Chapter 26

Tap, tap—

Bael and the black horse now moved as though they were a single being.

Their movements across the center of the garden were nothing like they had been at the beginning.

Gone was the awkward phase when Bael had struggled to direct his mana and clumsily steer her.

Now, the moment his intention flowed through his fingertips, Estelle had already turned in that direction.

In the meantime, Bael himself had changed noticeably.

He had grown taller, and the lines of his face had become more defined.

The skin that had once been pale as porcelain now bore traces of sunlight.

His stamina had improved tremendously as well.

Even after sitting on horseback all day, he no longer collapsed as though fainting, as he used to.

If anything, he always looked reluctant to dismount and wanted to keep riding.

But his legs—

They had stopped recovering.

That alone remained unchanged.

Aila, Luciella, Cain, and even Bael himself knew it.

No one simply chose to say it aloud.

As Bael dismounted with Cain’s assistance, Luciella lifted a large feed trough and placed it in front of Estelle.

“This is yours, Estelle.”

At the sound of her name, the horse trotted over excitedly and immediately began eating the roasted barley and oats, charred vegetables, and sugar-coated dried fruits laid out on the wooden tray.

Estelle’s condition had improved tremendously as well.

Not only had her monstrous speed and reflexes become even more remarkable, but she had also become strikingly beautiful.

Just a few days ago, Theo had come in person to demand that she be returned.

“You should’ve treated her properly when you had the chance.”

“I said I was wagering her against you! I never said I’d give her to that brat! Get him off that horse right—!”

“Whatever. If you can ride her, I’ll give her back.”

“Hah! You think I can’t ride a trained horse?”

Theo could not ride her.

Estelle was the sort of horse who never forgot first impressions.

Stubborn and rigid to a fault.

Besides, Theo had only brought some dirty carrots with him.

To Estelle, whose tastes had become thoroughly refined, such offerings were hardly appealing.

When Theo attempted to climb onto her by force, Estelle merely shook her body once.

The next moment, he was sent tumbling through the dirt.

After that, he never came back.

“I think riding practice has come far enough.”

From one corner of the riding grounds, Cain handed Bael a glass of water.

“According to Aila, aside from some basic detoxifying herbs, you no longer need medicine.”

Sitting casually on a chair, Bael shrugged as though it were nothing.

But Luciella caught the brief flash of satisfaction that crossed his lips.

“How about your arms?”

“My arms?”

Bael raised them.

Perhaps because he had continued practicing with a sword while riding, his movements were clean and powerful.

“How about setting aside the sword and trying something else starting today?”

“Something else?”

“Archery.”

Cain answered.

“I mean the Bellaon family’s Hunting Festival.”

Bael’s eyes widened.

“You want me to participate? This year?”

Cain nodded.

“Now that your health has improved, some stimulation will do you good.”

“The air in the Primordial Forest is excellent.”

“And Estelle needs the experience of running beyond the Duke’s estate.”

“So that’s what the Hunting Festival is for…”

Bael murmured thoughtfully.

“What is the Bellaon Hunting Festival?”

Luciella tilted her head.

“It is a competition held once every five years. Any member of the family under the age of eighteen may participate.”

Come to think of it, she vaguely remembered hearing about it.

Not from her mother.

The Hunting Festival itself was fairly famous throughout the Empire.

The talented young members of House Bellaon gathered and held a competition of exceptionally high standards.

“Do they hunt giant monsters or something?”

Luciella asked eagerly.

She had always been interested in cooking the meat of large magical beasts.

But such ingredients were rare, and their flesh spoiled far too quickly, so she had almost never had the opportunity.

“Of course not.”

Cain shook his head immediately.

“At best, a few rabbits. If someone is particularly skilled, perhaps a stag.”

“The Primordial Forest contains many creatures, but large magical beasts are confined to restricted zones separated from the hunting grounds.”

“…”

Of course.

Luciella hid her disappointment.

