There was some time left before the start of the competition, so we killed time eating the tea and snacks Orca had prepared. Only when the time was near did we go outside again.
Even after quite some time, the stares and whispers hadn't lessened. Some were even circling around us, unable to muster the courage to speak. It's driving me crazy! Won't you go away?!
Among them, this particularly piercing gaze must be from the Empress. The memory of her earlier tantrum made me afraid to look, but I tried to act as composed as possible. My backer is the ultimate villain… I have nothing to fear… Repeating this to myself like a mantra was surprisingly effective.
A while later, the Emperor appeared, right on time for the start of the competition. He was in his early forties, but his presence was so imposing that he could easily pass for Theo or Ricardo's older brother.
However, just like in the original story, where he rarely appeared and, when he did, only showed a weary demeanor, his actual aura wasn't much different.
Despite having the same golden eyes as Ricardo, they were dull and lifeless, as if mixed with impurities. A fake flower imitating a real one seemed more lifelike than him.
The biggest reason why the Crown Prince's appointment was constantly delayed was the Emperor's indifferent attitude. He maintained a consistently enigmatic demeanor, and it was impossible to know what he was thinking. The expression "indifferent to everything" was accurate. It was as if even himself and the empire weren't his concern.
The Emperor saw me sitting obediently on Theo's arm and widened his eyes in surprise for a brief moment, but it was fleeting. He quickly averted his gaze with a weary expression.
According to formal procedures, the Emperor's congratulatory speech should have been lengthy, but he only gave a brief greeting and started the hunting festival. As soon as his duty was done, he sat on the prepared throne and closed his eyes.
The nobles, accustomed to the Emperor's seemingly listless attitude, began to scatter in search of prey without much commotion. The nobles of the First Prince's faction, having received instructions from the Empress in advance, moved even more quickly than the others.
Theo also approached his black horse to go hunting, and I, sensing the situation, flew into the sky. The nobles, while leaving their places, curiously watched me circling around Theo without flying far away. Theo gracefully mounted his horse amidst the piercing gazes.
"Shuian, shall we go too?"
"Screech-!"
Theo rode his horse straight to the deepest area. The farther from the entrance, the stronger the monsters that were placed, and naturally, the stronger the monster you caught, the more points you got.
The monsters in the deepest area would be quickly killed with a few slashes of Theodore's sword, so it would be more efficient to start from the innermost area and sweep outwards.
I had been looking at the map for days and memorized the location of each area and the types of monsters that appeared, so I flew slightly ahead of Theo.
Whether it was because my brain had gotten better after becoming an eagle, I had no problem memorizing the complex map after seeing it only a few times and recalling it to find my way. Theo smiled at me, as if impressed.
"Shuian, did you memorize the entire map?"
"Screech-!"
"So clever. You're better than most humans."
Before I opened my eyes as an eagle, I was one of those "most humans." I unconsciously puffed out my chest. It wasn't logical, but it's always good to be special! Thinking positively, I flew diligently and soon arrived at the inner area.
As Theo had guessed, the Empress hadn't interfered much. Aside from the bear-type monster that was originally assigned, there weren't any other monsters or demonic beasts.
Theo, after immobilizing the monster with magic and beheading it in one stroke, took off the tag. It was a red tag, only attached to the monster with the highest score. A good start!
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After the limited time was up, the nobles returned to their original places and submitted the tags they had collected to the judges. The judges wrote the name of the person who brought the tag, calculated the score, and ranked them one by one.
The judges, who were used to doing this, paused briefly when Theodore placed a pile of tags in front of them, then divided the colors among themselves and began to calculate. They checked several times in case they miscalculated the score and incurred the Prince's wrath, and only then did they announce the final score.
"Prince Theodore, 127 points."
Gasps of admiration erupted among the nobles as he broke the all-time high score. Shuian, worried about the Empress's words, had urged him to catch more, so he had almost doubled his score compared to the last hunting festival, but this wasn't particularly difficult for Theodore either.
