---

70 Chapter

“What did you just say…?”

Amidst the frenzied whispers of the crowd, Audi, with a vacant expression, stared at me in disbelief. I responded with a cold, expressionless face.

“I said that I will also participate in the Hunting Tournament.”

In the entire history of the Empire, there has never been a woman who participated in the Hunting Tournament. It was truly a bizarre situation. The eligibility criteria for participating stated ‘any noble above the age of maturity.’

‘But just because there’s no precedent doesn’t mean it’s impossible.’

It’s just that there hasn’t been a woman who wished to participate; the rules still don’t discriminate by gender.

So, all I had to do was become the first.

“Y-you’re lying because you don’t want to give me the heraldry, aren’t you!?”

Seeing Audi still in a daze made me scoff.

“It seems you’re misunderstanding something. Lord Young is not someone important enough for me to lie to.”

Lying should have a reason, and I had no reason to lie to this car brat. As laughter erupted around us, Audi’s face flushed with anger.

‘Audi Prama is authoritative, has a strong sense of pride, and can’t stand being humiliated in front of others,’ I recalled.

It was information from Carl, who treated Audi like an ant passing by, so I didn’t need long stories to know that much.

‘But this is enough.’

I smiled coldly. Though I was quite angry at being dismissed, I had no intention of letting this car brat’s rudeness slide.

I planned to trample him so he would never recover.

“Y-you dare insult me…!”

“‘Dare’ is a term that should apply to you, Count Audi Prama Young.”

Erasing my nearly icy smile, I met Audi’s gaze with a frigid expression. The sudden shift in tone surprised Audi.

Audi was a Count, and I was a young Duchess. No matter how you looked at it, I was superior. My previous use of polite language was merely for convenience.

But since he had committed rudeness, I had no intention of being polite anymore.

“Dare? You strut so arrogantly and expect courtesy from me?”

I glared at Audi, twisting my lips. I sensed a slight danger radiating from me, and he shuddered, still glaring defiantly. Seeing him still unable to recover made me realize ignorance was also a crime.

“Yet, you’re hesitating to say that what I stated is a lie?”

“What?”

“No matter how much you didn’t want to give me the heraldry, you still lied when you said I couldn’t participate in the Hunting Tournament in front of so many people!”

Perhaps realizing he couldn’t handle me on his own, Audi turned to the surrounding nobles, appealing. I cast a cold glance around and then caught sight of Carl, nearly ready to cast a spell.

‘This is my problem. Stay out of it, please.’

‘This is because of me…!’

‘I will handle it. If you trust me, don’t intervene.’

Carl, who seemed ready to jump in, bit his lip. Despite witnessing the fury sparkling in his eyes, I merely turned away. This was my problem.

“So, why do you think it’s a lie?”

“Why!?”

Audi declared confidently.

“Women don’t participate in the Hunting Tournament! How can a woman hunt!?”

‘Oh… this is… truly preposterous.’

For a moment, I was speechless. I could faintly hear Diego behind me snickering. I pressed my throbbing temples in frustration.

‘This will not end nicely.’

I was completely furious. I wanted to make it clear that I was not someone to be looked down upon. Slowly, I spoke.

“Since you demanded the heraldry from me, I take it you will also participate in the Hunting Tournament?”

“Of course!”

Audi tilted his head at my sudden question as I chuckled confidently.

“Then what will you do if I participate and bring back more game than you?”

The crowd erupted in a stir, while Audi’s face went taut. It seemed he took offense at this.

‘Just comparing myself to you is an insult to me, you car brat.’

I grinned at the discomfort evident on Audi’s face. It would be utterly shameful for me, a Sword Master, to bet against someone who hadn’t even earned a knight’s title, yet I decided to endure it to crush Audi thoroughly.

“That will never happen!”

“What will happen if it does?”

I stared at him with piercing eyes. Audi flinched.

“Then you should also bear the responsibility for your rudeness.”

Audi took a step back, seemingly overwhelmed by an invisible pressure. After taking a deep breath to gather my aura, I smiled wickedly.

“And if you bring back more game than me, how about I accept your confession of love?”

At my words, the surroundings erupted into noise. Audi’s face lit up as if struck by unexpected fortune. It seemed he had hoped to get revenge on Carl, but now he was thrilled at the prospect of romancing a Duchess.

I felt Diego behind me flinch. However, I had no intention of losing; I shot a cold gaze at Audi.

“But if I bring back more game than you…”

With a frosty expression, I took slow steps toward Audi, moving like a predator closing in on prey, exuding intimidation.

‘How can I make this car brat feel the most humiliated?’

I had nothing to gain from Audi. He wasn’t better than me in any regard. I just wanted him to pay for ignoring me.

‘He hates being humiliated in front of everyone the most.’

