70. Strange Signs

The pleasant atmosphere during their sword training suddenly dissipated.

Clint just stared at Psyche silently without responding to her words.

“… “

Originally, Clint and Psyche had planned to participate in the hunting expedition together.

However, Psyche didn’t want to see Rachel again.

Of course, the situation was very different from when Psyche fled from the Duke’s estate, but she still didn’t want to see Rachel.

It wasn’t because Psyche was scared and wanted to avoid her.

Whenever she saw Rachel, she couldn’t help but think of the lost child.

She didn’t want to lose the peace she had barely found by sending Kylie to Tarang.

Just when she had barely managed to live a normal life, she couldn’t afford to throw another big stone into the calm waters.

Clint looked embarrassed.

Psyche couldn’t help but add, “Your Grace, you can go alone.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

However, Clint didn’t want to leave Psyche alone at the Duke’s estate.

He remembered the time when she ran away.

“I’ll stay quietly. If you don’t trust me, you can increase the number of guards.”

Sensing Clint’s unease, Psyche quickly added.

However, Clint was still uneasy.

It wasn’t just about worrying that Psyche might run away.

Last time, wasn’t there trouble when Psyche was left alone at the Duke’s estate?

The memory of losing the child.

It was not a pleasant memory for Psyche, but it was the same for Clint.

Since earlier, it had been bothering Clint that Psyche was calling him “Your Grace.”

Although she usually called him by his name, whenever she was not in a good mood, she would deliberately distance herself by calling him “Your Grace.”

“Your Grace?”

With no response, Psyche cautiously called him again.

“That’s not going to work.”

Although he had come a long way to maintain a somewhat good relationship by experiencing various situations and struggles, Clint didn’t want to repeat past mistakes.

“… “

Psyche fell silent.

“Rachel, or rather, the Countess, is no longer a match for you. So, isn’t that why you’ve been trying so hard to boost your influence in society?”

“What?”

“To prevent the Countess from ever harming you again, that’s why you’ve been putting so much effort into society, isn’t it?”

Psyche was momentarily speechless.

She felt like her thoughts had been penetrated in an instant.

Soon, that feeling turned into discomfort.

“How do you know about such details, Your Grace?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Originally, the Duchess had no interest in such matters.”

“That’s true. But…”

Because you tried to kill me, I had to find a way to live without you. Psyche wanted to say that it was a secondary goal, but she couldn’t, so she kept her mouth shut.

“So, don’t worry about her-“

“You speak so easily, Your Grace.”

Psyche cut off his words sharply.

It seemed that the relationship they had worked so hard to maintain was squeaking again.

“I understand Your Grace’s intentions very well.”

Psyche stood up where she was and left the training ground with her sword in hand.

Clint got angry at her behavior and threw away the sword he had been holding.

❖ ❖ ❖

Hunting day.

Psyche and Clint rode in a carriage to the hunting site.

There were no suitable forests for hunting around the Imperial Palace, so they had to go quite far out.

As soon as they got off, the scent of the forest tickled their noses.

Psyche looked around while receiving Clint’s escort.

“Wow, is this all forest here?”

She asked Alexia, who had come to escort her.

“Yes. This area is known to nobles as a place where they often come for hunting.”

“Marquis of Flam?”

“Yes, Marquis of Flam.”

“Ah.”

As soon as she heard the name, she realized that it was none other than the Marssen Duke Rachel had married.

Now she understood why Rachel had been so keen to come up to the capital.

She would have come to meet the emperor and follow him to the capital.

Psyche laughed at the thought.

Soon, the men busied themselves with hunting preparations.

Although they had come following a dispute with the Duke, the fresh air of the forest made her feel refreshed after a long time.

The smell of the trees and the sharp scent of the grass were all good.

Psyche wandered around with Alexia, looking at the trees and grass. It was something she used to do a lot in the Alistair Territory, but here, it felt strange.

“Oh, Alexia. Don’t go over there.”

“What’s there?”

“Goodness, there are so many of these here.”

Psyche said, looking at a place where very small, white flowers had bloomed profusely.

