Somehow hearing the mumbling I uttered alone, Dante cautiously asked.

“Are you worried?”

“A little. This is my first time doing something like this.”

“It’ll be alright. So that you don’t suffer any unnecessary harm…”

“Stop. If you’re going to say things like you’ll stay away so I don’t get hurt, just don’t say anything at all. It makes me sick.”

Perhaps realizing he had struck a nerve, Dante promptly closed his mouth.

What to do about that rock-bottom self-esteem.

Come to think of it, this is all because of those damn nobles. Why did they have to crush our male lead’s spirit like that?

“…Now that I think about it, we’ll see a lot of nobles at the hunting festival, won’t we?”

“I suppose so. Most of the empire’s nobility will participate.”

“Ah.”

I smiled a sinister smile.

That’s right. Let’s see the faces of those who crushed our male lead’s spirit like this.

At some point, my worries about my first social debut had been pushed far back.

Not long after, as soon as the hunting festival schedule was set, an invitation from the imperial family arrived.

It was exactly as Dante had thought.

How does he never deviate from expectations? Does he have no desire to live a bit more unpredictably?

Anyway, as soon as the invitation arrived, I began studying noble etiquette.

I had been studying bit by bit before, but I increased my study time even more.

Still, in the end, there wasn’t enough time to master everything perfectly, so I had to do a crash course.

Well. It’ll do.

As long as I don’t grab anyone by the collar in the ballroom, it should be fine, right?

Still, to prepare for any real-life situations, I held one more Northern Ladies’ gathering.

Perhaps because it was the second meeting, it was held in an even more comfortable atmosphere than before, with a warm and friendly mood.

When I showed signs of nervousness, saying, “I’m weak, so this is my first social event. I’m so nervous,” they even showed their loyalty by offering to help me wholeheartedly.

Reliable, our Northern girls!

Anyway. Time flew by like an arrow, and on the day before the hunting festival.

I boarded the carriage with a solemn resolve.

Alright. The preparations are perfect.

Now all that’s left is to go hunt the nobles, no, to see the faces of the nobles who crushed our Dante’s spirit.

…Or so I thought.

“It’s my first time riding a carriage for this long, ugh.”

I didn’t expect such an unexpected obstacle.

My perfect preparation crumbled in the face of the long carriage ride.

The hunting festival was to be held in the western forest owned by the imperial family.

Since the western forest was about an hour or two away from the capital, we decided to first move to the townhouse owned by the Richter family in the capital.

We planned to spend the night there and move to the western forest tomorrow.

But the problem was that it took over 8 hours from the Richter mansion to the townhouse in the capital.

We definitely left in the morning, but it was night when we arrived.

We must have traveled similarly when we went to the north after the wedding, but why was I fine then?

Perhaps the fear of marrying the monster duke had swallowed even my motion sickness.

Whatever the reason, I was feeling miserable now.

“…Terrible. Ugh.”

The feeling of nausea lingered at the pit of my stomach.

As I dry heaved, Dante worriedly rubbed my back.

“Are you alright?”

“Ugh. No, I’m not. I want to rest. I feel like I’m dying.”

When I blurted out my honest feelings without holding back, Dante let out a groan.

And, after a moment.

“Huh?”

“Bear with it for a bit.”

With a gentle whisper, my body floated up into the air.

What do they call this again?

Ah. Princess carry.

Dante lifted me in a princess carry.

And in the most stable princess carry position in the world.

Out of unnecessary anxiety, I tensed up without realizing it, but Dante’s firm muscles supported my body stably like a human hammock.

Wow. As expected of the male lead.

“Thank you. Ugh.”

Feeling like death, instead of rejecting his consideration, I entrusted my body to him comfortably.

He carried me all the way to the bedroom.

The maids who had finished preparing the bath and were waiting widened their eyes when Dante entered carrying me.

I was worried their eyes might pop out at this rate.

“We, we’ve prepared the bath water in advance, but if you’re going in together, should we prepare again…”

“No.”

“No.”

At the simultaneous answers, we looked at each other’s faces and then quickly turned away.

