The Peaceful Life Of A Maid Who Hides Her Power And Enjoys It - Chapter 133

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 133

Liwein was an excellent hunter.

Four out of five arrows he shot hit their mark, and with his keen instincts, he accurately tracked the movement routes of prey.

After nearly 30 minutes had passed, my horse’s rear had become quite heavy with close to five pieces of game.

‘At this rate, we could not only make it into the top 5 but even aim for 1st place, right?’

Because of this, I also attended to him more diligently.

“Here, Sir Liwein. Drink it all down. You need to drink water regularly for your body to maintain proper vitality.”

“I’ll take care of organizing this, so rest comfortably, Sir Liwein.”

“Sir Liwein. Now that I look at it, there’s a bit of a hasty feeling.”

“That’s why I said I didn’t think it would be in that direction, Sir Liwein!”

“Liwein, you fool! How could you miss that!”

Thanks to my enthusiastic service, Liwein’s hunting efficiency rapidly improved.

Of course, his complexion was getting worse at a speed inversely proportional to his efficiency, but that wasn’t my concern. You wouldn’t want to receive my marriage proposal either, would you?

When it had been just under an hour and a half since the hunt began.

Clang.

A clear bell sound came from somewhere.

It was the sound announcing 10 minutes before the end of the morning hunt.

Since we happened to be taking a break, our team immediately returned to the hunting headquarters. We then passed by the nobles who had returned earlier and were chatting, moving to the space where scores were posted.

‘This is getting a bit exciting.’

With the mindset that we’d be 2nd place at worst, the scoreboard I checked was…

『【1st Place】 Team 2 (Hunter: Raphael Jenail, Assistant: Gern Rosebel) 140 points

【2nd Place】 Team 3 (Hunter: Jigharke Berkleighton, Assistant: Kate Ezanel) 120 points

【3rd Place】 Team 4 (Hunter: Gott Rosebel, Assistant: Emilia Rosebel) 105 points

【4th Place】 Team 1 (Hunter: Liwein Wokhood, Assistant: Daisy Weatherwax) 100 points

.

.

.』

It was disastrous.

This can’t be right.

‘We hunted so diligently and only managed 4th place?’

Of course, achieving 4th place out of 44 teams was a remarkable result.

However, our team was overwhelmingly superior in both hunting skill and results. At least from my perspective, we were at a speed infinitely close to victory.

‘Moreover, the Sword Saint’s team was leisurely resting and laughing heartily every time we passed them.’

But 2nd place? They scored over 20 points more than us? They managed to get everything done while fooling around? What monsters.

I swallowed a sigh and turned to look at Liwein.

“How unfortunate, Sir Liwein. We’ve taken another step closer to our marriage.”

Whether he was disappointed about the score or disappointed that the possibility of marrying me had increased, Liwein nodded with a rarely seen disappointed expression.

“Yes…”

“Don’t be too depressed. I’m actually quite a decent woman, you know.”

“Yes…”

He seems mature but is still young.

I patted Liwein’s shoulder and moved to the rest area. After stuffing some refreshments into his somewhat dejected mouth, I asked about something I was curious about.

“But for this hunt, if it’s called a hunting competition, isn’t there a prize for winning?”

Liwein chewed the tasteless biscuit in his mouth thoroughly with a disgusted expression and answered.

“The winning prize is traditionally announced on the second day of the hunting competition. The first day’s hunt is closer to entertainment, and the point distribution itself is concentrated on the second day’s hunt.”

“It’s entertainment but the results are like that?”

At my incredulous reaction, Liwein let out what could be called a light laugh for the first time.

“Those people are naturally extraordinary.”

He glanced at the scoreboard again and muttered.

“Duke Raphael will designate the Baroness for the afternoon hunt.”

“Probably so.”

“The Baroness seemed… reluctant to move as a team with His Grace the Duke. Is my guess correct?”

“Well, if you put it that way, yes.”

“I’m sorry my skills were insufficient. I’ll do my best so that Team 1 can rise to 1st place in the next session.”

How could that be your fault? It’s the fault of Raphael, who was born as a human weapon, and the Sword Saint and others.

Just as we were clinking our champagne glasses together to cheer up.

“Hey, Liwein! How about we enjoy hunting together after a while? I see you’re in 4th place… Ah! Good day, Baroness Weatherwax!”

Some young man approached noisily and introduced himself as ‘Gern Rosebel.’

If it’s Gern, he must be the assistant who was teamed with Raphael.

‘The fact that he came looking for Liwein means…’

As expected, there was a servant who had silently followed behind Gern. The servant who quietly bowed whispered in a small voice only I could hear.

“You have been designated by Duke Raphael Jenail. You will serve as Team 2’s assistant during the afternoon hunting time.”

Hmm.

I looked at the two young men of the same age who had begun chatting happily.

‘He seemed a bit more comfortable, so I was going to suggest being dance partners at the ball.’

There’s no room to interrupt.

When I quietly stood up, Liwein looked at me. He seemed to have roughly figured out the situation.

