Into the Emperor’s Hunting Grounds

The heat that had wrapped around Chloe at the execution ground was forgotten while she crossed the River of Oblivion.

But the shape of the flames that had flicked like a viper’s tongue remained seared into her retinas, rising in her mind again and again.

Even though the body that had once turned to dark ash was reborn with flesh and blood, there were moments when none of it felt real.

Chloe was always afraid to fall asleep.

Even when she tried to rest for a moment, the horrific past surfaced, and the nightmares that tormented her through the long night were nothing short of torture.

She could not confide these thoughts to anyone.

She hid the ever-deepening anguish behind an unruffled expression.

There was no one she could truly trust, and besides, the heat of the pyre existed only in her mind, replayed like a scene detached from reality.

Yet the fear that the same fate might repeat itself was unbearable.

She had eliminated Count Philip, and yet she had met Emperor Hector.

The mere disappearance of the one who had driven her into the abyss of becoming the Emperor’s mistress had not severed the ill-fated bond.

‘How can I escape?’

No solution came to mind, and the terror, as if her hair were burning away strand by strand, crept closer like the Reaper himself.

The instinct to survive writhed behind her tightly shut eyes.

“Thee, are you unwell?”

Hector’s voice came from so close it almost brushed her ear.

Chloe flinched and snapped back from her thoughts into reality.

A vast expanse of dense forest and meticulously maintained grassland stretched before her.

This was the imperial hunting ground.

In the clear autumn sky, clouds drifted gracefully as though blessing the opening of the hunt.

At the grand hunting festival attended by many, Hector had positioned her at his side.

For an ordinary countess, it was an overwhelmingly burdensome situation.

No one dared cast an impudent glance, but curiosity flickered in every gaze.

Beneath their respectful attitudes toward the Emperor, their intrigue was barely concealed.

Hector was busy receiving the nobles’ formal greetings.

Or rather, he merely went through the motions.

When a landholding noble bowed so deeply his forehead touched the ground, Hector gave a perfunctory nod.

After two or three such greetings, he dismissed the next with a flick of his hand.

His gaze shifted to Chloe, who could hardly focus on the hunting festival.

He was checking whether she truly felt well.

“Was the bed uncomfortable?”

“I… did not sleep much.”

“Then I shall have the maid severely punished.”

His tone of concern was violent.

It was not an empty threat.

If Chloe were to claim that even a single pea had been left beneath her mattress, the maid’s head might truly roll before the day was out.

“The maid did well. I think the imperial villa simply feels unfamiliar to me.”

A cool stare fixed on her.

His blue eyes gleamed in shifting shades, from clear water to the depths of the sea depending on the angle of the light.

They allowed not even the smallest lie.

“Would it be too much for you to hunt with me?”

It was not an invitation.

It was an order to follow without protest.

Beneath the casual tone lay the intent to bend her entirely to his will.

Under his gaze alone, her entire body felt bound and immobilized.

If she defied him, something dreadful seemed certain to follow.

To shake her head would require scraping together every ounce of courage buried at the bottom of her heart.

“I fear I might trouble Your Majesty. I beg forgiveness.”

She met the Emperor’s eyes squarely with a defiant stare.

She even disobeyed his command to call him by name.

Her boots curled inward in fear, her heels twitching.

Her heart threatened to stop, yet she revealed nothing.

He swept his tongue along the inside of his cheek.

His displeasure was evident.

Where his tongue pressed, a rounded bulge formed beneath his skin.

His gaze swept the surroundings, cold and sharp.

Those gathered on the lawn to begin the hunt stiffened, sensing the Emperor’s foul mood.

Young ladies and noblewomen fanned themselves before the tents.

They intended to enjoy refreshments there while the hunt proceeded.

Some women, like Chloe, wore hunting attire, but it was largely for display; few actually entered the forest.

Hector’s merciless eyes lingered briefly on the tent before shifting away.

