~Chapter 112~
“Sir Damian, what are you looking at? Did some strange animal pass by?”
As expected, Damian wore the polite mask Mari had hoped for.
He had been standing expressionless, but now he turned to her with a gentle smile.
“I was just thinking of someone I want to see. Today, that person comes to mind especially strongly.”
Mari had just seen his burning gaze fixed on the duke—yet now he spoke of wanting to see someone.
Wait… does this man’s preference…?
If so, it made sense why, even though they lived in the same house, his eyes had always passed over her like she was a stone.
His older brother had given her disgusting, sticky stares, but Damian had barely shown her any interest at all.
Now, Mari thought she understood.
She leaned in with a leading question.
“If there’s someone you want to see, can’t you just go see them? Or… do you have some reason you can’t?”
“……”
“Tell me, just between us. I’ll keep your secret. I’m very good at keeping secrets!”
She asked playfully, leaning close, her face full of expectation.
Whenever she spoke this way, no one had ever resisted.
And just as she expected, Damian’s lips slowly parted.
“I want to see them.”
That was all.
She had asked if he couldn’t go see the person—yet his answer ended simply with I want to see them.
Normally, Mari would have scolded someone for brushing her off like that. But instead, she stared at him with wide eyes.
Because in his eyes, as he spoke with a faint smile, there shimmered a deep, long-held yearning.
He’s serious…
Mari’s heart pounded. She felt a flutter she hadn’t expected.
A true feeling—something lasting, if not forever. A relationship steady enough not to make her anxious.
It felt like he had the very thing she had always longed for but never managed to grasp.
“You really want to see them… truly.”
Mari whispered almost to herself. Damian only gave a faint nod.
If he had rambled about who the person was, how much he wanted to see them, and how grand his feelings were, she would have lost interest.
But the raw emotion in his eyes was real. And Mari, who had always wanted to be the object of such genuine feeling, couldn’t help but feel a sudden desire to claim it for herself.
As she gazed at him with trembling eyes, Damian shifted the subject.
“It’s the hunting festival. Is there any prey you’d like?”
Mari blinked, snapping out of her daze.
“…Prey?”
He smiled brightly.
“My hunting skills are poor, so the chances of catching anything are slim. But if you tell me what you’d like, I’ll try my best to bring it back.”
Embarrassed by his honesty, Mari suddenly found him endearing.
What’s something easy to match, something he could actually bring me…?
Her heart fluttered as she gave an answer.
“A deer?”
“A deer… All right. If a deer appears, I’ll aim carefully.”
“……”
“Then, even if I won’t be much help, I should still join the strategy meeting. Excuse me.”
“N-Now… yes…”
Mari stared blankly after him as he walked away.
She knew his offer to bring her prey, just like his help with her religious studies, was only politeness. Damian wanted to look good to the duke’s household.
And she knew he was kind to her only because she was Riden’s friend, and Riden was soon to be the duchess.
Even so—Mari’s heart beat wildly.
She had felt this once before. The moment she saw something she desperately wanted.
Back in her old life, it had been when she worked at a café, talking to her boss.
Boss…
Even when she teased him with playful affection, he always kept a respectful distance.
From his actions, she could tell he loved his wife deeply.
The small, stable, and lovely café, and the unwavering love he gave his wife—Mari had envied it all.
She thought, If I were in her place, I’d do better. I could be happier.
That wife didn’t even seem to realize how deeply she was loved.
Now Mari’s eyes were locked on Damian’s back.
Then, suddenly, a question seized her mind.
The person he had been staring at earlier—was it really the duke?
Or… was it Riden?
Why?
Mari shook her head. No, impossible.
Even so, her gaze turned sour as she looked toward Riden, being led by the duke back toward the base camp.
The hunting team sat around a folding table in a circle, beginning their strategy meeting.
Ethan pointed to a section of the Zone 7 map with his finger.
“Finding the hidden monsters would be good, but first, we’ll focus all efforts on hunting the Shadow Boar. If anyone personally wants to dedicate prey to someone, handle that yourselves.”
The festival’s victory was decided by a point system.
Riden flipped through the illustrations of the various monsters released for the hunt.
Do they really look like this?
The Shadow Boar Ethan mentioned looked like an ordinary wild boar, except that black energy seeped out of its tusks.
It was nicknamed the Shadow Pig because it turned translucent and weaker under sunlight but became stronger in the dark.
And—most importantly—it was worth 1,000 points, the highest among all prey in the hunting grounds.
Yes, there were real monsters in this hunting ground.
To honor the glory of the day long ago when monsters had been stopped here, real monsters were released for the festival.
Since no more monsters appeared in the Eastern Empire, they had to be brought in from outside the territory—rare, valuable creatures.
While the knights discussed the Shadow Boar’s likely hiding places, Riden quietly asked Ethan:
“Since it’s worth 1,000 points, the Shadow Boar must be extremely aggressive and dangerous, right?”
Her fear of dying to the creature outweighed her excitement about seeing a fantastic beast that hadn’t existed in her past life.
Why is this romance novel’s hunting festival so hardcore? I really am just baggage here.
Ethan chuckled at the deep frown on her forehead.
“The hunting festival is a celebration. Most of the monsters released are small, and even the mid-sized ones aren’t very aggressive. They’re just tricky to catch.”
Still worried, Riden shoved the paper with the Shadow Boar drawing toward him.
“Those tusks look like they could skewer a person! Are you sure it’s safe? I’m too slow to dodge… And what if it attacks while it’s invisible?”
Ethan reassured her calmly.
“Don’t worry. Unless it’s a one-on-one situation, the Shadow Boar is cowardly—it’ll be too busy running away. Besides, it usually avoids sunlight. Unless it’s hiding in the dark to eat, it doesn’t even come out much.”
“That’s strange. Wouldn’t it be safer to stay in sunlight, invisible? Why hide in the dark? If it were me, I’d do the opposite.”
“Hmm.”
He replied with a joking tone:
“Maybe the sunlight is safer, but its pride won’t allow it.”
“……”
“That pride will be its downfall.”
Just then, the knights handed Ethan the map where they had marked the possible hiding spots of the Shadow Boar.
Riden glanced at it and felt relieved.
What mattered to her wasn’t the boar’s habits, but the fact that one of the possible locations was an abandoned temple.
In the original novel, how did this hunting festival play out…? Surely nothing bad happens.
Ethan suddenly stood and shouted in a low voice:
“All right then, shall we go earn some points?”
The first day of the hunting festival was nearly over.
Inside her tent, Riden was sorting the holy relic she had obtained from the sealed library.
“Riden.”
Lifting the tent flap, Mari stepped inside.
