WLTIS | CHAPTER 35

Chapter 35.

“I was watching the departure ceremony from afar and offering my prayers.”

Cayden said this while pretending to pray.

For a man who had lost his wife and daughter in the war and no longer believed in God, it was a strange gesture.

Harvich found it irritating but didn’t say anything.

“I pray this year’s hunting festival is also successful.”

“You didn’t come all the way here just to say that. Speak your real purpose.”

“Sir Tereo expressed a wish to attend the hunting festival, so I came to deliver his message.”

It was the kind of polite formality nobles often used.

Even if Tereo had come to the Grand Duke’s castle as a guest under the pretense of protecting the unborn child, he was still a guest.

Regardless of his circumstances, not expressing a desire to attend an annual royal event would be considered rude.

“A man with a broken arm wants to attend the hunting festival?”

Normally, the host would take one look at such a guest’s condition and politely refuse.

“Yes.

He said that since the hunting festival is an important event in the Grand Duchy, it would be disrespectful to His Majesty if he didn’t attend…”

Why should I care about that?

“Fine. Bring him out.”

Cayden’s eyes trembled slightly.

“…Excuse me?

But Sir Tereo’s arm is broken.”

“So what?

If he can hunt with a broken arm, then that must be why he said he wanted to attend.

Surely a knight of His Majesty wouldn’t say something he didn’t mean.”

“…”

Cayden’s discomfort was obvious, but Harvich didn’t take back his words.

Soon after, a man with a splint on his arm appeared on the training ground.

“…”

Tereo looked displeased but stayed silent. Harvich handed him the reins of a horse — the same one he had ridden to the castle.

“Go on. You’ll find the vanguard soon enough.”

“…”

“You won’t be needing a separate sword, will you?”

“No, Your Grace. I’m grateful for your concern.”

Harvich gave him a cold glance and sent him off first. Then he mounted his horse and turned to Cayden.

“I wonder how you knew Tereo was coming and had the gate opened for him.”

“Just the instincts of an old man.”

“Well, even an old cat can catch a mouse now and then.”

Harvich adjusted the reins and patted his restless horse.

“As long as you’re not the one keeping company with that mouse, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Cayden said nothing in reply to the mocking remark. Harvich didn’t expect an answer anyway and kicked his horse forward.

Before long, he spotted Tereo in the distance. Harvich slowed his pace.

The man, awkwardly riding with only one arm, looked like he never imagined he’d actually be dragged into the hunt.

“Well now, I wonder if you can even catch a rabbit like that.”

Harvich’s low voice came from behind, and Tereo turned his head.

“Wasn’t it Your Grace who told me to come out?”

“You said you wanted to participate, and I merely didn’t refuse.”

Tereo wanted to spit at that smug face.

Who in their right mind wanted to hunt with a broken arm?

He couldn’t even catch a rabbit in that condition — not to mention the rabbits in the Grand Duchy were huge, nearly the size of palace hounds.

The beasts in the northern duchy were generally large, built to survive the cold, and they always moved in packs.

Even though Tereo was well-trained and not small himself, he looked like a child among the Grand Duke’s knights.

So his comment about wanting to join the hunt was just a matter of saving face.

A polite gesture — much like wishing “good health” to someone you secretly hoped wasn’t well. And Harvich knew that perfectly well.

He was the Grand Duke, after all.

The reason he still brought Tereo along must have been… because of Lincia.

“Ha!

Yes, thank you for the opportunity, Your Grace.

The scenery in the north is quite lovely.”

Tereo forced the words out through clenched teeth.

“How did your arm break? I never had the chance to ask.”

“I fell from my horse.”

“Ah. Then you’re lucky it ended with just a broken arm.”

Spoken in a tone utterly devoid of sympathy, the words dripped with mockery.

Harvich tightened his reins as if the matter was settled.

“Well then, I’ll head out first. Might as well try to catch a rabbit while I’m here.”

***

The forest felt bleak.

Harvich always thought so whenever he came hunting here.

The trees were tall and stretched endlessly upward, but the greenery was sparse compared to other forests, giving the place a desolate look. Flowers and grass were also rare.

At least there were still animals that managed to live in such a barren environment.

The mountains here were surrounded by deep rivers, and the terrain was so rugged that humans rarely entered.

Harvich caught a bear and a fox.

He pulled out the dagger lodged neatly in the bear’s forehead. Since he had set the traps beforehand, the hunt wasn’t difficult.

There were traces of the beast struggling to escape the snare, but its wound had been too deep.

Following the trail of blood had led him to the bear — and along the way, he caught a fox too.

Even after all these years, watching life fade away never became easier.

And every time he killed a small animal, a strange guilt pricked at him.

Maybe it was because foxes were often kept as pets in the capital, not food.

Harvich stared at the limp fox. He was about to hand it to the soldier waiting to collect game, but he hesitated.

Its soft, silky fur caught his attention. It would suit Lincia perfectly.

She had embroidered a handkerchief for him herself.

It might be fitting to return the gesture — with a gift made from something he had caught himself.

“Will Your Grace be keeping that one separately?”

***

Lincia was inside Harvich’s chambers.

She had woken up when a servant came in with a tray for her late lunch.

Not knowing what orders Harvich had given, the servant from the outer fortress treated her with great respect.

“I’ve informed the maids in the main castle that the Grand Duchess is currently staying in the outer quarters.”

The maid, attentive enough to handle what Lincia had forgotten herself, handed her a book.

“His Grace said this was prepared for you in case you got bored.”

The maid left after saying that Lincia could pull the cord if she needed anything.

Lincia gently brushed her fingers over the book’s leather cover. It was the autobiography of an artist she liked.

Moments like this reminded her how sharp Harvich’s memory was. He still remembered what she’d told him back in the Academy.

He had forgotten the night they spent together, but remembered things like this.

It stirred mixed feelings in her — discomfort and quiet joy.

“……”

The truth was, there was another reason she had come secretly to the outer castle yesterday without Anna knowing.

That evening, while checking on her health, Oberok had reminded her of her scheduled examination the next day.

Lincia had assumed it would be skipped since he had already seen her when she caught a cold, but Oberok insisted that regular checkups were mandatory — they were part of his reports to His Majesty.

Even without Harvich, there was Anna, so it shouldn’t have been a problem.

The only reason Harvich used to attend her past examinations was because her maid had been absent.

According to imperial custom, it was improper for a noblewoman to receive treatment from an unmarried male physician without a maid present.

Now that Anna was around, that was no longer an issue.

But Lincia didn’t want her to witness it. Oberok’s attitude during examinations was anything but respectful.

She didn’t want someone close to her to see such things.

And that concern had begun with one of Anna’s questions.

“Your Highness, I heard Lord Oberok was born a commoner.

Is there a reason you speak so politely to him?”