The royal hunting competition was an annual event held every autumn. The participants of the hunting competition moved to the royal hunting grounds of the Orte Forest north of San Carlo, set up tents, and hunted all day long.

High-ranking nobles, ladies, and young noble ladies engaged in conversation in the tents set up at the entrance of the forest, while young men, equipped with bows, quivers, and hunting dogs, ventured deep into the woods to capture game.

The highlight of the day was the award ceremony to determine the winner of the hunting competition. Starting early in the morning and individually tallying the day’s catch late in the afternoon, the young man who caught the most and best game was awarded a prize.

The prize was a small amount of gold coins bestowed by His Majesty the King and a laurel wreath personally placed by Queen Marguerite.

In addition, ribbons or handkerchiefs personally given by the young ladies were also worth seeing.

Giving a handkerchief was considered a sign of an intimate rendezvous, so unless a young lady was very bold, she would not carelessly offer her own handkerchief, but on this day alone, it was generously allowed as a token of praise to the winner of the hunting competition.

“Who do you think will win this time?”

Arabella asked Ariadne, her eyes sparkling. Arabella had recently been visiting Ariadne’s drawing room and hanging around all the time.

To the still young Arabella, the affairs of high society and all the events happening to her elder sisters, the letters and notes, bouquets, and gifts from men seemed like stories from another world. No matter how much she heard, she couldn’t get enough and wanted to hear more.

“Well?”

Ariadne shook her head. In fact, the court nobles who had settled in San Carlo were more proficient in chess and literature than in hunting or swordsmanship.

So the winner of the hunting competition was often an unfamiliar name rather than one familiar to the capital’s nobility.

“I hope a handsome knight wins the hunting competition the year I grow up and participate!”

Arabella fantasized. Ariadne replied with a laugh.

“If you want a handsome knight, you can give him your handkerchief even if he doesn’t win, right?”

Even if it wasn’t given specifically to the winner, if a young lady’s eyes found a participant brave-looking enough despite unfortunately missing the win, it was common for her to shyly offer a handkerchief or tie a ribbon to a horse’s saddle and disappear.

The hunting competition was an event where love at first sight often occurred between young men and women.

Unaware of such behind-the-scenes details, Arabella’s eyes lit up.

“I’m going to marry a handsome groom!”

“Of course you will.”

Ariadne laughed.

‘I’ll help you grow up safely and stay alive until then, so that can happen. I’ll change your fate.’

A smile naturally formed on her lips as Arabella imagined holding hands with a handsome knight and bringing him home to introduce.

Whether the day would come when Arabella would learn of her half-sister’s determination was in the realm of the unknown.

Most of the capital’s nobility were invited to the hunting competition, and as it was an outdoor event, there was no limit to the number of people who could attend. Even if they were not strictly nobility, invitations were generously distributed to those who could come, such as relatives of nobles or officials who had rendered meritorious service.

It was the number one event that men of low status but brave and ambitious, seeking a wife, wanted to attend.

This was also the reason Lucrezia had not sent Giannobi back to Taranto even after the debutante ball ended.

Lucrezia hoped that Giannobi would seduce a decent young lady here and settle down in the capital. Actually, considering Giannobi’s face, it didn’t seem easy, so she at least wished for Giannobi to make acquaintances with gentlemen and find a suitable job in the capital.

“This time, you have to meet a lot of people here and there without saying anything strange.”

Lucrezia sat Giannobi down and earnestly requested.

“I’ll do my best on my own, Aunt Lucrezia!”

Even after the dress gift from the Collegiones was rejected, Cesare had been steadily sending presents. What arrived just before the hunting competition was still the same bouquet of red roses and an elaborate horse saddle specially crafted from deerskin.

However, they were blocked by the impenetrable coldness of the young lady.

“Put the roses away somewhere out of my sight, and return the horse saddle.”

The mail attendant, accustomed to Ariadne’s orders, took the large gift box and left without a word.

He had become so used to it that he would hold Cesare’s servant back from leaving, receive instructions from the second young lady, and have Cesare’s servant take it back on his way home.

Isabella felt like she would develop a neurosis just from seeing red roses now. But Ariadne was no different in not feeling happy when she saw red roses.

