Delfia crossed one leg and asked sharply.

“What is Matthias’ most precious thing?”

“…Uh…”

When Delfia frowned, the confidant carefully opened his mouth.

“Isn’t it his young daughter? They say Matthias brought a daughter this time.”

“Ah, yes.”

Delfia sat leaning back, with her legs crossed against the backrest.

The confidant, watching her, swallowed dryly. Nothing good happened when Delfia showed up like this.

As expected, she asked with her red eyes looking into the air.

“What is Matthias doing now?”

“I heard he left for a hunting party. It seems to be intended to strengthen the bond among his closest confidants. He may have taken his daughter too.”

“Hmm…….”

Leaving for a hunting party is a rather natural thing to show off one’s power.

The Grand Duchess Delfia smiled and nodded her head.

“Plant a spy and find out who Matthias’ confidants are.”

“Yes, understood!”

“And the most important thing. Honestly, don’t you want to pour cold water when others are throwing a festival?”

She smiled innocently.

“Now, let’s kidnap.”

“Who…….”

“Matthias’s daughter.”

Their expressions darkened ominously.

I peeked out and looked down the window with the maid sisters.

Outside, Dad’s friends were gathered in threes and fives.

‘What, what is it. Why are those uncles gathered there and talking?’

It was strange.

Surrounding a big, bearlike person, several uncles gathered and were making grim faces.

‘The one in the middle is the uncle with a ribbon in his hair I saw earlier, but is he being lynched?’

That uncle was holding a strange flower in his hand and was vehemently defending something.

Purple petals with bright yellow stamens… That was fine, but it was a strange flower that looked exactly like Rouge’s lips from the TV cartoon PocketXster I saw in my previous life.

No matter how I thought about it, it looked like it was going to spew poison. A feel like a flytrap?

I was startled, blaming my too good eyesight.

‘Why are they doing that under my window? Do they want to give that to me?’

Beside me, the maid sisters whispered in shock.

“They might want to give that flower to Miss Sien.”

“What a pretty flower.”

I couldn’t figure out where it was pretty.

‘Doesn’t it look like they’re trying to poison me?’

But perhaps the whispering sound of us leaked out through the open window slit. The uncles who were gathered outside scattered in an instant.

It was faster than me, who acquired a geography magic technique through the magical tool given by my grandmother.
As they dug their spots, they glanced suspiciously towards the window where I was with sinister eyes.

‘What on earth were those men trying to do under my room window? They seem skilled, really suspicious.’

I checked the artifacts on my body once again, looking forward to the upcoming hunting contest.

Artifact of indiscriminate offensive, fully equipped.

Artifact of excessive defensive earrings, fully equipped.

Artifact of human decomposition necklace, fully equipped.

I opened my eyes wide and looked at my sisters.

“How many hours left until the hunting contest?”

“It’s almost time, Miss Cien!”

I thought the hunting contest would pass reasonably peacefully, but my thoughts have now changed.

It was time to verify suspicions about my father’s dubious henchmen.

‘With this artifact, of course.’

I clenched my fist as I shot the artifact to pieces.

Finally, both my body and mind were fully prepared.

Holding my father’s hand solemnly, I arrived at the hunting contest.

‘This is Roche Forest where the hunting contest is held.’

Roche Forest, where the hunting contest was held, was a very large forest. Walking back and forth would take about two hours at my pace.

‘Finally, the hunting contest is starting. I can check their skills!’

“Cien, isn’t it too high here?”

My father asked in a soft voice as I silently scrutinized the surroundings. His voice was full of concern, seemingly burdened by looking down on others from a high place.

I quietly looked down right below the large stage we were sitting on.

“It’s perfect for me, sister.”

I arrogantly lifted my chin.

My father, who had been staring at me, soon laughed awkwardly.

Armed soldiers were carefully guarding my frail father and powerful me around the stage.

‘Ah, I haven’t seen these nobles before. Are they people from the nearby territories?’

In the outdoor guest seats set up under the stage were middleaged men who seemed like the guests of the earl’s house and young ladies in quite splendid dresses.

And right in front of the guest seats were frighteningly fierce horses snorting menacingly.

My gaze naturally went to those riding the horses.

Those with the characteristics of a hardened criminal or escaped prisoner!

They were my father’s closest aides.

‘Those people might even bring back a lion or a bear today. But let’s not show that I’m scared. I am Cien who will soon become a major villain.’

Cheer up, fighting! I whispered a spell to myself and sneakily looked at my father.

The contest has not officially started yet.

I gently grabbed the hem of my father’s clothes and spoke.

“Dad.”

“Hmm, Cien?”

“I also want to participate in the hunting contest……”

“No.”

I figured as much.

I did not pester and nodded my head innocently.

I understood my father’s feelings.

I was only five years old.

It was only natural that I, a young child, could not directly participate in the hunting contest.

Participating in the hunting contest was not my main goal anyway.

My father, seeing my sullen face, spoke softly to me.

“Instead, I’ll give you time to play in the meadow before the banquet. It will be fun, right?”

My father was the only one to soothe my quite disappointed self. I smiled brightly and nodded my head once.

‘Then, during the hunting contest, I’ll observe people, and later, I should try detonating the bomb artifact on that distant meadow.’

Today was a day to figure out what kind of intentions my father’s alleged aides had.

But even if my father’s socalled henchmen had evil intentions, wouldn’t it be possible to make them unable to easily ignore my father, I had such a thought peeking out as well.
In other words, it was necessary to demonstrate the formidable dignity of his daughter, who was on the same side as them, to ensure that those who claimed to be close to my father could not grovel to him, and they could not ignore my father.

‘If they see the bomb artifact exploding, they’re going to be shocked. It’s a very dangerous artifact, and my grandmother told me to use it carefully.’

Having planned everything, I laughed with glee.

As soon as the conversation with my father ended, the quickwitted soldiers who were right under the podium set off a large cannon.

Boom!

The cannon was a signal flare announcing the start of the hunting competition.

Along with the signal, my father looked around at his close confidants with his usual benign expression. Then, the gentlemen hurried to depart with a somehow grave expression.