The Blue Prince's Hunting Competition (1)
Half an hour had passed since the emperor declared the opening of the hunting competition.
The imperial family, having set out ahead of the other nobles, had already scattered in every direction to seek their prey.
The same went for us.
“Waaaaah—!”
Another cheer rang out, signaling that someone had succeeded in their hunt.
That’s already the gods know how many times now.
I watched Edwin from atop my horse as he drew back his bowstring. His arrow was trained on a rabbit grazing not far away. His posture was flawless. The only flaw was the violent trembling in his eyes.
“Ugh!”
Without focus, the bow tip was bound to shake.
Swish—thud.
The rabbit easily sidestepped the incoming arrow.
I frowned at the creature as it bolted away like lightning.
“Your Highness, you could have hit that one.”
Edwin’s face fell at my remark.
I can guess why.
He had always been weak when it came to animals. Of course he couldn’t simply loose an arrow at a living creature instead of a target.
“Your Highness, do you intend to catch nothing at all?”
I gestured toward the game cart tethered to my horse.
“If you want to fill that cart before time runs out, you’ll need to start doing this properly.”
Edwin stared at the empty cart and sighed. After studying my expression for a long moment, he finally spoke, the words dragged out of him.
“...Hey. Do we really have to hunt?”
Good grief. If that was how he felt, why had he practiced archery so diligently?
Arms folded, I asked in a tone that said I would at least hear him out.
“Why are you thinking that all of a sudden?”
Edwin clutched the bow with both hands and continued.
“Hunting is for eating, isn’t it? Even if we catch a lot, we can’t possibly eat everything. So why must we keep killing innocent animals…?”
“Then why did you volunteer to enter the competition? Don’t tell me you didn’t realize this would happen.”
He nodded at my question.
“I knew. But I learned the bow because I wanted to become strong like you…”
His voice shrank until it threatened to vanish.
“I didn’t learn it so I could kill animals for fun.”
Edwin lowered his head, expression bleak.
I remembered the first time I had met him—surrounded by servants who mocked him, tormented in every way by his half-brother.
A creature consumed purely for someone else’s amusement.
Perhaps he had seen himself in that fleeing rabbit.
I studied him quietly. He still wore that melancholy face.
Well, of course he’s worried, no matter what he says.
Failing to catch even one animal in the hunting competition would be the ultimate humiliation. On top of that, he had personally announced to the emperor that he would participate.
“I’m not saying I don’t understand how Your Highness feels.”
Edwin lifted his head. In those clear blue eyes—flawless as a cloudless sky—a faint spark of hope had appeared.
“But sometimes there are things you must do even when you don’t want to. Today is one of those days.”
He dropped his gaze again, thoroughly deflated.
What a simple boy.
Instead of offering empty comfort, I quietly picked up my own bow. I had carved it myself from fresh wood over the past week in preparation for today.
It’s a little crude, but it hardly matters.
I slowly drew the string, arrow nocked.
A bow only needs to be able to shoot an arrow. That’s enough.
Swoosh—
The arrow flew in the blink of an eye and struck the shadow beyond the bushes. A short death cry, then the sound of breathing cut off.
“Got one.”
“Huh?”
I led Edwin over to the bushes. A red fox with magnificent fur lay there, an arrow buried in its thigh. It couldn’t move.
“Uh… uh…”
Edwin froze, eyes wide. The small hand gripping the reins had flushed crimson.
I lifted the fox by the scruff of its neck.
“They say a servant’s kill counts as the master’s.”
Edwin couldn’t find words.
“This is the first chance for Your Highness to earn recognition from His Majesty the Emperor.”
With an indifferent expression, I tossed the fox into the cart.
“If catching a few beasts is all it takes to win the emperor’s approval, that’s an excellent bargain, isn’t it?”
“I-I…”
“If Your Highness cannot do it, I will handle it instead.”
Edwin hung his head in shame.
“…Sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Because you taught me so hard, yet I can’t even shoot properly…”
His voice grew even sadder.
“Because of me, you’ll have to kill even more animals…”
Ridiculous. To say such a thing to a former assassin.
