When My Enemies Began to Regret

“…”

But in fact, Carl had once told the story of a dragon’s teeth in front of several nobles when he was young. At that time, it wasn’t yet revealed that the third son of Andras was violent, so no one feared him. He was teased a lot as he believed that dragons existed. So, by this age, he already knew it himself. That this legend isn’t true.

“Thank you, Lady Fanora.”

“What do you mean?”

Nevertheless, Fanora spoke kindly. Knowing that he could see through lies, she chose such a sentence.

“Sometimes I wonder why a kind person like Lady Fanora is doing this.”

“…”

However, when Fanora heard that, she became cold. This was because she was angry as her revenge was denigrated. “Looking at your useless words, you must have returned healthy from the battlefield.”

“Why are you angry?”

“Let’s prepare a hunting festival at this time. I hear you’re here to have fun.”

Carl groaned for a moment, unable to understand her intentions. But what’s the point of thinking about it with a stupid brain that hasn’t even mastered Kasius’s grammar?

“Okay. I will go now.”

“…Be careful.”

“Haha, the animals should beware of me!”

The frozen atmosphere soon brightened up. That’s how the conversation ended.

Suddenly, a loud trumpet sounded through the air.

The fox hunt is about to begin.

* * *

It was five minutes later. From a podium set up in the central square, the king announced the start of the fall hunting festival. Soon, the nobles equipped with weapons headed to the forest one by one, and a song wishing for their safety flowed through the venue.

During this hunting festival, I thought about pretending to shoot by mistake Vasago’s heart. But it’s ridiculous. Everyone is bringing a servant to retrieve what they hunted. Since I already say my greetings…

“Shall I go around?”

Fanora decided to go on an outing while waiting for the hunters to return. She could sit in her tent like everyone else, but in her tent, there was her enemy named Hanar sitting there.

“Let’s just enjoy the fall breeze…”

Like that, she started walking alone. Now there were no voices of concern for safety as knights were guarding the mountain all around.

* * *

Five minutes later, at the nearby forest.

“Lord Aloken, why are you in such a hurry to hunt so quickly?”

“It’s not that I’m in such a hurry. It’s just that you’re too slow.”

As soon as the hunting festival began, Aloken stepped up and headed for the forest’s center. How fast does he ride his horse? The only person that could follow him was Carl, who was good at horseback riding.

“How can you leave your servants behind?”

“He’ll be here any minute.”

Aloken was interested in the power of the Andras family, so he contacted Carl occasionally. Even though Carl knew what he wanted, he was hungry for a companion, so he pretended not to know what Aloken wanted.

“You’re coming to hunt fox, but why are you armed so simply?”

“Yes. Woow! Lord Aloken brought a crossbow.”

At the same time, the sounds of the servants of the Jalier family chasing after them could be heard from behind.

“What kind of fox are you going to catch with that?”

The duke is an experienced hunter. So Calr became curious about what kind of prey Aloken was after. But the duke gave advice instead of an answer.

“You’ll find out on your own when the hunt is over. By the way, you wouldn’t have time for this if you were going to present something to Fanora, right?”

“Present?”

Carl thought when he heard what followed. Ah~ I guess you have to present the prey to someone else when it comes to hunting.

The beginning was a small misunderstanding. Giving prey is just an additional tradition. Since this was his first hunting event this year, Carl believed Aloken’s words. Then let’s find a nice fox that will make Lad Fanora happy!

However, Carl’s misunderstanding was only a drop in the bucket. Aloken would eventually have a significant impact on the hunting festival in the future.

* * *

It was when the sun went down.

They’ll be back soon.

Too-too-too-too-toooooom! A huge trumpet sound covered the forest. Starting with that sound, the nobles who went out to hunt began to return one by one. However,

“I’ve seen some crazy people, but that person is something else!”

“Oh gosh, I’m speechless!”

Somehow, the conversation between the nobles who returned was unusual.

“?”

Leaving them behind, who seemed very angry, Fanora stared at the entrance. Shortly afterward, Vasago also returned to the entrance.

“Princess!” Fanora handed over the cool water she had prepared as if she had waited.

Vasago happily received it, drank it in gulps, and opened her mouth with a tired expression. “Fanora, I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think I can present a good fox for you at this hunting festival.”

Come to think of it, all Vasago’s servant was holding were two ordinary brown foxes.

“It must be because a lot of foxes that were released on the mountain today were agile—”

It was then. A familiar call struck her ear as she was talking to Vasago.

“Fanora!”

Aloken’s voice. She turned her head in the direction of the sound. But her vision was filled with unspeakable sights.

“…”

A giant bear fox, a jewel-like eyes fox, a snow fox with pure white fur, and so on. Behind the horse on which Aloken was riding was piled high with fox corpses, and the servants who followed him were carrying dead foxes like a mountain.

An enormous amount of foxes that you couldn’t even count at a glance. Seeing that, Fanora suddenly had a headache and slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. “That person again.”

She finally understood the whole situation. Aloken Jalier managed to sweep the foxes from this mountain. He acted without hesitation, such as entering the mountain one step ahead, catching and killing all the foxes that caught his eye, and intercepting foxes that someone was obviously chasing from a distance. The ordinary nobles returned halfway without experiencing hunting foxes.

