The Blue Prince's Hunting Competition (5)
“Looks like there are no objections.”
The emperor slowly descended from the platform once no one raised any protest.
He then gripped Edwin by the shoulder and turned him around.
“Now, look closely.”
Countless gazes suddenly pierced into him all at once, and the young prince’s body stiffened.
The emperor leaned down and whispered softly into his youngest son’s ear.
“See how they’re looking at you.”
Edwin slowly lifted his gaze, which had unconsciously dropped to the ground.
“Well? Are you still afraid?”
Edwin blinked his large eyes.
The ambiguous stares mixed with envy and expectation strangely made the fear inside him begin to fade.
“That’s right. Once you become strong, there’s nothing in this world you need to fear.”
The emperor checked Edwin’s brightening expression and let out a small chuckle.
He then gave a signal with his eyes to the secretary standing nearby.
The winner of this Hunting Competition is His Highness, the Third Prince Edwin Anaxinian Ventrum!
As the secretary loudly proclaimed the name the emperor had chosen, applause and cheers erupted from every direction at once.
It was the first time in his life that Edwin had ever received such applause.
The young prince stared fixedly at his own toes, trying to hide his embarrassment and shyness.
“Congratulations, Your Highness the Third Prince.”
“As expected of His Majesty the Emperor’s sons—they’re all truly exceptional…”
“I’ve had my eye on Your Highness Edwin for quite some time…”
Just like the applause, sweet words he had never heard before poured down on him.
Edwin simply found the entire situation unbearably awkward. He wasn’t even sure if he deserved this kind of treatment.
Meanwhile, there were eyes watching the third prince with keen interest.
“…He’s changed a bit.”
First Prince Adrian muttered quietly to himself as he looked at his half-brother.
He soon turned his head away, as if the matter no longer interested him.
Second Prince Lloyd had stormed off long ago, unable to contain his rage at having victory stolen right before his eyes.
Normally Helena would have stopped him, but this time she seemed just as furious and left with him.
Whether fortunate or not, the emperor didn’t seem to spare them even a glance.
“What’s the matter, Bri?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Bridget, the young lady of the Crowner ducal family, stared blankly at the third prince who was receiving all sorts of praise beside the emperor, then turned her head away.
“This girl is so tired that she wishes to return to the mansion at once.”
“Oh dear. Then go ahead and wait in the carriage. Your father must remain to attend His Majesty.”
The moment she received her father’s permission, Bridget spurred her horse and left the hunting grounds.
At the very end, she glanced slyly back toward Edwin.
“Th-thank you.”
Edwin kept bowing and offering his thanks to the group of nobles who congratulated him.
The hunting competition—entangled with all kinds of schemes, plots, and unexpected strokes of luck—came to an end just like that.
The hunting grounds were quiet right after the imperial hunting competition ended.
In the desolate-feeling arena, only two people remained: me and Third Prince Edwin.
“Rachel, why did you tell me to stay behind…”
Edwin began to speak to me, then froze like someone who had lost his soul.
It was only natural. The beasts that had been loaded onto the cart were beginning to stir one by one.
“Wh-what the—!”
There was no way dead animals could come back to life, so it was far more convincing to think they had simply been asleep and were now waking up.
“Were they… alive the whole time?”
Edwin turned to me with his already large eyes opened even wider.
“You didn’t actually hunt them?”
“…I thought Your Highness would dislike it, so I took measures in advance.”
In truth, every arrow I had used in the hunt had a blunt stone tip.
The tips were coated with a small amount of paralytic poison so that the beasts would lose consciousness immediately without sustaining serious injury.
“What?! Then you should’ve told me beforehand!”
Even as Edwin complained in a petulant voice, the moment he came to his senses and saw the fleeing animals, his face lit up with a bright smile.
As if he couldn’t be happier that the prey had escaped safely.
“……”
I quietly watched his profile.
That unfamiliar, awkward expression—one that could never be found in the world I had lived in for my entire life—didn’t feel entirely unpleasant.
“…I’m glad they didn’t all die.”
Edwin, who had been watching the animals escape safely, slowly turned around.
“Rachel.”
The young prince looked straight at me.
With a clear face free of any worry or concern.
“Thank you. I really mean it.”
“…Pardon?”
“You’re truly a good person.”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
I lowered my eyes halfway at the prince’s words.
