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Baang-!
Rainwater poured in at the same time as the sound of gunfire was heard piercing the dark, cloud-filled sky.
A frightened deer ran away at the sound of the shot, so Theodore furrowed his brow as he watched the animal disappear from sight.
It was not unusual for falling raindrops to stop another failed trapping attempt.
He had had a bad and unlucky day ever since he woke up in the morning.
This chase was futile.
The fact that he would have to return empty-handed made him even more angry.
But Theodore was not foolish enough to wander into the rainforest in search of new prey.
Instead, he was someone rational and objective enough to know the root of the problem itself; This is because he came to the hunting grounds before sunset in the first place.
However, today was the day he felt compelled to kill something to ease his nerves.
From the looks of it, it was also wrong for him to return to the palace, so he had to spend the night in a small hut located in the hunting grounds.
The only thing he did well today was kick the guard out and have an empty room for himself.
Theodore turned back and cursed this muddy hunting ground.
He intended to throw off his muddy shoes and go to sleep after drinking a glass of hard liquor.
But God was terribly not on his side today.
This happened when the door of the hut was opened harshly...
“Hello.”
There was someone in the room who shouldn't be there.
She was a woman whose face Theodore knew well.
She was a beautiful woman who shined beautifully even on a dark and rainy day.
Even in this gloomy weather, her hair shone as if it had stolen the sun hidden by the dark clouds and hidden it among its wavy strands.
She was Annette Scheringen, famous for three things: her beauty, her family's reputation, and her unrequited love for the Crown Prince.
Theodor sometimes found her a comical character due to the fact that she was the daughter of the Marquis Scheringen and that she was in love with the Crown Prince, but he had no intention of insulting her appearance.
She was so beautiful that he couldn't deny it.
“I didn't call a whore over here.”
Her blonde hair was dry without any trace of moisture.
It meant she was waiting for Theodore in the hut before it rained.
“Of course, the Grand Duke is not the type to invite women to his hunting grounds.”
The girl did not back down even when she was called a prostitute.
She was quite a rude person.
Theodore thought like this.
“If you already know that, then leave here.
I failed to kill prey and now I tend to shoot my gun even at people.”
“What if I came here as a prostitute?”
Annette laughed.
Even her smile was full of charm.
It was as if she was a woman born to seduce men.
In fact, there were plenty of men who were willing to lay themselves at her feet with just a wave of her finger.
But of course, that didn't seem to be the purpose of Annette's visit today.
“Knowing Your Highness’s hot temper, I will skip the unnecessary greetings.
Just because it’s a beautiful day doesn’t mean I can joke with the Grand Duke comfortably, it seems.”
“What business does the Marquis of Scheringen’s daughter have with me?”
The mention of the family name Scheringen meant that she and Theodore were political rivals, the title of Marquis meant that her father had such a valuable position that he could be considered among the main pillars of the Odentian Empire, and the word daughter meant that she had little business in common that brought her into contact with Theodore.
Since it was mainly her father who came into conflict with Theodore for political reasons.
However, the reason Theodore remembered her was because of Hugo.
The woman who stood out in society even when she remained silent behind closed doors because of her beauty held a great deal of love for the Crown Prince, so even Theodore, no matter how indifferent he was to others' romantic feelings, it was impossible for him not to know about it.
He heard that these days she was busy harassing the Crown Prince's mistress Yvonne.
Theodore did not know how such an empty-headed and stupid woman had entered his hunting grounds.
“I asked you what you want from me.”
“I have a favor to ask of you.
If I disappear in the near future, please find me.”
“You mean you want to play hide and seek with me?”
“I suppose so, so to speak.”
“Does playing hide and seek with a hunter in hunting grounds mean it is okay to catch and kill you?”
Theodore weighed whether he had more bullets or patience remaining.
Why did this woman suddenly come here and ask him to look for her?
Theodore hated people who spoke without context or logic.
Theodore took off his muddy shoes and threw them next to Annette.
The chair that hit his shoe shook slightly.
His behavior was a sign of the dissatisfaction he felt with her bullshit.
“It's no use threatening me.”
Annette smiled again without blinking.
Theodore's mood was as low as the sincerity of her smile.
“Five minutes.
This is how much time I have left before my patience runs out.
If you have anything to say, say it quickly and get out of my face immediately.”
“That's enough for me.”
Annette took another step closer to Theodore.
This was kind of interesting.
Theodore was a man who could commit all kinds of evil, but he still did not like dealing with women.
Nothing a woman can offer him, from love to flesh, can satisfy him.
Although his appearance made them want to touch him, the women did not dare to touch him because they knew his bad temper.
It had been a long time since a woman was not afraid to approach him.
“Will you believe me, Your Highness, if I tell you that this world is a world in a book?”
“Four minutes.”
“Indeed, this world is nothing more than a stage created for a certain hero.
What do you think will be my role and yours, Your Highness, as characters on the stage of that stage?”
