Chapter 23
Whoosh—
The sound of an arrow flying through the air made Samuel whip his head around in alarm.
Thunk!
The arrow embedded itself in a tree not far away.
A voice came from among the dense trees of the forest.
“Sorry, Samuel. My vision was a bit off—I mistook you for prey.”
Riette offered the apology casually, like it was no big deal.
Samuel couldn’t pinpoint her exact location, but it was definitely some distance away.
‘Damn it…’
Samuel gripped his bow tightly, alert for any movement. This was the third time already.
It clearly felt intentional, but he couldn’t accuse her outright. After all, he hadn’t actually been hit.
Still, he had a gut feeling. From the start, Riette had intended for this to happen.
He’d felt something was off from the moment they chose partners for the hunt.
Students hunted in pairs to avoid getting lost in the large forest or getting injured by wild animals.
It happened when the teacher was looking for someone to pair with Samuel.
“Samuel will be partnered with…”
“Me!”
Riette shot her hand into the air. Everyone turned to her in surprise.
Even the teacher, who knew what had happened the day before, looked shocked.
“Riette…?”
“I want to be with Samuel, please.”
“But, yesterday you two…”
The teacher hesitated, recalling the swordsmanship class incident.
“I know what you’re worried about. I did get hurt while sparring with Samuel yesterday, but it was just a mistake. And he apologized this morning.”
Riette smiled sweetly at Samuel.
“Right, Samuel?”
“Uh… y-yeah. I did.”
“See, Teacher? There’s no reason we can’t team up.”
Samuel found himself nodding along before he even realized it.
It was strange. Riette’s attitude had completely changed from that morning. But maybe this was a sign that she was ready to let things go?
‘Maybe yesterday made her want to put the past behind us.’
The thought didn’t feel too bad. In fact, he almost smiled.
“Alright, then Riette and Samuel will be one team. You two head to the eastern part of the forest.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh, and be extra careful. There have been sightings of a large gray bear recently.”
With the teacher’s final warning, the two rode school-provided horses into the eastern forest.
Clop, clop—
Only the sound of hooves echoed through the quiet forest trail. Samuel glanced over at Riette. Her red hair swayed with the horse’s rhythm. She looked a little tired, but otherwise normal.
After she’d collapsed from getting cut by his sword yesterday, he thought for sure she’d be too scared to come to school today. Yet here she was.
“Riette, don’t overdo it.”
“…”
“If you stay close behind me, I’ll protect you.”
Riette’s eyes flashed with contempt.
Her demeanor had completely shifted again—nothing like the soft, polite girl from earlier in front of the teacher.
“I’ll circle around this way. You go the other way.”
As soon as they reached the forest, Riette issued a command.
Before Samuel could even protest, she galloped off, quickly disappearing into the thick trees.
“Then why did you even ask to be my partner?”
Grumbling, Samuel slowly nudged his horse forward.
He wandered for a while in search of prey.
“This isn’t working.”
The noise of the horse’s hooves must’ve been scaring the animals off—he hadn’t seen a thing.
He tied the horse near a lake and began searching on foot.
Before long, he spotted a rabbit.
‘Finally.’
He crept forward and drew his bow.
Thunk!
An arrow struck the ground right at his feet—one he hadn’t fired.
Samuel looked around, startled. In the distance, he saw Riette holding a bow.
When their eyes met, she waved cheerfully.
“My bad! I aimed wrong!”
While Samuel was still processing, the rabbit naturally bolted away. Frustrated, he yanked at some grass and flung it into the air.
“Dammit!”
Of all times for her to show up. That was the only prey he’d seen so far.
At this rate, he’d return empty-handed.
Scowling in the direction Riette had stood, Samuel trudged on.
Luckily, he soon came across a deer. This time, he wouldn’t miss his chance.
He crouched low, slowly drew his bow—
Whoosh—!
A sudden sound behind him made him duck instinctively.
An arrow embedded itself in the tree just above his head.
Chills ran down his spine.
Sure enough, Riette’s voice called out from a distance.
“Oh, that was you? I saw movement and thought it was a deer!”
Samuel clenched his teeth.
“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
No answer. She’d already vanished.
And it didn’t end there. Three more times, arrows narrowly missed him. He wasn’t hurt, but his nerves were shot. Every step felt like a trap.
Like walking through a maze filled with tripwires.
If she were nearby, he’d confront her—but Riette always stayed hidden, brushing it off as a “mistake.”
