A thin film formed between the world and them, as if inside a soap bubble. The tightness between the two of them caught their breaths. There were the bellows of the servant who announced the departure and the loud sound of the horn.
“Depart!”
Selina, who suddenly came to her senses, pushed Kalcion’s arm with force.
How mesmerized he was that his body trembled. A person who can stand still and survive even if she runs and bumps into him with her whole body.
“Ah, th-then.”
The two people, whose language function had deteriorated, could not even exchange proper words and moved away awkwardly.
“Yes, have a safe trip.”
Still, as he went out with a weapon, Selina hurriedly added another word as she felt that he should be careful. Hearing that, Kalcion, who had just grabbed the reins and was about to jump on the horse, came down again.
“What can I get you?”
The Crown Prince was said to give her his most beautiful game. It was clear that he was even concerned about that.
“Just anything. Don’t get hurt, and come back safely.”
He risked his life in any competition he participated in, no matter how trivial it was, so she was indifferent to the prey that Kalcion would take. He even gave her a present, but she couldn’t really get him anything.
Kalcion went back to Selina and knelt down on one knee before pressing his still-hot lips to the back of her hand.
“I will offer you a game worthy of your value.”
His eyes gazing up at her were unexpectedly heavy and serious, so she couldn’t give a plausible reply.
It was because his lips were too hot.
Without hearing her answer, Kalcion got on his horse and set off.
As the sound of the horseshoes grew further away, Selina squatted down, covering her face with her hands. Her legs were shaking, and her face was so hot that she couldn’t even stand.
…The reason was that she got too hard on the bet earlier. Obviously, it is.
* * *
On her way back to the barracks, embracing her flushed face, she ran into Count Orlen.
“…Oh.”
It was an unexpected person to be here. Selina let out an awkward exclamation without realizing it.
“You didn’t go hunting?”
Everyone who took part in the hunting competition set off. Count Orlen did not drag his horse, nor did he wear armor.
“The older you get, the longer your hangover will last. I’ll take it easy today.”
“…Ah.”
Even though it seemed like an excuse, it felt real at the same time.
“You have a hangover, but you don’t rest.”
“I am also a servant of the royal family, so shouldn’t I show my loyalty?”
“…Oh, yes.”
Count Orlen was still unspoken.
“At the same time, I am getting some fresh air and meeting people. Oh, I saw your performance earlier.”
“Did you see it?”
“Yes, by chance. Considering the skills of people who couldn’t go out hunting, it would have been a fun feast because they were all so arrogant, but thanks to Miss Selina, the level has risen.”
“If the Count said that you weren’t going to go hunting, why don’t you come out at least for fun?”
“I don’t have the skills to act cute in front of you. Don’t let me ruin your fun.”
As always, Selina’s competitive spirit always slowly lifted its head at his confident remarks. Her pride has been hanging quite high since her archery won the admiration of the knights.
“I don’t doubt the Count’s skills, but… I’m pretty good at archery. No matter how good the martial arts are, there are not many cases where they are even good at archery.”
At Selina’s provocation, Count Orlen’s pride immediately jumped.
“Oh, are you betting on me now? If you want, let’s go and compete right now.”
“I will not refuse.”
Naturally, their steps were directed towards the archery target.
People who went out hunting disappeared, and the rest of the people gathered under the tent to create a tea party atmosphere. Except for the servants serving refreshments, the vacant lot was empty.
No one showed interest again in the target that had already been exciting once. She didn’t want to draw attention, so that was a good thing.
“How have you been since then? It looks like you’re still doing well.”
“I’ve been well. The duke is still there.”
Count Orlen smiled as he took the bow from her servant.
“You must have been paying attention to what I said that day?”
That day, when she came back from the bathroom, it seemed that he thought that Selina used Kalcion as a counter-proof of her anxiety. While she was over-acting, she didn’t expect it to be mistaken for anxiety.
“As you said, the human heart is not what the eye can see.”
“Maybe, I said something wrong. Do you want to shoot first?”
Count Orlen, who had prepared himself while speaking, was quite relaxed. He seemed pretty confident.
“Yes, then I won’t refuse.”
Selina did not refuse the consideration and took a step forward.
“How many rounds will we play?”
“How many rounds can you do?”
This time, Count Orlen provoked.
“It could be a hundred, but it would take too long, so how about ten?”
“Good.”
He accepted it with enthusiasm. While about ten shots were light, that didn’t end there.
“It’s not fun to just compete, so how about granting the wish of the loser to the winner?”
Selina suggested with confidence that she would never lose.
“That’s good, too.”
Count Orlain was also convinced that he would not lose.
“What if this is a tie?”
“Then, we have a rematch at my party.”
Even if he died, he didn’t seem to have any intention of ending it in a draw. Then, Selina blew her first shot.
It was a hit.
“Your posture is unfamiliar, but your skills are good. Where did you learn?”
