Chapter 43 Part 6: The Calm Before the Storm

<Shadowed Love>.

The original novel that Rosa was transmigrated into.

Freya Ruslanche.

The female lead of this novel, of this world.

“Ah..”

I don’t know why.

But it felt like my heart sank, that was how Rosa felt.

Rosa didn’t answer.

Freya tilted her head slightly.

“Rosa.”

Only when Cayron called her did Rosa come to her senses.

“Ah, nice to meet you.”

Freya smiled softly.

She was also curious.

About the reality of the Archduchess, who was the subject of many rumors.

And.

She was inwardly impressed.

Archduchess Rosa Anencia was a very beautiful woman, like a fairy.

“Thank you for coming such a long way. My name is.. Rosa Anencia.”

Her voice was like beads rolling.

I don’t know the reason.

But Freya liked the first impression of the Archduchess.

Because her atmosphere itself was filled with kindness.

She is the type of person who naturally attracts favor.

The Archduchess carefully asked.

“Freya. How did you come to be my exclusive handmaiden?”

This year, Freya is twenty-one.

Honestly, it’s an ambiguous age to be a handmaiden.

But there was a request from her father, the head of the Ruslanche family.

[The situation is not favorable. Entrust yourself to the Archduke’s family until the estate is stable.]

The hardliners who want to fight against the empire, and the moderates who want to compromise with reality.

There was internal strife in Ruslanche as well.

Several vassals rebelled and joined the hardliners.

A fierce battle for the territory took place, and Ruslanche was defeated in that fight.

“It was the current Archduke who saved my family, who recovered the stolen lord’s flag.”

Not only that.

The Archduke protected Freya, who was being targeted, in a safe place.

“So. I’m really grateful.”

Freya’s whereabouts, which had been unknown for the past few months.

The truth has now been revealed.

Cayron answered her.

“There’s no need to thank me. Lady Freya. I didn’t help your family out of goodwill.”

It was just that the political interests coincided.

“Of course, I know that too.”

Freya straightened up with a smile.

The Archduke is a very fine man.

From appearance to ability, really in many ways.

‘Honestly, if he wasn’t taken, I might have thought differently..’

But.

The two people in front of her were so well-matched that they could be called a match made in heaven.

‘I guess there was a destined relationship after all.’

Freya felt a little regretful.

“From now on, I will serve Your Highness with all my heart.”

Freya expressed her determination once again.

She has her own ambitions.

It wasn’t about seeking success, but about being recognized as a good person by those around her.

She has seen too many tragedies.

She learned the reality of war.

So. Freya’s dream is to become a good lord.

Her younger brother was still too young.

Surely, once the estate is a little more stable, Freya will temporarily take over as the head of the family.

‘Since I’ve become an exclusive handmaiden..’

She was going to form a close relationship with the Archduke’s family.

It was true that she was secretly looking forward to it.

To her life in Arnad.

Fortunately, the Archduchess, whom she was to serve, seemed to get along well with her.

She didn’t really know the reason.

It was almost an instinctive feeling for Freya.

“Please take care of me. Your Highness. I hope we can become close enough to open our hearts to each other.”

Freya smiled.

Rosa answered with an awkward smile.

“Me too. Please take care of me.”

It was the first meeting between the two women.

Rosa returned to her room.

She tried to calm down.

“Whew-“

She takes a deep breath.

That’s how surprised she was by the meeting with Freya.

It’s not something she didn’t expect at all.

‘Surely the development of the original work has been pulled forward a little.’

From the time Cayron occupied the seven castles.

So naturally, other things could be pulled forward as well.

‘Yes.’

It’s natural.

After all, the two are destined.

In the end, the premise of this world, this novel, is a happy ending where the two protagonists are connected.

There’s no need to be surprised by that now.

‘But..’

My heart fluttered.

Freya Ruslanche.

The moment I heard that name.

Why was she so surprised?

