CATB Chapter 13

"Sister. You worry too much."

I smiled gently and tucked a strand of Ariel's hair that had fallen forward behind her ear. Ariel drew in a shallow breath, startled by my sudden approach.

"Marquis Berford is already your man, so what's there to worry about? Hmm?"

At my affectionate tone, Ariel said nothing, and the murmurs among the young ladies grew louder.

"Then Princess Alexa no longer has feelings for Marquis Berford..."

Countess Isabel, who had been sitting beside me, started to speak but covered her mouth mid-sentence.

"It's not 'no longer' - it was never the case from the beginning."

I decided to advance my plan a bit. It seemed like a good idea to lay the groundwork among these loose-tongued women.

"Marquis Berford and I were simply in a formal engagement relationship. Father didn't know about the relationship between the Marquis and sister. Sister Ariel is the First Princess, so she wasn't in a state where she could carelessly enter into an engagement, and the Marquis was in a situation where marriage talks were going back and forth with an imperial count's family for a truce with the Aepylle Empire."

Everyone's attention focused on my calm words. I carefully gauged Ariel's reaction. If she interrupted here, it would all be for nothing, but strangely, she remained silent and just stared at me intently.

"If the marriage talks with the Empire had gone through, the Marquis would have had to leave for the Empire. I had to hold onto him somehow. I knew how heartbroken my sister would be if she learned that the man she loved was being forced to marry another woman."

"So you entered into the engagement..."

A young lady from the opposite side, who had been relatively favorable toward me, trailed off. I nodded.

"Yes. That was the only way to stop the marriage negotiations that were already in progress."

"But everyone thinks you stole Princess Ariel's lover. That you had an unrequited love for Marquis Berford..."

"I didn't care what anyone thought. As long as my sister could be happy. Everyone already disliked me anyway, didn't they? It wasn't anything new."

Everyone fell quiet at my calm, smiling words. They each must have had much to reflect on.

At least this should clear me of the disgraceful reputation of stealing my sister's lover.

Of course, it was all just a hypothesis I'd constructed based on the circumstances.

Who knows whether Alexa actually did that or not? In fact, she probably really did have an unrequited love for Berford. Jen, Lily, everyone said so. But that wasn't important. In this world where I had to live as Alexa, I needed to shed the b*tch image as quickly as possible.

I generously scattered bait to the fish.

The engagement was broken, and what I needed now was an appropriate scenario.

I looked at Ariel. Why was she being so quiet? It made me even more anxious.

Ariel stood up from her seat. Her shallow smile felt somehow artificial.

"Father is apparently about to announce the start of the competition. We all need to go outside."

At Ariel's sudden words, everyone agreed and got up to gather their things. However, the guilt created by my words just now would remain. Guilt about having condemned Princess Alexa without even knowing the circumstances.

As we stepped outside the tent, knights and young nobles were lined up in rows. Dressed in their gleaming hunting outfits, they were so elaborately dressed that it was hard to tell if they'd come to hunt or to party. While I was indifferently observing the young nobles, my gaze fell on a figure walking through the crowd.

"Huh?"

That black hair shining even darker in the sunlight - the Grand Duke.

Everyone was murmuring at his appearance. Hadn't he returned to his territory after the birthday party? He didn't attend royal events unless there was a special reason. As a prime example, the Grand Duke had never once participated in a hunting competition.

True to his perception as a cursed being, only a few retainers stood around him while no one else approached. He walked past the crowd toward the platform as if he couldn't feel any of the gazes pouring down on him. The red platform prepared for the royal family was, in principle, a position allowed to him as well. The Grand Duke was officially third in the line of succession after the King and Wilhelm.

"Oh ho, Belkellion. How unexpected that you would attend something like this."

The King's voice loudly welcoming the Grand Duke as he sat on the platform was artificial. I spat on the ground with a thwack. What a disgusting human. He gives nothing yet is thoroughly detestable.

The Grand Duke bowed low and took his seat.

Only the Grand Duke could respond to the King's words with silence.

