Chapter 180

Chapter 180

Of course, even the prince who cocked his gun at the slightest sound of animal movement could be considered crazy, but Lucius, who unexpectedly admitted that he was scared by those gunshots, could be called even clumsier.

“Why is that?” a leisurely voice came from behind. When Lucius turned his head, he saw Frederick, riding a white horse, approaching with a swagger.

“You always sweep away the prey whenever the hunt begins. Why are you not performing well today? Oh, is it because you can’t handle a gun?” Frederick teased.

In response, Lucius loaded his gun, aimed, and shot down a passing deer. As the deer fell with a thud, hunting dogs rushed towards it, and the hunters followed to retrieve the prey. Lucius flashed his characteristic smile, then turned away from the prince and rode further away.

However, the prince didn’t orchestrate all these situations just to taunt Lucius with his faltering hunting skills after switching to a gun. He caught up to Lucius, who was trying to distance himself and rode alongside him, striking up a conversation.

“We may not be close enough for deep discussions, but still, I can see something you’re trying to hide. Are you afraid of guns after the war?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Is that so?”

Then, without warning, the prince immediately fired his gun. Since he shot right next to Lucius, the gunshot echoed loudly.

“Even so, are you not afraid?”

What truly scared him was not the gun, but thunder, which was about the same level of fear. He could hide it with some effort. However, it seemed like the prince intended to keep firing the gun next to him until he showed his fear. With a composed expression, the prince continued to shoot one after another, menacingly, without any target, the threatening sound of the gunshots piercing through the frozen forest.

The sound slicing through the air made Lucius feel nauseous. Sweat trickled down his back, and his throat felt dry.

But in that moment, a fragment of memory suddenly infiltrated his mind.

It was the image of Lucius himself, on a night of thunder, collapsing in front of Deatrice, his body sinking down her hand and arm as he showered her with kisses.

“Dee. My Dee,” he had murmured repeatedly, clinging to her. Lucius was momentarily confused, unsure if it was just his delusion or something that actually happened.

But even if it wasn’t a real event, he knew the night must have started similarly. Deatrice was weak to pity, so she wouldn’t have pushed him away when he was distressed.

Perhaps she would have allowed him to connect his broken state so effortlessly with the war, believing it was all her fault.

At that time, Lucius said, “Even if you allowed it because of pity, it doesn’t matter.” Even now, he was unfazed by the fact that he received pity from her. However, he disliked the fact that she was such a caring and vulnerable person.

No, it wasn’t exactly dislike, but rather, her openness and vulnerability towards others made him uneasy. After all, wasn’t the prince standing before him someone who had also faced near-death experiences and emerged strong?

Would she also show pity towards Frederick?

Breaking free from his thoughts and looking at the prince, he found the prince looking at him with a mix of astonishment and a bewildered expression as if he couldn’t believe that Lucius, who was lost in his own thoughts, was the same person. Lucius casually shrugged his shoulders.

Lucius nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.

“So, as I said, you’re not afraid of gunshots,” the prince said with waning interest and distanced himself. But this time, Lucius had something to say to him.

“I heard that you asked Deatrice to come back. You put quite an effort into it. You sent letters even before the event started.”

Upon hearing that, the prince laughed.

“Are you bragging about your marriage with Deatrice? But the letter talk is not that old, is it? It seems you’re proud of finding out about it just a little while ago.”

“It’s not so much about bragging as it is about telling you since you stumble over meaningless words. We are different from others; we are completely in love and married,” Lucius said, slowing down his speech and directing a gaze at Frederick, who turned his head in response.

However, after a while, Frederick gave a faint smile and said, “Curious about the emperor’s approval, aren’t you?”

“….”

“If I merely propose a sword trade, the emperor will bring the marriage decree. And it will end up in the hands of some journalist or judge. How can a marriage that took place with the emperor’s approval proceed while my engagement remains intact?” Frederick explained.

“It will be a long fight,” Lucius replied.

“But in the end, I will win,” Frederick asserted.

Lucius remained silent for a moment. He wasn’t the type to let things end there. Curiosity got the better of Frederick as he turned to look at Lucius, who had fallen silent. Then, he saw Lucius aiming at another deer.

After calmly waiting, Lucius shot and killed the target deer before turning his head to the prince. His gaze showed no hint of hesitation as if he expected the prince to be watching him.