With that thought, I glared at him like a beast eyeing its prey.

“Then, let’s say that at the Hunting Tournament award ceremony, in front of all the nobles, you kneel and kiss my feet.”

Kissing the feet signifies submission to one’s master.

The crowd erupted in a commotion. Faces were painted with shock, skepticism, respect, and enmity as I twisted my lips into a smirk while Audi’s expression froze. His fists trembled with suppressed anger, a clear sign of his shame at being disregarded.

‘Have you forgotten how you’ve treated me until now?’

I cursed internally while maintaining my smirk.

“Are you scared? Just a moment ago, you said that women can’t hunt, didn’t you? If you’re feeling uncertain, then now is the time to…”

“Who says I’m uncertain!?”

Audi shouted, flaring up. After taking a moment to calm himself, he insisted.

“Just remember, Your Ladyship must also promise to reciprocate! You must catch the game entirely by your own strength! You can’t rely on the Duke or anyone!”

‘This little brat thinks I’ll depend on someone else…’

I clenched my teeth at his confident expectation that I would seek help. Honestly, I wanted to pull out the dagger hidden in my jacket right then and stab this car brat’s face, but I restrained myself and spoke coldly.

“Of course. I swear on the Sun.”

Swearing on the sun in the Sun Empire of Solatine equated to a life-and-death promise. Audi flinched slightly at my serious tone.

“Then I’ll see you on the day of the tournament.”

Raging lava seemed to boil within me. I smiled eerily with the resurgence of fighting spirit and anger as I boldly pushed past the crowd.

The hunting tournament would be my debut as a swordswoman.

It certainly promised to be quite a grand debut.

“Ha…”

I strode out onto the terrace, exhaling sharply. The anger that had made my head blaze red seemed to cool with the night wind. Leaning on the railing, I gazed across the beautiful palace garden spread out beyond.

“You damn mutt… I should have ground your bones to dust and thrown them to Debera…”

I muttered the vulgar curses I couldn’t voice in front of Audi while feeling a strong urge for alcohol.

Having been born a commoner and living as a mercenary, my language had always been rather rough. However, after becoming a Duchess, my manner of speaking became closely tied to the honor of the Crisis.

‘…This is truly annoying.’

Leaning against the railing with my back, I gripped tightly as the wood creaked beneath my fingers.

The rising tension caused a quiet crack. Struggling to suppress my boiling rage, I took a deep breath.

Having lived my life suppressed from a young age, I had learned to stifle my emotions as well. As a little girl in the slums, I didn’t have the strength to oppose injustice, so I had to crush my feelings to the point I couldn’t express my anger.

Yet still, there were two things I could never suppress my rage over.

‘One was insults against my family. The other was the dismissal of my prowess.’

Until recently, the only one that fell into this ‘family’ category was Aria, but now, I found myself having two more. Having grown to love the Crisis family too dearly, I could never tolerate their humiliation.

‘And my prowess… it’s the only proof of my existence.’

I bit my lip as I slowly caressed the dagger hidden deep in my garb. Though it was forbidden for non-knights to carry weapons into the banquet hall, I had snuck in my sword.

Even when washing or sleeping, I kept my sword by my side; there was no way I would give it up just because I was at the banquet hall.

Caesar, Carl, and Aria always told me how precious I was. That I didn’t need to prove my existence because I was their support just by being here.

‘But…’

As I sighed lightly, I glanced down at my right hand. A hand bearing wounds that would hardly be believed to belong to a noble.

Fingers broken and bound multiple times from various accidents, thick calluses and scars formed into an awkward, misshapen hand full of blemishes.

‘I’ve proven my existence with my sword until now.’

I had lived my life in the dark, rolling about in the blood of monsters. Compared to my life in this Kasmir Crisis, my previous life was incredibly short.

Though I couldn’t say it directly to avoid upsetting my family, I still lacked confidence in my own value. Aside from being a powerful swordswoman, I didn’t know if I had any other merits.

‘The sword has always been everything to me.’

In protecting Aria with my sword, the life I had built around my identity was gradually expanding through encounters with various people. Despite all that, the sword still occupied a large part of my life.

It was my only pride. The life wrapped around the sword was proof of my existence. My powerful prowess was my value.

That’s why I couldn’t overlook Audi, who had dismissed my capabilities.

Rustle.

Lost in thought, I suddenly tensed at a presence coming from beyond the curtain.

‘…Someone is coming.’

Furrowing my brow at the approaching footsteps, I held my ground until, right as they reached the curtain, I pulled it aside first.

Swish.

And faced a familiar face.

A vanilla scent brushed my nostrils as I blinked in surprise.

“….Your Highness the Crown Prince?”

The one who had come to find me was Crown Prince Diego.

 

---