Chapter 11 When You Need To Get Low
His lips didn’t move, but she could see his thoughts written on his face.
‘It can’t be… can it?’ she thought, clearly anticipating a future she didn’t like.
‘But what should I do? I think that prediction came true?’
Veronia felt slightly embarrassed. She had to say the one sentence she didn’t want to hear.
But it was unavoidable, so Veronica put on her formal smile and spoke in a light tone.
“I need you to come with me to the hunting festival today.”
“Yes? Excuse me…?”
“Don’t misunderstand, this offer is solely to save Lord Killion.”
“What do you mean, save me?”
A shadow of disbelief deepened in Killion’s eyes at the out-of-the-blue statement.
Veronia began the long-winded excuse she’d been rehearsing all night.
“I’m trying to save you from the attention, envy, and jealousy of so many people.”
“….”
Killion, not yet fully comprehending her words, clamped his mouth shut and focused solely on hearing.
“You’re a war hero, and many people already look up to you as the strongest man in the land, so you don’t really need to win this hunt, do you?”
“….”
“Hasn’t it ever occurred to you, sir, that maybe it’s time you humbled yourself a little?”
Killion couldn’t help but be surprised by Veronia’s words.
He hadn’t realized that Veronia had the insight and empathy to see the difficulties of other people’s situations.
‘I thought she was all about how to make herself stand out, never caring about other people’s perspectives. Is that not true?’
The sense of strangeness I’d been feeling for the past few days was now palpable.
She was different.
“People tend to be uncomfortable with people who are vastly superior to them, especially if they’re power-hungry.”
Veronia glanced off to one side with a sharp glance, and Killion naturally followed her gaze.
Where their gazes met was Jonathan and Tate.
Veronia’s two brothers were smirking with satisfaction, their voices filled with the loud praise of the nobility.
‘The way she criticizes his own flesh and blood… It’s unfamiliar.’
The sight of Killion listening to her story gave Veronia courage.
At this rate, she might be able to convince him.
“But if I show any signs of floundering, he’ll probably accuse me of being modest, so I’ll have to make my excuses.”
“….”
“You’ll have to come with me, and we’ll catch some small animals, shhhh.”
The last word was whispered in Killion’s ear.
Somehow, she didn’t forget to smile.
“Ha,” Killion said, rubbing his reddened earlobe and letting out a small laugh.
Veronia had a point.
Though he still couldn’t believe that this pretty good plan had come out of her head.
“Good.”
Killion nodded.
Her breath against his earlobe made his heart skip a beat, but he tried to ignore it.
Pooh-ooh-ooh
Veronia and Killion mounted their horses as the trumpets sounded at the start of the hunt.
The sight of the two riding side by side drew the attention of the nobles, who began to gawk and chatter.
“My goodness, the Princess and Lord Killion, they are going together!”
“No wonder, the Princess has decided to participate in this hunting festival herself! I finally understand.”
The middle-aged ladies’ lips curled up in a smile of delight as if they were looking at their own sons and daughters, and the younger ones smiled in envy at the object of their envy.
“How lovely to see you two together! Don’t you two seem to be getting along so well these days?”
“Is this a sign that your wedding is getting closer?”
“You have so many events this year, I like it!”
“We’d better get organized before the dresses get booked up!”
The ladies were smiling with satisfaction as Veronica and Killion walked into the hunting grounds together.
On the other side, Jonathan and Tate frowned and whispered among themselves.
“Veronia, what the hell is that stupid thing doing interrupting us, clueless!”
“That’s true, brother. I know she is trying, but this time she went over the top with her stupidity. What can we do?”
“What can we do? We’re going to stick to the plan.”
Tate’s eyebrows twitched for a moment at Jonathan’s snide remark.
It was true that Veronia was a pretty wrapper, but the kernel was stupid.
Still, she was his sister, and she was a Princess.
‘They say there are no permanent allies in politics, no permanent enemies, but… I knew this was the kind of human being he was, but… tsk.’
Tate felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end at Jonathan’s cruelty, at the way he didn’t bat an eyelid when his sister could have seen blood.
But for now, he could only shake his head.
This was the crown prince who was next in line for the throne.
“Yes, I understand, brother.”
***
Veronia walked with Killion to the small game hunting area.
She breathed a shallow sigh of relief as she watched Killion calmly gather the horses beside her.
‘Thank goodness.’
