CH 91

Click, click.

The refreshing metallic sound of metal hitting each other made the listener wince. 

With a glance, I chased away the rattled servants who couldn’t adapt to Dietrich’s foul mood.

“Dietrich, I’m saying this just in case.” 

Dietrich, who had been fiddling with the Musket’s barrel in annoyance, turned his head toward me without saying a word. All he had to do was turn his head, but he turned his body along with the gun towards me taking me by surprise so I put my hands forward. 

“You can’t shoot people with that gun.”

“...I won’t.”

“You promise. All right? Never shoot anyone even if someone offends you.” 

“What do you see me as?” 

‘A promising villain?’

No, he’s already grown up so he’s already a villain.

I couldn’t possibly answer like that so I laughed and mumbled my words. 

“I mean, just in case.” 

Dietrich gave me a sidelong glance with a lopsided smile. 

‘However, he still didn’t say he wouldn’t shoot.’

Of course, I understand him being angry.

Dietrich’s title as the Grand Duke has yet to be approved one last time by the House of Lords as the Emperor’s capricious hunting competition pushed the meeting back. 

‘At this rate, I’m sure Dietrich will be the winner of this hunt.’ 

If you count the number of people he killed because they were annoying, that is.

Boisterous ball, pretentious aristocrats, and the knights who lauded him as a hero. 

The capital was full of things Dietrich hated.

I let out a deep sigh, worrying about his temper like a time bomb that might explode at any time. 

“The ground’s going to blow up.” 

Dietrich, who had been staring at me as I let out a sigh, put down his rifle, and spouted random words.

“Do I really need to get approval?”

“Do you intend not to receive it?”

“There had been many predecessors that have not been approved as Grand Duke. It’s just a troublesome procedure anyway.”

“Then what about the kids?” 

Was he saying he’ll just leave them in a frozen state? 

The previous Grand Dukes had already killed their siblings so such a choice was possible, but that wasn’t our case.

As I opened my mouth in disbelief, Dietrich shook his head as if he already knew. 

“....I’m just saying.”

“Uhuh.”

‘I don’t think he was just saying it.’

Even as I doubted Dietrich’s intention, I had no choice but to nod my head.

“The Emperor has arrived!”

The quiet outside of the barracks became noisy at the announcement of the servant, and people could be heard moving.

I picked up my musket gun and grabbed the black cloth from the barracks.

‘It’s pretty fancy for a sudden competition.’

Even though the Lagrange did not even express their intention to participate, the emperor herself provided the barracks and inevitably invited Dietrich and me.   

The barracks depicting Lagrange’s wolf with its sparkling red eyes and open mouth was too luxurious to be considered done haphazardly. 

“We greet the brightest sun of the empire.”

I grabbed the hem of my trousers which I wore instead of a dress and greeted the emperor as she happened to walk towards the barracks of Lagrange. 

“That wild outfit suits you, Princess.” 

I wonder if she was being sarcastic about me not coming wearing a dress, but the emperor was smiling broadly as if her mouth was being ripped, seemingly satisfied with my appearance. 

‘Why is her face red like that?’

She’s always a burdensome woman. 

I glanced at the emperor’s flushed cheeks and lowered my eyes. 

“Where’s the Duke?”

“He’s inside.” 

“Judging from the fact that you’re holding a gun, are you also participating, Princess?”

“It’s because I’ve done hunting before.” 

“Ho?”

The emperor widened her eyes as if surprised by my answer. 

‘Originally, there was nothing to eat in Dahlia after all.’ 

If I answer that I often followed Dietrich and filled our stomach with wild animals, they’ll only have a worse image regarding Lagrange.

‘To make matters worse, there are already a lot of gossips that we’re barbarians or what not.’ 

I smiled wryly and shook my head. 

“Dietrich, I mean, my brother likes hunting. It’s his hobby.” 

“Is that so? Well, many people hunt as a hobby.”

She answered cursorily and nodded her head, then walked past me to the podium. 

“It’s late so I’ll make the opening speech short.”

Contrary to her words, the emperor gave a long speech, all the while Dietrich who came out late from the barracks, climbed onto a horse with an annoyed expression on his face. 

“You?”

The black stallion suited him perfectly. He pointed at me with his chin and asked briefly.

“I think the women are going to play near the barracks…”

I shrugged my shoulders, pointing to the group of women who had already gathered. 

