Enemies Meet at the Engagement Ceremony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In the early dawn, still shrouded in mist, the long-awaited hunting competition finally began.

 

“The morning of the hunting competition has arrived! Which noble family will become the protagonist of this historic event that will be remembered in the history of Lutinas!”

 

The editor-in-chief of a renowned social journal, Baron Bordo, announced the grand start of the competition with a raised voice.

 

The emperor was at the highest point of the platform in front of the entrance to the Mitro Forest, and below him there were seats for each person, starting from the duke to the baron.

 

My family’s position was on the right of the Emperor, with Duke Gray’s family on the left.

 

“……..”

 

“……..”

 

A heavy silence hung over both camps.

 

Although Baron Bordo asked who would be the protagonist of this hunting competition that would be remembered in the history of Lutinas, the truth was already decided.

 

In Lutinas, this hunting competition had been monopolized by Emblem and Gray, the two families that had claimed victory so far.

 

Despite being called an imperial hunting competition, in reality, it was nothing more than a stage set for Emblem and Gray to compete.

 

“Now, Your Majesty, will you kindly give a speech!”

 

“My proud knights of Lutinas, listen! Since ancient times, the blood and souls sacrificed to protect Lutinas…”

 

While everyone observed Emblem and Gray with great interest, the Emperor’s speech began.

 

He elegantly expressed his hope that no one would be harmed in this historic competition, using sophisticated vocabulary.

 

It seemed like I would have to endure this speech for at least 30 minutes.

 

In the meantime, my mom grabbed me and began offering various pieces of advice.

 

“Cherry, what’s the most important thing in real combat?”

 

“Never take your eyes off the target and keep watching it until the end.”

 

“That’s right. When you try to swing your sword at a living being for the first time, your body might stiffen without you realizing. But that’s a natural reaction, so it’s okay. Just don’t let your eyes go stiff.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Having heard this advice several times while learning swordsmanship from Lawrence, I obediently nodded.

 

“You must be able to spot very small openings. What’s Cherry’s specialty?”

 

“Thrusting.”

 

“Don’t visualize the movements in your head. Instead, remember the sensation in your palm from countless thrusts you’ve made. Even if your mind goes blank, if you remember that sensation…”

 

“When you stare at the opponent until the end, your body will move automatically towards the opening.”

 

It was advice I had heard a hundred, if not a thousand, times before.

 

As I finished my mom’s words, her tender touch messed up my hair as if to acknowledge the correct answer.

 

“Our Cherry will do well, Mel.”

 

While my mom still couldn’t let go of her worries, pride was unmistakably visible on my dad’s face.

 

“They won’t unleash any monsters in the youth division, so Cherry only has to face small herbivores.”

 

“Well, that’s true, but…”

 

“They’ve already cleared out the lower-level monsters before the competition, so don’t worry too much.”

 

My dad reassured me with a gentle tone, but my mom still looked at me with a worried expression.

 

The Mitro Forest, where this hunting competition was taking place, occasionally had monsters, but they were only low-level creatures that preyed on small herbivores.

 

Therefore, to increase the difficulty of this competition, the Emperor decided to release intermediate-level monsters.

 

However, I was participating in the youth division.

 

The Imperial Hunting Competition proceeded with three main divisions.

 

Youth, Young Adults, and Formal Knights.

 

The Youth division consisted of those who hadn’t yet become adults, aspiring knights, or those dreaming of becoming one.

 

The Young Adult division included newly knighted individuals who hadn’t received official missions in their respective knight orders.

 

Finally, in the Formal Knights division, which can be said to be the crown jewel of the hunting competition, all the most active knights participating and competing showed off their skills.

 

“No one in the Youth division has ever participated at the age of seven like our Cherry, so there’s reason to worry.”

 

Indeed, in the history of the Lutinas Empire, there had never been a seven-year-old participant in the Youth division.

 

The youngest participants on record were two individuals, my mom and aunt Diana, who were both twelve at the time.

 

However, due to the Emperor’s harsh decree, that record was now likely to be updated with me and Enoch.

 

“The reason you’ve been consistently refusing invitations and taking long vacations since the Emperor sent the invitation is all because of this…”

 

My mom ground her teeth. A chilling atmosphere was emanating slowly.

 

As soon as the invitation ordering my participation in the hunting competition arrived at the mansion, my mom headed straight to the palace. However, the Emperor had already blocked my mom’s entrance.

 

He anticipated my mom’s fiery anger and took precautions ahead of time.

 

“Mom, Mom! I’m fine. I’ll just go in, have fun, and come back.”

 

I urgently tried to calm my mom down. If a real family scandal happened, it would be the end of our family.

 

After realizing the severity of the situation, my mom took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Once she calmed down a bit, she grabbed my shoulders and asked.

 

“Cherry, what if Enoch catches one rabbit? What will you do?”

 

“Huh? Then I’ll catch two. Or maybe even a wild boar.”

 

At my response, my mom bowed her head deeply. After a moment of trembling, she lifted her head, looked at my dad, and said.

 

“Look at this, Benedict!”

 

“……”

 

“We’re doomed!”

 

At my mom’s words, myad looked at me with a bewildered expression.

 

“Mel, calm down. We don’t know if Cherry will safely finish the hunt or not.”

 

“How could I not worry? Back in the day, when I was sparring with Diana, I’d leap off cliffs to catch bigger game than her! Our Cherry can’t compete!”

 

“Calm down, Mel. There are no cliffs in the Mitro Forest.”

 

“Even if there are no cliffs, do you know how far she’d go to beat Enoch?”

 

My mom eventually buried her face in her hands in despair.

 

It seemed like she was anticipating that I might cause an accident in there.

 

Despite my mom’s worries, I remained calm, thinking, ‘Mom used to be more adventurous than me back in the day, what’s…’

 

“I’ll do well!”

 

“Please don’t do well; just don’t compete with Enoch. Take it easy and come back in one piece. Please!”

 

“Alright.”

 

“Aah!”

 

My mom tilted her head as if to say my answer wasn’t what she meant.

 

If I provoked her a bit more, my mom might explode. Sensing this, my dad gently separated my mom from me.

 

Then, looking into my eyes, he spoke with a serious tone.

 

“Cherry, the important thing in the hunting competition is not beating Enoch but experiencing and applying what you’ve learned from Emblem in real combat. Your mom worries you might lose this valuable experience by focusing too much on Enoch.”

 

“Mm…”

 

After my dad’s reasonable words, I reevaluated the determination that had been solely focused on crushing Enoch and Jade Gray this time.

 

As I thought about it, experiencing real combat at my age was as challenging as grabbing the stars from the sky, just as my dad had said.

 

At best, I could spar with Emblem’s apprentice knights or receive advice from my grandfather or my mom while they wielded swords.

 

“Alright. I’m good at thrusting, but I’m not proficient in slashing yet. I’ll give it a try and come back.”

 

At my words, both my mom and my dad let out simultaneous sighs of relief.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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