—Clang!!
An arrow struck the ground at Richard’s feet.
Immediately afterward, a blade flying in from the opposite direction grazed the top of his head.
The sharp ring of metal. Murderous intent tearing through the air.
“......!”
“Hide.”
A short, cutting command.
Cailus’s voice rang out behind him.
Whip!
The hem of a black cloak swept across his vision.
...He’s fast.
The thought flashed through Richard’s mind.
Cailus had moved so quickly that Richard’s eyes had not even been able to follow his movements.
Without a moment’s hesitation—
Cailus turned his back to him and drew his sword.
Whoosh!
His first strike sliced through an enemy’s abdomen.
Blood sprayed, and chunks of flesh flew.
Before the man’s scream had even ended, the second and third attackers were beheaded.
Thud—!
Their corpses crashed to the ground.
Was Cailus always this strong?
As the original male protagonist, he had certainly been powerful, but Richard did not remember him being this powerful....
His doubts lasted only a moment before he surveyed the situation.
Behind them, beyond the bushes.
He could see two small shadows.
They were drawing their bowstrings, and at the other end of their aim... stood Richard.
Wait.
Only then did Richard realize it.
They’re only targeting me.
This attack, this ambush, had been aimed solely at him.
Whoosh!!
Two arrows flew straight toward his heart.
At that moment—
Clang!
Cailus’s sword curved through the air, splitting the arrows in half and knocking them aside.
“.......”
Richard’s breath caught.
He looked up at him.
The man stood silently in front of him, shielding him.
The person Richard hated most in the world.
But one thing was certain.
If not for him, Richard would already be dead.
“Target Richard Friedrich alone!”
A shout rang out from somewhere.
In an instant, the air changed.
Every presence around them focused on a single target.
—Richard.
......Only me?
Yes. Richard was certain now.
This was not an assassination attempt against Cailus.
It was an ambush intended entirely—
to kill him.
...But why?
He clutched his shoulder.
His breathing was labored, and his body felt heavy.
His heart pounded faster as his consciousness began to sink.
Even then—
Cailus continued cutting down their enemies without a word.
When one charged at him, he angled his sword aside and immediately drove it into the man’s abdomen.
The next three were dispatched without a single wasted movement.
But more enemies kept pouring in.
The encirclement tightened around Richard as though they were driving a lone rabbit into a trap.
“......Damn it.”
Richard raised his blade.
With a trembling hand, he wrung out the last of his strength.
Someone lunged at him.
His numb arm was slow to respond, but he swung his blade.
However—
Clang!
Cailus’s sword flashed across his vision.
He had blocked the attack in Richard’s place when Richard reacted a moment too late.
It had happened in an instant, but Richard had seen it clearly.
Cailus—
was dealing with every blade aimed at Richard.
Why?
Confusion consumed his mind.
Why are you saving me?
Cailus hated him.
Whenever they were together, he looked as though he could barely breathe, every edge of him bristling with hostility.
Richard was the man who had forced him into a contractual engagement. Cailus had every reason to kill him.
And yet.......
Why was he standing in front of Richard like a shield?
Why was he refusing to retreat even once against hundreds of enemies who were targeting Richard alone?
His thoughts blurred, and his consciousness flickered.
And then—
Crack!
The last attacker fell, and silence descended over the forest.
Cailus flicked the blood from his sword.
The dried blood at the corner of his mouth smeared red with a single swipe of his hand.
Richard sank heavily to the ground and looked up at him.
“.......”
Then he quietly spoke.
“...Why?”
He asked in a low voice.
“Why... did you save me?”
“.......”
Cailus turned to look at Richard.
“You knew... they were only targeting me, didn’t you?”
There was no chance Cailus had failed to notice something even Richard had realized.
He could easily have thought it convenient and abandoned him....
“.......”
A faint tremor passed through those crimson eyes.
Then—
A short answer fell from his lips.
“We left as a pair. If you alone failed to return...”
“.......”
“Would the cause not seem obvious?”
“...Ah.”
Richard fell silent at that.
So—
Cailus had not saved him. He simply did not want the trouble.
That was all.
Right.
So that was it.
Richard gave a faint laugh and lowered his head.
“I see.”
Blood pooled at the end of his words.
Cailus was right. The two of them had officially been paired for the hunting festival.
If Richard failed to return while Cailus came back alone,
suspicious eyes would inevitably turn toward him.
No—even if no one suspected him,
rumors would still spread that the Crown Prince was too weak to prevent the death of his own partner.
Either way, it would be a nuisance for Cailus.
Then, for now....
Richard forced himself to his feet.
“......Ugh....”
His palm, caked with blood and mud, pressed against the ground.
His arms and legs tingled painfully. It felt as though his bones had fractured.
Still, he forced his feet to move.
His gaze fell upon—
a man drenched in blood.
One of the attackers was still alive.
“.......”
The man leaned against the base of a tree, panting.
Blood poured from what appeared to be a severe injury to his leg, but he remained conscious.
His eyes were barely open, and his breathing was ragged.
Richard approached without a word.
A small dagger rested in his hand.
“.......”
“Please... spare me....”
The man muttered hoarsely.
His eyes were filled with unmistakable terror.
Richard crouched silently in front of him.
Then he reached out with his bloodstained hand.
Tap.
He took hold of the attacker’s right hand.
When he pulled off the blackened glove, bloodless fingers were revealed beneath it.
“......Who was it?”
Richard asked quietly.
“......What?”
“The person who sent you. Who was it?”
The man clamped his mouth shut.
As though fear had instinctively paralyzed his tongue.
Richard tilted his head.
Then, very quietly, he picked up one of the man’s fingers.
“You won’t tell me?”
“......N-no, it’s just....”
“Fine, then.”
Tap.
The dagger in his hand came down precisely against the finger joint.
“Aaaaaaagh—!!”
A piercing scream.
A segment of the finger fell limply to the ground.
Blood spurted as an agonized groan tore from the man’s throat.
Without wiping the blood from his cheek, Richard turned his attention back to him.
This time, he picked up a second finger.
“......Who was it?”
“Please, please...!”
“Who sent you?”
“I-I... was only following orders...!”
Tap.
Another one.
“Aaaaaagh!!!”
Droplets of blood scattered through the air.
Blood splashed across the tree bark, and the man screamed in horrific pain.
Without the slightest change in expression, Richard grasped the third finger.
After leaving the forest,
Richard was no longer capable of riding a horse.
Even after receiving treatment, he could not keep his balance properly,
and blood was slowly seeping through the bandages wrapped around the back of his hand.
When he reached the entrance to the hunting grounds,
the first thing he saw was the square, where nobles had gathered in small groups.
The participants who had returned with their partners were checking their wounds and breathing sighs of relief.
Richard stood quietly in a corner, lost in thought.
“Princess Cesica! Princess Cesica hired us!”
The terrified attacker had revealed the person behind the ambush.
“I-I only obeyed her because she said she would pay me...! Please spare me!”
According to him, the culprit was Princess Cesica.
The villainess.
“......Hmm.”
Richard narrowed his eyes.
Her identity was not particularly surprising. She had been openly hostile toward him for some time now.
However....
If that’s the case... was the villainess also behind the previous ambush?
......He could not be sure.
It might have been her, or it might not have been.
But if it was.......
The villainess knows something.
Richard recalled the words left by the person who had tried to kill him during the previous ambush.
“Stop trying to ruin the ‘story.’”
......There was clearly something behind all this.
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