TMDPM 07

Episode 7: Hunting Competition

“Wow… so you actually work where the Duke everyone’s been talking about is?”

“I heard that more than ten maids have already been fired. Is that true?”

A servant washing dishes on the opposite side glanced at Ella and asked, and the others nearby joined in.

“What? No way, I heard it’s more than twenty!”

“Wow, it’s amazing you can even work at such a ruthless Duke’s estate. I heard if he doesn’t like you, he whips you and locks you in a cell. They say he’s even called a killer on the battlefield.”

Ella, annoyed at the gossip about the Duke, added the prepared ingredients into a pot and stood up.

“Rumors are just rumors. None of you have even worked at the Duke’s estate, yet you’re so easily swayed by false stories. And what if I reported you all for slandering a noble? Are you all so careless with your words?”

When Ella spoke firmly and coldly, the servants who had been giggling and spreading rumors about the Duke fell silent.

Ella decided that to avoid unnecessary encounters, she would prepare meals when fewer people were around and returned to the barracks.

Bill and Roy, who had been quick to set up a proper barracks in the clearing, were already waiting for Ella.

“The barracks in the middle is for the Duke. Over there are for the bodyguards, and you can use the supply carriage,” Roy explained.

Ella thanked Roy and Bill for their thoughtful consideration when she saw the carriage equipped with soft bedding.

“Thank you for your concern. Please wait a moment; I’ll prepare the meal right away.”

Ella quickly chopped the vegetables she had gathered by the stream, boiled a stew, and set out the cheese and bread the head cook had provided. Once the meat stew was ready, she first served it to the Duke, who was sharpening his sword in the barracks, then sat down to a late meal with Roy and Bill.

After the brief meal, the sound of a horn announcing the Emperor’s arrival echoed.

“Is everyone gathered?”

The Emperor, with a long, white beard, stroked it as he asked the chamberlain. Once young and ambitious, his eyes had grown weary with age, but they still held the aura of an Emperor.

“Yes, Your Majesty, every noble house is present,” the chamberlain replied.

The Emperor raised his hand, drawing the nobles’ attention.

“Thank you all for attending the hunting competition again this year. This year, the winner will receive a special prize, so I hope you all enjoy it.”

With that, the horn sounded again, signaling the start of the hunting competition.

The Empire’s infamous playboy and the Emperor’s favorite, the Second Prince, was the first to ride out, shouting toward the Emperor.

“Your Majesty! I will definitely win this year’s competition!”

The Emperor laughed as he watched the Second Prince ride out on a fine horse imported from abroad.

“I’ll have to see what kind of prey that boy will catch,” he muttered.

As the Second Prince charged into the hunting grounds, the other nobles, one by one, followed, taking their bows and swords.

However, unlike the others, the Duke rode leisurely, entering the hunting grounds last. Roy and Bill watched his relaxed figure.

“Oh dear, the Duke still doesn’t look very motivated this year,” Roy remarked.

Ella, cleaning up the dishes, asked Roy, “How was it last year?”

“Heh… he just strolled through the forest and came back,” Roy replied awkwardly with a small smile.

“Let’s just rest for now. He won’t be back for a while,” Bill added.

The three of them rested in their respective spots, waiting for the Duke to return in the evening.

As the evening grew dim with the sunset, nobles began returning to the hunting ground entrance with their prey.

“When will the Duke return?”

Roy looked toward the entrance while feeding his horse. Soon, a commotion arose as the Duke appeared, accompanied by two knights, carrying a massive prey.

“Whoa, what is that?”

“Is that…?”

“A saber-toothed tiger! But it’s white!”

“I’ve never seen one that big before!”

Rumors had claimed the Duke was crazy and couldn’t even wield a sword properly, but seeing him return with a saber-toothed tiger—something even half a dozen elite knights would struggle to subdue—made the nobles murmur in shock.

The Emperor, too, looked intrigued at the sight of such a huge prey.

“Oh, looks like the Duke is motivated this year,” he remarked.

Behind the Duke, Viscount Smith, participating in the hunting competition for the first time after inheriting his title, returned with a large blue egg.

The nobles’ attention shifted to the egg, murmuring in curiosity.

“Huh? What’s that? An egg?”

“Is there an egg that big? What kind of creature laid it?”

A few curious knights joined the nobles to examine the egg.

One experienced knight, gazing at it intently, suddenly shouted at Viscount Smith.

“Viscount! Where did you get that egg?!”

“Ah… there was one on the Corden Cliff. I’d never seen anything like it, so I brought it with me,” Smith answered, a bit annoyed.

“The Corden Cliff?! Good heavens! Put it back immediately! That’s a wyvern egg!”

Although the hunting grounds were mostly safe, the outskirts around Corden Cliff were wyvern territory, forbidden for nobles to enter.

Unaware, Viscount Smith had picked up the egg, not realizing it was a monster’s egg. Wyverns are fiercely protective of their young, and even the bravest knights never touch their eggs.

Pale with fear, Smith screamed and threw the egg to the ground.

“Ugh—”

“Move that… now!”

As he shouted, a dark shadow flickered in the torchlit clearing and a heavy rain began to fall.

“Kiiik—kiik!”

The ominous cries of a wyvern silenced the crowd instantly.

“Wow, it’s a wyvern!”

Someone realized the black shadow was a wyvern. Its yellow eyes glimmered, and it snatched Viscount Smith into the air.

“Ah! Save me… help!”

Despite struggling, the wyvern’s claws only gripped tighter.

People screamed and scattered.

“Run!”