Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 162

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 162
* * *
“I wanted to give Sister a fox too….”
Watching Enrique mope about being too young to attend the debutante ball and lacking the qualifications to participate in the hunting tournament, I clamped my mouth shut. He looked like a kitten with drooping ears.
“Oh my, Enrique, you’re so thoughtful. Your sentiment alone is more than enough for me.”
“Sister….”
As I ruffled his hair affectionately, Enrique clung to my waist like a spoiled child.
“Even if I go out hunting, I’ll probably only catch fox cubs. You should just stay home eating strawberry candies.”
“I’m the best at arrow-type magic, you know!”
Beleck Simour, dressed in hunting attire as if he intended to participate in the tournament, strutted past while boasting, and Enrique’s eyes narrowed sharply.
‘Hmm, how did that brat find out that Enrique likes strawberries?’
Thinking that Beleck seemed to be doting on Enrique while pretending otherwise, I stroked his soft silver hair.
Enrique escorted me to the carriage with his small fern-like hands, and soon after, the carriage procession carrying me, Beleck, and Rozard departed for the Imperial City.
* * *
The hunting tournament was held in the Lorain Forest, named after the first Emperor.
A large tent erected before the forest contained tables for young ladies who weren’t participating in the hunt, and nearby, hunting dogs trained for fox drives circled about.
Shortly after, the tournament participants began appearing one by one on horseback. The moment Isidore made his entrance, exclamations erupted from all around.
Clad in a long navy hunting coat that accentuated his lean frame, his golden bangs shimmered in the breeze, giving him a more youthful appearance than usual.
“Duke Visconti grows more beautiful with each passing day.”
“The young ladies who witnessed his exploits at Hyanghwa said it was as if an angel had descended.”
“Though I heard he rarely participates in high society activities.”
“I wonder why.”
“Could it be because of Deborah Simour…?”
“Shh! Your voice is too loud.”
‘Yes, her voice is quite loud.’
With Isidore’s appearance, many young ladies began glancing in my direction. And as if to drive home the rumors, Isidore, who had been with the Crown Prince, swiftly dismounted from his black horse and strode purposefully toward where I sat.
“You’re beautiful today as well, my lady.”
He spoke with a playful smile in his eyes.
Seeing me frozen under the overwhelming weight of countless gazes, I heard whispers that I was cold, as befitted a Simour.
‘That’s not it at all.’
“I wish you good fortune and blessings so you may catch many foxes.”
“Just don’t get hurt.”
I spoke with genuine sincerity. The memory of the day his ribs were broken still made my heart grow cold even in sleep.
“I shall obey, my queen.”
As he playfully brought his lips to the back of my hand, sighs and gasps echoed throughout the tent.
Meanwhile, I was flustered by the title “queen.” The young lady who received the most game was called the “Queen of the Harvest,” so his words made me inexplicably embarrassed. It seemed clear that Isidore was the only one who would be giving me foxes.
‘Father and other elderly gentlemen don’t participate in hunts, and Beleck and Rozard are hardly close relatives, so they’re out of the question….’
“I’ll bring back plenty of foxes.”
Soon the trumpet fanfare announcing the start of the hunting tournament sounded. I touched my burning hand while watching the direction he had disappeared.
At that moment, I had no idea of the fox incident that would be discussed throughout the Empire for years to come.
* * *
The gray foxes that made their home in Lorain Forest were as savage as beasts, belying their name. So the Young-sik who participated in the tournament formed teams with close companions, deployed trained hunting dogs ahead of them, and roamed the hunting grounds.
A single moment of carelessness could result in a rider being thrown from their horse by a fox that suddenly burst forth, and it was far more efficient to drive the foxes with hunting dogs and dispatch them together rather than hunt alone.
“But why are there so few foxes around?”
When someone voiced their frustration, the hunting dog that had been prowling through the brush began to bark.
“Oh. Looks like there’s one over there.”
“Let’s go check it out.”
But all the Young-sik found was a charred fox corpse.
“Another dead end?”
“They said there were so many foxes that they’ve devastated villages and farms, so why can’t I find a single one?”
“Of course. Duke Visconti swept up every fox that was here.”
Thierry, who had been lounging by a nearby lakeside, approached and explained the situation.
“Knight Thierry. What do you mean by that?”
“Our White Knight Order’s vice-commander decided to make Deborah Simour into a queen. With teleportation magic and swordplay combined, an entire fox pack was annihilated in just four seconds.”
Thierry spoke with an expression of utter amazement, and the Young-sik gasped in awe, shaking their heads in disbelief.
“A true magic swordsman, indeed….”
“Still, Knight Thierry, you’ve managed to catch three foxes in all this.”
