013. Hunting Competition (1)
As time passed, about a week before the hunting competition, Owen, accompanied by the family’s knights, headed to the location where the hunting competition would take place.
The hunting competition was held in the ‘Forest of Snow,’ located in the northern part of the empire, particularly near the border. It was quite a distance, taking almost a day of continuous riding from the capital to the northernmost edge.
In a magical world, it would have been convenient to use teleportation or similar magic, but unfortunately, such methods were restricted except for emergencies like wars or rebellions.
Fortunately, the entire group consisted of knights, and they didn’t need to wait for a carriage, allowing them to arrive a day before the hunting competition without delay.
Upon reaching the headquarters of the hunting competition, a little away from the forest, Owen dismounted from his horse.
“Welcome, Duke Verdun.”
As Owen dismounted, Countess Ceres approached and greeted him.
Countess Ceres was a lord with territory in the northernmost part of the empire and was in charge of overseeing the annual hunting competition.
“You’ve worked hard,” Owen conveyed words of consolation, understanding her difficulties through the original work.
Although the hunting competition was held in spring and autumn to reduce the number of monsters, it couldn’t eliminate them entirely. Countess Ceres always had to be vigilant due to the presence of monsters in her region.
If the protagonist, Bella, had used her power to cast the ‘Protection Barrier’ in the north, the situation might have been different, but unfortunately, the original story hadn’t reached that point yet.
“No, not at all.”
Countess Ceres bowed her head, expressing gratitude for the consolation, and then called for an attendant.
“I’ll guide you.”
“Sure, please lead the way.”
The attendant led Owen and the group, including Duke Verdun, to their assigned tents.
Whether due to the use of insulation magic or Owen’s status, the inside of the tent was warm, and the tent itself was quite spacious.
Owen was once again surprised, both by the size of the large tent and its interior, which was almost like a bedroom.
He spent some time examining the interior of the large tent with curious eyes and then began unpacking and organizing the belongings he had brought.
As he had brought only essential items, the amount of luggage wasn’t substantial.
After roughly organizing his belongings, Owen came out of the tent and called the attendant again.
“Has anyone from Duke Edelt arrived?”
To Owen’s abrupt question, the attendant hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Yes, they arrived about an hour ago.”
“Where is Lady Edelt’s tent?”
Upon Owen’s inquiry, the attendant seemed to understand the situation.
He promptly guided Owen towards the direction of Lucia’s tent.
“This way, Your Grace.”
Guided by the attendant, Owen arrived at a place filled with red tents.
The color red symbolized the Edelt family, clearly visible in their territory.
Among numerous red tents, only three had the emblem of a red eagle drawn on them.
Presumably, those were the tents used by those bearing the name Edelt.
Owen, upon seeing this scene, finally realized why he was assigned to a tent with a black wolf emblem, unlike the knights accompanying him.
Lost in such trivial thoughts, the attendant communicated with Lucia’s maid.
When the maid relayed the message to Lucia, she immediately came out of the tent.
“How did you find your way here?”
Lucia, naturally surprised by the unexpected visit from someone who had never come to her tent before, greeted Owen.
Although she was glad to see him, it was still quite surprising.
“Because I heard you had already arrived.”
In response to Lucia’s question, Owen replied with a faint smile.
“Yes, I came about an hour ago. When did Your Grace arrive?”
“A little while ago.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
In response to Lucia’s concerned voice, Owen silently shook his head.
“Not at all. Aren’t you the one who should be tired?”
“I came by carriage.”
“Riding a carriage for an extended period can be exhausting.”
Even though she was a duchess, and moreover, a duchess who wasn’t loved by her father, Lucia didn’t have the liberty to choose just any carriage. Her father pretended to be an ordinary father on the surface, so there was no room for playing around with appearances.
Therefore, Lucia, despite being the duchess of Edelt, most likely rode a top-tier carriage suitable for her status.
It probably had extremely comfortable and plush seats, and maybe even magical stones for insulation and anti-jostling.
Knowing all this, Owen still worried about Lucia.
Even if he logically concluded things in his mind, emotions didn’t always follow reason.
“It wasn’t that difficult for me.”
Even when Lucia responded with a smile, Owen couldn’t fully believe her.
After she mentioned a few more times that she was fine, Owen finally nodded.
After a slight exchange, Lucia’s gaze turned to Owen’s hand.
In his hand, the gloves Lucia had gifted him a few days ago were snugly fitted.
“You’re wearing the gloves.”
Lucia said with a small, lips-curled smile as Owen looked down at his hand.
“I thought you might like them.”
Since the tie, Lucia had sent quite a few gifts to Duke Verdun.
Owen usually kept them carefully in a display cabinet and only wore them when meeting Lucia.
Logan’s words about showing off the gifts he received held persuasiveness, and Owen’s decision to wear the gloves today was also influenced by that.
“…Is there anything else you’d like me to do for you?”
Lucia slowly spoke in response to Owen’s answer.
Whether she considered his answer as an opportunity, her red eyes revealed a clear greed.
Recalling descriptions from novels he had read dozens of times, Owen focused on her eyes.