The mail Ariadne had been mainly receiving was Alfonso’s gold-decorated stationery. Prince Alfonso always wrote on gold-decorated stationery with a thick nib and blue ink.

However, since returning after the debutante ball ended, except for a single letter that arrived immediately after, informing that he had safely entered the palace, there had been no contact from Alfonso whatsoever.

‘What could be going on?’

Or maybe he just lost interest in me.

Whenever she was left alone, Ariadne would reminisce about her time with Alfonso.

Was he hurt that she didn’t give him a heads-up at the Chibo estate auction that was a forgery? Was asking for a wish too presumptuous of her? Or was he indeed disappointed to see at the debutante ball that her body was large and unsightly?

Just thinking about it made her unbearably depressed. Ariadne shook her head to shake off the thought.

“Young lady, there’s also a letter.”

The mail attendant urged Ariadne, who had a blank expression.

Always, upon receiving the news that ‘mail has arrived’ and looking at the mail attendant in anticipation of the prince’s letter, what he held out was not gold-decorated stationery but a huge red rose and an envelope decorated with the silver leaf of the Ducal House of Como.

Today was no different. Inside the envelope decorated with silver leaf and sealed with red wax that the attendant held out, there was a note-like letter written in Cesare’s beautiful handwriting.

「From your debutante partner,

I intend to aim for victory in this hunting competition. If I become the winner who catches the golden deer, won’t you give me your handkerchief?

− Count Cesare.」

Ariadne had been responding to all of Count Cesare’s notes with no response. In other words, she had never sent a single reply.

But upon seeing this note, she was so irritated that she almost wrote a reply telling him to shut up.

Ariadne, who had put down the parchment and even picked up a pen, barely restrained herself just before writing the first line and put down the pen nib on the desk with a thud.

“A man with unparalleled shamelessness.”

Then she picked up Count Cesare’s letter, tore it to shreds, and threw it in the trash can. No matter how desperate, one could not eat what was not food.

It was the moment when Count Cesare’s handwritten letter, which the young ladies of the capital dreamed of receiving even once, was discarded and became garbage.

The day of the hunting competition was a clear autumn day with a bright blue sky. The invited guests, each with their own expectations, gathered in groups of three or five under the huge white tent erected at the entrance of the Orte Forest and talked about today’s hunting competition.

− “Who do you think will be this year’s winner?”
− “I heard that diplomatic envoys from the Kingdom of Gallico have come. Could it be one of their entourage?”
− “The nobles of San Carlo are a bit weak in martial arts after all.”
− “Still, I hope someone from Etruscan wins.”
− “I agree.”

Prince Alfonso was renowned for his prowess in swordsmanship, jousting, and hunting.

However, until last year, he was clearly a boy, so Queen Marguerite, who cherished her son like gold, prevented him from participating in any dangerous activities, and the prince had never participated in the hunting competition.

This year, he was finally going to make his debut, but due to the arrival of the diplomatic mission from the Kingdom of Gallico, the prince’s schedule was filled with meetings with foreign envoys, so he was absent from this year’s hunting competition as well.

Today, Prince Alfonso’s place was not in the hunting grounds but in the tent where dignitaries had gathered.

“An empty house is meant to be robbed.”

Count Cesare de Como was aiming for the spot left by the departure of a strong contender.

He was weak in arts that required physical strength, such as jousting, but had a knack for archery and horsemanship, where skill was more important than strength. The hunting competition, where victory was determined by the bow, was the perfect arena for Cesare to shine.

“Is this what they mean by ‘in a forest without tigers, the fox is king’?”

“Shut up, who are you calling a fox?”

Cesare, annoyed by Ottavio’s teasing beside him, shook the reins once and went ahead alone.

Even if Ottavio hadn’t gotten on his nerves, he was planning to go alone today. If he accompanied other noble sons, he would have to share the game when they found it.

Cesare was only going to take his subordinates to act as beaters and hunting dogs, and today he was going to venture deep into the forest to catch wild boars, bears, or the legendary ‘golden deer’.

“Hey, you guys. Be careful not to hurt the ‘golden deer’.”

