Tia’s Smooth Life After Regression - Chapter 86

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

Tiya’s Smooth Regression Life

Chapter 86

‘Brother must have caught a lot of prey this time.’

It was when she was thinking that.

Suddenly, Tiya’s steps slowed. She seemed to have noticed something first and was startled.

“…?”

Anaël’s gaze turned a beat later toward the prey thrown in the garden.

Contrary to expectations, there was only one piece of prey. Yet the smell of blood was terrible.

‘A red… fox?’

No, it was too large to be called a fox.

As she gradually approached and tried to guess the identity of the prey, Tiya suddenly whispered in a broken voice.

“It’s still alive.”

“What? …Wait, Astiya!”

Before the Princess could stop her, Tiya rushed forward.

Then she knelt beside the prey and began pressing down firmly on its massive body with both hands.

Anaël belatedly realized that the prey was not a fox.

It was a giant wolf-dog.

With its collar tied to a tree trunk, its white fur completely bloodied, barely breathing.

Tiya desperately tried to stop the bleeding flowing from the beast.

“As I said yesterday, this is your gift, sister.”

As if grabbed by the collar by that voice, the Princess’s head turned toward the Prince.

“What is this….”

She couldn’t continue her words.

The Prince’s hunting clothes were splattered with bright red blood.

They had been clean when they met at the Empress’s Palace.

No, it couldn’t have been from the hunting grounds. After all, hunting was about aiming for vital spots with arrows to pierce through in one shot, so that the hide wouldn’t be damaged and the beast wouldn’t suffer.

The Prince was as skilled with a bow as he was with swordsmanship, and had never come back with even a drop of blood on him before.

Most of all, the drops of blood falling from the real sword the Prince held loosely.

Suddenly, nausea welled up.

“Well, since you’ve had a good show, I’ll be going back now.”

The Prince patted Anaël’s shoulder and left the Princess’s Palace without hesitation.

“Someone, please bring some clean cloth! Tie around the wounds, uh- like this? Is this right? A muzzle so it can’t move, no, anything is fine, just tie its mouth!”

Tiya rambled while giving specific instructions.

At Tiya’s words, the servants of the Princess’s Palace began moving frantically.

Anaël watched the scene blankly, then stepped backward. Then she began running in the direction the Prince had disappeared.

“Your Highness the Princess!”

The ladies-in-waiting and maids followed her, but Anaël desperately searched for the Prince. Fortunately, she was able to spot the Prince’s back not far away.

“Brother!”

At Anaël’s cry, the Prince stopped walking. He looked very pleased.

Without even wiping the blood splattered on his cheek, the Prince asked cheerfully.

“Does that wench like my prey?”

“Why… why did you do that?”

Catching her breath that had risen to her chin, Anaël barely managed to ask.

“Kar is the hunting dog you cherish most, Brother. But why so cruelly….”

Did you cause it pain? The words she couldn’t bring herself to say stuck in her throat.

The Prince answered nonchalantly.

“Sister told me. That Lugnir wolf-dogs are from the North.”

Yes, earlier when selecting prey to present to Her Majesty the Empress. She had casually mentioned it to Brother in passing.

“Brother, did you know? Your Kar is a hunting dog of the proud northern bloodline of the Vladijef Family. I only learned this from the Vladijef young lady this time.”

“If it weren’t for sister, I would have almost been deceived.”

The Prince’s brow furrowed with anger.

Anaël couldn’t understand his anger.

“Well, but in the end it was quite useful. Since those northern bastards value wolf-dogs so much, that wench is probably quite heartbroken right now.”

She couldn’t understand his pleasure,

“I have to make those dirty northern bastards pay the price for deceiving me.”

And she couldn’t understand his hatred either.

“Did the Vladijef young lady, or rather the Vladijef Family, do something disrespectful to you, Brother?”

“What are you talking about, sister?”

However, the Prince couldn’t understand Anaël either.

“Why do you think our mother left her homeland and came to the Empire? As a humiliating second wife, no less.”

“…For the harmony between the two nations due to the war….”

“No, no. That’s all just a nice excuse. Everything is because of that damn Duke Vladijef. If it weren’t for that monster bastard, the Kingdom and Duchy could have united to finish off this Empire in the conquest war 16 years ago. Then our Mother wouldn’t have been married off like she was being sold.”

The Princess couldn’t understand a single word the Prince said.

People spoke of the Princess and Prince.

As symbols of the end of war and peace.

That the three nations, which had accumulated resentment from the long war, could be so peacefully reconciled was all thanks to Their Highnesses being born healthy.

So Anaël was a little proud of herself. No, actually very much so.

She received overwhelming love just for being born. She thought she should repay that love.

She thought that was the responsibility Anaël, born as royalty of the Empire, had to bear, so she diligently learned and mastered everything.

Fortunately, bearing that responsibility wasn’t too difficult. She loved this country and the Empire’s people that much.

She was confident in that much without having to make an effort or learn it.

Anaël never doubted that Brother thought the same way as her.

So she thought Brother’s diligence in his studies was to become an excellent emperor.

“Just wait and see. When I become emperor, I’ll trample the Vladijef Lands so that not even a blade of grass can grow. He should experience having his homeland turned into ruins too—that would be fair. That’s the duty I must rightfully fulfill.”

The Princess shook her head anxiously.

“The Vladijef Lands are also territories of our Empire, and the people living there are also our subjects. But how can our subjects become targets of revenge?”

She thought that if she explained calmly, Brother would reflect on himself, even if he got angry.

She believed he would become a better person tomorrow.

However, her belief was shattered by the following words.

“Why doesn’t my smart sister understand this? Listen carefully. We were born to take revenge.”

Sharp and clear expression without a single misspoken word, with a tone that even held firm conviction.

‘This isn’t like Brother.’

Beyond the Prince, she glimpsed the shadow of someone else.

Anaël coolly assessed the situation and asked as if striking at a weak point.

“Did Count Montes say that?”

“What?”

Her voice was calm enough to surprise even herself. But her inner feelings weren’t the same.

She continued speaking as if screaming inside.

“The Count is royalty from the Kingdom of Harman who directly experienced the conquest war. I can understand if he has personal grudges against the North. But to try to resolve that grudge by using Brother is so cowardly—”

Smack!

“Your Highness the Princess!”

For a moment, Anaël didn’t understand what had happened.

Her head turned, and only after hearing the maids’ screams did she realize she had been slapped.

“I’ve been lenient because you were cute, but how dare you insult uncle? Just playing with that wench for one day and you’re already in this state. Are you planning to abandon your duties as royalty too?”

His breathing was heavy and ominous as he panted. In his hand, he still held the blood-stained sword.

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