Episode 24
Ignoring the curious gazes, I headed towards the gathering of people with Ludwig.
“Young Lady Sierra! What on earth happened? You said you were going for a walk, and since then, you disappeared. I was worried.”
Shira rushed over and spoke to me in one breath.
“Did you stay in the forest the whole time?”
“Well, something like that happened. Fortunately, I met a knight on the way and managed to survive. Thank you for worrying.”
I smiled and passed by Shira, continuing my steps.
My fall from the cliff, rolling on the ground, was beyond description.
People’s faces turned pale with shock each step I took.
Finally, I arrived in front of Jeria with a disheveled face.
“Jeria, looks like you’ve seen someone you shouldn’t have.”
“…Huh?”
“You pushed me off the cliff. It must have been quite surprising to see me come back like this, right?”
I laughed brightly, and the people around us showed astonished expressions.
Jeria, with her eyes rolling nervously, managed to say in a trembling voice, “S-Sister… What are you talking about? I never did such a thing.”
Look at this; do you want me to reveal everything?
As expected, she was anticipating it.
Knowing better than anyone how her personality started with any topic, I continued with a bright smile, “Do you know? Surveillance cameras are installed all around the forest to prevent misconduct.”
“…!”
“And coincidentally, one was installed on that cliff where you pushed me. Should I ask to bring it here?”
“Lies! Surveillance cameras? I’ve never heard of such a thing!”
With an uneasy voice, Jeria shook her eyes, and I shrugged my shoulders, looking back.
“Was I wrong, Ludwig?”
“Sieara’s words are correct. In the Grand Duchy, surveillance cameras were installed in the forest in advance to prevent misconduct.”
“Well, if winning brings astronomical benefits, some might be tempted by dishonest intentions. Such preventive measures are only natural.”
I explained kindly again, looking at Jeria.
The Karsian Hunting Festival was different from ordinary festivals. Its status and influence were as powerful as the New Year’s ceremonies and imperial festivals held in the palace.
Even now, there were foreign royalty, nobles, and high nobles gathered here, a sight rarely seen where they would usually convene in one place.
It served as a grand festival connecting the upper echelons of society for socializing and networking.
One reason for the elevated status of the Karsian celebration was the benefits given to the winner.
The fact that the Karsian Grand Duke personally granted the winner’s wish was heavily publicized every year, causing a great sensation throughout the empire.
From mines to ancient treasures, what the Grand Duke awarded to the winners over the years was invaluable.
Winners gained considerable recognition and skyrocketed in status overnight.
Therefore, in the Grand Duchy, to prevent cheating, hundreds of surveillance cameras were installed in the forest as a precautionary measure.
The information about the cameras was notified only to the participants, making it unfamiliar to ordinary people like Jeria.
However, the claim that cameras were also installed on the cliff was a lie.
Installing cameras throughout the vast forest was impossible, so they were concentrated near the forest’s edge, where participants were most likely to hunt.
I also looked around for any separate cameras but found none, probably because the cliff was near the outer edge of the forest.
This fact, unknown to Jeria, caused her expression to pale.
“Should I bring it right now? If I show it in front of everyone, maybe it will jog your memory too.”
As I attempted to instruct the knights, Jeria tried to stop me with an almost pleading expression.
“No, no! Don’t do that!”
“Why not, Jeria? Do you remember now?”
“…I just did as the Countess commanded! I never intended to push you off the cliff!”
Witnessing Jeria’s words, Lady Iris, who had been silently observing, trembled.
Well, I expected someone would have spread rumors, but hearing it directly made me chuckle.
“Is it true, Lady Iris?”
“…Jeria, trying to frame me like this. It feels like a great betrayal.”
Lady Iris spoke, tapping her eyes with a handkerchief, and Jeria’s face turned pale.
“That’s…!”
“Jeria’s words are clearly untrue. It’s a blatant false accusation.”
“Aunt! If things go wrong, you’ll surely bear all the responsibility, right?”
To believe those words so naively, Jeria was indeed quite foolish. It seemed that in the plans of these two, there was no expectation of me emerging unscathed from the forest.
As a noble young lady without any weapons, how could I survive in a forest teeming with monsters? Even the cliff I fell from was in a remote location where participants were unlikely to go for help.
However, unbelievably, after witnessing the turn of events with my own eyes, the Duchess had already decided to give up on Jeria, as was evident in her determined gaze.
I turned back and spoke to Ludwig, “Please arrange for Jeria to be taken away as a prisoner.”
“I will do so.”
Upon Ludwig’s signal, the knights of the Grand Duchy subdued Jeria.
“What is this? Let me go!”
Driven by malice, Jeria thrashed about and was dragged out of the banquet hall.
The decision was for Jeria to be taken to the family and abide by her grandfather’s judgment. In cases of internal family disputes, it was common for the family head to make the judgment.
Watching Jeria being taken away, Lady Iris, the Viscountess, made an ironic bow.
“How could… I didn’t know that Jeria was so malicious.”
