Ah, it’s hot.

And suffocating.

I almost shouted with joy the moment I got out of the carriage where I was truly gasping for air.

The carriage fell into silence after Dietrich’s words.

The Duchess barely containing her boiling anger, and Dietrich nonchalant after dropping such an explosive statement.

Yurian with his head bowed dejectedly between them.

And me, fidgeting and stomping my feet anxiously, it was quite the chaotic combination.

It was the first time I felt the urge to jump out of the carriage immediately.

To think I’d want to go back to the kitchen and peel potatoes with Robert.

After 30 minutes of rolling my eyes and pretending not to notice the chilling battle of nerves between Dietrich and the Duchess,

I finally got off at the Imperial Palace’s private forest and couldn’t close my mouth at the sight of the vast grounds.

The suffocating feeling I had in the carriage melted away like snow when I saw the beautiful scenery of the palace.

A lush green forest and a huge tent spread out over a wide plain.

Under the tent, which was clearly made of expensive material, noble ladies and young ladies were chattering away with their hands covering their mouths, just like in the novel’s description.

How dignified and elegant they looked.

My mouth kept dropping open at the scene that looked like a movie.

“Your jaw’s gonna fall off.”

Dietrich, who had somehow appeared next to me, chuckled and muttered.

It was something the Duchess and Yurian walking ahead wouldn’t hear.

Jaw falling off, really.

I glanced at him sideways and said,

“No, it’s not!”

“I saw it almost fall off. I was considering whether to catch it for you.”

I wanted to argue back, but my mouth gaped open again at another sight that caught my attention.

I could hear him chuckling, but I was too busy craning my neck to look around.

‘There’s food over there!’

On the tables around where the maids were bustling about, exquisite finger foods made with the finest ingredients were prepared.

But soon a satisfied smile settled on my face.

I recalled the snacks I had made last evening.

The high-end desserts made by the Chief Chef’s hands looked much more appetizing.

Enough to feel a bit smug if Dietrich were to eat the snacks later.

“Don’t get lost and follow me closely.”

As I was trailing after Dietrich, a question suddenly occurred to me.

“By the way, Dietrich, why didn’t you prepare horses for the competition?”

As far as I knew, the Delgado family had several fine horses.

Don’t you need to ride horses for hunting in a vast forest?

Dietrich sneered at my question with a sarcastic tone.

“They say the palace is preparing all the horses. Spouting nonsense about how the hunting competition might not be fair depending on the breed of horses.”

I nervously looked around, worried someone might have heard his high-level statement that could get him arrested for insulting the Imperial family.

In the midst of that, I spotted a line of pure white horses standing a little distance away.

They seemed to be the horses prepared by the palace for the hunting competition, just as Dietrich had said.

‘The Emperor seems to be serious about this hunting competition.’

Does it mean he wants fair competition to the extent of preparing the horses himself?

In fact, not just the Emperor, but all the nobles present seemed to be taking the hunting competition very seriously.

I could occasionally hear nobles talking about today’s prey with slightly excited expressions.

“The biggest prey today is said to be a black bear.”

“A black bear? That’s too dangerous. What’s the next biggest prey?”

“Well, but for Young Master Dietrich Delgado, catching a black bear should be easy, shouldn’t it?”

“Even for Young Master Dietrich Delgado, that seems a bit dangerous.”

“Shh, be quiet. The Delgado ducal family has arrived behind us.”

At someone’s words, the people stopped their conversation and turned around.

The faces of the nobles who had been chattering about the prey while fiddling with their scabbards were frozen stiff.

As the news spread that the Delgado family had arrived, all eyes turned in our direction at once.

There were far more nobles attending the hunting competition than at the banquet held by the Delgado family.

There were so many that it was hard to memorize all their faces, but the Duchess started greeting them one by one with a gentle smile.

“Lady Taylor. It’s been so long!”

“Duchess Delgado. Have you been well?”

“I was so disappointed to hear that you couldn’t attend our last banquet due to unavoidable circumstances. Has your health improved?”

“Yes, thanks to the precious herbs you sent.”

Leaving the Duchess who had started a full-fledged conversation, Dietrich and Yurian went to where other young nobles were gathered.

And there was Nocturne Frey, dressed in a white uniform with a blue mage tower badge.

Nocturne, dazzlingly handsome as always, wore his characteristic playful smile.

It was the same gentle smile he showed to everyone, anytime, anywhere.

I wanted to run up and say, ‘It’s Heidi from the other day!’ but I couldn’t stand out today.

I obediently bowed my head and stood behind Yurian.

“Dietrich!”

Nocturne’s gaze, which had been approaching cheerfully calling Dietrich’s name, turned to Yurian.

“Oh my, Young Master Yurian is here too. How do you do?”

“Ah, yes. How do you do?”

