C162
"I also wanted to give my sister a fox..."
I kept my mouth shut as I watched Enrique, depressed because he was too young to attend the debutante and not qualified to participate in the hunting competition.
He was like a kitten with droopy ears.
"Oh, Enrique is so special. Your heart is enough for this sister."
"Sister..."
While stroking his hair, Enrique hugged me tightly around the waist.
"Does the baby mouse think he can catch foxes? He only eats strawberry sweets at home."
"I'm the best at arrow magic!"
As if he were about to go to a hunting competition, Belreck, dressed in hunting attire, passed by with a smile, and Enrique raised his gaze fiercely.
"Hmm, how did he know that Enrique likes strawberries?"
Thinking that Belreck liked Enrique while pretending not to, I stroked his soft silver hair.
Enrique accompanied me to the carriage with hands as small as a fern, and after a while, the procession of carriages alongside Belreck and Rosad set off for the Imperial Palace.
* * *
The hunting competition took place in Lorrain Forest, named after the first emperor.
In a large tent in front of the forest, there was a table for the young ladies who were not going to hunt, and trained hunting dogs to scare away foxes roamed nearby.
After a while, the contestants began to appear one by one on horseback. When Isidor appeared, exclamations erupted everywhere.
Dressed in a long navy hunting coat, his slender figure was more prominent, and his golden bangs were scattered by the wind, giving him a younger impression than usual.
"Duke Visconti is getting more beautiful every day."
"The young ladies who saw him at the incense celebration said it was as if an angel had descended."
"By the way, I understand that he usually doesn't socialize."
"What could be the reason?"
"Perhaps the fact that he is participating in today's hunt is because of Princess Deborah...?"
"Mmm! Your voice is too loud."
"Yes, his voice is loud."
With Isidor's appearance, there were many young ladies looking at me.
And, as if he were opening a gap in the rumor, Isidor, who was next to the Crown Prince, dismounted his black horse and walked towards where I was seated.
"You look very beautiful today, Princess."
He said with a smile.
Seeing me frozen under his gaze, I could hear whispers saying that I was as cold as Seymour.
"Not like that."
"Please wish me luck and blessings so that I can catch many foxes."
"Don't get hurt."
I said sincerely. When I think of the day Isidor's ribs were broken, I feel chills even in my sleep.
"I will follow your orders. My queen."
While playfully pressing his lips against the back of my hand, I could hear sighs and cheers from all around.
Meanwhile, I was embarrassed by the title of Queen.
The young lady who receives the most prey is called the "Queen of the Hunt," so Isidor's words made me feel embarrassed.
Because it seemed that no one but Isidor would give me their foxes.
"The elders like my father don't participate in the hunt, and I'm not very close to Belreck and Rosad, so I can't count on them..."
"I will bring many foxes."
Soon, the sound of a trumpet announcing the start of the hunting competition was heard.
I looked in the direction where he disappeared, playing with the back of my hand that seemed to burn.
Until then, I hadn't even expected the outcome of the hunt that would be talked about in the Empire for a long time.
* * *
The gray fox nestled in Lorrain Forest was as cruel as a wild beast. So, the young people who participated in the competition formed a team with close friends and roamed the hunting grounds with a trained hunting dog at the front.
This is because, if they are not careful, they could have an accident because a fox could jump suddenly, so it is more efficient to bring a hunting dog and handle it together than to hunt alone.
"But why are there no foxes?"
The hound wandering around the hill barked when someone spat dissatisfied.
"Oh. Over there."
"Let's go."
However, the only thing the young people found was a charred fox corpse.
"Is this a waste of time again?"
"They say there are so many foxes that destroy private houses and farms, so why can't I see any?"
"Of course. All the foxes here were swept away by Duke Visconti."
Thierry, lying idly on the shore of a nearby lake, approached and explained the situation.
"Sir Thierry. What does that mean?"
"Our vice-commander of the White Knights decided to make Princess Deborah the Queen. When he used movement magic and wielded his sword, the fox group was annihilated in just 4 seconds."
Thierry said with a shocked expression, and the young people clicked their tongues as they shouted.
"As expected, a wizard..."
"By the way, Sir Thierry has caught three of them."
