“Come to think of it, didn’t you fail to hunt as well, Annecy?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I caught the prey but was late because I was looking for you.”
“The prey came first, then.”
“That’s… right?”
For some reason, the tone sounded a bit off, and Annecy slightly tilted his head.
“What did you catch?”
“You’ll find out soon. It’s a gift for none other than my wife.”
“Ah, there was a tradition of offering prey to one’s beloved during the competition.”
Beloved… Though it was only natural now that they were married, the word coming from her mouth still felt oddly new.
Goyo’s eyes narrowed slightly. Perhaps because things were so different from before her regression, lately, her emotions seemed to be affected strangely often.
Annecy pointed to the deer that was floating in the air due to magic.
“Isn’t that deer for me as well?”
“It was purely coincidental. It wasn’t even caught by a trap; it just slipped in some stagnant water. Unfortunately for the deer, it passed out after hitting a solid tree root.”
“Coincidental or not, if you hadn’t participated in the competition, that white deer wouldn’t have ended up in my hands.”
“That’s…”
“Actually, coincidences are the greatest windfalls you can get. Skills can earn you second and third chances, but a coincidence only happens once.”
“Hearing you say it like that makes it seem true again.”
Nodding slowly, Goyo tilted her head and looked up at Annecy.
“For some reason, whenever I listen to you, all sorts of sophistry start sounding reasonable.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“Does that sound like a compliment to you?”
“Ancient philosophers made a living by wrapping all sorts of sophistry in a plausible package. I can only take it as praise for my eloquence.”
Even ancient philosophers couldn’t escape being ridiculed. What kind of expression would scholars make if they heard that?
Goyo found it absurd, but unfortunately, Bethelgius’s way of thinking had already rubbed off on her thanks to Annecy.
‘As long as you don’t say it to their face.’
Goyo chuckled softly. Yes, it was a compliment. Surprised by her unexpected response, Annecy replied with a composed face but coughed a few times.
The lush trees, with sunlight filtering through the dark leaves, broke into thin rays.
The quiet sounds of insects, the rustling of grass in the wind, and even the occasional gunshots were all buried in the forest, filling the air with a greenish scent.
The sensation of grass crunching under boots, the feel of hair swaying in the cool breeze—everything was vividly clear, as if walking through a dream.
“You worked hard today, Goyo.”
“You too, Annecy.”
It was strange how her sinking mood lifted in less than an hour, Goyo thought.
The two of them returned to the starting point of the hunting competition.
Since the event was nearing its end, quite a few people had returned, but their gazes were all focused in one place, so they hadn’t even noticed that the Bethelgius couple had come back.
Goyo instinctively followed their eyes and turned her head, only to go pale.
‘What is that.’
It was a massive monster, easily more than three times the size of an adult man.
Its unsettlingly smooth, blue hair gleamed, and its upper body muscles were swollen, veins popping here and there.
The face vaguely resembled a human, but no matter how positively one looked at it, no one would call it beautiful.
Though it wasn’t rare for monsters to resemble humans, the reason for the shock in the people’s eyes lay in the lower half of the creature’s body.
Unlike the upper body, which resembled a human, the monster’s lower half was covered in iridescent scales. Its upper body was human-like, while the lower half was a fish’s tail. The shape resembled something like…
‘The mermaid legend from Ramona Forest…’
Goyo didn’t want to continue the thought. Whether Annecy knew her inner feelings or not, he added unnecessary explanation.
“I heard so many rumors about something living in the lake, so I searched every inch of the lakes in Ramona Forest. There was one that fit the description. Not exactly beautiful, though.”
“Just to clarify… what is that?”
“It’s a mermaid. Weren’t you curious?”
“I was, but…”
I think I’d prefer it if that curiosity remained unsatisfied.
Annecy pretended not to hear her.
“I offer this to you, my wife. I hope you will accept it.”
The deer, which had been floating in the air, settled next to the monstrous mermaid. The size difference was so immense that, despite both being prey, the deer looked like a mere snack beside the creature.
The deer, caught by a rare coincidence, now seemed pathetically small. Goyo suddenly felt sorry for it.
“…Yes, thank you.”
“You don’t seem too pleased. To be honest, after seeing it myself, I anticipated this reaction. So, I prepared something else as well.”
Annecy approached the monster, opened a bag he had placed next to it, and pulled out a small, fluffy bundle of fur. It was a rabbit, with soft, pale yellow fur.
The small creature seemed to be merely unconscious, its tiny belly rising and falling. Its unique fur color and adorable appearance made it clear that Annecy was expecting a positive response from Goyo.
However, his wife looked even more pale than before.
“You kept talking about rabbits, but I didn’t think you were planning to make a scarf out of one yourself…”
Seeing the shocked look on Annecy’s face, Goyo stopped mid-sentence. She had meant it seriously, but she realized she had overinterpreted the situation.
Not sure how to recover from the awkward statement, Goyo decided to use one of Annecy’s usual lines.
“I was joking.”
“…I see. Though, it wasn’t a very funny one.”
For once, it was Annecy repeating the kind of remark Goyo usually made. Goyo suppressed a laugh and added, keeping a straight face.
