Episode 35: Hunting Festival (3)
The carriage came to a slow stop. They had arrived at the hunting grounds, their destination.
Getting off the carriage with Count Bohan’s escort, Beth asked, “Did Lord Daniel already head to the hunting grounds?”
“It’s customary for the Royal Knights to inspect the hunting grounds first. Dangerous game doesn’t usually appear in that case.”
“You must have had a challenging time moving so early in the morning.”
Naturally, ferocious beasts like bears inhabited the hunting grounds. However, why they didn’t appear wasn’t particularly important to Beth. This place was still a world from a game to her. In the game, nothing ‘truly’ dangerous happened to the heroine. Villains were sloppy, and someone always came to the rescue in times of crisis.
‘There are more people than I thought. It’s definitely different from the game screen.’
Thinking such thoughts, Beth glanced around. Count Bohan, who had been walking stooped, holding Beth’s hand, stopped in front of one tent and gestured for her to go in first.
“Our family’s tent is here. You can stay here and enjoy the hunting festival.”
Though called a tent, it was completely open on one side. Looking around, Beth saw others just unfolding parasols and sitting at tables.
“People here enjoy having tea or simple snacks while talking. You just need to clap when the knights bring the prey.”
Beth found it a somewhat dull event.
‘Of course, it won’t end so uneventfully. Here, Beth humiliates the villain princess and gains the favor of the ladies.’
And to catch the attention of the villain princess, Beth needed to find Daniel instead of just staying in the tent.
Instead of sitting down, Beth asked Count Bohan, “May I look around?”
Count Bohan, who had sat down a step ahead of Beth, raised his eyebrows.
“It’s fine if it’s nearby, but I don’t recommend it. It could be troublesome if conflicts arise with the noble ladies.”
After saying that, Count Bohan suddenly held Beth’s hand.
“Above all, I want to be alone with you, Beth.”
His voice, as he presented it with a soft smile, showed no signs of coercion. He simply wanted to be visible to Beth. Though it could be considered a romantic fantasy situation, Beth found his touch awkward.
There were two choices to make. It was as if deciding whether to proceed with the Count route or not.
▶ (Hold hands and sit down)
▶ (Carefully pull away)
Awkwardly smiling, Beth gently pulled her hand away from Count Bohan.
“Perhaps because I’ve been in the carriage for so long, my stomach doesn’t feel well. I’ll take a short walk and be back.”
Being a gentleman, Count Bohan didn’t insist as Beth walked toward the hunting grounds, leaving the tent behind. Her blue eyes were actively searching for someone.
‘Daniel.’
It was none other than Daniel Bohan, the target Beth wanted to capture. However, no matter how much she looked around, he seemed to have already entered the vast forest, as Daniel was nowhere to be seen. It was when Beth was biting her nails anxiously that a beautiful woman, with vivid red hair tied high and a small robin hood hat, caught her eye.
The moment she saw her, Beth immediately recognized her.
‘Sienna Liata!’
The villain princess from “Victorian Love”!
Sienna was one of the few who hadn’t changed after being possessed by the characters in this game.
‘Last time, as soon as she saw me, she poured tea from the teapot.’
In the original work, Sienna didn’t come to Count Bohan at this point. However, as the scenario was gradually changing, it didn’t seem strange to Beth. The important thing was that Sienna, just like in the original, was hostile towards her.
But today’s Sienna clearly touched something in Beth’s nerves. Beth furrowed her brows.
‘But why is she dressed like that? In the game, she wore much more ridiculous and excessive outfits.’
She could vividly recall it even now. A bright dress like a forsythia flower with ridiculous green accessories attached. Because of her red hair, someone even teased her, asking if she was a traffic light.
‘But today, she looks just fine?’
She was wearing a sleek riding outfit that suited the hunting festival, even more so than Beth, and boots.
Moreover, the recipient of her ribbon-tying was not Daniel.
‘Who is that guy?’
A brown-haired, ordinary-looking young man who never appeared in the original.
‘There can’t be a character I don’t know in ‘Victorian Love.’’
