Chapter 28 - CHAPTER 26. HUNTING COMPETITION

-THWACK!

“It’s an exact hit, Your Majesty!”

Rafaella yelled excitedly next to her, and Patrizia laughed as if she was just embarrassed. Fortunately, her archery skills had not been rusted yet. Patrizia shook her head, muttering that she would be able to catch one rabbit at the very least.

“I guess my skills did not die yet.”

“Oh my, yes, Your Majesty. Anyways, you are too humble.”

Rafaella laughed with a “hoohoohoo” sound with her praise, and Patrizia blushed. At that moment, Patrizia caught sight of Petronilla walking towards her from a distance. Patrizia smiled.

“Nil is coming.”

She was holding a freshly baked pie in her hand that actually looked pretty big. Patrizia asked Petronilla with a slightly surprised look.

“What is that pie for?”

“Walnut pie. You like this.”

Petronilla responded casually to Patrizia, then lifted a piece and put it in her mouth. The crispy texture spread all over the body. Patrizia, with a pleasant smile, brushed her mouth clean and said in a soft voice, “It is delicious. Surely, the chef’s skill is excellent.”

“Right? Should I bring you something to drink?”

“Can I request a strawberry latte?”

“Of course. By the way, tomorrow is the hunting contest, have you fully prepared yourself?”

“It is complete. As long as there is no big twist, it will probably be held successfully and completed with great success. I’m confident.”

“I’m looking forward to it since you’re saying that. I hope you go in this competition and enjoy yourself a little. It’s been so long since you rode a horse and shot an arrow with a bow. After we got older, it was a harder thing to do.”

“To be honest, I am looking forward to it. The hunting grounds are really wide.”

“That’s good.”

Petronilla smiled at her slightly and tried to get out of her way when she remembered something that she forgot to deliver in her head.

“Oh, the palace stablehand came from the Imperial stables earlier and said Sally had finished with training. Now there won’t be another horrible situation of biting your hand.”

“Oh, yea? That’s a relief. Got it. Thanks, Nil. You can take your leave.”

“Okay. Keep up the good work.”

Petronilla nodded her head and then disappeared towards the Empress’ Kitchen. Patrizia gazed at the retreating figure, then turned her head back again to focus on her archery. Patrizia was pulling her bow tightly with a serious face until she thought of Lucio at the moment.

‘I wonder what “that man” said to Rosemond?’

The hand pulling the bowstring stopped. The bow remained tense, and Rafaella, who was by her side, stared at Patrizia with a surprised look but said nothing when she saw her face was deep in thought. Patrizia continued to dwell in her thoughts.

She knew nothing, but she knew at least that the relationship between the two was special. The two certainly had a close bond due to the time they had spent together.

Therefore, the relationship between the two would not immediately be displaced by the words that she had left behind. Actually, she didn’t even really want the relationship between those two to be distorted… but if that would somehow help her, it wasn’t such a bad thing.

“Your Majesty.”

At that moment, a voice carefully called out to Patrizia. Patrizia let go of the bowstring without realizing she did. The arrow fell lifelessly, and Patrizia’s hand dropped. Rafaella was looking at her with a worried expression, and Patrizia smiled nonchalantly.

“Suddenly, my hand seems to have lost power. I am okay, Sir Rafaella.”

“Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere? Tomorrow is the hunting competition … Will you be okay?”

“I am okay, Ella. I just felt a bit numb for a second.”

When she smiled to show nothing was wrong, Rafaella then made an expression of relief. She then asked, “Would you like to practice some more? It’s been two hours already, and I think it would be better if you went back inside.”

“Just 30 minutes more. Is there a lot of work left, Mirya?

“No. You are fine. You can do this for around two more hours.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Patrizia drew her bow after placing an arrow accordingly. With the sound of the wind sharply blowing, an arrowhead inserted itself into the target plate. It was exactly in the middle.

“It’s a hit again.”

Patrizia laughed with a satisfied expression.

That night, Patrizia heard a strange sound.

“Hm…”

Patrizia, who continued to be restless for a few minutes in the noise, but eventually couldn’t stand it, and quickly got up. As it was, she had a hard time falling asleep at night, but the noise made it even more difficult. She called out to Mirya, trying to hide her nervous expression.

“Mirya, Mirya.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. What is the matter?”

“What is this sound?”

“Sound?”

Mirya entered the room with a puzzled look. No sound could be heard in this room right now, but she was mentioning somehow. She said to her, in a confused state, “Your Majesty, nothing can be heard in my ears.”

“I am a little sensitive to hearing. Make sure you’re quiet and listen carefully. Can you not hear something?”

“…”

At Patrizia’s words, Mirya held her breath and focused all her attention to her ears. But Mirya’s ears really could not hear anything. Mirya made a helpless expression and told Patrizia.

“Your Majesty, I am sorry but I do not hear anything.”

“Hm…”

Patrizia made this noise with a strange expression. Apparently she heard the sound, but Mirya said she couldn’t hear it, so she was frustrated. It was a small sound, and just barely enough to be heard in her ears. Perhaps it was just that she was too sensitive. She sighed inwardly and said to Mirya, “I am sorry, Mirya. I guess I was being too sensitive.”

“It’s because you haven’t been able to sleep these days, Your Majesty. You’ve exhausted yourself having too much to prepare for the hunting competition.”

