I Don’t Want to Be a Lady

“What is this?”

“This?”

Navier looked down at the handkerchief in my hand and asked back, tilting his head.

“I heard you give this to wish for someone’s victory though?”

“Then why are you giving it to me?”

“That… Do you think there’s anyone else who will give it to you except me?”

“…” I had nothing to say in response.

“Did I hit the nail on your head?”

“Noisy.”

I snatched the handkerchief from Navier’s hand and stuffed it roughly into my pocket. Then I asked, “What are you doing here? Aren’t you the one who would succeed Count Bornes even if you didn’t do anything?”

“That… because it looks interesting?”

I looked up at Navier with a fed-up look. “How did you know I was participating?”

Navier said with languid eyes as if recalling something, “When I heard the emperor had issued official letters, I went to the County, but they said it had already been taken. By your maid.” Then he looked at Madrenne. Madrenne covered her cheek at his gaze as if she was ashamed of it.

My face crumpled. It felt as if my ears were rotting. “Why do you covet an official letter sent to my family when you can get that from your family?”

At Arianne’s sharp question, Navier replied only with a smile. That, it’s because my older brother has already burned the official letter that came to my family. His brother didn’t seem to want to give him any chance.

“I will take the handkerchief. Get out my way now. If we stick around together, your stupidity will spread to me.”

“Okay. Then I will be waiting for you to come back.”

“No, you can just go.”

“Heung~ Sister, I will wait until you come back~ You have to come back.” Navier, who saw Arianne’s stern face, moved his seat with a smile.

“How can the young master be so considerate? Absolutely perfect—”

“My gun!”

At Arianne’s command, Madrenne quickly regained her senses and began to please her. “Of course, no one is as perfect as my Lady. Whether it’s from appearance or intelligence! Besides, look at your shooting skill. You beast Sir Glock from the Colt family.”

I couldn’t scold her for saying the right things.

“By the way, Lady! I really didn’t expect it. To join a hunting competition! Lady is going to win, right?”

I glanced at Madrenne, who was excited, then said, “Of course, there’s no need to ask. I would like a fox fur scarf this winter.”

“It’s a wise choice. Then, I will be waiting for you while harassing Leni, so please catch a lot.”

“Oh my, you don’t even tell me to take care of myself?”

“What animal would dare to touch you? Unless they want to die.”

Animals would know better. That my Lady is fiercer than a bear. Regardless of Madrenne’s true feelings, Arianne, who smiled at her, headed to the hunting grounds with a revolver on her thigh, a dagger on her ankle, and a long rifle in her hand. Paku, who had been watching her from afar, followed her with a slight gap.

I went straight into the depths of the forest. As soon as I entered, I had long forgotten my promise to Charter.

“There’s a special animal, and they must be aimed for it first. If no one can catch it until the end, the one who catches the most will be the winner. As expected, those idiots don’t know that neither one nor the other can do it if they only pursue uncertain luck.”

I, who mumbled golden ribbon from the beginning and recalled the people whose eyes had gone red, shook my head. Soon after, I reached where the red line was drawn and crossed it without hesitation.

“Now, shall we get started?”

* * *

Navier sighed as he slumped back in his chair only after Arianne entered the forest.

Anyway, it’s worrying me. The hunting competition…

Navier was going to participate in the hunting competition. Although he was the successor to Count Bornes, he didn’t know what would happen in the future. Count Bornes might seek another successor. It wasn’t impossible as that old man was still alive. If so, then Arianne simply has no chance at all.

Navier always wanted to be her family that she could lean on at any time. So he was looking for the official letter and aiming for the title of baron.

Damn it, Roland! What a petty guy. If his older brother hadn’t burned the official letter, he wouldn’t have had to send Arianne alone today. His concern for her little sister left a deep wrinkle between his brows.

“Does this place have an owner? If not, may I sit here?”

Navier’s head went up. The woman covered her mouth with a fan as if ashamed and pointed to the seat next to him. At that, Navier bent his eyes. The drooping corners of his eyes made him look drowsy, but they were charming. The woman unknowingly gasped and pounded her chest.

“Yes, it’s already had its owner, so find another place.”

“Yes? Ah, I see.”

The woman was mesmerized by his eye smile and didn’t even realize that he had rudely rejected her. His eye smile was engraved deep in her heart.

* * *

I went deeper and deeper into the forest after crossing the red line. The deeper I went, the shade increased as the sunlight was blocked by the dense tree.

“It’s time for something to come out…”

I had already made up my mind to make a scarf from the fox fur, and as I went through the forest, I was thinking about making it for Charter too, if there were any left. 

“Is there even a bear in here? Why is it so empty?”

The moment I grumbled, saying, “I’ve come so deep. Why can’t I still have a single hair on the fox’s tail?” Something white raised its head in the grass ahead.  

“Huh? A siberian weasel? No… is it the least weasel?”

Um, least weasel’s fur scarf isn’t bad, right? I immediately pointed my rifle at the target and stared at the sights.

A bit more, just a little bit more… I saw the one who was sticking its head out through the grass, stretching out its long neck.  

“Huh? Golden ribbon?”

What a windfall! My eyes shone.

There was no such windfall. Still, I couldn’t believe the winning prize had just appeared in front of my eyes… I approached it carefully and looked around to see if anyone else was around.

But then, snap. I stepped on a branch. As expected, the white least weasel was surprised and began to run away quickly.

