This is a hunting ground not far from the frontier village.

Cantad and his soldiers were in Blandice Territory. Judging by the bows and weapons in their hands, it seemed they had come here to hunt.

‘Still, that’s clearly illegal.’

It was forbidden by international law for non-imperial citizens like Kursians to come here and hunt. But the reason for crossing the border to hunt was simple. It wasn’t a food issue. There was a high possibility they just came out to enjoy hunting.

While they’re here, all they have to do is catch the occasional monsters that come down. And the villagers favorable to Kursians would have turned a blind eye to this.

I understood. But if they caught the eye of the knights coming up soon, it could become a big problem.

‘I should go tell them quickly.’

I also had something to say to Cantad since I couldn’t greet him properly last time. As I carefully moved towards where they were, just about to call his name,

I heard the sound of horses breaking through the forest path.

My head whipped around.

Sure enough, Lily and Violet were riding horses deep into the forest.

Violet urgently chased after Lily who was in the lead.

I really can’t live like this.

“Lily! Stop!”

Thanks to my cousin-in-law who always upset my new sister, there wasn’t a day I could rest peacefully.

I immediately turned and mounted a horse. Cantad’s group also began moving busily after hearing my voice.

“Lily!”

No matter how much I called, Lily raced through the empty hunting grounds without looking back.

‘It’s my fault for believing her promise to behave.’

It was too late for regrets now.

The knights showed no sign of coming, and I could only hope nothing bad would happen.

As we reached the middle of the forest, Lily gradually slowed down. I quickly dismounted and grabbed her reins.

“Get down.”

“New sister, do you know what I discovered? A winter deer went in there!”

A winter deer was a mythical animal.

One that only appears in legends passed down in Blandice.

Even if it was here, it was dangerous to go without the knights.

“Deer or not, wait until the knights arrive.”

I barely held back from dragging her straight to the Grand Ducal Castle.

I didn’t want to hear that I ruined her nineteenth birthday because of her new sister.

“Why did you bring knights anyway? Do you think this is my first time here? New sister, you’re worrying for nothing. This place is like my playground. I’ve been here dozens of times without knights.”

I swallowed the sigh that was about to escape and put my hands on my hips.

“Lily. This is different from what you promised. Didn’t you say you’d hunt safely if I let you come here?”

“…Fine.”

For once, Lily obediently listened to me.

Only then did I let out a sigh of relief and release the reins.

“Okay, let’s hunt safely. When we’re done and back at the castle…!”

That’s when it happened.

“I’ll hunt quietly like new sister said after just seeing the deer!”

“Lily!”

As soon as I let go of the reins, Lily immediately spurred her horse.

I’m the fool for being tricked!

Just wait and see if I ever allow hunting again.

“Are you not going to stop?”

I felt like I was aging as I chased after her at breakneck speed.

Lily galloped on wildly without stopping. Even though the winter deer was nowhere to be seen, she rode at a rapid pace as if it was right in front of her.

“Slow down!”

Her figure disappearing into the forest as if bewitched looked precarious.

“My lady!”

Fortunately, the knights were following behind. But neither I nor the knights were able to keep up with Lily’s speed.

“There’s a cliff at the end there!”

She must have heard it clearly, but showed no sign of stopping.

It was just as Lily’s body shook violently from the fierce momentum. Her horse encountered a fallen giant tree and leaped high into the air. At the same time, Lily was flung up and disappeared.

“Lily!”

I ran blindly towards where she had vanished. There, a dizzying cliff boasted a vast landscape.

There was no time to admire the view. I had to find Lily.

And fortunately, Lily was sprawled at the edge of the cliff. I pulled her hard and brought her to safety. Thankfully there were no major injuries, but she seemed to have lost consciousness from the big shock. I entrusted Lily to the knights who had followed.

“We need to take her to the Grand Ducal Castle quickly.”

“Yes, my lady!”

It was just as one knight hurriedly lifted Lily onto his back. Violet, who had been anxiously examining her, spoke in a surprised voice.

“Lily opened her eyes!”

As she said, Lily barely opened her eyes and spoke with difficulty.

“Ali… Where’s Ali?”

“Ali? Your horse?”

“Yes… Is Ali okay?”

To be worrying about the horse at a time like this.

Osen went to check and came back shaking his head at me.

“One of its front legs is broken. It’s impossible to take it with us.”

“Then, are you going to abandon Ali?”

Lily immediately began to whimper.

“We’re sorry too, but there’s no choice.”

