Chapter 2
“Lady Eloa, this time our territory is holding a small hunting competition. Would you like to attend….”
“Lady! When the weather gets warmer, I am planning to go on a hunting trip to the south. Would you like to come with me….”
“What about me, Lady….”
“Lady….”
Whenever I turned my head, all I heard were voices calling my name.
Being surrounded by beautiful young ladies like this….
This feels really good?!
It had only been two weeks since I became popular among the young ladies.
When lunch was finished and I started to feel sleepy, Summer handed me a small letter.
“Miss, a letter has arrived.”
It was a sweet letter from Lady Tepe, asking me to attend the hunting competition held in her territory.
“Summer, is the hunting competition done with bows?”
“There have been a few hunting competitions using guns recently, but usually they use bows, right?”
After hearing Summer’s answer, I hesitated for a while before speaking.
It would be better if I did not stand out, but I also needed to gather information, so I should attend.
“Alright. Please send a reply saying that I will attend.”
The Tepe Marquis’ territory had a thick forested mountain, making it a perfect place for hunting.
Since this was my first hunting competition, I was quite nervous at first, but I slowly regained my calm.
It was not like I had to shoot arrows while riding a running horse. Instead, I only had to shoot arrows at already dead animals while standing still.
Even though it was a hunting competition for young ladies, wasn’t this underestimating us too much?
I was not very skilled at horseback riding, so maybe this was better, but no matter how I thought about it, it was too easy.
The distance was probably around 20 meters.
For a Korean national archery athlete, that was an extremely close distance.
Maybe they chose a day without even a single breeze, because not once did my hair move while shooting arrows.
And finally, the grand prize hunting target.
“Now, if you catch this hunting target, you will take first place! This time! You must shoot the rabbit moving across the windy field.”
The first-place target was a rabbit….
I thought it would be a living rabbit, but it was actually a dead rabbit with a string attached to it, being moved around.
The first person to confidently step forward was Lady Tepe.
Since she was confident enough to hold a hunting competition in her own territory, I was curious about her skills.
However, contrary to my expectations, the arrow Lady Tepe shot fell onto the field before it even reached far.
Still, since this was the match to decide the winner, the shooting distance seemed to have become farther than the previous round.
Though, it was probably only around 50 meters.
After that, all the arrows shot by the other ladies were unable to overcome the wind and could not even reach near the rabbit.
Because of that, no one stepped forward to challenge.
The hunting grounds keeper, who had looked confident earlier, slowly began to look troubled.
“Is there anyone else who would like to challenge?”
The ladies only looked at each other and exchanged awkward smiles.
Between the silence and the leaves weakly shaking in the wind, I spoke.
“I will do it.”
“Oh, you are Lady Romania, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Everyone, please give Lady Romania a round of applause for accepting the challenge.”
As soon as the hunting grounds keeper finished speaking, applause erupted.
Leaving the applause behind me, I pulled the bowstring.
The hand holding the bow tightened, and the string was pulled firmly.
Then,
Twang—
The arrow flew quickly and hit the rabbit’s head perfectly.
“Waaah—!”
Several cheers came from behind me.
“Lady Romania has caught the first-place hunting target!”
The troubled expression on the hunting grounds keeper’s face had become as bright as when the competition first began.
There was no need to continue the hunting competition anymore after someone had achieved first place.
Just as I was about to leave, Lady Tepe approached me first.
“Lady Romania!”
Lady Tepe came over happily and immediately thanked me.
“Thank you for catching the rabbit earlier. Actually, I challenged first to encourage the other ladies, but I failed before anyone else… I was worried about what would happen if nobody could catch it.”
“Please don’t say that. I should be the one thanking you for inviting me to such a fun hunting competition.”
I had planned to end the conversation quickly, but when the ladies saw me talking with Lady Tepe, they gradually gathered around us, and before I knew it, it turned into a tea party.
After finishing my short memory, I focused again on the situation in front of me.
Making these cute young ladies cry was not something a fan… no, something a lady should do.
“What should I do, my lovely ladies… I cannot leave because of my engagement ceremony.”
I showed a truly regretful expression and apologized sincerely.
The ladies around me immediately glared at Marquis Giuor nearby.
However, he was too foolish and only liked the fact that all their gazes were directed toward him, so he proudly raised his shoulders.
“If my schedule allowed it, I would love to attend all of them. But unfortunately….”
