Chapter 194
A separated house in Lombardy"s mansion.
The new home of Viese and Belsach was especially quieter than anywhere else in the mansion.
"Let"s take a look, Belsach."
Seral, who neatly b.u.t.toned up the newly tailored Belsach"s hunting suit, stood up her son in front of the mirror.
"Yes, that"s very nice."
Brown hair and brown eyes.
Although he resembles his father, Viese, Seral thought that Belsach"s inner self looked like her.
"Belsach."
"Yes, Mother."
"You"re a strong man. Right?"
Belsach did not answer.
It was because he knew what Seral meant.
He"s not a weak man like his father. Right?
Seral was saying that.
His father was born as the eldest but is on the verge of losing Lombardy"s name outside the eyes of his grandfather.
Nevertheless, a father who lives drunk every day in self-pity without thinking of fighting.
Belsach seemed to be upset when he recalled the pathetic figure.
Seral quietly stroked Belsach"s frowning shoulder.
"Yes, you are my son."
Seral, who said so, turned around and opened the drawer.
What came out of it was a box carved of wood.
Click
With a little noise, the box opened in Seral"s hand.
"This is..."
What emerged was a sharp dagger placed on a black cloth.
"It"s a gift, Belsach."
He had been hunting with Astana from a young age, so Belsach had a lot of it if it were a hunting dagger.
However, the dagger Seral handed over was so expensive that even such Belsach could recognize it at a glance.
Seral pulled out the dagger with a careful touch and handed it to Belsach.
"Take it."
Belsach gulped and accepted the dagger.
"Do you know the meaning of why I am giving you a dagger?"
Belsach did not answer.
He just looked down at the dagger with complex eyes.
"This hunting compet.i.tion is very different from what you"ve experienced, Belsach. It"s called the entrance, but the Forest of Madman is a very dangerous place."
Belsach raised an eyebrow.
The annual Lombardy hunt was originally a fox or deer hunt at best.
It was awkward that it suddenly turned into such a dangerous thing.
At that moment, Seral grabbed Belsach"s arm hard.
It was an unimaginably strong touch from a thin finger.
"Mother?"
Seral said to Belsach, who opened his eyes wide because he couldn"t understand it.
"I mean, as much as it is dangerous, there may be opportunities for you. Do you understand, Belsach?"
Her low whispering voice was so strange.
The eyes of the monsters living in the Forest of Madman are like that.
Seral"s eyes flashed strangely.
"If there is any danger to Prince Astana, you step up."
"But..."
"But not!"
Seral raised his voice.
"Wake up, Belsach! Now is not the time to be scared!"
Seral"s fingertips, which grabbed Belsach"s arm, dug painfully into the flesh.
"It is a big event held in Lombardy, so this time, even the First Prince will not be able to defeat you. This is the last chance to regain his entourage!"
Seral was desperate.
She felt like she wanted to move, but Viese and Seral were not allowed to partic.i.p.ate in this hunting compet.i.tion or the eve banquet.
As long as she is no longer a member of Lombardy, she needed an invitation to attend the hunting compet.i.tion.
Of course, no invitations were delivered to Viese and the Seral.
"Remember, Belsach. You must not fall beside His Highness Astana."
Seral once again asked.
"Keep this dagger in your possession, and use it without hesitation if anything dangerous happens to him."
"...Yes."
In front of his mother, Belsach had no choice but to nod.
* * *
I put on my soft gloves and looked out the window.
A dense forest starting from the point where the plains around the villas end.
And the thick fog that covered it heavily.
It was a very different view from the surrounding Lombardy mansion.
"It"s a little creepy."
Louryl approached and said, putting a thick fur cape around my shoulder.
It was according to Louryl"s opinion.
Located in the northeastern part of the Lombardy estate, this villa was located at the entrance to the Forest of Madman inhabited by monsters.
"They say that the Forest of Madman covered with misty fog all year round drives the people in it crazy."
At my teasing and playful words, Louryl looked at the forest filled with trees with eyes full of worries, as if she was scared just by the sound of it.
"Why did you suddenly move the location of the hunting compet.i.tion here?"
I answered Louryl"s question with a grin.
"It"s just, it sounds fun, doesn"t it?"
I prepared this hunting compet.i.tion with full authority from my grandfather.
The reason was that it was necessary to bring the Brown family back successfully.
My grandfather, who looked at me with strange eyes for a while, allowed me to do so without saying much.
"I"m done with my preparations, so Louryl should go to Marilyn and Sir Flint now."
"Yes, Lady. Call me if you need anything else!"
Louryl greeted cheerfully and left the room.
And not long after, the visit opened again.
