Chapter 87 – Was That a Normal Look in His Eyes?

What was that? Was he just guessing?

“Hey!”

Evelyn yelped and smacked her fiancé’s firm arm. Annoyed that he didn’t even flinch, she glared at him, fuming.

Axion, meeting her gaze with those vivid red eyes, let the faintest hint of a smile tug at his lips. With one hand, he gripped the handkerchief and murmured almost to himself.

“I guess I’ll have to win the hunting festival, then.”

A breeze rustled through the garden, carrying the sound of swaying leaves. Evelyn, having only caught part of what he said, tilted her head.

“Huh? What did you say just now?”

Axion stared at her as if lost in thought, then slowly shook his head.

“Nothing.”

Evelyn simply brushed off her fiancé’s infuriating reply without much thought.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

At the entrance of the dense forest, a fresh, cool fragrance lingered on the soft breeze. The nobles and knights gathered for the hunting festival, spirits high and determination steeled. Meanwhile, the noble guests there to cheer them on waited in a separate tea room prepared for the occasion.

The lively energy from outside carried over, filling even this space with cheerful chatter.

“Who do you think will claim victory at this year’s festival?”

“My guess is Count Rustane, last year’s champion.”

Perhaps it was the promise of special privileges for the winner that made the speculation so spirited. For a commoner, victory meant the honor of joining the noble knightly order; for a noble, it granted the rare chance to speak privately with the emperor himself.

Neither sounds like much of a prize to me.

Though the imperial court made a show of generosity, it was little more than a way to deal with troublesome matters. Every year, as beasts awoke from their winter slumber and prowled near the villages in search of food, the palace offered enticing rewards to whoever dealt with the problem.

Evelyn concealed a sardonic smile behind her teacup, just as Chloe, seated beside her, plopped a sugar cube into her tea and gave it a lazy stir.

“Dennis has been training every single day, swearing he’ll win this year.”

Her brother had once lost to Axion at a magi-engineering symposium and had suffered a stinging rebuke from the Duke of Winterwald for it. Perhaps, Evelyn thought, that was why Dennis had been throwing himself into training with such zeal, determined to restore his honor.

Chloe let out a low sigh, clearly unimpressed.

“You know how hopeless Dennis is when it comes to hunting.”

“Still, maybe he’ll at least manage to catch something.”

When Evelyn replied, tilting her head, her friend stated flatly.

“Honestly, we should be grateful if he doesn’t get eaten himself.”

“….”

“This might be the year he gets chased out in nothing but his underwear.”

Seeing Chloe deliver such a merciless verdict with a perfectly serious face, she could only give an awkward smile.

‘What am I going to do…’

Then again, it was almost a foregone conclusion who would win this year’s hunt. Just as in the original story, the next five hunting festivals would all be claimed by Khalid Rikeran, the empire’s greatest swordmaster, a man who dispatched wild beasts with ruthless efficiency.

“So, are you planning to cheer for your brother after all?”

Evelyn asked lightly.

“Why would I cheer for him? I’m rooting for my Josh, obviously.”

Chloe answered without a hint of embarrassment, using her lover’s nickname with ease. Propping her chin in her hand, she looked at her and asked.

“Aren’t you here to cheer for your fiancé?”

“Well, there’s nothing to cheer him on, is there?”

Evelyn replied with a casual shrug. Given what she knew of Axion, he probably had little interest in the hunt itself.

Besides, with the story’s timeline having shifted forward a bit… the one destined to win was Khalid Rikeran, who would present a rose to Dahlia. It was practically set in stone that the original female lead would become the goddess of spring this year. Her only role in this episode was to make up the numbers.

Chloe looked at her indifferent reaction with surprise.

“Evelyn, don’t tell me…”

She glanced around, then lowered her voice.

“Have you found someone else you’re interested in, other than your fiancé?”

“What? Of course not!”