How to Become a Hunter (3)
Catherine, but that man…
“Do not worry, Your Highness.”
Catherine held up her palm in front of the prince’s anxious face.
“Though I may not look it, back in my hometown they called me a hunter.”
“A… a hunter?”
“Indeed. And a rather exceptional one at that. Once I set my sights on prey, I never let it escape.”
Catherine made her vow before the prince with a solemn expression.
“U-um… right.”
The fiery determination of a woman in the prime of marriageable age was simply too much for a young prince who had yet to experience even his first crush.
“W-well, I’ll cheer for you too.”
“Me too! I’ll cheer for Catherine too!”
All Edwin could do was quietly pray for the head maid’s success alongside his little sister.
“Your Highness, I hear you will be participating in the hunting competition?”
The day before the competition, Edwin was taking part in the knights’ morning training as usual.
When one knight asked the prince, the others quickly joined in.
“You mean the one tomorrow? I heard our commander is entering too.”
“Of course the commander would attend. They say every notable noble in the empire is participating.”
“That’s unusual. Those heavy-bottomed lords actually showing up?”
“Maybe it’s because His Majesty ordered all the princes to attend?”
“Then there will be plenty of noble young ladies there too, right?”
“The 2nd Division guys are making a huge fuss about entering. I’m so jealous I could die.”
“Doesn’t matter to me. I have Lady Veil!”
“As if! Lady Veil wouldn’t spare a glance at someone like you!”
“What? You turkey-crown-looking bastard!”
“Calling me trash but dressing it up all fancy? You wanna die?”
Edwin could only offer an awkward smile at the knights’ bickering.
Socializing and conversing with many people was still difficult for the young prince.
How long had they been running in that noisy atmosphere?
Before long, they had descended from the mountain.
“Your Highness.”
Someone approached him as he caught his breath.
It was Vice Commander Philip Meyer.
“Sir Philip?”
“I heard you will be participating in tomorrow’s hunting competition.”
Philip asked in his usual calm voice.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Your Highness? Why are you avoiding my eyes?”
“Huh? I’m not? I wasn’t doing that.”
Edwin flinched and quickly turned to face him.
Was it that obvious?
Whenever he looked at Philip, Catherine kept coming to mind, making him feel strangely embarrassed.
But I can’t help but be bothered by it!
Now that he knew the person Catherine liked was Sir Philip, there was nothing he could do about it.
It felt awkward and mortifying, yet also strangely fascinating.
To Edwin, romantic love between men and women was still something from a distant world.
“I see. It seems I was mistaken.”
Philip simply brushed it off after hearing Edwin’s answer.
“By the way, I heard you do not have a dedicated escort knight, Your Highness. Have you arranged for an attendant for the competition?”
“Ah, Rachel said she would go with me!”
At the mention of the nanny’s name, Philip’s brow furrowed slightly.
“By Rachel, do you mean Your Highness’s nanny?”
“Yes! Rachel is better at archery than I am!”
“…She is skilled with a bow?”
“Yeah. Rachel is a noble too. She said she learned it a long time ago.”
Philip recalled the first time he had seen the Third Prince’s nanny.
She had seemed like an utterly ordinary woman with no particularly outstanding features, yet somehow…
The strange, relaxed aura she gave off made it impossible to let his guard down.
Why do I sense the presence of a predator from such a woman?
It really was something he could not understand no matter how hard he tried.
The prince’s voice pulled Philip out of his brief reverie.
“So Rachel will be coming with me as my attendant.”
“Ahem. I see.”
Philip cleared his throat and continued.
“If you had none, I was going to assign you an apprentice knight.”
“To me? Why?”
“It was the commander’s order. He said that if you were seen wandering around without an attendant, it would damage the dignity of the imperial family.”
Sir Jerome?
Edwin’s eyes widened in surprise.
What? I thought he had come to dislike me?
The prince recalled the day he had spoken with Jerome alone.
At that moment, Philip called out to him.
“Your Highness, please return first today.”
“Huh? Why?”
“You must participate in tomorrow’s competition. It would be best if you rested today.”
“But I…”
If he skipped training even for a single day, he felt he would return to the weak version of himself from before.
The old him who could do nothing in front of monsters or the Second Empress.
Seeing Edwin hesitate, Philip spoke again.
“If you truly insist, would you like to practice archery instead of regular training?”
“What? Is that allowed?”
“Since the competition is soon, I will make an exception.”
Philip glanced at the bow that Edwin had been carrying like a part of his body lately.
“That is quite an excellent bow you have there. Did you prepare it specifically for the hunting competition?”
“No? This was a gift.”
“A gift?”
