Chapter 99

“Ha, why didn’t you just let me kill that pervert? I heard your relationship with him wasn’t exactly smooth either.”

Camilla grumbled as she kicked a pebble on the side of the road.

“…Well, you didn’t explain why you were angry.”

“That pervert suddenly approached me, handed me a rose, and said, ‘My lady, may I have the honor of being your hunting partner?’ while grabbing my hand.”

It was definitely something Aron would do. He had caused trouble with women multiple times before.

Last year, he tried to lay his hands on the daughter of a warrior tribe leader who visited the Empire to confirm the alliance’s strength. As a result, he got beaten up by the tribe leader’s daughter and was nearly killed by His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress, who were reminded of the nightmares from the previous era.

“He may look like that, but he’s still…”

Camilla, unable to contain her anger, wanted to stop her from killing someone, so she tried to find some good points about Aron, but she couldn’t find any.

“If you can’t find any good points, don’t defend him. It just makes me more frustrated.”

“Your hands…”

She had to come up with a plausible excuse.

Otherwise, a murder would definitely happen on the first day of the hunting festival.

“Your hands are too precious to dirty by killing such a person.”

To stop Camilla from throwing her spear, she grabbed Camilla’s delicate, white hand.

“If you have the strength to waste on such a person…”

If she had the strength to waste on such a person, she wished Camilla would enjoy hunting with her instead. She wanted Camilla to decorate the little time she had left for fun.

“Use it for me, Camilla.”

Camilla’s hand started to tremble. Seeing her face turn red… it was clear she still couldn’t control her anger.

Come to think of it, when my mother… no, the Countess couldn’t control her madness and resorted to violence, the former Count would calmly approach and calm her down.

Camilla is completely different from the Countess, but in the aspect of not being able to control something, they are similar, so I decided to try that method.

I brought her trembling hand to my face and made her caress it, just like the former Count did.

“…I don’t want such beautiful hands to get hurt.”

And I recited the same line the former Count used.

Camilla bit her lip and turned her head away. Maybe because I’m not as much of a gentleman as the former Count, it had the opposite effect. Or maybe Camilla just hates such lines.

I was confused because nothing was clear.

“…Really. This is why you get cursed at. You don’t even understand the meaning of your own words or actions. But… I guess I’m quite a foolish woman too. Even that side of you doesn’t seem so bad.”

Camilla’s delicate, white hand caressed my cheek as if petting a dog.

That indifferent yet affectionate touch was so hot it felt like it would burn me.

But feeling that warmth, it felt like something frozen inside me was melting.

Something that had been sealed in an iceberg for a long time seemed about to burst out. How nice it would be if I could bring it out.

But that’s why I had to let go of Camilla’s hand. I didn’t want to become a naked fool.

“Let’s stop the cheek-touching show here. If we don’t catch anything, we’ll become a laughingstock.”

“How about claiming to have hunted the mad lady? A prey stronger and more beautiful than any other. If the Family Head succeeds in such a hunt, it would make quite an interesting gossip.”

“…The thought of our relationship being consumed as idle chatter by those with no weight is quite repulsive. Especially since the nobles of this Empire are all twisted and love to distort things.”

It might be funny coming from a noble like me, but most of the nobles in this country are rotten.

I don’t know all the nobles, but truly, most of them are just rotten.

Excluding my friends and Rizel, the number of nobles with both ability and character is barely eight.

“If our relationship becomes a topic in their mouths… even I would feel quite uncomfortable.”

“…That’s exactly what I like about it. Sometimes it works the opposite way, and I really want to hit you a few times.”

After saying something incomprehensible, Camilla resumed hunting with a face so red it seemed like she had a high fever.

Several hours passed.

Diligently hunting wolves and magical beasts, we managed to secure a spot in the top three thanks to our excellent hunting results.

Although we couldn’t take first place because the others formed groups and even used magical tools and professional hunters, third place wasn’t a bad result.

Moreover, we were prohibited from using our usual weapons due to His Majesty’s concern that we might disrupt the balance. In such a situation, third place was a decent achievement… but Camilla still seemed unsatisfied.

“Damn it, third place is a blow to my pride.”

“The hunting festival still has six days left, and considering our situation, third place is a respectable result.”

“Raul, there are a few things I hate more than dying. Today, I’ll tell you three of them.”

Camilla held up three long, delicate fingers.

“First, I hate trashy noble pigs who rely only on numbers and money. Second, I hate losing. And third, I hate being looked down upon by those pig bastards.”

“I didn’t know you cared about the chirping of nameless birds.”

“It’s a separate issue when those nameless bird-brains shit on my head. It’s an even bigger problem when they shit on your head.”

“Even if they form a group, it wouldn’t mean much. You’re worrying too much about trivial things.”

Then, the gazes around us seemed to grow even colder.

It seemed they had overheard our conversation. I was just stating a simple fact.

But what’s the use? Such trivial gazes hold no meaning for me now.

After gathering some suitable prey, we returned to the rest area, where nobles were sitting around a large marble table enjoying their meal.

Looking at the menu, it was clear they had brought their own chefs and ingredients from home. That’s not the charm of hunting.

“They don’t get it. The charm of hunting is in the rough meals you make yourself.”

“Exactly, they don’t get it.”

Then, His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress, who were waiting for us, expressed similar sentiments.

“When we were studying under the Minister of War… no, our Master, we couldn’t even dream of meals made by chefs. The taste of making it yourself was special.”

“Camilla’s cooking was a nightmare, though. I almost died back then. Of course, I won’t deny the charm of rough meals made by oneself, as Her Majesty said.”

For a brief moment, we were immersed in the happy memories of the past. The joyful memories of times spent with those who are no longer here.

That nostalgic past, which was enough just by thinking of that day, will never return, so we could only enjoy the scent of those rare memories.

“…It was fun. Fighting, training, cooking.”

I quietly approached Kyle, who was watching us, and handed him a bag containing some suitable prey.

“In that spirit, go prepare dinner, Kyle.”

“Wait, weren’t you just talking about the charm of rough meals made by yourself? It doesn’t seem like something someone who just reminisced about the past would say…?”

“…Cooking is a bother, and memories are most beautiful when they remain memories. You wouldn’t make such a pretentious meal anyway.”

“Really, you guys just can’t stop tormenting me, damn it.”

As Kyle grumbled, he brought out wild boar steaks, honey-glazed roasted duck, cream stew with various mushrooms, and sweets made from forest fruits.

Despite Kyle’s complaints, the food was truly excellent. Maybe it was because we were slightly hungry from hunting.

“…Rizel.”

“What is it? Do you need something, brother?”

“Mother… no, what is the Countess doing?”

The thorny question slipped out of my mouth without me realizing it.

“She was enjoying the hunt for a while, then came back, had a few pieces of jerky, and went to sleep… I told her to have a proper meal, but…”

“What did she say?”

“She said someone like her is fine with just that… She even said that in the past, a few pieces of jerky were so precious they had to be chewed over several days…”

“Something must have happened.”

“She seemed a bit tired because of people gossiping about ‘that incident’ she mentioned during the trial. People love to talk nonsense…”

An unpleasant feeling brushed past my mind.

A suffocating feeling, as if bugs were crawling through my veins, made my expression twist involuntarily.

And the more it happened, the deeper the unknown emotions towards the Countess grew.

“…It’s irritating.”

It was very unpleasant that even the little time I had left was being tainted by discomfort.

And the other nobles, who talked nonsense without knowing anything, were also disgusting.

And… I also hated myself for feeling something unknown along with those emotions.