“At least, even if she wanted to frame me for something, she should have betrayed me in a better way. Lady Iris has shown me so much favor, yet this is the betrayal she chooses.”
Even Lady Iris, who had been silently observing, had a troubled expression on her face.
It was entirely unexpected that such an absurd event would lead to giving up on a lady.
Unlike Jeria, Lady Iris had no qualms. Even if Jeria shouted all she wanted, people wouldn’t listen, and catching this sly fox seemed not so easy.
At that moment, from a distance, the Grand Duke of Karsian approached. After glancing at Jeria being dragged away, he soon spoke.
“If the situation is resolved, let’s proceed with the closing ceremony.”
An unimaginable incident had occurred at the Karsian Hunting Festival, with a deep-rooted history. Even though it was a dispute between individuals, the Grand Duke, as the head of the family, seemed eager to bring it to a close without further repercussions.
The Grand Duke ascended the high stairs where the participants were standing, and the crowd gathered in the outdoor banquet hall directed their attention somewhere.
Since thirty minutes before the end of the hunting festival, the scoreboards hovering in the air had disappeared. Consequently, everyone was curious about who the final winner would be.
When the final rankings based on scores appeared in the air again, people gasped in amazement.
“…Huh?”
The golden letters floating in the air were arranged according to the participants’ rankings. Familiar with the first place, I rubbed my eyes and looked again. There was no mistake.
Ludwig Karsian.
“The second-place, Cedric Michael, was trailing far behind with a significant gap.
Even after losing a considerable amount of time due to poison in the middle of the hunt, to win… that person is truly something else.
He was beyond common sense.
With a satisfied expression, the Grand Duke summoned the winner.
“The winner of the 28th Hunting Festival, Ludwig Karsian.”
At the Duke’s voice, Ludwig walked toward him.
“You bravely fought monsters and achieved outstanding results beyond anyone else. Not to mention, you even rescued a lady who was wandering unfortunate in the forest.”
“I didn’t rescue her. It was Sierra Yeonga who saved me.”
In response to Ludwig’s words, the Duke asked, “What do you mean?”
“I collapsed in the forest during the hunt due to poisoning. Sierra Yeonga found me and helped me.”
“What? Poison! Who dares to say that someone used poison against the Duke!”
The Duke thundered with anger at Ludwig’s words.
To poison the Duke’s son during the Karsian Hunting Festival was not only unbelievable but also equivalent to insulting the head of the family.
Fortunately, seeing Ludwig standing unharmed in front of him, it was not as bad. If something had gone even slightly wrong…
“Father, can’t you already guess?”
As Ludwig continued speaking, the Duke, who was about to erupt in anger, bit his lip.
Not only the Duke but anyone in this place who knew the intricate internal affairs of the Grand Duchy would think of the Council, the Elders.
On the stage where important figures from not only the Empire but also other countries were gathered, Ludwig knelt in front of the Duke, his father.
“I wish to be entrusted with the succession to the Grand Duchy as your sole heir, Your Excellency.”
“…!”
His words caused a stir of commotion.
It was a well-known fact that the Duke had been preparing for succession for a long time. However, people had expected it to be around five years later at the earliest, but this was beyond anyone’s imagination.
It was the wish of Karsian’s sole heir, none other than the Duke’s son.
A wish with an unimaginable impact.
If the Duke accepted that wish, this Hunting Festival would undoubtedly become the most attention-grabbing one in history.
And Ludwig seemed to be aiming for that.
The perfect stage where the Council could not intervene.
That was none other than the coronation ceremony of the Karsian Hunting Festival winner.
The Duke, looking at his son who knelt before him, with a face filled with regret, spoke.
“The winner, Ludwig Karsian. I will grant your noble wish.”
Ludwig lifted his head at the Duke’s solemn voice.
He had a different face, yet strangely similar to Ludwig’s.
At that moment, the cheers that had started somewhere gradually spread in all directions.
The following applause formed waves.
It was the birth of the young Duke.
In the midst of it all, I absentmindedly gazed at the scene where flower petals were falling.
‘The original story has changed.’
Originally, Ludwig would massacre the Elders, seize his father’s position, and become the bloodthirsty Duke.
Considering what had happened to him today, it was highly likely that he had gone berserk and committed such acts without reason.
However, there was one variable in the middle, and that was none other than me.
‘The reason for the rampage to stop.’
As I tried to guess what that could be, something suddenly came to my mind.
“…Red moon pattern.”
I remembered what it was from the vicinity of Ludwig’s collarbone.
The contents of the original story that had briefly flashed through my mind.
‘A red moon pattern, fascinating. This must be the Hiltenc tribe’s insignia that was often mentioned.’
It was a line spoken by Jenna in the original work.
Although the contents regarding insignias and marks were frequently mentioned, there was only one passage that could be inferred about what it looked like.
‘It can’t be. Why did the red moon pattern appear on Ludwig already?’
Jenna hasn’t appeared yet.
“…”
The scattered puzzle pieces were fitting together.
The Engraver could prevent the rampage.
I stopped Ludwig’s rampage.
That meant…
‘Am I truly the Engraver?’
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