“If you don’t speak quickly, I will regard this nonsense as your last will.”
“We are the evil bastards.
The main character is Yvonne.”
“Well, then, I guess the protagonist is Crown Prince Hugo, who is in love with Miss Yvonne.”
“Yes.
The Crown Prince is exactly Yvonne’s constant partner and the hero in this story.
This is why Your Highness Theodore cannot defeat the Crown Prince even if he dies and departs from this life.”
Theodore stopped snickering and immediately picked up the long rifle he used for hunting.
He was provoked by the idea that he could not beat Hugo.
The last remnants of logic remaining in his mind, which had been holding on thanks to the thought of the glass of wine he would drink after the woman left, flew away with the wind.
Hugo was Theodore's nephew and the same age.
His foolish nephew who was promised the position of Crown Prince from birth because of his bloodline.
On the other hand, Theodore was the son of the late Emperor II.
The late Emperor was very much in love with his son (Theodore) who came from his beautiful mistress, but that was all.
For the throne had certainly been given to his eldest son, Theodore's half-brother, Philibert.
(MM: Philibert is Hugo's father)
Barring any unusual circumstances, the next emperor would be Hugo.
No one believed that Theodore, who was neither the legitimate son nor the eldest son, could assume the throne.
Except for Theodore himself.
“I'm running out of patience.
I won't listen to you for one more second, so get out now.”
The gun aimed at the deer pointed at Annette, but unlike the frightened deer, it did not run away.
“I heard that another gold mine was found on the Crown Prince's land today?
Isn't it a truly wonderful coincidence that gold suddenly appeared from a land that was once a wasteland when it belonged to His Highness the Grand Duke?”
Theodore's hands tightened.
A huge, unprecedented gold mine has been discovered in a poor southern town.
The land of Memmingen originally belonged to Theodor, but the land was taken from him in a bet with Hugo.
It was barren when it was his, but the moment it reached Hugo's hands, it was transformed into a gold mine.
Today, the reason he visited the hunting grounds late in the day to vent his anger was because of the gold mine that was found in Memmingen.
It was like this all the time.
Theodore was smarter and fitter than Hugo, but no matter what he did, the victory was always Hugo's, no matter what they were competing over.
Every victory in the Hunting Festival, every imperial competition, even this entire damned empire, everything shining seemed like a gift prepared just for Hugo.
Naturally, a man who had no interest in the imperial throne would be given the title of Crown Prince.
Theodore, on the other hand, was treated as guilty simply of being greedy for imperial power.
He had wondered all his life why his intentions and ambitions were subject to judgment and judgment by everyone just because he was born as the son of the Emperor.
“The Grand Duke can never surpass the Crown Prince.
Just as despite all the evil I do and no matter how honorable or crooked I try, I cannot defeat Yvonne to become the Crown Princess.”
“This is my final warning to you.
I do not want to declare war on Marquis Scheringen, so leave now.”
“My father will die soon.
And of course I will too.”
Annette seemed sad as she spoke of the Marquis's death, but that was not enough to turn Theodore's anger into sympathy.
Specifically, it was because he couldn't see her sadness, and even if he did, her sadness wasn't something he would care about.
“The conversation between us today will be my first and last conversation with the Grand Duke.
The next time you see me, I will not be me.”
Annette lifted the hood of the cloak she was wearing.
“I'm tired of playing the villain.
But the Grand Duke is perfectly suited to this role.
As a show of support on my part, I will let you know the secret of the world that I discovered the hard way.”
Annette pushed the barrel of the gun towards her head and approached Theodore...
Then she whispered in his ear.
Theodore's expression changed slightly as he listened to her.
What she said was obvious nonsense.
After finishing whispering, Annette picked up a pistol from among the weapons on the table.
“I will take this as payment for threatening my life.
Goodbye for now.”
Annette disappeared, pistol in hand, in the roar of the rain.
It was as if someone was going to a place far, far away from sight.
* * *
At the residence of the Marquis of Scheringen, a few days after the night that Annette had visited the hunting ground.
Someone, who wasn't her, woke up in Annette's body.
She blinked her eyes blankly.
After her blurry vision cleared, she tried to raise her body, but it was extremely difficult to support her weak limbs.
The moment she finally raised her hands slowly, with jerky, heavy movements…
“Aaaaaa!”
A terrible scream rang out throughout the place.
She opened her heavy eyelids, then saw Marquis Borhardt Scheringen, who had fallen to the ground due to a gunshot wound, with blood running down his body like a fountain.
He was a dead body.
The Marquis died without even closing his eyes because he was holding his gaping wound to prevent the blood from flowing.
After witnessing the horrific scene, she hoped that this moment was just a nightmare.
But what happened at that moment was a terrifying reality more than any nightmare.
That was the day Marquis Scheringen died.
His only daughter, Annette Scheringen, was accused of committing the crime.