Benjamin sat slowly beside the waterfall.

The deepest part of the Fontria Forest. Next to him were numerous preys.

Benjamin nonchalantly sheathed his sword and washed his hands in the flowing lake.

“The white tiger is caught. I don’t see the black tiger.”

The knights of the Windsor House who had been hiding around revealed themselves.

“All around here are white tigers as well. The black tiger seems to be in a different area. Shall we go deeper into the forest?”

Aster bowed his head to meet Benjamin’s eyes.

Benjamin looked up above his head and smiled faintly.

“Aster, you found me early.”

“You keep shaking off the knights. Your Highness? Should we track you instead of the prey? At this rate, forget the hunting competition, we won’t even find prey to give to Charlotte.”

Aster found Benjamin and sat on a rock across from him. Benjamin, by nature, does not keep people behind his back. That was also the similar reason why Benjamin wandered outside alone.

“Guards are not given to you to be shaken off.”

“Sorry about that. What has become a habit? Still, since I was with them the whole time in the hunting grounds, it should be fine.”

Cesar came out from inside the forest, grabbing someone’s neck.

“The Empress seems to be going mad day by day. Brazenly scattering assassins inside the hunting grounds?”

“The Empress has been getting mentally weak lately, her sight seems to be quite blurred.”

Cesar checked once more that the area was safe and sheathed his sword.

“We’ll have to pay more attention to security from now on.”

“Is it necessary?”

“I heard that recently, you shook off the guards the Windsor House assigned to you again.”

The Windsor House had recently assigned guards. No one in the imperial palace could be rashly trusted. So the Windsor House detached a unit of knights and sent them, but recently Benjamin had shaken off these guards and gone out in secret again.

“Take off their masks and check their faces.”

“I took them off and checked, but I don’t recognize their faces.”

“The prey for today’s hunting competition can be resolved with this.”

Benjamin snatched the neck of a black tiger coming out of the forest. Snatching the neck of a black tiger, whose body was twice as large as a regular tiger, was done in an instant.

“Your Highness, what did you just catch?”

“I was saying I don’t see the black tiger, and in a moment of lowered guard, I almost got my neck caught instead of this guy’s.”

“Do you have no sense of crisis, Your Highness?”

“It seems we wandered into the black tiger’s territory. Shall we stop here for today, Aster, shouldn’t you be heading out soon too?”

The black tiger growled and fainted from the sheath that Benjamin wielded.

“Please refrain from dangerous actions.”

“There are many dangers.”

“I will escort you out now. The weather doesn’t seem good.”

Benjamin raised his head at Aster’s advice.

“Indeed. Dark clouds are gathering.”

Dark clouds rushed in from the outskirts of the Fontria Forest. The pitch-black clouds engulfed the entire forest area.

The hunting competition was still in full swing deep inside the forest.

Benjamin had also come too deep into the forest, and at this rate, it seemed they would get swallowed by the rain clouds on the way to the gathering point.

“It will pour soon.”

Aster expressed concern over the weather.

“Is it because we’re deep in the forest that it’s darker?”

Benjamin calmly surveyed the outside.

“I think we should go out.”

Benjamin undid the stuffy uniform buttons.

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

“It would definitely be better to get out before it gets darker.”

A bluebird flapped its wings quietly beside his head. Benjamin reached out his hand while watching the bluebird fly to the side.

Grabbing the bluebird with both hands, the flapping bird sat meekly on his palm.

“Are you telling me to take you out?”

The quiet fluttering of wings continued on his palm.

Why do you treat me as less than a beast? Why do you trample me into the dirt again…!

“This wench has gone mad…!”

Charlotte loaded a bullet into the crossbow and pulled the trigger. The stifled resentment in her chest also slowly subsided.

‘Is this catharsis?’

It hasn’t been long since she buried her mother’s urn, and that man she calls father who brought his mistress into the house…

And that woman who came holding the hand of her stepbrother…

“Next time I’ll shoot that mouth of yours.”

“Eek!”

“Want more?”

As she reloaded another bullet, Chloe covered her head and lay face down. She thought seeing her like this would feel refreshing, but it wasn’t.

“Stop it! I said stop! Damn it!”

As Charlotte lowered the crossbow, Chloe clutched her chest.

There was a small presence behind her. A maid and a young child stood still outside the tent. The maid, holding the child, took a step back in alarm.

“Mommy?”

Henrietta reached out her hand to Chloe. Henrietta, who had been smiling brightly, quickly became crestfallen.

Children are sensitive to their parents’ expressions. They say children don’t know much, but when parents look gloomy, the child becomes anxious too.

“Don’t lay a hand on Henrietta!”

Still, she is pretty because she’s your own child. Charlotte put her hand on Henrietta’s head.

Her head is small. She’s too small now for me to do anything.

The sins your parents committed are not your sins, but it’s hard for me to like you too.

“I’m sorry to you.”

Henrietta.

“But what can I do?”

