As soon as Dietrich disappeared from view, Ileon approached Celiya and spoke.

“Lady Celiya.”

Celiya rolled her eyes and looked at Ileon.

Separate from wanting to kill Ileon on the spot, he was still the emperor.

If she failed to control her emotions in front of so many onlookers, everything could turn to bubbles in an instant.

Celiya exercised superhuman patience and replied to Ileon.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Why are you not participating in the hunting competition? I sent you an invitation, so how is it that the Duke of Calypso is attending in your place?”

She had declined, and Dietrich said he would go instead.

What Ileon was saying to her now was what she had wanted.

Celiya answered in a dry voice.

“As Your Majesty says, I will attend now if you wish.”

“No. That is not necessary.”

Ileon’s eyes crinkled as he naturally lifted Celiya’s chin with one hand.

As if checking the emotions in Celiya’s eyes, his azure blue eyes stared intently at her.

“Your Majesty. I am the Duke of Calypso’s lover.”

Celiya wanted to shake off Ileon’s hand immediately, but she held back and spoke each word with emphasis.

“For the sake of Your Majesty’s dignity, I would ask that you release me now.”

“……Dignity?”

Ileon twisted one corner of his mouth as if amused.

Releasing Celiya’s chin, Ileon looked down at her and said.

“Princess. I can do anything. Have you ever seen an emperor begging from a beggar?”

It was truly an arrogant statement.

“You pose no threat to me whatsoever.”

Ileon picked up a bow and arrows.

“What should I hunt that would please you?”

With those final words, Ileon disappeared leisurely into the depths of the forest.

Behind her, Celiya could hear noble ladies cursing her as a witch, but nothing registered in her ears.

Celiya wished with all her heart that she could kill Ileon right then and there.

He was the one who destroyed her entire kingdom based solely on some garbage prophecy.

He also destroyed Dietrich’s duchy, their allied nation.

The feeling of watching the person who had taken everything from her living perfectly well was utterly disgusting.

Celiya considered killing Ileon regardless of whether people were watching or not.

However, her ability only works on men.

If the noble ladies were to witness this, she would truly be branded as a ‘witch’.

‘Besides, it would also harm Dietrich.’

Celiya exercised superhuman patience and barely refrained from murder.

She just hoped that Dietrich, who had gone to the hunting competition, would return safely.

“My lady.”

Anderson, who seemed to have come in a hurry, was wiping sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

Dietrich’s aide Anderson had started calling Celiya ‘my lady’ at some point.

“I apologize for being late.”

When Anderson, a renowned master swordsman, stood behind Celiya with his sword at his side as if to protect her, the whispering noble ladies fell silent as if by magic.

A forest densely packed with large trees.

When not holding Celiya’s hand, Dietrich wore black gloves like he was now.

He could not touch Celiya’s hand with his dirty hands.

He moved deeper into the forest, gripping his sword.

Though he spotted small rabbits and deer along the way, Dietrich did not harm the innocent animals.

Dietrich intended to cut the necks of high-level magic beasts indiscriminately and hand them over to Ileon.

As a warning that he could take his head at any time.

How far had he gone like this?

“Grrrr!”

A sound like a magic beast’s growl came from inside a bush with red berries.

Dietrich moved towards the source of the growl.

A black-shaped magic beast with dozens of eyes on its body was about to devour a white rabbit with its mouth wide open.

Dietrich raised his sword and split the magic beast’s body in half.

Slash-

Black blood from the magic beast splattered onto Dietrich’s cheek.

The rabbit that had nearly entered the magic beast’s mouth trembled, then hurriedly disappeared into the bushes.

It was then, as Dietrich was wiping the blood from his cheek with his sleeve.

Ping!

Dietrich sensed an arrow flying directly towards him.

He tilted his head slightly to avoid the incoming arrow.

Ping-

Then another arrow came flying.

The arrow was aimed at Dietrich’s head.

Dietrich turned towards the direction the arrow came from and caught the arrow flying towards him with his gloved hand, crushing it.

Crack.

The arrow scattered in Dietrich’s hand.

“Catching a flying arrow with your hand? There was a high-level magic beast here.”

A mocking voice was heard.