“Ah, Count. Surely the ‘golden deer’ doesn’t really exist. It’s more realistic to aim for a bear.”

Cesare cheerfully called out to his mocking subordinates.

“I told you I really saw it before! In life, it’s all about one shot. If we just find the ‘golden deer’, victory is guaranteed. Keep your eyes wide open and search!”

“Yes, sir!”

Ariadne arrived at the outskirts of the Orte Forest, the venue for the hunting competition, with Lucrezia, Isabella, and Giannobi. Today they were on horseback, not in a carriage. Not only gentlemen but also ladies were dressed in stylish riding attire.

Ariadne also wore a newly tailored hunting hat from Ragione Tailor Shop and entered the outskirts of the Orte Forest, dressed in a green striped riding outfit with a narrow skirt width for ease of movement and a neckline that went up to the tip of her chin, riding a dark brown horse.

Isabella, who sat on a splendid white horse and didn’t seem to even think about getting dirty, was also dressed in a luxurious pure white riding outfit. Lucrezia’s riding outfit had a deep neckline like an evening dress despite being for riding. Giannobi had also done his best to dress up in his own way to catch a noble young lady who would take care of his livelihood.

Isabella wanted to be with her other friends today, but she seemed quite annoyed by the reality of having to accompany her mother who had not yet established herself in high society.

But then again, the number of Isabella’s friends had greatly decreased, so it might be better to have the excuse of needing to take care of her mother.

Ariadne looked around. Julia de Valdesar and her friends mostly did not come today.

Young ladies who were already engaged did not attend the hunting competition, and on the contrary, those of too high status who were sure to meet a match arranged by their family also did not attend.

If they had a brother participating in the hunting competition, they would come to cheer him on, but Julia’s brother was staying in Padua to study abroad, Cornelia only had younger sisters, and Gabrielle’s younger brother was too young to participate in the hunting competition.

Prince Alfonso could be seen very far away. Prince Alfonso was standing in the center of the tent, in the highest dignitary seats, along with Leo III, Queen Marguerite, and the Gallico delegation.

Ariadne looked toward Prince Alfonso. The prince also looked in Ariadne’s direction. Their eyes met in the air.

When Prince Alfonso encountered Ariadne, he bowed his head in embarrassment. He neither formally paid his respects nor separately acknowledged her.

Ariadne’s mood plummeted. She could understand it in her head. She and Prince Alfonso were just friends, and the excitement she felt for Prince Alfonso was something only she harbored.

Prince Alfonso was currently carrying out official duties and had no time to spare for just a friend. But even if her head understood, her heart did not follow.

With an inexplicable sense of loss, she lowered her head and spurred her horse forward.

The reason Alfonso did not greet Ariadne separately was not only due to his mother’s request but also because of the situation he was in.

Now was not the time for Alfonso to focus on personal romantic ventures. A national-level romantic venture was being arranged. But it was not exactly proceeding smoothly.

The Gallico envoys consisted of one duke, one count, and several working-level officials, all of whom had gone back and forth several times as diplomatic envoys between the Kingdom of Etruscan.

Naturally, they could speak Etruscan very well. Even when Duke Mireille came to Etruscan as a diplomatic envoy last time, he engaged in conversation with Etruscan noblewomen in fluent Etruscan.

But today, as if a strange wind had blown, they all kept their mouths shut and spoke only in Gallico. The interpreter nominally attached was quite flustered when he actually had to do his job.

“It’s a fine day, isn’t it.”

It was simple Gallico that even Leo III could understand, but it was unprecedented for the king to communicate in a foreign language, so all the gathered leaders were flustered.

At least Queen Marguerite, whose native language was Gallico and who was royalty but for whom speaking in Gallico was not a flaw, was the only one responding to the envoys’ small talk.

In the end, unable to stand it any longer, Marquess Count said a word to the Gallico envoys through an interpreter.

“If you come to Etruscan, you must follow Etruscan law. Let us converse in a language comfortable for both of us.”

Then the Gallico envoy, Duke Mireille, smiled sarcastically and said a word.

“What makes a country great? Its language, I’d say.” (Have you ever seen a great power follow the ways of a small country?)