Our faces were too close since I was still being carried.

Taking a bath together.

For a maid who looked quite shy, she said something unexpectedly bold.

“…I’ll wash up in another room and come back. Please rest first after you’ve washed.”

Dante’s words, added as if making an excuse, made it even more embarrassing.

When you say things like that, it sounds like you’re telling me to wait after bathing.

Once I became conscious of it, the muscles that had felt fine until now could be felt directly on my skin.

Bulging and firm…

“Please put me down.”

At my pleading request to get down, Dante quickly but carefully set me down.

Whew. If I had been carried a little longer, I might have had incredibly naughty thoughts about the male lead.

Shoo, shoo.

As I barely managed to drive away the devil in my heart, I felt the lecherous gaze of the maid following behind.

…No. It’s not like that.

It’s really not like that.

Seriously, it’s not.

“Fortunately, the weather is really nice.”

“It feels like full autumn, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed, hoho.”

The western forest where the hunting festival was being held.

The nobles who had secured their places early were gathered, having a pleasant conversation.

As they said, the weather was perfect.

The deep blue sky soared high above, without a single cloud in sight.

Yet, thanks to the cool autumn air, it wasn’t hot at all.

A cool autumn.

Thanks to the good weather, people’s excitement was also heightened.

The hunting festival was one of the largest events in the empire.

Nobles from all over the empire gathered in the western forest to participate in or watch this event.

It was said to be perfect for forming new relationships.

In particular, there was an event at the hunting festival where relationships between men and women deepened.

It was the ‘Lady of the Year’

Usually, men participating in the hunting festival receive handkerchiefs from ladies cheering for them.

And after safely returning from the hunting festival, they give back their own handkerchiefs, which was quite a romantic event.

The number of couples who actually started dating or even succeeded in marriage through this was surprisingly high.

Among them, what drew everyone’s attention most was the winner of the hunting festival and their partner.

The winner of the hunting festival receives a victory gift from the emperor, and there’s a custom of presenting this to their partner in front of everyone.

Thus, the partner of the winner came to be called the ‘Lady of the Year’.

The winner of the hunting festival and the Lady of the Year.

Young nobles participated in the hunting festival dreaming of becoming the protagonists of this romantic story.

Naturally, the hottest topic of conversation before the start of the hunting festival was this.

“I wonder who will be the protagonists of this hunting festival this year?”

Guessing who would be the winner of the hunting festival and the Lady of the Year.

While everyone was lost in thought trying to decide on an answer, a freckled young lady was the first to speak.

“Don’t you think that person is the most likely candidate this year?”

“Who?”

Glance. The woman’s gaze turned towards a corner and then back.

There, among the people gathered in small groups chatting amicably, stood a beautiful woman, alone like an isolated island.

Serpina Richter.

“The Duchess Richter.”

A brief silence followed the young lady’s cheerful answer.

The young lady, who had suddenly created a quiet atmosphere, could only blink in confusion.

At that moment.

“Ah, ahaha. Oh, you!”

Starting with someone’s laughter, others also burst into laughter.

Hahaha.

Hohoho.

The laughter, unknown to only one person, continued for a while.

“Well. Since Lady Tuinua has only recently come up to the capital, she might not know much about high society yet.”

At the subtly dismissive tone, Lady Tuinua’s expression darkened a little.

She had made her debut in the capital’s high society for the first time this year.

It was also her first time participating in the hunting festival, but every time she attended such gatherings, she felt a strange sense of dismissal from the capital’s nobles.

She couldn’t understand why the capital’s nobles were all so disagreeable.

By this point, she even began to suspect if there was some strange current flowing through the capital.

Or perhaps they were all taking some kind of ‘Lessons on How to Become a Disagreeable Noble’ together.

“There’s no chance that Duchess Richter will become the Lady of the Year.”

“Why not? Isn’t Duke Richter the strongest person in the empire?”

In response to the slightly defiant question, the other person shrugged.

“Well. That might be true. However, Duke Richter has never once participated in the hunt at the festival. He just maintains his position.”