CH 13

Not knowing Ophelia’s burning heart, the sound of the start of the hunting competition rang out.

‘Is it too late? No, there’s still a chance…’

Biting her lip, Ophelia took one step towards Richard, but stopped at the hand pulling her shoulder from behind.

Ophelia turned her head and her eyes widened like a rabbit’s.

“Iris?”

If this icy woman caught her…

“Are there any documents left to process?”

Iris shook her head and opened her heavy mouth towards Ophelia, whose shoulders drooped with a very somber face.

“It’s not like that.”

“Then… then what is it…”

She was the one who treated Ophelia as someone she didn’t have to talk to if not for work.

“If you stand there, you’ll be eaten in an instant.”

“Yes? Can a bear or leopard come all the way here?”

As Ophelia looked at the forest in surprise, Iris was silent for a moment with an indescribable expression.

“Beans? I solved it with water.”

“I haven’t seen a fan, there’s only garbage in front of me.”

‘I thought she wasn’t an ordinary lady, but…’

No matter how she looked, that’s not what being ‘eaten up’ means, right? It couldn’t be that she couldn’t feel the gaze of the knights and lords who were staring at them.

‘Is she pretending to be naive?’ 

Iris had a sharp thought for a second, but it quickly subsided and she shook her head.

“It doesn’t mean that. I mean, those people are going to attack your handkerchief like a herd of wolves.”

“Ah.”

Ophelia, who followed Iris’ gaze, found the numerous eyes that were staring at her, gleaming with greed.

“I just thought that they talked a lot about the weather unnecessarily.”

At the lament that came out of Ophelia’s mouth, Iris asked,

“You mean you went through it and didn’t realize?”

“I was just wondering if the weather was incredibly important for a hunting competition.”

That’s right, pretending to be innocent… 

“I didn’t think anyone who ‘had eaten meat before’ was coming at me because they’re interested in me.”

“Pfft… Ahem. Hmmmm.”

Towards Ophelia’s absolute sincerity, Iris had to cover up her unwitting laughter with a cough.

Contrary to what Iris thought, Ophelia wasn’t trying to pretend to be naive, she just saw her situation in an overly realistic way.

“That interest…”

“Oh, I know. It’s not that they’re interested in me, but that they have a great interest in the Crown Prince. And the Crown Prince has no interest in aides or idiots who try to coax him in a position like this.”

At Ophelia’s clean and accurate answer, Iris’ face softened slightly from her usual expression akin to the cold north wind.

…A new assistant appeared without knowing whether it had fallen from the sky or rose from the ground. Iris never trusted Ophelia because she came in brazenly without any verification of ability, character, or loyalty.

It was the same now, but Iris decided to help Ophelia a little more.

“Do you have a handkerchief?”

“Yes.”

Ophelia placed her handkerchief in Iris’ extended hand.

She could tell without seeing that the surrounding eyes on the both of them were moving to the handkerchief.

Iris took Ophelia’s handkerchief and strode off with large strides, and the latter followed closely behind.

Soon after, as the two stopped walking, sighs flowed from those who watched them.

“Is it the same this time?”

“I thought there will still be a chance with Bolsheik.”

Leaving the bunch sighing behind, Iris took a handkerchief from her pocket, overlapped it with Ophelia’s handkerchief, and tied it to the hilt of Richard’s sword.

“Glory to His Highness.”

Iris bowed her head, but Ophelia looked at Richard without blinking and added.

“Glory to His Highness! Return safely.”

She couldn’t help but give really vague words.

Wishing for a safe return.

It’s Richard. Even a three-year-old child of the empire must know that even if he was attacked with a group of bears or leopards, he would return without a single wound.

However, she dared to say that he wished for a safe return.

If one looked at it in a good way, those words could be passed over. But in a bad way, it was suspicious because it was like saying to be careful because something would happen.

Of course, Iris had far more reasons to think badly of Ophelia than good.

Therefore, her sharp heart for Ophelia rose again within her.

But before Iris could stare at Ophelia with her gray eyes, Richard covered Ophelia’s face with his palm.

“Uh… Your Highness?”