Envy crossed the faces of the young men who hadn't caught a single one yet.
The young men were cutting off the tails of the foxes they hunted and presenting them to the ladies, but three tails were already hanging from Thierry's waist.
"That's because I hunted while avoiding the places where Duke Visconti went."
"...By the way, Sir Thierry, to what kind of young lady do you plan to give your foxes?"
"If Sir Henry tells me, I'll tell him."
"Oh. Are you in love with that young lady?"
Thierry, who shook the grass off his body, sat down and asked.
"Since she's a saint who has saved the lives of so many people, wouldn't it make sense to provide a fox?"
Upon Henry's response, Thierry snorted to himself.
"It's not even funny. Rather, it's for the benefit of the Senate."
The Senate didn't want the status of Seymour and Visconti, who had been active during the incense, to increase, so they joined the temple and brought Mia to the forefront in an attempt to contain these two families.
"Something is strange about the Saint."
Thierry narrowed his eyes and muttered.
"Strange?"
"That woman. When the monster appeared in the forest, she backed away like a coward. I thought she would show amazing divine power since she was grandiosely praised by the temple, but it was disappointing."
"Is that true?"
"Yes. It was the Templar Knights of Princess Deborah who saved my mother and defeated the demons. I can't believe Miss Mia Binoche showed tremendous divine power during the incense ceremony."
"Sir Thierry. It's divine power that the cardinal has verified, isn't it a bit dangerous to say something like that?"
"No. Not at all."
At that moment, another voice suddenly interrupted.
"None of those present saw Mia Binoche wielding divine power in person. The whole place was covered in black mist."
When the Crown Prince appeared, all the young men dismounted their horses and knelt.
"I see, Crown Prince."
"It seems you haven't caught a single fox, yet you have time to chat among yourselves? If so, you'll return empty-handed."
As there were five fox tails on the Crown Prince's waist, the young men mounted their horses again with their self-esteem shattered.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Then, I will seek my prey and see you again."
Swallowing their anger because they were in front of the royal family, they mounted their horses and rode straight into the forest, and Thierry clicked his tongue with a hint of pity.
"Tch. They shouldn't have gone there... It seems they're not lucky."
"Why?"
"Because two monsters similar to Isidor entered."
Thierry clicked his tongue with a sad expression because the direction they had chosen was the path led by the Seymour twins, who were competing with each other in fox hunting.
* * *
"No, what the hell is that?"
Isidor smiled sweetly and greeted me, with a thick mane of gray hair waving behind him.
There wasn't a single young lady who wasn't jealous of me, because it really was too much.
They all seemed stunned, with their faces half-covered by a fan, doubting their eyes.
"At this point, could I really become Queen?"
The twins arrived shortly after Isidor.
"Darn it, I caught fewer foxes than Duke Visconti!"
Belreck muttered with a grimace on his face as he counted the fox tails piled up in Isidor's cart.
Rosad looked at Belreck like that and sharpened his teeth.
"Well, if you hadn't been chasing after me, you would have caught twice as much as it is now."
"You were the one who approached me, like a baby snake, wherever I was, and snatched all the foxes."
"Baby snake? Remember that I'm your hyung."
"Do you want to be treated as a hyung for only 10 minutes? You look like a child."
The number of foxes behind the twins, who were quarreling childishly, wasn't bad at all.
"What the heck did the fox do to these three in their past lives...?"
As I sat in disbelief, thinking that the tails alone would be enough to make dozens of fur coats, the long sound of a horn echoed in the forest, signaling the end of the hunt.
With their tails raised, the young men began to appear one by one, and each one started presenting the hunted foxes to the young ladies they liked.
"All of this belongs to the princess."
Isidor presented me with all the loot he had been hunting, and I responded with a bewildered expression as I looked at it.
"Thank you."
Now everyone's attention was on the twins. Depending on their choice, there could be a twist.
"To Deborah, what are you doing?"
"Belreck and I together have more than Visconti."
"Why did it suddenly become a family rivalry?"
Even Thierry and the Crown Prince handed over their loot to me.
"Am I really going to win?"
Several contest judges approached me and began counting the tails laid out in front of me, and suddenly, I became the young lady who received the most foxes in the history of the Empire.