Chapter 25

***

Filina followed the Princess and looked around, a light breeze blowing through the dense grass.

It was indeed a lazy afternoon. Her mind was relaxed.

The imperial princess walking in front of her also had a smile on her face, as if she felt the same way as Filina.

“I should come out more often now. It seems that all the stress of being confined to the Imperial Palace will be relieved.”

Saying this, Hestia beckoned to the escort who was walking the horse beside her.

The horse that had been walking slowly came to a stop, and the other ladies who had been following the Princess stopped with her.

“Shall I walk without my guard?”

Hestia said as she turned around and looked at Filina.

“Will it be okay?”

Filina asked with a worried look on her face, and other voices boomed from behind her as well.

“It’s not safe, Princess! What if you get hurt?”

“Yes! How worried would His Majesty be if the Princess’ body was injured?”

Hestia laughed out with a dumbfounded look at the ladies’ words.

“His Majesty is worried about whom? That’s nonsense.”

Fabien made a strange face at her reply.

“It’s only natural for parents to worry about their children. Besides, you’re an imperial Princess.”

It was an easy conversation to have.

The Imperial Palace was a place where all interactions begin with status. It was extremely rare for them to experience emotional solidarity.

“Lady Fabien.”

Filina opened her mouth with a ladylike expression.

“There is nothing natural in this world.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to her. A cool breeze blew through her hair.

Filina lifted her lips softly and continued.

“We all come from different backgrounds. We all have different personalities and different interests. But how can we all follow the same flow?”

“ Is that so?”

Fabien looked at Filina with an uncomfortable expression on her face.

Filina nodded and continued.

“I’ve never had my father worry about me, either. But I am rather grateful for it. If I had grown up with my parents controlling me, I wouldn’t have had the freedom to do the activities I enjoy so much.”

Hestia, who had been listening to her, opened her mouth with a small laugh.

“I should also thank Duke Debussy when I meet him. Thanks to him, I had this valuable experience.”

Filina asked with a quiet voice.

“Would you like to pull the horse yourself?”

“Knight.”

The Princess beckoned to the escort knight, who briefly explained how to pull the horse and handed over the reins to Hestia.

The brown horse began to move according to her gesture. Even though it was her first time, Filina thought it was amazing how undeterred the Princess was.

Filina and the others slowly followed behind Hestia.

“I had never seen the Princess look so cheerful before.”

Cecilia spat out in a clear voice as she approached Filina’s side.

She was also riding a horse very well. Her golden hair shone in the sunshine.

Filina, who had been quietly watching her, calmly replied.

“She must have been frustrated in the imperial palace.”

“I thought that everyone in the palace was happy, but it seems that this is not the case.”

Cecilia’s eyes were blurry as she looked at Hestia’s back.

As if she was looking at her future through the Princess. Because if she married Ian, she would become an Imperial resident too.

They were far from the word “happy”. They always had to fight alone to keep their seats.

“Why don’t we rest here a bit?”

As they went further inside the forest, they came upon a clearing with a wide expanse of green grass.

Fabien and Sharon nodded at Hestia’s words and quickly dismounted their horses. Hestia also took the hand of the escort knight and stepped onto the ground.

Filina, on the other hand, had not yet dismounted her horse. She was quietly looking around, but then she spoke to Hestia.

“Princess, then, may I go hunt while you rest here?”

Hestia replied with a small smile.

“Thank you for all your hard work in getting me in a good mood. Now hurry and come back.”

“Thank you.”

As soon as the permission was given, Filina pulled the reins and turned the horse around. She was going to run as fast as she could. Just then, she heard a voice calling out to her from the side urgently.

“Miss Filina, may I go with you?”

Cecilia’s green eyes faced the front. Filina, hearing her, answered with a troubled look.

“We have to go deeper and deeper from here to go hunting.”

She couldn’t keep Hestia waiting, so she was going to run as fast as she could. Cecilia would not be able to keep up with her. So Filina said in a tone of refusal, but Cecilia shouted with a determined look on her face.

“ Don’t worry! I can run fast too!”

The green eyes looking at Filina shone intensely. Her will looked so pious that it made Filina laugh. Filina pulled on the reins of her horse and told Cecilia.

“Then follow me carefully!”

She thought that Cecilia would be able to make it back on her own if she couldn’t catch up, since she had an escort knight with her anyway. However, surprisingly, she followed Filina with little difficulty. Cecilia’s emerald irises glowed sharply. Filina moved her gaze forward and quickened her horse.

As they entered the thick forest, they could hear the leaves of the grass tangling in the wind. Occasionally, the cries of large animals could be heard.

Filina loosened the reins. Then Cecilia also slowed down and looked around.

“Do you want to hunt here?”

Filina replied, jumping down from her horse with a supple gesture.

“There are many animals to hunt around here.”

She kneeled on the grassy spot. The sand on the floor stained her pants, but Filina didn’t care.