Just at this point, in this way.

Did she never imagine that they would meet?

‘Freya was also a handmaiden in the Archduke’s family in the original work.’

This time, the flow is the same.

Indeed.

Things went as in the original work.

Rosa was just confused.

It was then that Cayron came in.

“Rosa.”

It seems that she didn’t even hear the sound of him knocking.

“Are you sick?”

He put his hand on Rosa’s forehead with a worried expression.

“No. It’s not like that.”

Rosa shook her head.

Cayron lightly grabbed her arm as she was about to turn around.

“Then what’s wrong? Since earlier.”

To be precise, since the meeting with the handmaiden.

Rosa had been quite strange since then.

She looked dazed even when untying his cravat.

She just ate dinner silently.

“Tell me. The reason.”

Cayron was secretly worried.

He stared intently at Rosa.

At that intensity, Rosa ended up blurting out her true feelings.

“Freya.. the Lady. Did you know each other..?”

A puzzled look comes over.

Rosa, who uttered those words, suddenly stopped breathing without realizing it.

“Freya..? Your handmaiden?”

Cayron frowned.

It’s his habit when he’s organizing his words.

“Yes.”

Rosa’s expression gradually changed.

It looked like a clearly nervous expression, and at the same time, it looked somewhat anxious.

Cayron slowly realized.

The reason why Rosa is like this now.

“Of course. I know her.”

Rosa flinched slightly.

“But. We only know each other by face. I have no interest in the daughter of Ruslanche.”

“What..?”

Rosa was flustered.

[I have no interest.]

She couldn’t understand why Cayron would suddenly say such a thing.

“Is this what you were worried about?”

Rosa vehemently denied Cayron’s words.

“What are you talking about. Why would I?”

Yes.

Honestly, it did bother her.

But, it was simply a matter of trust.

Isn’t it something to be upset about?

So, it was a matter of principle.

‘If Cayron really had met Freya beforehand..’

It was certainly upsetting that he didn’t tell her that fact.

Because the two are that close.

Rosa thought that she shared everything with Cayron.

Naturally, she thought that Cayron would do the same.

“No. Cayron.”

What exactly is no?

Cayron looked at her curiously.

“It’s not that I was worried about whether you were interested in her or not.”

‘Really?’

Cayron was about to ask that.

But he decided to just let this situation go.

Because Rosa’s reaction was cute.

‘Jealousy..?’

It doesn’t matter if it’s not.

Because Rosa was clearly concerned about whether he knew that handmaiden or not.

Confused, Rosa bowed her head.

Cayron was secretly greedy, but she looks too tired for that.

So.

Instead, he pulled Rosa closer and silently kissed her small forehead.

“You look tired. Rest. Rosa.”

Whoosh-

Rosa’s face flushed unintentionally.

“..You too.”

But soon she bowed her head with those words.

A day with many things that happened.

Cayron’s words were true.

When her tension was released, Rosa fell asleep surprisingly quickly.

But was it unconscious?

In her sleep, Rosa’s two white hands tightly grasped the object around her neck.

The necklace that Cayron bought her.

The sky is clear.

The hunting festival was just around the corner.

Several carriages were ready.

The knights took their positions one by one.

Rosa, who was fully prepared, wore a white fur shawl like a cloak.

Now, we depart from Arnad.

“It’s really the last! Everyone, make sure there are no problems!”

Hamel, the chief steward, directed the servants with a loud voice.

Various snares and traps, well-honed swords and arrowheads.

Harnesses for the horses, and meat to be used as bait.

The servants were busy.

And.

“Hawks..?”

Several birdcages were placed on one side.

Next to them, hunting dogs crouched quietly.

“Your Highness. Have you not seen them before?”

The voice that interjected a little from the side is Freya, whom I met two days ago.

Freya has been talking to her in a friendly manner, being quite sociable than she looks.

“Ah, you mean the hawks.”

