‘No way…’

“Is our Marquis unharmed?”

“My son! Is my son safe?”

As soon as the maid’s words ended, questions about the safety of their families erupted from various people.

“Thanks to Duke Laberion’s swift response, there haven’t been any major injuries reported. However, as there are still animals in the forest, Her Majesty suggested suspending today’s event, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

Upon the maid’s assurance that everyone was safe, a collective sigh of relief echoed.

I, too, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Kaern was unharmed.

“Is everyone safe?”

“Yes. Most suffered injuries from falls, and there are no reports of anyone being injured by the animals.”

“I see.”

At that moment, a peculiar atmosphere seemed to emanate from the Empress, as if she was uncomfortable with the situation.

‘No way.’

Observing the Empress with a suspicious mind, I heard the sound of hoofbeats from outside.

Immediately, the women inside the tent hastily greeted the Empress and rushed out noisily.

I, prioritizing Kaern over the Empress, quickly greeted her and went outside to swiftly scan the surroundings to confirm his safety.

While doing so, I spotted Kaern standing next to the Emperor, and our eyes met.

‘Kaern!’

Seemingly sensing my concern, Kaern nodded reassuringly to me.
I wanted to rush to Kaern right away and ask if he was okay, but there were too many people around him.

So, I barely restrained myself from running to Kaern.

Shortly afterward, some nobles who had fallen from their horses while fleeing from the animals were brought in for treatment after being injured by the wind-blown dust from the horses.

Due to the sudden incident, the banquet scheduled for tonight was canceled.

After everything was settled, as soon as the imperial family, including the Emperor and the Empress, left, Kaern approached me.

“Herena.”

“Kaern, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Although I already knew he was unharmed, I felt the need to confirm to truly put my mind at ease.

“I’m fine.”

“Phew.”

Upon hearing his reassurance, I finally felt completely relieved.

“What on earth happened…”

“Let’s just go back for now.”

“Yes, let’s go back quickly.”

Kaern and I rode the carriage and returned straight to the Laberion Marquisate.

“Kaern, but just in case, should we call a doctor?”

Although I knew he hadn’t been injured in this incident, I worried that any lingering wounds from the previous injury might be aggravated by sudden movements.

“I really am okay.”

“But…”

So, I suggested it to him, but once again, he reassured me with the statement that he was fine.

“Instead, there’s somewhere I want to take you. Come with me.”

“Huh? Where to?”

“There’s something you need to see.”
When Kaern moved to the back of the mansion, I promptly followed him.

After a while, we arrived at a building where his deceased horse was being preserved.

“Kaern, why here…”

Without answering, as if he understood that I would know once I saw it, he took my hand and continued to lead me forward.

Holding hands, we descended underground together, and he opened the door to a room next to where the horses were kept.

As we entered a room I hadn’t seen before, the carcass of a wild boar was lying on a table.

“What is this?”

I wasn’t asking because I didn’t recognize it as a wild boar but rather questioning why a wild boar was here.

As I asked him with a puzzled expression, Kaern immediately spoke up.

“It’s the wild boar from the hunting grounds.”

“The hunting grounds? So, is this the animal that supposedly attacked people?”

“Yes. It wasn’t alone. I secretly brought one of them here.”

“But… why this wild boar…”

Instead of answering my question, Kaern approached the wild boar more closely.

Then, after placing his face near the boar’s nose and ears, he nodded at me.

“No way…”

To confirm whether what I was thinking was true, I quickly checked the boar’s nose and ears.

To my surprise, the scent I had detected from the black horse was unmistakably present on the wild boar.

“It’s Asdel.”

“Asdel?”

Both of us uttered the words simultaneously without needing to say who would speak first.
To be more certain, I peered into the wild boar’s mouth.

As Kaern mentioned, the boar’s tongue was discolored black, just like Asdel’s.

“So, the reason the animals went mad was because of Asdel. How could something like this…”

I shook my head as if I couldn’t believe it.

“A herd of wild boars suddenly charging at people in the hunting grounds?”

“Yes. Fortunately, everyone was unharmed thanks to my quick response after noticing it.”

“It’s a relief that you were prepared just in case. But how did this happen? The wild boars being addicted to Asdel?”

“When we were returning to the estate and had fallen off the horse, Axel and I made eye contact. At that time, Axel had red eyes and was drooling profusely. And today, the wild boars showed the same symptoms.”

“Oh, so you noticed it back then.”

“Yes. After dealing with all the wild boars and examining the corpses, the familiar smell was unmistakable.”

“Whether it’s Kaern’s incident or this one, it seems like the work of the same individual, right?”

“The method is the same, so it’s likely.”

“Could they be targeting Kaern again this time? But the attack seemed too widespread.”

“True. To target me, there were too many people in the hunting grounds. And most importantly, these wild boars didn’t charge at me.”

“They didn’t charge at Kaern?”
“To be precise, it didn’t only approach the Empress and me.”

“What do you mean?”

Unable to comprehend, I demanded a more detailed explanation from him.

“I still don’t know why, but it avoided the places where the Empress and I were and charged at other people.”

“I really don’t understand. Wild boars couldn’t possibly distinguish between people. Could it be a coincidence?”

“A coincidence… Can such a coincidence really happen?”

“But it doesn’t seem to make sense if it’s not a coincidence.”

Agreeing with my statement, Kaern nodded.

“I have no idea how this could happen.”

With that remark, we returned from there to the office.

As soon as we took our seats on the sofa, a thought occurred to me, and I spoke first.

“I had a private conversation with the Empress.”

“With the Empress?”

“Yes. She called me when she was quietly inside the tent. Then she asked me to join her for a walk in the garden.”

Kaern continued to stare at me, silently urging me to continue.

“Do you know the northern garden? She showed me the flowers there. She mentioned that the Empress is also interested in garden management. As we were about to finish the tour, she suddenly asked me about the visit from Viscount Easton.”

“What did she say?”
“Viscount Easton asked me something similar. He inquired about why I came to Gronnis, so I slightly modified the answer I gave at that time. After that… she asked me about Viscount Easton’s garden.”

“Viscount Easton’s garden?”

“Yes. So, I just said it’s beautiful and didn’t mention anything about the greenhouse garden. Kaern, by the way.”

I paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

Then I debated whether I should mention what I felt in the tent earlier.

However, with the thought that I should share everything, even if it’s just speculation, I spoke up.

“When the Empress received the report of the incident at the hunting ground earlier, I observed her. When she heard that everyone was safe, her expression seemed a bit strange.”

“Strange?”

“Yes. I felt that she didn’t seem to like the situation very much.”

As I said that, I added that I might have misunderstood.

“You didn’t misunderstand. Given the current circumstances, everything points toward the Empress.”

“But it’s too risky to act hastily.”

“Right. So, we must find irrefutable evidence.”

Upon Kaern’s words, I, too, firmly resolved to catch the culprit no matter what.