“Hu, I was going to propose to her by giving her a fox today…”

As the number of participants increased, testimonies of his victims continued to emerge.

In original fox hunting, the number of foxes you could hunt was limited, so it was natural that you come down if you already hunt them in moderation. However, Aloken drove his servants to extremes and had them carry a lot of foxes. He would skin them on the spot as if it was still insufficient and bring evidence of his hunt.

“Cough. This… Did you catch all the foxes?”

“I’m not becoming the northern barrier to the kingdom’s people for nothing. We always prepare to deal with foreign invasions and fall foxes.”

It was a little later. After the king had confirmed the foxes he had caught, Aloken gestured to Fanora, who was nearby. He said as Fanora approached him reluctantly, “It’s a gift.”

“…”

How many lives have been sacrificed for this short word?

“This is too much.”

Aloken drooped his eyebrows and pretended to be sad when she didn’t look too happy. “If someone is going to give a present, of course, it’s better to prepare the best, right?”

“…”

“Since you’re my fiancee, you should be the number one wherever you go.”

Certainly, Fanora had been honored with this year’s awards, thanks to him. She didn’t think it was a meaningful award because, originally, the award already had its owner.

“Hey, Duke Jalier!”

And then, a man suddenly stepped in between their conversation and raised his voice. Fanora remembered his face. That man was a noble from the South.

“On the mountain earlier. How can you be a person like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“You shot the crippled fox I had caught and shot it to death! No matter who saw it, it belonged to me, but where is your common morality!” The plump, well-rounded noble must have been so angry that his neck went red.

Aloken did not sympathize with his anger and frowned at one eye. “Isn’t the one who killed it become the one who claim it?”

“The fox is the one who got caught in my trap. I don’t know if it’s Duke’s first fall hunting festival, but—”

“I’ve been following the previous duke’s fox hunting since I was 15 years old.”

The southern noble was upset by Aloken’s attitude. No matter how duke he was, there was a courtesy between nobles that must be respected.

To believe only your blue blood just because you inherited a higher position! He said with the last pride of the older generation of nobles, “Duke—!”

To be more precise, he was trying to.

“!”

Aloken raised the crossbow in his hand. An arrow was inserted inside, so a creaking sound rang out when he lifted it up. “You should be careful, right?”

“Careful?”

“This is a hunting ground. If you make a loud noise like that, someone might later shoot you, thinking you’re an animal.”

Aloken’s expression as he gave the advice smiled softly. Maybe he really intended to do it. His eyes were as dull as those of the fox corpses piled up on the ground, naturally making his opponent uneasy.

“…”

The southern noble froze in place momentarily, wondering if he had touched the wrong person. The surroundings became cold as if it had been poured with cold water.

“T-that’s just a Northern joke!”

At that moment, the one who appeared like a savior was his fiancee, who had been silent all this time.

“Hahaha. You can’t shoot people, right? Ah, by the way, what color is the fox you missed? I’ll give it to you. Aloken must have been too ambitious to give me something.”

“Ahem. For love, one can do such things.”

Fanhora began to warm up the atmosphere with all her might. As she held the fox and treated him gently, even the disgruntled noble stepped back.

“Cough, cough. I’m sorry for before. I promised my wife that I would give her a scarf from the fox I caught in this hunting festival.”

“I’m sure your wife will be happy~”

“I was afraid that I would become an ugly husband who couldn’t even keep his promise.”

He had no real intention of fighting Aloken anyway. In any case, Aloken was the leader of the noble faction, as he inherited Jalier’s blood. No man could compare to him, no matter how strong they were.

“Lady Celsius is thoughtful. Of course, you’re the first place in this hunting festival. I congratulate you in advance.”

“Thank you.”

The conversation ended safely. As the nobleman who had obtained a brown fox returned to his family far away, Aloken tilted his head expressionlessly.

“Why?”

This must mean why did she bother to give him that fox.

That’s what I’m supposed to say. Fanora wanted to shout, ‘Then why did you have to slaughter the fox?’ but she barely held it back.

“You said it was a gift for me? It was mine, so I did as I pleased.”

“Aha.”

“And what makes you so anti-social… You can’t aim your crossbow like that.”

Aloken was surprisingly convinced by this logic.

“Duke Jalier!”

“Fanora, keep your seat for a moment.”

Soon Aloken moved to the sound of another noble. As he moved, it was strange that his servants of him also followed like migratory birds.

“What should I do with all these foxes?” Fanora struggled in front of the rows of fox skins.

In Kaisus, foxes were only troublesome and weren’t included in the category of animals to be loved, so they were free to handle them no matter what.

If I throw them away, I feel sorry for the foxes. Looking at the many foxes that Aloken had caught, Fanora thought involuntarily. Then she opened her eyes brightly.

…Feel sorry? Was she sympathizing with the fox corpses that had harmed so many people?

I of the past died on a cliff at that time. Now, don’t think like I did back then. Here, what she feared deep down was revealed. She didn’t want to return to her weak self in the past. If that happened, she wouldn’t be able to take revenge anymore.

Fanora thought that even if she had to whip herself, she would have to let go of her nature until her revenge was done.

“Lady Fanora!”

“!”

Someone called her when she was in her deepest thoughts.

Carl Andras made it back to the entrance, nearly being disqualified.