Contrary to the bewildered Iris, Ophelia did not panic at all despite it being stuffy and dark due to Richard’s large hand that covered her entire face blocked her breath and her vision.

She felt Richard’s thick knuckles, then opened his fingers moderately to reveal her eyes.

Blue eyes filled with dissatisfaction, anxiety, hope and resignation met golden eyes in which only the dry and crumbling wind blew.

Time seemed to pass very slowly.

How many words were exchanged between the two who didn’t say anything?

Eventually, Richard withdrew his hand and lowered his head towards Ophelia.

The two looked into each other’s eyes at a distance close enough to feel each other’s breath, blinking slowly and exhaling, as if they had made a promise to do so.

“Behind.”

“Yes.”

In response to Richard and Ophelia’s enigmatic question and answer, Iris looked at the two in turn and opened her mouth, spluttering,

“Your Highness? What is this… Your Highness!”

However, Richard drifted away in an instant, and Ophelia, who remained with Iris, also disappeared while Iris looked at Richard anxiously.

“What the hell is this…”

Iris was stunned, but quickly moved towards Cooper’s side.

Ophelia got the answer ‘behind’ from Richard, so something must have happened that Iris didn’t know about. She did not have any ‘assurance’ about it, but ‘Ophelia’ was related to the crown prince in some way.

It’s bitter in her mouth, but that’s something to think about later.

Iris’ steps toward Cooper grew a little faster.

.

After the hunting competition began, the peaceful times, if it could be considered peaceful, passed.

“Hey! That’s what I caught!”

“What nonsense. Can’t you see these arrow feathers? Well, if you’re this blind, you wouldn’t have seen this deer either.”

“Wait!”

From quarrels over who owned the captured prey…

“You’re trying to kill me!”

“Uh-huh, you’re making nothing into a big deal. It’s not even a scratch. It was a wonder that got into the trajectory of my arrow.”

“Didn’t that arrow fly to the wrong place where there is no prey!”

“U-Ugh. That’s… ugh.”

…To dispute between the person wounded by the blind arrow and the person who shot it.

Other than that, there was also the crowd that raised their voices and the group that looked at them as if they were pathetic.

“I don’t know if I’m going to hunt or not.”

“Heh heh, that’s right. If you raise your voice that high, all the prey that have been standing still will run away.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a rabbit or a deer.”

“Of course. I heard there’s a very big and ferocious bear this time.”

“It’s said a few got injured several times while trying to catch it. If you can catch it…”

“It will be a win.”

There was another group near those who parted after exchanging vigilant looks with each other and vowed to win.

“Where is the Crown Prince?”

“If you move so wildly, you won’t be able to see anything.”

“Hey, it’s a precious sight, for you to say the right thing after a long time.”

Those who kept a very thin layer of courtesy but didn’t hesitate to swear and make sarcastic remarks at each other.

They were not knights, but noble lords.

Be it the eldest or the second son, the ones who were pushed out of the race for succession had to somehow form a bond with the crown prince.

In the deep forest, far, far away from those who were looking for the crown prince instead of the prey.

There was a person here, where only the sounds of insects and the occasional flapping of the wings of birds could be heard.

The sun shone over the head of the person standing alone with his eyes closed and his arms stretched out.

The scene, like a scene from the torch, was so sacred that it gave the illusion of a circle of light rising above his head.

The moment when not only the birdsong, but also the chirping of insects ceased.

His eyelids slowly lifted, revealing his eyes.

Golden eyes that shone like thick honey in the light.

As soon as Richard opened his eyes, assassins began to appear one by one in a position that completely surrounded him.

He was not angry upon seeing the assassins that showed up as though forming walls with their bodies. 

He didn’t panic when he saw the enemies’ number, he didn’t show his sympathy for victory, but he didn’t despair either.

Richard wasn’t even looking at them at all.

He smiled faintly as he traced the trail of Ophelia, who was running in search of him somewhere in this forest.

When would she arrive here?

As soon as she saw him, she would definitely grumble.

—Why didn’t you tell me where to go?

Although the assassins gradually narrowed the distance, Richard remained still and closed his eyes, not moving a single step.

The masked faces around him looked at each other with their eyes that were exposed.

The person in front of them was clearly their target, the crown prince.

But why…