29 Hospitalizing Ares

Once the hunting horn was blown, the chosen fox for the competition was released.

In order to not mistake the fox with any other fox that might cross the attendants, it was marked with the seal of Margonia on the front right thigh.

You could only draw your bend your bow or crossbow when the fox had entered the Winter forest.

If someone violated the order, he was officially disqualified from the competition.

Ere the fox set foot in the Winter forest and disappeared behind all the deciduous tress, Ares accelerated the pace of his riding horse.

Not his male ego was the ambition for his victory but the expectation of his fiancée that he would emerge victorious was his incentive.

He did not want to disappoint her, which is why he was so eager for victory.

Since who knows perhaps he gets a reward from her when he brings her his victory.

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly at this thought.

To Ares bad Ethan overtook him shortly after.

Ethan seemed very stiff and his eyes flashed with ambition.

Although it is called that fortune changes people but in Ethan's case jealousy would fit better. ä

Ares knew this and briefly considered whether he would let Ethan win.

After all, Ares himself knew the crushing feeling of jealousy.

The memory of how Tommy introduced Eleanor as is future wife to his grandmother was still vivid in Ares mind.

Though Tommy was only a six year old boy but a love rival is still a love rival!

And that Eleanor had not corrected him, only made his jealousy worse.

There was a wolf in every dog, which Ares was convinced.

Little Tommy could use his cute white rabbit look to steal Eleanor from Ares.

Just to think how Eleanor might abandon him for Tommy welled up and clawed his heart.

'This is not about my insecurities but about Ethan's.'

In the end, Ares decided not to deliberately lose to Ethan.

Ethan would not forgive him because it would be a humiliation for him to be given the victory.

Not that it would matter to Ares but since Ethan will become his future brother-in-law, Ares wanted to get into his good book.

Because Ares could not get rid of the feeling that Ethan was targeting him.

Ares moved the stitch forward, indicating that the horse should run faster.

He still had a competition to win.

Even though Ethan did not have much of a head start, he was nowhere to be seen.

It was like he was swallowed by the earth.

No hoof marks could be seen in the forest floor.

'Strange.' thought Ares.

It was even stranger that he could not perceive any other participants behind him since he had entered the forest.

Out of nowhere sapphire blue will-o'-the-wisps appeared to guide Ares.

As if spellbound, Ares followed the will-o'-the-wisps and the siren voice.

The lights and the voice led Ares to an isolated part of the forest.

He recognized a wretched figure hunched on the floor.

It was Ethan.

Ethan was breathing heavily, rocking back and forth with his legs drawn together.

He looked like he had seen the devil in person.

Ares dismounted from his horse and made his way to Ethan.

Desperately Ares tried to shake Ethan awake.

"Pull yourself together man!" Ares shouted.

"No.. no.. no.. no!" Ethan whimpered softly then louder.

He began to strike with his hand around him.

Just as Ares was about to give Ethan a slight punch to wake him up, he heard that feminine voice again.

"The past will overtake everyone." Echoed throughout the forest.

All of a sudden all the will-o'-the-wisps united and reconstructed a scene.

They reconstructed a scene that Ares had repressed for ages and he passed out.

…

Liz's POV

Fortunately, the search party found Ares and Ethan before midnight.

But what shocked them most was that they found Ethan and Ares in a compromising position.

Eleanor's parents had to pay a bribe to the presented people to forget these pictures, as they feared that it might affect the engagement of their daughter.

However, this was by no means the end of the drama.

Ares was still unconscious, as was Ethan, so Eleanor's mother insisted that he would spend the night here and Eleanor shall mother him.

When Eleanor/Liz wanted to rebel against this suggestion, queen Diana stared at her with watery eyes and dramatized in a sobbing voice:

"How can you abandon my future son-in-law in such difficult times. You guys cannot vow at the altar to stand by each other in good times and in bad. At this rate this old woman will never see their grandchildren and never be able to face her ancestors in heaven."

Queen Diana put Liz in a difficult position and reluctantly Liz finally gave in.

Delighted with her answer, queen Diana reached out to Liz and proudly exclaimed:

"I knew that my baby did not have a heart of stone but a jello heart like a tsundere."

Liz coughed because of the sudden mood change of the queen.

The queen then urged Liz to the room in which the sick Ares was and then closed the door quietly.

When she saw the unconscious Ares in bed, her stomach contracted.

She did not know how to deal with the whole situation.

Next to Ares there was already a water glass, a bowl of lukewarm water and a frontal lobe prepared.

As if mechanically, Liz then approached Ares and put her hand on his forehead.

'He seems to have a fever.' Liz noticed.

She dipped the forehead lobe into the lukewarm water and then placed it on Ares forehead.

Through the nursing Liz could take a closer look at Ares.

'He looks like Snow White as a male version when he sleeps.' Liz noted.

Shocked by her own behaviour, Liz frantically shook her head.

She could already hear Ares voice teasing her, whether the peeping tom liked what he saw.

[A/N: Peeping tom is a man who tries to secretly watch women when they are waring no clothes. I this case Liz is a peeping tom and the roles are switched. That's why I used 'he' instead of she.]

All the frustration Liz felt against Ares came back to her at this one moment.

'Should I hit him? Now would be the perfect opportunity to do so as defenceless as he lies here.' her inner voice tempted.

She was just about to swing when he wheezily expressed that he was hot.

Liz knew exactly what that meant.

Someone had to change his clothes, expose him!

And she did not want to be that someone.

Seeking help, she called the maids into the room, but they only handed Liz changing clothes.

In an apology manner they asked for her understanding that their virgin eyes would never dare to see the body of her fiancé.

Only princess Eleanor was entitled to sin, which left Liz speechless.

The maids bowed and informed Liz that they would now retire.

All her neck hair stood on at the thought of what was about to follow.

Liz swallowed the lump down her throat and took a deep breath.

'I only have to change his clothes and not sleep with him.' she reassured herself.

When she was in the process of opening the buttons of Ares' shirt, the door of the room was slammed open.

It was Eleanor's parents.

'Fuck. I'm screwed.'