Only he could speak those words.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ve done more than my share of pointless killing in the past.”
Perhaps that last remark had been a mistake. Edwin stared at me with those large eyes. His innocent gaze clouded with a guilt he couldn’t name.
“Your Highness, this is something I’m doing because I want to.”
“But still…”
After a long hesitation, he asked in a small, uncertain voice.
“…Don’t you think I’m pathetic?”
“What exactly is pathetic?”
“Being this scared… this timid…”
Edwin muttered, still clutching the bow.
“Everyone says I lack the qualities of a prince.”
“I don’t think so.”
“…Huh?”
“I believe the qualities of a prince that Your Highness already possesses are more than sufficient.”
Rather than meet his eyes, I nocked another arrow.
“And I believe one should only stain their hands with blood when there is no other choice.”
To be able to truly pity what is pitiable is a blessing. As one lives on, a day comes when such thoughts no longer even surface. The heart grows coarse.
“Someday, Your Highness will loose an arrow without hesitation.”
Yes. As long as he remained a prince, and since he had resolved to become strong, the day would inevitably come when those small hands would be stained with blood.
But I hoped that day would arrive as late as possible. I hoped he could keep—even after becoming an adult—the things I had lost when I was still very young.
Thoughts that ill-suited the former leader of Angel’s Breath, Kyla.
“Whether the target is a mere beast or a human being.”
Edwin said nothing. He simply gripped the bow as though it were a lifeline, eyes wide with fear.
I watched him for a moment, then turned away.
“So what I’m saying is, you don’t need to do it right now.”
“Rachel…”
Swish. Thud.
The arrow I released without pause struck a roe deer in the thigh this time. I slung the carcass over my shoulder and dropped it into the cart.
“Let’s change location, Your Highness.”
It would not be wise to let it become too obvious that the servant was doing all the hunting alone. After all, this event existed so the emperor could evaluate his princes’ qualities.
“Let’s head somewhere more secluded.”
“Y-yes!”
Even after moving, the hunt continued. I kept shooting in Edwin’s stead. With every arrow, the cart grew fuller.
This should be enough.
Catching too many would cause its own problems. The shabby prince—who had never distinguished himself in any field—had already caused months of gossip simply by appearing in splendid new attire.
If rumors of his sudden excellence in every area begin to spread now, it will be troublesome. He hasn’t gathered enough power yet.
I considered ending the hunt here, yet something felt unfinished.
Still, it would be nice to bag one last big one.
So far we had only taken rabbits, roe deer, and ordinary stags. Useful prey, but hardly impressive enough to boast about before others. Standing out too much was dangerous, yet producing no results at all in a place like this was equally unwise.
“Your Highness, there seems to be nothing worth taking here. Let’s move—”
I lowered my bow and turned. Edwin was staring at the piled carcasses with a face full of shadow. He looked genuinely heartbroken over the animals’ deaths.
I approached from behind and laid a hand on his shoulder, but no comforting words came. In the life of an orphan turned assassin, there had never been room to mourn the death of mere animals.
If it were Catherine, she would have known exactly what to say.
Suddenly I missed her clumsy warmth. Comfort had always been the domain of someone kind and gentle like her, not me.
“Um…”
The moment I tried to find something—anything—to ease his heart, a sharp instinctual warning brushed the back of my neck. My body moved before thought.
“Rachel?”
When I suddenly seized his shoulder and pulled him behind me, Edwin’s eyes rounded.
“Why are you—?”
I pressed a finger to my lips instead of answering. He immediately clapped both hands over his mouth. His large eyes trembled with unease.
“Your Highness.”
I quietly raised my bow and nocked an arrow. Then I spoke in a whisper only he could hear.
As expected, gentle consolation didn’t suit me. I would do this my way.
“Don’t be too sad.”
After all, every living thing eventually dies.
While speaking slowly to him, I drew the bowstring taut, aiming toward the direction of that faint breathing.
“In life, you either hunt or you are hunted. One or the other.”
Swish—thud.
The moment the words left my mouth, I released the arrow. It pierced the shadow hiding among the trees with perfect accuracy.
The shadow’s true form was a man masked from head to toe.