I did not actually have tears, but I performed a small ceremony of wiping my eyes with the handkerchief I was holding.
The reaction of the ladies around me to that performance was unusual.
Lady Sia Meyer, the daughter of the Meyer Count family, who had been the most active in speaking with me, opened her mouth.
“Then, Lady, are you really getting engaged to Marquis Giuor?”
Starting with Meyer’s question, several ladies nearby spoke as if they had been waiting for the chance.
“Ah, right. I was curious about that too.”
This was a good opportunity.
I did not know exactly what Giuor’s social reputation was like, so if I learned about it now, I might find a reason and use it to break off the engagement.
Of course, in the novel, he was portrayed as a womanizing man who ruined the marquis family, but that happened after marriage. Right now, I needed a reason for breaking off the engagement.
“Could it be… that Marquis Giuor has done something rude to the ladies without my knowledge?”
There was a strange atmosphere, as if they were exchanging looks with each other.
Five years of surviving in a sports club taught me how to read the room.
There was no way I could miss this.
“I want to make a careful decision. So please do not worry about hurting my feelings and tell me honestly.”
While everyone only watched each other’s reactions and no one spoke, Lady Ellie Roseman, who was beside Meyer, carefully opened her mouth.
“There is something I saw once….”
“What was it?”
“I saw Marquis Giuor at Lady Karl Russell’s debutante ball last time. At that time, Marquis Giuor acted disgracefully toward Lady Russell….”
Before Roseman could even finish speaking, the ladies around us began reacting one by one.
“That’s right.”
“I saw Lady Russell run out crying.”
The number of ladies agreeing with her showed that this was definitely not a small matter.
“Lady Roseman, could you tell me a little more about it?”
“After Marquis Giuor acted disgracefully toward Lady Russell, he did not apologize. Instead, he said that Lady Russell was the one who seduced him first, and he ruined her debutante ball completely….”
“He did not apologize?”
“No. Marquis Giuor even used his position and loudly said why a marquis should apologize to the daughter of a viscount.”
“I see. Thank you for telling me this even though it must have been difficult, Lady Ellie.”
“Did you not know about this?”
“Unfortunately, I was sick recently and spent a long time staying in my bedroom.”
“No wonder…. I thought there was no way Lady would become engaged to him if you knew about this.”
As soon as Roseman finished speaking, Meyer opened her mouth.
“This may be rude of me to say, but I think Lady is far too good for him.”
Cute Meyer. I already knew that.
“No, Lady. I am simply grateful that you think highly of me.”
“For Lady to be engaged to someone like Marquis Giuor… I cannot imagine it. Perhaps Lady should just break off….”
At that moment, all the ladies around us became silent.
“Oh my, I’m sorry! I said something I should not have said so carelessly.”
“Lady Meyer, do not blame yourself. It was not a careless thing to say.”
“Really? But….”
“I will go and break off my engagement with Marquis Ter Giuor.”
I stood up confidently among the confused ladies.
“I will be the one to break it off. So please do not cancel the promises you mentioned earlier.”
After saying it like a gentleman, I kissed the back of Lady Meyer’s hand like a knight and even winked at her before leaving.
After finally escaping through the group of ladies, Marquis Giuor began walking toward me.
I had worked so hard to create this freedom. I absolutely could not let him take it away!
With that thought, I started walking quickly even though I was wearing high heels.
I wondered where I should go, but my feet did not stop.
To avoid Marquis Giuor, I intentionally kept turning corners until I was already somewhere I did not recognize.
Without hesitation, I entered the door in front of me.
When I opened the door, I saw a greenhouse where the moonlight entered especially beautifully.
Under the bright moonlight, blue butterflies flew around as if dancing, creating a beautiful scene.
But I could not properly appreciate it.
“Lady Romania!”
Hearing Marquis Giuor’s voice from far away, I moved deeper into the garden.
While walking almost like running, my foot caught on a small stone sticking out from the ground.
Before even a short scream could leave my mouth, a strong arm caught me.
A platinum blond man, his hair shining beautifully under the moonlight.
His eyes had a mysterious and beautiful color, as if they had stolen the moonlight itself.
This man.
The person I could use right now was this man.
“Please excuse me for a moment.”
Before the man could say anything, I placed my thumb against his lips.
And then, I pressed my lips over his.