Dietrich slowly turned his head towards the source of the voice.

Ileon, dressed in hunting clothes, was aiming a bow at him while mounted on a white horse.

Numerous knights gathered around Ileon, completely surrounding Dietrich.

No wonder something felt off when Ileon attended the hunting competition.

“So this was your plan from the start. You held this hunting competition intending to kill me. Deliberately sending an invitation to Celiya.”

Dietrich muttered lowly as he raised his sword.

“Wrong, Dietrich. Today, the Duke of Calypso fought a high-level magic beast at the hunting competition, suffered unavoidable injuries, and was devoured.”

Ileon drew his bowstring once more towards Dietrich.

The arrow aimed precisely at his head was mercilessly shattered in Dietrich’s hand.

Ileon’s eyes narrowed.

No matter how much of a sword master Dietrich was, it would be difficult for him to face dozens of opponents at once who had long served as Ileon’s subordinates and survived.

Of course, Ileon didn’t particularly care if Dietrich didn’t die here.

Ileon had more than enough ways to kill Dietrich.

‘The reason for using such a classic method is…’

The image of Celiya glaring at him flashed through Ileon’s mind.

A woman who dared to look at him with a face twisted with anger and resentment.

The sight of her biting her lower lip in frustration, unable to do anything to him despite emitting killing intent.

-Your Majesty. I am the Duke of Calypso’s lover.

Lover?

How could she call it love when there wasn’t a single mark from biting or sucking on that flawless white body.

Delicate and fragile.

A being that could not harm him in any way, not even tickle him.

The last princess of the Shan Kingdom that had perished and disappeared.

Born as a noble being, but having lost everything and been thrown to the ground because of him, a pitiful princess.

Seeing Celiya broken because of him gave Ileon a feeling of something empty being tightly filled.

Ileon drew a faint smile on his lips.

It didn’t matter if Dietrich didn’t die.

A slight injury would be enough.

How would that woman react when she saw Dietrich injured?

“The new Emperor seems to have many thoughts.”

Dietrich said mockingly.

Ileon, breaking from his reverie, looked down at Dietrich.

“Kill him.”

As soon as the order fell, Ileon’s subordinates rushed at Dietrich all at once.

Clang!

With the sound of dozens of blades clashing behind him, Ileon turned his horse around.

Before long, the sun began to set.

The red sunset dyed the blue forest entirely in crimson.

People who had hunted small animals in the forest gradually began to appear.

“One rabbit! No, is this all you managed to hunt after an entire day?”

At his wife’s scolding, her husband scratched his cheek and replied in a small voice.

“Dear, there weren’t as many animals as we thought…”

“You should have hunted magic beasts!”

“Magic beasts are… scary.”

Celiya let out a deep sigh.

Dietrich had not yet shown himself.

Celiya felt anxious.

She didn’t know why such uneasy thoughts were creeping in.

Even though they had only been apart for a short while, she felt empty without Dietrich.

Anderson, who had been silently standing by Celiya’s side, spoke up.

“Do not worry. Though it may not be appropriate for me to say, Duke Calypso is the strongest person I know. I’m sure nothing has happened to him.”

“…Do you think so?”

“Yes, please believe me, my lady.”

At Anderson’s words as he thumped his chest, Celiya seemed to feel a little reassured.

However, Dietrich did not appear even as almost everyone who had entered the forest had come out.

A formal dinner was prepared at the imperial palace for those who had successfully completed the hunting competition.

Most people handed over animal skins and such that they had hunted to Ileon’s knights and headed towards the imperial palace with them.

In place of the sunset that had disappeared behind the mountain ridges, deep night had fallen.

Everyone had left, and the only ones who had not yet returned were Dietrich and Ileon.

Unable to stand it any longer, Celiya said to Anderson.

“Something’s not right. I need to go into the forest and check if Dietrich is safe myself.”

“My lady!”

Anderson hurriedly grabbed Celiya, who looked ready to dash off at any moment.

“It’s night now, and there are magic beasts in the forest, so it’s dangerous. Duke Calypso will be safe. Let’s wait a little longer, and if he doesn’t come out, I’ll go…”

Before Anderson could finish speaking, someone appeared at the entrance to the forest.