He fixed his gaze on Jubelian once more. She was walking hand in hand with Beatrice, which Max found irritating. His sister was holding her hand in public... Something he couldn’t do! He scowled, wrought with jealousy.
Then, he watched as Jubelian ended up alone on the field. Why? Observing as an unexpected situation unfolded, Max frowned and turned his attention to Victor. Why was that good-for-nothing following Beatrice instead of staying with Jubelian?
The lady was located in a safe area, a place where the use of weapons was prohibited. Max wasn’t worried that she would get injured. The real danger was that she was just too pretty.
"Isn't that Lady Floyen over there?"
"She's come down to the field! Is she planning to give someone a handkerchief?"
Concerned that other people might try to approach her, Max made a silent pledge: if anyone tried to talk to her, he wasn’t going to let them go.
A few moments of carefully watching her passed, and Max’s eyes widened. Frederich was approaching her. That damn fox! Murderous thoughts flooded his mind. The only thing holding the crown prince back was…
"Max, you must pretend not to know me during the hunting competition. Okay?"
If he approached her now, all of the effort he had put in until now would end in vain. He seethed.
Damn it!
He felt like he was about to go crazy! How could he just sit still?! He couldn’t take it anymore.
He took a step forward. Dennis noticed something was wrong with his lord and tried to stop him. "Y-Your Highness? That way is—p-please calm down!"
However, anger had always swallowed Max whole. He couldn't hear a thing. He wanted to beat that bastard up.
Ferocious thoughts swirled in his mind, clouding his judgment. He decided to approach the safe zone.
Then, someone else came into view. He was…
The crown prince stopped walking, but Dennis had already become ghastly pale.
"Your Highness, you must stay!" he continued pleading desperately. "If you approach the lady now—"
Max smiled. "Of course. It’s up to the hound to drive out the fox."
Why in the world was he here? With a sigh, I looked up at Geraldine. He gave me a disapproving look.
"You,” he snapped. "Why did you come down to the field?"
He was interrogating me informally. I couldn't believe it! I would have scolded him if we were at home, but we weren’t, and I didn't want to make him lose face since he was our family’s head knight.
"Sir Geraldine, you may—”
I tried to tell him that I was about to return to my seat, but Lord Elios cut me off. "How rude of you to interrupt our conversation, Sir Ronel.”
Geraldine smirked. "Lord Elios, would you like to tell me why you’re flirting with Lady Jubelian?” he asked, words sharp and tone mocking.
I could tell he was ready to argue. I had told him I wanted victory... but I didn't know he would be so blatant about it!
I was about to dissuade Geraldine from going any further but Lord Elios responded before I could. "Well, she is someone I love,” he said quietly.
I stared at him in amazement.
Turning to me, he smiled with his eyes. "I’ll make sure to win and present you with the Flower of the Underworld's Goddess, Lady Floyen. So, please cheer me on.”
"No, I—"
I tried to tell him that such a thing would never happen, but I was interrupted once more.
"In your dreams,” Geraldine scoffed. "As the Floyen family's head knight, I have no intention of letting you win."
The nobleman merely smirked in response. "Hmm, I wonder,” he drawled. "I've heard that you’re a great swordsman, but I don't know if it’ll be possible for you to restrain me."
It was obviously a remark intended to provoke, but Geraldine smiled confidently. "All the knights of the Floyen family possess similar swordsmanship skills to mine. On the other hand, have you ever wielded a blade, Lord Elios?"
I had always thought Lord Elios was someone who could mask his feelings, but the dangerous glint in his eyes right now proved otherwise.
"I’ll make you pay for that, Geraldine Samuel Ronel,” he swore.
Once his full name was recited, a fire lit up in Geraldine's eyes. His face grew red as if about to explode. A fight was about to erupt soon, I realized. Given Geraldine's personality, he was usually the first to start arguments with others. Until now, however, there hadn’t been an issue with it. After all, he was my cousin and a vassal of our family.
Now, however, the person he was arguing with was the heir of a dukedom. We had the same rank. This time, I couldn't use my social status in my favor. I grabbed Geraldine by the arm. "Sir Geraldine, please stop,”
"The Elios family has blatantly denounced ours. I cannot let this slide," he seethed.
I watched him for a moment before twisting a brow. "I know."
"Are you telling me to put up with him despite what he’s done?"
"Yes."
Geraldine frowned. "For His Grace's honor and Your Ladyship's—"
I interrupted his agitated speech with a calm statement of my own. "That's why I have to deal with him myself,” I said, walking Geraldine and leaving him clueless behind me. I stopped in front of Lord Elios.
"Lady Floyen, what I've just said—"
"No."
It sounded like he wanted to give me an apology, but I had no intention of accepting it. Although the knights were paid for doing virtually nothing, I couldn't let anyone else look down on them. They usually just followed me around, making my outings bothersome at times, but they were still family to me. I had been with them for years. There was no way I would be happy with someone belittling them.
"Lord Elios, I've heard the insults you spat about our knights,” I said.
"I wasn’t insulting them—” he began, but once I realized he was about to make another lame excuse, I cut him off again. I was at my limit.
"Yes, you were." The nobleman frowned, perhaps befuddled after I interrupted him for the second time. I continued, glaring, "And it’s a shame, too, since I think our knights will definitely fare better than yours today."
"Whoa, I must’ve upset you greatly, my lady. Please give a minute to explain—"
I took off my gloves and threw them at him before he could finish speaking. He wasn’t the only one who gave me a bewildered look. Geraldine did as well. After all, the gesture represented a request for a duel after an insult.