Yurian still seemed to find it difficult to deal with an adult man who was two spans taller than him.

After giving a formal greeting, Yurian slightly tugged at the collar of my clothes as I stood back.

Then he said in a quiet voice.

“Heidi. Let’s go over there.”

There was a tent with the wolf emblem of the Delgado family engraved on it where Yurian had pointed with his eyes.

He didn’t seem to like this noisy place very much.

I smiled faintly and whispered back just as quietly.

“Alright.”

I was so curious about what conversation Dietrich and Nocturne would have.

But since I came as Yurian’s maid today, it was right to obediently follow him.

We arrived at the tent after passing through the bustling crowd.

Inside the tent were a few chairs for comfortable seating, a table, and various refreshments prepared.

As I looked around the cozy-looking tent absent-mindedly, Yurian cheerfully introduced it from beside me.

“This is our tent. It’s far more comfortable and pleasant compared to other noble families.”

“It really looks that way.”

“Because we’re the Delgado family.”

He was boasting proudly. But even that looked lovely and not unpleasant at all.

Just then, there was a sound of movement outside the tent.

Looking out, I saw several young nobles who looked about Yurian’s age smiling as if pleased.

Yurian’s expression stiffened sourly when he saw them. But soon he greeted them with a comfortable smile.

“Hello, please don’t just stand there, come in.”

At Yurian’s words, the young nobles greeted him cheerfully.

“Young Master Yurian Delgado. You’re here.”

“Young Master Jacob. How do you do?”

I stepped back slightly to allow Yurian to converse comfortably.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

The cicadas were chirping loudly.

I was standing quietly about ten steps away from Yurian.

My legs were starting to ache from standing still for so long.

“Yawn……”

‘Ah, it’s boring!’

I only paid attention to what Yurian was saying for a very short time.

Whether they were children or adults, or child-adults.

It was uncomfortable to listen to the chatter of children imitating the speech of adults whose identity was unclear.

There was absolutely no mention of favorite sports, food, or the excitement of first love, like normal children would talk about.

It was all about which merchant guild had incurred losses, or which territory was fertile and should be bought at a reasonable price.

It wasn’t at all the kind of conversation children would typically have.

‘Do they really enjoy such conversations?’

Unlike me, those children might genuinely enjoy such conversations.

So I didn’t want to make hasty judgments.

One thing for sure was that Yurian looked quite bored.

Judging by how he was just nodding half-heartedly, occasionally shaking his light golden hair, with an expression of diminished interest.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to rescue Yurian from among them.

In fact, I desperately wanted to take Yurian’s hand and say, ‘Let’s stop listening to these boring talks that only make tears flow and go for a walk with me.’

But I decided to stop thinking about it. Today, I had to strictly maintain my role as a maid.

I shouldn’t do anything to let down Dietrich, who had spoken up to bring me along.

After listening to the rhythmic cicada sounds for a while longer,

Just as I was thinking that the Emperor, today’s host, must be taking a nap since the hunting competition hadn’t started yet,

“Young Master Yurian.”

A young and coquettish voice called for Yurian.

At the same time, the other young nobles conversing and Yurian turned around.

“Hello?”

My eyes widened with interest at the intriguing face that appeared just as I was covering my mouth to yawn.

I moved my legs, which had almost taken root in the ground, and took a step forward.

Yurian sighed deeply at the greeting of the cute girl with pink hair standing in front of the tent.

Then he stiffened his expression and answered.

“Hello, Lady Everett.”

A bright smile bloomed on the face of the girl whose name was called, like a flower in full bloom in spring.

“I thought I might see you here, and I’m so glad I came!”

“Ah, I see.”

“I’m so happy to meet you like this!”

She smiled so brightly and prettily that even I felt happy just looking at her.

However, she didn’t seem to be a very interesting companion to Yurian.

He just nodded carelessly.

“Um, Young Master Yurian. I’d like to give you a handkerchief before the hunting competition today……”

“Is that so.”

“Yes, it’s a handkerchief I made myself. My skills are still lacking so it’s a bit clumsy, but would you accept it?”

Instead of answering, Yurian scanned the back of the spacious tent.

‘Yurian. Just give her an answer!’

The girl’s eyes drooped as if she was about to cry.

Anyone could see that she seemed to be suffering from the fever of first love.

The girl who had been called Lady Everett, watching Yurian who wasn’t answering, asked while fidgeting with her fingers.

“Are you looking for someone?”

“Yes.”

At the mention of someone he was looking for, I too was moving my gaze following his.

His summer-like clear green eyes rolled around and then fixed on one spot.

I awkwardly smiled and waved my hand slightly as I made direct eye contact with Yurian.

Then a bright smile spread across the child’s face.

“Heidi!”

Yurian, waving his hand happily, walked towards me.