Three familiar faces came inside.
"You"re all set, aren"t you?"
I asked as I looked at Clerivan.
"Yes. Even if the hunting compet.i.tion starts right away, we are ready to go."
"What about the eve banquet?"
This time, Violet replied.
"All the preparations for the eve banquet are also finished."
"You must have had a hard time because there was a lot of s.p.a.ce inside and outside the banquet hall."
"No, Bate helped me a lot, so I ended it without a hitch."
But knowing the hard work of Violet, who had spent several nights, I patted her on the shoulder.
"Our building owner also has a unique taste."
Bate said, looking out from the window where I was standing a little while ago.
"In a hunting compet.i.tion held in Lombardy"s name, I wonder who"s going to fight and kill a lot of monsters. And the rule to collect parts of the corpse of the monster as evidence, isn"t that too much?"
But for someone who said that Bate"s face was full of fun and dying expressions.
"I"m sure most of the n.o.bles who applied for a spot just because it was Lombardy"s hunting compet.i.tion and now regret hitting the ground."
"Really? I thought everyone would welcome the new hunting contest."
"The average aristocrat would sink in that dismal forest just by encountering a monster. I"m sure there are a lot of people who abstain when the compet.i.tion starts."
"But I put the first prize money pretty big."
If you"re scared, get out of the way.
"Did all the invited people arrive?"
Violet answered my question.
"Yes, all the n.o.bles who received the invitation and Lombardy"s va.s.sals were all a.s.signed rooms."
As I was talking to Violet, Clerivan approached me.
"Lady Florentia."
But the look on his face seemed a little worried.
"Are you ready, Lady Florentia?"
"I..."
I know what Clerivan means.
When the hunting compet.i.tion begins, there is no way to stop the flow anymore.
From now on, everything will go breathlessly.
"I"ve been ready for a long time."
I"ve had a hard time holding it in.
The road that came back after a big turn was now ending little by little.
As I ran to see only the spectacular ending, I breathed in the cold wind blowing out of the window to cool off my heated body with antic.i.p.ation and excitement.
Then, I saw a large procession slowly approaching in the distance.
It"s time to move on.
"Okay, let"s get out now, shall we?"
In my words, three people who were freely scattered in the room woke up at the same time.
I went down the stairs.
Clerivan, Violet, and Bate skillfully disappeared one by one, avoiding people"s attention.
And as I reached the first floor, I was alone before I knew it.
The front door was already crowded with many people.
"Oh, the Lady Lombardy is here."
"Hey, get out of the way."
As I approached, the crowd naturally split in two.
I walked out with a slight nod to thank them.
When I arrived in front of the villa"s front door, I saw a familiar backside arriving first.
"Grandfather."
"Oh, Tia"s here."
My grandfather, who was watching the procession approaching far away with an expressionless face, greeted me with a wide smile as if he had never done so.
"Tia, Daddy"s here, too."
My father said, showing his face next to my grandfather.
Next to him was Laurels with a nervous face.
Naturally, there was no sign of Viese.
"Come on, let"s go forward."
Grandfather, father, Laurels, and me.
Lombardy"s four men stood at the front of a large crowd, where the carriage stopped.
"You are here."
Shannanet looked back at us and said.
"Long time no see, Tia."
A gentle smile remained the same.
"Where are the twins?"
"It"s over there."
Where Shannanet pointed out, I saw the Lombardy Knights in shining armor and inspecting nicely.
And right behind the knight and vice commander, I saw Gilliu and Mayron smiling at me.
I waved my hand small enough to be seen only by two people and looked forward again.
Before we knew it, a fancy carriage was stopping in front of us.
Likewise, a group of Imperial Knights dressed in conquerors took their place as guards around the carriage.
The waiting attendant quickly put a foothold in front of the carriage"s door, and the door opened with a small clatter.
"Greeting the Emperor."
Many people standing in front of the front door of the Lombardy villa bowed their heads in unison.
"Hahaha!"
As if to his satisfaction, Emperor Jovanes stepped out of the carriage with a big smile.
After that, the Empress stepped on the ground.
She looked as beautiful as ever, wearing a dark blue dress made of thick velvet and a short shawl made of fine white fur.
Then Astana and Perez got off the second carriage that stopped afterward.
So four members of the Imperial Family walked side by side toward us.
"Thank you for coming all the way."
My grandfather said first.
"Thank you for inviting me, the Lord of Lombardy."
Emperor Jovanes answered my grandfather with a big smile.
Lombardy and Durelli stood face to face.
It was a moment when hundreds of people gathered at the hunting compet.i.tion were concentrated here at once.