The slight tilt of his head carried quiet authority.

“Ride with me.”

Her fate was decided in an instant.

Her brave attempt to resist him had accomplished less than nothing.

A massive black horse was brought before her, and a servant knelt to serve as a stepping stool.

A dark shadow passed over Chloe’s face as she hesitated.

She could not defy the Emperor, nor could she claim ignorance of riding.

Only days ago, she had ridden with him.

Hector’s gaze sharpened as he watched her.

He might have thought she was playing coy, relying on her pretty face.

“Fussy.”

He muttered harshly, as though spitting the word out, and strode toward her.

With a large hand around her waist, he lifted her as though tossing an object and set her atop the saddle.

Before she could gather herself, he mounted behind her and steadied them both.

It recreated the same arrangement as the night they had first met.

Far from resisting, she could not even part her lips, forced to remain enclosed in Hector’s arms.

The horn announcing the start of the hunt pierced the unsettled sky.

The noble participants scattered in all directions to seek prey.

Each brought attendants, but Hector was accompanied only by a single professional hunter.

He had dismissed the knights, wishing to hunt with his own hands.

For an Emperor, it was an eccentric whim, yet he behaved perversely often enough that it drew little surprise.

The weather shifted unpredictably.

A light drizzle had fallen in the morning, only for a brilliant sun to follow soon after.

As they entered a forest where clouds gathered, the world darkened as though dusk had fallen.

“It’s so secluded…”

Chloe let her voice tremble faintly, feigning fear.

In truth, there was another reason she had not wished to enter the hunting grounds.

She did not want to create any point of contact with Hector, and in her previous life, their first encounter had taken place here.

Worse still, within the vast forest, the horse’s head was heading precisely toward that very spot.

She had memorized the map of the imperial hunting grounds; there was no mistaking it.

‘Could it be… that this man remembers something?’

She glanced back discreetly, but he was absorbed in searching for traces of beasts.

He seemed to be heading there simply because it was a good place to hunt.

White vapor rose in the damp forest, filling the spaces between thick tree trunks.

Through the dense fog, Hector fired his gun.

A wild boar’s anguished squeal rang out.

The hunter hurried toward the sound to retrieve the prey.

The surroundings grew murkier by the moment.

In the near blindness, another wild boar suddenly charged.

Startled, the horse reared and thrashed.

Hector pulled Chloe’s waist tightly with one arm and seized the reins with the other.

Controlling the animal with one hand proved difficult, and the horse bolted wildly.

By the time he calmed it and slowed their pace, distance had grown between them and the hunter.

The deep forest felt sinister, like the dwelling place of some creature from a nightmare.

It was a moment to feel threatened.

They had to guard against wild beasts and potential assassination attempts alike.

Yet Hector calmly let out a short whistle.

“There should be plenty of prey.”

To focus only on hunting in such a situation left Chloe speechless.

Was he indifferent to danger, careless of his own life, or simply confident he could defeat anyone he met?

To claim he could hunt in such dense fog bordered on arrogance.

Nothing around them could be clearly perceived.

Even the horse carrying them advanced sluggishly, often bumping its nose against tree trunks.

Suddenly, a clever idea flashed through Chloe’s mind.

“I can’t see anything ahead. Wouldn’t it be better to walk?”

Hector hummed low and dismounted with her.

Drawing his sword, he stepped forward to lead the way and threw back a cold remark.

“Stay close if you don’t wish to become feed for beasts.”

“Yes…”

She answered obediently, but her vigilance toward Hector rose like a rabbit facing a tiger.

Chloe deliberately stepped lightly on the ground.

She was suppressing her footsteps so he would not notice what was about to happen.

The empty forest was thick with fog, as though dusted in flour.

The moisture hanging in the air muffled even sound.

As Hector had warned, even a few steps’ distance would make it difficult to find one another.

It was a perfect opportunity.

An opportunity to escape from the grasp of her sworn enemy.