At this rate, she would probably never have the chance to cook armored buffalo meat in this lifetime.

“Do you like people who are good at hunting?”

Bael suddenly asked Luciella as he looked up at Cain.

“Like Uncle?”

“Huh? Where did that come from?”

Puzzled, Luciella turned toward Cain.

Suddenly, she remembered him lying there with a horribly swollen face after killing the Basilisk Worm.

…It had not exactly been an attractive sight.

“…I won’t be poisoned or have my face swell up.”

As though reading her thoughts, Cain spoke defensively.

“Hunting is a kind of game and training.”

“Just like riding Estelle.”

“It doesn’t matter if you quit halfway or spend the entire time riding horses.”

“The important thing is to get outside the Duke’s estate—”

Creak—

Cain’s words were interrupted.

Behind him, someone had opened the wooden gate and entered the riding grounds.

It was a tall woman.

Her light blue skirt was elegant despite its simplicity, and her silver hair had been pinned up flawlessly without a single loose strand.

Beneath her long eyelashes, beautiful sapphire-blue eyes shone coldly at Cain.

“Your unpleasant way of speaking hasn’t changed at all, Cain.”

“…Sister Melina.”

At those words, Luciella’s eyes widened slightly.

Melina Bellaon.

The youngest of the Duke’s three sons and one daughter, and the only daughter of House Bellaon.

Only then did Luciella realize that this woman had been standing beside the Duke in the garden that day.

The sunlight had been too strong then, and she had only been able to make out the silhouette of a woman standing with her daughter.

Now that she saw her clearly, the woman was absurdly beautiful.

She resembled both Cain and the Duke, yet was far more delicate—

As though she had been sculpted from ice itself.

What did Mother say about Melina again…?

“She was basically a game character. Back in the early days, her fan club had more members than some idols.”

“She might’ve had the best character design in the game.”

“Oh? Didn’t you join the fan club too, Mom? Before switching over to Team Bael?”

“Well… your mother likes competent characters.”

“It’s not often you see a female character who built and managed the enormous commercial empire of a ducal house.”

“Even Bael used to read books on business written by Melina when he studied alone.”

“…You could’ve just said you were obsessed with pretty faces.”

“I learned that phrase, you know.”

Though she had never reached Bael’s level of popularity, apparently she had possessed a similarly devoted “core fandom.”

Later, that popularity and role had naturally passed on to her daughter.

“What brings you to the riding grounds?”

Cain asked politely, though his tone clearly revealed irritation.

“I was told no one would be here until evening.”

“I plan to bring in several new racehorses, so I came to inspect the facilities myself…”

Melina’s gaze swept quickly across Cain, Bael, Estelle, and finally Luciella.

The scrutiny in her eyes was so obvious that the moment their gazes met, Luciella felt as though she had been completely assessed.

“And instead, I ended up overhearing the nonsense spoken by an arrogant fool.”

“What exactly do you mean?”

“The Bellaon Hunting Festival is not some game or training exercise.”

Her voice was low and clear.

“It is a place for politics and negotiations.”

“A stage upon which the question of succession is decided.”

She looked at Cain with equal annoyance.

Their gazes collided in midair.

The expressions carved into their beautiful, statue-like faces made their thoughts toward one another perfectly clear.

They did not hate each other to death.

But their fundamentally different personalities made them find each other extremely irritating.

“I suppose to someone engaged in trade—”

Cain smiled faintly.

“—or rather, business, every place is a marketplace.”

“As for me, the hunting grounds are simply a playground.”

“Neither complicated nor frightening.”

At the word frightening, Melina’s expression darkened slightly.

Luciella suddenly remembered something.

Long ago, when Cain had joined a campaign to subjugate magical beasts, all three of the Duke’s living children had avoided participating.

Perhaps Cain’s statement that monsters were not frightening touched upon a sore point for Melina—

Who had once refused her father’s orders out of fear.

So, borrowing Mother’s expression—

Melina had just been thoroughly provoked.