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93 Chapter

In a clearing in the forest. The award ceremony for the Hunting Tournament was about to begin, and there was a buzz of excitement.

“I was so surprised when Sir Ainheart carried the poisoned Second Prince… Is His Highness alright?”

“Since His Holiness the Pope personally treated him, he should be fine. But… what happened to the Princess of Crisis?”

“Right? She survived alone in front of a giant monster. And she even killed the giant monster! I’ve heard rumors that the Princess of Crisis wields a sword, but to kill a giant monster… I can hardly believe it. What on earth happened?”

“Seeing that a high-ranking noble meeting has suddenly occurred here, something must be going on…”

The noisy chatter continued without pause. Amongst the flurry of theories and predictions, one topic clearly stood out.

Just what does the Kashmir Crisis do?

The one responsible for the absurd situation of a giant monster invading the Empire’s hunting tournament forest. The one who survived against the basilisk.

Her unbelievable mystery had the whole place abuzz.

“Ahem. We will now begin the award ceremony for the Hunting Tournament!”

A servant, who had been observing the crowd, shouted loudly upon receiving the Emperor’s signal. The noise around them quieted momentarily.

“In fifth place, with two foxes, one wolf, and one badger hunted, is Count Fontenon Chapleton!”

Applause followed as Sir Chapleton proudly took the stage and set his gaze towards one direction.

“I wish to dedicate my hunted prey to the Young Lady Deckardo.”

Everyone already knew that Count Chapleton had feelings for Lewellin Deckardo, so no one was surprised. Lewellin, seated and covering her mouth with a fan, briefly bowed her head while showing a faint smile.

At first glance, she looked effortlessly elegant.

But up close, Lewellin’s hand gripping the fan was trembling.

‘Shushu…’

In her emerald eyes, numerous worries intertwined. Behind the concerned Lewellin, the awards ceremony continued.

“In fourth place, with three wolves, one rabbit, and one deer hunted, is Young Lord Audi Frama!”

At the mention of Audi Frama’s name, many people frowned. Especially the expression of Cal, who sat with his elbows propped on the armrest and his chin resting on clasped hands, looked ready to tear someone apart at any moment.

“Ah, thank you.”

Audi stepped onto the stage with a haughty stride, smirking. Watching him, Reiner’s face turned as rigid as a statue. He briefly placed his hand on his sword sheath, then bit his lip and clenched his fist.

“I should have killed that bastard earlier. If I had, my sister wouldn’t have participated in the Hunting Tournament…”

Beside him, Aria, sitting with Cal and Caesar, muttered in a chilling voice. There was an unsettling killing intent in her eyes. The area beneath her eyes was flushed, as if she had been crying.

“Yeah. It would have been better that way.”

A low, detached voice muttered. The voice was so indifferent it almost felt heated, as if being too numb led to outrage.

Caesar’s blood-red eyes gleamed ominously.

“Without Shushu’s knowledge… I should have torn that bastard apart.”

A murderous intent emanated from his body, surging and then receding like a tide. The fact that a Sword Master like Caesar couldn’t control his murderous aura implied he was at the peak of his rage.

Thank goodness the members of the House of Crisis were seated apart from the other nobles; had anyone seen his face, they might have fainted out of fear.

“Actually, there’s a Young Lady I wanted to dedicate my prey to… but sadly, she is not here.”

Audi’s eyes gleamed with malice. A crack echoed from the hand of Caesar gripping the armrest. Audi, unable to perceive the numerous hostile gazes directed at him, laughed brightly.

“But she’ll be someone we see a lot from now on. We’ll be getting much closer. In the next hunting tournament, I’ll dedicate my prey to her.”

“There won’t be a next time for you, you bastard, ugh…!”

At Audi’s blatant provocation, which was clearly loaded with meaning, Cal stood up violently, as if ready to unleash magic at any moment. However, a sound resembling something being kicked sent him crashing back down into his seat.

“Don’t act like an emotional brat and sit quietly.”

Aria’s cold voice had the charisma of an overlord, possessing the power to dominate. At her chilling rebuke, Cal gritted his teeth.

“Are you calm even after hearing that?”

“Do I seem calm to you right now?”

The sky-blue eyes slowly fixed on Cal. In those eyes that many praised as gentle and beautiful, a deep rage and near-madness simmered.

“If we step in now, my sister will be perceived as someone who couldn’t accept defeat and simply used strong family ties to harm others.”

“But we can’t just let that bastard go!”

“Right. We can’t let him go… So we need to make plans that won’t bring harm to my sister. An assassination plan…”

A thin voice whispered chillingly.

While some were huddled together plotting an assassination, the award ceremony continued.

“The first place, with four deer, two wolves, and one bear hunted, is none other than Sir Noah Ainheart!”

An elderly man with graying hair stepped up the stage with a steady stride. His face showed signs of worry.

“Something feels off. It’s not that it’s strange for Sir Ainheart to take first place, but the amount of prey he brought back is too little. He’s a Sword Master, after all…”

“I went hunting with both the Duke of Crisis and the Marquis Ainheart, but neither of them seemed interested in hunting. The Duke didn’t even take out his sword once, and the Marquis merely finished off whatever was in sight.”

The elderly man’s footsteps were slow as he left the murmuring crowd behind. Just as Noah Ainheart was about to fully ascend the stage…

“Please wait a moment!”

A figure broke through the nobles and appeared in front of the podium.

