Chapter 45: Chapter 45 Don’t come to the hunting contest in the forest (7)
The morning air was chilly as if it was left behind by the early morning moon far from the western sky. Staring at the blue moonlight for a while, Wendy thought about the injurious words she had to blurt out today. Although she vowed she would try to control her feelings as much as possible while watching the situation calmly, she was still nervous about the possible repercussions of the enormous obstacles before her.
Today, she was to attend the long-awaited Burgonu hunting competition. As she was aware that the prince would be watching her closely, she couldn’t afford to make any mistake. She thought it would be wise to make the crown prince lose interest in her while trying not to annoy him.
Given her social status, she should not cross the line, and at the same time, she should not do anything to get Lard into trouble in light of his position. She didn’t know what kind of unexpected situation would unfold today, but she would be better off keeping a low profile as much as she could while staying calm.
Above all, she needed to think about how to avoid Dylan Lennox as she was most likely to see him again. Since the prince didn’t allow her to dye her hair this time, she could not use the Severdron petals as she did before.
She opened the lid of the dark brown paper box on the floor. She took out a beige riding hat. It had a short brim with a short veil. The veil, pleated on the top with a yellow topaz ornament, was perfect to cover her face because of its loose mesh without obscuring her vision.
She was not sure how effective it would be, but she would be even more anxious if she didn’t use the veil.
After trying the hat in various ways to cover her face, she scratched her nose, thinking the veil was too short, because she adjusted the veil to fall to her nose. Thanks to her efforts, she looked very natural and cool with the newly adjusted hat.
“Whew!”
She hurriedly entered the bathroom after putting the hat on the table. It was time for her to start preparing for the upcoming battle.
Hours later, she got in a carriage to the Burgonu forest with Lard, who came to escort her.
With panniers and unnecessary puffs taken off from her dress, her outdoor clothes were definitely comfortable for her to move around in. Her beige jacket made with elastic fabric was designed with narrow the cuffs to make it easier to shoot bows, and the jacket also had ties in the sleeves so that hunting gloves would not easily come off. She put on a skirt somewhat shorter than the usual dress to avoid having it drag in the woods. She looked at his face in satisfaction, grasping the hem of her dress with her hand.
“I like your hunting clothes. You look very nice today. Green looks good on you.”
As she praised his dark green jacket, he quickly opened his mouth.
“You, too, are beautiful today.”
This time he responded quickly and impatiently as if he admitted he had made the mistake of not praising her dress at first when he accompanied her to the recent Jerus Hall concert.
Smiling at his compliments, she asked, “Thank you. By the way, you’re on the hunt with Balos today, I think. Where is he?”
She was a bit thrilled to see him galloping again, though she regretted that he was not her horse.
“Oh, my servant already took him to the hunting ground in advance, along with your horse.”
Obviously, he had no intention of letting her ride Balos. She nodded slightly with some disappointment.
As usual, silence quickly fell after they exchanged a few words. She didn’t feel uncomfortable about it, but she showed unusual nervousness while adjusting her dress several times today. It was because he was staring at her face without any hesitation.
She gently wiped her cheeks to clean any dirt but nothing came off. She took out the hunting gloves from the blazer pocket and put them back twice unconsciously. As she couldn’t stand it anymore, she looked straight at him with an annoyed expression.
“Hummm… Sir Schroder. Do you have anything to say to me?”
“… No, I was looking at you because your hat looks unique… I just looked at it briefly.”
After he said that, he looked away.
‘Is my hat so noticeable? I may be in trouble.’
She touched the hat’s veil. Unique? She reluctantly closed her mouth because she didn’t feel his comment was not a praise. After briefly looking at him, she turned and looked outside the window.
But he cast a glance at her mouth this time. Although she turned her head toward the small window of the carriage, she couldn’t see her red lips still shining in the sunlight.
‘Why did she put on a veil like that?’
Thinking so, he clicked his tongue. He felt obviously she was wearing a hat with a veil to hide her identity, but the problem was the shape of the veil. It was good enough to cover her face, but it didn’t cover her red lips, which attracted his attention constantly.
‘Why am I attracted to her lips…?’ He tried to focus on other thoughts once again.
The flow of his consciousness naturally led him to Jerus Hall, where he went to the concert with her. He still vividly remembered touching her lips under the moonlight. As those images came to his mind suddenly, he quickly closed his eyes. Closing his eyes was his last resort to get rid of any lustful feelings.
Silence fell on them again, with Lard closing his eyes and Wendy gazing outside the window. Even in silence the two seemed to spend their time quietly without disturbing each other. The silence was not broken until they reached their destination.
They heard the horseman stopping the horse, and a short time later he knocked on the carriage door.
She carefully got out of the wagon, led by Lard, and looked around after pressing the hat a little forward. Although she, wearing a hat, was trying to stay calm, her heart began to pound hard.
At the entrance to the Burgundy forest there were already several tents set up, crowded with people moving around. It was easy to see the imperial knights and soldiers moving all over the place, the wagons and carts belonging to many noble families, and the servants who were busy carrying various stuff. With birds chirping and horses neighing everywhere, the Burgundy forest was a completely different world from the quiet atmosphere in the wagon.
The day was sunny. Wendy walked in the shade of a tree where the sun was shining holding Lard’s hand. Although he looked ahead indifferently, she was busy trying to check out the movements of the imperial knights.
The fact that Dylan Lennox, her former lover she wanted to avoid so much, might be hanging around somewhere near strained her nerves.
Right that moment, the shout of concentration by some of the imperial knights who had lined up behind the tents rang loudly throughout the place.
Surprised, she stumbled. A bird quickly flew out of the tree nearby.
“Are you okay?” He asked, wrapping her shoulder with his hands urgently.
As she hurriedly confirmed the epicenter of the sound, she felt relieved a lot and turned to him. Although she pulled herself from him, saying she was okay, he was still looking at her nervously. She vowed again to pull herself together. She rebuked herself for being scared and looking weak, but found it hard to calm down.
In addition, the two people’s actions a moment ago attracted the attention of those around. Many aristocrats waiting in the tents were seen whispering among themselves. They might be gossiping about his taking hold of her shoulders. In fact, it was natural that they showed such reactions because Lard, notorious for being brusque, attended the event accompanied by a lady. Besides he kindly held her shoulders, which they had never seen before.
Escorted by a servant, the two arrived at the tent and sat facing each other at a table covered with white lace. Before sitting at the table, she swiftly checked the faces of nobles around her; fortunately, Dylan Lennox’s face was not seen. She felt relieved, sipping the soft drink the servant gave her.
“Captain! Welcome!”
It was Jean who appeared before them. Smiling brightly, he stood before them, greeting her gladly while trying to change the awkward mood. Next to him was a cute little woman with brown hair. Wendy was familiar with her face.
“If you don’t mind, can I join you?”
Jean politely suggested sitting with them. Lard looked at her as if he asked for her permission, so she nodded reluctantly. In any case, it would be better to have them than to draw the attention of other nobles around in awkward silence.
“Thank you,” said Jean, smiling at Wendy.
He then pulled out a chair for the woman next to him.
“Oh, this is Melissa, a marquis’s daughter.”
After introducing the woman to them, Jean made a meaningful expression to Wendy.
“Well, have I seen you before?” Melissa asked Wendy.
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