chapter 53
“Your Highness… I-I’m sorry.”
“No, no… you’re right. I can’t even keep the promise I made just yesterday.”
“Um… I didn’t mean it. It was a slip of the tongue, so please forget it.”
“I understand your sincerity, Princess…”
“Ah!”
“…It probably won’t happen, but if anything does occur while you’re in the forest, call my name out loud.”
“…If I call your name, you’ll come?”
“…Well, at least you’ll be able to locate me.”
“Ah, right.”
“I hope you return safely.”
“Yes, I will return safely.”
After the Empress’s brief speech, the hunting competition began immediately. After a brief, nerve-wracking conversation with the Duke and greeting my parents, I entered the forest.
The forest within the palace grounds was quite vast.
The damp smell of earth and the scent of moss brushed against my nose. In the distance, birds chirped, and the occasional rustle of branches in the wind could be heard.
The leaves underfoot crunched softly as I walked.
The densely packed trees stretching tall toward the sky were honestly magnificent.
“Hmm… such a refreshing scent.”
Taking a deep breath, the crisp air felt as if the life force of the trees was directly seeping into my lungs.
“You like coming to a forest like this too, right?”
I gently stroked the mane of the horse I was riding. It neighed in response as if answering me.
“An animal engraved with the royal emblem… I wonder what kind it is.”
The Spring Artwal hunting competition required capturing only specific animals to finish.
Catching other animals wasn’t forbidden, but overhunting animals in the royal forest was strictly prohibited. Thus, finding the target animal was the only thing to focus on.
And importantly, it wasn’t a “kill” hunt—it was a “capture” hunt.
If you attacked the target animal, a protective barrier would immediately appear around it, and palace magicians would arrive in response.
‘I’d be in serious trouble if I accidentally used an offensive spell.’
Still, as long as I didn’t attack the target animal, it should be fine. The target animals weren’t hostile—they simply ran away.
Let’s put aside the fact that calling this a “hunting competition” felt increasingly misleading.
“I hope I can find it… but it’s purely luck-based, so even if I don’t, it’s fine.”
Personally, the hunting competition felt a bit dull.
Unlike yesterday, when I entered the Flower Garden for the first time and met a fairy, I had participated in this hunting competition multiple times before.
And unlike receiving gifts from a fairy, capturing an animal in this competition only earned you honor.
The winner of the Spring Artwal hunting competition would be applauded by all the nobles at the next day’s ball—but to me, it felt more like a punishment.
Moreover, unlike other hunting competitions, you had to go alone.
Some magic had been used to enforce this rule—apparently, you couldn’t find the target animal otherwise.
Since this competition was for those reaching adulthood, the rule was set under the pretext that participants must “find their own path and carry their own burdens.” To me, it didn’t matter much—it just felt boring without anyone to talk to.
‘I wouldn’t mind if I didn’t find it, but maybe I should have gone with Julia? Nah, she probably loves being the center of attention and is diligently searching by now.’
In other words, my attention-seeking friend was probably scouring the forest with fiery determination. No doubt about it.
Yes, you go ahead and find it, my friend…
“…Priscilla?”
As I rode alone through the forest, a voice unexpectedly reached my ears.
Looking toward the sound, I saw Brynn Bailey staring at me with a peculiar expression.
“…Brynn.”
“……”
“……”
I said her name, but the conversation didn’t continue.
It was an awkward moment. We weren’t particularly close—honestly, not on good terms.
I scratched my head amid the silence.
If you wanted to say something, why call me?
“Do you have something to say?”
“……”
Brynn didn’t answer my question.
It was strange. Usually, she’d flash an irritating smile and tease someone first.
But today, she was unusually quiet.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but her typically bouncy rolls of hair seemed limp.
‘Normally, she’d start with “Priscilla, did you get the fairy’s gift?” and brag about what she got… then tease me about what I got, and go on chatting…’
…Thinking about it now, it actually made me annoyed.
After years of bad blood with Brynn since the academy, I could already predict what she’d say without her speaking.
Imagining her words made me irritated, even though she hadn’t said a thing.
“If you have nothing to say, I’m leaving.”
“…!”
I had considered having Brynn accompany me since it was boring alone, but I gave up. What else could we talk about? I’d only get frustrated.
Just as I tried to turn down another path, Brynn called me again.
“P-Priscilla!”
“…?”
“…H-Hear me.”
Brynn urgently called me and tried to add something, but her voice was too quiet to hear clearly.
“What?”
“…It’s serious.”
“What? I can’t hear you.”
“…I said, it’s serious.”
“What are you saying? Speak properly…”
“Be careful!”
She yelled at me when I kept asking again.
I looked at her, stunned, and noticed her face had turned red.
Her eyes glistened with tears, and she looked as if she hadn’t fully composed herself.
“Be careful? Of… what?”
“……”
“Brynn, you have to tell me to know.”
“Veronica… Veronica Shields.”
“…Veronica?”
“Yes. Be careful of Lady Shields.”
And she spoke Veronica’s name.
Veronica? What could that mean?
“What did Lady Shields do?”
“Well… yesterday, when entering the Flower Garden…”
“Entering the Garden?”
I asked, puzzled, and Brynn hesitated. I waited patiently.
“…Right before you went in, she approached you and sprinkled something.”
“Sprinkled…?”
“I didn’t see clearly whether it was sprinkled or attached to you. All I know for sure is that she secretly approached and did something to you.”
“….”
Veronica did something to me?
Right before entering the garden, I had greeted the Duke and was waiting in front of the garden portal for it to open.
I had no idea she had come close to me. What did she do?
And it was surprising that Brynn even told me this.
She claimed to have seen something but not exactly, and normally, she would never have told me this.
“…Why are you telling me this?”
So I asked honestly.
“Because it looked suspicious at first glance…”
“……”
“…I thought nothing would happen, but something serious happened that day. If anything had happened to you…”
“……”
“…I don’t have any other intention. I just… Why? Can’t I worry about you? Are you upset?!”
She shouted again, as if choking back tears.
Well… no, I wasn’t upset.
…Huh, Brynn worries about me?
“No, it’s not that. I’m just… surprised.”
“……”
“Lady Shields, you said? Alright… I’ll be careful.”
“Good enough.”
Even this conversation with Brynn felt awkward. She, too, avoided eye contact and seemed tense.
She answered grumpily and tried to leave without another word.
“Brynn!”
I called her name loudly, and she turned to look at me.
“Thank you.”
“……”
“I’m not being sarcastic. I mean it.”
Despite not being close, I thanked her for worrying enough to speak up.
I couldn’t ever be close to Brynn, by nature.
But this time, she had courageously warned me.
I smiled gently as a sign of thanks. Brynn, who had been quietly watching me, slowly spoke.
“Keep your eyes forward. If anyone sees you falling off the horse foolishly, they’ll think all daughters of dukes are ridiculous.”
Then she stuck her tongue out and left, speaking more bluntly than usual.
…That was… really her.