“Yes. I haven’t seen them before. Since there’s no need to see hawks in the south.”

At Rosa’s answer, she pouted her lips.

“Yesterday. You promised me, right? Please speak comfortably to me.”

“Well.. I’m not used to it.”

Freya tapped Rosa’s hand lightly.

“Actually, you can do whatever you want. Still, it’s good to narrow the distance.”

Freya’s friendly actions without hesitation sometimes surprised Rosa.

Flustered, she answered.

“Well.. I’ll try.”

“”

Only then did Freya smile and remove her hand again.

Although they had only known each other for a day, Freya was like a friendly older sister in many ways.

In fact, Freya, who is twenty-one this year, was two years older than Rosa.

“Oh right, aren’t you curious? How hawks hunt.”

When Rosa nodded, she started chattering.

“Usually, hawks and their owners are together from a young age.”

Ruslanche.

It’s not for nothing that the family has a white raptor as their symbol.

Naturally, Freya also knew how to handle hawks.

“They are tamed from a very young age. That way, they follow people like their own mother.”

They feed them every day, carry them on their arms, and train them through interaction.

After repeating that process for several years, the hawk becomes an excellent hunter and friend.

“When going out to hunt, the hawk sits quietly on the shoulder of its owner who is riding a horse.”

Rosa asked.

“If it’s on the shoulder of a person riding a horse, it must shake a lot.. Won’t the hawk go wild or something?”

“Oh, no.”

Freya smiled.

“No matter how fierce a hawk is, there’s no need to worry. To their trained owner, they are gentle and lovely animals.”

When the hunt begins.

The owner raises their arm and sends the hawk flying.

The hawk naturally scouts the surroundings and finds a suitable prey.

“When hunting, they descend to the ground at a rapid speed. They either lift the prey or concentrate their attack on the head.”

Through such hunting methods, they can take down animals much larger than themselves.

“In other words, a hawk is a hunter’s scout, a beater, and at the same time, a reliable companion.”

It was quite an interesting story.

The more we talked.

Rosa thought that Freya was a really good person.

But, at the same time, a corner of her heart felt strangely stuffy.

She was confused because she couldn’t understand the reason.

“It’s a shame. Your Highness.”

Suddenly, Freya said such a thing.

“What is..?”

“That I can’t go to the hunting festival with you.”

It was the price of having been in hiding for the past few months.

Freya was not invited to the hunting festival.

Cayron approached from the side.

“If you really want to go, I can take you.”

But Freya firmly shook her head.

“No. I have a lot to prepare anyway. I just became an exclusive handmaiden, and I don’t want to cause trouble for the Archduke’s family.”

If she were to take her uninvited self, there would surely be unnecessary gossip.

“Then. As you wish.”

Cayron didn’t say any more.

Instead, he approached Rosa and held her hand tightly.

“Let’s go. Rosa.”

Freya watched the scene.

The two protagonists are in front of her.

Rosa felt strange for no reason when she remembered that fact.

But.

She shook her head and smiled brightly at Freya.

“See you again. Freya.”

Soon the Archduke and Archduchess got into the carriage together.

“Have a safe trip-!”

Freya waved her hand to see them off.

The young Archduke and Archduchess.

Thinking that the two make a really good match.

Somewhere in the north of Elchen.

It was a dark room.

Faint light flickered.

Shaded faces faced each other.

“It’s a disgrace. A humiliation.”

The first to break the silence was the head of the Lobenheim family.

He was a man with red hair and a fierce impression.

“It’s not like we’re some kind of bandits plotting something..”

They were the ones who had secretly gathered at dawn.

The one sitting on the other side, the head of the Ritzel family, answered.

“It can’t be helped. Considering who we’re dealing with..”

Anger, shame.

And not only that, but a faint fear was embedded in his expression.

“We’ve already been pushed to the edge of the cliff.”

“It’s too late to turn back now..”

