Chapter 184

Chapter 184

Rather than sitting among the noblewomen and chatting about the injured Lucius, wouldn’t it be better for Deatrice to be doing something else?

Deatrice clung tightly to the horse, feeling the chilly breeze brush past as she galloped along the forest path. It had been so long since she had held a gun, but thanks to past experience, she had become adept at shooting after numerous trials and errors.

After a pursuit that took three attempts, she finally managed to catch a deer. The howling of the hunting dogs, running towards the fallen deer while barking, echoed in her ears.

Deatrice caught one more deer and found Frederick. Frederick was in the distance, hunting wild boars with the emperor. Suddenly, as if he sensed her gaze, he turned his head from afar. Whether he interpreted the meeting as an invitation, Frederick aligned his footing and brought down the wild boar before heading toward her.

“Why are you acting like this?”

“What do you mean?”

Frederick, pulling the reins to turn his horse’s head, said.

“What’s the reason for suddenly going on a rampage in hunting? You’re not here seeking revenge, are you?”

“Revenge?” She asked.

“Like shooting me.”

Upon hearing this, she laughed. However, with no absolute denial, Frederick squinted his eyes.

“Really?”

“No way. Unless I’ve gone mad.”

“But you still seem mad enough right now. Going on a sudden hunt.” Frederick chuckled hollowly as if out of habit and continued speaking. Deatrice watched his back for a moment and followed up with a question.

“What did you talk about with Lucius that led you to shoot him?”

The sudden inquiry seemed to unsettle Frederick’s face, not in a pleasant way.

“…Your husband acted ill-tempered first.”

“So, what did he say?”

Pressured by her urging, at that moment, Frederick’s face seemed to sour as if recalling Lucius’ words. Yet, he soon mentioned Lucius’ words as though they meant nothing, and the annoyance they brought with them would disappear.

“He said I criticize anything that’s not a sword.”

“He spoke the truth.”

But when Frederick heard Deartrice confirming that he thought of her that way, she couldn’t bear it. Frederick looked at her with a cold, yet menacing face, daring to utter such words. There was an unsettling aura emanating from him.

However, Deatrice calmly replied with a composed face.

“Why, should I shoot you too?”

Deatrice, who had been staring at him, reluctantly relaxed his expression, turned his head, and answered.

“As if I’d let that happen.” She shot him a sharp look as if to say she wouldn’t tolerate his arrogance and followed up as she walked along with him.

“Remember? I told you I wouldn’t let you pretend to forget the favor I saved you.”

“When did I say that? I simply mentioned that your marriage would go my way.” He clarified.

“Does that mean you’re repaying the favor in a different way?”

“Sure.”

“Yes, sure.”

With succinct replies, the sound of a gun being cocked behind Frederick was heard. Suspiciously, he turned around.

“Why? You shot, so why can’t I?”

Deatrice was aiming the gun at him. Frederick was starting to get annoyed by her consistently audacious demeanor.

“Get a grip, Deatrice. I’m a noble and what I shot was a knight, nothing major. It could have been overlooked. But what would happen if you shot me? Would the emperor and the nobles just let you be? Especially since you’re a woman, you wouldn’t even be able to take responsibility for what you did. Only your useless husband, who can’t provide for you, would be held accountable.”

“Then think of it as paying for your life.”

Bang.

The bullet was fired without hesitation, narrowly missing his shoulder and embedding itself into a tree. Frederick, who had never imagined she would actually shoot, grabbed his injured shoulder with a grunt of pain. Blood oozed and stained the snowy ground.

However, Deatrice spoke casually.

“I would like to shoot the same spot where my husband was injured, but that would be pitiful. So, I won’t do that. That means you still owe me.”

“Are you insane?!” Frederick shouted at her in frustration, and she responded with a sly, smooth smile.

“Why like that? It was an accident. I got distracted by the prey and accidentally fired.”

Reciting the excuse he had made, she continued. Frederick looked at her with a chilling gaze, then grabbed his shoulder in agony, as if his wounds were burning.

Deatrice whistled, signaling for the medics, and lowered her gun as she heard the sound of hunting dogs approaching, drawn by the scent of blood.

***

Ironically, the moment of the incident was clear-minded, without any inner turmoil. However, regret began to seep in afterward. In the brief time before the medics arrived, Deatrice felt cold sweat in her hand, and her throat suddenly felt dried.

Outwardly, she seemed to maintain an air of nonchalance, but inside, a sense of impending doom filled her. This was the first time she had impulsively made such a mistake, even though she appeared calm on the surface.

Of course, anyone examining the series of events, where she had returned the favor to Frederick in the same manner Lucius had suffered – by changing clothes, pretending to want to hunt, might suspect deliberate intent.

Deatrice swore that she had no idea she would actually pull the trigger, despite the thought lingering faintly in her mind.

However, the delicate crimson of blood flowed from the wound she had caused, and Frederick, wincing with pain, directed words like “she’s completely insane” and “she’s out of her mind” towards her.

Yes. She was indeed out of her mind.

It hit her when she saw the blood. While it had been satisfying to utter the word ‘revenge,’ the sight of blood made her stomach churn.

Moreover, her opponent was Frederick. Given his capricious personality, he could have easily, no, highly likely told his men to seize and punish her.

True to his words, he was a prince and not just any prince, but one destined to be a king, an important figure in the empire.

Yet, she wasn’t.