Chapter 162
As time passed, it became the day before departure for the hunting banquet.
Actually, Luwen hadn’t quietly accepted it. He also tried to dissuade me. He was worried that I might fall seriously ill again. I acted confidently, showing him the winter gear my sister had prepared for me, insisting I would be fine. Though his expression wasn’t exactly one of trust.
Perhaps because of this, the next day, Luwen brought Taran along. It seemed to be due to his memory of receiving Rona’s help when I was sick before. Later, I heard from Rona that she had also been invited but declined because she wanted to continue working at her master’s clinic.
‘Really? I can go with you too, young master?’
Taran was simply delighted. Since I needed someone to attend to me anyway, I decided to take Taran. Because of this, Merin was disappointed this time.
‘You’re leaving me behind again? You haven’t forgotten that I’m your personal attendant, have you?’
I’ll have to take Merin out somewhere later.
And so all the preparations, which seemed smooth yet weren’t, were completed. Now we just needed to depart for the hunting grounds when morning came. But…
‘The snow keeps falling.’
The snow that had started falling uneasily in the evening continued into the night. Looking at the still undiminished snowfall, it might continue falling until morning.
‘Surely not?’
The timing is different, and so is the season. But… there’s plenty of possibility for the original story to deviate. And with the weather like this, I couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable.
‘It must be a coincidence.’
As I couldn’t take my eyes off the gently accumulating snow, Luwen appeared.
“You seem unable to sleep.”
“Huh? Is it already past bedtime?”
Luwen had brewed rose tea. After handing me the steaming cup, he stood beside me, looking out the window. As soon as he arrived, the view outside became blurry.
There was no expression on Luwen’s face reflected in the window. It was difficult to read his emotions.
“…Young master.”
I was startled, though I hadn’t been caught secretly watching anything. The pink liquid in my cup rippled with a splash.
“Yes?”
“Do you remember when I was young, how I eagerly counted down the days until we would go on a lakeside outing with Miss Irene for the first time?”
“Of course I remember.”
How could I not? How happy he was when he could count the days on just one hand.
‘Five days until we go, right? What should I do? I’m so excited!’
‘Young master, young master. Only three days left! You haven’t forgotten, have you?’
‘Finally tomorrow! Shall we pack lunch together in the morning? The sandwich you made last time was really delicious!’
Remembering cute little Luwen counting down the days, a smile naturally formed on my lips.
“You might not know this, but I was actually too excited to sleep the night before the outing. I checked outside the window all night, worried the weather might turn bad.”
“Really? We shared a room then, but I had no idea.”
Luwen smiled as he turned toward me.
“That’s because I secretly got up after making sure you were sound asleep.”
I’m not sure why he suddenly brought up childhood memories, but digging up these forgotten memories made the snowy weather seem quite poetic. It would have been much better if not for the worry lurking in one corner of my mind.
“I see. Should we go to the lake with my sister when the weather warms up this year?”
Luwen looked at me with a smiling face and nodded.
“Yes, that would be nice. But now you should go to sleep. The weather won’t change no matter how much you worry about it. It would be better for you to sleep well and wake up refreshed.”
“…Was it that obvious?”
I guess I was too fixated on the unsettling snowfall. I felt a bit embarrassed.
But Luwen’s expression was strange. He looked somewhat melancholic.
“Yes. The hunting banquet won’t be canceled even if it snows all day tomorrow. We’re trained to move as usual even in heavy snowfall.”
Only then did I realize what Luwen had misunderstood. He had different assumptions about why I was concerned about the weather. But I couldn’t correct him since that wasn’t the case, so I just nodded.
“Alright. I’ll go to bed now.”
I put down my half-finished tea on the table and headed for the bed. Luwen covered me with the blanket and patted my chest.
“Sleep well.”
“Yes. You should go to bed soon too, Luwen.”
“I’ll go after watching you fall asleep.”
Pat, pat. The steady rhythm was comforting. Even the noise of the window rattling in the wind felt cozy now.
‘It’s probably needless worry.’