She brought the gun she was carrying on her shoulder to the front.

Staring at her from behind, Cecilia dismounted her horse and walked over to Filina.

Filina, who had been measuring the distance of her target with both hands on her hunting rifle, opened her mouth.

“When you are hunting, it is important to be able to sense when the wind stops.”

The sound of dancing grass could be heard clearly. The green leaves swaying in the light breeze flickered announcing its presence.

‘When the wind stops, listen among the grasses. Where the animals are hiding.”

Her red hair, which had been swaying in the wind, stopped moving.

Fernan’s eyes glittered as she tried to find her target.

The sound of shifting grass could be heard in the quiet space. Her hand, which had been holding the gun toward the front, pulled the trigger straight.

Bang!

A sharp noise echoed through the wide grass, and at the same time, faint animal noises could be heard from far away.

“That’s amazing, My Lady!”

Cecilia looked at Filina with admiration .

Filina got up and lightly brushed the dirt off her pants. Then she held out her hunting rifle to Cecilia.

“Would you like to try?”

Cecilia’s pupils dilated.

“Me?”

Filina nodded and Cecilia replied hesitantly.

“But I’ve never hunted before.”

“I’ll show you. It’s not dangerous as long as you keep your stance.”

The people of Alvar looked up to Cecilia as the “saint” that God had blessed them with, but that did not mean that she was really admitted to the Great Temple.

A saint in the Great Temple needed basic support in the power of the mystical divine forces to ward off evil. The reason Cecilia was so cautious in everything she did, even though she wasn’t really a saint, was because of the way people looked at her.

Every little movement she made was followed like a shadow by the gaze of the people.

Cecilia seemed troubled as she stared at the brown muzzle of the gun that was held out to her.

‘Can I hold a gun recklessly?’

‘People will be disappointed if they see this.’

But right now, the only people around were Filina and her guard. Cecilia opened her mouth, her green eyes shining beautifully, as if she had made up her mind.

“I’ll give it a try, then.”

She took the gun and gave strength to the tip of her chin. Her determined face created solid air.

Filina, who was watching her closely, explained to Cecilia how to hold the gun. Actually, it was somewhat impulsive to encourage her to hunt.

In the original story, there was no scene where Cecilia rode a horse. However, she ran her horse well. And even when Filina sped up, she quickly caught up with her.

Seeing this, a vain feeling swept over Filina. All the times she had ridden horses before became ludicrous. Being in the presence of the female protagonist, she really felt like a boring supporting character. She was disappointed.

It was like trying to draw a picture on a piece of white drawing paper with a blank pencil. It was still just a blank piece of paper.

So she wanted to check. Was the way Cecilia was riding her horse and running as fast as she could just pure ability? Or was it the unlimited ability of the female protagonist?

No way, would she succeed in one attempt? Cecilia sat with one knee bent as Filina did. The sharp muzzle of the gun pointed through the grass.

Her soft blonde hair swayed in the wind. The hot sunshine held Cecilia in place. When the sound of the cool breeze stopped for a moment, her green eyes took on a primary color vibe.

Bang!

A flying bullet was fired at its target. It was a motion that didn’t seem to sway in the slightest. From a distance, animal noises spread through the grass.

Cecilia stared at Filina with a startled look on her face.

“My Lady, did I succeed?”

Filina, who had been staring at her, replied.

“…It seems so.”

A laugh escaped from between her lips as she answered.

Filina wanted to believe it was a coincidence, but the faint trembling of her fingers seemed to acknowledge the reality.

Cecilia just smiled brightly, happy that the hunt was successful.

“I’ll go check it out!”

“I’ll go with you…”

“No! The young lady stays here!”

Cecilia said and disappeared between the grasses with the escort knight.

Watching her back in silence, Filina called out to Enoch, who stood behind her.

“Enoch.”

“Yes, Lady Filina.”

He closed the distance at once.

“What happened to the sword I asked for?”

“It’s in the works. I’m told it will be ready before the entrance ceremony of the military academy.”

“…Is that right?”

Filina’s red eyes were once again shifted between the grass.

It was pathetic to see herself being compared to Cecilia.

How much effort had she put in to survive so far? It was like forcing herself into shoes that didn’t fit her.

Suddenly, she felt as if all the efforts she had made collapsed in an instant.

Just then, she heard the sound of grass crashing in the distance. The birds that had been perched peacefully on the trees flew away.

There was no wind.

Filina’s eyes flashed.

“Kyaaaah!”

Cecilia’s voice rang out in the distance . It seemed that something had happened. When Filina tried to run to the place where Cecilia had disappeared, Enoch stood in her way.

“I’ll go alone. It’s not safe, please stay here.” (Enoch)

Filina said with a frown.

“You’re going to play the cool part all by yourself?”

She ran through the grass, shaking off Enoch’s arm that blocked her. Enoch sighed and followed after Filina.