Episode 20
“You’re being too reckless, Jeria!”
In response to Jeria’s outburst, Lady Iris, the Countess, raised an annoyed eyebrow.
Whether she liked it or not, Jeria was furious and didn’t know what to do.
She had to be the star of the party.
She shouldn’t be cooped up in this room like this!
Avoiding Vincent’s relentless attention, Jeria had no choice but to escape eventually.
And then, out of the blue, flowers and letters were sent, weren’t they?
A bouquet of roses, which she had thrown into the corner of the room, was now scattered about.
She had torn the disturbing letter into pieces without even reading it.
Originally, it should have been Sierra who received the bouquet and the letter.
Not her!
Furthermore, rumors of Vincent and Jeria’s relationship had already spread widely among the people.
“Argh! It’s so frustrating!”
The Elders had reprimanded Vincent severely.
Admitting that he had committed a breach of etiquette towards Sierra, they had taken appropriate measures at the family level to prevent any further gossip.
In contrast, Jeria was still unable to control her anger and was running amok.
Lady Iris sighed softly at the sight of her powerless behavior.
Then, she remembered Sierra, whom she had seen yesterday.
Serkan’s illegitimate daughter. Unlike Jeria, she was quiet and timid.
“I thought she was just a fool…,” Lady Iris muttered to herself.
The Sierra she had seen yesterday was completely different from what she knew.
Could a person change so much in just a few years?
“Ha-ha.”
She remembered the girl who had stared confidently into her eyes.
She had no idea how scary a puppy could be until it showed its true colors.
“If you feel so wronged, Jeria?”
“Of course! I’ll never forget the humiliation from yesterday…!”
Sierra’s presence had become a thorn in the side of Lady Iris lately.
The Countess had generously supported Orzen with significant funding to help him become the head of the family.
With the ties formed by their marriage, the expectations placed on her were substantial.
However, rumors had reached her ears that Serkan’s daughter was gaining quite a bit of favor with the head of the family.
It was unusual for Tergon Drenihan, known for his indifference to his children and grandchildren, to personally host such an event.
It might be best to completely remove this problem from the picture.
* * *
The Young Lady beside me pointed to the empty space and said, “Oh, it’s starting now. It’s the scoreboard.”
In the air, alongside the names of the participants, golden numbers appeared.
Among the lined-up names, there were those competing for 1st and 2nd place.
[Ludwig Karsian, 700] [Cedric Michael, 650]“Wow, Duke Ludwig is currently in 1st place.”
“It hasn’t even been that long since it started, and his score is already that high…”
I had already expected it, but he was surpassing last year’s champion by this much.
‘He truly is a monster.’
I suddenly remembered a fact I had momentarily forgotten.
Inside the forest, there were creatures ranging from low to intermediate levels.
Depending on their danger level, the points obtained varied, and in Ludwig’s case, his score was skyrocketing by nearly 100 points at a time.
In other words, he was intentionally hunting only the most dangerous creatures.
However, what was a bit strange was that not only Ludwig but also the scores of other participants were increasing in intervals of about 30 points.
“It seems like there are more dangerous creatures appearing today.”
“The forest’s aura has become even stronger.”
When anxious voices were heard, Silah spoke as if to reassure them, “Participants are knights representing the empire. Is there a need to worry?”
“But if the creatures escape from the forest…”
A young Young Lady imagined the worst-case scenario with a pale face.
The forest’s barrier was currently deactivated.
Since creatures instinctively tried not to leave the forest with an aura, the chances of them escaping from the forest were slim, but just in case…
“The Duke’s knights are stationed here. The creatures won’t be able to take a single step out of the forest.”
As Silah said, in front of the forest, the knights were on high alert, guarding the area.
“Hmm…”
But why do I feel a sense of foreboding about this scene since a while ago?
Why?
There were still many parts of the original story that hadn’t come to mind yet, but among them, I felt like I was missing something important.
There was something that had passed through my mind just now.
“1 year ago, Ludwig wiped out the Elders’ Council, seized the position of the Duke, and ruled as the Bloody Duke. Creatures from the Karsian Forest appeared and created chaos at an event attended by people. It was an act they carried out during the confusion.”
The day when all the members of the Elders’ Council gathered. And the day when people celebrated an event in front of the Karsian Forest.
…My goodness.
Today was that day.