I gave him a light wink and then moved toward Raphael, who was visible in the distance. People were bustling around him as he casually drank.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised.

‘I thought he would keep ignoring me.’

The relationship with Raphael had become slightly awkward since the dinner party.

Of course, this awkwardness was quite one-sided. The only thing that had changed between him and me was that Raphael no longer initiated conversations.

In his own way, he had designated me as his partner to look after me, but the response he got back was that I didn’t want to move together with him… it was understandable that he’d be displeased.

‘But didn’t he used to roughly understand and move on when I gave rough explanations?’

Was that only possible because he was friend Andert and friend Raphael? It was regrettable.

As the distance between me and Raphael decreased, the people surrounding Raphael also slowly retreated.

The sight of them looking back and forth between me and him, then quietly whispering among themselves before disappearing… how should I put it… it felt a bit like I had become a dirty bug…

Still, romantic rumors are nice because no one clings to you.

Raphael, whose eyes met mine, nodded. Thinking it was fortunate he didn’t openly ignore me, I started the conversation as nonchalantly as possible.

“If you sweep away every piece of game like that, how are we supposed to proceed with tomorrow’s hunt?”

When I gestured toward the mountain of piled game, Raphael answered with an expression that found nothing surprising about it.

“Whether we sweep it away or not has nothing to do with the next hunt. On the second day, we don’t hunt living creatures anyway.”

“You don’t hunt living creatures? Then what do you hunt?”

Something like target practice?

“Demons.”

“…Demons?”

The demons I know?

For a moment, various imaginations swept through my mind. Could it be that the royal family is raising demons? Just for something like a hunting festival?

‘But Raphael clearly said they weren’t living creatures.’

Which means.

“Are you using illusion magic?”

“Yes. You can think of it as having a similar structure to mental magic traps.”

Illusions. And demon hunting.

“Are you okay with that?”

Raphael, who had returned his empty wine glass to a servant, slowly asked back at my question.

“What do you mean?”

“I think it would be hard for me to face them head-on. They’re the ones who turned the Empire into a sea of fire for a whole 10 years. I was worried that only bad memories would come up.”

Even I, just from setting foot in the Peace Garden once, experienced hallucinations and auditory illusions as if I had been dropped in the middle of a battlefield, didn’t I?

Even I, who prided myself on having decent mental strength, only overcame my war trauma after crossing the wall.

For war veterans who hadn’t crossed the wall, demon hunting through illusions would be no different from being pushed into hell.

“Sister… you’re truly kind.”

Raphael’s gaze as we met was so cold that his words felt like mockery.

“Most war veterans have been treated for aftereffects through modified mental traps. There have been no incidents that could be called problematic since then, so you can rest assured.”

He added an explanation that the mental trap to be used tomorrow was manufactured for training purposes.

“I think I’ve heard something similar. You’re talking about the treatment method researched by the Berkley-Greytown Family, right?”

“Yes.”

“…Raphael, do you trust the Swordmaster?”

Raphael looked down at me with an expression asking what I meant.

“I’m not questioning the camaraderie between you two. The resurrection experiments conducted by the Royal Court, and the Berkley-Greytown Family as well, surely…”

“Duke Jilhark is someone who always puts the greater cause first. I have never once doubted that aspect. He is not someone who would scheme using treatment methods.”

“But he is the Emperor’s sword. He won’t be able to disobey imperial commands.”

“Knowing that, you’re having a private meeting with Duke Jilhark? What if he lays a hand on you? How can you be so careless?”

“…”

“Your suspicions are not without merit. You should stay as far away from Duke Jilhark as possible. Since he’s also suspected as a perpetrator of the Irigel Conference terror attack, it would be best to only converse in official settings.”

Even I couldn’t hide my surprised expression at that statement.

‘The mastermind behind the Nobility Council terror attack could be the Swordmaster?’

Despite having such suspicions, can Raphael and the Swordmaster face each other as if nothing happened?

They were once allies who firmly trusted each other. Now they’ve become political enemies and naturally guard against each other. Perhaps because I witnessed this change firsthand, my chest felt slightly heavy.

I shrugged my shoulders slightly and answered, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

As soon as Raphael mounted his saddle, the bell announcing the afternoon hunt rang. Turning his horse’s head, he passed by my side and said,

“I’m counting on you.”

“Mm. Me too.”

We dashed toward the forest in the lead.

Perhaps because I found myself reflecting on past connections, vague doubts I hadn’t noticed before began to surface.

‘Come to think of it, since the interrogation, Raphael and I haven’t had any conversations about Andert at all.’

Considering that Andert was the only connection between us, this was unnatural.

‘Is it that he can’t bear to mention the name of a dead person?’

Well, I am Andert’s own sister after all.

Since there was no one around, should I test the waters for a confession? I naturally asked, directing my words at the back of Raphael’s head as he led the way.

“Princess Natasha said she’s still searching for Andert’s body.”

“Yes.”

“If the reason they can’t find the body is… because he’s alive, what would you do?”

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