I sank into the comfort Luwen provided, forcibly suppressing the faint anxiety that remained.
The next morning, the weather was clear and bright as if yesterday’s snow had never happened. The accumulated snow melted under the shining sunlight, making the ground all muddy.
‘…Ah, this feels really strange.’
The mansion staff bustled about, and the carriages departed. During the journey to the hunting grounds, I kept checking the weather. Still clear.
Fortunately, the sky remained clear even when we arrived at the pre-prepared camp. I accompanied my sister to greet His Highness the Second Prince. Afterward, nobles flocked to greet the Second Prince. Honorary Duke Cromwell, Margrave Lorentz, Marquis Hooper, heads of other families, and their sons and daughters.
With the Second Prince being the highest in status, and my sister a duchess, we exchanged meaningless greetings for quite a long time.
Throughout all this, the sky remained clear. Not a single cloud was visible.
‘Thankfully, it was just a coincidence.’
I must have been unnecessarily tense. Thinking about it now, it seems strange that I was even tense. No matter how similar the weather might be, all other conditions were different, making it unlikely for an attack to occur. If an actual attack were to happen, it would be a coincidence that the weather matched the original story.
‘Still, the clear weather puts my mind at ease.’
Finally feeling free, I went to look at the tent that Theobalt had prepared. The moment I entered the tent, warm air greeted me.
‘Somehow this looks better than His Highness the Second Prince’s tent?’
Especially noticeable was the fireplace occupying one side of the large tent. Seeing how properly the stones were stacked, it seemed they had really put care into the preparation.
‘This seems a bit excessive for just a three-day stay.’
But that seemed to be just my thought.
“They were thorough with the finishing touches. Almost no cold air comes in.”
Luwen, who had examined the tent in detail, surprisingly praised it while adding more firewood to the fireplace. Shortly after, my sister, who came to see the tent, felt the same way.
“Lord Theobalt Lorentz has shown a lot of consideration for you, Fei.”
When my sister mentioned him, Luwen’s expression subtly hardened.
“Yes. I’m grateful for his many considerations.”
“I’m glad you’re getting along well.”
“He’s a good person. We communicate well.”
I continued the conversation with my sister while consciously complimenting Theobalt. Then, after drinking about half of the tea prepared by Taran…
Buuuuoong~
The sound of a horn trumpet was heard. Now the ogre extermination would begin under the name of the hunting banquet. The sky was still clear. Thanks to the snowfall overnight, the air was clean and refreshing. Except for the muddy ground, it was perfect weather.
* * *
The speeches by the Second Prince and Margrave Lorentz ended. In an atmosphere mixed with slight tension and excitement, people began to move freely. Even just by their attire, those who would remain at the camp and those who would participate in the extermination were distinguishable.
‘It seems the Deputy Minister of Sword Affairs isn’t participating in the extermination.’
After glancing at the Deputy Minister in his light attire, which contrasted sharply with Cromwell beside him, I turned away. No matter how warm the sunshine might be, winter is still winter. Being in an open space, the wind was quite strong, making it uncomfortable as blowing hair obstructed my vision, and I was cold, so I planned to quickly return to the tent.
But Walter Lorentz blocked my path. The sunlight reflecting off his shining armor and sword was dazzling.
‘He was staring at me intently throughout the speech.’
Since it was a banquet hosted by the family, he, as the heir, also stood on the platform. Standing behind Margrave Lorentz, he stared so persistently. He looked so openly that I thought others might have noticed.
“Young Master, hello.”
Walter Lorentz greeted me with a bright smile. I felt awkward and rolled my eyes around. By this time, Theobalt would usually appear and whisk me away, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“…Yes, hello.”
Since I came with my sister and there seemed to be quite a few eyes watching, I reluctantly returned his greeting, causing Walter’s expression to brighten significantly.
Even though we had just exchanged greetings, he seemed nervous, fidgeting with his sword handle. He tapped the ground with his toes, lowered his head, looked at me, then at the sky… he was quite busy by himself.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Fei trust ur intuition!!