Those bastards seemed like terrifying fellows who could even eat my father’s internal organs.

Having decided to directly investigate the identities of my father’s close aides at the hunting competition, I couldn’t rest easy. After all, they say one should be most wary of those closest to them.

Father, as usual, seemed carefree, humming a tune and saying it felt “like a picnic.”

‘That innocence is our father’s charm, I suppose.’

While I was on high alert and father was singing peacefully, the carriage sped along, arriving at a small villa attached to the hunting competition grounds.

They said we would give a brief opening speech for the hunting competition at the villa owned by our father, and then enjoy a banquet with the game from the hunt.

Father, who had escorted me to a room in the villa, looked down at me affectionately and said:

“Daughter, rest well and come out later.”

“Mm!”

“I’ll show you the hunting later.”

I waved my hand a few times at father.

“Shall I help you with your shower? There’s still some time until the hunting competition!”

I shook my head.

There was no time for a shower.

I had to sit on the sofa in the most luxurious room in the villa and rack my brains hard.

‘Today, uncover the identities of father’s close aides, and tomorrow, seduce the holy knight… Oh my, my head hurts.’

There was exactly one month left until Axel would come to the duke’s household.

As I rattled the pocket containing the survival weapons grandmother had given me, I felt a sense of despair that it was too difficult to survive with so much to do as a mere baby.

Seeing me heave a deep sigh, the lady attendants carefully looked down at me.

They were in a state of pouring out loyalty to me to the point of being restless at just one of my sighs.

“Lady Sien, is your mind troubled?”

“It must be because there’s no cake here…!”

I shook my head and opened my mouth.

“It’s fine!”

The lady attendants who were looking at me with admiration chorused in unison.

“You’ll have a light snack later, and when the hunting competition is over, you’ll be able to eat tremendous amounts of meat!”

“I’m really looking forward to the hunting competition. I heard they prepared something amazing…”

“Amazing… thing?”

“Yes! I overheard those people whispering about it earlier.”

It clearly felt like they had something suspicious.

Thanks to the words the lady attendants whispered and conveyed, my suspicion was further strengthened.

‘This won’t do. I’d better properly protect myself just in case.’

I bit my lip hard and rummaged through my pocket.

After tucking a large pouch-shaped bomb artifact into the bottom of my dress, I hung the safety devices and offensive artifacts grandmother had given me all over my body.

The blue hairpin in my hair was a survival-type artifact that could cast a large safety barrier around me, the watch on my wrist was a recording device, the anklet on my ankle was…

My body was almost at weapon level, to the point where it would be difficult to explain each and every item.

‘This is what they call being overpowered with items.’

The lady attendants looked at me curiously, but that wasn’t important.

Having gained confidence rapidly, I smiled like a little devil.

‘This seems pretty good!’

But just then.

A strange sound leaked through the open window of the villa.

“Don’t you hear something?”

When I asked, the lady attendants also nodded their heads carefully.

I stared at the window and shuddered eerily. There definitely seemed to be something near the window.

***

While the hunting competition was in full swing, Delphia, the grand duchess who had belatedly received word that Matthias had become the margrave of Mirmode, frowned.

Although she wasn’t engaging in battle like Axel, she was in the midst of training her soldiers on the outskirts of the duchy. Moreover, as the grand duchess, she had been assigned the duty of tediously inspecting the border regions. In other words, she wasn’t in a position to move freely at the moment.

“Ah, while I’m stuck in this backwater corner.”

“Eek.”

“…The successor to the family has been decided, is that it?”

Snow-white hair and blue eyes.

She had an appearance that closely resembled a witch from a fairy tale.

Needless to say, her personality was eccentric and fastidious.

“This is absurd.”

Grand Duchess Delphia cursed through her teeth as she brushed back her snow-white hair.

Well, she didn’t actually expect the succession to Mirmode to naturally become hers.

However, it was inevitable that her mind would twist at the fact that Grand Duke Matthias, who had returned not long ago after being exiled, had ascended to the position of successor.

She spoke concisely to her confidant who had brought the message.

“Now it’s become a three-way battle between Axel, Matthias, and me. Right?”

“Ha! Even though Grand Duke Matthias has taken the successor position, it will probably be just an empty title. It’s quite amusing to see an exile subject rejoicing over seizing the position. The position above the duke belongs to you, Lady Delphia…!”

“Shut up.”

Delphia watched as the shoulders of her enraged confidant drooped.

It seems there’s nothing here that pleases me.

She was itching to return to the main mansion right away. There were more interesting things there.

Delphia crossed one leg and asked sharply.

“What do you think Matthias cherishes the most?”

“…That…”

When Delphia raised an eyebrow, the confidant cautiously opened his mouth.

“Wouldn’t it be his young daughter? I heard Matthias brought his daughter this time.”

“Ah, right.”

Delphia leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs.

The confidant watching her swallowed hard. When Delphia acted like this, nothing good ever happened.

Sure enough, she asked, staring into space with red eyes.

“What is Matthias doing now?”

“I heard he left for a hunting competition. It seems to be for the purpose of strengthening bonds among his closest confidants. He probably took his daughter too.”

“Hmm…”

Leaving for a hunting competition is quite natural, to show off one’s power.

Grand Duchess Delphia nodded with a smile.

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

“Yes, understood!”