“Hey! Stop!”

Paku, who was watching Arianne chasing after the white least weasel, opened his mouth. “She rushed into the predator area without fear and encountered the special animal? Is it really coming from luck? Or does she know it in advance?”

First of all, he couldn’t just leave the fearless lady alone in the dangerous area. Paku hurried along in the direction where Arianne had disappeared. Even though he had a big build, there was no trace of anyone passing by.

“Gasp, gasp. It’s faster than I thought. It must have come this way, right?”

My eyes looked around and saw a white object in the distance.

That’s it! I approached carefully, praising myself for my sharp eyes, which were trained by shooting. Of course, I didn’t forget to check the ground this time. As my physical strength had already reached its limit, I was more cautious because I knew that if I missed that jerk nimble fellow again, I wouldn’t be able to find it anymore.

The white least weasel remained motionless on the spot even though our distance was narrowed until only about 10m. It’s strange. It’s not hiding in the grass, so why is it stopped in the middle of the path?

My question was solved after I, who felt strange about it, slightly pulled my head out of the three where I was hiding.

There’s a wolf!

A gray wolf was growling with its head bent in front of the white least weasel. The white least weasel seemed to be unable to move in fear. The gorgeous golden ribbon around its neck trembled pitifully.

What should I do?

* * *

At that time, hide-and-seek was taking place at the Imperial Palace.

“Emily! Where are you hiding? Emily!!” The urgent voice of Luiden echoed through the silent palace.

After wandering here and there for a while, Luiden saw Charter walking from afar. He rushed to him at once and was in despair when he saw Charter’s hand was empty.

“Looks like it didn’t hide in the east.”

At Charter’s words, Luiden spoke in disbelief, “No. I’m sure it must be somewhere in the Imperial Palace. Let’s look for it again.”

Charter couldn’t understand why Luiden suddenly became so sensitive looking for his pet.

“Why are you looking for Emily all of a sudden? It must be hiding somewhere. Didn’t it usually hide often?”

Despite Charter’s reassuring words, Luiden’s worried expression didn’t change.

“It’s kind of strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“The face of that guy who suddenly designated a special animal that didn’t exist before was so delighted, which made me feel disgusted! Perhaps…” said Luiden, nervously biting his nail.

At Luiden’s words, Charter finally figured out the situation. “No way… Do you think Emily is the special animal the crown prince put up as an honor prize?”

“Why would he be so happy? He became happy only from my misfortune, right? I felt it when he glanced at me while talking about the special animal. His target is me again.”

Charter thought Luiden had a point. The crown prince, that personality disorder bastard, still remained like that. He was the kind of person who would stab a knife in someone’s back while laughing. There wouldn’t be any hint of guilt from him.

The crown prince had everything from his birth, nobody could say anything about him, and he didn’t have to ask for forgiveness for anything he did. To put it simply, he was a madman with the supreme power in the empire.

It was also the reason why Charter was on Luiden’s side. Although Luiden’s ideas fit well with his, the most important reason was to prevent the crown prince from becoming the emperor. The moment he became emperor, this empire was literally ruined.

Emily was Luiden’s pet and one precious family member. Emily was named after Queen Emily, Luiden’s biological mother. Unlike the empress, who got married from political marriage, Queen Emily got married by love to the emperor. She and the emperor, who had loved each other since childhood, rose to the position of queen despite the family’s opposition.

She had already foretold what her choice would bring, but she couldn’t ignore the emperor who was clinging to her. And when she found out that a baby was growing in her womb, she made a decision. She had to protect her child from the empress, who had already fallen out of favor from the emperor and tried to deal with her family somehow. Her child had to be placed in the position of a prince so that the empress couldn’t harm her child hastily.

Despite the empress’s persecution, which intensified after giving birth to Luiden, Queen Emily firmly protected and raised her child. However, the empress, who didn’t want her to bear any more children, fed her infertility drugs. The queen, whose body was weakened by the side effects, lay bedridden for several years and eventually passed away.

After the death of Queen Emily, Luiden’s biological mother, his mother’s family was trampled on by the empress. However, due to the emperor’s opposition and the family’s history, the family couldn’t be trampled until its roots. His mother’s family, which had barely survived, was completely uprooted only a few years ago.

In order for the last remaining bloodline to live, that person decided to leave the empire behind. Before that person left, they secretly met Luiden under the protection of Charter. They dedicated the family’s symbol, the white least weasel, to Luiden.  In tears of blood, they begged Luiden to become the emperor, avenge and rebuild their family. Luiden wailed and swore to do so.

Having watched it all, Charter understood how Luiden felt. The mad crown prince must have driven Emily to the hunting grounds to kill it. And that wasn’t done by his own hand, but with other people who didn’t know anything.

It wasn’t a merciful place. In hunting competitions, the prey usually got killed, and there was no case of only being captured. No matter how small and weak the prey was.

No wonder the crown prince seemed to be in a particularly good mood today…

“Then, instead of staying like this, let’s go back to the hunting ground right now.”

Maybe they could save Emily.

“Will… it still be alive?”

Charter looked at Luiden, who was worried, and said with a smile, “Is it really that Emily?”

A wary and hard-to-get weasel who didn’t allow anyone’s touch except for Luiden. Didn’t it also reject Charter’s touch, which it had seen for several years?

Luiden nodded his head in affirmation. He wanted to believe that Emily would be hiding well.