The day when Ludwig conquered Karsian.
* * *
I took a walk in the woods for the first time in a while, partly to clear my complicated thoughts.
Technically, it was a promenade path adjacent to the forest, but the air was still refreshing.
According to the knights, the promenade was considered safe.
Creatures had a tendency not to venture to higher ground.
The promenade seemed to be in a safe location, given that information.
According to the original story, creatures were supposed to emerge from the forest today, causing chaos.
Nevertheless, thanks to the Young Lady who had worried about the worst-case scenario earlier, memories of the original story suddenly came to mind.
More than that, the fact that Ludwig would annihilate his family members.
It was a content I couldn’t quite imagine.
Perhaps because I had seen a very different side of him from the original.
“No, that’s his true self.”
When I unintentionally remembered what I had momentarily forgotten, I felt strange.
Of course, the Elders’ Council had survived such an event, so there was no need to worry about it.
“Sister.”
Then, an unwelcome voice came from behind.
When I turned around, it was none other than Jeria.
“Why are you here?”
From what I heard, she was supposed to be in her room, dealing with Vincent.
“I had a hard time getting away from that pest and came out.”
Jeria complained, mentioning Vincent.
“You didn’t follow me all the way here, did you?”
I hadn’t sensed her presence at all during the ten-minute walk along the promenade.
“I just came because I have something to return to you, sister.”
Jeria said, as if to dispel any misunderstanding.
“To return to me?”
“Do you remember this?”
With that, Jeria took something out of her pocket.
A necklace with a sparkling pink gemstone.
I couldn’t forget it.
It was the necklace my mother had left for me, the only gift she had given me.
“Why do you have that?”
I thought Jeria had lost it when she was little.
“I pretended to have lost it. To tease you, sister.”
“What…?”
“I always kept it with me. It was quite amusing to see you not recognize it even though it was right in front of you.”
Jeria was even more of a lunatic than I had thought.
I wondered if she had brought a fake one and was pretending like this, but that was genuine.
I could feel a faint magic from the gemstone, and even though I still couldn’t identify its true nature, it was the same as what I had felt when I was young.
“Should I give it back?”
“Enough with the chatter, just give it to me.”
“Alright. I’ll give it to you, sister.”
In that moment, Jeria threw the necklace with all her strength towards the forest.
“…!”
The necklace flew far away.
“Hurry up and go get it, or the creatures might pick it up.”
I chuckled softly, leaving Jeria behind and running towards where the necklace had flown.
It took quite a while to reach how far it had been thrown.
And then, my steps came to a halt at the edge of a cliff.
“Oh, it fell down there.”
I sighed softly as I saw the glimmering necklace from a distance.
Nevertheless, I was relieved to have found it.
The cliff wasn’t very high, but it was steep and difficult to descend on my own.
Plus, it was in a forest where creatures roamed.
“I should call someone for help.”
Muttering to myself, as I was about to turn around, someone pushed me forcefully from behind.
“Huh…?”
My body leaned forward, and my center of gravity shifted.
My field of vision was turned upside down.
And then, I saw it clearly.
Jeria, after pushing me down, was standing there, grinning.
*Thud!*
“Ah!”
I tumbled several times and ended up on the ground.
“There, become the creatures’ meal.”
I heard Jeria’s voice from above.
“You shouldn’t have touched me like that.”
As I lay on the ground, the sound of footsteps grew distant.
“Ugh…”
I staggered to my feet.
She pushed me off a cliff… No matter how you looked at it, she had given up her humanity.
Luckily, the cliff wasn’t too high, so there weren’t any serious injuries.
But this was definitely inside the forest.
Any moment now, creatures could appear, just as Jeria had said.
I might indeed become their meal.
When I tried to climb back up the cliff, the slope was too steep, and it seemed difficult.
“This is insane…”
I couldn’t venture deeper into the forest either.
I picked up the necklace and grabbed onto the rocks at the edge of the cliff.
That was when it happened.
A chilling, beastly howl came from behind me.
It sounded like a roar from a predator on the hunt.
“Are there other participants nearby?”
If that were the case, it would be somewhat fortunate. I could ask for help.
But what appeared in front of me was not a human.
A giant wolf-like creature, its sharp teeth sinking into a deer, was looking in my direction.
*Krrrrrrr…*
With red eyes gleaming, it started running toward me.
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