Did I really deserve to receive such thanks?
Did I even have the right to be called a good person?
After killing so many people?
No matter the reason, an assassin could never be a good person.
Even if I had possessed another body, my fundamental nature wouldn’t change.
Even now, as I watched the fleeing beasts, rather than feeling relieved, I only felt regret at losing all that meat and leather.
If not for Edwin, I would never have let them go.
“…This is the only time.”
I continued in a stern voice.
“If there is a hunt in the future, I will truly kill them then. Of course, there won’t be any occasion where I hunt in Your Highness’s place either.”
Edwin pressed his lips tightly together at my words.
“Sometimes it is necessary to take a life without hesitation. Let’s consider today as practice for that.”
At my resolute tone, Edwin seemed to have made up his mind about something and silently nodded.
“Then let’s head back.”
Rachel turned without hesitation.
Edwin looked up at his nanny’s suddenly cold, hardened face and made a sullen expression.
Rachel is…
She looked like someone who wanted to prove that she wasn’t a good person.
It was something he simply couldn’t understand.
But.
So far, the only person besides Emma who had consistently been kind to him from the very beginning was Rachel.
He didn’t know about others, but to Edwin, there was no one as good as her.
“Wait for me, Rachel.”
Edwin hurried after his nanny with short, quick steps and gently grabbed her hand.
Rachel didn’t shake him off. Instead, she silently held his hand even more firmly.
At the warmth enveloping his hand, the young prince smiled faintly.
She really is a good person after all.
Thinking that his nanny was definitely a good person.
“Your Highness Edwin! Nanny!”
When we returned to the prince’s palace, all the maids welcomed us warmly.
In particular, Catherine, who was holding Emilia, came running out with a bright expression.
“Did you catch quite a lot…”
She approached the cart with an expectant face, then closed her mouth.
Her pale-colored eyes filled with disappointment.
“Um… did you come back empty-handed?”
Catherine tilted her head, muttering that it couldn’t be possible.
“That’s strange. I definitely heard that His Highness Edwin won the competition…”
“That’s correct.”
“Then why is there nothing here?”
“…I released them.”
At my answer, Catherine’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit.
She looked back and forth between the empty cart and me, then let out a deep sigh.
“Hng, and I was looking forward to a proper feast for once.”
The prey brought back by the prince was usually offered only for its pelt, while the meat was given to the servants.
After all, the imperial family was served the finest cuts of meat at every meal.
The maids who had overheard the conversation with Catherine also let out long, disappointed sighs.
“Cath’rin, Cath’rin! What’s ‘released’ mean?”
Only Emilia remained completely unbothered by the gloomy atmosphere and chattered away.
“It means they let all the animals go.”
“Ehh? Then Ria can’t eat meat? Hiiing.”
When even his little sister made a sullen face, Edwin didn’t know what to do.
He looked incredibly guilty after realizing the animals he had set free could have become a feast for the servants.
The prince could eat meat anytime he wanted, but the servants couldn’t.
“Catherine.”
Just as the others were about to turn away with disappointed faces,
I stopped Catherine.
“Take this.”
“Huh? No, wait…”
Catherine’s eyes grew even wider when she saw the three gold coins I pressed into her hand.
They were the gold coins I had taken from the assassin I captured at the hunting grounds.
“Where did these gold coins come from?”
“…Consider it something like a bounty. Use it for the maids’ food expenses.”
“Really?”
At the mention of food expenses, Catherine’s face brightened instantly.
She jumped in place and threw her arms around me in a tight hug.
“Nanny, you’re the best!”
“Ugh, Catherine, if you suddenly hug me like that…”
“Everyone! His Highness is treating us to dinner tonight with the bounty money! Get ready to eat until your stomachs burst!”
Bounty money?
Edwin himself looked completely lost, but the moment the servants heard Catherine’s words, their faces all lit up.
“Thank you, Your Highness Edwin!”
“Congratulations on winning the hunting competition!”
“Your Highness Edwin is the best!”
Edwin looked flustered as the servants chanted his name.
He grabbed my sleeve and drooped his eyebrows.
“What are they all saying?”
“Just don’t say anything and stay quiet. It’s money that’s practically the price of Your Highness’s life anyway.”
“What?”
Edwin frowned at my answer.
However, he didn’t say anything more and simply gave an awkward smile toward the servants who were praising him.