Mirya spoke in a tone as if she was going to die from her being so unfortunate, and Patrizia smiled awkwardly while shaking her head.

“No. Anyways, I am sorry, Mirya. I just troubled you for no reason.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty. After a few hours, you will have to take part in the competition, so go to sleep quickly. You will be tired later.”

“You are right, Mirya. You can leave now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

She bowed her waist down politely and left the room, and when Patrizia was left alone, she sighed briefly and went back to her bed with a dazed look.

Yes, she may have been pushing herself too much these days.

Anyways, after a few hours, she had to shoot a bow while riding a horse. Patrizia quickly closed her eyes to try to fall asleep. She just wished she could get a little more sleep before she had to wake up in the morning.

The morning of the hunting competition had finally arrived.

Patrizia wore a custom-made hunting suit made specifically for today. Every time she had to wear a dress, and it was a new kind of feeling to be wearing a hunting outfit. She smiled with a sheepish look and touched her hair tied up together in a ponytail. She liked it.

“Your Majesty, how is it? This is a hunting suit specially made by the chief designer from the court. Do you like it?”

“Yes, it is pretty. Comfortable too.”

Patrizia nodded her head with a look that showed she liked it. Lastly, Rafaella, who was checking out Patrizia’s bow and arrows that were to be taken to the hunting grounds, spoke with a satisfied voice.

“It’s perfect, Your Majesty. Now the results depend on Your Majesty.”

“There should not be disappointing results, but I am really worried.”

“Anyways you are so humble.”

Raphaela giggled and passed over the bow and arrow to Mirya. Patrizia had a more serious expression, and inspected herself one more time through the mirror, with a quiver of arrows on her back. It was a look she hadn’t seen for a long time, and even though it was surely herself, it made her doubt her own identity. As if to question if she had this side of her.

“Your Majesty, you must go now.”

At that end, Patrizia woke up from thoughts. Anyways, who she was now, was also a reality. Patrizia smiled brightly and left the room.

Nobles within the city, nobles who came from local provinces, and members of the Imperial Family, of which the only immediate Imperial heir was Emperor Lucio, were the ones that participated in hunting competitions. Patrizia grabbed Sally’s reins and began to walk forward slowly. From the distance, she could see Lucio with some of the nobles. Ah… There was one more.

“Sigh.”

Patrizia sighed when she discovered Rosemond. She was not even going to participate in the hunting contest, so why did she have to come? Of course, it was none of her business to know what kind of affection they would display in front of her, but Patrizia felt it was very unpleasant just to have to look at her.

Of course, it wasn’t possible to show this side of herself to the nobles, so Patrizia faked a smile and walked over to where the two of them along with the other nobles had gathered. The nobles who noticed her hurriedly showed their manners and bowed their greetings.

“Empress, Your Majesty.”

“I greet you, Your Majesty.”

“Glory to the Great Empire’s Moon.”

Rosemond’s face wrinkled into a little frown upon witnessing the treatment that was markedly different from when she had appeared, but that was for a moment. Patrizia, who managed to catch her change, laughed to herself internally and was soon greeted then in turn, with a gentle voice, “I am so glad to see you all like this. I have prepared hard for the tournament, and I hope that it will fulfill your expectations.”

“Hasn’t Your Majesty’s ability already been confirmed when you met with the team of envoys? We, nobles, do not have any worries.”

Patrizia laughed shyly at the compliment from the Marquis of Bringstone, who was a military expert, and Rafaella’s father.

“I do not know how to accept such a great compliment. May I look forward to today then?”

“What could you expect from this old man? Now my child will be the one to meet Your Majesty’s expectations.”

“Sir Rafaella is also a great military expert, but she is not yet ready enough to overcome her father. You are too humble, huhu.”

These warm-hearted words were exchanged back and forth several times since then. It wasn’t until the talks with the nobles had ended, that Patrizia spoke with Lucio. She asked Lucio in an assertive voice.

“I have prepared very hard, but I am concerned that I may have deviated too much from Your Majesty’s standards.”

“With you, well, without saying anything, you must have done well. I saw wonderful results when I received the report.”

“Thank you.”

After answering, Patrizia turned her sights on to Rosemond this time. She smiled nonchalantly, and faced Patrizia, and finally greeted Patrizia, “I greet you, Your Majesty.”

“It has been a while, Lady Phelps. It is a pity that you will not participate in this tournament.”

“I normally don’t like these events. I also don’t have the skills for it.”

“That is a shame.”

Actually, it wasn’t too bad, but it was the polite thing to say this. Patrizia changed the topic immediately after having finished saying something she didn’t even mean, as she thought it was about time to leave.

“It seems we should start now, Your Majesty. You should go up on your horse.”

“I will be going.”

Lucio finished giving a short greeting to Rosemond and got on the horse. Rosemond sent him off with an expression that there was no such angel as she in this world, and Patrizia was disgusted and wanted to vomit at the sight of her, although she did not express this outwardly.

It wasn’t just for a day or two, and she should have gotten used to it, but her adaptability was really poor. Following Lucio, Patrizia climbed onto Sally’s back, tightly grabbed the reins, and began to slowly direct the horse. The hunting ground for the hunting competition was located in the forest near the Imperial Palace.

“Hya!”

Finally, it was the start of the tournament.