* * *
Eren jolted, wondering if he’d accidentally spoken his thoughts aloud, but the Empress merely smiled knowingly and turned her gaze forward.
The Emperor’s monotonous, dreadfully long proclamation wishing for everyone’s safe return began.
For some reason, it felt oddly familiar, and upon reflection, it resembled the school principal’s dreary speeches from before he got reincarnated here.
It practically lulled him to sleep like a lullaby.
“…And with that, the hunting competition shall begin. The prize for this year’s winner is—”
After the endless announcement, the prize was finally being introduced.
Eren, who had been nodding off, snapped his eyes open.
Palace servants began bringing something out, covered in red cloth.
“Once the winner is determined, we’ll reveal it. For now, I sincerely wish everyone’s safe return.”
Same situation, same lines as the original novel.
Without a doubt, what lay beneath that cloth was the indulgence.
Eren was sure of it.
Among the gathered nobles, a subtle tension filled the air.
“Since I’ll be the one winning, the prize will naturally belong to my teacher.”
‘Teacher?’
We’ve barely known each other…
Despite that, Elyrion winked playfully, acting all chummy after all that initial wariness.
“Ah, and here—this is a small gift from me.”
“A gift…?”
From his pocket, Elyrion pulled something out and began wrapping it around Eren’s injured ankle.
He claimed it was modest, but the item looked anything but cheap at a glance.
“With this, you should be able to walk just fine. I only used enough magic to prevent strain on your body, so no need to worry.”
After being unable to walk for over a week, the frustration had been mounting.
Now, with Elyrion’s enchanted brace, Eren could finally move around, even if only slightly.
He muttered under his breath,
‘…Fine. You’re officially my student.’
Satisfied by the Crown Prince’s bribe, Eren tested walking around, only to lock eyes with Ashard watching him from afar.
He was still bitter about being abandoned in the midst of the Imperial family, but he generously waved at him nonetheless.
Given the tournament was held in the forest, the hunting grounds were naturally vast, and the competition itself would be long.
Each noble house had their own resting quarters under the seats, and participants were expected to head into the forest with tents for this reason.
On the short end, the event could last twenty hours; on the long end, over a day and a half.
Of course, the tournament itself was strictly set at eighteen hours.
But that only regulated the active hunting time—how long it took participants to return varied widely, so no one could predict when the awards ceremony would begin.
‘…In the original story, even though I joined the hunt, I came back early.’
Everything in the novel was designed to have the love interests take Eren’s body one after another.
In the original timeline, Eren had spent the night with Helid before the tournament, learning from him what the prize would be.
That’s why he desperately fought to claim the indulgence but ended up falling from his horse for some mysterious reason mid-competition.
While he lay immobile, it was Julius who appeared before him, and they… rolled around outdoors.
As a result, Eren caught nothing, returned early, and Helid became the winner.
That summed up the hunting competition arc in the original story.
It was absurd how things played out, even knowing the outcome.
But Eren had zero intention of following the same path this time.
Resolute not to leave the tournament grounds no matter what happened, he mouthed quietly to Ashard:
“I’ll be waiting—”
The distance was far, but he had clearly understood.
His eyes, which had been quietly mouthing my words, suddenly changed—there was no mistaking it.
For a brief moment, I looked away, thinking I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed again anytime soon.
“…Huh?”
Seeing the familiar face, Eren greeted him with a bright smile.
Who would’ve thought I’d run into that face here again?
It was Cain, a knight from Epentel.
Where bandages had once been wrapped around his head, there was now a black eye patch.
The injury had been severe… it seemed he’d gone blind, perhaps due to delayed treatment.
“It’s been a while, Count. Have you been well?”
“Cain! You’ve been well?”
Eren greeted him with genuine warmth—the only sane person he’d met in Epentel, after all.
Maybe it was the excitement of this unexpected reunion, but Eren completely ignored Ashard, as if he’d been shoved to the background.
“…Who the hell is that now?”
Ashard’s expression twisted in irritation as he waved goodbye, only for Eren to run off to another man.
His tightly knit brows clearly betrayed his displeasure.
Such a drastically different reaction from how Eren treated the other three men from Epentel.
‘…He’s smiling?’
Unlike those other three, whom Eren avoided like the plague, he was now standing there with a big, careless grin on his face?
Ashard’s frown deepened as his eyes locked onto Cain.
‘Pause—’
His eyes, which had been slowly drifting downward, stopped at one particular spot—a ring on Cain’s finger.
The design was familiar.
There was no need to even think about it.
It was that ring.
The one Eren had angrily ranted about, saying he’d smashed it to pieces.
“He can’t live without me, or whatever nonsense he was saying…”
‘So it’s him.’
Jealousy flickered wildly in Ashard’s golden eyes.
The sound of the trumpet signaled the start of the hunting competition.
Even as the other participants mounted their horses, Ashard stood still, arms crossed, glaring daggers at the two of them, with no intention of moving.
“Why the hell is he smiling like that…?”
Ashard muttered under his breath, unable to believe what he was seeing.
There was no way Eren actually liked that guy.
No chance they were lovers, either.
If they were, Eren wouldn’t have practically begged Ashard to kidnap him.
Ashard’s intense gaze burned hotter.
‘Then what the hell is it?’
If they weren’t in love, weren’t lovers, then why were they wearing matching rings?
Why were they talking so casually, smiling like that?
And why… why was this unbearable irritation building inside him?
None of it made sense.
“Uncle, aren’t you going?”
Elyrion, already mounted beside him, called out.
But Ashard didn’t move an inch.
Elyrion, noticing Ashard’s unwavering gaze fixed on Eren, smiled, completely misunderstanding the situation.
“Oh, that ring? I gave that to the Count. He’s able to walk around so comfortably thanks to me.”
“…It was you?”
All the effort Ashard had put into keeping Eren by the Empress’s side to prevent him from wandering off had gone down the drain.
And the culprit was right there, smugly confessing.
Ashard’s sharp gaze snapped to Elyrion, filled with quiet fury.
But oblivious to the mood, Elyrion just laughed dumbly.
“If you hadn’t given him that thing…”
“…Huh?”
Elyrion finally noticed Ashard’s unusual reaction and flinched.
A reflex honed by countless past experiences.
Without hesitation, Elyrion spurred his horse toward the hunting grounds.
Though it was filled with wild predators and a dangerous place to enter unprepared, it still felt safer than standing near Ashard.
“W-Well then, I’ll be going ahead, Uncle!”
Elyrion disappeared into the hunting grounds so fast his figure vanished in an instant.
The only participant yet to depart was Ashard.
His feet refused to move, and one last time, he turned his eyes toward Eren.
It was then their gazes met.
‘Hurry back safe… okay?’
Ashard, understanding Eren’s unspoken words perfectly, curved his lips into a faint smile.
Then, realizing the expression he was making, he let out a short, bitter laugh.
Jealous one moment, smiling the next, all from a single word from Eren.
When had this ridiculous habit become so ingrained in him?
* * *
