***
As expected, Enoch and her, crazily began searching for prey and capturing them.
“Got one!”
“I’ve got two.”
“This time, three!”
“Wait, I’ll catch four next time.”
If she caught one prey, Enoch brought two, and then she would catch three.
Even at the slightest rustle in the grass, Enoch and her would dart forward without any need for discussion.
“……..”
“……..”
Watching Enoch and her competitively sweep through the prey, the other two team members silently organized the catches.
“Huff, huff… Don’t you two going to hunt?”
She asked, throwing away the freshly caught game. Emmett Cortiz, who was said to be the third or fourth son of Baron Cortiz, who was so accustomed to catching her prey and tying it up with rope, made a face that asked her a question because he didn’t know that.
“Since neither of you two are willing to clean up your prey of this hunting, so we’ll have to.”
“……Huh.”
For a moment, the thought of running away without looking back cause she want to catch up with Enoch as soon as she caught her prey flashed through her mind.
She had no memory of tying the prey she had caught to a line and organizing it.
She felt like her breathing, which had become rough, suddenly subsided. That intense feeling she get when she realize something is wrong.
“……..”
Staring silently at the neatly tied up prey stacked in a corner, she quietly approached the two and sat down.
“I’m sorry. I was so hasty that I didn’t even think about it… From now on, I’ll take care of mine, so please go ahead and hunt.”
At her words, the two exchanged glances. Their expressions clearly revealed the internal struggle of whether it was really okay to let her handle it.
That look plunged the dagger of conscience straight into her heart.
Reflecting on her immature, reckless actions driven by the desire to win and not bothering to check the surroundings, she struggled to speak.
“The hunting competition doesn’t happen every year. It’s a rare opportunity, and it would be too regrettable to end it without giving our best, wouldn’t it?”
Osric Balmore, the eldest or second son of the Marquess of Balmore, who was having a difficult time answering her words, answered in a calm voice. .
“….However, my father insisted. If Emblem or Gray ends up in the same group, just give up.”
“Why?”
“Because if I make a mistake, my path will be blocked.”
At Osric Balmore’s words, she looked at Emmett Cortiz with a puzzled face. Him too was nodding his head with a resigned look, as if he had heard the same thing as Osric Balmore.
“No, but what does that mean…”
She murmured with a perplexed expression. Where in the world was such a rule even established?
Even her, who had little interest in how the world operated, knew how important this hunting competition was for those dreaming of becoming knights.
She firmly grasped the hands of Osric Balmore and Emmett Cortiz.
“Wait!”
Startled, the two tried to withdraw their hands, but when she opened my eyes wide, they couldn’t bring themselves to pull away.
She turned their hands over to examine their palms.
Calluses protruded at every joint, scars still fresh and sore, remnants of wounds that hadn’t fully healed, and countless small scars that had torn and healed.
The two, looking at least five years older than her, had probably wielded swords many times more than she had.
Their palms, filled with traces of glory that nobility couldn’t possess, were evidence of their efforts.
“After training so hard in swordsmanship, do you want to go home without the chance to show the results?”
At her words, the two seemed to struggle to hold back tears, biting their lips in silence. Without saying a word, she knew what they were holding back.
Although South Korea was a democracy, distinct social classes still existed. In her past life, she trembled with the realization that freedom from wealth and power was impossible once born as a human.
Moreover, here in Lutinas, society was divided into nobles, commoners, peasants, and slaves from birth.
No matter how much she shouted for equality, it would be evaluated as potential rebellion, ranging from a crazy woman to denying the imperial family.
Despite being born as the esteemed successor of Emblem, respected across the vast continent’s history, she was ultimately just a seven-year-old human.
She had no power to change the world. So, she had to find and maintain her own fairness within these societal norms.
It was the only thing she could do, having received education in her past life that everyone was noble without discrimination.
“I’m an Emblem. I know a lot about my family. What you’re doing now is an insult to my family.”
“…….!”
“Watching is for those who have the skill. What on earth makes you believe and watch us, when you haven’t even officially competed against Emblem?”
She exaggeratedly chuckled.
“If it’s revealed after the hunting competition that you two watched me and Enoch, Emblem and Gray will probably do their best to bury your future.”
“………!”
“………!”
At her words, the two opened their mouths in shock, fear evident in their widened eyes.
Despite the bitterness of this reality, there was no other way.
She released their hands and turned around, asking a question.
“Right, Enoch?”
Behind her, Enoch, who knows when he arrived, was holding a wild boar’s hind leg in one hand, gasping for breath. The wild boar, seemingly too heavy for his small body, made him struggle.
However, Enoch’s gaze was as cold as ever, shining with an unchildlike chill.
“A knight speaks with a sword.”
Enoch said so, letting go of the boar’s leg he had been holding. The discontent evident in his approaching footsteps made it clear that he had overheard their entire conversation.
“My grandfather’s words. A knight who doesn’t know how to speak with a sword is not a knight but merely a swordsman.”
Well said. She silently agreed with Enoch’s words, nodding he4 head.
Her grandfather, like her, may outright deny the Duke Gray’s words, but he would certainly acknowledge that saying inwardly.
“So, I’m here to do my best to defeat Enoch. Even if your father doesn’t know much about Emblem and Gray, please let him know that much.”
What they want is to succeed as knights. The fastest way to succeed as a knight in the empire is to become a member of Emblem or Gray Knights.
So, what is the most certain and fastest way to join Emblem and Gray Knights?
The answer was simple. It was to become stronger.
“Now, let’s think about it. If we put Enoch and I here, and one of us wins, what would happen?”
“The answer, Gray Duke family is angry and will attacking our family…”
“No.”
Enoch cut off the conversation firmly, as if there were no insults at all. Emmett Cortiz closed his mouth, seeming disappointed.
With caution, Osric Balmore raised his hand and spoke.
“People who were looking forward to a competition between Emblem and Gray were disappointed, so we have to take responsibility…
“That’s not it!”
This time, she interrupted with frustration, pounding her chest.
Failing to consider the obvious. Eventually, She decided to provide the answer herself.
“Between Emblem and Gray, there will be a confrontation. We will each try to bring and claimed who the skilled winner between me and Enoch.”
“………!”
“………!”
At her words, both of them finally realized. What they needed to do. What they wielded their swords for.
With a feeling that things might finally start to change, she smiled slyly.
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