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“Wasn’t this supposed to be a strategy game?”

With that calm voice, Eden froze in place. The icy tone that escaped Asmun’s lips was one he had never used in public before.

As Asmun wore a bored expression, Kiris raised an eyebrow, the bystanders looked intrigued, and Eden was in shock.

Asmun had turned his gaze from Eden and was now staring directly at Kiris.

‘No…!’

Eden found herself instinctively stepping forward, but someone grabbed her arm.

Turning around, she saw Ibthan, who had somehow arrived and was holding onto her arm.

“That doesn’t seem like a good choice.”

Ibthan declared curtly, not even glancing back at Eden. Then, as if he had finished his duties, he let go of her hand.

Jepar, right next to them, seemed too focused on the standoff between Asmun and Kiris to notice.

“……”

Thanks to Ibthan, Eden managed to regain her composure just in time to halt her reckless actions. But Asmun’s reckless remarks were only just beginning.

“But you have nothing to worry about. There are plenty of people with no qualifications who have been manipulating things to sneak into the higher-level hunting grounds for years.”

At that, everyone around gasped.

Eden’s breath caught in her throat as well.

“What?”

Kiris’s eyebrows shot up at his unexpected attitude.

“Who would do something like that? Seriously. Asmun, do you realize you’re insulting the royal hunting competition with those words?”

“Well, it’s true that there are many areas in the hunting competition that need improvement.”

Kiris warned him by mentioning the royal family, but Asmun replied without flinching.

“According to brother, the fact that there haven’t been any fatalities among those who entered despite lacking the skills means one of two things.”

“……”

“Either they were just really lucky, or the monsters in the higher-level hunting grounds are weaker than those in the mid-level ones.”

As Asmun’s calm words stirred things up, murmurs began to ripple through the crowd. Ibthan raised an eyebrow, staring at Asmun.

Asmun was right.

Just as he said, many had received badges through all sorts of tricks even though they didn’t qualify; and if casualties happened among them, the hunting competition established for the safety of the empire would instead act as poison, so the royal family inevitably made some manipulations.

As a result, stronger control magic was placed on the monsters in the high-level hunting grounds, drastically reducing their threat.

Even Kiris, who had never killed a high-level monster himself, could hunt alone.

Yet, it boggled her mind how Asmun, who had never even set foot in a high-level hunting ground, seemed to know this.

“Ha ha… What are you talking about, Asmun? You’ve never been to a high-level hunting ground. What grounds do you have to insult the royal family?”

“I have no grounds. I merely agreed with brother’s opinion.”

“What? You agreed? When did I…!”

“If I can enter without clear evidence, then surely others can as well.”

Kiris was momentarily lost for words at the nonchalant rebuttal.

At this rate, it would be Kiris who first cast doubt on the royal family’s judgment. He had handed Asmun a badge without proof of having dealt with a high-level monster.

Noticing the noble’s glances darting toward Kiris, he clenched his fists.

Asmun then spoke, his tone almost too friendly.

“As brother said, it would be best to thoroughly restrict access to the high-level hunting grounds from now on. I wonder how many of those who received badges would even make it through.”

Eden clenched her fists as tightly as Kiris, inwardly screaming.

Stop it…!

But contrary to her desperate wish, Asmun’s voice showed no sign of stopping.

“Ah.”

Asmun suddenly seemed to have a lightbulb moment, exclaiming softly, in a pitying tone.

“Are you perhaps scared of the high-level hunting grounds?”

“…W-What?”

Kiris stammered, momentarily forgetting his anger at the unexpected remark.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. That could happen. I’ve never been to a high-level hunting ground, so I don’t know what it’s like, but seeing you repeatedly emphasize how terrifying it is makes me uneasy.”

Despite his friendly concern, Asmun’s expression remained chillingly neutral.

With that single comment, Kiris became the ‘man scared of the high-level hunting ground,’ and he was so flustered that he couldn’t even retort properly.