It was also visible in Count Orlen’s eyes. At that, she got goosebumps.
“I quickly learned that for the hunting contest.”
“You must be a genius.”
“That’s what I heard.”
Selina walked away and smiled lightly.
“Even a genius needs to find a good teacher. Did you learn from him?”
“That’s probably it.”
“Hoo, His Excellency, taught his lover how to shoot. It was unexpected.”
“It seems that whenever I say something about the Duke, you said that. How was he before?”
Count Orlen stared at her with thin eyes and answered slowly.
“He was indifferent. To all things and people in the world.”
After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth, “It’s not to the extent it needs blaming. Still, there must have been a lot of people who were hurt because of it because not everyone around him was as strong as Miss Selina.”
Thwop.
Count Orlen’s arrow also hit the center of the target. An unexpected opportunity arose to ask about Irell. Selina took a breath and changed her posture.
“Is Miss Irell the one who almost married the Duke?”
“In my eyes, the Baron Lady had a very soft heart.”
Count Orlen did not hesitate to mention Irell. Selina could not let go of her concentration as she listened to him.
“Since I’m there, I heard from all over the place. But some said that she was like an idiot who couldn’t say a word, and some spoke like a rare prostitute. Which one is more correct?”
“It’s the social world that spreads rumors that she will invite people to bed just by giving her a glance. No one knows the truth of the rumors.”
“Then, what was the truth in the Count’s eyes?”
She could expect the most objective evaluation of Irell in the current situation from Count Orlen since there was no connection and there was nothing to regret.
“I don’t know. She’s not the kind of person I used to be interested in… But, I do remember the rumors that I inevitably had to listen to.”
As expected, he didn’t know anything.
“I remember her as someone who somehow tried to fit into the social world… it wasn’t that easy. I feel like she was being ignored more because she wasn’t confident in herself.”
“The more easy you look, the more you suffer.”
“That’s right. In the meantime, she must have needed a place to lean on. When someone who is a little nicer appears, she opens her heart and clings to them.”
A drowning person wouldn’t be able to tell whether what they have caught was a structure or a seaweed that would drag them into the water.
All of the things Irell grabbed and saw must have been seaweed.
“I think people deliberately approached her to betray her from the beginning.”
Selina’s arrows, filled with anger, flew towards the target. This time, it pierced right at the center, sharper than the previous arrow.
“Yes, I think so. They seem to be together, though at some point, they get separated from each other. After repeating that, it seems that in the end, there was nowhere for her to go.”
Her stomach twisted and let out a low murmur.
“Then, is there no one left around Miss Irell in the end?”
“This time, it was the men who got together. They might have been hesitant to say it because she was Duke Renbird’s woman, but after touching her a few times, she must have seemed easy.”
“Haa…”
A groan followed, followed by a sigh.
How could Irell’s story become this way? Juna’s gossip wasn’t entirely wrong either. It was true that she was a weak person, and it was also true that she was a timid person. She was also a person who could easily fall for even a little kindness to herself, and that was why she got caught up in the minds of so many men.
“The situation may have gotten worse.”
Selina set her sight in front of her clearly. The harshness filled her heart.
“Yes, it was so unsettling when I looked at it from the sides. Besides, her reputation has plummeted.”
Even though it was already too late, she wanted to stop it. Irell took the worst route that took her life to the bottom. She’d rather her hit bottom like that and come back charging with poison. Then, she gave up.
The secret of ‘Be careful of men’ had been revealed.
“If there were only one person, it wouldn’t have been that far. If only she had one person to lean on.”
Apart from uncovering the culprit, humanly, her mouth was bitter. Hearing her murmurs, Count Orlen took his eyes off the target and turned around.
“Miss Selina is a wonderful person.”
“What? Me…?”
“Usually, not many people have good feelings for the person their lover dated before. It seems that you felt very sorry for the Baron Lady.”
“Ah…”
Did it not match the appearance she had shown so far? Her back stiffened.
“That’s why it’s even better.”
Her heart raced from head to toe at Count Orlen’s every word.
“You must be careful, especially when dealing with His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“….!”
His eyes met with Selina’s wide-open eyes, and they were sharp with a warning light. Intuitively, she sensed that Count Orlen was trying to convey something.
“Why? What is happening? No, what happened?”
“That…”
It was when Count Orlen’s mouth had just opened.
A ping was heard, like someone pulling a rubber band from her ear and releasing it.
…What?
She tilted her head, and it stung in his ear. Like she was bitten by an insect, and her ear was tingling indifferently. When she glanced down at her hand, it was red.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, time in the world slowed down.
When Selina blinked her eyes, she could feel the strands of the eyelashes brushing the fold under her eyes at different times as tiny shards of tears splashing from her eyes could be seen scattering in the air.
The next moment, there was the sound of something sharp piercing through the flesh.
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