“No matter how I see it, Your Highness seems more like you’re venting frustration than aiming for victory. Did something happen with Her Highness?”
Flinch. Kayden noticeably flinched at Patrasche’s words, even if it was only for a moment.
Seeing That, Patrasche’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth in surprise. Wow, I was just guessing, but it looks like I hit the mark. “Could it really be true?”
“…No?”
“You hesitated before answering just now.”
“No, it’s not like that! We’re on good terms! We’ve even promised to part with smiles once the contract ends!”
“…”
“…Damn it.”
In the end, Kayden self-destructed. He cursed under his breath, covering his face with one hand.
Patrasche, who had been frozen for a moment, gently patted Kayden’s shoulder with a sympathetic look. “It’s probably for the best.”
“Stop with the useless comfort…”
“In fact, when His Highness becomes the crown prince, Viscount Sudsfield will be more of a burden than a help.”
Kayden groaned in embarrassment, but Patrasche didn’t back down. He continued to pat Kayden’s shoulder and spoke firmly.
“Luckily, Her Highness has said she’ll tell everyone that she wanted the divorce when the time comes to end the contract, so we’ll be able to finish this without any blame on our side, which is—”
“Pat, enough.”
But in the next moment, all traces of a smile vanished from Kayden’s face. He grabbed Patrasche’s hand, which had been patting his shoulder, his voice dropping to a cold monotone.
Sensing something ominous in Kayden’s expression and tone, Patrasche shut his mouth and withdrew his hand cautiously.
Kayden brushed off the shoulder that Patrasche had touched without saying a word. It was scary when someone who always had smiles became expressionless. Since Kayden usually had a slight smile, the air felt heavy enough to make it hard to breathe when he went expressionless.
Patrasche rolled his eyes, trying to gauge Kayden’s mood. But even after a long time, Kayden didn’t say anything.
…Is he really that angry? Did I cross an irreversible line this time with my trashy comment?
Contrary to Patrasche’s anxious thoughts, Kayden was just quietly brooding over his words. If I end up divorcing Diana… There will be more people like Count Tudok from last time. But does Diana really not care at all?
If he divorced Diana after becoming the crown prince, there would surely be countless people who would rejoice at their separation. Even now, as just a prince, there were many who were unhappy with Diana sitting by his side as he expanded his influence.
Is it really okay with her if I marry someone else?
In truth, when Diana had rejected his confession, rather than answering, ‘I’ll be fine,’ he wanted to ask her this instead. Would it really not matter to her if he stood next to someone else?
“…Sigh.” Kayden, who had been sinking deeper into his own thoughts, let out a big sigh and rubbed his face.
Patrasche flinched at the movement, but Kayden was in no state to care about his aide’s reaction.
Kayden covered his mouth with his hand and let out a bitter laugh. I said I’d give up, yet here I am, clinging to such pathetic thoughts again. Giving up, my foot. Even now, it was exhausting to resist the urge to expand his territory if he let his guard down.
Kayden lifted his head sharply as if his frustration had boiled over, then sighed deeply, lowering his head again. Patrasche, who had been watching Kayden’s repeated motions of lifting and lowering his head, finally spoke up cautiously.
“Shall I make an appointment with the imperial doctor?”
“…”
“Haha! I-I’ll go check over there! You need to win this, Your Highness, absolutely!”
Kayden silently glared at Patrasche. Slightly feeling intimidated, Patrasche laughed awkwardly and quickly made his escape.
Kayden considered chasing after Patrasche to hit him on the back of the head but decided it was too much trouble. Instead, he pulled an arrow from his quiver, knocked it, and looked around. Let’s just hunt.
Regardless of his thoughts on giving up, the fact that Diana and Fleur were in the forest bothered him. Even though they were at the edge of the forest, where there were no dangerous prey, he couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Kayden decided to quickly secure a victory and go check on Diana, scanning the surroundings for prey. He hadn’t been searching long when he spotted a wolf wandering in the distance and immediately stopped moving. It might be difficult with just one shot.
Kayden glanced at the large bow and arrow in his hand. Although they were substantial, it would be difficult to take down the wolf with just one clean shot. After some consideration, he decided to aim for the wolf’s head.
Patrasche, who had to confirm the prey’s death and stamp it with a magic seal to mark the hunter, would be horrified to see the wolf’s head pierced, but there was no other choice.
Carefully…
Kayden slowly steadied his breathing as he drew the bowstring. Fortunately, the wolf was still unaware of him, engrossed in digging at the ground.
In a brief moment, when his hands stopped trembling, Kayden released the string. The bowstring made a sharp sound as the arrow flew through the air. Thwack! With a crisp sound, the arrow struck the wolf’s head. The wolf let out a small yelp and instantly died.
Got it. Kayden clenched his fist in triumph but then blinked in surprise when he realized there was more than one arrow in the wolf.
He had aimed for the wolf’s head and hit it, so whose arrow was the one that pierced its side? As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he heard a familiar voice not far off.
“…Ah, what a shame.”
A murmured lamentation reached his ears.
Kayden turned his head to see Ludwig, in a similar stance, lowering his bow with a gentle smile. His face looked incredibly serene.
“If only I’d spotted it a little sooner, it would have been mine.”
“…”
It was a simple statement, but the tone carried an oddly significant weight.
Kayden clicked his tongue. Although he seemed to have struck first, Ludwig’s disappointed remark made him think there might be a dispute over the prey. However, Kayden had no desire to keep facing Ludwig. There were plenty of other prey to hunt anyway. Kayden shrugged, forcing himself to rationalize.
“No, the arrows hit at the same time. But you should take the wolf.”
“…Is Your Highness yielding?”
“Think of it that way if you like. Or consider that your arrow might have hit a little earlier.”
Kayden finished speaking and turned to leave. But after taking exactly three steps away from Ludwig,
“What has changed you so much, Your Highness?”
A sudden question pulled him back. Kayden involuntarily stopped in his tracks. Frowning, he turned back to Ludwig.
“What?”
Ludwig silently observed Kayden for a moment. His light blue eyes seemed to dissect Kayden as if trying to figure him out piece by piece. Then Ludwig smiled softly. He tilted his head slightly and asked with genuine curiosity.
“If this hunting competition had been held a few months ago, Your Highness would never have yielded the prey to me in this situation.”
“…”
“What in the world… has made Your Highness so laid-back?”
The final question sounded almost like a musing to himself. Just as Kayden was finding Ludwig’s inquiry eerily unsettling.
“Watch out…!”
Kayden reflexively shouted as he saw a beast with its mouth wide open lunging at Ludwig from behind.
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