Eden could only watch in exasperation as her spirit felt as if it were slipping away.

“If that’s the case, it’s not too late to take a knight with you now. You do have plenty of capable knights at your disposal, don’t you?”

Everyone was dumbfounded by Asmun’s unusual demeanor, and the embarrassment on Kiris’s face was bright red.

“Then I wish you good luck.”

Asmun smiled faintly, but it didn’t look like a smile at all.

“Asmun…!”

Kiris finally gathered himself and called out to Asmun with a trembling voice, but Asmun merely turned away without responding, glancing at Eden with a puzzled expression.

“……”

The blatant look seemed to imply that all of this was Eden’s fault, and Eden felt her own voice clamping shut just like Kiris’s.

“……”

Asmun watched Eden with unyielding eyes, then walked away without a shred of regret.

“It seems the 3rd Prince has changed a bit.”

Jepar remarked with an intrigued tone, and Eden felt a strong urge to cry.

It wasn’t just Kiris who was shocked by Asmun’s sudden change; the banquet hall was buzzing with commotion.

With a furious expression, Kiris glared at Asmun’s retreating figure and spun around to leave the banquet hall.

‘I’m really screwed.’

Just in time, the sound of fireworks, known as the Night Prelude’s flowers, echoed outside the window.

Boom—.

Even while gazing at the only event she had been looking forward to at the hunting competition, the splendid fireworks, Eden found herself unable to smile.

After the Night Prelude ended, the vast Star Palace was as quiet as a mouse.

Eden lay on the bed in the room she had been assigned, staring up at the lofty ceiling that was a far cry from the lodging in the temple.

“……”

Asmun’s cold gaze kept resurfacing, making it impossible for her to fall asleep.

It was absurd, yet on some level, she understood Asmun’s feelings of betrayal, making Eden feel uneasy.

「I must win.」

But thinking of winning felt so far-fetched.

「Since the Priest is so deeply concerned for my safety, I must do my best to survive until I ascend the throne. So, I need to win the competition and ask for the title of Crown Prince as my reward.」

Eden thought perhaps she was being unreasonable due to her anger, but she still felt anxious.

No, could it truly be that big of a deal?

“I didn’t betray him or anything…”

Eden muttered resentfully, then snapped her mouth shut.

Well, if she had betrayed him, she would have probably been dead already.

The sensation of her chest where the mark was engraved felt strangely nauseating.

It wasn’t stated in the description, but Asmun must be a character with a very strong possessiveness. Perhaps his setting determines that he won’t let go of something he considers valuable.

Suddenly, Eden became curious about how Asmun would treat her once her usefulness had run out.

Once he ascends as the Emperor, would he mercilessly cast me aside, not even looking back?

Imagining how those obsessions would fade from his eyes made her feel more than a little uneasy.

“How infuriating…”

Eden jumped up, her annoyance shifting into thoughts that perhaps it would be better if he discarded her anyway.

If Asmun became Emperor and turned into a tyrant before she could do anything to stop him…

“…He would kill me.”

The horrific thought sent shivers down her spine.

‘No matter what, I have to avoid that ending where I die if I don’t create a virtuous ruler.’

Then, there was only one thing left to do.

To completely clear the game.

For that, she needed to get through the hunting competition episode safely. Just as Eden was trying to forcibly close her eyes in preparation for a long night’s sleep…

Ping!

The clear notification sound rang in her ears, making Eden open her eyes wide.

‘Here?’

As she shot upright, she saw a quest window floating in midair.

“Crap, they even won’t let me sleep.”

Grumbling, Eden quickly grabbed her outerwear. Although it wouldn’t affect the story if she declined the event quest, recalling that the previous event quest’s special reward had been the key to the Chancellor’s Office study, she couldn’t just let this one slip by.

With the hunting competition happening tomorrow and Asmun having provoked Kiris, she needed to seize whatever she could get her hands on.

Eden stood up from the bed, slipped into her shoes, and shouted, “Yes!”

 

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