Chapter 39: The Rebellious Sister-in-Law
This was a hunting ground not far from the border village.
Kantad and his soldiers were in the region of Blandeche. Judging by the bows and weapons in their hands, it seemed they were out hunting.
‘Still, that’s clearly illegal.’
It was against inter-nation treaties for a Curcian, who wasn’t even a citizen of the Empire, to be hunting here. But the reason they crossed the border was simple—it wasn’t a food shortage. Most likely, they had just come to enjoy the hunt.
While stationed here, their only real task was to occasionally eliminate monsters that came down from the mountains. And the villagers, who were friendly toward Curcians, probably turned a blind eye.
I could understand that. But if the knights, who were expected to arrive soon, spotted them, things could get messy.
‘I should go and tell them quickly.’
Besides, I still had a few things to say to Kantad, especially since I hadn’t had the chance to greet him properly earlier. I carefully made my way toward their direction and was just about to call his name—
When I heard the sound of horses breaking through the forest trail.
My head snapped around.
Of course—it was Lily and Violet, galloping deep into the forest.
Violet was chasing right after Lily, who was in the lead.
Unbelievable.
“Lily! Stop!”
Thanks to my stubborn sister-in-law, I couldn’t get a single day of rest.
I immediately changed direction and mounted my horse. Kantad and his men also started moving after hearing my shout.
“Lily!”
No matter how much I called out, Lily didn’t look back. She tore through the empty hunting grounds like she owned the place.
‘I was foolish to believe her when she said she’d behave.’
It was too late for regrets.
There was no sign the knights were going to catch up, and all I could do was hope nothing went wrong.
Once we reached the heart of the forest, Lily began to slow down. I quickly dismounted and grabbed the reins of her horse.
“Get down.”
“Do you know what I just saw? A winter deer went inside, just over there!”
A winter deer—an animal of legend.
A creature that only appeared in the myths passed down in Blandeche.
Even if it were truly here, going after it without knights was dangerous.
“Forget the deer. Wait until the knights arrive.”
I barely restrained myself from dragging her straight back to the grand estate.
I didn’t want to hear her say later that I ruined her nineteenth birthday.
“Why did we even bring the knights then? You think this is my first time here? This place is practically my playground. I’ve been here dozens of times without them.”
I swallowed the sigh that nearly escaped and put my hands on my hips.
“Lily. That’s not what we agreed on. You promised that if I let you come here, you’d hunt safely. Didn’t you?”
“…Fine.”
For once, Lily listened to me.
I finally let out a breath of relief and released the reins.
“Alright, let’s hunt safely. Once we get back to the estate—”
It happened in an instant.
“I’ll just go see the deer and come right back. Then I’ll behave, I promise!”
“Lily!”
As soon as I let go of the reins, she kicked off again.
I’m such a fool!
Let’s see if I ever give her permission to hunt again.
“Get back here!”
Chasing after her made me feel like I was aging on the spot.
Lily didn’t stop. She raced madly through the forest, as if the deer was right in front of her—even though it was nowhere in sight.
“Slow down!”
Her silhouette, speeding through the woods like she was possessed, looked dangerously unstable.
“Madam!”
Thankfully, the knights were following behind. But neither they nor I could catch up to Lily at her pace.
“There’s a cliff at the end of that path!”
She must’ve heard them, but she had no intention of stopping.
As she charged ahead at full speed, her horse jolted violently as it encountered a huge fallen tree. The horse sprang into the air, and Lily was launched into the air—then vanished.
“Lily!”
I ran blindly toward where she had disappeared. A vast cliff revealed a breathtaking landscape.
But I had no time to admire it. I had to find Lily.
Fortunately, she was lying near the edge. I dragged her to safety with all my strength. Thankfully, she wasn’t seriously hurt—just unconscious from the shock. I asked the knights who had arrived to take care of her.
“We need to get her back to the estate immediately.”
“Yes, Madam!”
One of the knights hurriedly lifted her onto his back. That’s when Violet, who was anxiously checking on Lily, cried out in surprise.
“Lily opened her eyes!”
Just as she said, Lily weakly opened her eyes and barely whispered:
“Ali… Where’s Ali?”
“Ali? Your horse?”
“Yeah… Is Ali okay?”
She was worried about her horse in all this…
Osenn checked and then returned to shake his head at me.
