In her fifth life, the leader of the hunter group Rishe belonged to always wore an elusive smile.
His features were generally soft and well-shaped, with eyes that were slightly slanted. Though he often stared at others, the way he shifted his gaze was exquisite, acting as if he stood perfectly between friendliness and familiarity.
His hair was a common chestnut color, cut haphazardly to a short length. He was tall, though not strikingly so, with a thin, bony build.
From his appearance, he seemed to be around twenty years old. Most women felt favorably towards him and accepted him as a close friend.
However, he told too many lies.
"Hey, Rishe. You're cute as always today."
He often made such light-hearted remarks while flashing a completely insincere smile.
The chestnut-colored hair wasn’t his real hair color. In reality, his hair was a shade of orange close to golden blonde, dyed with a special chemical. According to him, his "naturally curly hair" was a result of damage caused by the dye.
Even his age couldn’t be confirmed—whether he was truly as old as he appeared was unclear. Despite his many interactions with women, there was no sincerity in any of his relationships.
"Me? I don’t like any of them," he said casually.
To top it off, even the name he went by wasn’t his real name. And when he flirted with Rishe in a playful manner, he still wore that same smile while giving bold orders to his subordinates.
"Has the prey noticed the encirclement? Well, it doesn’t matter, it’s not a big deal now. If we finish the hunt before they can escape, then we win, right?"
In front of Rishe and the others, he went by the name "Raul."
He behaved in an unpredictable manner, always smiling and never losing his composure, while still commanding the hunters under his command.
Despite his strange behavior, he was a surprisingly diligent worker.
"—Raul!"
Returning to the hunting cabin, Rishe, who had removed her hood, was startled to see Raul up and moving.
"Wait, are you planning to go hunting in that condition?"
Her suspicions were confirmed, as her comrades looked at him with worried expressions. Raul shrugged casually and exaggeratedly sighed.
"What’s up, Rishe? You’re being so cold. We're practically family, so when we come back, the first thing should be a 'Welcome back,' right?"
"Don’t try to change the subject! I told you to stay still because your ribs are cracked, and you can’t move yet."
"It’s fine, it’s fine. The painkillers you gave me are working, so I feel like I can do anything right now."
Raul smiled at her while shrugging on his hunting coat.
"Ah, our lucky goddess. You’re quick with the bow, blend right into the forest, and can even make medicine! I really hit the jackpot five years ago."
"Raul. Painkillers are meant to help you rest, not to make you move around forcefully."
"If you say 'good job' to me, I might feel a bit more energized."
"What I should say to you is, 'Please lie down until you recover, Head.'"
When Rishe squinted her eyes, Raul looked oddly pleased.
In this situation, where it seemed like there was no winning, Rishe let out a deep sigh.
"...Listen, Raul."
"Well, it's a big catch, right? There’s prey at the hunting grounds, and you expect me to just wait quietly?"
In his seemingly shallow smile, his eyes were filled with sincere emotion.
"As you can see, I’m very loyal to the Sigwell royal family."
"..."
Raul said this as he looked directly at Rishe.
His eyes were a deep red.
****
"――Still, I can’t believe Prince Curtis brought so many books!"
Rishe, sitting next to Arnold, said as she gently stroked the covers of the stacked books.
They were sitting together on a sofa in the new room prepared on the south side of the castle's fourth floor. Having already bathed and changed into their nightclothes, they were sipping their evening tea and perusing the books Curtis had brought as a 'gift.'
Arnold, who usually kept his neck covered, was wearing more comfortable clothes for sleeping. His shirt, which lacked buttons, exposed his collarbone.
"Look, Your Highness. Even the fine details of the cover design are printed so beautifully," Rishe said, smiling brightly.
"Yeah," Arnold replied indifferently.
At first glance, he seemed uninterested, but the book in his hands indicated otherwise. If he were truly uninterested, he wouldn't even have picked it up.
(I’m starting to understand more about Prince Arnold.)
As Arnold flipped through the pages, he spoke again.
"Considering it was shipped by boat, it doesn’t seem to be damaged much."
"They say they paid attention to the paper quality for ease of storage. Just holding it like this, I can enjoy seeing the craftsmanship of Sigwell's book-making," Rishe remarked, before her gaze drifted, her mind wandering.
(Though, that Prince Curtis isn’t the real one... just an imposter...)
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
Her thoughts turned to the brief greeting she had exchanged an hour ago in the reception room. Since they had arrived late at night, the meeting had been short—just greetings and the exchange of gifts. But even in that short time, it was enough to confirm her suspicions.
"Nice to meet you. I am Curtis Samuel Offalon, the first prince of Sigwell."
His greeting, somewhat timid yet flawless, and his modest smile—every small mannerism was exactly like the Curtis Rishe knew.
(His face is identical to Prince Curtis, and his voice too. And if this is the first time Arnold and Curtis have met, the people of Galkhein wouldn’t be able to notice a thing. -- 'Originally'...)
Even so, Rishe knew better. Though not depicted in portraits, the real Curtis had eyes that were a pale olive green.
(That’s definitely Raul in disguise.)