If the original plan had been followed, Killion would have traveled deeper into the woods to hunt ferocious animals or demons.
‘If he had, he would have been killed by the villains who were ambushed there.’
It wasn’t a fatal wound, he says, but it was a close call.
Even for a Swordmaster, it would have been difficult to take on a dozen masked villains alone and unarmed.
‘Not only did I have to deal with villains, but also wild beasts and demons that smelled blood and flocked to me.’
Ugh, just imagining Killion in a trap was so terrifying that the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
‘You’ll be alright today, I hope?’
It’s just a light trap to take out the steamer, so they won’t go to the trouble of traveling from their original ambush to find her and Killion, Veronia thought. Naively.
Of course, there was one more thing Veronia believed she was a Princess.
‘Even if the crown prince and the second prince are bloodless bastards, they won’t try to attack me, because I’m still a useful tool.’
It was a bitter reason, but it was true.
It was then. Killion looked at the bow and arrows Veronia had slung over her shoulder.
“I didn’t realize Your Majesty could shoot a bow.”
“Oh… this? I can’t shoot it, I just brought it as a trinket, it’s for hunting.”
Ho-ho, Veronia smiled even wider, and she could see Killion’s brow narrow slightly. It stung, and she wiped the smile off her face.
‘I’m afraid I’m a bit of a laughing stock today. I can’t help it, Killion, but… I’ll have to restrain myself in future, before I get the wrong idea.’
A silence fell between them.
***
As the forest grew thicker, Veronia and Killion dismounted and began to walk.
After a while, they spotted a deer in the distance through the bushes.
Killion’s eyes widened at the sight of his prey, and he immediately drew his bowstring.
It was then.
“Aah!”
Veronia, who was standing next to him, stumbled and fell to the ground.
The sound startled the deer, which scurried away.
“Are you all right?”
Killion released his grip on the bowstring and walked over to the fallen Veronia.
“Thank you, and I’m sorry, I missed your kill.”
“That’s all right. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, thankfully.”
The two walked back through the bush.
Silence naturally fell around them.
This time they saw a deer ahead of them, larger than the one they had seen earlier. Killion immediately took a stance and raised his bow.
It was a swift gesture, Veronia thought, one she didn’t dare to imitate.
She stood beside him as he was about to draw the bowstring and swayed dizzily.
“Aaah…!”
“Your Majesty, what’s wrong, are you feeling unwell?”
Killion lowered his bow and helped her up.
This time the deer, startled by the sound, scampered off in the other direction.
But Killion didn’t care about the prey he’d already lost.
“Uh… suddenly I feel dizzy,” she says.
“Sit down in the shade and rest, you’ll be fine. Here…”
Killion helped Veronia to her feet and led her under the shade of a flat tree.
“I’m sorry you missed your kill because of me again…”
Veronia gave him an apologetic look.
But this time, her act didn’t work. Killion’s face immediately hardened, and he spoke.
“Are you interrupting me on purpose?”
“Yes…?”
“You had no intention of hunting in the first place, and you said the bow was just for decoration.”
“… That’s right.”
Caught out. Veronia scratched her cheek unnecessarily and blushed. She hadn’t yet had the impudence to laugh at being caught in a lie.
“… It’s obvious, I’m sorry. I don’t like to see blood, it’s scary.”
“Ha… it’s a hunting festival. We should go hunting, shouldn’t you?”
“Do we have to?”
Killion looked dumbfounded at Veronia’s question.
Whether he did or not, Veronia continued nonchalantly.
“In any case, Lord Killion, rather than focusing on the hunt, you’ve been enjoying the company of his fiancée, isn’t that why you agreed to my proposal?”
“From what I’ve heard …, yes.”
Veronia smiled as she watched Killion nod slowly.
Killion’s heart skipped a beat as he came into view.
He quickly looked away and thought.
‘You’re still the same as ever, except that you often leave me at a loss for words, so I guess you haven’t changed much in that sense.’
She tried to look away, but her eyes kept following Killion’s.
Just then, a rustling sound came from nearby.
It was too small to be heard by Veronia’s ears, but it was clear to Killion, the Swordmaster.
He could sense that the sound was not made by a harmless animal, but by a living human.
Kilion leaned down and whispered in Veronia’s ear.
“Your Majesty, please get behind me.”
“What? Aaah…!”
Killion’s body moved almost reflexively as he spoke.