Envy flickered across the faces of the Young-sik who hadn’t caught a single one. They had cut off the tails of their hunted foxes and gifted them to the young ladies for appearances’ sake, but Thierry already had three tails dangling from his waist.
“That’s because I hunted while avoiding wherever Duke Visconti went.”
“…But Knight Thierry, which young lady are you planning to give those fox tails to?”
“Henry, you tell me first, then I’ll tell you.”
“Ah, I was planning to gift them to Miya Binoshu.”
“Hmm. Do you have feelings for that young lady?”
Thierry brushed the grass from his buttocks and asked as he mounted his horse’s saddle.
“She is a saint who has saved countless lives, so wouldn’t it be proper to present her with foxes for the honor of our house?”
At Henry’s response, Thierry let out an inward scoff.
‘That’s laughable. It’s really for the Senate’s interests.’
The Senate had not wanted to see the prestige of Simour and Visconti rise after their one-sided success during the Hyanghwa incident, so they had conspired with the Temple to elevate Miya and check these two houses.
“There’s something odd about calling her a saint.”
Thierry muttered, narrowing his eyes.
“Odd, you say?”
“That woman. When a demon appeared in Sky Forest, she stood there like a coward with her hands down. The Temple made such a fuss about how remarkable she was that I expected her to display miraculous divine power, but I was disappointed.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It was Deborah Simour’s knights who saved my mother and defeated the demon. They say Miya Binoshu displayed tremendous power during Hyanghwa, but I simply don’t believe it.”
“Knight Thierry. Isn’t that statement rather dangerous when the Cardinal himself has verified her divine power?”
“Not at all.”
Just then, another voice interjected abruptly.
“Everyone who was present that day never actually witnessed Miya Binoshu directly wielding divine power. Everything was shrouded in black fog.”
When the Crown Prince appeared in the midst of their conversation, all the Young-sik dismounted from their horses and prostrated themselves.
“We greet Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“It seems you haven’t managed to catch a single fox, yet here you are wasting time with idle chatter? At this rate, you’ll return empty-handed.”
The Crown Prince had five fox tails hanging from his waist as well, so Young-sik and his companions remounted their horses with wounded pride written across their faces.
“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. We shall return with our quarry.”
Swallowing their frustration in the presence of the Imperial Family, they galloped straight into the forest, and Thierry clicked his tongue with a sympathetic expression.
“Tsk. They shouldn’t have gone that way… their luck is absolutely abysmal.”
“Why?”
“Because two monsters as formidable as Knight Isidore have gone in that direction.”
The path they’d chosen happened to be the same route the Simour twins were taking as they competitively slaughtered foxes, and Thierry clicked his tongue with a regretful expression.
* * *
‘What on earth is that?’
Isidore waved at me with an affectionate smile, and behind him, a towering pile of gray fur billowed in the wind.
The excess was so overwhelming that even the young ladies who envied me had no words—they merely exchanged doubtful glances, half-covering their faces with fans in astonishment.
‘At this rate, am I really going to end up eating the queen fox too?’
While I was reeling from Isidore’s overwhelming prowess, the household twins arrived simultaneously.
“Damn it, I’ve caught fewer foxes than Duke Visconti!”
Beleck muttered with a frustrated expression while counting the fox tails piled on Isidore’s cart. Rozard ground his teeth as he watched his brother.
“That’s because you wouldn’t stop trailing behind me like a shadow. I could have caught twice as many otherwise.”
“You’re the one who slithered up to wherever I stood and snatched all the foxes!”
“Slithered? Mind your tongue with your elder.”
“You want respect for being ten minutes older? How petty.”
The number of fox tails behind the bickering twins was equally impressive.
‘What sin did foxes commit in their past lives to deserve these three?’
As I sat in a daze, thinking that the tails alone could make dozens of fur coats, a hunting horn sounded long and clear through the forest, signaling the end of the hunt. Young-sik and the others began emerging one by one with their tails, presenting their hunted foxes as gifts to the young ladies of their choice.
“Please accept them. They’re all for you, my lady.”
Isidore presented the entire heap of fox tails he’d hunted, and I responded awkwardly while brushing fur from his shoulder.
“Thank you.”
Now all attention turned to the household twins. Depending on their choice, the outcome could be reversed.
‘Who will they give theirs to?’
“Deborah Simour, why won’t you accept?”
“Combined, what Beleck and I caught exceeds what Duke Visconti has.”
‘When did this become a competition between houses?’
Even Thierry and the Crown Prince handed their tails to me before leaving.
‘Could I actually be winning?’
Several judges approached and began counting the tails piled before me. Thus, I inadvertently became the young lady who had received the most fox tails in Imperial history.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————