Perhaps this was a sign that he didn't love her as much as he seemed?
One of the Ladies said, speculating whatever could be the reason why the Crown Prince had caught so many little small animals.
Lady Melissa wanted to speak up and say that maybe it was because the Crown Prince was too weak to catch the big animals, but she had to refrain from doing so, not wanting all eyes to be on her.
She had enough of the stares that were sent to her earlier, and as much as she loved the attention on her, she knew that causing a commotion once was already enough, and that she didn't overdo it.
After the Crown Prince had arrived with his catches, multiple other noblemen appeared each one of them with their catch, none of them having multiple catches like the Crown Prince.
Lady Melissa had seen some of the noblewoman's eyes filled with a glimmer of hope as they saw the Crown Prince arriving with Duke Alphonso, thinking that perhaps he had come to offer one of them his very own catch.
That wasn't the case though, as Lady Melissa knew for a fact that Duke Alphonso assisted the Crown Prince, and had helped him with his catch, after all, Duke Alphonso had followed the Crown Prince, it was a given with being one of the Crown Prince's closest aides.
Lady Melissa was about to close her eyes when she could suddenly feel footsteps approaching her, a sign for her not to close her eyes if she didn't want to be publicly humiliated by somebody; or something.
"I've admired you from afar Lady Melissa, your beauty is none like other, and the way you present yourself is spectacular. I cannot hide my feelings for you any longer. I love you. Will you accept this (deez nuts I'm sorry I can't stop myself) as a token of my love for you?"
The man said, as Lady Melissa quickly recognized him as Baron Cole, a shy and introverted Baron, rarely talking to people during parties or balls.
"I am flattered by the Kangaroo Baron Cole, I'll gratefully accept it, thank you."
Lady Melissa said as she flashed him a smile, and he swore his heart had skipped a beat when she did so.
Lady Melissa didn't say anything regarding her feelings, but she knew she couldn't reject his catch, since it would be considered rude of her, and she didn't want any more negative rumours of her, when all she did was simply reject a catch.
The last time someone had done so, Lady Melissa could remember how quickly she had fallen out of multiple people's good graces.
Lady Melissa could feel the jealous gazes of the other women at the table, their eyes had lit up when they saw the man approaching their table, only for it to be given to Lady Melissa.
Most of the jealous gazes came from the women who hadn't received any catches from the men, the only one who had received the most out of everyone in the table so far was Lady Whistledown.
Lady Melissa was sure that Lady Yae would've gotten at least three to five catches by now if she hadn't gotten caught, but accidents happen, unfortunately, or fortunately for Lady Melissa.
Lady Melissa was sure that what Lady Yae had done had been spread to the other noblemen, stopping them from giving her their catch.
Hence, Lady Yae hadn't even received a single catch so far, and knowing that fact just made Lady Melissa feel so much better.
Lady Melissa let out a smile as Baron Cole left her, smiling.
Lady Melissa had expected to receive a catch, but she hadn't expected it to come from him.
Lady Melissa yawned, covering her mouth as she hoped no one had noticed, the event was starting to get more and more boring by the second.
Lady Melissa wasn't too excited over the fact that she had received a catch, after all, she had expected it, she was THE Lady Melissa.
Lady Whistledown had received the most catches so far, having three of them, whilst all the other noblewomen had only one so far, including Lady Melissa.
As the time started to pass, more and more women got a catch, be it a rabbit, or even a small bird, most of the women had gotten a catch, and Lady Whistledown still had gotten the most catches, the number from three now being five.
The only person who came close to Lady Whistledown had three catches she had received.
Lady Melissa was the only other person who came close to Lady Whistledown, she was the one who had three catches.
Lady Melissa however didn't really care with the number of catches she got, so long as she had actually gotten at least one catch from one of the noblemen, and that the animal was a mediocre sized one.
All of the catches Lady Melissa had received so far were mediocre sized, so Lady Melissa didn't have anything to complain about.
Lady Melissa did love seeing Lady Yae's feeble attempts at trying to hide her jealousy, which was as clear as glass.
Lady Melissa was sure that some of the other noble ladies had realized Lady Yae's jealousy as well, but decided to ignore it.
Lady Melissa glanced at the clock, wondering just how much time she had left before the hunting event would end.
There wasn't really a timer but if all of the noblemen who had finished hunting had come before the two hour time was up, then the King would announce the winner.
However, if some of the noblemen hadn't emerged by the time two hours was up, then the King would have no choice but to announce the winner, not being able to wait any longer.
Lady Melissa glanced at the clock, realizing that there were fifteen minutes left before the hunting event would end and before the King would have to announce the winner of the hunting event.
Just as Lady Melissa was glancing at the clock, she could feel a presence beside her as she turned her head, it was none other than Duke Gaston who had come to ask whether she would accept his catch, as she let out a smile without realizing.