Chapter 12 - The Royal Hunting Competition

Heather Forest was a forest located close to the capital city. It was a very dense forest packed with numerous kinds of animals, plants, medicinal herbs and so on. It was a popular hunting ground for hunters. It was a property under the Royal Family so only authorized people were allowed to enter and hunt. However, annually there would be a hunting expedition where anyone could come to hunt along with the royal family members. This was sort of a competition where the Emperor would reward the one with the most hunts.

The common populace would rarely participate, but the nobles came in full force, either to spectate or to participate to build an impression in front of the Imperial Family. There was no gender limit- anyone could participate.

And the day of this competition was very close.

Iris did not participate in this competition back then, so other than knowing that Aria made a great hunt, she didn't know anything.

This time, she had decided to participate along with the members of her family. Iris went to her mother and told her about her decision. Riya felt slightly skeptical and worried about Iris but the latter just shrugged off her concerns. She lied and said she was just going to spectate, to make her mother less anxious.

Riya lamented on how she would participate almost every year back in her youth. Iris told her to get better so she could also attend next year.

Next, Iris went to ask permission from her grandmother, which she easily received as the latter didn't care much. This was a better move than asking permission from Azer of Libera.

Although Azer was a little surprised when he heard about her will to join, he didn't say anything assuming it was out of curiosity. He didn't care if she wanted to participate and go to hunt as many noble girls did that-not that they manage to hunt as well as the noble boys who were especially trained for this. His own 2 daughters were participating other than Iris.

The night before the competition:

Iris finished reading the letter that came from Rivas about his current progress and swiftly burned it. Nobody was supposed to know about this, not even her mother.

After that, she quietly got up and pulled a out a big box from under her bed. It was opened to reveal some things. One long sword, two small daggers, two arrows and five small bottles. Ignoring the other things, she took out one arrow and one bottle that contained a blueish-purple liquid. Using a cloth, she coated the arrow with the liquid and put it on the table. Then she placed the bottle back and pushed the box back under the bed. After hiding the arrow under a cloth, she went to bed.

The sword, dagger and arrows was taken from Rivas when she was leaving. As for the bottles of liquid and where she got them from...

That mystery wont be revealed yet.

Next Day~

Iris went up to the Silcia Family carriage where everyone else was standing. She wore a knee-length dress with tights and wore long shoes, an attire ideal for hunting. Her hair were lifted up in a ponytail as they loosely flowed down to her waist. On her back hung a bow with some arrows she got early in the morning for the hunt.

The carriages were decorated heavily, just like the one that came to take them back-but only better. In front of them, Aria, Athia and Azer were standing. They were preparing to get on. Their clothes were much better in both quality and color than those Iris was wearing. The ones she was wearing were the ones The Matriarch gave her as compensation for the nail incident. Aria and Athia's clothes were the clothes a true young miss would wear, unlike the mediocre ones she wore. Even their weapons were high-class. However, in terms of beauty Iris didn't loose one bit against them, despite their beautiful garments.

As Iris arrived, she greeted them. Azer didn't even respond. Aria smilingly welcomed her, living up to her hypocritical image and Athia just stared at her. Soon, they got on the carriages, however the arrangements perfectly showed everyone's disregard for her.

Two carriages were prepared, one for the family members and one for all the following servants. Azer and his two daughters got on the first carriage, while Iris was sent to ride on the second carriage with the servants. A noble daughter sitting with mere servants, how absurd of a matter this was. Iris snickered coldly to herself. Throughout the way, she had to bear with the stupid gossips of the servants, disturbing her rest. Finally unable to bear it, she shot an extremely cold look to the servants, who instantly shut up in some fear of the bloody eyes. Only then was she able to rest a little.

Azer was a man who valued reputation. To avoid unnecessary rumors, he instructed the carriage to be halted some distance away from the actual location for Iris to get off. She had to walk the distance herself after that, so no-one would be able to tell that she came in a carriage for the servants.

This was within what she expected, but Iris still felt angry at this treatment. Just where did he put his conscience, that sc.u.m of a father. He must've fed it to the dogs!

Walking all the way to the location, Iris felt unhappy with every step she took. Not like she had expected anything, but no-one wants to be treated this way.

The forest had a wide area of land before it. This was where the spectating people stayed. When she finally arrived, she saw that the hunting ground was packed with nobles and servants conversing with each other. There were tables laid with food and chairs laid out for sitting. The servants were rushing to fulfill their master's needs and the ground as bustling. At one area, many horses were being tended to and being prepared for the grand hunt. The event had yet to begin. Iris looked around a little. No member of the Royal Family had arrived yet.

Noticing Iris's presence, the always smiling Aria that was surrounded by noble ladies and masters, quickly motioned at her to come to her. She unhurriedly made her way over as Aria enthusiastically introduced her to the nobles.

"Everyone, this is my third sister Iris. She just came back from recuperating at the country-side, so she isn't aware of many things. Please pardon her if she makes any mistake!" She said.

Though her words seemed to express her concern, it was clear that she was trying to label Iris as an ignorant person from the country-side. This was made apparent as she emphasized the word 'country-side'.

As expected, the noble's face changed as they expressed disdain for her.

Iris said nothing and simply bowed a little with a smile to greet the nobles. Her every move was laced with elegance and proper manners, leaving the spectators a little stunned as they didn't expect such mannerisms from someone who came from the country-side.