That household is like that. That you were born into that household. You are not at fault, but my malice is not at fault either.

Charlotte took her gaze off Henrietta and looked down at the maid blocking her way, brushing back her hair.

“Get lost.”

The maids who had gathered after hearing the gunshot hesitated.

Charlotte took in each of them with her eyes and detached the loaded bullet from the crossbow.

I’m bored. I’m tired of this. I hate it here so much.

“Let’s go now. I’m tired.”

Catarina understood and made way.

Dozing off in the Windsor House tent, she heard the sound of rain.

Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.

The sound of rain echoed outside the tent.

Charlotte got up from where she had been leaning on the cot and came out of the tent.

The rain was getting heavier, and the noblewomen taking a walk outside also hurriedly took shelter in their tents.

“Was it originally supposed to rain today?”

The sky had been clear until morning. The entire forest was darkened by rain clouds.

The cloudy sky was pouring down water, and puddles were forming here and there on the ground.

“Miss, if you stay here you’ll get rained on.”

As Charlotte stepped out of the tent, Catarina brought an umbrella.

“Why the sudden rain?”

“It seems to be a shower. The dark clouds suddenly gathered and this happened. So people are starting to return one by one from the hunting grounds too.”

There was still a long way to go until the hunting competition. But it was difficult to continue the competition in this state.

If the rain continued, it wouldn’t be strange for people who left for the hunting grounds to lose their way.

“What about His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“No news yet.”

“What about the two grand uncles?”

“No news from them either.”

The tent was located at an appropriate distance from the entrance of the forest. Charlotte took the umbrella and came out in front of the square.

Raindrops pattered on the umbrella.

The flowing rainwater gradually soaked her shoulders, and the bottom of her dress got wet with rainwater.

As the rain poured down refreshingly, people avoiding the rain began to quickly leave the hunting grounds.

“People are starting to leave the hunting grounds.”

Charlotte tilted her head to the side.

“If they’re coming out, grand uncle will be here soon too.”

It seemed she could stop worrying.

The hunting competition was interrupted midway due to the rain.

“Miss, wouldn’t it be better to wait in the tent?”

“It’s been a while since it rained. I want to walk a little. Later when grand uncle comes, let him know.”

The yellow umbrella was flashy but blocked the entire view. Charlotte quietly looked at the umbrella and put it down.

As she put the umbrella on the ground, Catarina picked it up in surprise, but,

“It’s fine.”

Charlotte refused, saying it was alright.

“I’m going to walk a bit.”

“You’ll catch a cold. If I let you go like this, I’ll be scolded by the head later.”

Charlotte looked up at the rainwater pouring over her head with a profound feeling. Come to think of it, she couldn’t even remember the last time she was rained on like this, it had been erased from her memory long ago.

“It’s refreshing. I haven’t smelled rain in a long time either.”

“…I really don’t understand you, Miss.”

“I want to get rained on.”

“The two from the Windsor House would be greatly shocked if they saw you like this now.”

Charlotte enjoyed the brief respite. Her chest felt cool. Her red hair drooped, soaked with rainwater. Reaching out her hand, the rainwater touched her fingers and scattered.

“His Highness the Crown Prince will be in a bad mood and come.”

“What?”

“He won’t like getting wet in the rain.”

This is a story I learned later, but the day the deposed queen was executed was during the monsoon season with pouring rain.

The deposed queen ascended the execution platform under the pouring rain, and her head was cut off there.

Benjamin was there too, albeit unofficially.

When Benjamin gets particularly on edge during the monsoon season, his close aides wondered why and found out about this.

“And you, Miss, are completely drenched? What will you do if His Highness the Crown Prince sees…”

“Well. Will he scold me for being foolish?”

But you know what.

“Why do I feel more refreshed by this?”

As she stood there in a daze alone, someone approached. As Charlotte lowered her head, a small child was looking up at her.

“Here.”

Henrietta picked up the umbrella that had fallen to the ground and handed it to Charlotte. It was the yellow umbrella she had put on the ground.

Charlotte twisted her hair and laughed.

“Why are you giving that to me?”

“Use this.”

“Why would I accept your kindness?”

I have no reason to show you kindness, and I have no reason to receive kindness from you.

Charlotte pushed away the umbrella Henrietta held out with her fingertips.

“Don’t come near me.”

The umbrella rolled on the dirt ground.

“It makes me uncomfortable when you do this.”

As the water flowed down her fingers, the warmth cooled and her lips turned pale.

As Charlotte was about to turn her back, the child grabbed that back.

“You have to use an umbrella.”

Henrietta just put the umbrella in her thin hand and moved away with the maid.

I really hate it when you do this. It makes me feel so miserable.

As Charlotte stood still in a daze, the entrance of the forest became busy. People were milling around the entrance of the Fontria Forest.

“What’s that? It seems like something is coming out of the forest?”

“People are coming out, aren’t they?”

“No. The ground wouldn’t shake like this if people were coming out! It’s a bear, a bear! A mad black bear!”