“I don’t have any medicine… I’ll be fine soon.”

Lena forced a smile as she helped Blair change into another dress. However, after finishing the change, Lena was sweating coldly.

Blair, with a worried look, wiped away the sweat while checking Lena’s complexion.

“Lena, it seems like you’re not feeling well. I’ll go and call the royal physician. Maybe…”

“Oh, no! It’s not like that…”

“Hmm?”
Clutching her painful stomach, Lena, who had been answering in a voice while crawling forward, stood up as if she couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Ma, madam. Then, may I please, just for a moment, leave my seat?”

“Oh… Yes, go slowly and come back without worrying too much.”

Blair nodded as if understanding the meaning only now. Lena’s fear of losing Blair’s approval seemed to vanish abruptly.

And after a while, she returned to the carriage with a relieved expression.

“Ha… I thought I was going to die. Is it just me?”

A while ago, when the owners were having their meal, the maids had their own meal together.

“If we had eaten the prepared food, other people would also be sick, right?”

If that had happened, there would have been a commotion, but somehow, it seemed that other noble families were calm without any issues.

With a wry smile, Lena arrived at the front of the carriage, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“…Madam?”

Blair had inexplicably disappeared.

The forest became noisy.

As the knights began their hunting, the quiet bushes started to shake.

Then, in that fleeting moment when the deer revealed itself.

A single arrow precisely pierced the deer’s neck.

Following that, a surprised rabbit leaped out. It, too, crumpled lifelessly with a single arrow.

Herdin pulled out the next arrow with an indifferent look.

Killing something no longer brought any excitement to him. It wasn’t amusing, nor was it horribly unpleasant.
As Herdin was about to change his position, Wesley appeared, cutting through the forest.

“Wow, you’re quite something. Haven’t missed a single one, have you? It seems Your Excellency catches every forest creature.”

Herdin looked at the cheeky Wesley with a cold gaze.

Could it be that he has been following me since earlier because my presence makes him uncomfortable?

It was fortunate that he wasn’t trailing behind Blair, but even so, it was quite irritating to have him constantly meddling in his view.

“Sometimes you deliberately let one go, so people like me can also enjoy the thrill, don’t you think?”

“I don’t derive satisfaction from conceding what’s mine to others.”

Herdin replied nonchalantly and turned away.

At that moment, a rabbit appeared in their sight. Wesley, who spotted it, eagerly raised his bow.

And just as he was about to release the arrow.

A faster arrow came flying, piercing the tree trunk near the rabbit. Surprised, the rabbit darted away, and Wesley’s arrow landed on the ground a moment too late.

Seeing Wesley looking at the direction from which another arrow came, there was Herdin lowering his bow.

“Well, it looks like I messed up by getting too greedy.”

However, contrary to his words, there was no regret on his face at all.

Wesley realized that it wasn’t a mistake. A man who had been hitting every target with precision wouldn’t make such a simple error.
It was a deliberately intended mistake not to give even one to Wesley.

Wesley’s expression initially stiffened, but he quickly suppressed his emotions and smiled.

“They say even monkeys fall from trees occasionally, so I suppose Your Excellency has days when you make mistakes.”

Herdin looked at Wesley with a peculiar gaze.

Something was off.

The guy who spread rumors that he was the one who initiated the confrontation at the banquet, now not only avoided him but also kept lurking around, acting strangely.

‘It almost feels like he’s keeping an eye on me.’

A casual thought that was passing through Herdin’s mind abruptly halted.

Herdin gave orders to the nearby knights, “Knights, let’s head back.”

Upon hearing this, Wesley, looking surprised, approached.

“Are you already leaving? If we catch a bit more, you can secure victory in the competition.”

Ignoring him, Herdin pulled the reins and turned away.

As the forest entrance drew closer, an inexplicable ominous feeling grew stronger.

When they arrived at the entrance, they encountered a knight who was about to speak. It was Vain, the knight entrusted with Blair’s protection.

“Y-Your Excellency.”

Seeing Herdin, Vain seemed visibly flustered. Behind him, the carriage of Delmark became visible, along with the contemplative face of Lina.

However, Blair, who should have been present there, was nowhere to be seen.

Instinctively, his heart sank.