“And the most important thing. Honestly, don’t you want to throw cold water on others when you see them having a festival?”

She smiled innocently.

“Come on, let’s kidnap her.”

“Who…”

“Matthias’s daughter, of course.”

Their expressions turned sinister.

***

I peeked down below the window with the lady attendants.

Outside, father’s friends were gathered in small groups.

‘W-what? Why are those uncles gathering and talking here?’

It was strange.

Surrounding one large, bandit-like figure, several uncles were pressing in with grim faces.

‘The one in the middle is the uncle with the ribbon in his hair that I saw earlier, could he be getting a group lynching?’

That uncle was holding a strange flower in his hand and seemed to be earnestly arguing something.

Purple petals with bright yellow stamens… that was fine, but it was a grotesque flower that looked like the lips of Jynx from the TV cartoon Poke*mon I had seen in my previous life.

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like it would spew poison. Venus flytrap, something like that?

I blamed my too-good eyesight and gasped, “Heup.”

‘Why are they standing like that under my window? Don’t tell me they’re trying to give that to me?’

Next to me, the lady attendants whispered in shock.

“It looks like they want to give that flower to Lady Sien.”

“What a pretty flower.”

I couldn’t understand which part of it was pretty.

‘Isn’t it obvious to anyone that they’re trying to poison me?’

But perhaps our whispering sounds had leaked through the open window. The uncles gathered outside suddenly scattered.

It was even faster than my speed acquired through the space-folding technique from grandmother’s magic tools.

As they dispersed, they cast suspicious glances towards my window, eyeing it ominously.

‘What were those uncles trying to do under my room’s window? They seem skilled, it’s really suspicious.’

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

Indiscriminate attack-type gourd artifact, equipped.

Excessive defense-type earring artifact, equipped.

Human-disassembling necklace artifact, equipped.

I looked at the ladies with fierce eyes.

“How many hours until the hunting competition?”

“It’s very soon, Lady Sien!”

I thought the hunting competition would pass relatively peacefully, but now my thoughts had changed.

No matter how I thought about it, it was time to verify father’s suspicious self-proclaimed confidants.

‘With these artifacts, that is.’

I clenched my fist, glaring fiercely at the artifacts.

***

Finally, my body and mind were perfectly prepared.

I arrived at the hunting competition grounds, holding father’s hand with determination.

‘This is the Rochern Forest where the hunting competition is held.’

The Rochern Forest where the hunting competition was held was a very large forest. If you were to go back and forth, it would take about two full hours at my pace.

‘The hunting competition is finally starting. I’ll be able to check those people’s abilities!’

“Sien, isn’t this too high?”

When I silently looked around tensely, father called me in a subtle voice and asked. His voice was full of concern, seemingly uncomfortable with looking down at others from a high place.

I glanced down at the large platform we were sitting on.

“No. It’s just right for me.”

I raised my chin arrogantly.

Father, who had been staring at me, soon smiled awkwardly.

Armed soldiers were guarding the weak father and the powerful me well around the platform.

‘Ah, nobles I’ve never seen before. Are they people from nearby territories?’

In the outdoor guest seats prepared below the platform, middle-aged uncles who seemed to be vassals of the count’s family, and noble ladies wearing quite fancy dresses were seated.

And right in front of the guest seats were scary-looking horses neighing with a ferocious air.

My gaze naturally turned to those riding the horses.

Persons of interest looking like violent criminals or escaped convicts!

They were father’s closest aides.

‘Those people might beat up lions or bears today. Still, I shouldn’t show any signs of fear. I’m Sien, who will soon become a great villain.’

After chanting a spell to myself – “Aja aja, fighting!” – I glanced at father.

The competition hasn’t officially started yet.

I grasped father’s collar slightly and said,

“Father.”

“Yes, Sien?”

“Can I also participate in the hunting competi-”

“No.”

I knew it would be like this.

I nodded my head primly without whining.

I understood father’s feelings too.

I was only five years old.

It was natural that I couldn’t directly participate in the hunting competition because I was a young child.

Anyway, participating in the hunting competition wasn’t the main goal.

Father looked at me, who was wearing a gloomy expression, affectionately and said,

“Instead, I’ll give you time to play in the grass field before the banquet. That’ll be fun, right?”

Only father can comfort me when I’m quite disappointed. I nodded my head once, big and bright, with a sunny smile.

‘Then I’ll observe people during the hunting competition time, and later go to that far grass field to detonate the bomb artifact.’

Today was the time to find out what kind of intentions father’s self-proclaimed aides harbored.

But even if father’s self-proclaimed aides harbored ill intentions, the thought also popped up that we just needed to make it so they couldn’t easily disregard father, right?

In other words, it was necessary to show the terrifying dignity of the daughter who was on the same side, so that those who called themselves father’s aides couldn’t climb over father and couldn’t disregard him.

‘When they see the bomb artifact explode, everyone will be surprised. It’s an extremely dangerous artifact, and grandmother told me to use it carefully.’

Having made all my plans, I giggled.

As the conversation between father and me ended, the sharp-eyed soldiers right below the platform all set off large celebratory fireworks at once.

Bang!

The fireworks were the signal to announce the start of the hunting competition.

Along with the signal, father looked around at his aides once with his usual benevolent expression. Then the uncles put on somewhat solemn expressions and hurried to depart.