Chapter 50: Anonymous Accusation
The unexpected and shocking turn of events caused a commotion among the people. Both the host and the award presenter stood there, dumbfounded and unable to react.
However, no matter what others said, Aracila was steadfast—that was her specialty. She spoke to the host as if nothing had happened.
“What are you doing, not bringing the crown?”
“…Huh? Oh, yes.”
While the host, still dazed, went to fetch the crown, Aracila smiled brightly and turned to look at Damian.
“What are you doing over there, Damian?”
“…”
“Come forward.”
He had already given up on winning the hunting festival after being ambushed, but he never expected to become the festival’s queen instead. Damian let out a small, incredulous laugh.
Wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around?
He should have been the winner, and Aracila should have been the Hunting Festival Queen. But now that their roles were completely reversed, he felt more than just bewildered—he was dizzy.
“I should tell them to switch it to a pair of sisters instead.”
However, at the moment he saw his wife looking up at him while wearing the golden laurel crown, Damian found himself unable to say those words.
Even though she had tidied herself up after returning, a faint scratch remained on Aracila’s chin, and her eyes were slightly bloodshot.
It was the aftermath of her fight with the assassins.
Thinking about how she got caught up in this mess and suffered all because of him, Damian couldn’t bring himself to refuse her.
As he stepped forward, Frederick, who had been watching from the side, flinched.
He had already witnessed Aracila return with her husband, despite previously insisting she would go alone.
And now, she was even bestowing upon him the honor of being the Hunting Festival Queen. The situation was completely beyond his expectations, and he bit his lip slightly.
Meanwhile, as Damian stood face-to-face with Aracila, he let out a small sigh and asked,
“Do I really have to become the Hunting Festival Queen?”
“Yes. You’re the husband of the winner, after all.”
Damian had asked just in case, but Aracila’s response was firm. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and muttered,
“There isn’t another person in this world as unpredictable as you.”
“That means you’re happy to be the Hunting Festival Queen, right?”
“…Well, it is an honor most people would never get to experience.”
What other wife would win a hunting festival and make her husband the queen of it?
There was no one else like Aracila—Damian was certain of that.
“H-here is the crown.”
Unlike the laurel crown, the floral crown was not awarded by the presenter but placed by the winner themselves.
Receiving the crown from the host, who still looked unsure about all this, Aracila gave a small nod.
“Lower your head a bit. I’ll put it on you nicely.”
“Do as you please.”
Half resigned, Damian obediently bent slightly and lowered his head.
The scene of a wife crowning her husband was rare, causing murmurs among the audience, but he paid no attention.
So what if people talked? As long as his wife, the one who had saved his life, was satisfied, that was all that mattered.
“It suits you well, Damian.”
Aracila smiled brightly as she gently placed the floral crown on his silvery hair, which gleamed like melted moonlight.
Indeed, the colorful flowers suited Damian well.
The vibrant, lively flowers highlighted his elegant and sharply defined features.
“You look beautiful.”
“…Is that so?”
Aside from a rare compliment from his mother when he was very young, this was the first time Damian had ever been called beautiful. He let out a soft chuckle. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel bad at all.
For some reason, even though he was the one wearing the floral crown, he felt like the true source of the radiance around them was Aracila.
Perhaps it was because her pure, bright smile resembled a spring landscape painting brought to life.
“L-Lady Vandemir, would you care to share a few words about your victory?”
Prompted cautiously by the host, Aracila nodded and turned to face the audience.
“I’m proud that I was able to make my husband the Hunting Festival Queen. I hope everyone else puts in more effort next year.”
Spotting Nora glaring at her with wide, furious eyes from below the stage, Aracila deliberately linked arms with Damian for everyone to see.
Nora trembled violently, looking as if she might pass out from sheer rage at any moment.
The expressions of the Duke’s family on the opposite side also turned sour and dark.
Standing behind the couple, Frederick watched them with eyes darkened by unreadable emotions.
Among all those present, the only ones who sincerely rejoiced in their victory were the Marchioness of Hugo and her family.
“Wow! Big sister is amazing! My sister is the winner of the Hunting Festival! And my brother-in-law is the Queen!”
Adrian threw his arms up in excitement. Though the outcome was different from what he had originally cheered for, he was completely satisfied that the two of them had won as a pair.
The Marchioness smiled softly and patted her excited son’s head.
“Yes, Adrian. You should follow your sister’s example and win the Hunting Festival one day.”
“Sir Vandemir wearing the floral crown, and Aracila wearing the laurel crown—it suits them well.”
“Of course! My daughter could make even dead leaves look stylish! And my son-in-law can pull off flower petals!”
The Marquis beamed in satisfaction. He was just as delighted with the Hunting Festival’s outcome as his son was.
Some were displeased.
Some were satisfied.
And others simply marveled at the unexpected and refreshing result.
And thus, the Hunting Festival came to a close.
A Mage Wins the Hunting Festival for the First Time in 30 Years
It had been 30 years since a mage won the Hunting Festival.