“Then go ahead.”

Dietrich glanced at me as I was seeing him off and snapped his fingers. 

Soon, a black aura that could only be seen by my eyes moved slowly and hid inside my shadow. 

‘Baal?’

‘It’s been a while, Princess.’

I looked up at Dietrich in horror at the feeling of the sticky hands grabbing my ankle.

“Why is Baal here?”

“If anything happens, don’t hesitate to call him.”

“You know it’s forbidden to use abilities in the capital.”

“What do you think is the reason for such a useless rule?” 

At Dietrich’s question, I took my eyes off the shadow and looked up at him. 

His face, engulfed against the light, was momentarily blurry.

“Because the emperor and the nobles fear Lagrange.”

I remember the gaze of the capital nobles as they stared at me as a Northerner. 

Were their senseless hatred ultimately due to fear?

“And you’re my only weakness. The emperor will not overlook this.”

I chuckled, finding Dietrich’s sluggish remarks a bit funny. 

“Say that later when you have someone you love. You sounded like a devoted brother just now.” 

‘If you fall in love with Charlotte, you might end up completely ignoring me.’

As if he didn’t like my reaction, his eyebrows shot up to the sky wordlessly. 

I was compelled to add hastily just in case he departs. 

“I’ll be careful so don’t worry.”

────── 〔✿〕──────

“Oh my, did Robert really say that? What should I do?”

“That’s what happened. Julia says–”

Valliere’s social circle was a conservative society with a very solid axis.

Dona Euclid and Dorothea Hilbert were the wives who rose to the peak of the social world and Charlotte was the superstar who rose to be loved by them. 

‘I’m bored.’

Dorothea Hilbert was wary of me in public, and I couldn’t enter into the conversation not knowing who Robert or Julia was. 

“Madam Armand is really an eloquent speaker.” 

In the midst of the crowd, Charlotte giggled, letting out a pleasant laugh.

She, like the other girls, was wearing a white dress suitable for a picnic. 

‘Anyone who received an invitation can participate in the hunting competition.’ That was what it said. In the end, I was the only one who took the words of the invitation seriously and came wearing trousers. 

‘If you knew beforehand, you should have told me.’

I sighed, tugging at my innocent leather trousers. 

‘No one seems to be hunting at all.’

Furthermore, I was already hated because I did something that stood out in the ball, so if I insist on going hunting, it was obvious I would be gossiped about being a northerner.

“Anissa.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be alone and come here.”

Charlotte beckoned me as if she felt sorry seeing me squatting away from the crowd.

The good-natured female protagonist seemed unable to turn a blind eye to the odd one out. 

In the end, as I hesitantly approached her, people stared at me with their stinging gazes to the point that my skin hurts. 

“Sit here.”

Charlotte raised herself as she offered me the seat beside her. At the gazes of those who looked at me as if I was offered the seat of glory, I uttered words of thanks I didn’t even want to say. 

“Thank you for calling me.”

“I see you’ve brought a gun with you. Did you want to hunt?”

Charlotte stroked gently with her fingertips the musket gun which lay on my lap.

Unlike Dietrich’s gun with a black barrel, it was a beautiful gun that boasts a silver barrel. 

‘I brought it because I thought it would be useful.’

“Ah, I thought it would be boring to just sit around.”

“I didn’t know you enjoyed hunting, Anissa.”

“It’s not to the point that I enjoy it, I just thought wouldn’t it be better to hunt than get bored?” 

I smiled at the thought that I might be able to entice Charlotte to start hunting. But she held me firmly on the shoulders with a rare frown. 

“Anissa, I’ll help you change.”

“.......Pardon?” 

“The cruel side of Anissa. As expected, if you live in the desolate North, such things are bound to happen, right?”

It seemed like Charlotte genuinely cared about me that I couldn’t even show my displeasure. 

“I can help you.”

As my mouth opened and close without a single utterance, she took the gun away from me. 

“Hunting entails you kill innocent animals. It doesn’t suit people like us. Though Her Majesty and the knights have no other choice since they have to prepare for war.” 

Charlotte groaned sadly as she gazed at the gun as if it was a decoration. 

“I can’t believe a beautiful gun like this takes a life. Just thinking about it makes me sad.” 

“Oh goodness, Charl. Here’s a handkerchief. 

Charlotte’s big eyes were already tearing up as if she was heartbroken just by imagining it.