“I must be becoming more like my husband.”
“That does seem to be the case.”
Annecy’s face genuinely looked bewildered, which finally made Goyo burst into laughter.
* * *
The day after the hunting competition, a letter arrived at the Marquis of Bethelgius’s estate. It was a suspicious letter with no return address, and a single line of text written in red ink.
“I have been forgiven by Rubiette.”
Annecy read it aloud, twisting his lips.
“What are we supposed to do with this?”
“That’s what I’m wondering. It seems like they want to imply they’ve crawled under Rubiette’s protection, but then again, it was that woman who incited Emily Renier. It’s hard to take it at face value. Surely, they didn’t think the Renier incident wouldn’t be discovered, right?”
“If they were that stupid, it would be a tragedy.”
But it wasn’t entirely impossible for someone to be tragically stupid.
On the day of the hunting competition, Annecy, who had secret bodyguards reporting on Goyo’s movements, also received information on Emily Renier’s suspicious behavior.
He had immediately assigned people to follow her and soon learned that Emily had boarded a carriage to return directly to her residence.
Though they maintained some distance while tracking her, by the time the carriage arrived at Baron Renier’s estate, Emily was already dead.
The cause was reported as a sudden heart attack. On the surface, it appeared so, but later that night, when Annecy secretly examined her body, he found faint traces of black magic on her corpse.
It was a subtle, barely noticeable mark—something only Annecy could have detected.
Despite the blatant message, it seemed they tried to conceal the method of the murder.
Annecy recalled the situation and let out a cynical laugh. The fact that they thought hiding it was a strategy in itself amused him.
Though all magic depended on the skill of its caster, black magic was especially so.
A curse cast by someone inexperienced was weak enough that anyone with even a slight command of mana could avoid it.
However, those who didn’t know how to use mana, like the general public, were extremely vulnerable to such curses. Unfortunately for Emily Renier, she was a complete ordinary person.
She had been vulnerable enough to fall victim to someone as unimpressive as Mathel Bemp, whose magical talent was pitiful.
“What of Rubiette’s movements?”
“No change. They’re still friendly towards us.”
“Any new personnel?”
“Yes, the stable hand’s third daughter was born. Quite a happy event, I suppose.”
Annecy’s lips quirked into a smirk at the trivial joke.
“There may have been contact beneath the surface, perhaps through ‘discreet’ letters like this one. But the Duke of Rubiette is no fool. Even if they learned something about me, I doubt they’d act recklessly.”
“But what about the Madam?”
“It’s no secret that Duke Rubiette neglects his eldest daughter. It would make sense even if they attacked as a diversion. Besides, given that this was a noble event, there would have been emergency personnel on standby. Even without the secret guards I assigned, she wouldn’t have died.”
Annecy’s eyes darkened, his own words leaving a bitter taste.
“But there was no need for such theatrics, was there? Attacking the Madam and sending a letter claiming to have been forgiven by Rubiette seems highly contradictory.”
“If they already view Goyo as one of Bethelgius’s people, then the contradiction disappears. There are people who believe that switching one’s registry makes them part of a new family. Or perhaps it’s a declaration of intent, a way of showing hostility—claiming they’re willing to attack even their own blood.”
If it were truly a declaration of war, there would have been more overt signs of hostility. Rubiette hadn’t shown such obvious animosity, which meant they likely weren’t aware of Bethelgius’s involvement yet.
“The message seems to be: Rubiette views Bethelgius as an enemy. Now, go ahead and fight it out. It just feels like this is what Mathel wants.”
“Do you believe Mathel has allied herself with Rubiette?”
“No. That woman wouldn’t take such a risk. She’s likely hiding under some other faction. Whether or not she told Rubiette about me depends on who’s supporting her.”
The involvement of Rubiette might have been a tactic to confuse them, but Annecy couldn’t shake the ambiguity of why Mathel had specifically targeted Goyo.
He turned the unresolved question over in his mind a few more times before letting out a shallow sigh.
‘I’ll know once I catch her.’
A black magic practitioner as inexperienced as Mathel would need direct contact to place a curse on someone. Given enough time, tracking her down wouldn’t be difficult.
“Investigate everyone Emily Renier interacted with and every place she visited after the lawsuit.”
“I’ve already given those instructions before you asked.”
“Well done,” Annecy muttered in a disinterested tone, half-heartedly praising his subordinate. Kolabe, looking a bit awkward at the compliment, continued.
“Well, it hardly matters now if Rubiette knows or not. We’ve gathered all the evidence, and the preparations are 90 percent complete. It should be possible within this year.”
“Good.”
Annecy’s thoughts drifted back, replaying themselves. What he had recalled so many times before once again whispered in his mind with a sepia-tinted voice.
‘Greedy Annecy, take Valverde. And in return, bring down Rubiette.’
‘And after that,’
“Marquis?”
“…I’m tired. You may leave.”
Kolabe saluted and exited the office, the door closing behind him, leaving Annecy alone.
In the quiet, waves of exhaustion washed over him, and with a large hand, he covered his eyes.
‘That child will be free then.’
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