Aracila confidently strode into the Mage Tower wearing the golden laurel crown. Her already striking appearance, now adorned with shimmering golden leaves, made her shine even more.
As a result, there was no one in the Mage Tower unaware that she was this year’s Hunting Festival champion.
After lunch, Aracila was heading upstairs in response to Philip’s summons when she happened to run into Travis in the hallway.
The last time they met, Travis had forced himself to greet her. But today, he was trying to pass by as if he hadn’t seen her.
“Travis, did you see yesterday’s newspaper?”
Blocking his path, Aracila spoke up.
“…No, I didn’t.”
“Really? Then do you at least see what’s on my head?”
Yesterday’s newspaper had featured a major article about Aracila’s victory in the Hunting Festival. It was a shame that he hadn’t read it, but since the proof of her victory was currently sitting atop her head, it hardly mattered.
“…So what? What are you trying to say?”
Travis responded defiantly. Aracila smiled sweetly.
“If you want to keep running your mouth in front of me about how married female mages are supposedly inferior, then you should at least achieve something of this level first.”
“…”
“Even the oh-so-brilliant unmarried male mages couldn’t win the Hunting Festival, could they?”
Travis’s face turned red. No matter how much he tried to provoke her, the reality was that he could never surpass Aracila in the field of offensive magic.
This time, Aracila even gave him a chance to argue back, but Travis just stormed off in frustration, bringing their conversation to an abrupt end.
How disappointing. If he had retaliated, she had been ready to strike back twice as hard.
With a refreshed expression, Aracila knocked on the office door of the Mage Tower Master and entered.
Philip, seeing his disciple’s expression was different from before, chuckled warmly.
“Hoho, Aracila. You always manage to act in ways no one expects.”
“That’s a compliment, right, Master?”
“Of course. Once again, you’ve proven your worth splendidly.”
She could have quietly continued her research or taken on assignments to prove herself.
Instead, she had chosen to shake the entire empire by winning the Hunting Festival.
Philip found himself rather proud of his disciple’s bold approach.
He patted her shoulder with his wrinkled hand.
“One day, you won’t have to keep proving yourself like this. Your efforts will surely be rewarded.”
“I think so too. When I become the Mage Tower Master, I’m going to gather all the people who ignored and harassed me and throw a grand party—just to let them suffer from jealousy.”
“Hohoho, sometimes, that kind of motivation can be a great driving force for progress.”
From that day on, no one dared to challenge her vacation requests ever again.
The Next Challenge
Although her peaceful daily life returned, Aracila’s mind was far from at ease.
“Guys, how should we apply the results of our floating stone research?”
She hadn’t shown it, but Travis’s invention of a new magical device had deeply provoked her competitive spirit.
Using his research on the duration of ice and fire magic, Travis had developed a temperature-regulating magical device.
That meant Aracila needed to produce a comparable result using her research on floating stones.
Leaving research results as mere academic papers had its value, but applying them in real life or using them to develop magical tools was far more highly regarded.
“Travis made a storage box for food preservation using his temperature-regulating device. We can’t fall behind.”
Hearing the determination in their mentor’s voice, her junior researchers grew serious.
The three of them huddled together, brainstorming.
“Hmm… There are boats that float on water, but nothing really floats on land…”
“Should we create something that floats in the air?”
The floating stones they had been researching were enhanced mana stones that could float in midair without any magic.
Even without infusing them with mana, they could remain suspended for up to a year. Once their energy was depleted, they could be recycled for reuse.
Now, what could they create with this that would amaze people and shock those trying to undermine Aracila’s research lab?
Of course, brilliant ideas didn’t just appear on command. When nothing came to mind, it was a real struggle.
After racking their brains for a while, Aracila decided they needed a break.
She took Sally and Rudy for a walk around the park near the Mage Tower.
On their way back, each of them holding a fluffy ball of cotton candy, Sally suddenly noticed something in front of their lab’s door.
“Oh? There’s a letter.”
“Really? Who’s it from?”
“It’s addressed to you, senior. But there’s no sender information.”
“Hand it over.”
Aracila passed her cotton candy to Rudy and took the letter.
The envelope had “To Aracila” written in an awkward handwriting style, as if a right-handed person had written it with their left hand.
Just in case, she cast a protective spell before opening it.
After all, someone could be disguising a bomb as a letter.
Fortunately, nothing exploded when she opened the envelope.
However, as Aracila read the contents, her expression gradually turned odd.
“Senior, what’s wrong?”
“It’s not a curse letter, is it?”
“…No, it’s not.”
She responded half a beat late, unable to take her eyes off the letter.
Sally and Rudy exchanged confused glances, even more perplexed by her strange reaction.
“Then what kind of letter is it?”
“It’s not a letter.”
“Huh? Then what is it?”
“It’s an accusation report.”
Aracila neatly folded the letter and placed it back into the envelope. Then, she turned to her juniors, who were waiting for an explanation, and said,
“It’s an anonymous report accusing a knight from the Red Hawk Order of using black magic. Prepare to report this to the higher-ups immediately.”
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