When Raul had looked at her in the reception room, there hadn't been the slightest change in his expression.
But she couldn’t believe that Harriet’s 'escort,' whom she had crossed swords with in the alleyway, hadn’t noticed that she was Arnold’s fiancée.
(But why is Raul pretending to be Prince Curtis...? Does Harriet know about this? Could something have happened to the real Prince Curtis...?)
Meanwhile, Rishe decided to ask Arnold.
"Prince Arnold, where did you go in the city today?"
One of her concerns was Arnold's purpose in coming here. She feigned simple curiosity, though Arnold might have seen through her intent. As he flipped through his book, Arnold quietly responded.
"I visited a few exchange offices."
"Exchange offices..."
Most coastal countries have exchange offices in their port towns, where foreign currency brought in by ships is exchanged for the local currency. Naturally, this also works the other way around.
"The ships that trade with the western continent mostly use this city’s exchange offices. By looking into them, you can easily see which country from the western continent needs how much of our currency."
"So, it’s obvious which countries should take priority in diplomatic relations."
"It seems that Fabrania still holds a bit more value than Sigwell."
He said it with a slightly teasing tone, but Arnold’s insight was interesting. It seemed that, in matters of national politics, rulers sometimes thought similarly to merchants.
"Things like this are often glossed over in reports. That’s why it helps to show up from time to time and hear reports directly."
(...But it seems he’s not telling me everything about his purpose...)
Rishe could tell he wasn’t being fully transparent, but she thought carefully for a moment.
(Without knowing Prince Arnold’s full intentions, I can’t share anything about Sigwell’s movements. Besides, Raul wouldn’t want to harm Galkhein.)
For Sigwell, forming a good relationship with the mighty Galkhein would be a rare opportunity. It seemed unlikely that Raul, a royal servant, would act in a way that would jeopardize that relationship.
(Then, could it have something to do with Harriet? Or perhaps Prince Curtis is ill, and Raul is acting purely as a body double...)
As Rishe was lost in thought, Arnold suddenly looked up from his book and stared at her intently.
Noticing this, Rishe immediately stopped her train of thought.
"Is something wrong?"
"..."
When those blue eyes pierced her, it felt as though he could see straight through her thoughts.
Arnold let go of the edge of the page he was holding and gently ran his fingers through Rishe’s hair.
"You’re tying your hair before sleep, huh?"
"This..."
As Arnold pointed out, Rishe had her coral-colored hair loosely braided into a side braid. Unlike the usual way she tied it in the back, this style was more of a side-swept braid. Of course, she didn’t normally go through the trouble of braiding it before bed.
In her fifth life as a hunter, she often wore her hair in this braid. It was more practical for handling her distinctive hair color during hunting, especially when wearing a hood to conceal it.
"I was just reminiscing about something from the past," Rishe explained.
"Oh?"
Arnold touched the end of the braid as if teasing a cat’s tail.
Then, to Rishe’s surprise, Arnold’s fingers moved to the chiffon ribbon and casually tugged it, undoing the braid.
"Oh!"
Rishe instinctively reached up to hold her hair in place, but Arnold caught her hand, and in the end, the braid completely unraveled.
Though it didn’t matter since they were about to sleep, there was something strangely embarrassing about having Arnold undo her hair.
"...You’re like a little troublemaker."
"Huh?"
To hide her embarrassment, Rishe pouted and looked up at Arnold, who smiled with evident amusement.
"Maybe I am."
"!"
The tone of his voice was so gentle that Rishe was truly surprised.
To make matters worse, Arnold ran his fingers through her hair as if combing it, which made her feel unsettled.
"Your Highness, I—"
"What is it?"
"...I want to sleep now!"
Rishe said, standing up and pulling Arnold’s hand to gently lead him.
"Let’s go to bed, Your Highness! We have a lot to do tomorrow, and you must be tired from traveling from Galkhein!"
"..."
She expected him to say something, but instead, Arnold closed the book in his hands and stood up from the sofa. Rishe sighed in relief as she headed toward the bed.
The two beds were placed side by side, separated by a small table, about fifty centimeters apart.
Perhaps because she had mentioned being afraid of the sound of the waves, Arnold silently chose the spot by the window. Rishe was touched by his thoughtful gesture.
"I’ll turn off the lamp."
"Yes. Good night."
"..."
After hearing her goodnight, Arnold fell silent as though he had heard a word he wasn’t quite used to.
But soon, he responded in a soft voice.
"Good night."
"..."
The moonlight outside was incredibly bright.
Even with the lamp extinguished and the curtains drawn, Rishe could still make out Arnold’s silhouette in the dim light.
Turning onto her side, Rishe faced him and spoke softly.
"...I’m sorry, Your Highness."
"What for?"
Arnold merely turned his face toward her.
Rishe lowered her brows slightly and, from the bottom of her heart, apologized to him.
"For being selfish and asking you to sleep together with me."
"It’s nothing... It’s much better than having you sleep alone while you’re scared."
His words took her by surprise.
Then Arnold, with a gentle tone, asked Rishe something.