I feel like falling asleep as we rode back to the grounds. Never mind the rough galloping of the horse, I felt comfortable at that moment. I just want to hug its neck and snore my way to dreamland. I was that exhausted. I don't think that I could even last for the whole ceremony thing either.

'Hey guys, can we skip the awarding shiet and go home? Just give me the trophy, if there is any, without the formalities please.' .

Nathaniel might have noticed how tired I was, so he pulled me back to let me lean on him. I gladly welcomed it though, but I can't afford to fall asleep either or I would fall atop the horse and die. Or something like that. I don't plan on dying yet...

Ah, right. You might be wondering what have we done to that wild boar. Well, we can't possibly lift it for ourselves. We are not a bunch of people who have superhuman strengths after all. Luther and Noah had volunteered to go back first and call for the help of the royal knights. It should be Nathaniel, but he wasn't planning to leave my side any minute.

They came back with a whole platoon of knights with them. As expected, they were all stupefied by the sight of the dead boar being crushed by the tree. I had forgotten what they had said though, everything was woozy and I was not even listening anymore anyway.

So yeah, that whole platoon was now joining forces with the duty of bringing the boar. They had rolled it in a raft or something that had wheels in it and pulled. It almost broke halfway through though.

And now we're back on the grounds. People who saw us come out of the trees with the boar in tow were all dumbfounded. I could not totally bask in their bafflement in the end. All I wanted was to sleep, so sleep is what I did. Fufufufufu~

I took a light nap first because the others have not come back from hunting anyway, so I still have time to waste in my dream. Even in there, I was still kicking that stupid boar. All in all, it was a pleasant one.

Bea joined me on napping too, while Nathan and the others stood guard outside the tent. I woke up first with the little fox cuddling me.

I stood up and stretched my aching body. It wasn't really called a good sleep but at least I had gained a little energy back. The fox scampered and climbed around my shoulders again, resting there.

"You really like it there huh?" I talked to it and scratched the back of its ears.

I'm treating it as if it's a pet dog, was that okay? Welp, it looks like it was enjoying it anyway.

"I should probably give you a name..." I mumbled.

Not for now though. My brain is still tired.

Bea woke up right after. She was rubbing her sleepy eyes as she sat up on the makeshift chair. She looked very adorable at that moment.

"Are you okay?" I asked her again.

Bea nods her head slowly, "Mmm."

Heh~ She still is sleepy.

Both of us then went out of the tent after fixing ourselves. There were bloodstains splashed on my white shirt. I grimaced at the sight of it, this outfit would surely not be used again. Because first, the corset has been stripped off of what it's worth, and I am not really a fan of ruined clothes. Every time I would see this I would be reminded of this day, so no thank you.

"Ah, good thing you are both awake now. The last people had just gotten back and the ceremony would start immediately," Conrad says as soon as he saw us.

I looked around and saw that the sky was gradually getting darker and darker like the rain would pour any second from now. There were a lot of dead animals that were lined up at the grounds, and the most eye-catching one was the figure of the big boar. All of the eyes of the spectators and the hunters were drawn to it, looking amazed.

'Fufufufufu~ The victory is ours gentlemen.'

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"The Prince was doing his royal duty, of course. Nathan has secured the perimeters with the knights, and Noah has gone back to their family tent," he listed.

'Right, my brother is a captain after all.'

"Where are Eon and Luther?"

Conrad blankly stared at me, "They are knights, so they are with your brother."

'Wait, what? Eon is a knight?! That's news I had never heard before. Did Gwen tell me about it?'

"I should be patrolling with them but Nathan told me to stay guard here instead. Captain's orders," he said and lets out a grin.

'He is also a knight? But isn't he going to inherit their dukedom?'

"It's a choice, and it's better for us. We could still do our duties as successors anyhow," was his answer to my unspoken question.

"Ohh..." was my only response.

Just then, the sound of the horn got our attention.

"It's going to start. Let's go," Conrad said and went ahead.

Bea and I looked at each other first before following his lead. It's a good thing that we have made ourselves presentable first before coming out of the tent huh...

The three of us squeezed ourselves to the very front of the crowd and went to the sides, to avoid everyone. Prince Ezekiel had changed into another set of clothes and was standing at the makeshift podium. I saw Nathan, Eon, and Luther at the side not far away from him, looking alert. Noah joined us in a moment too, and the group of noble ladies was all there at the far left, watching in anticipation. They all might be wondering who had captured that boar, and who would end up as the lucky woman who has been offered with it.

'Heh~ That lucky woman is beside me.'

Report chapter