“Yes. The King of Adamanth sent it as a get-well present when I was ill.”
The King of Adamanth?
Philip’s eyes widened slightly before returning to normal.
“I see.”
A faint worry appeared in the vice commander’s eyes.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“If anyone asks what that bow is made of, please tell them it was crafted from iron and mithril.”
At the completely unexpected request, Edwin tilted his head in confusion.
He had never once wondered what material the bow gifted by the King of Adamanth was made from.
“This was made from iron and mithril?”
“No. But if anyone asks, it would be better to answer that way. Also, do not say it was a gift. Tell them it has been in the Third Prince’s Palace since long ago.”
Philip added with considerable seriousness.
“For Your Highness’s sake.”
“U-um, okay.”
Edwin nodded, somewhat bewildered.
“Then please go ahead.”
Only after hearing Edwin’s reply did Philip’s expression finally relax, as if relieved.
He pointed toward the back of the training grounds.
“If you go around that way, there is a place for archery practice. Practice arrows have been prepared, so…”
“Ah, thank you! Sir Philip!”
Edwin dashed off before Philip could even finish speaking.
“……”
Philip stared at the spot where the prince had disappeared, looking utterly dumbfounded.
The knights who saw this burst into laughter.
“The only person who can run away mid-sentence while the vice commander is talking is probably His Highness Edwin, right?”
“There’s actually one more. Oh right, the person who came to the quarters today…”
Just as their chatter was about to continue, Philip released a wave of killing intent.
“Don’t tell me you lot have time to sit around here and slack off?”
At the vice commander’s sharp rebuke, the knights quickly sprang into action.
“Hiiik, we’re going!”
“Vice Commander, please don’t be angry!”
“We’re working really hard, you know?”
“Hup! Hup!”
They quickly formed ranks and began climbing the ladders.
Watching his subordinates act as if nothing had happened, Philip could only let out a deep sigh.
“Found it!”
Edwin’s face lit up when he discovered the archery range.
Seeing proper targets, he let out a sigh of relief.
Rachel is great and all, but sometimes she’s way too brutal. Are all noblewomen like that? But Catherine is so kind.
Edwin recalled the human-shaped targets Rachel had made.
The head had an actual person’s face drawn on it, making them incredibly grotesque.
“This should be comfortable to shoot at.”
Edwin settled into position and picked up a practice arrow without a tip.
After practicing drawing the bowstring, it was time to practice shooting arrows.
For the past several days, he had been shooting a hundred arrows every single day.
You must shoot at least a hundred arrows a day without fail.
The moment he nocked an arrow, Rachel’s words echoed in his ears.
Of course, only count the ones that actually hit the target. Keep that in mind.
Edwin drew the bowstring with all his strength.
He vowed that he would not return to the prince’s palace until he had hit the target with all one hundred arrows.
“Did I not tell you to refrain from visiting the quarters?”
Gloria Knights Commander Jerome wore a troubled expression at the sudden visitor.
“I told you it was dangerous because this place is full of men.”
His voice, unusually soft and gentle, was filled with concern.
“Brigitte, please listen to your father.”
“Are you telling me not to come here simply because there are many men?”
A sharp voice shot at the duke like a stinging rebuke.
“I cannot accept an order that makes no sense.”
“Who said it was an order? This is merely a request.”
“A request with coercive force is called an order.”
The small girl who refuted Jerome’s words point by point was named Brigitte Crown.
She was Jerome’s only child and the sole reason he had become Duke Crown.
“Why do you not answer?”
At Brigitte’s words, Jerome let out a helpless laugh.
“Yes, Bri. You are completely right.”
“You are stating the obvious.”
Seeing Brigitte huff and turn her head away, Jerome grinned widely.
“Goodness, who did she take after to be so clever? Thanks to her, this father of hers is utterly exhausted.”
“Are you displeased that your only daughter is clever?”
“W-well, Bri. By the way, when do you plan to fix that strange way of speaking?”
At the criticism of her speech, Brigitte’s eyes widened.
“I asked if you were displeased!”
“O-of course not! You are always this father’s greatest joy.”
He had never believed the saying that a child so precious you could put her in your eye without it hurting.
Yet Jerome gazed lovingly at his daughter, who sat with a pouty face, swinging her feet that didn’t even reach the floor.
“That’s right. We were supposed to practice archery together today, weren’t we? Perfect timing. There is still some time left before the meeting…”
It was then.
The office door burst open without warning, and a knight came rushing in, panting heavily.
“Commander! It’s an emergency! A monster has appeared at the south gate!”
A vein bulged on Jerome’s forehead.
It seemed the cozy father-daughter archery lesson would have to be postponed.