He had never lost the championship despite all the Empress's sabotage, so winning in an environment without any interference was even easier.
A while later, Ricardo also brought his tags to the judges. A spirit with a stronger fire energy than usual was with him. Gasps of admiration flowed from the nobles, but Ricardo's complexion wasn't good, as the side effects of using multiple spirit stones had already begun to appear.
The judge, who sorted the tags that Ricardo poured out with a pale face and calculated the score as before, even checking several times, had a strange expression.
"...Prince Ricardo, 127 points... that is."
The murmuring grew louder. For the first time, Theodore and Ricardo had tied. Everyone knew that Ricardo hadn't earned his score entirely on his own, so the Empress hadn't coveted the championship either and had only aimed for a show of face.
The other nobles had also adjusted their hunting so that Theodore could win and Ricardo could take second place, so the championship was always Theodore's and second place was Ricardo's. It was an unspoken rule. That unspoken rule was broken for the first time today, so it was natural for the nobles' and judges' expressions to stiffen awkwardly.
Theodore was clearly displeased with the unexpected situation, but even at this moment, the Emperor only showed a slight interest and observed the situation, never stepping in directly as usual.
A suffocating silence continued, and the judges couldn't easily make a decision. Just as the Empress was about to say something, Shuian, keenly noticing this, flew into the sky. It was natural for everyone's attention to turn to the sudden action of the bird, who had been quiet all along.
Even though the eagle he had been holding in his arms suddenly flew away, Theodore remained calm and composed. He seemed to know that his bird would definitely return.
As if hypnotized, everyone was focused on the direction Shuian had disappeared in, and before long, Shuian returned. He was tightly holding a white fox with pure white fur.
The white fox was a fairly high-scoring prey, but unlike other foxes, it hid when it heard people and didn't show itself, so it was difficult to catch and everyone avoided it because it wasn't efficient. A smile spread across Theodore's face, which had been expressionless all along.
Shuian dropped the white fox in front of the judges. The judges, startled by Shuian's approach, looked back and forth between Theodore and Shuian, then tore off the tag attached to the white fox and included it in Theodore's score.
"I, in this case, Prince Theodore has 137 points... the winner of this hunting festival is..."
Just as the judge was about to announce the winner, Count Elmore, one of the nobles of the First Prince's faction, raised an objection. He was overwhelmed by Shuian's aura, but he had to prevent Theodore from winning this hunting festival at all costs because of the Empress's orders.
"W-wait a minute... that, that white fox... the eagle... the eagle caught it, so shouldn't it not be included in the score?"
But Theodore scoffed as if it were ridiculous and looked around at the crowd, then gestured with his chin towards Ricardo's share of the prey.
"Do you think I don't know who caught those?"
The Empress also raised an objection without backing down.
"But that white fox was caught after the allotted time, so shouldn't it not be included in the score?"
"Then it would be fair to receive additional time and recalculate the score. What do you think?"
He was ostensibly asking for an opinion, but Theodore's gaze was on Ricardo, who was pale and looked like he was about to collapse. Even if more time was given, nothing would change. The Empress also noticed this and bit her lip.
No one from the First Prince's faction, including Count Elmore, could add anything, and Ricardo bit his lip and bowed his head deeply. He couldn't bear to watch the scene unfolding before him.
Everyone, including the judges, hesitated, unable to do anything, when Shuian, unable to watch any longer, snatched the winner's prize, a silver arrow, which was placed on display on one side, and flew up, landing familiarly on Theodore's arm.
Theodore took the silver arrow that was handed to him and pressed his lips to Shuian's forehead. When he raised his head again, a loving smile was on his lips.
"My bird says that I am the winner of this hunting festival. Any objections?"
No one could easily answer, but that silence was ultimately an affirmation. Theodore, knowing that the Emperor would also condone it, took the white fox that Shuian had caught and turned around and left the place first.
Until the two figures completely disappeared, no one dared to speak rashly, and the silence continued endlessly behind Theodore's back.
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