Richard had swapped the blade.
At present, the only issue was when he would take Sigurd’s life.
Sigurd’s invincibility made him careless, so simply stabbing him would be easy. But that didn’t mean Richard could attack him recklessly. It would be best to find an opportunity when he was certain he could deliver a killing blow.
Additionally, Richard would like to avoid someone seeing him assassinate the king if possible. He didn’t want to be caught. Not out of self-preservation but out of consideration for Brunhild. Sigurd wasn’t the only dark figure who lurked in the castle, and Richard didn’t want to leave his delicate sister alone here. He had to protect her, or she wouldn’t be able to survive. That was how things had always been.
Naturally, his opportunities for assassination were limited.
He considered getting someone else to do the deed, and there were several avenues to hire an assassin. But in the end, he chose not to. He didn’t want to leave his sister’s protection up to anyone else.
Time passed as he waited for his chance.
One afternoon, Sigurd went out hunting, a royal pastime he frequently indulged in. Brunhild and Richard were accompanying him.
The three of them headed for the woods on horseback. Sigurd and Brunhild were on the same horse. Sigurd was holding the reins, and Brunhild was sitting in front of him, between his arms. Richard followed them. He trained his eyes on Sigurd’s back to ensure he wouldn’t miss his chance to kill the man.
They dismounted upon reaching the forest where they would be hunting. The king’s retainers were standing at the entrance to the woods, waiting on standby with a hunting dog and a set of tools for killing game at the ready. Sigurd accepted a boar spear and asked Brunhild, “What do you want to eat?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking what sort of meat you wish to eat. You grew up in the forest, didn’t you? Didn’t you live off the blessings of the woods?”
“I did live in a hut in the forest, but I didn’t eat very much meat. I subsisted on fruit, mountain plants, and fish.”
“Do you not like meat?”
“It’s not that. It was too difficult for me to hunt wild animals. With handmade weapons, the only thing I could beat in a straight fight would be a deer, and the deer would have to be wounded or I wouldn’t be able to follow it.”
“So then let us hunt deer.” Sigurd held up the boar spear and said, “I’ll kill so many you’ll be stuffed before you can eat them all.”
“I wouldn’t say deer is a favorite of mine, though…,” Brunhild said.
The three of them walked through the forest, looking for deer. The dog sniffed along, picking up the smell of its prey.
The hound took the lead, going along the mossy trail.
After walking for a while, the hunting dog stopped abruptly and growled at the grass. It seemed to have found some prey.
Something black popped out of the grass about twenty meters away. But it was far larger than the creature the three of them had imagined.
“Eeek…” Brunhild recoiled. She automatically grabbed Sigurd’s shirt since he stood nearby, and it was no wonder. Even Richard was gulping.
It was a bear.
And a huge one in the prime of its youth at that. Its pelt was black and looked durable. The bear was staring in their direction. The creature took one step, then two steps forward on its thick legs, walking toward them. The hunting dog howled fiercely. That seemed to agitate the bear; it gave an earthshaking growl, then dashed forward, heading right for them. The bear was fast, and it was right in front of them in the blink of an eye.
“W-we have to run…” Having grown up in the woods, Brunhild fully understood just how terrifying bears were.
But Sigurd showed no signs of backing down. “I’m by your side. What need you fear?”
The great bear bounded along, leaping at them. The earth seemed to shudder with each step it took. It was quite close at this point. Now as frightened as she could get, Brunhild sank to the ground.
But before her dress could touch the forest floor and get dirty, Sigurd wrapped an arm around her. “This is where I show you how it’s done.”
Sigurd readied the boar spear in his free right hand, blade shining under the sunlight filtering through the trees.
The bear was right in front of the two of them. It rose up on its hind legs, casting a shadow over Brunhild. It was like a giant, standing three meters tall.
The bear swiped at them with a paw bigger than a man’s face, its claws as sharp as a dragon’s. It could easily break the neck of any man with merely a glancing blow.
Sigurd swung his weapon up to counter, thrusting the boar spear into the bear’s paw with precision and stopping the beast’s attack. The bear howled in anger, and it attempted to crush Sigurd’s head in its jaws, but Sigurd shifted aside just slightly to avoid it. He drew the spear from the bear’s paw, then plunged it into the animal’s breast. Heart pierced, the bear collapsed, shaking the earth when it hit the ground. There wasn’t very much blood, so Brunhild didn’t get dirty.
While looking down at the fallen bear, Sigurd announced with pleasure, “Today has been a good day. This is the first I’ve felled such a large beast.”
Then he said to Brunhild, who was still reeling from the shock of being attacked by a bear, “What’s wrong? Why don’t you say something?” Brunhild was speechless. “Your husband has killed some game. Is it not my wife’s duty to praise me coquettishly?”
He seemed proud. But Brunhild was not in the state of mind to be saying anything coquettish, which Richard noticed.