s famous sword, are you? Perhaps you should go find the seller immediately!”

“No matter what you say, this is the real thing! It can cut through anything!”

“Oh, so without this sword, you’re completely helpless, is that it?”

“…W-what?”

“I mean… all you’ve done is brag about the sword. Meanwhile, our hero can slice through boulders with just a standard issue blade….”

I let my gaze drop to the sword in his hand and then back up to meet his eyes.

“Perhaps your skills are… oh, never mind! I’ve only ever watched our hero, so I wouldn’t know how other heirs measure up.”

Batting my eyelashes with exaggerated sweetness, I covered my mouth with one hand as though I was truly apologetic.

Beneath my palm, however, my barely contained smirk was evident.

“It’s all right, my lord. It’s not your fault. Our hero is simply too strong. Keep working hard! With enough effort, maybe one day you’ll be as strong as him!”

…In your next life, perhaps.

“Cheering you on… well, not exactly. And I’m not expecting much either. But anyway, good luck.”

Hearing my half-hearted encouragement, the Count of Cort’s heir finally seemed to realize what was going on.

Though his face turned as red as a beet, and he shouted “Hey!” at me, I didn’t even blink.

“Yes, my lord,” I replied dutifully, making sure to answer every time he called me.

“Is there something bothering you? My parents always taught me to respect the elderly, so feel free to speak your mind.”

“E-elderly? Respect? Did you just call me old?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You seemed about the same age as the hero’s parents, so I misspoke. By the way, how old are you?”

“I’m only twenty!”

“My mistake. You just seemed so mature for your age.”

“You… you little…!”

Now his face was shifting between red and purple as he trembled with fury.

“Pfft!”

A nearby noble, who had been watching our exchange with great interest, couldn’t hold back their laughter any longer.

As if on cue, the others around him began chuckling as well. Though they didn’t laugh out loud, their shoulders shook visibly.

“Count of Cort’s heir, let’s leave it at that and get ready for the hunt,” the noble suggested, throwing a friendly arm around the heir’s shoulder.

“But this maid doesn’t know her place…!”

“True, but wouldn’t it be more infuriating to watch the other nobles catch all the game while we argue here?”

The noble gave him a sly wink, out of the heir’s sight.

“…?”

I didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

With that, the count’s heir and his companion walked away, and the other nobles soon followed suit, preparing for the hunt.

‘Ugh… so tiring.’

That’s when Adam appeared.

“Eve. You’re getting your clothes dirty.”

“Oh, Warrior!”

Ignoring everyone else, Adam approached me where I sat crouched on the ground.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the hand he offered and standing up.

But as soon as I did, my gaze fell to the grass brushing against my ankles, and I knelt back down to take a closer look.

Seeing this, Adam followed suit, kneeling beside me. He tilted his head, curious about what had caught my attention.

“What is this?” he asked.

“As far as I know, it’s a poisonous plant.”

“Then why are you looking at it with such excitement?”

“It’s rare and interesting! While it is poisonous, it’s not deadly—it just causes intense itching, hives, and rashes. Want me to give it to you?”

If I’d noticed it earlier, I could’ve secretly given it to the Count of Cort’s heir. What a missed opportunity.

As I smacked my lips in disappointment, Adam seemed to misinterpret my expression and accepted my offer with a nod.

“Though I doubt I’ll have any use for it, if you want to give it to me, I’ll take it.”

Grinning, I used a spare handkerchief from my pocket to carefully pluck the plant and wrapped it securely before placing it back in my pocket.

Adam’s gaze briefly lingered on the handkerchief, but I didn’t notice, too busy scanning the ground for more.

Unaware earlier due to my distraction, I now realized the area was full of various kinds of plants.

“This one’s medicinal,” I said, pointing to another plant. “It’s great for treating wounds. If an herbalist found it, they’d harvest it to the point of extinction. Since it’s still here, I guess this forest doesn’t see much human traffic.”

Adam’s low voice explained calmly, “The Forest of Mia, like the forest surrounding the Demon King’s castle, is a gray zone. It’s a place the empire does not, or rather cannot, protect.”

As I offered the poisonous plant to him, Adam shook his head slightly, so I extended both hands to him instead.

“A gray zone like the Demon King’s forest means…”

“It means many lives have been lost here, often with no bodies to recover.”

Adam brushed dirt off his hands and answered matter-of-factly.

“Hic!” I gasped, startled.

“Is it really safe to hunt in such a dangerous place?”

“Golden ropes mark the boundaries between safe and unsafe areas. As long as no one crosses them, it’s fine. Anyone who values their life will know better.”

Relying on just a rope?

While gold ropes might be visible in the dark, it still wasn’t a perfect solution.

Given that the area was influenced by unknown forces similar to the Demon King’s miasma creating monsters, it was hard to expect much else.

Still, I wanted to peek inside the emperor’s mind to understand why he’d chosen such a place for a hunting competition.

“What if someone crosses by mistake?” I asked.

“Perhaps that’s the point.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” Adam said with a wide smile, brushing off my question.

As if I didn’t just hear him clearly suggest otherwise.

He smiled so beautifully that it almost made me want to let it slide.

Of course, I had to let it slide.

Feeling like I’d lost, I stiffly moved, pretending not to know the reason for the odd emotions welling up inside me.

 

 

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