“Is it already too late to submit the prey?”

With slightly tousled raven-black hair fluttering as she ran, her bright pink eyes sparkled strikingly in the light. With unyielding focus.

The central figure of all this chaos, Kashmir Crisis.

“Y-yes? But… the ceremony has already ended…”

“Hold on.”

A low voice stopped the flustered servant in his tracks.

“The Princess of Crisis had her reasons. Understandable reasons. I think a little flexibility is required.”

A man with golden hair shimmering in the sunlight chuckled with amusement in his blue eyes.

Emperor Helios Solaritine.

“B-but the prey count has already ended!”

Audi, his expression exuberant as he judged the situation, shouted with wide eyes. In a panic, he hadn’t even recognized who he was talking back to. Helios’s eyebrows twitched at being directly contradicted.

“Who do you think you’re raising your voice in front of, Young Lord Frama?”

Noah, who had been watching, spat out tersely. His words were a mere light warning, but the dense presence of the Sword Master made people’s spines chill.

“B-but…!”

“It seems like now is not the time to listen to Young Lord Frama’s opinion. Marquis Ainheart. What do you think? After all, you are the current champion. It seems only right to follow the opinions of the winner.”

At Helios’s laid-back question, Noah shrugged.

“It’s amusing that an old man casually joined the competition and ended up winning, but stopping a young person’s participation wouldn’t sit well with me. I have no objections.”

Kashmir let out a chuckle like a beast that had just devoured its prey. Audi, who turned pale in anxiety, shouted once more.

“B-but! The Young Lady’s prey is nowhere to be found! When will you be bringing it all?”

“Ah, that’s not a problem.”

Calmly replied Kashmir as she rummaged through her belongings and pulled out a smooth stone.

“I can show you right now.”

Thud.

And with her gesture, the stone dropped to the ground.

With a bright flash, a magic circle spread across the ground.

“W-what on earth…!”

The air filled with gasps of astonishment. Audi’s eyes began to wobble aimlessly. Noah let out an “oh,” and Helios laughed as if he were having the time of his life.

Kashmir brushed the front of her hair back and smiled.

“Is there really a need to count?”

Summoned to the land beneath was what could almost be called a mountain of beast corpses.

Those were the beasts that Kashmir Crisis had hunted within just three hours the previous day.

All gazes turned towards one spot. Eyes filled with shock, disbelief, and terror. The tiny, frail figure receiving all those stares seemed minuscule and delicate.

“There, if you don’t mind, could you please announce the winner?”

It only seemed that way.

“The winner of this Hunting Tournament is Kashmir Crisis.”

She smiled, exposing her white teeth. Brightly and confidently.

“This… this is absurd!”

Audi shouted loudly. Kashmir shrugged nonchalantly.

“What exactly seems absurd?”

“There’s no way a Young Lady could hunt such a large amount of prey alone! Surely she must have had help or played some trick!”

Kashmir’s sharp gaze pierced through Audi. He shivered involuntarily.

“I hunted alongside Sir Reiner Ainheart. If needed, I could ask him to testify.”

“Ah, perhaps it was a setup with Sir Ainheart!”

“Young Lord Frama.”

Her level voice possessed a strange power that drew out the most primal emotion — fear. As she observed the trembling Audi, Kashmir slowly tilted her head.

“You keep saying ridiculous things. Why should I prove my innocence? It’s you who doubts me that should be providing proof that I’ve done something suspicious. Don’t you remember anything as basic as that?”

Innocence cannot be proven. Only guilt can be. It was a simple fact. Leaving Audi flushed with shame behind, Kashmir gestured to the servant.

“Aren’t we proceeding?”

“Ah, y-yes…”

The sweating servant swallowed hard and declared heavily.

“The first place… with nine, no, ten deer… um… the one who hunted the most beasts is Young Lady Kashmir Crisis…”

A heavy silence swept over the room. Eyes darted about, filled with disbelief and shock. Kashmir received it all with poise, stepping lightly onto the stage.

“Thank you.”

Her calm gaze examined the audience, yet the glint of bright pink in her eyes could freeze anyone who met her gaze. Suddenly, she locked onto one spot.

She smiled.

“I’ll dedicate all my hunted prey to Young Lady Aria Crisis.”

Another uproar erupted in the crowd. Aria’s eyes, which had been glaring at Kashmir since her appearance, shook wildly.

“T-then…”

Stammered the flustered servant, looking everywhere in confusion.

“The queen of this hunting tournament is… Young Lady Aria Crisis…”

Kashmir smiled, clearly satisfied. As she casually absorbed the startled gazes, she descended from the stage to stand in front of a speechless Audi, who had his mouth agape in shock.

“You said that if I won this wager, you would kiss my shoe… but I’ve thought it over, and I’d like to cancel that. No need for it.”

Audi, trembling while clenching his fists, wore a shocked expression. He seemed to think she was sparing him. Seeing him, Kashmir cheerfully lifted the corners of her mouth.

“I can’t grant such an honor to someone like you.”

Thud.

As she brushed past Audi, their shoulders bumped. In reality, given their height difference, it would be more appropriate to say she brushed against his arm.

Audi, unable to restrain his anger, stumbled as she passed, but Kashmir moved on without hesitation.

Thud.

And she halted where the members of the House of Crisis were seated.

“I’m back.”

Kashmir Crisis smiled at her family.

 

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