Indeed, he felt that mere words couldn’t capture everything about her.
“Anything.”
To Owen’s response that he would fulfill any request, Lucia blossomed a dazzling smile.
Her delicately arched eyes and elegantly curved lips were incredibly enchanting.
“Thank you.”
Lucia gave a brief greeting and quickly made her request.
“When you return from hunting, please come with me to the riding grounds.”
“The riding grounds?”
“Yes.”
Only after hearing Lucia’s response did Owen finally realize why she had learned horseback riding.
At the same time, he felt a bit disappointed.
‘I expected her to ask for something more extravagant.’
Seeing the emotions rising above her jade-like eyes, he was sure she would demand something grand.
So, at least he thought she would suggest entering the banquet together…
Just horseback riding, though.
“…Let’s do that then.”
While Owen spat out an affirmative response, he couldn’t shake off the slight disappointment.
Lucia, unaware of his thoughts, simply smiled happily.
Owen stared at her, who smiled with the corners of her mouth pulled up, and narrowed his eyes slightly.
“The clothes are too thin.”
The northern regions were cold all year round.
Even in summer, the temperature was similar to spring, but apart from that, the weather was almost the same as winter in other regions.
Perhaps that’s why Lucia, who usually wore light dresses, was wearing a relatively thick fabric dress…
Still, she didn’t seem quite warm.
Perhaps she had experienced an illness before.
This heightened Owen’s concern and worry.
“Wouldn’t it be better to wear thicker clothes?”
“I’m warm enough.”
As Lucia shook her head, Owen sighed as if worried.
He soon took off the cloak he was wearing and draped it over Lucia.
“Considering your delicate health… it would be better to be more careful.”
The jet-black cloak, tailored to fit Owen’s body, was quite large for Lucia.
It looked as if she was engulfed by the cloak.
Nevertheless, Lucia carefully adjusted the cloak and nodded her head.
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
As the two were having a conversation, the remaining noble families completed their arrivals one by one.
Once everyone participating in the hunting competition had arrived, it was time for weapon maintenance.
The quiet space quickly became noisy as knights and mages came out of their tents.
Most were busy with weapon maintenance, but occasionally, there were onlookers who glanced at the two together.
However, due to the difference in their statuses, no one approached or spoke to them.
As they spent a busy maintenance time, it was finally time for the last inspection by the head of the family.
Jade, the knight commander of Duke Verdun, came to Owen.
“You’re here, Your Grace. I’ve been looking for you for a while.”
At Jade’s voice, Owen turned his body to face him and gave him a nod.
Then Jade continued with his report.
“We’ve completed the weapon maintenance.”
Owen felt a bit disappointed, but he nodded his head. The weapon maintenance check was an important task. A single mistake during maintenance could lead to someone getting hurt or killed.
Therefore, neglecting maintenance was an unplanned and irresponsible action.
“Alright.”
Owen slowly responded and looked at Lucia once again.
“Let’s meet again tomorrow morning.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Lucia said her brief farewell. As Owen left after a brief eye contact, Lucia’s stepbrother, Louis Edelt, came out of the tent for the inspection. Lucia’s stepbrother, Louis Edelt, was by his side, looking like he was trying to learn the duties he should perform as the leader of the hunting competition under the Duke Edelt due to being the successor.
“Don’t bother us, go back to your tent.”
Louis, who usually hated and resented Lucia, started an argument as soon as he saw her.
In response to Louis’ voice, Lucia replied with a sigh as if annoyed.
“Wasn’t it going to be like this anyway?”
“Your roaming around is disturbing.”
“Whether I roam or not, just do your job well.”
In Lucia’s indifferent tone, Louis ground his teeth as if agitated.
Despite the siblings’ quarrel, their father, Duke Edelt, did not take any action, as usual. He always stood by and watched.
“Why are you so bold?”
Knowing that Duke Edelt would just stand by, Louis, who was well aware of this fact, rushed towards Lucia without hesitation.
“Is there any reason for me not to be bold?”
Although Lucia was not someone who would easily yield, when asked back by Lucia, Louis confidently responded as if he had been waiting for the chance.
“Why are you so confident when you’re not helping the family in any way?”
“There’s more than one way to help the family besides successor lessons.”
“At least your actions aren’t beneficial to the family! Don’t try to teach me. You have nothing to teach without knowing anything.”
When Lucia shrugged her shoulders in response to Louis’ angry words, he shook with anger.
“I just spoke the truth. What if you get angry about that?”
“If it’s the truth, what I said must be true. Lately, all you do is chase after Duke Verdun, right?”
As Louis countered Lucia’s answer, he sneered at her.
“Well, anyway, no matter how close you stick to him, he’s not interested in you.”
Then, laughing, he mocked Lucia.
“Louis, even though I’m your sister, let me give you one piece of advice.”
In response to Louis’ voice, Lucia responded, stroking the cloak she was wearing.
The emblem of Duke Verdun’s house was clearly engraved on the chest of the jet-black cloak.
“Sometimes rumors turn out to be true, so it might not be a good idea to close your ears too tightly.”