Honestly, Samuel wanted to run away from this creepy forest. But that would just make him look pathetic.
Fine. I’ll just stay put.
If she only fired when he was aiming at prey, maybe she’d leave him alone if he did nothing.
He bent down by the lake to drink.
Whoosh—!
A surprise shot startled him, and he slipped into the water.
“Ah—!”
Sputtering like a drowned rat, he clawed his way back onto shore.
The arrow was embedded right between his legs—right where he’d been crouching.
If it had been just a bit off…
The horrifying thought made him shudder. This had gone far enough.
“Riette!”
Samuel’s voice rang through the silent forest.
“I’m sorry! Whatever it was, I was wrong!”
He practically begged.
“Let’s just talk, please!”
Then, as if from a dream, her voice came from somewhere unseen.
“Then apologize properly.”
“For what?”
He turned toward the sound, but still couldn’t see her.
“That trashy proposition you made.”
A memory resurfaced:
“Help me get third place. In return, I’ll protect you, so you can stay graceful and elegant like this flower.”
Even if he’d been upset, he couldn’t believe this was her reaction. He’d known Riette was different—but this was beyond what he’d imagined.
Still, for now, he had to appease her. One wrong word, and another arrow might fly.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you well, and I spoke carelessly.”
He apologized gently. Finally, Riette stepped out from behind a distant tree.
But she still had her bow drawn, like she was ready to fire.
Riette felt sweat trickling from the exertion but endured it.
“And for what you did yesterday.”
Her crimson eyes locked onto him, full of judgment.
Today, Samuel finally understood. Riette hadn’t gotten second place in class by chance. Her aim was robotic in precision—she could’ve hit him any time if she’d wanted to.
Samuel gulped.
Now that she was finally out in the open, he wanted to charge her—but he couldn’t. Her arrow would hit him before he got anywhere near.
Grinding his teeth, he offered another apology.
“I’m sorry. It was my mistake.”
But even that didn’t stop her. Her arrow grazed his cheek, drawing a line of blood.
“B-Blood…”
“Oops. That was a mistake too,” she said calmly as she lowered her bow.
Samuel wiped the blood away with his sleeve and shouted,
“Why’d you shoot?! I apologized!”
“I said it was a mistake.”
“Mistake, my ass—there’s no way that wasn’t on purpose!”
“Samuel.”
His name, cold and sharp, made him flinch.
Riette’s voice was icy.
“Just like how you ‘mistakenly’ slashed my waist with a real sword, this was a ‘mistake.’”
Samuel was speechless.
‘This girl is insane…’
“You’re thinking I’ve completely lost it, right?”
“…”
“I can do worse, so don’t mess with me again.”
Samuel nearly nodded but held back. It was a matter of pride.
Still, a thought crept in:
No matter how good she was at archery or swordsmanship, Riette was still a delicate girl.
She wasn’t drawing her bow now. Maybe he could use this chance to fight back and regain some dignity.
Just as he began preparing to strike, Riette swiftly drew another arrow and readied her aim.
Samuel’s eyes widened in panic.
‘Can she read minds?!’
“Shut up and crouch. Slowly.”
Her gaze was fixed behind him—not at him.
Confused, he asked,
“What are you looking at—?”
“I said shut up.”
Her commanding tone made him snap.
“Hey! At least tell me what’s going—”
Before he could finish, she loosed the arrow.
Samuel squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for pain.
But nothing came.
Then—
ROAARRRR!
A blood-curdling roar came from behind him.
He turned and froze. A massive gray bear was growling just feet away.
Riette jumped onto her horse and smacked Samuel’s head.
“If you don’t want to die, RUN!”
Samuel blinked, dazed. The bear—already hit in the shoulder with an arrow—was charging.
It was huge. And fast.
Samuel scrambled onto his horse and fled.
“What the hell is that?!”
“A bear that found its prey thanks to your stupidity!”
Oh. So that’s why she told him to be quiet and duck.
But there was no time to reflect. He glanced back—only to see the monster charging like a train.
“Riette! Do something! You’re good with a bow—”
“Eyes forward!”
As Samuel turned toward her, a low branch smacked him in the face, and he fell off his horse. His mount galloped off without him.
The gray bear, drooling and furious, was closing in.
Samuel scrambled to Riette’s horse and clutched its leg.
“R-Riette! Please save me!”
She shoved his head away.
“What are you doing?! If you wanna die, die alone!”
Meanwhile, the bear bared its teeth—right in front of them.