Most importantly, Sienna was laughing and chatting naturally with that man.
‘Sienna Liata is the woman who obsessively pursues Daniel. Why is she tying a ribbon for another man?’
When Beth couldn’t comprehend the situation, she frowned.
‘What’s that again?’
While Sienna was tying a ribbon for the brown-haired man, a figure sneaked up behind them, holding something with both hands.
‘Why is the servant acting like that? And what is he holding with both hands?’
Since it was not clear, Beth squinted her eyes. It was right at that moment.
– “Hiiiing!”
The horse was bucking, and the brown-haired man seemed to embrace Sienna. And that was the moment.
“Ahh!”
The object that the servant held in both hands flashed like sunlight. It was a dagger.
With it, the servant tried to stab Sienna, but the brown-haired man, who was hugging Sienna, got stabbed instead.
“Gasp.”
At the sight of the gushing red blood, Beth felt faint and pale.
—
I don’t know what exactly happened. I stared blankly at the servant. The servant, too, froze as if surprised, staring at me.
“Why on earth? Who? For what purpose?”
Questions filled my mind. In that moment, I shouted loudly like a mad person.
“Seize him! It’s the crown prince’s murderer!”
“Hic!”
The servant, now coming to his senses, threw away the sword and started running. While supporting Julius, who was about to collapse, I pointed at the servant and shouted.
“It’s him! That servant!! He stabbed the crown prince!!!”
Only now did the knights, who had noticed the strange situation, stop tying ribbons and rushed to capture the servant.
With so many knights, there was no way to let Prince Sihyebum slip away. I slowly laid Julius on the ground and shouted towards the bewildered people.
“Is there a doctor! Is there a doctor here! It’s urgent!”
As I tried to lay him down on the ground, a little blood oozed out as his body slightly bent. Suppressing the desire to push him away and run away immediately, I gently laid Julius down. When you get injured, they say to apply pressure with a clean cloth, so I quickly untied the ribbon around his arm and pressed on the wound. But theory and reality were completely different. In an instant, the ribbon became soggy, staining my fingers red. Trembling all over, I said loudly.
“Wake up, brother! If the last thing you remember is mocking the ribbon I tied, you’ll be too embarrassed, won’t you?!”
So don’t die like this. I silently prayed. And then it happened. A faint voice echoed in my ears.
“Too noisy…”
“Brother!!”
Julius is alive! Even as tears welled up, I couldn’t let go to apply pressure to the wound. I shook my head to clear away the tears. Then I spoke to Julius.
“You must not fall asleep. If you fall asleep at a time like this, you’ll die!”
“It’s noisy.”
“Being noisy is fortunate! There are situations in this world where you want to hear a sound but can’t!”
While I was bothering Julius like that, the doctor approached, sweating profusely.
“I will tend to His Highness’s wounds.”
When the professional arrived, I could finally take a breath. Unable to stand up, I crawled backward on the ground. And it was when I sighed deeply.
-Clang!!
An enormous noise echoed for a moment, making my ears ring. Blinking because I didn’t know what had happened, I found my powerless body stuck in the dirt.
I stared blankly, lifting my upper body. A sharp voice echoed in my ears.
“You wretched thing!! Is this your doing?! Trying to kill even the Crown Prince!”
The Empress, who had rushed over with maids in tow, kicked me as I sat there.
“Huh?”
I was dumbfounded, and a bitter laugh escaped me. It was when I found it absurd. The Empress pointed at me, yelling at other soldiers.
“Look here! Arrest Princess Sienna immediately! She’s the murderer of Crown Prince!”
“This old lady is for real!”
Even though my heart was pounding right now, and I was doing my best to save Julius, even attempting first aid that I hadn’t tried before, they came over, kicked me, and labeled me a murderer? It was so unfair that my eyes rolled back. I burst out shouting.
“If your son has collapsed, shouldn’t you first check if he’s okay?! How can you accuse me of being a criminal just because I’m resentful at a time like this? Didn’t you see me pointing to the culprit who stabbed brother just now?”
“What, what?! Old lady?”
Can you only hear ‘old lady’ even now!
