"I heard that you were aiming to win the hunting contest, but it looked like you’re easily frightened. Thanks for that. I’m relieved."
Frederich had never been hostile to the crown prince before, yet now the royal was trying to start an argument. Frederich smirked. The prince was strong but arrogant. Frederich was satisfied with his hunting style because it was rational and strategic.
"Hmm, I wonder,” he began. "Even if the tides are in your favor, an unexpected injury may still occur. No one knows which of us will win until this is over, will they?"
He was warning the crown prince that he would suffer damage if he continued with his careless ways. Frederich was confident he had provoked the prince, but the latter just shook his head.
"Well, I know one thing for sure. From what I've seen, you're hopeless."
"Can you tell me why you think so?"
"Simple. You still don't know what's happening after seeing a swamp leopard."
It was strange. The insult didn't make any sense, yet Frederich was still angered by it. He clenched his fists.
The crown prince came closer.
"Frederich Lionel Elios," he whispered. "Keep in mind that this is the only time I will let you off the hook. If you try to take what's mine again... I will tear you into pieces."
Despite the baleful warning, Frederich looked up at the crown prince instead of allowing himself to seem intimidated. A menacing aura emanated from the prince.
Frederich tried to meet his eyes, but he turned away and said, "I've finally found it."
What was he talking about? Frederich was about to ask, but the prince had already started to leave.
"So, stay away from what's mine,” he finished.
When the prince and his men disappeared from view, Frederich's squad burst into fits of my rage.
"I understand that he’s the almighty prince, but wasn't that just tyranny?!"
"I agree. To put it bluntly, he was only able to hunt the prey because we set up the siege..."
Frederich remained silent as he pondered an issue that had popped into mind just moments ago: the prince had said ‘again’…
He recalled the first time he had clashed with the crown prince.
"You must dance with me, Lady Floyen—I’m sorry. I mean, would you like to?”
When the crown prince had asked Jubelian for a dance, Frederich had been upset by it. He thought that the prince just wanted her to entertain him for the moment. Was he serious, then? Scowling, the nobleman dug his nails into his palms once he realized he now had competition.
Come to think of it, the swamp leopard wasn’t something that lived around here... Frederich suddenly came to a realization. Only then did he understand what was happening.
Was it possible that someone was deliberately releasing dangerous beasts to harm the prince?
If one used wild beasts during the competition to get rid of the prince, they would surely fulfill their wish without any complications. Frederich turned to face the direction the prince had disappeared in.
He smiled. He might be able to get a high score thanks to whoever was doing this.
A lot of time had passed, yet the seat next to me was still empty. Where was my dad? He told me that he would return soon, but he was still absent after all this time. I started worrying that something might have happened to him. I sighed in frustration, and Bea caught the sound.
"Jubelian, what's wrong?" she asked.
Suddenly, everyone grew quiet, and I swallowed nervously. All of them were looking at me with worried eyes.
"Oh, it's just because my father hasn't returned yet..." I said, trailing off.
Sir Todd, who had been standing beside me in silence until now, opened his mouth to speak. "I’m unaware of where His Grace has gone, but I can assure you that he’ll return soon. His Grace isn’t to be treated like an ordinary being, after all."
Sir Victor nodded. "I agree. If it was anyone else, I would’ve been worried too, but Lady Floyen's father is the most powerful swordsman in the empire. You’d have to be out of your mind to try attacking him."
I nodded and forced the ominous thoughts out of my mind. This must have just been my anxiety talking again. As Sir Victor had said, my dad is a strong person.
At that moment, however, Beatrice grabbed my hand. "Jubelian is worried. Please don’t recklessly say things without considering how she feels,” she said.
The sight of her serious expression made me feel brighter and I smiled. She knew just what to say and when.
Her crimson eyes looked into mine. "If you're that worried, Jubelian, let's go find him together.”
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about him, but I didn't want to put either one of us in danger. "O-Oh, it's fine. I don't want to bother you..."
Bea remained adamant. "I noticed that you’ve been looking at the empty seat next to you for a while now and I want to help."
Rose nodded in agreement. "Me too!"
Soon, the rest of my friends chimed in as well, expressing their desire to join us on the search.
Bea smiled. "We've been sitting here for a while now. A change of scenery wouldn't be a bad idea. There are guards surrounding the stadium, so it’ll be safe."
"But..."
I was tempted by her offer because it was true that I was curious about my dad’s whereabouts, but what if something happened to us while we were on our walk? Ominous thoughts pervaded my mind, and I couldn't answer right away.
Just then, Bea turned to her escort. "Victor, how well do you consider yourself trained?"
Sir Victor stroked his chin for a moment, humming thoughtfully. "I would say I'm one of the top five best swordsmen in the empire,” he answered proudly.
He was obviously bluffing, but Bea turned to me and said, "Did you hear him? We have an excellent escort with us. There’s no need to fret. Come on, let's go."
She started forcing us to go on a walk, so I was slightly taken aback. Then, she leaned close enough to whisper so only I could hear. "Don't worry,” she assured me. "Nothing will happen.”
I sighed. "Yes, Your Highness."
Mikhail waited near the stadium according to the emperor’s instructions. He wondered where the prince was by now. Not much time had passed, but waiting alone was boring.
What was Jubelian doing right now? If he could have, he would have abandoned all of this and just kidnapped her, but as long as Duke Floyen was by her side, that could only be a fantasy. How the hell did the emperor plan to manipulate the duke?