Even if all of us – two knights excluding the one taking Lily, myself, and Violet – worked together, it was unrealistic to drag Ali by hand.

“Let’s go out and call for people first.”

“No! Are you saying Ali should freeze to death alone here?”

“That’s not what I’m saying…!”

“New sister is cruel.”

Lily buried her face in the knight’s shoulder and sobbed hiccuping.

I felt conflicted.

That horse must have been the only friend by Lily’s side since she became alone.

It would be like Cassian to me.

“I’ll stay with Ali, so why don’t you take Lily back first? Please bring a cart.”

After deliberating, I spoke to Osen.

He, who had been blaming himself for his carelessness, replied in a deeply sunken voice.

“We can’t put you in danger just for one horse. The master also instructed not to let you be exposed to cold winds for long.”

I know what he’s worried about.

“I have a way. There are… Kursians nearby who I’ve traded herbs with. I’ll go ask them for help.”

That was the best option for now.

“You mean there are Kursians in Blandice territory?”

And of course, he took issue with that part.

“Whether on the Kursian side or the Blandice side, they’re the ones who exterminate all the monsters that appear in the borderlands. It’s wrong to cross the border without permission, but I’m thinking of using this to ask them for help.”

Osen, who seemed quite taken aback, agreed more easily than expected.

“I’ll go with you.”

But there was another problem.

“No!”

It was Lily.

She who had been sniffling wrinkled her face fiercely. Seeing that expression, I was reminded of Lily slapping the cheek of a Kursian territory resident.

“You’re going to ask Kursians for help? New sister, are you crazy?”

“Then there’s no way to safely bring Ali back.”

“I’d rather die than entrust Ali to such barbarians.”

As soon as I mentioned dealing with Kursians, Lily immediately spat out cruel words.

“You’ll let your longtime friend freeze to death in this cold?”

“Please kill Ali now so he can go comfortably.”

She didn’t mean it.

But it’s also true that Lily has deep antipathy towards Kursians.

It wasn’t good to push through based on emotion alone.

“Lily. The Kursians here are the ones I traded with recently. And they’re people who also help clear safe paths for territory residents to return, so you can rest assured.”

“What difference does it make if they’re Kursians living here! I hate it.”

“For now, don’t think of them as barbarians and just focus on saving Ali. Okay?”

Lily just shook her head while keeping it deeply buried.

There seemed to be no room for further dialogue.

“Please take Lily back to the castle now. I’ll handle things here.”

If that’s the case, I had no choice but to give up playing the kind new sister.

“New sister!”

“You don’t need to worry and just go back. As you said, I’ll let Ali freeze to death here and immediately expel the Kursians.”

I told her what she wanted to hear with an impassive gaze. Yet Lily’s expression grew increasingly sour.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You came out hunting recklessly without listening, and now Ali has a broken leg and is about to freeze to death. And you want me to kill Ali now? No. I’m scared Ali will appear in my dreams too. Here, I’ll give you a sword so go cut Ali’s neck with your own hands.”

I pulled out the sword from Osen’s scabbard beside me and thrust it close to her.

“Here, hurry up.”

At that, Lily’s face immediately flushed bright red.

“F-fine… Let’s quickly return to the castle!”

I guess she can’t bring herself to do that after all?

In the end, she left the hunting grounds unable to either kill or save Ali. In any case, it meant I could do as I pleased now.

Violet said she would bring a cart with one of the remaining knights and left this place.

As I watched their retreating figures, I handed the sword back to Osen.

“I’m sorry for taking it out without permission. I had no choice as I was trying to scare Lily.”

Osen narrowed his eyes and wrinkled his nose bridge. He seemed upset that I had drawn a knight’s sword without permission.

“Are you very upset?”

“It’s not that, I just thought the lady isn’t as kind a person as I expected.”

He said something that could be either praise or criticism. I tilted my head and stared at the knight who was looking at me as if I was unexpected.

“Are you disappointed that I’m not kind?”

Does the mistress of the castle have to be generous and kind?

I was almost disappointed in Osen instead.

“No. I just thought the master’s ideal type was a kind woman. The master always praises the lady for being kind.”

But Osen gave a completely different answer.

So Hertian goes around praising me too.

He was indeed professional.

He was fulfilling the contract well even when out of sight.

I smiled proudly and then looked at Osen and asked.

“Is Osen’s ideal type a kind woman?”

“No. It’s a pretty woman.”

He answered reflexively. And I also replied with a gentle smile.

“Then the Grand Duke must have that type of woman as his ideal too.”