"Now, now! I see many new faces and familiar ones too. Good, good. This is what youth is. Beautiful."

The King, who had been speaking his thoughts rather loudly, stood up and raised a flag.

"I, Raphael III, declare the start of the Royal Hunting Competition. Under the blessing of Demeter, goddess of abundance, compete fairly and squarely. Today's winner will receive a sword and prize money that I shall specially bestow, and it will be a good opportunity to elevate your family's honor and valor. Now, young nobles, come forward."

The competition began with young nobles coming forward one by one to receive support from the young ladies. Those who weren't chosen would tremble in fear throughout the competition, and after everyone finished hunting and a winner was decided, they would receive punishment - that's how the competition ended. Even if they weren't chosen, if they managed to catch a noble beast and win, the punishment would be waived, but it was said that young nobles who weren't chosen rarely showed excellent hunting skills, so this had never happened before.

"Count Zian Paris's son."

As soon as the announcer finished speaking, a slender hand shot up from among the rows of seated young ladies.

"Evie Rasheus requests to be Paris's partner."

"Paris, do you accept?"

"I accept."

"Paris, Miss Rasheus, please go sit over there."

The two young people, their faces flushed with shyness, sat side by side. Things went smoothly after that. Since I planned to participate in the hunt anyway, I was watching everyone with interest, like a viewer of that old popular show about destined couples.

After that, about six or seven more young nobles came forward, all found partners, and returned to their seats.

"It looks like there won't be any penalty recipients this time."

"That's right. It'll end more peacefully than expected."

The young ladies beside me whispered. Even when the remaining young nobles dwindled to about the number of fingers on a hand, no unlucky young nobles who went unchosen appeared. The King yawned as if bored.

"Hmm. How about having royalty participate in this hunting competition as well? It has always bothered me that Pellipe's bloodline doesn't participate in an event created to honor the goddess of abundance."

It was customary for royalty, including princes, not to participate in hunting competitions due to injury risks, in order to preserve their precious bodies. But why suddenly... As I narrowed my eyes to gauge the King's intentions, I soon spotted the Grand Duke sitting motionlessly with an expressionless face.

"Of course, Father. As those who carry Pellipe's blood, participating in this glorious event would be the right thing to do in principle."

Wilhelm smiled coldly while looking at the Grand Duke.

"The Grand Duke is also a member of Pellipe, so you'll participate as well, won't you? It's been a long time since we've been together as a family - how moving."

When has he ever been family before?

This was an obvious prank designed to make the Grand Duke a penalty recipient.

I'd bet my wrist that that raccoon King had been planning this from the moment the Grand Duke attended today's competition. Wilhelm and the other male royalty all descended from the platform in an instant and stood among the participating young nobles. It was the first time I'd seen them show such unity. What pathetic bastards.

In this situation, if only the Grand Duke didn't participate, it would look strange. Since the Grand Duke seemed like someone who didn't care about appearances, maybe he should just get up and go home instead.

Let me explain why I was suddenly worried about the Grand Duke as concern for my ideal type who had directly struck my preferences. I gazed at the Grand Duke intently. Just cause a scene and go home. No one would be able to say anything to him anyway. His reputation might fall a bit, but wasn't it already rock bottom for both him and me?

He, who had maintained his silence, slowly rose from his seat and stood in line with the participating young nobles.

I could feel the crowd murmuring.

It was obvious that the Grand Duke wouldn't be chosen.

Even right beside me, a heated discussion about the Grand Duke was ongoing.

"How creepy. The thought of such a person being with us."

"What could he be thinking, participating? He should go to a battlefield instead."

"Still, I really want to see the Grand Duke receive punishment. This time the penalty is being tied hand and foot while dodging fire bags thrown by the winner. It should be quite entertaining."

"Fire bags and those cursed black eyes. It would be just like hellfire. How fitting. Giggle"

Fire bags? That wasn't a prank - that was assault.

How could they be so harsh to such a handsome person?

As someone who appreciates beauty, I couldn't understand the hatred the Grand Duke received.

The situation flowed smoothly.