Rosie's Games

Chapter 44: Rabbit 1

"A coat and a dagger?" Federico snorted when he heard the current news that caused massive waves of assumptions all throughout the nobles.

The Duke had disrespected their customs, or at least that was what everyone was thinking. No one would dare voice out what they were truly thinking. Despite the Duke being a guest, none of them wanted to confront him for what he did.

"Are you certain about the increase in attacks lately?" Federico asked one of his men.

"Yes, your Blessedness."

Federico was talking about the sudden demonic animals that have been causing problems on the border between Aster and the Wugari Kingdom.

The Wugari Kingdom was the northernmost inhabitable place on the Continent. There were other, smaller Kingdoms, up north, but the Wugarians were considered the largest Northern Kingdom. They were also the ones taking control of the fight between the demonic monsters and the North.

However, since the Duke came here, the Demonic monsters suddenly appeared in the mountains that bordered the Aster Empire and the Wugarian Kingdom. Surprise attacks had been happening and the Aster Empire's military had been taking some losses.

"So it seems that he wanted to use this to pressure us into giving into their demands?" The Emperor sitting next to Federico asked.

"It seems so," Federico scoffed. "A futile attempt."

The Duke came here not just because he wanted warmer weather, he wanted to get more supplies from the other southern Empires.

He wanted more rice, more wheat, and more military supplies. Obviously, the Emperor was trying to negotiate, but it seemed that the Duke was not going to budge. Federico assumed the Wugarians were purposely letting the monsters pass to give them a taste of what would happen if they neglected the North.

Such sinister people needed to die.

Sadly, even Federico could not deny that the Duke had the bite to back up his bark. He was a dangerous dangerous man, and now, it seemed that this dangerous man just turned his attention to the Lux Family.

Once again, the Duke must be planning to kill his future bride. He chose someone like Rosalind, who was useless, so no one would spare the time to investigate her death.

But what was with these useless gifts and shows of affection?

Now, he was starting to get entertained. For some reason, he was really curious to know about the Duke's plan.

"Did you prepare everything?" he asked. The hunt had begun, and everyone had already left their tents with the horses and weapons.

"Yes, your Blessedness, everything is ready."

"Are you certain this is going to work?" the Emperor asked. "Lawrence is going to be crowned very soon. I do not want any complications."

"I am confident, Your Majesty. Only a little bruise or a small cut that I need to heal will be sufficient," Federico confirmed.

"Good."

...

"Will you stop following me around?" Prince Lawrence said.

She said nothing, but she didn't stop following him. This hunt had certain rules that they could not break. For instance, there were currently two servants following them around. These people were to cook and set up tents as well as carry the animals that they were able to kill.

However, being together all the time wasn't exactly part of the rules.

Because of this, the Prince immediately instructed her to leave him alone when they started walking inside the thick greeneries. The forest that they were walking into was in the Western part of the Empire.

They were currently near the border of the Rakha Kingdom, a small kingdom located near the Northern border. Rakha had a very close relationship with the Northern Kingdoms and was considered to be a very strong ally to the Wugarians.

The hunt had always been done in the small forest between the Aster Empire and the Rakha Kingdom because the forest wasn't as dangerous as the others. However, from time to time, some demonic animals could still be seen in the area.

"Oh! A rabbit!" Rosalind suddenly jumped off of her horse. Her perfect landing and agile body surprised everyone. Then she started chasing a rabbit.

"How vulgar," the Prince muttered. "We are leaving," he said.

"But what about"

"She grew up in the mountains near the North. I am certain she knows how to protect herself in the event that she mets a dangerous animal." Though the prince was certain that there was no dangerous animal around this area. His father assured him that the knights had already killed every dangerous animal nearby.

"What about her horse?"

"Leave it," the prince replied as he guided his horse in the other direction. Then he turned towards the two. "No one shall know about this. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Good! Let us proceed! I thought I spotted a deer nearby!" the Prince said.

Just as the Prince and his people vanished, Rosalind appeared from a nearby bush, a rabbit was in her hand. Luckily, her horse didn't leave. She stared at the live rabbit with red demonic eyes.

An animal with red eyes meant that they were demonic, meaning it had been infected by a dark curse since they were born.

Naturally, this meant that she could also use this opportunity to get rid of the dark curse inside their bodies and strengthen herself.

At first, she did not realize this. She thought that this place had been cleansed and that all the demonic animals had been killed.

Was it possible that the Emperor lied?

She shook her head as she took her horse and started walking in the opposite direction from where the Prince went. Honestly, she wanted to travel alone just to avoid anyone's suspicions. She didn't want to travel with an arrogant prince with mediocre skills!

Despite the man's good looks, Rosalind wouldn't want to spend some time with him even if someone had bribed her to do so! She had been with him for a few hours now since the hunt began, and she couldn't take it anymore.

After a few minutes, she found a large tree with humongous roots. She made sure that her horse was nearby before she sat down and touched the rabbit's head. Then she closed her eyes and started absorbing the dark curse.

This place was dark because of the tall trees with leaves that acted as canopies. They covered the sun, only allowing small beams of light in. Because of this, it would be hard for her to protect herself with an illusion using her light Blessing.

She could only use her darkness.

She looked up and tried to assess the time. She already had breakfast earlier, so she concluded that it should be time to have lunch.

Should she

She stared at the rabbit, trying to make a decision, but before she could do something, she heard a woman's voice coming her way.

She immediately leaned against the tree, but quickly realized she had a horse nearby. It would be easy to spot her. She sighed and looked towards where the voices were coming from.

Now that she thought about it, the horse was really an inconvenience. Why would he give her a horse when the terrain was this rough? It wouldn't be too comfortable for a horse to walk in this dark and wet place!

"Your Grace, please, the young Princess is about to faint. Can we at least stop for a while?"