“Oh, they’re so pretty.”

“Pretty? But these flowers have toxins in them, so if you get poisoned, you’ll hallucinate or go crazy.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that before.”

“Yeah. Let’s not get too close if possible. Shall we go back? It’s almost time to start hunting.”

Then, with Alexia, Psyche headed towards where the nobles, including the Emperor, were gathered.

Even from a distance, Clint was clearly visible among the men.

Clint was tall even among the men, and with his well-built physique, he stood out even more, especially since he was armed.

The men were checking their swords and bows to make sure everything was okay.

Then, the Emperor, who was under the most splendid tent, stood up abruptly.

“It’s refreshing and nice to be out here with you all like this today.”

With a brief greeting and a few words added, he immediately signaled the start of the hunt.

“Well then, show your skills to your heart’s content! May the blessings of the Empire be with you!”

With those words, armed men rushed into the forest.

Clint, who had been standing still, approached Psyche.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Psyche, who only nodded in response, slowly spoke.

“Oh, don’t go to the east. There are many Talaith flowers there, and it’s dangerous.”

After briefly discussing the flowers with Alexia and bidding her farewell, Psyche approached Alexia, who was waiting for her.

“Alexia, come back safely too. You’ve been wanting to go hunting so badly lately.”

“But…”

“His Grace said it’s okay. And with the Emperor there, what could go wrong? Don’t worry, just come back.”

Psyche gestured to reassure her, and Alexia happily ran into the forest like a child.

Watching her go, Psyche wondered where she should be and confidently headed towards the splendid tent where the Emperor was seated.

Feeling inadequate to join in the conversation of the noblewomen, she chose to approach the Emperor instead.

“Oh, who do we have here? Isn’t this the most famous Duchess these days?”

Smiling, Psyche made a curtsy.

“I greet Your Majesty, the glory of the Empire.”

“Oh, to come all the way here and be so poised. Come, have a seat.”

With a sinister expression, the Emperor made room for Psyche to sit.

As she sat down, the Emperor, who had been watching her, quickly spoke again.

“Still no news of an heir?”

“Oh…”

Not knowing that Psyche was consistently taking birth control pills, the Emperor’s question was somewhat upsetting.

Psyche felt amused at how clearly his thoughts were revealed.

“It’s not always the right time, Your Majesty.”

“That’s true. But still, the Duke’s age… and you two are said to be so close. Why can’t you produce an heir?”

The Emperor’s question, which bordered on being offensive, caught Psyche off guard, but she didn’t want to dwell on such shallow remarks.

“Well, we are in our prime, Your Majesty.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, you don’t have to worry about our marriage. But shouldn’t His Highness the Crown Prince find a consort soon?”

It is best to fight fire with fire in matters of cunning. Psyche diverted the topic to the Crown Prince, the Emperor’s most vulnerable point.

“A consort for the Crown Prince… Is there no one you could recommend?”

“Well…”

“The Crown Prince says he wants someone like the Duchess. Not more, not less.”

At that remark, Psyche’s face stiffened.

She felt a prickling sensation.

The Emperor looked at her changing expression as if it were amusing.

Psyche inwardly wondered if the Crown Prince had said something strange to the Emperor, and she had to think about the Emperor’s intentions behind his words.

Quickly composing her expression, she smiled faintly.

“Don’t speak such dangerous words, Your Majesty. Someone might misunderstand.”

“Is that so? I’m quite regretful. I often wonder how it would have been if you had met our Crown Prince before the Duke.”

“…”

The conversation was becoming more and more strange. It was clearly not appropriate to speak such words in front of a married woman.

She felt dizzy. The conversation felt increasingly dangerous.

If anyone heard, it might sound like the Crown Prince had feelings for Psyche. Such misunderstandings were intolerable.

“Your Majesty, this joke has gone too far…!”

Crack!

Suddenly, a snapping sound echoed from somewhere.

“Y-Your, Your Majesty! Please, get down!”

Someone urgently called out to the Emperor.

At the same time, the tree supporting the tent they were in suddenly broke, and the tent began to collapse.