“One of the front legs is broken. It’s not possible to bring him along.”
“So we’re just going to leave Ali behind?”
Lily’s voice immediately quivered.
“It’s unfortunate, but we have no choice.”
Even if Violet, the two remaining knights, and I worked together, we couldn’t haul the horse back barehanded.
“Let’s go get help first.”
“No! That means Ali will freeze to death alone!”
“That’s not what I meant—!”
“You’re so cruel, Sister-in-law.”
Lily buried her face into the knight’s shoulder and began to sob.
I felt conflicted.
To Lily, that horse was probably the only friend who stayed by her side after she lost everything.
Ali was to her what Kashian was to me.
“I’ll stay with Ali. Could you take Lily back first and bring a cart?”
I said to Osenn after some thought.
He had been blaming himself for his lack of oversight and now responded with a subdued voice.
“I can’t let you stay behind just for a horse. The Lord specifically asked that you not be exposed to cold winds for long.”
I knew what he was worried about.
“I have a way. There are some Curcians nearby I used to trade herbs with. I’ll go ask them for help.”
It was the best option we had.
“Curcians? In the Blandeche estate?”
Just as I expected, he latched onto that part.
“Whether the monsters appear on the Curcian side or ours, those men deal with all of them. It was wrong of them to cross the border without permission, but I plan to use that to our advantage.”
Osenn, who had looked slightly startled, surprisingly accepted it without further protest.
“I’ll go with you.”
But the real problem was elsewhere.
“No way!”
It was Lily.
Her tear-streaked face crumpled in horror. I suddenly remembered her slapping a Curcian estate worker before.
“You want help from them? Have you lost your mind?”
“Then we have no way to bring Ali back safely.”
“I’d rather die than leave Ali with those savages.”
Just mentioning trading with the Curcians made her blurt cruel things.
“He’s your friend, right? Are you really going to let him freeze to death out here?”
“Then kill him now so he doesn’t suffer.”
She didn’t mean it.
But it was also true Lily held deep resentment toward the Curcians.
Emotion-driven decisions weren’t going to help.
“Lily. These Curcians are the same ones I traded herbs with. They also helped clear the road for estate workers. You can trust them.”
“What’s the difference? I hate them all.”
“Then just don’t think of them as Curcians right now. Let’s focus on saving Ali, okay?”
Lily buried her face in the knight’s shoulder again and shook her head.
It was clear she wouldn’t budge.
“Take Lily back to the estate. I’ll handle things here.”
So much for being the kind sister-in-law.
“Sister-in-law!”
“Don’t worry. Just go back. Like you said, we’ll let Ali freeze to death here, and I’ll have the Curcians expelled immediately.”
I said exactly what she wanted to hear, expressionless. And yet, Lily’s face twisted further.
“What? You went out hunting recklessly, ignored my warnings, and now Ali’s got a broken leg and might freeze to death. And now you want me to kill him? No way. I’d have nightmares. Here—take this sword and do it yourself.”
I pulled the sword from Osenn’s scabbard and held it out to her.
“Go on.”
Lily’s face turned crimson.
“Ugh… Let’s just go back already!”
Can’t bring herself to do it, huh?
In the end, she left the hunting grounds, unable to kill or save her horse. Which meant I could finally do things my way.
Violet said she and a knight would go get a cart and left.
As I watched them go, I handed the sword back to Osenn.
“Sorry for taking it without permission. I just wanted to scare her a bit.”
Osenn narrowed his eyes and wrinkled his nose. Clearly, he was annoyed.
“Did I offend you?”
“It’s not that. Just… I realized Madam might not be as kind as I thought.”
Not sure if that was praise or criticism.
I tilted my head and looked at him curiously.
“Disappointed that I’m not nice?”
Does the lady of the estate have to be gentle and kind?
I was about to be disappointed in Osenn.
“No. I just thought the Lord’s ideal woman was someone kind. He always says how kind you are.”
But Osenn responded differently than I expected.
So Hertian’s been going around praising me?
Professional as always.
He was carrying out the contract dutifully, even when I wasn’t watching.
I smiled with pride and looked at Osenn.
“What about your ideal type? A kind woman?”
“No. A beautiful one.”
He answered reflexively.
I smiled sweetly and replied:
“Then I suppose that’s Lord Hertian’s type as well?”