Such low-voiced conversations went back and forth.

This will be the first and last chance.

Overwhelming force, rumors circulating here and there.

‘The Second Prince of the Empire is a descendant of Iolad.’

At first, everyone laughed it off as nonsense.

But some people started to believe the rumor.

Led by the head of the Variang family, Walter Variang.

The head of the Lobenheim family said, suppressing his anger.

“We must punish the traitor Variang. And those who follow him as well.”

The head of the Ritzel family still hasn’t forgotten the humiliation of defeat.

“I can’t serve that guy. Even if he really is a descendant of Iolad, he is essentially nothing more than the Second Prince of the Empire.”

The answer is to fight to the death against the Empire.

Everyone in this place agreed with that.

“The beginning is.. to strike his head.”

If it fails, it’s literally the end, and even if it succeeds, the political burden is very great.

Elchen is a land of hunters.

Naturally, the hunting festival was also a sacred ritual.

That’s how much deep thought there was.

“It is certainly a sad thing to abandon pride. But.”

It’s just putting it down for a moment for a greater cause.

Surely they wouldn’t expect it during the hunting festival, at the very site.

That an event will take place.

Because there is really no other way.

Because the opponent is that strong.

Surely they did not make an easy decision.

“Pride is always a good thing. But if this land is swallowed up by the Empire, what good is pride that is only words?”

The current focal point of the moderates, the Archduke of Arnad.

If he is removed, some of the centrists will change their minds, and the moderates will also have internal strife.

“Besides. If another imperial lackey becomes the Archduke. Even Variang will oppose it.”

After all, Variang’s following of the Archduke is ultimately loyalty to that individual.

Eventually, if only the Archduke is eliminated.

Even if the process is dirty, it may be an opportunity for Elchen to unite again.

The four in this place are aiming for just that.

The shaded expressions were all filled with tension.

“He is surely a wolf.”

That one thing cannot be denied.

Didn’t he subdue the entire Elchen region with overwhelming military prowess?

At that time, a man who had been silent until then slowly opened his mouth.

“Everyone knows how to hunt a wolf, right?”

The words continued.

“It’s a hunting method passed down from our ancestors.”

To a hunter in the cold north, even a single piece of fur is precious.

So, they knew how to hunt wolves through a special method.

“A knife coated with animal blood is frozen. That frozen knife is stuck in the ground where wolves appear.”

Then a wolf, drawn by the smell of blood, approaches.

“What if the wolf licks it?”

The tongue freezes and sticks to the knife.

Even if it tries to remove it, its own tongue will be cut, and blood will be smeared again.

“But the wolf cannot give up its greed. After all, it is a creature born to crave blood.”

Not knowing that the blood coming out of the knife is its own blood.

It licks the knife until the end.

“Then, on the exhausted wolf..”

Thud-

The hunter’s dagger is driven in.

“According to recent rumors, it seems that he is having a good time.”

Everyone listened to those words.

“There are many rumors. That he cares a lot about his woman.”

A rumor that has already been confirmed.

No matter how cold-hearted he is, he was a man.

The head of the Lobenheim family agreed.

“Certainly. It would be better to find a way to lure the wolf than to directly aim for the wolf.”

“That’s right.”

The man, the head of the Theicia family, laughed.

“So. The plan has changed.”

At his words that followed, everyone was surprised.

“Do we really have to go that far..?”

Because it was such a cruel plan.

But the head of the Theicia family wore a sneer.

“Why are people who should know better saying this? Hunting is originally done in a mean way.”

A trap that he can never escape.

“I’ve already made preliminary preparations.”

Eventually, everyone agreed.

Thud-

Then a knife is stuck on a piece of paper.

“Then. Let’s give him an unforgettable hunting festival.”

In the tension, the four men silently held their breath.

The four letters written on the paper were.

Wolf Hunt.

That was it.

And so the night of the calm before the storm deepened.