Chapter 68
* * *
Due to the unsavory incident where the leader Arc grew as large as a house, the hunt ended immediately that day.
Everyone expressed regret over the early termination of the once-a-year event.
However, there was one person who was pleased, and that was Duke Skya.
He was waiting for the results announcement with a pleased face.
“Duke Monlepe will definitely win.”
What the crown prince wanted was better performance than Duke Moonrepe.
Duke Skya had blocked Edenber from normally catching Arcs throughout the hunt.
He had worried about how to handle this bothersome task for five days. But who knew the tournament would end in just one day!
It felt as refreshing as pulling out a throbbing tooth.
“The leader Arc fell into the lake, so they probably didn’t obtain the spoils.”
On the other hand, he himself had obtained as many as 8 orbs from leader Arcs.
Of course, it wasn’t obtained through skill, but merely finishing off leader Arcs that his family’s knights had left in near-death state.
Supporting Duke Skya had made the knight order’s performance bottom-tier.
However, since he had accomplished what His Highness the Crown Prince desired, that was sufficient.
This hunt’s closing speech was personally given by the emperor.
“I’m very sorry to end the hunt like this. I will clearly find out who did such a thing.”
Duke Skya frowned.
He had heard that his own children were at the scene when the leader Arc was caught.
In other words, the possibility that they were the culprits wasn’t zero……
‘Even if it’s true, I must turn it into Duke Monlepe’s responsibility as much as possible.’
The family that greatly enlarged the leader Arc had to pay enormous compensation.
Already, with the family’s status fallen due to missing the saintess’s blessing, Briden or Lilibet must absolutely not be connected to this incident.
After that, the emperor gave a fairly long speech.
The main content was that thanks to your efforts this year as well, the empire’s safety was protected, and those with good results would receive commensurate rewards.
Finally, as the speech ended, the chamberlain took over the words.
“Then, we will announce the results. Starting from third place. Third place is…… Dylan Payrunt. 4 large orbs, 30 small orbs.”
He was a knight of Duke Monlepe’s family.
‘Yes, we can give third place to Moonrepe.’
Duke Skya nodded.
“Second place is Baylor Skia. 8 large orbs, 3 small orbs.”
“Tsk.”
Dissatisfied with the result, the duke involuntarily clicked his tongue.
Even after pushing so much, second place? Just what kind of monster is first place?
While he was speculating who first place was and didn’t notice, the surrounding nobles were exchanging meaningful glances.
‘Catching 8 leader Arcs while only 3 normal Arcs?’
‘Normally, for one leader Arc, five or six normal Arcs follow……’
‘They pushed it to the duke.’
“Finally, first place is-”
“Wait.”
The one who interrupted the proceedings was the emperor. Frowning, he brought up words of reproach.
“There’s a result that doesn’t fit the purpose of the hunt. Even though one could sweep away Arcs using the divine beast, the reason for holding the hunt every year is to see how much each person’s skill has improved.”
“……”
“To not set a precedent, I cannot let it pass. Invalidate Duke Skya’s score, and announce the rankings again from the beginning.”
“Y-Your, Your Majesty!”
The horrified Duke Skya jumped to his feet.
“This is entirely obtained through my own skill-!”
“Can you take responsibility for those words?”
“……”
“If you go to the forest right now and catch one pack of Arcs, I’ll acknowledge it.”
“……I-I injured my arm while hunting……. My apologies.”
Making an absurd excuse, Duke Skya feebly sat back down.
What to do with this. His mind went blank white, no thoughts coming.
It felt like the ground was caving in and the sky collapsing.
He had no face to see the crown prince sitting next to the emperor.
With his score invalidated like that, Dylan, who had been third, became second.
The new third place was someone named Aedlton Hunting, likewise a knight of Monlepe.
Seeing the situation where second and third places both became Monlepe knights in an instant, Duke Skya felt like he would faint right there.
But it wasn’t over yet.
“First place is- Edenber Monlepe.”
“Impossible!”
The astonished Duke Skya stood up once more.
However, meeting the emperor’s cold gaze, he could only sit back down trembling all over.
The chamberlain announced Edenber’s score.
“One golden orb, 42 small orbs.”
“Haha, catching even the leader Arc but having no large ones. It seems he yielded them all to his family’s knights.”
The emperor’s chilling gaze shot toward Duke Skya for a moment.
“Truly different from someone who monopolized even the shares that others should have……”
It was at that moment.
“I heard the leader Arc died by falling into the lake.”
The crown prince, sitting beside the emperor, asked with a faint smile.
Nicely phrased as a faint smile, but anyone who knew the crown prince well would evaluate it as a smile laced with killing intent.
“How did you manage to secure the spoils in that situation, I wonder.”
“I was lucky.”
Edenber replied simply.
Since he said he got it luckily, there was no further probing.
Instead, the crown prince directed a smile laden with many meanings toward Duke Skya.
‘You’re dead.’
In summary, that’s what it meant.
It goes without saying that Duke Skya’s face grew even more pallid.
It was then that an urgent-faced imperial chamberlain appeared.
The chamberlain quickly crossed the platform and whispered something to the emperor.
At that, the emperor’s expression also hardened soon.
Raising his body, he glared at Duke Skya.
“Duke Skya.”
“Yes?”
“You violated the hunt’s rules by summoning a divine beast in the hunting grounds. Is this true?”
“Absolutely not, how could I dare!”
The flustered duke hurriedly protested.
From his perspective, it was reasonable to feel wronged, as even the person involved, Lilibet, didn’t know that Skia’s divine beast had been summoned from the bottom of the lake.
Only Asil, who had seen it directly, knew.
Then how on earth did the emperor find out.
“We just received word. Traces of a divine beast being summoned inside the lake were discovered.”
Only then did the duke grasp the situation. Though in truth, even that was a mistaken guess.
‘Briden must have summoned the divine beast upon seeing Lilibet’s life in peril!’
It felt like his blood was surging backward.
Even though he was a bastard, he had fed, clothed, and sheltered him, yet to repay that grace in such a manner.
But since it was before the emperor now, he first attempted an excuse.
“Upon thinking, to save my daughter who fell into the water, I summoned it momentarily. I absolutely did not use it for hunting.”
“Another lie!”
However, because of the previous lie, it didn’t get through at all.
“Not only did the duke use his family’s knights for pushing, but he even used a divine beast!”
“No! It wasn’t the divine beast!”
“Then does that mean the pushing is true?”
Only then realizing his slip of the tongue, Duke Skya shut his mouth.
The emperor, furious to the top of his head, glared at him.
“One who should be a model for all leading in injustice, truly disappointing!”
“……”
“In comparison, Duke Monlepe…… I saw the duke anew today.”
“The culprit who fed fear to the leader Arc still hasn’t been revealed.”
With the intention of somehow disparaging Edenber, the crown prince opened his mouth.
Then, EoKaste, who had been watching the situation until now, intervened.
“Surely the winner didn’t tremble over that one Arc. I heard others besides Duke Monlepe were there too. For instance, the Skia lady who still hasn’t come to her senses.”
“What good is blaming someone who still hasn’t come to her senses.”
“Would it be right to fabricate a crime that doesn’t exist?”
“Enough.”
Not wanting to show the imperial family’s discord in a public setting, the emperor mediated.
“When meting out rewards and punishments, we must only consider clearly proven matters. Duke Skya. A formal investigation will be conducted from the Grand Temple soon, so know that. Also, the matter of manipulating the hunt’s results……”
The emperor’s gaze briefly touched Edenber and then fell away.
“Truly disappointing. To do something even a child wouldn’t.”
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By Anna 💓
